Topic:Norse War Clerics

[Andrei]

Opinions, ups and downs of this incredible M2TW unit i havn't used it too much and i want to know if they are worth.

[Ramses II CP]

I prefer Huscarls myself. The advantage of the War Clerics is in their recruitment and, if it's the kind of thing you care about, they're much prettier than Huscarls. They do not have a good (Re: Lance) charge, but they're quite effective against other heavy cavalry. My favorite use for them was smashing heathens and infidels, especially the Mongols. See my Viking Migration AAR for details.

[G^2]

To me the whole point of heavy calvary is shock value. Calvary is for smashing through enemy formations and causing routes by flank charges. Thus, I found the Norse War Clerics lacking. When playing as the Danes I stuck to mostly infantry armies. The Danes, IMO have some of the best heavy infantry in the game. Why use calvary to do heavy infantries job of prolonged melee? They do look really cool on the battlefield thought, which is a means to an end.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Appearance wise they are one of the coolest, if not the coolest, units in the game. They do not however function as other heavy cavalry, which is sensible since the Danes are infantry-heavy anyway.

They are easily available since you get them from an Abbey, and any cavalry from cities is a bonus. Their AP maces are deadly, these guys can comfortably beat pretty much any other cavalry unit in the game, and make great Mongol hunters and General's Bodyguard killers.

Their weakness though is against infantry, since the lack of lances mean they do not have the shock factor of other cavalry, and won't mow a line of men down like even Mailed Knights do.

Think of them as mobile infantry, same goes for Huscarls. They fare much better than other cavalry when they are bogged down, and can cover any weak spots effectively thanks to their speed.

[Gaiseric]

To tell the truth, I rarley use any calvary outside of Generals Bodygaurd unit. I like calvary mostly for their shock and charge values. Norse Clerics are a tough unit but they trade-off their charge and shock stats for this. My best use for them has been to use them on the flanks. Send them to the left and right of the fray, and then, when the moment is right, have them close in and charge/smash the enemy from behind, resulting in mass routings, and heroic victories.

Generals bodygaurds on the other hand are used as my tanks. I make premtive strikes on the enemies battleline, take out archers, and artillary, and generally cause chaos and confusion to the enimies line, so that when my infantry finally arrive, the battle has already been won. MTW2 has alot of unique units like Norse Clerics. They add some flovor and fun into the game. There are lots of differant uses for these units, but the way you use these unique units is up to you, just make sure that you have some fun in the process.

[Duke Bart]

NWC look great and against mongols they are the way to go! Even against a generals bodyguard they fare great and are extremely useful for those kinds of situations since killing an enemy 10 star general can be just as valuable in a battle and campaign as a strong charge.

[Noncommunist]

Would they in a way be like Tsar's Guard which I remember being referred to as fast heavy infantry?

[Grombeard]

One word: COOL! :D

If you could kill your enemy with coolness, they would be the unit of your choice. Well, at least they can kill your enemy with big metal clubs while looking cool. ;)

And i use them often because of their recruitability in nearly every city and because they do very well against everything with heavy armor. They are my enemy general/heavy cavalry nutcracker!

[Philbert]

In my Danish campaign I used them all the time.
I see 3 advantages, apart from the cool looks:
1. they are very good in melee
2. they gain experience like crazy: when they look angrily at an opponent they already gain a chevron
3. they are good against routers just because of that lack of lances: it means that they aren't reforming all the time and just run straight towards the cowards and club them down.

[Quintus.JC]

Norse War Clerics is the perfect cavalry to kill other heavy cavalry. Especially Genearls. They have the highest defence for any cavalry unit also with AP ability no Knights stand a chance against them.

[Old Geezer]

The only thing that Philbert, Grombeard, and QJC left out is that they have good morale. However, they can be killed by artillery, crossbows, and the plague. So why bother with them when you could train merchant cavalry?

