The Book of Cathar Spearmen

[caps]

Originally Posted by Sir Dendrik

This army just won Islandscape, Long Island's Gencon equivalent:

Marcus Decimus Gallus 100
Count Raymond 190
3x Cathar Spearmen 415
+filler

That 6 move gives them a large threat range to deal with range, and they're already monsters against melee. At first I thought these guys were just a really fun squad, but they're emerging as a top contender.

They're really solid. I've seen some deride the Raymond+Marcus combo but 6 move Cathars are pretty darn good.

[DBC]

Originally Posted by capsocrates

They're really solid. I've seen some deride the Raymond+Marcus combo but 6 move Cathars are pretty darn good.

Yup!
They work quite well together, in my opinion.
I usually also pair up Marcus with a squad of Romans. So when I am forced to move him he has some back-up and fighting power.

[Grishnakh]

Just for the record Son of Grishnakh won with:

Marcus Decimus Gallus 100
Count Raymond 190
3x Cathar Spearmen 415
Marcu

[elvenwizard9]

Cathars vs. Templars, anyone? Classic Cavalry charge against the tight infantry formation? I'd love to see horses being impaled on spearheads...

We're eating Horse tonight, boys- Belgian style!

[OEAO]

I maintain my thought that these guys are flat A units. Braced spears is incredibly cheap with their 4 defense. They give enemy melee no chance to win. Combine it with limited range and 6 move and you have a squad that is better than any of the top melee squads. They also will fare well against range with 6 move, 2 range, and 4 defense. The B+ in the rankings is VERY inaccurate.

Compare their spears to other engagement strikes: Arkmer and Nakitas. Both are fragile units, so when you do get next to them, you can kill them.

Compare stats to KoW or Heavies: just as good if using Reach. Sure, they don't have bonding, but they don't need it with their spears and range. Plus, with Marcus and Count, they have more move.

[MegaSilver]

I've rarely had Braced Spears to hit. You must've had a game where they hit it like crazy.

But, they certainly are strong.

Also, you sacrifice a lot of Spearmen to run Marcus+Raymond.

[DanieLoche]

I prefer play them without Marcus. Move 5 is sufficient most of the time and 4 more Cathars is not negligible...

There's a good counter for Braced Spear that is simply a Bonding with a hero that has a good survivability.
The Hero engage the Cathars and so negate the Spears for the squad. Multiple lifes makes the strategy viable.

And so armies like orcs, westons etc... can won if well played against Spearmen.

[OEAO]

Originally Posted by DanieLoche

I prefer play them without Marcus. Move 5 is sufficient most of the time and 4 more Cathars is not negligible...

There's a good counter for Braced Spear that is simply a Bonding with a hero that has a good survivability.
The Hero engage the Cathars and so negate the Spears for the squad. Multiple lifes makes the strategy viable.

And so armies like orcs, westons etc... can won if well played against Spearmen.

Not at all.

A hero that multi-engages will take a bunch of wounds. The squaddies then won't get many bonuses from the hero. You still run into their 5 defense on height.

6 move means that they get height. I'd rather have that than more spearmen. I was talking about the IslandScape winning army.

And it works a quarter of the time, just like Plague. However, hounds are more expensive and a 3 man squad.

[awesomeunleashed]

Cathars are definitely tough, and I think they deserve an A- myself. However...

Originally Posted by OrcElfArmyOne

A hero that multi-engages will take a bunch of wounds.

Not really. On average, the hero's only going to get one wound for every four Cathars he engages.

[OEAO]

And even if you try that strategy, a good player will only let the hero engage one spearmen at a time so the others can attack down with 4 or impale any rushing commons. 4 attacks of 4 will tear down Grimnak or Gilbert, trust me.

[caps]

Originally Posted by OrcElfArmyOne

And even if you try that strategy, a good player will only let the hero engage one spearmen at a time so the others can attack down with 4 or impale any rushing commons. 4 attacks of 4 will tear down Grimnak or Gilbert, trust me.

And a "good player" probably won't put his hero in that situation.

[MegaSilver]

Originally Posted by capsocrates

And a "good player" probably won't put his hero in that situation.

I think Orc has had a really bad first match against them... d20 must have been crazy good.