Favorite faction in Viking Invasion?

[Martok]

Yep, I'm putting up another poll already. I guess I'm feeling slightly frivolous this week.

So how about it? Who do you like to play as in VI? My personal favorite is probably the Mercians, with the Irish a close second.

I know the Mercians are one of the easier factions, but I think I like them simply for the fact that they tend to be in the "middle of the action". Whatever major events are going on in the British Isles, odds are good the Mercians are involved in it.

As for the Irish, I like their unique and varied unit roster, as well as the fact that the Emerald Isle provides some good avenues for early expansion with independent provinces available for conquest. (That, and I'm part Irish. )

[Swiss Halberd Pike Landsknecht]

I like all the factions

but I think the one I tend to lean most to (at least recently) are the Picts, although I can't fully explain why, I guess part of it could also be a certain interest in the Pict tribes at the time (even though I'm interested in the whole of the British Isles)

I would have voted, but I can't yet

[Sensei Warrior]

The Welsh rock. I'm not sure why though, they are the ones I played first, and I consistantly have the most fun with. The list in order of most to least is:

1. The Welsh
2. The Picts - alot of touch and go with these at first, but once they start goin ... hooo boy!
3. The Irish - same as Martok
4. The Scots - Gotta love the Clan.
5. The Mercians - in the middle of it from start to finish, but we're starting to move into the dregs. I honestly don't play these guys much.
6. The Saxons - They're allright, but too much like playing on easy mode.
7. The Northumbrians - I don't think I've ever played these guys so I should prolly shake up a game to see if they're worth a higher ranking.
8. The Vikings - The interest of playing a Pagan faction soon wears off. To much steam rolling across the map for me.

[Swiss Halberd Pike Landsknecht]

I'm just really glad I got the expansion with the game (as I got MTW Gold)

I remember at the time they also had MTW (by itself), but knew I had to get VI, as I had a lot of interest in the era and tribes.

[drone]

I don't really like playing the huscarl factions, I just find that too easy. Not a fan of the Welsh either, I'm just not very good with missile troops. My favs are the Scots and the Irish, I guess. The Scots are in a tough spot, a divided kingdom (but a foothold on both islands is nice!), and no AP troops to fend off the Vikings or Saxon/Mercian hordes. The Irish are a little easier, although making the jump across the sea can be tough. Their troop makeup means you have to play differently than usual, so it's fun and you get a chance to be creative.

[Xehh II]

I like either the Vikings or the Saxons.

[caravel]

1) Irish
2) Welsh
3) Picts
4) Scots
5) Huscarl Factions (all equally disappointing)

[Agent Miles]

The Irish. You've got to love turtle island!

[Tratorix]

Picts all the way. They're quite challenging, since the vikings usually decide to give you a good rading at some point. It's also nice to be the only faction with crossbows . Definitely come in handy against huscarls.

[Ayachuco]

Welsh Bandits are awesome!!!
Besides that I like to boot the Saxon invaders and reclaim Britain.
Whenever I don't want to mess with archers, I go with the Scots.

[Swiss Halberd Pike Landsknecht]

Picts all the way. They're quite challenging, since the vikings usually decide to give you a good rading at some point. It's also nice to be the only faction with crossbows . Definitely come in handy against huscarls.

Hello My Pictish Brother

[professorspatula]

Well I like the Saxons as sometimes it's nice to be a superior force and bully your neighbours into submission with your heavy troops that make the celtic style warriors flee in panic. I think the Saxon campaign is the only MTW campaign I ever finished.... by winning.

I like the Welsh too. Played their campaign just to get the Welsh Bandits. Of course many, many years in and I'm no closer to getting them and I suspect the fate of the Welsh is decided well before you can train them. Their celtic warriors are interesting too - just throw them at the enemy spearmen and watch them slaughter them.... whilst dying horribly themselves. It's an interesting campaign being stuck next to the two most powerful factions in the campaign: the Mercians and Saxons, (the Vikings never do much). Whoever you attempt to attack, the other one just ends up growing more powerful whilst you find yourself stretched. I stopped playing the campaign when after beating the Saxons, I was faced with a mega-rich Mercian army bordering half my regions and with massive spearmen armies led by about 10 x 6-8* generals. How can my puny celtic warriors compete, especially when the Huscarles finally arrive?? Heh I must continue the campaign to see.

So overall, I'm torn between the Saxons and Welsh. If I could train those Welsh bandits without needing a ridiculous level of technology then I'd definitely opt for the men from the valleys.

[bamff]

I'll preface this by noting that I have yet to play all VI factions, but of those I have tried thus far...

1) Picts
2) Northumbrians
3) Mercians
4) Saxons
5) Vikings

...and the gap between 1 and 2 is widening the further my current campaign goes.

Northumbria rated higher with me than Mercia or the Saxons just because their positioning leant itself tio a greater challenge.

[Roark]

Picts by a long shot.

[macsen rufus]

I voted Welsh - they were the first faction I tried in VI, so it's more of a "first love" thing than anything rational It is one of the more challenging ones I find. But I also like the Irish, and would probably put the Northumbrians third, as they're in a difficult position for a "huscarle" faction. It's all about border management with the Northumbrians.

I think the Scots are my least favourite, due to their total lack of armour-piercing weapons. Until I tried the Scots, every MTW and VI campaign I'd played I'd taken through to 100% - with the Scots I was more than happy to accept the 60%, just to end the misery of hacking into huscarles with clansmen. It was just a long, slow, miserable bloodbath. The Picts are easier/more fun but I have serious doubts about the Pictish crossbow - the only basis for this is a rock carving, which probably only shows they once saw Roman crossbows. It's probably just as safe a conclusion as 'tribesmen in Papua New Guinea have made pictures of aircraft, therefore they must have an airforce'.

