Never realized how good the Mamluks are!

[gta_140]

Last night I was playing as egypt and got attacked by a larger KoJ army in open field. I knew I was going to lose but I wanted to kill as many of them as possible. The battle boils down to them with about 4 nearly full units of Templar spearmen and me with 1 unit of Mamluks and 1 mamluk archers. I ran the Mamluks to the corner of the screen and just drove the mamluk archers straight into their charging spearmen over and over...won the game. How did they not slaughter me? Anyway, I have a newfound respect for the Mamluks. Anyone else have such success with them?

[Point Blank]

Mamluks are elite units, have AP maces and good terrain and heat advantages on their home turf.

[TheLastPrivate]

They don't have killer stats but combine different elements together and they are actually very good cavalry.

[Bacon!]

i despise the Mamluks, mostly because a never play as the Fatamids and i play as KOJ and the Templars quite a bit, but yes they are funky units

[frederickm]

from vanilla, I'll tell you mamluks are the best cavalry, they are low req to build in comparison, and 2 on 1 you could easily take on gothic knights or whatever, and you could train up to 4 mamluks when they couldn't train gothic knights

[aduellist]

From what I've seen fighting against them, they are truly deserving of their Elite status. They've earned the coveted "kill them first" status on my Fatimid Target List.

[Skooma Addict]

Mamluks are elite warriors of the undying armies of the Fatimids. They are all-powerful and if your playing as Egypt you will learn to love them.

[Nikos]

Many a time have by poor Byz. Infantry been destroyed by a mamluk charge.

[Skooma Addict]

They, alongside Fatimid generals, are the reason I call the Fatimids the Armies of the Undying. Their cavalry are immortal. Not only that, mamluk infantry are monsters as well.

[Stark of Winterfell]

I'm glad I killed Egypt before they got a fortress in my most recent Byz campaign.

[eternalsteelfan]

These are the guys who kicked Mongolian ass, after all.

[TheLastPrivate]

Mongol only lost 2 generals.ever. in their conquests.
First, Kitbuqa - captured and killed by Mamluks in the battle of Ain Jalut
Second, Sartai - killed by a Korean monk civilian resistance leader named Yunhu Kim in the battle of Cheo-In Seong, sniped by his arrow.

[Mune]

Not really Mamluk-related, but my biggest annoyance in my Templar campaign was when the Fatamids decided to recruit some Kwarezmian merc cavalry. They may be expensive as heck, but hey, they're practically lategame cavalry which can be recruited very early. They might have a mace as well, I don't recall...

Play as the Fatamids and try and work your way north. Outside of the desert, the Mamluk's start to lose their 'wow' factor.

[Skooma Addict]

Not really Mamluk-related, but my biggest annoyance in my Templar campaign was when the Fatamids decided to recruit some Kwarezmian merc cavalry. They may be expensive as heck, but hey, they're practically lategame cavalry which can be recruited very early. They might have a mace as well, I don't recall...

Play as the Fatamids and try and work your way north. Outside of the desert, the Mamluk's start to lose their 'wow' factor.

Just how far north?

[frederickm]

Play as the Fatamids and try and work your way north. Outside of the desert, the Mamluk's start to lose their 'wow' factor.

Dunno bout SS, but in Vanilla my mamluks pwned all the Western knights simply because I could train them in a fortress and they need Citadels.

[Gogolometro]

Mune Templars have the answer for mameluks, they sargent spearman only sargent are not, more like armored.They get the mace infantry whatis very good vs armor.Is clear many turns you will get stuck with HA cavalry but they work excelent.Is very hard to play with norman/franks western civilisation like a eastern faction if you dont get it they are western only at high/late units.At start this cristian faction only religion make them to look different.True at early Templars are just a turkish faction.
Nothing can make them to be underestimate, templars rock vs muslims.
One situation happend in a battle vs turks lead by their sultan.Their spahi lancers and othoman infantry need to face my turkopoles and mace infantry suported by some sarasin mercs and of course peasant crossbows.I manage to rout them except 3 reinforcement of spahii and the sultan who start to charge, target my chilaros general.This is the skooma nightmare.My answer was i put all my soldiers to atack the sultan.My general was harmeless( icharge the last 3 spahiis with him) and my infantry after suported 3 charges of turk sultan finally killed the 24 bodyguards and sultan himself.Not pyric victory at all my units are very cheap.
About fattys and mameluks the best counter in my opinion are the iberian factions because they tolerate well the heat and the javelins based cavalry and infantry are very efficient.
Wanna suffer less penalty from desert heat use templars or hispanic factions, far but effective.
How north is the bonus of desert what boost fattys?I can say the Baghdad - Antiochia line is the limit of the desert dogs.

[Skooma Addict]

That is still a pretty good expanse of bonus territory. They have the holy lands on lock-down.