Ghazi Infantry - Yes or No

[Budwise]

I am playing a muslem faction seriously for the first time and I have to say, I love the Ghazi Infantry. I own Constantinople and will a master armorer there, I have been mass producing Ghazi and I have to be honest, I have seen them chew through Mongel Heavy Horse like their nothing. I'm not talking flanking either, I am talking headon charge and live to tell the tell. Sure, I had a somewhat good commander and I just killed Khan but still, I wish I built more of them.

[Randarkmaan]

Sure, ghazis are much fun, even though I usually use them as a sort of suicide wave to lessen the enemy numbers and tire them out before the real boys move in. I like being cruel you see, even if it means lots of casualties.

[Divine Wind]

Cheap, fast, high morale, and much head soup to go around...those Ghazi's are the best!

[Martok]

Ghazi Infantry rule. They're one of many reasons I enjoy playing the Egyptians.

[Knight Templar]

Cheap, fast, high morale, and much head soup to go around...

Excellent unit if kept away from archer fire (master armourer fixes all problems )

[Geezer57]

Ghazis are about the best offensive foot troops the Turkish get, at least until JHI become availble later in a campaign. Insane attack and morale, and the survivors valor up very quickly - especially nice when you combine experienced units together to form uber-Ghazis. They never quit - they keep going, and going, and going - until they win or die completely.

Just keep them out of missle fire and away from cavalry in the open - under tree cover, however, they can more than hold their own. I have fond memories of some of my Ghazis in the woods making mincemeat out of Mongol Heavy Cavalry!

[ajaxfetish]

Heck yes!

Ajax

[Marquis de Said]

Big YES to Ghazis - they're one of the most fun units to play with in the game.

[matteus the inbred]

Just keep them out of missle fire and away from cavalry in the open - under tree cover, however, they can more than hold their own. I have fond memories of some of my Ghazis in the woods making mincemeat out of Mongol Heavy Cavalry!

I, on the other hand, am the odd man out here, cos I've had decent valour ghazis duffed up by Treb Archers under tree cover...and I mean in hand-to-hand, not shot!

I think they're good fun, but they're don't seem very reliable. Still, they are cheap and they can hit very hard if used right (i.e., they really are wasted against unarmoured troops). I might have a unit or two lurking in my Turkish and Egyptian armies, but I don't make extensive use of them.

[Ludens]

I am not really a fan of death-or-glory charges, and rather prefer to run in circles around my opponents while pelting them with arrows or javelins. However, when I do need to order such a charge, I find that Ghazi's usually do the job admirably, and if they don't, well, they are cheap and they can do a lot of damage against armoured opponents.

[Martok]

I am not really a fan of death-or-glory charges

And you call yourself a MTW player?? For shame!

[antisocialmunky]

And that's why the Crusades never suceeded...

[caravel]

I use Ghazis in conjunction with Saracen infantry as flankers to destroy heavy cavalry. They excel in this role and are better than Abyssinian guard in almost every respect except armour and that they are not elite. When attacking heavy cavalry head on through the ranks of the Saracens and under missile fire I prefer to deploy the abyssinians, armoured up, as they tend to survive alot longer. I keep the Ghazis near the flanks in readiness, preferably in the woods in order to protect them from missiles and cavalry charges and enable them to take on any cavalry stupid enough to venture in there.

[Cowhead418]

Definately do not use Ghazis against unarmoured troops. I've used Ghazis against Peasants or Urban Militia with bad results. They won of course but lost way too many to my liking. Ghazis do much better against the enemy's elite armoured troops.

[Ludens]

I use Ghazis in conjunction with Saracen infantry as flankers to destroy heavy cavalry. They excel in this role and are better than Abyssinian guard in almost every respect except armour and that they are not elite.

Elite status only influences morale: elite units suffer less of a penalty when non-elites route. Since Ghazis are pretty much fire-and-forget troops, the lack of elite status does not really bother me. Their morale is sturdy enough anyway, and if they do get annihilated they don't take my elite troops with them when they rout. To be honest, I think Abyssinians would be better without it. Their morale is less but their fighting skill not much better, so they can get annihilated rather quickly.

Definately do not use Ghazis against unarmoured troops. I've used Ghazis against Peasants or Urban Militia with bad results. They won of course but lost way too many to my liking. Ghazis do much better against the enemy's elite armoured troops.

While I agree that they are better used against armour, Ghazis should not perform worse against peasants. After all, the AP bonus is never greater than the defensive bonus of the armour.

[Roark]

Ghazis dominate.

Great for ambushing, flanking, charging and... just killing in general.

[Scurvy]

hmm imk not a massive ghazi fan, i prefer nizaris anyway

[Cowhead418]

While I agree that they are better used against armour, Ghazis should not perform worse against peasants. After all, the AP bonus is never greater than the defensive bonus of the armour.

I never said they did worse against peasants. I'm just saying that since they have such low defense, they will take casualties against every unit, so it's not worth wasting them against peasants. Troops with even crappy defense can take on peasants with losing next to nothing. Considering the amount of casualties the Ghazis will take versus the amount of damage you are doing to your opponent by routing his peasants, you can see why it is not worthwhile to use them in this way.

[antisocialmunky]

It's not going to matter in the late game anyways, at that point you can build anything you want.

[Quietus]

I am playing a muslem faction seriously for the first time and I have to say, I love the Ghazi Infantry. I own Constantinople and will a master armorer there, I have been mass producing Ghazi and I have to be honest, I have seen them chew through Mongel Heavy Horse like their nothing. I'm not talking flanking either, I am talking headon charge and live to tell the tell. Sure, I had a somewhat good commander and I just killed Khan but still, I wish I built more of them.

Ghazis are perfect flankers though. Just put them on wedge. Instant rout!

[rvg]

I use Ghazis in conjunction with Saracen infantry as flankers to destroy heavy cavalry. They excel in this role and are better than Abyssinian guard in almost every respect except armour and that they are not elite. When attacking heavy cavalry head on through the ranks of the Saracens and under missile fire I prefer to deploy the abyssinians, armoured up, as they tend to survive alot longer. I keep the Ghazis near the flanks in readiness, preferably in the woods in order to protect them from missiles and cavalry charges and enable them to take on any cavalry stupid enough to venture in there.

Abyssinian guards do not evaporate on contact though. Ghazis have an excellent initial charge and all, but their staying power is nil and their death is pretty much guaranteed, unless they are flanking and arent counterattacked.

Abyssinians on the other hand (especially w/ the armor upgrade) routinely outlive their opponents in respectable numbers (usually about half a unit).

[acesman]

I like to use Ghazi Infantry as the Turks in early. At that stage in the game, the Turks have very few heavy hitters (Armenian Heavy and Khwarazmian Cavalry). If I need to kill a king or high general, pin him with Saracens, kill them with Ghazi. Not elegant, but effective.

[Mooks]

Don't we have modern day Ghazi infantry? Theyre called suicide bombers .

[Martok]

holybandit: And you had to make that comment in a GAME forum because....? C'mon man.

Not elegant, but effective.

Heh. I doubt anyone here will ever be accused of using the terms "elegant" and "Ghazi Infantry" in the same sentence. We know better.

[Roark]

Yeah, the Ghazi motto is: "And you will know us by the trail of dead..."

They are about as subtle as a brick through a window.