[Geezer57]

The Welsh are my favorite VI faction, although their campaign is far more challenging than most at the start, as the starting roster is quite lackluster. By the time you've teched up to Welsh Bandits, the game is essentially already won - I do love playing with them though ...

The Irish run a close 2nd place for me - gotta love those javelins/heavy throwing spears!

[Passatempo]

actually, i've never played VI =P

[Martok]

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll second bamff in confessing I've not played all the VI factions myself. For some reason, I've never gotten around to playing as the the Picts or Northumbrians. Going by a number of people's comments, however, I may have to give the former a try once my PC is up and running again.

actually, i've never played VI =P

That's a genuine shame, Roman Lord. I heartily recommend you try and find a copy of it if at all possible -- it really adds a lot to the original game.

[Ayachuco]

Alright, the Welsh are making a comeback...
All we have to do now is knock those Picts off the Island and we will be victorious. (POLL Results)

[Glyndwr in the Soke]

And now lets go, all you Welsh:

Four lions on a shield... we're coming home, we're coming home, we're coming, Welshmen coming home...

Apologies to those of you who don't know that song, and to Welsh who dislike English footy songs.

Cannot vote, but here are my results:

1) Welsh - Arrows rule. Souped-up Celtic Warriors do, too. And lets take our Island back!
2) Irish - Javelins rock. Souped-up Celtic Warriors with heavy Javelins (Bonnachts) rock even more.
3) Northumbrians - First ever game I finished in VI. And a nice struggle it was, too. Huscarles balanced by bad starting situation. Woodsmen, anyone?
4) Picts - I seem unable to finish, but the unit roster is very interesting.
5) Vikings - Pagan, pagan, pagan...
6) Mercians - Interesting additional units.
7) Saxons - Boring unit roster.
8) Scots - Boring unit roster, and just a Highland Charge to show for it.

[Swiss Halberd Pike Landsknecht]

Roman Lord, I'd def recommend VI

also regarding the Welsh

yesterday I hanged up a large Welsh Flag on my wall
I'm not Welsh, but I do like the flag a lot, especially becuase of the Y Ddraig Goch (red dragon)

[Passatempo]

That's a genuine shame, Roman Lord. I heartily recommend you try and find a copy of it if at all possible -- it really adds a lot to the original game.

actually, i have the game installed, but i always play in the early era...
i guess ill give it a try

[Martok]

actually, i have the game installed, but i always play in the early era...
i guess ill give it a try

[drone]

actually, i have the game installed, but i always play in the early era...
i guess ill give it a try

It's a shorter campaign, and the different map and viking raids mix things up a little. I prefer it now, since I only get a few hours a week of game time.

Nobody else has any love for the Scots? They've got the coolest uniforms!

and not much else, which can be fun in it's on way...

[Sensei Warrior]

I'll chime in again even though I already voted. Played the Northumbrians to see what they're like. I put them in at the top of the 'Huscarle' factions, their bad position keeps it interesting until you gain your footing.

The Welsh are still number one. I think I figured out why. Welsh Bandits. I've always wanted to use them, put generally my games have ended long before I've tached up to them. This one is close, I'll have them in the next couple of years to use against the Northumbrians, Picts, and Scots.

[Martok]

Nobody else has any love for the Scots? They've got the coolest uniforms!

and not much else, which can be fun in it's on way...

Actually, I like the Scots just fine....just not as much as other factions.


Overall, I would rank the VI factions in the following order:

1.) Mercians
2.) Irish
3.) Scots
4.) Welsh
5.) Vikings
6.) Saxons

(Picts & Northumbrians remain untried.)

[Passatempo]

why no one likes the saxons?

whats the problem with them?

[Brandy Blue]

I haven't played all the factions yet, so I don't feel ready to vote, but I think the answer to Roman Lord's question is that the Saxons are too easy. Once you have beat the Mercians, you have access to tons of gold, and two locations that are teched up (or close to it) to crank out huscarls. Also, you have a handy location right from the start to produce +1 horsemen. Tech them up to +2, and who even needs mounted nobles? Then you can take Cantware, and get fyrdmen with +1 province bonus, and take the Welsh province I can't remember the name of (my apologies to you Welsh and Welsh-o-philes out there) which gives a +1 valor bonus to archers. Well, once you've done all that, its just too easy. The only part of "all that" which was even a challenge was taking down the Mercians, and even that's not too bad.

At least if you play the Mercians, the lack of challenge is somewhat made up for by your location. You are in the middle of it all, and can get yourself a three way war going, if you want to make life more challenging. The Saxons don't even have to worry about Viking raids. By the time they can reach you, you should have some sort of navy up and running.

That said, I played the Saxons once and had a lot of fun. Conquest was not much of a challenge, so I turtled for a change and got some killer units.

[Sensei Warrior]

I agree with Brandy Blue, outside of the Vikings, the Saxons are the easiest to win with. You have the sea at your back, decent provences, and Huscarles. Your main competitor is Mercia, but once you get them out of the way is smooth sailing to endgame. The Vikings could cause some problems, but not as many problems as your non-Huscarle neighbors. You can at least fight them unit for unit, or reasonably so.

Also, I've played the Saxons once. It's alot of fun whoppin the stuffing out of the other factions. Mercia was my only problem. I let them build up a little to much (they threw a princess my way I think) so it was a real down and dirty little scrap with the Welsh joining in to scavenge what they could. After that mess was over I plowed through the rest of the map.

[Martok]

why no one likes the saxons?

whats the problem with them?

Sensei Warrior and Brandy Blue have it nailed: The Saxons are too easy after a while. They're an excellent choice if you're trying out the Viking Invasion campaign for the first time, though. (Hint, hint.)