Scythed Chariots - what are they good for?...

[General Shapur]

In the recent Hills Have Eyes tournament there was an option to take scythed chariots against the Arab camel/irregular army.

I figured, if there was ever a chance for them to shine this would be it.

What we know:
- They were intended as a Terror weapon (would Arabs have seen them often enough to counter them effectively with poorly trained units?)
- Armies that had faced them before developed tactics to neutralize them (like they did with elephants).
- Their use was a full frontal charge to break up formation - not chasing down routing units

In the game they are fairly pricey and dissolve if they spend more than one turn in melee.

In my tournament game my chariots were charged by camels, stuck in combat and dissolved. My opponents chariots charged skirmishers, were stuck in combat and dissolved.

I can't see a way to use these units the way they were intended. What is the chance of disrupting any kind of infantry with them? Why do they dissolve unlike other chariot units? What is the best use for them(if any) in the game.

Cheers

[rbodleyscott]

I can't see a way to use these units the way they were intended.

They rarely worked as intended historically, so likewise in game.

What is the chance of disrupting any kind of infantry with them?

Fairly high, but you will then usually need to charge them with something else.

Why do they dissolve unlike other chariot units?

Because the drivers tended to jump out before impact if the enemy stood to receive the charge, and the chariots themselves would likely be destroyed in the impact if the enemy did not immediately flee.

What is the best use for them(if any) in the game.

Don't take them.

They are in the game because they existed historically, but they were usually completely ineffective. (With one or two notable exceptions - e.g. the Battle of the River Amnias between the Pontics and the Bithynians).

[Swuul]

I like using scythed chariots, or at least to have one in the army if the army-list allows it I keep behind the lines in center, or if terrain favours on a flank and I have cavalry superiority then behind cavalry. The thing is to look for possibilities to either flank charge a Disrupted enemy or just plain old charge any Fragmented unit. The +250 impact POA is crazy good, as it is practically automatically means you will win the impact round by a massive difference (and thus make the enemy morale collapse). Hopefully panic spreads, the scythed chariot runs through causing havoc (*nobody* likes the sight of a hostile Scythed Chariot running amok behind their lines).

If you unleash the Scythed Chariots too early and/or in the wrong place, the chariots will go plonk as they crash into that hostile brickwall, and you can scratch another 44 points (or was it 48? can't remember) from your army...

[Karvon]

I second Swuul's comments; they are amazing weapons if unleashed on flanks of disordered or fragmented troops. They can smash through two or three units and roll up a line if you're lucky. Charging them into steady troops is a waste of time and points usually.