DEI Battle Formation: The Boar's Tusks

[Garbad]

Most people know the AI in RTW is pretty easy to beat. Even on Hard, the AI is trivially easy to flank using alexandrian tactics. To make the game more fun and immersive, I like to fool around with alternative strategies, such as this one. This formation is called the Boar's Tusks. Its modeled after the tactics used by the Angles clan of Sweden. Its an infantry heavy tactic that doesn't rely on flanking. You set up like this:


http://i.imgur.com/p2VnfRR.jpg


Because you have siege, they will be forced to attack you. Wait until they are near...as they get close, they will break into a charge, and send their cav out on the wings to flank. At that moment, you charge with your tusks.


http://i.imgur.com/83b9Zd3.jpg


Break off your far end spearman and intercept the cav. If necessary, detach a petlast to help. The AI will throw his horses away though, usually, charging right into your spears. In any event, you don't have to win, you just need to lose slowly enough to let your peeps work. Their missile troops will fire at yours, hitting you and them. Ignore that for now.


A common alternative is shown on the left side. Sometimes they don't hit and try to encircle you, and instead hold a force in reserve. If they do, wrap around on them and start a melee. Either way, you will be hit hard in their center, then get mildly enveloped. This is what you want.


http://i.imgur.com/71BFPzA.jpg


Meanwhile, their center units will be getting murdered by your concentrated fire from mass peltasts. They have to charge the pelts. Your final two infantry commit to check them as they do. Try to stall this until the cav is tied up.


http://i.imgur.com/0wGizVe.jpg


Your peltasts run through the gaps on the side, and turn and start to flank. All missile troops concentrate on center. With javs to the back of the head, they will die quickly.


You should quickly eliminate their center melee and horses. Your melee should be taking casualties, but holding up on. Commit all center infantry to the flanks to reinforce them. This plus the pressure of the melee on your infantry should turn your lines inward.


http://i.imgur.com/HCrNG0n.jpg


As the center opens, rush your pelts into the middle as you use your archers to sweep out their missile at range. They will start trying to kite just as they get volleyed by archers, and often begin to rout or at least clear out. Then turn your pelts to wide open back shots on the hostile infantry, followed by a charge once you are out of ammo. Their innermost units should rout quickly, and from here its mop up (their missiles and furthest back infantry are usually winning big until now, but at this point you just routed 3/4ths of their army and can move as you wish.


CONCLUSION:


I'm scipio reborn. \o/ This strat doesn't need expensive cav or elite units. In fact, half of the army can be cheap spearmen and medium quality skirmishers. Hard hitting infantry helps, particularly germanics or thracian. But the gist of the strategy is you lure them into a death funnel and then click on them repeatedly. It works. The other night I was using a ghetto quality thracian army like this against hard mode AI opponents that outnumbered me 3-4x to 1 and winning easily.

Hope you enjoy.

[Best2nd]

I'm gonna go full plebeian and try this on a human opponent. Hopefully he won't ragequit from the scorpion.

[DanTheMan97]

this looks awesome, gotta try it sometime

[MagicCuboid]

Hey cool. Given the heavy javelin use, this would be pretty good against elephants, too. The key is just managing the ammunition used by the peltasts, because it runs out fast.

[Garbad]

Hey cool. Given the heavy javelin use, this would be pretty good against elephants, too. The key is just managing the ammunition used by the peltasts, because it runs out fast.

Yup. I try to avoid throwing spears at anything from the front, because endgame javs to the back just plain murder weakened, tired units. Its common to rout them after 2 volleys. Early game I rely a lot on the scorp/archers/infantry plus just everyone scattering like roaches to break formations and allow side shots.

This is also why its key to use at least a medium quality skirmisher (not the cheap ones) so you can be a servicable melee fighter. Agrian axemen, greek peltasts, etc.

[luck_ponte]

Very nice indeed! Maybe you should put it on the Strategy Guide and Gameplay session?

[Garbad]

http://imgur.com/a/lAygD

Here's an example of me doing it in game, complete with 'dying gaul' action scene.

[razorts]

Pretty cool, I space my units somewhat similarly into /\/\/\ with heavy peltast on the tips, trick is that once troops engage side arms envelop enemies and middle tip retreats back a bit forming full circle, deadly its quite normal to kill 99% of troops none can run away.

[luck_ponte]

@razorts maybe you should elaborate more in a separate thread