(Work in Progress)
(BTW, what's the code for having a topic heading, clicking it and having it take you to that topic heading within the thread -- kind of like a link within the thread?)
Each entry has the units name with the unit’s default size in parentheses beside it.
All stats are Melee attack-Missile attack, if any/defense-hitpoints if there’s more than 1/Charge bonus.
I. Melee Infantry
1. Dagger units
a. Peasants (75)
Stats: 01/01/01
Cost/Upkeep: 90/90
Vulnerable to Missiles; Poor morale
Remember all those threads about overpowered peasants? Well, that doesn’t apply here.
Muslim peasants are the absolute bottom of the barrel. They aren’t even the cheapest garrison unit, at least not for cities, which house better militia units for free. A charging West European wielding a pitchfork has five times the attack and three times the defense, plus a bonus when fighting in the woods (or snow). Throw in the poor morale and the vulnerability to missiles to round out the picture.
About the only things Muslim peasants are good for are: Keeping order in rowdy castles or in cities where all the free upkeep militia berths are filled, manning a wall to trigger the defenses, and cheap labor to allow you to build more siege equipment (the benefit is slight since there’s no sapping ala RTW.)
2. Spear units
Although spear units are rightfully considered weak as of version 1.1, it should be noted that Eqyptian spears are supported very well by a wide variety of effective missile troops. More about that later.
a. Spear Militia (75)
05/07/02
310/125
Special ability: Rally
Contrary to popular belief, this unit can fight off low-quality knights such as mailed knights on level ground. You have to put them in deep formation, however: Seven files wide and 11 deep, for example. You also have to charge instead of just waiting for a charge, and keep after the cavalry by attacking when they pull off to reform for another charge. You can also hit the rally button when their morale starts to crack.
All this makes them more hassle than long-term Total War players are used to. You have to think of them as melee infantry with a bonus against horses rather than a phalanx.
That said, they’re a poor infantry melee unit. One-on-one, European peasants beat them despite the stats, apparently because peasants have more attacks per minute. Set them in loose formation and you can essentially “double up” by having two units attack the same enemy unit, if the situation allows.
Therefore, the purpose of this unit or any other Egyptian spear unit is to hold a target in place while an effective missile or flanking unit does the killing. This is the classic Egyptian infantry problem: Lots of great flanking units, nothing much to pin with.
b. Nubian Spearmen (75)
07/09/03
400/155
Better than Militia Spearmen but not as good as Saracen Infantry, and with no free garrisoning available, this is a betwixt and between unit that I haven’t found to be of much use. I played Nubian Spears a good deal in MTW1 and, frankly, am disappointed in the unit now.
c. Dismounted Arab Cavalry (60)
07/13/03
430/150
A smaller unit size is the downfall of this otherwise decent spear unit. Note that the maintenance cost is only 5 florins less than a Saracen Infantry unit that has slightly better stats and 25 percent more men. Available early and in castles and good for emergencies. They are a good unit for siege defense, where their smaller effective frontage is not so much of a handicap.
d. Saracen Infantry (75)
07/14/03
490/155
Can schiltron
Basically a militia armored sergeant, this is the core Egyptian infantry unit. It can take on knight-type cavalry very well in a deep, close formation and can perform decent anti-infantry melee in a wide, loose formation — so you’re set as long as you know what’s coming. Free upkeep up to the available slots is a very nice bonus, too.
One trick with this unit is to form schiltron and have archer, javelin or nafata missile troops far enough behind them to launch a volley when the enemy’s fully engaged with the schiltron. If the enemy go after the missile troops, pop out of schiltron and attack them in the back.
3. Halberd and axe units
a. Halberd Militia (60)
07/09/03
510/150
Souped-up woodsmen; Frankly, their defense is too low and unit size is too small for them to last long enough in combat with decent-quality armored troops for their anti-armor halberds to have much effect. Once again, a decent flanking unit when what’s really needed is a strong pinning unit.
b. Tabardariyya (60)
20/11/16
(Oops. Will check prices at home)
With good morale and very good stamina, this is one of the better Muslim melee units. Note the very high attack number -- this is what makes the unit effective against armor. As far as I can tell, there is no additional anti-armor bonus. They seem to fight better in loose formation, which makes some sense considering that troops in this unit are swinging an axe.
c. Ghazis (60)
11/08/03
(Varies/70)
Oddly, this unit isn’t available in custom battles, meaning it can’t be tested without some light modding. Ghazis are only available from Jihads. Muslim suicide Vikings are the best way I can describe this unit, with a one-handed axe and a shield. They may attack without orders but their morale is very high. They will keep attacking until almost the last man, and probably those few will rally before getting to the map edge. They're perhaps best described as "fire and forget" infantry.
