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Having written a post that touched on the PTW units in an overall evaluation of the new tribes, it occurred to me that it might be handy just to talk about the units themselves.
Caveats:
1) A big "IMHO" on all of this.
2) I am almost exclusively playing MP these days- I'll touch on SP, but my focus is MP.
3) I am not comparing or discussing the "Old Tribes" in this in any way, except to reference against the new folks.
4) Though I don’t draw on his ideas or really pull from his post, this was inspired by RobC’s “A Strategic Analysis of the Special Units” which can be found here:
Alphabetical order to avoid my personal biases:
Arabia's Ansar Warrior
The Arabians decided to lighten their armor to ride faster, mostly. The end result is a slightly cheaper unit – 10 shields – with one less defense and one more movement at 4/2/3. The defense isn’t a major issue since you can usually hit and run. Depending on how much exploring you’ve done and how fast the game is developing, the Ansar might be the “Ansar” to your prayers. With a decent road network (a must for solid MP defense), these guys can fly around the map, threatening – or defending – in multiple locations. This can be nice if you’ve done ‘too’ well at the start and are the target of your peers. They still require Iron and Horses, though, which might leave you vulnerable to “resource snipping” or simply not having them to begin with. On the flip side, you can probably defend your resources quickly with these fellas. A moderate improvement over knights. Appears at a useful time for triggering GA. Overall: B
Carthage’s Numidian Mercenary
Carthage may boast the most powerful cultural unit in the expansion. Not impressed by the Greek efforts at defense, the Carthaginians went further, giving added attack to their unit, clocking in at a beefy 2-3-1. While as expensive as a Swordsman, the Num Merc has the potential for all kinds of mischief – and can be built resource free from Bronze Working. Carthage’s industrial workers should be able to help with the cost. With the ability to close down warriors and archers offensively, and sneer at them on defense, the Num Merc can make quite a career out of pillage-and-harass tactics, as well as actually threatening spearman-held cities in moderate numbers. Sure, the Num Merc is down to one hitpoint that killed your spearman, but the other Merc in the square is at full…. Very powerful unit, only slightly hampered by its cost. Minor twitch preventing an A+ - a war campaign run with these triggers a GA almost too early, even for MP, which benefits from early GA’s. Overall: A
The Celt’s Gallic Swordsman
The most serious competition for Carthage’s claim to “best new UU” comes from the Celts. Apparently the Gallic Swordsmen got used to running away when they were children (being teased about your checkered pants can do that) because they are swordsmen with a chance to retreat now – 3/2/2 units. Nearly being double-cost as compared to normal swordsmen isn’t fun, but being able to pull back after an attack ensures that you won’t lose them as fast as the normal iron-wavers, either. As long as you have iron, the Gallics can be a very serious threat in the Ancient Era. If you mean to do serious damage with them, they trigger a GA at a pretty decent time. A perfect rating only withheld due to the need for Iron (minor problem) and cost (slightly larger, but still minor problem): A-
Korea’s Hwach’a
I’m not a big fan of artillery as a rule, but the Hwach’a does present some interesting possibilities…..with one LARGE problem: most MP games don’t progress far enough for the Hwach’a to emerge. If we ignore that fact, and the “Mixed marching army” that would be needed to use artillery (most of the reason I don’t like them) then they pack a ferocious punch that even Infantry- coming much later- wince at. Interesting but untried possibility: take ONLY a defensive unit or two with your Hwach’a and hammer a town with a few of them. Hwach'a’s can kill, after all, and then you take your ready-made force in to defend your new, empty town. If I was forced to use Korea in a multiplayer and managed to stay alive this long, I’d plop two of these in all of my front line cities with a musketman and grin.. nothing would come through them. Saltpeter is an issue, but visible long before you can make these, so securing some probably isn’t a problem. GA, if you can even trigger them with artillery (can you?) happens at a time that might give you a shot at a few nice things, depending on how research is run: Adam Smith, Magellan, or maybe even Universal Sufferage. Bottom line though: still artillery, so you can’t take it for a walk alone. Overall: C+
