Fiercest Barbarians

[WinsingtonIII]

4. Casse - Casse have the weaknesses of Gallic factions while not sharing much of their boni. Their elites are also good, but very expensive and limited - they lack Gaesatae, but make for it with a cadre of assorted "Chanting" and "eagle-bearing" units that inspire their morale. The majority of their line is composed of the lowest tier Celtic troops, the Gaeroas, Botroas and Brythonic regionals, who are all lacking in discipline and are not that great either. Without enough people to keep their morale up, they rout quickly, and their formation tightness also leaves to be desired.

They also lack cavalry, and while there are one or two people who might have found an use for Chariots, their bodyguard is virtually useless. They also lack outstanding assault troops (Teceitos only, again) and have virtually nothing but basic missile units.

Bravery - ****
Steadiness - **
Strength - ***
Scariness - **

I think that this representation of the Casse is a little unfair. I agree that their lack of more professional units is annoying, as relying on Botroas and Gaeroas for your main line is not fun. However, their vast variety of elite "hero" and "champion" units I think makes them both very interesting to play as and fierce in their own way. And if these hero units are used effectively, their line can be quite steady (although expensive).

I've found the chariots to be quite effective against the more loose-order "barbarian" infantry of the Gallic tribes and the Sweboz. You don't tell them to attack directly, you keep them moving constantly and run through the enemy units, both disrupting the line, killing some men, and giving the units a fear penalty. In most of my battles they take 15 casualties or less and inflict at least 150-200 each (admittedly that's including routers).

To claim that they lack effective assault troops is I think the greatest mistake. Any of the Hero or Champion units can act as very effective heavy assault infantry (They all have .225 lethality longswords except for Cwmyr). However, if you want dedicated assault troops, Kluddargos are amazing. Their two-handed swords have .285 lethality, and they're heavily armored as well. They're the Thraikioi Rhomphaiaphoroi of the far West. I also think it's fair to consider the Goidilic roster when talking about the Casse as they have the most convenient access to it. If we do so, the Casse get some of the best assault units in the game, including the Ordmalica, who wield .31 lethality hammers and have 18 morale. Finally, there are Dubosaverlacica, who are essentially invincible, and also have 18 morale. The biggest problem here is the great expense of most of these units.

I'm not going to argue about the lack of cavalry, it's pretty sad.

I'm not saying that the Casse should be in the running for one of the best factions in the game (purely from a gameplay perspective). But I think we should give them some credit where it is do.