Opinions about this unit are mixed. Stat-wise, they're not impressive. On campaign, however, my impression is that they are fierce. I keep them in loose formation and swarm them upon anything that tries to hold out against my sieges.
4. Sword units
a. Hashashim (30)
16/21(!) with 2 HP/03
(Will check price later)
Mean little cusses with the ability to hide anywhere. Even without that ability, that are fully capable of taking on a unit of dismounted English knights twice their size.
5. Rabble
a. Mutatawwia (Muslim Religious Fanatics)(60)
14/02/06
Varies/70
May charge without orders; Good morale
This club-armed unit apparently suffers from the dreaded "two-handed" bug. Until and unless the February, 2007 patch fixes this, I'd avoid the unit or use it to push battering rams and make repeated charges.
II. Missile infantry
This is an Egyptian Army long suit. As noted earlier in an excellent thread by SMZ, Egypt is the only faction other than Russia that gets to build Archer Militia in towns that only have a wall.
1. Bowmen
a. Peasant Archers (60)
02-05/1/1
Flaming Arrows; Vulnerable to missiles
220/100
Better than nothing, but Egypts gets Militia Archers so soon and for the same price, and with no upkeep for some in cities. All this makes the peasant archer a much-overshadowed unit for this faction.
b. Militia Archers (60)
02-05/01/01
220/100
Flaming Arrows; Vulnerable to missiles
As pointed out earlier, these units are available almost from the beginning of Egyptian civilization. Otherwise a generic Militia Archer unit, but nice to have them so soon. This is a mainstay unit for garrisoning cities, especially in the early game.
c. Desert Archers (60)
06-07/06/01
390/100
Desert bonus; Long range; Flaming arrows; Very good stamina
One of my favorite units from MTW1 is new and improved for MTW2. Deadly, long-ranged and not completely helpless in melee. Note the modest defensive rating which is pretty good considering this is an archer unit. This allows desert archers to survive shooting duels with peasant and millitia-type ranged units, and survive the occasional brush with a melee unit while it gets away. These are effective skirmishers in the classic sense, getting out in front and harrassing the enemy. That's where the very good stamina comes in, allowing them to run around a lot. If they were better against armor, the Egyptians wouldn't need another missile infantry unit. Even against armor, DA will whittle them down if given enough time and a short-enough range.
d. Nubian Archers (60)
07-07/04/02
470/125
Long range; Flaming arrows
Not a bad unit, but overshadowed by the Desert Archer because of this unit's high upkeep cost for what you get. The stiff purchase price is notable, also. The only thing this unit does better than DA is melee, and that's arguable because they don't survive as long. Still, the unit is armed with a mace: If this gives an advantage when fighting armored units, it would have been nice for the notes to mention that. Will get back when some testing's done.
2. Javelins, Naptha and Gunners
a. Kurdish Javelinman (60)
09-06/11/01
400/125
Javelins effective against armor
Note that the base melee attack is higher than the missile attack. This is a good dual-purpose infantry unit. However, its real strength is taking out high-value armored troops. Set them up behind a melee line and they'll help equalize the melee against those armored Crusader types. Also, I leave "fire at will" on with these units. They have eight javelins and spend more of their time running around than faster cavalry javelin units. Note that if any get into melee, the rest won't keep throwing their javelins even if they're too far away to help in the melee fight.
b. Naffatan (20)
13-23(!)/12/03
Effective against armor; Good Morale; Good Stamina
"Effective against armor" is an understatement. Get these guys in range of anything, and their victims will be effectively neutralized, at least. These troops throw smoke grenades that release noxious fumes. Anything that breathes is vulnerable. Armor is irrelevant. They can cause friendly casualties, but these missiles are most effective when the enemy unit is pinned.
Sudanese Gunners (60)
09-16/07/03
?/?
Effective against armor; Desert Bonus; Good morale; Good stamina; Vulnerable to missiles
Note the comparison to a typical Holy Roman Empire foot gunner, who has a melee of 6, a missile attack of 14, a defense of only 3 and a charge bonus of 1. This appears to be a very good unit for its type, but I'm not far enough along in my Egypitan campaign to give an unqualified recommendation. Also, my campaign may well be over before I have wide experience with this unit.
III. Missile Cavalry
This is a paradox: The Egyptians are a Missile Cavalry faction, but only get two types of the unit, excluding mercenaires. This is possible because of the quality of the units, the low building requirements required to make them, and — to be blunt — the unexeceptional quality of the faction's other units, particularly infantry.
