The Ultimate Battle Turning Unit

**Silence Hunter** · 04-20-2009, 12:47

Heavy cavalry for me. Just love seeing hetairoi charge the backs of doomed enemy forces. makes me feel warm and good inside

**Maion Maroneios** · 04-20-2009, 13:25

Nothing can match Elephants in causing masive chain routs. I mean, pin the enemy down with your phalanx, and sweep parallel to your sarrisae with your elephants. If they don't immediately die, they will do so very soon for sure.

Maion

**Fluvius Camillus** · 04-20-2009, 13:34

Awesome pic Banzai!

Another way to make awesome pics is by playing vanilla. You as Carthage or the Seleucid Empire with Armoured Elephants vs. the Roman Incendiary pigs, both 20 units of them. If the Animals run amok, it gets even more fun. You get nice pics of elephants "playing (pig)soccer".

I voted Cataphracts, awesome if you charge a bunch of lance cavalry in the back!

**Ca Putt** · 04-20-2009, 14:02

ultimately Naked dudes but most of the time i simply use ranged cavalary whithout any arrows left for the final blow :D sounds crappy but it works :D

**Maion Maroneios** · 04-20-2009, 14:12

Obviously not many people have actually used elephants, it seems. Really the chaos those beasts cause can seriously not be compared to any of the other options in the poll. And don't give me the "elephants die like flies with javelins" or "rout easily with fire" crap, because all other options have their weaknesses

Maion

**Fluvius Camillus** · 04-20-2009, 18:25

Originally Posted by Maion Maroneios

Obviously not many people have actually used elephants, it seems. Really the chaos those beasts cause can seriously not be compared to any of the other options in the poll. And don't give me the "elephants die like flies with javelins" or "rout easily with fire" crap, because all other options have their weaknesses

Maion

I am an expert of charging elephants in the back

I had my Elephants from Pyrrhos (starting as unit of 18) still when I was fighting the Seleukids near the Caspian Sea, there were 9 left then (so less archers). They open the gates for you and inflict mass rout, sadly they are hard to come by.

Heavy lance cavalry is a lot more common and usually also does the job.

**/Bean\** · 04-20-2009, 19:14

Practically anything big and/or heavy smashing into your back at speed is not going to do wonders for your morale, so I think ele's or cavalry will always win my vote. Anything 'frightening' also works to make the enemy morale drop faster, but it's not really a final blow, so, for this particular poll, those units don't get my vote.

**Ibrahim** · 04-25-2009, 21:16

Originally Posted by Maion Maroneios

Obviously not many people have actually used elephants, it seems. Really the chaos those beasts cause can seriously not be compared to any of the other options in the poll. And don't give me the "elephants die like flies with javelins" or "rout easily with fire" crap, because all other options have their weaknesses

Maion

even though I voted cataphracts, I must point out that I have often used the elephants. the only problem with them IMHO is their vulnerability to javelins and certan types of archers, however as you said yourself, that's normally not a problem. but the reason I did not vote for them for sure is simply one word: cost. think about it; why have a single elephant unit, when 3 or 4 cataphracts/hetairoi can be made in their place? and far more useful and less javelin easy.

Originally Posted by The Persian Cataphract

Take a guess at the choice I've picked

cabbage?

@frontline44: it can't be slingers-it must be cabbages

**lenin96** · 04-20-2009, 14:12

I prefer to spam units that are cheap but effective supported by some stronger troops and missile units. It all depends on how much money I can spare.

**sedlacekj** · 04-30-2009, 13:10

I voted Sarissa. I use HUGE settings and I like hvy phalanx armies backed up with some jav and 1-2 mounted archer.

However, I use many different options depending on what nation I am using. If I have cataphracts or elephants...those are nice, but I like destroying both of these also. I really love fighting enemies who enter my battlefield with too much cavalry as I have no problem defending my flanks or my rear. (I actually invite a calvalry charge to my rear!)

I like Ca Putt's option on the first page. Archer Cav has a better speed to run down routers before they leave the map. Usually I have some archer cav in my mix, whether I'm using Phalanx or other infantry, so I usually wait until the enemy commits their cavalry, flank w/ archer cav, then smash the rear of the infantry. Added bonus is actually being able to kill at many times 100% of the enemy before they rout off the map. ( I usually get "bummed out" when 2 or 3 survive.) Light cavalry is best for this role, but useless until the end unless they also have archers.

**Cute Wolf** · 04-30-2009, 13:25

Eng... Maion... You're right, but they're right too...

I post this pool to see how peoples are appreciating an unit as an ultimate, battle turning unit.... For some men, using massive levies as their battle turning unit is a really valid option, although I still prefer frightening men to do their jobs (if I ware barbaroi), I really get used to use amassed levies (hint: gaeroas, curoas, botroas, and even rorarii) because when I play saby'n, hai, any barbarians, or another "backyard faction" that will be very poor... the most effective way to tackle a big bad Arche is amassed local troops to raid enemy settlements, and flood their walls and push with certain recklesness... when its done, the pantodapoi horde (or kavakaza sparabara horde) is a valid battle turning unit on its own right... And even middle class units can become a very frightening one... (look at my iudaioi taxeis tactic... they got their experience with smashing AS stack, and even they can smash argyraspidai quite hard, and made them javelin cushion...

thanks for your appreciation Maion....