Your ideal stack and how you use it

[Askthepizzaguy]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

My ideal stack :

Whatever is at hand...

I never manage to build a stack acoording to some guidelines... I usually make do with what my nearest training center is able to provide and what mercs are available as a complement...

Plus any "ideal" stack will depend on what kind of armies I'll be facing or the type of fight I will be getting into (field, bridge or siege/sally...)

Mainly I use to rely a lot on missile infantry (with long range attribute if possible) and a mix of light and heavy cav plus some spears or other infantry in support of the missile units...

I rarely use a full stack anyway but may combine 2+ half stacks depending on the opposition...

There is something to be said for keeping your forces small and maneuverable and in seperate stacks: It's called the Multiple General Benefit

Your forces are at least led by several captains. If one of them dies, a portion of your troops might rout, but the rest remain to fight. It's called not putting all your eggs in one basket.

However, I never do such a thing when my vulnerable family members are at stake. I always surround them with supreme defensive troops to prevent them from dying. In terms of fighting the enemy's most secure defenses, that is.

If you can take your single stack and divide it into two or three light, maneuverable forces and surround your enemy, but set the battle so the AI does NOT control reinforcements, it is as though you still have your one stack to begin with, plus 2 captains to boost morale!

If you need the AI to control your forces, Try to make your other captains infantry units, so they don't bum rush the enemy and die on spearpoints. I trust the AI to handle captains when they aren't mounts.

If you have several generals, for god's sake, split them up and control them, if possible. What's the point of having a general when he has no morale boosting capability? If thats the case, bring heavy cavalry instead, because thats essentially all he is.

Even if he's ALONE as a support unit, he won't rout when your first general does, as he is now his own general. I don't think reinforcement generals can use the rally command, but it would be sweet if they could.

Also, sometimes people say: 20 (insert favorite mounted unit) and declare victory.

Well hold on, there, hotstuff. That's all well and good IF you know how to HANDLE that many horse.

They are useful when outnumbered and given formed charges to work with... when THEY outnumber or equal the enemy, they stop being as useful because they end up crossing into each other's path and breaking each other's formed charges and generally being unwieldly to use.

Once your formed charge has been successful, with that many cavalry, often times people will just sit there and melee, or if they are somewhat smart, they use a few mounts to pull back and charge again... but in the meantime you have the equivalent of a unit of mounts dying every 15 seconds.

Not very smart use of your horses. Try this:

Break them up into 3 seperate stacks, give them each a general if possible. Now, lead your horse archers onto the battlefield first to impale the enemy and wear them out from chasing you. Soon, your reinforcements will arrive and you've run out of arrows. You can either have your HA leave the battle entirely without losing any men to casualties, or charge them in a suicide attack into the enemy rear when already engaged with your reinforcements.

I prefer having them leave the battle entirely, so you can reuse them over and over again.

The enemy will be wounded, perhaps exhausted from your initial horse archer raid.

The benefit of having only HA on the field for a while is that you have no other vulnerable targets, and they can strike and evade quite well. So you can wear out and damage the enemy without taking any other casualties and you have the entire battlefield to run around unimpeded. In fact, if your reinforcements take a while to show up... GOOD!!!

You could have 3/4 stack of horse archers, and a full stack of other cavalry and other kinds of troops. Lead with your horse archers, and command the reinforcements yourself.

By "routing" your own forces when they are done, you can bring more troops under your direct control. Bring all your horse archers and skirmishers on first, and then the heavy infantry and cavalry. Once they are wounded, shaken, and depleted by your missiles, charge into them with your cavalry from the flanks with a formed charge, to get them to stop advancing towards you, and then charge your heavy infantry into them while reversing your cavalry.

Hammer, THEN anvil, then hammer until they all die. It's a nifty strategy. However, I've yet to come across a predicament which would call for such effots or drastic measures.

Still, it's far more powerful than a single stack, or 2 stacks, one under AI control, and it's a great way to decimate the enemy without losing too many troops. Those danged horse archers...