Replacing, upgrading and allies (Classical Indian)

[Theylan]

Hi - very new to the game, and first time post.

I am currently mustering a classic Indian force and have a couple of questions about replacing and upgrading items in the list. The list states that I can upgrade cavalry to armoured lancers and replace elephants and/or chariots by bullock or camel carts.

Now, comments about the effectiveness of battle wagons aside, what exactly do the terms upgrade and replace actually mean? I'll give examples:

I have 18 bases of cavalry - I upgrade 6 units to lancers (though in effect I replace them - getting back the cost of the cavalry) leaving 12 bases of cavalry in addition to the 6 bases of lancers. Is this allowed, or do I upgrade cavalry to lancers as an entry in the list completely, not allowing me to use cavalry any more?

In a similar fashion, can I replace elephants or chariots individually, or do I replace the entries? Could I purchase a unit of 4 chariots and replace only two of them? Could I have 6 heavy chariots and two battle wagons (filling the max 8 chariot slot)?

Finally, am I correct in the conclusion that I can only choose allies from the classical Indian allies list (which count toward the maxima and minima of the main list) and not from the mountain Indian allies?

Thanks!

[Polkovnik]

I have 18 bases of cavalry - I upgrade 6 units to lancers (though in effect I replace them - getting back the cost of the cavalry) leaving 12 bases of cavalry in addition to the 6 bases of lancers. Is this allowed,

Yes, that is fine.

In a similar fashion, can I replace elephants or chariots individually, or do I replace the entries? Could I purchase a unit of 4 chariots and replace only two of them? Could I have 6 heavy chariots and two battle wagons (filling the max 8 chariot slot)?

You replace them individually, so you can replace up to 6 bases of chariots and/or elephants. However, you couldn't do the first because you would be left with a unit of 2 chariots, which is not allowed. You could do the latter, but you would normally take the chariots in BGs of 4 bases, not 6.

Finally, am I correct in the conclusion that I can only choose allies from the classical Indian allies list (which count toward the maxima and minima of the main list) and not from the mountain Indian allies?

Yes, that is correct.

[Theylan]

Smashing, thank you very much

[gozerius]

When you upgrade the cav, it is still cavalry, but better than your normal rabble on horseback. When you replace chariots or elephants with Battlewagons, you are exchanging one troop type for another.
In the case of the cavalry you can still have 18 stands, but one BG of 4 or 6 bases can be armored.