Top 5 best heavy cavalry civilizations.
Posted: 05 Dec 2018, 14:11
So, after the fiasco that was my "Which civilization has the best cavalry: The Sioux or the Indians" topic, I decided I would give a go on ust... Discussing what I consider to be the best cavalry civilizations in general. I thought I would start with heavy cavalry, and later make a topic to discuss light cavalry. Depending, I might do something similar for infantry and artillery later on, if these prove popular. Units that are not heavy cavalry in theirselves, but ARE typically used to support it can be considered, but only in how they help your heavy cavalry Allright, here we go!
#1: The French
I always found the Cuirassier/Skirmisher combo incredibly difficult to counter, especially on the Industrial age. Although the French certainly have more options then that, this is pretty much their go-to tactic on the late game. ... Yeah, not much else to say here.
#2: The Spanish.
Speaking on which, for a slightly rarer but still very powerfull, for very similar reasons combo... Lancers +Dragoons with Missionaires supporting the Dragoons with Unction is kind of ridiculous, perhaps even more so then the previous combo due to higher mobility I put it below the French, however, because the Spanish actually need to send out a card to have access to this little tactic. Also, as overpowered of a card as Unction may SEEM on paper, dont forget Missionairies are fairly vulnerable.
#3: The Sioux.
Now, why are these guys so low on the list? See, two of their heavy-cavalry units( The Dog Soldier, and the Prowlers ) have something about then which makes the either impratical, or impossible, to mass in too large numbers. The third cavalry unit( The Axe Rider ) is... Actually fairly powerfull, but let us face it, it is no Cuirassier. They also lack a proper Skirmisher-like unit, with their best support for heavy cavalry being the Rifle Rider( Which is... Actually pretty damn good if your opponent relies on heavy infantry, but going to prove to be a terrible combo against opponents who prefer abusing their light cavalry ), and the Wakina Rifle( Which is... Pretty much the only real counter to light cavalry the Sioux have. It is no Voltigeur Skirmisher, though. )
#4: The Russians.
Although they only really start shifting into being a cavalry civilization in the Industrial Age( Where population effectiveness becomes crucial ), the Russian Cossack is no laughing matter on that age. Its amazing population effectiveness almost makes up for how population innefective Russian infantry is... Almost. But, seriously now, in terms of population effectiveness, the Cossack might be the best cavalry in the game. Again, it is only so low on the list because A: Earlier on, other cavalry units( Like the ones used by the above civs ) are arguably better, and B: Like much of the rest of Russian units, its "quality over quantity" approach makes it particularly vulnerable to units with area damage( Namelly, Doppelsoldners, Samurai and the likes of that ).
#5: The Chinese
So, the Chinese have no lack of options where heavy cavalry is concerned. We have the Steppe Rider, which is kind of a interesting mid term between the Naginata Rider, the Oprichnik and the Cossack. It is cheap, a good counter against light infantry, can be massed in huge amounts and, with the right cards, gets a large attack bonus against villagers. Sadly, even considering the cards the Chinese have to upgrade then, they just arent as good in direct combat as the Cossacks, meaning they are mostly raiders and maybe Light Infantry counters. There is also the Iron Flails, which I personally deem to actually be underrated, as, again with the right cards, they are actually a bit-Better-Then the Steppe Rider, cost effectiveness-wise, against most units. With how the Chinese have few units with over two hundred base hit points, they are also just good all-around meatshields.
What convinced me, though, was the Meteor hammer. This heavy cavalry unit in unique as it is the only heavy cavalry unit that can attack at range, what allows it to, to a extent, if micromanaged well enough, counter some of its usual counters, like Halberdiers, Doppelsoldners etc. It still has enough attack and ranged armor to deal with light infantry as usual, but it is significantly more frail then most heavy cavalry, meaning it is actually quite vulnerable to other, superior heavy cavalry units. On the overral, just how much you will like the Meteor Hammer kind of depends on how good you are at micromanagement because, unlike most heavy cavalry, it is unwise to just have it charge at your opponent front line.