Desert Cavalry are a castle unit that requires a Tier 1 stable. Mameluk archers only require a castle but can also be built in large cities with a Tier 2 racetrack.
Much of what follows will be familiar to readers of my missile cavalry guide.
a. Desert Cavalry (40)
08-08/08/03
Cost/Upkeep: 540/150
Circle; Desert bonus; Fast; Very good stamina
Basically vulnerable Jinetes, Desert Cavalry has a slightly weaker melee attack, the same charge bonus and the same javelin attack with anti-armor bonus as its Spanish cousin. However, it has a much weaker defense. Still, it's a very useful unit, particularly against elephants, heavily armored crusaders in the desert and against spear units. Notably, rain and sandstorms do not appear to cause problems for javelins.
b. Mameluk Archers (40)
08-08/15/04
900/210
Circle; Good stamina; Good morale; Bonus fighting armor in melee
An excellent all-round cavalry archer and dual-purpose medium melee cavalry unit. It will remind RTW Parthian players of Persian Cavalry. This is a missile unit that can defend itself against most light and medium cavalry types, seize charge opportunities in the flanks and rear, help trap generals and can even hold knights if help arrives quickly. It's added effectiveness in melee against armored units was discovered by katank, who found in it the data files.
IV. Melee Cavalry
There’s a rule to keep in mind when fighting Western knights with Egyptian melee cavalry: If you get the knights in melee, keep them there and look for javelin support. More detail is below.
a. Arab Cavalry (40)
09/13/04
Can wedge
510/175
I’m more impressed with this unit after every campaign. Although described as light cavalry, look at the stats: Attack and defense are each one point below the values of a Western mailed knight. Charge is much weaker -- mailed knights have a value of 6 there -- but Arab Cavalry costs only three-fourths as much to make and 75 florins less per turn to maintain. Put another way, recruiting an English mailed knight unit and using it at full strength for 10 turns costs 3,180 florins. The same calculation for AC is 2,260. Spend the difference on upgrades, or you can build and maintain 140 Desert Cavalry for 10 turns for the cost of 100 mailed knights.
What’s more, line up AC and MK’s against each other in custom battles at medium difficulty on grassy fields. You’ll find that AC survive the initial charge quite well and seem to do better in melee. Perhaps this is another animation “attack per minute” situation. I don’t know. I do know, however, that the AC have a good chance of winning even after the mailed knights get a numbers advantage. Most of these artificial little battles will depend upon whose commander gets killed first. It’s a close-enough match that, in a regular battle, a couple of javelin volleys from nearby Desert Cavalry should be decisive.
Which leads me, finally, to two main points about Egyptian melee cavalry of all categories. If you are fighting other cavalry, get Egyptians of all types into melee and keep them there. If the other guy tries to pull back and reform for another charge, don’t let him. The second point that became clear during campaigns: Melee cavalry and Desert Cavalry make a good little combo. Russian Boyars Sons are better, combining the virtues of effective javelin attack and good melee in one unit, but this isn’t a Russian unit guide.
Perceptive readers will note that Mameluk Archer melee stats are very comparable, with a very close attack values plus the anti-armor effect of a mace instead of the Arab Cavalry’s sword. Defense is notably better. However, Mameluk Archers are very expensive units.
Although the Arab Cavalry charge bonus appears weak, the bonus is not something to throw away, especially against good infantry. The merits of repeated charges still apply against units that don’t benefit from this “pumping” more than you do.
b. Mameluks (Melee) (40)
11/15/05
Can wedge
Good morale; Good stamina
820/210
A price of 820 florins is a lot for a glorified feudal knight unit. Note, however, that the maintenance cost is 40 florins a turn less than that of a mere mailed knight. At least you get your money back. Also, watch the Mameluks’ maces come out in melee, giving them tough fighters against armored units. Again, once you get this unit in melee against something with a better charge, keep them locked there and look around for some javelin unit to make a vital contribution.
Despite the expense of melee Mameluks, there are some jobs just too tough for Arab Cavalry. Mameluks can hold out longer. Their defense isn’t a whole lot better, but their higher attack means that high-end knight units don’t get a numbers advantage over them as quickly as against Arab Cavalry.
c. Royal Mameluks (32)
14/17/05
Can wedge
Good morale; Good stamina
1,050/250
This one can go head-to-head against any Western knight unit of equal experience and upgrades thanks to it's anti-armor bonus in melee, but requires a citadel with a Caliph's stable. If you keep playing or fight battles on the Internet, the same rule about keeping the enemy in melee and not allowing repeated charges still applies. Also, it's penalty for fighting in the heat (desert) is notably less than that for European units of similar quality.