[Doug-Thompson]

[T]hey are good against routers just because of that lack of lances: it means that they aren't reforming all the time and just run straight towards the cowards and club them down.

That's a very good point I haven't heard before.

Somebody should mention that their excellent armor means they can stay and fight in a melee without suffering so much from light arrows. Huscarls die in droves once they're stationary in melee, if you move any archer unit to where it can get flank shots.

[Rhyfelwyr]

The only thing that Philbert, Grombeard, and QJC left out is that they have good morale. However, they can be killed by artillery, crossbows, and the plague. So why bother with them when you could train merchant cavalry?

Bacause that would be like training Sergeant Spearmen when you could get Dismounted Feudal Knights.

[ataribaby]

The only thing that Philbert, Grombeard, and QJC left out is that they have good morale. However, they can be killed by artillery, crossbows, and the plague. So why bother with them when you could train merchant cavalry?

You're being sarcastic right? Merchant Cavalry?! They should stick to running the grain exchange.

[PrestigeX]

You're being sarcastic right? Merchant Cavalry?! They should stick to running the grain exchange.

I don't think he is being sarcastic at all..
Denmark as a faction has just terrible Cavalry - and expensive too. Merchant Cavalry are CHEAP, and when you play as the Danes all you really need CAV for is to attack archers and to encircle the enemy.
The danes are to be relied on for the Combat Infantry, the idea is to close quickly with the enemy and then defeat them .

[Ramses II CP]

Merchant cavalry also have a massive morale problem. I'd pay the extra upkeep just to have cavalry that doesn't have to be surrounded by friendlies to keep fighting. I don't believe the Danish cavalry is weak either, I pinned huge losses on the Mongols with them against significant odds. The Danes lack a good charge cavalry to oppose enemy heavy infantry, this is true, but they've got ample heavy infantry of their own to make up the difference.

In short, the Danish cavalry doesn't work like French cavalry, but that doesn't mean it's weak.

[Grombeard]

So why bother with them when you could train merchant cavalry?

GAH! BLASPHEMY! BURN HIM! BURN HIM!

[Zim]

Norse War Clerics are nic units, although I always preferred Huscarls with their axes (they are rather fragile for vikings, though). Mounted units with AP weapons are nice for taking out generals and heavy cavalry.

Because of their free upkeep, Merchant cavalry can be entertaining if you keep them in city garrisons to vary your rebel hunting armies a bit, but are otherwise pretty worthless, both in a charge and in melee.

[Iavorios]

I don't understanded why do you thing that Denmark has a bad cav. After all they have FK,CK and NWC. I mean England, Portugal, Venice, Milan and Scotland don have such god cav. units. Yes, maybe CK are not the best of the heavy cav. units, but are one of the best, and maybe earl's stables are a little hard to get, but not than hard. I use NWC just to have more unique exp. from the game. Otherwise i use CK. By the way i play on VH/VH and i conquer 60+ provinces in about 100 turns (i like it slow), and i have armies of CK and NWC, so as you can see it is not that hard.

[Old Geezer]

Many of y'all don't seem to understand old-people humor. In my, not very humble opinion I am afraid, Norse War Clerics are one of the best cavalry units in the game and I find them to be fun. (Non-Italian cavlary militia are a bad joke - might as well be drunken serfs on donkeys.) The Norse War Clerics scare the fire out of the blasphemers who dare to oppose the Danes. Plus, they got pretty outfits.

[Dr Dendi PhD]

He still has a point. If you have access to the War Clerics, then hopefully you should already have a castle capable of churning out Feudal or Chivalric Knights, and there's your shock cav. As for the Clerics, they make awesome bodyguard killers

[Myth]

They have an AP mace, which makes them ideal for fighting heavily armoured cav and infantry.

[jackfruitguy69]

i use them on mp CK charging w/ NWC following behind...after the knights go chargey2 and widthrawy the NWC's go smashey2 after the knights leave