Which Light Cavalry is Best?

[GBISSET]

Any thoughts on which of the light, or shooting, cavalry is most powerful? I want to assign some to the AI in my own solo scenarios. Ive noticed the AI doesn't seem to handle melee cavalry very well, gets out ahead of its infantry where I can dispose of it before the main battle, but the light cav seems hard to kill and offers a more interesting solo game.

You may choose more than 1, but which ones are the best?

Thanks!

George

[shawkhan2]

Tatars are the best shooters, hands down.

[rbodleyscott]

Cossack light horse (in the Russian army), but you will have to wait for Tercio to Salvo to get your hands on those.

They are Light Horse, Bow, Light Lancers, Swordsmen.

[nikgaukroger]

Cossack light horse (in the Russian army), but you will have to wait for Tercio to Salvo to get your hands on those.

They are Light Horse, Bow, Light Lancers, Swordsmen.

They're fun

[TimW]

We're getting 16th/early 17th century Russians? Excellent. Ivan the Terrible rides again.

Any seriously big pushka?

[rbodleyscott]

We're getting 16th/early 17th century Russians? Excellent. Ivan the Terrible rides again.

Any seriously big pushka?

Well they certainly have Heavy Guns.

[Pixel]

We're getting 16th/early 17th century Russians? Excellent. Ivan the Terrible rides again.

Any seriously big pushka?

Well they certainly have Heavy Guns.

@TimW Things like the Tsar Bombard are really big and impressive but were never very practical as field artillery. It is an incredible piece of bronze-casting though.



Only the gun itself is 16th century. Current carriage was put in place later.

@rbodleyscott looking forward to the Dutch and the Russians. Even saw some Elizabethan troops in the screenies! Looks like the expansion will add even more variety to the Pike and Shot battlefield.

[TimW]

Of course the huge Russian guns weren't what you'd call very practical field (or in some cases even siege) artillery, but, like carrying ikon banners, they were a very distinctive Russian fashion.

In game terms I'd imagine a model of a huge gun that's completely immobile, fires once every several moves and can't hit a target that moves faster than a house, but the noise, smoke and flash has an unsettling influence on all nearby no matter which side they're on. Were used to loud noises in the industrial 20th21st centuries, but 400 years ago artillery would have been the loudest noise pretty much anyone had ever heard.

Many years ago, when I was in a position to miniatures game, the Russians were one of my favourite armies under the old WRG/George Gush rules. Not because they were particularly effective, but because at a time when all armies were a mix of the old, familiar medieval practice and experimental new ideas and technology the Russians were one of the most distinctive of all. A mix of horse archers that wouldn't have surprised either Alexander the Great or the Teutonic Order in the 13th century with effective firearm infantry in the form of the streltsi and later "German" units and a completely over the top approach to artillery. They were also very colourful, or at least the richer boyars were so looked good on a table