Mongolia’s Keshik
I readily admit I was hoping for something a LOT more impressive for the Mongols. A Horde unit maybe? 6 attack, 4 defense, 3 movement, appears maybe around invention and costs a bundle? Instead, we get the Keshik…. A 4/2/2 unit which is somehow… lacking. The poor man’s knight is economical- no iron required, and 10 less shields, and mountain crossing thrown in. Honestly though, huge mountain chains that you can’t run around aren’t THAT common, and if you attack-and-retreat, your mountain movement bonus isn’t that exciting. If they could ignore mountain defense when they attacked someone in mountains, you’d have something. As it is now, an okay unit, but nothing to go crazy over. The lowered cost might mean fielding more of them, and not needing iron could well make a difference, but the unit is still…. unimpressive. Like the Mongols overall, strictly average. Oh yeah- pretty good time to trigger a GA, which you might need to launch this yawner Civ to victory. Graded: C
Spain’s Conquistador
An odd little unit that really can’t be compared to its non-cultural counterpart, the explorer. In MP, this unit appears so late as to be almost a non-factor, but if you made it this far, it’d be interesting to play with. The Conquistador gives you a reason to research exploration on a Pangea, which is certainly new. As an invading unit, the Conquistador isn’t very impressive- Cavalry can begin appearing around the same time, or within a short time frame. The Conquistador’s strength lies heavily in its speed- 6 squares a turn no matter what (!) is nothing to sneeze at. These are your assassins of leaders, kidnappers of workers, thieves of resources, and pillagers of lands (hmm…well, that’s historically accurate enough) and, again, assuming a MP game got that far, could really drive opponents nuts, severing roads and then riding off, cutting off access to luxuries, resources, and so on. Expense-wise, they’re even with the knight, the unit many folks unfairly hold them up against. The only significant problem with these guys is that they’re fragile in the era they arrive in, and they arrive awfully late for MP action. In packs of 3 or 4 though, they can be wolverines to really harass your lands. Interesting time to trigger a Golden Age, but might be too late for Adam Smith or Newton. Magellan’s is a possibility, as might be Universal….but we’re talking SP for sure now. Overall: B
The Ottoman Empire’s Sipahi
Already modified by the powers-that-be, the formerly 7/3/3 Sipahi is now 8/3/3. Replacing cavalry, they do a great job of crushing musketmen and a decent job of facing down Riflemen (although city walls, rivers, etc ensure you need to bring plenty of friends.) Requiring no more resources than cavalry, they’re pretty nice guys- but again, in the MP arena, they appear awfully late to make a real difference. In the SP arena, they pack a nice punch and can bring that punch shooting down the roads their Industrious people have built. Hey, who knows, as a scientific culture maybe an Ottoman player will see them before the MP game is pretty much decided. Arrival will trigger a GA helping to build Universal Suffering or your masses of factories, but not much else. Overall: B-
Scandanavia’s Viking Berserker
The Berserker holds the distinction of being the only marine-attack-capable unit for a LONG time in the game, and his 6 attack suggests that he’s willing to give it a shot for most of that time frame. His 2 defense can be ignored if he’s on a boat (make sure to defend that boat!) which can make him a real terror to deal with – you might have to raze that city, though, because Berserkers don’t hold things very well. However- and here’s the big caveat- if you aren’t playing an archipelago or continent (with lots of water) map, the Berserker takes a major nosedive. Effectively a Persian Immortal v2.0 on land, they are powerful attackers but very vulnerable to the charge of a knight on defense- this is not a unit that wants to walk through a grassland without the company of some pikemen. Using them in tandem with a pike-waver makes them quite viable moving across land, but we’re still looking at a decent amount of resources for a slow-moving attack in an era where knights are everywhere. At the same cost as a knight with no required resources (no iron in that axe?) they’re probably still worth the effort, but you have to know how to use them. Their appearance during Invention is timed to give you a decent chance at Leonardo, but not much else, unless people have been slacking off in the race for the Sistine or Sun-Tzu’s. Overall: A+ if they can be used as marines, C+ if restricted to land only.