EDIT: Originally, the Indians were #5, but I decided to replace then with Chinese because I realised that, originally, I was focusing too much on their Steppe Riders on my analysis and too little on other, usefull units like the Meteor Hammer.
#1: The French
I always found the Cuirassier/Skirmisher combo incredibly difficult to counter, especially on the Industrial age. Although the French certainly have more options then that, this is pretty much their go-to tactic on the late game. ... Yeah, not much else to say here.
#2: The Spanish.
Speaking on which, for a slightly rarer but still very powerfull, for very similar reasons combo... Lancers +Dragoons with Missionaires supporting the Dragoons with Unction is kind of ridiculous, perhaps even more so then the previous combo due to higher mobility I put it below the French, however, because the Spanish actually need to send out a card to have access to this little tactic. Also, as overpowered of a card as Unction may SEEM on paper, dont forget Missionairies are fairly vulnerable.
#3: The Sioux.
Now, why are these guys so low on the list? See, two of their heavy-cavalry units( The Dog Soldier, and the Prowlers ) have something about then which makes the either impratical, or impossible, to mass in too large numbers. The third cavalry unit( The Axe Rider ) is... Actually fairly powerfull, but let us face it, it is no Cuirassier. They also lack a proper Skirmisher-like unit, with their best support for heavy cavalry being the Rifle Rider( Which is... Actually pretty damn good if your opponent relies on heavy infantry, but going to prove to be a terrible combo against opponents who prefer abusing their light cavalry ), and the Wakina Rifle( Which is... Pretty much the only real counter to light cavalry the Sioux have. It is no Voltigeur Skirmisher, though. )
#4: The Russians.
Although they only really start shifting into being a cavalry civilization in the Industrial Age( Where population effectiveness becomes crucial ), the Russian Cossack is no laughing matter on that age. Its amazing population effectiveness almost makes up for how population innefective Russian infantry is... Almost. But, seriously now, in terms of population effectiveness, the Cossack might be the best cavalry in the game. Again, it is only so low on the list because A: Earlier on, other cavalry units( Like the ones used by the above civs ) are arguably better, and B: Like much of the rest of Russian units, its "quality over quantity" approach makes it particularly vulnerable to units with area damage( Namelly, Doppelsoldners, Samurai and the likes of that ).
#5: The Chinese
So, the Chinese have no lack of options where heavy cavalry is concerned. We have the Steppe Rider, which is kind of a interesting mid term between the Naginata Rider, the Oprichnik and the Cossack. It is cheap, a good counter against light infantry, can be massed in huge amounts and, with the right cards, gets a large attack bonus against villagers. Sadly, even considering the cards the Chinese have to upgrade then, they just arent as good in direct combat as the Cossacks, meaning they are mostly raiders and maybe Light Infantry counters. There is also the Iron Flails, which I personally deem to actually be underrated, as, again with the right cards, they are actually a bit-Better-Then the Steppe Rider, cost effectiveness-wise, against most units. With how the Chinese have few units with over two hundred base hit points, they are also just good all-around meatshields.
What convinced me, though, was the Meteor hammer. This heavy cavalry unit in unique as it is the only heavy cavalry unit that can attack at range, what allows it to, to a extent, if micromanaged well enough, counter some of its usual counters, like Halberdiers, Doppelsoldners etc. It still has enough attack and ranged armor to deal with light infantry as usual, but it is significantly more frail then most heavy cavalry, meaning it is actually quite vulnerable to other, superior heavy cavalry units. On the overral, just how much you will like the Meteor Hammer kind of depends on how good you are at micromanagement because, unlike most heavy cavalry, it is unwise to just have it charge at your opponent front line.
EDIT: Originally, the Indians were #5, but I decided to replace then with Chinese because I realised that, originally, I was focusing too much on their Steppe Riders on my analysis and too little on other, usefull units like the Meteor Hammer.