Thank god for Mamluk Archers

[Dave Strider]

These guys simply rock. I just played a battle where I was egypt against the Byzzies; Hard difficulty. My army had 4 units of Mamluks along with 2 Tabardariyya, 4 Sudanese tribesmen, a bodyguard, and 8 Saracen Militia against a byzantine army of 9 Byzantine spearmen, 2 Byzantine Infantry, 2 Varangian Guard, 2 Latinkon(dismounted), 4 Militia Cavalry and a General.

I thought I was dead when the majority of my army routed. I only had my mamluks left and I saw an enemy unit with shaky morale. I charged it and noticed nearby unit's morale dropping, so I charged them. I did this until the ENTIRE BYZANTINE ARMY was routing.

I say again, thank god for Mamluk Archers.

[Double A]

They're the most badass high era HAs in the game. Like... medium cavalry... or something.

[Dave Strider]

As far as I am concerned, they're some of the best cavalry in the game, and in campaign they're available from the start in Gaza.

[Double A]

Explains why Egypt always conquers Antioch by turn 20..

[painter]

Explains why Egypt always conquers Antioch by turn 20..

Antioch has a weak initial garrison in vanilla. Jerusalem's is the hardest.

[Paok]

Try to fight the mongols with mamluk archers.Piece of cake for the Mongolian HA!

[shikaka]

Try to fight the mongols with mamluk archers.Piece of cake for the Mongolian HA!

Nope.

With Egypt, I had mamluk archer stacks (1-2 general, 2-3 mamluk cav. 12-13 mamluk HA) and the mongols didn't have any chance in open field.
Their stacks have infantrymen, foot archers, which are wasted slots compared to the player's all-cavalry armies.


edit:
Considering cost-effectiveness too, I think the best medium horse archer is the turkish sipahi. They are cheaper then mamluks/dvors/hungarian nobles.

[Double A]

Nope.

With Egypt, I had mamluk archer stacks (1-2 general, 2-3 mamluk cav. 12-13 mamluk HA) and the mongols didn't have any chance in open field.
Their stacks have infantrymen, foot archers, which are wasted slots compared to the player's all-cavalry armies.


edit:
Considering cost-effectiveness too, I think the best medium horse archer is the turkish sipahi. They are cheaper then mamluks/dvors/hungarian nobles.

Yeah, it's kind of funny the most feared cavalry army in the world can lose to an all-cavalry army.

Of course, there's still the matter of the other five armies in the area...

[Incomitatus]

Yeah, it's kind of funny the most feared cavalry army in the world can lose to an all-cavalry army.

Ain Jalut.

[Double A]

Ain Jalut.

Game-wise, Mongol HAs have better stats than Mamluk Archers. I know in real life they held out against the Mongol horde, but CA and RL don't always see eye to eye.

[Paok]

In my campaign Mongols have no infantrymen!Just horse archers,foot archers,and Heavy Cavalry!

[Shasqua]

In my campaign Mongols have no infantrymen!Just horse archers,foot archers,and Heavy Cavalry!

They were including foot archers as infantry.

[Silverheart]

I still think Vardariotai are better HAs, but of course, that depends pretty much on how you use them.
The wonderful thing about this game is that every unit in it can become invincible if used correctly.

[Shasqua]

Mamluk archers are very good, which is historically accurate. Their combination of mobility, morale, discipline, powerful composite bows, and armor-smashing maces make them useful in almost every situation. Pricey, though, and their heavy mail isn't very impressive-looking.

[Double A]

Yeah, but I was implying they took everything in between, like the way the AI does when not on a Holy War.

[painter]

Egypt usually needs a full stack in order to conquer Jerusalem and they usually suffer few casualties for doing so. As such, Acre, Antioch, Aleppo and Damascus are easy pickings for Egypt after Jerusalem. I don't really mind Egypt making such progress however, as it means that the cities will be upgraded in some manner by the time I reach the Levants. What I don't like is them taking Jedda and then building roads. I worry about it increasing Jedda's attractiveness to the Mongol hordes, not that I have actually seen the Mongols heading for it.

In my current campaign, I was rather disappointed to learn their full stack went rebel just after Acre and that only Cairo had the Racing Tracks despite having well over 30 turns to build up.

[Double A]

Egypt usually needs a full stack in order to conquer Jerusalem and they usually suffer few casualties for doing so. As such, Acre, Antioch, Aleppo and Damascus are easy pickings for Egypt after Jerusalem. I don't really mind Egypt making such progress however, as it means that the cities will be upgraded in some manner by the time I reach the Levants. What I don't like is them taking Jedda and then building roads. I worry about it increasing Jedda's attractiveness to the Mongol hordes, not that I have actually seen the Mongols heading for it.

In my current campaign, I was rather disappointed to learn their full stack went rebel just after Acre and that only Cairo had the Racing Tracks despite having well over 30 turns to build up.

Trust me. Mongols don't go for Jedda. Their main targets in the Middle East are Baghdad, Antioch, and Jerusalem (in that order).

[Ishan]

Trust me. Mongols don't go for Jedda. Their main targets in the Middle East are Baghdad, Antioch, and Jerusalem (in that order).

True Jedda is not a Horde Target.

[FootSoldier]

What I don't like about the Egyptians taking Jedda is that they then recruit merc elephant artillery there. If you're Turkey they'll march up that road they built and take Baghdad with these.

Mind you, they do seem to abandon Alexandria and Cairo to do this ... there's always an opportunity :d

The Turkish Sipahi are brilliant. At 175 maintenance for 60 - a steal!

[shikaka]

The Turkish Sipahi are brilliant. At 175 maintenance for 60 - a steal!

I concur. Roughly the same performance to hungarian noble/mamluk HA/vardar HA/dvor but smaller upkeep.
They are very-very good troops!