Once again, please feel free to let me know what you think.
Caveats:
1) A big "IMHO" on all of this.
2) I am almost exclusively playing MP these days- I'll touch on SP, but my focus is MP.
3) I am not comparing or discussing the "Old Tribes" in this in any way, except to reference against the new folks.
4) Though I don’t draw on his ideas or really pull from his post, this was inspired by RobC’s “A Strategic Analysis of the Special Units” which can be found here:
Alphabetical order to avoid my personal biases:
Arabia's Ansar Warrior
The Arabians decided to lighten their armor to ride faster, mostly. The end result is a slightly cheaper unit – 10 shields – with one less defense and one more movement at 4/2/3. The defense isn’t a major issue since you can usually hit and run. Depending on how much exploring you’ve done and how fast the game is developing, the Ansar might be the “Ansar” to your prayers. With a decent road network (a must for solid MP defense), these guys can fly around the map, threatening – or defending – in multiple locations. This can be nice if you’ve done ‘too’ well at the start and are the target of your peers. They still require Iron and Horses, though, which might leave you vulnerable to “resource snipping” or simply not having them to begin with. On the flip side, you can probably defend your resources quickly with these fellas. A moderate improvement over knights. Appears at a useful time for triggering GA. Overall: B
Carthage’s Numidian Mercenary
Carthage may boast the most powerful cultural unit in the expansion. Not impressed by the Greek efforts at defense, the Carthaginians went further, giving added attack to their unit, clocking in at a beefy 2-3-1. While as expensive as a Swordsman, the Num Merc has the potential for all kinds of mischief – and can be built resource free from Bronze Working. Carthage’s industrial workers should be able to help with the cost. With the ability to close down warriors and archers offensively, and sneer at them on defense, the Num Merc can make quite a career out of pillage-and-harass tactics, as well as actually threatening spearman-held cities in moderate numbers. Sure, the Num Merc is down to one hitpoint that killed your spearman, but the other Merc in the square is at full…. Very powerful unit, only slightly hampered by its cost. Minor twitch preventing an A+ - a war campaign run with these triggers a GA almost too early, even for MP, which benefits from early GA’s. Overall: A
The Celt’s Gallic Swordsman
The most serious competition for Carthage’s claim to “best new UU” comes from the Celts. Apparently the Gallic Swordsmen got used to running away when they were children (being teased about your checkered pants can do that) because they are swordsmen with a chance to retreat now – 3/2/2 units. Nearly being double-cost as compared to normal swordsmen isn’t fun, but being able to pull back after an attack ensures that you won’t lose them as fast as the normal iron-wavers, either. As long as you have iron, the Gallics can be a very serious threat in the Ancient Era. If you mean to do serious damage with them, they trigger a GA at a pretty decent time. A perfect rating only withheld due to the need for Iron (minor problem) and cost (slightly larger, but still minor problem): A-
Korea’s Hwach’a
I’m not a big fan of artillery as a rule, but the Hwach’a does present some interesting possibilities…..with one LARGE problem: most MP games don’t progress far enough for the Hwach’a to emerge. If we ignore that fact, and the “Mixed marching army” that would be needed to use artillery (most of the reason I don’t like them) then they pack a ferocious punch that even Infantry- coming much later- wince at. Interesting but untried possibility: take ONLY a defensive unit or two with your Hwach’a and hammer a town with a few of them. Hwach'a’s can kill, after all, and then you take your ready-made force in to defend your new, empty town. If I was forced to use Korea in a multiplayer and managed to stay alive this long, I’d plop two of these in all of my front line cities with a musketman and grin.. nothing would come through them. Saltpeter is an issue, but visible long before you can make these, so securing some probably isn’t a problem. GA, if you can even trigger them with artillery (can you?) happens at a time that might give you a shot at a few nice things, depending on how research is run: Adam Smith, Magellan, or maybe even Universal Sufferage. Bottom line though: still artillery, so you can’t take it for a walk alone. Overall: C+
Mongolia’s Keshik
