Slitherine

SimonLancaster wrote: ↑Mon Mar 31, 2025 11:55 am Main point for skirmishers and Jav Cav is to use them together in a group. Usually, around three units together firing at one enemy unit will cause a cohesion test in one turn.

MVP7 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 31, 2025 11:55 pm
In terms of tactical use against the AI, you should open the battle by trying to use your skirmishers to bait the enemy into disrupting their formation. If the enemy has a lot of missile troops, it's often best to receive those hits with your cheap javelin units. After the armies start getting close, try to move the javelin units to the flanks where you should try to cause disruptions to the enemy before attacking them with heavier units. When in doubt, try to keep your missile units with your cavalry units.

After the javelin units run low on ammo, they are generally most useful at running down enemy light units. Light cavalry might even be used to flank and rear charge heavier enemy units as they might cause disruptions and will try to avoid prolonged melee.

Karvon wrote: ↑Tue Apr 01, 2025 2:04 am LH jls are really awesome units. They are dirt cheap, can inflict missile casualties, are ultra fast, and can be used to charge anything - unlike LF. Here are a few uses for them in no particular order.

1. Dive off LF by charging them at extreme ranges. If you get too close, they will usually stand instead, you may still do some damage at impact, but more likely to simply bounce.
2. Move into flanking positions on other lights before charging them with other units. The threat on the flank will often cause the lights to flee the chargers; if not, you're in position to flank the following turn.
3. Drive off LH bow by charging at longer ranges. Again, if too close, they will stand, where you may, or may not do so well.
4. Attack flanks or rear of heavier units. This can sometimes lead to disruptions or pinning, which may free up other units to move. This is less effective vs heavy foot, so not really recommended.
5. Hunt down enemy artillery. A very cheap counter, especially if the opponent fails to keep any guard units around.
6. Lurk along the flanks or rear of the enemy line and be ready to pounce on fragmented units to break them.
7. Pursue enemy routed units, particularly ones with generals or high morale grades. Don't bother with units which are over 50% losses as they can never rally. Sometimes though pursuing such units can help you move across the field faster or uncover other vulnerable targets.
8. Move to block enemy unit fallbacks to keep them pinned in melee. This is particularly helpful vs enemy mounted fighting infantry or elephants.
9. Fully encircle a unit to prevent it from evading when charged. This is easier to do if you're playing an army with a lot of LH, but in more crowded fights, you might pull this off with fewer.
10. Move to prevent a friendly unit from falling back or being pushed back in melee. This can be very useful in pinning enemy units attacked by friendly mounted, particularly other LH. If you only move a short distance, you can optionally move further after the melee to allow your other unit to fallback the following turn, to avoid CT checks if the other unit breaks, or to limit chances of getting caught by other enemy units.
11. Make sacrificial attacks in combo with point 10 which allows heavier units lurking on flanks or rear to attack and gain an autodrop of the enemy target. This is a great tactic when running horse archer armies; you can use your lights to pin and your heavier horse archers to hit for the disrupt.
12. Use as sacrifices vs heavier mounted. When your unit breaks, they have to pursue at least one turn which can allow you to set up flanking ambushers. Near edges of the board, they may pursue off after you and be out of the battle for awhile - or permanently if you're lucky.
13. Use as a delaying force by attacking screening LF in combo with point 10. If the screening LF are engaged, the enemy units behind will not be able to advance as quickly, or at all. LH can sometimes last several turns in such melees, slowing down your opponent and giving you time to develop elsewhere.
14. Gang up on heavier mounted, skirmishing on the flanks or rear where you can not be charged.
15. Try to maximize your shooting by ganging up and firing in main arc. Don't generally waste ammo single shooting unless you didn't move and are in main arc of the target.
16. Hunt enemy massed bow. Charge them from flanks or rear and longer ranges. Don't loiter in their main arcs as they can really shred you.
17. Scout out edges of woods, marshes and BUA in advance of your main body to avoid unpleasant surprises. You can even move into woods a space as you can outrun enemy foot nearly all the time.
18. Serve as mobile escort for a general. If you need to get from one sector of the field to another, this is the way to travel. It can be very helpful to attach at least one LH to mounted commands for this purpose in horse armies.

Regards,

Karvon

Karvon wrote: ↑Tue Apr 01, 2025 2:04 am LH jls are really awesome units. They are dirt cheap, can inflict missile casualties, are ultra fast, and can be used to charge anything - unlike LF. Here are a few uses for them in no particular order.

exante80 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 01, 2025 9:04 am Thx for the tips.