Are camels a good unit to have in army?

[Mithrandir]

Where is Mithrandir when you need him !

Here I am! :)
I can only speak for MTW VI, but if camels are anything in RTW like they were in MTW, you're ok with my advice...

Camels are great in Arid regions ( deserts ) but lack the charge power a regular unit of cavalry has.

Camels are good to have in your army if you're planning on facing horse based enemies. Camels get a combat bonus against horses, and are an effective anti-cav unit.

True,though the lower charge is no problem.

Keep in mind though, prolonged melee is never good for a mounted unit, and it most certainly isn't for a camel unit - armoured or not.

Unless you pit you camels vs cavelry, then there's no problem.

Best thing to do is take a couple of Camels ( about 3 ) in your army, then concentrate them on the enemy (cav) bodyguard, when the latter is engaged in battle.

Depends on your style, I used to take 4 or 5 units of camels ,seeing how they could very well rout enemy cav within a few minutes, after which you had a very decent melee unit left for encircling the enemy.

Camels aren;t the best units, even against horses, and thus they suffer even head on against the better cav. units you might see later in the game.
So if you do wish to use camels, bring on a few of them and concentrate on one enemy cav. unit for best effect.

I always liked you and respected your posts...until now...

There is no better unit than camels!

seriously, back in the ol' days with my almohad army, none stood up to them, I had them at Valour 3 (cheaper than v0 lancers I think) and they never lost to another melee cav unit, arid,desert or even lush terrain. Just make sure your camels face off vs cav and don;t get too much morale penalties.

My strategy was usually very dependent upon camels : have strong infantry (AUM&militia sergs V3 / V4 on 15k) holding&killing the enemy infantry,at least 3 very well armoured pav arbs, or other shooters to make sure the enemy has to appraoch and pitted my camels vs the cav, while the melee was going on, the cav on the flanks were seen off by my camels, which would then charge the infantry in the back..

Almost a fail proof plan, only when the enemy outguns you and has horse archers it may prove to be difficult...

Couldn't agree more :)