I readily admit I was hoping for something a LOT more impressive for the Mongols. A Horde unit maybe? 6 attack, 4 defense, 3 movement, appears maybe around invention and costs a bundle? Instead, we get the Keshik…. A 4/2/2 unit which is somehow… lacking. The poor man’s knight is economical- no iron required, and 10 less shields, and mountain crossing thrown in. Honestly though, huge mountain chains that you can’t run around aren’t THAT common, and if you attack-and-retreat, your mountain movement bonus isn’t that exciting. If they could ignore mountain defense when they attacked someone in mountains, you’d have something. As it is now, an okay unit, but nothing to go crazy over. The lowered cost might mean fielding more of them, and not needing iron could well make a difference, but the unit is still…. unimpressive. Like the Mongols overall, strictly average. Oh yeah- pretty good time to trigger a GA, which you might need to launch this yawner Civ to victory. Graded: C
Spain’s Conquistador
An odd little unit that really can’t be compared to its non-cultural counterpart, the explorer. In MP, this unit appears so late as to be almost a non-factor, but if you made it this far, it’d be interesting to play with. The Conquistador gives you a reason to research exploration on a Pangea, which is certainly new. As an invading unit, the Conquistador isn’t very impressive- Cavalry can begin appearing around the same time, or within a short time frame. The Conquistador’s strength lies heavily in its speed- 6 squares a turn no matter what (!) is nothing to sneeze at. These are your assassins of leaders, kidnappers of workers, thieves of resources, and pillagers of lands (hmm…well, that’s historically accurate enough) and, again, assuming a MP game got that far, could really drive opponents nuts, severing roads and then riding off, cutting off access to luxuries, resources, and so on. Expense-wise, they’re even with the knight, the unit many folks unfairly hold them up against. The only significant problem with these guys is that they’re fragile in the era they arrive in, and they arrive awfully late for MP action. In packs of 3 or 4 though, they can be wolverines to really harass your lands. Interesting time to trigger a Golden Age, but might be too late for Adam Smith or Newton. Magellan’s is a possibility, as might be Universal….but we’re talking SP for sure now. Overall: B
The Ottoman Empire’s Sipahi
Already modified by the powers-that-be, the formerly 7/3/3 Sipahi is now 8/3/3. Replacing cavalry, they do a great job of crushing musketmen and a decent job of facing down Riflemen (although city walls, rivers, etc ensure you need to bring plenty of friends.) Requiring no more resources than cavalry, they’re pretty nice guys- but again, in the MP arena, they appear awfully late to make a real difference. In the SP arena, they pack a nice punch and can bring that punch shooting down the roads their Industrious people have built. Hey, who knows, as a scientific culture maybe an Ottoman player will see them before the MP game is pretty much decided. Arrival will trigger a GA helping to build Universal Suffering or your masses of factories, but not much else. Overall: B-
Scandanavia’s Viking Berserker
The Berserker holds the distinction of being the only marine-attack-capable unit for a LONG time in the game, and his 6 attack suggests that he’s willing to give it a shot for most of that time frame. His 2 defense can be ignored if he’s on a boat (make sure to defend that boat!) which can make him a real terror to deal with – you might have to raze that city, though, because Berserkers don’t hold things very well. However- and here’s the big caveat- if you aren’t playing an archipelago or continent (with lots of water) map, the Berserker takes a major nosedive. Effectively a Persian Immortal v2.0 on land, they are powerful attackers but very vulnerable to the charge of a knight on defense- this is not a unit that wants to walk through a grassland without the company of some pikemen. Using them in tandem with a pike-waver makes them quite viable moving across land, but we’re still looking at a decent amount of resources for a slow-moving attack in an era where knights are everywhere. At the same cost as a knight with no required resources (no iron in that axe?) they’re probably still worth the effort, but you have to know how to use them. Their appearance during Invention is timed to give you a decent chance at Leonardo, but not much else, unless people have been slacking off in the race for the Sistine or Sun-Tzu’s. Overall: A+ if they can be used as marines, C+ if restricted to land only.
Once again, please feel free to let me know what you think.
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