Axemen are somewhat specialist troops. They are all armour piercing and are
thus deadly against units with heavy armour. However they are not so good
against unarmoured targets as they do not get any bonuses if the target is
unarmoured. Because most axemen have a good attack stat they can still do a fair
amount of damage in a straight fight but somehow they are seldom as effective as
swordsmen, especially when faced with spears as they always seem to take more
casualties. With the cheaper axemen, like Ghazi infantry, this is not such a
problem but it can be troublesome if you are outnumbered badly and every man
counts or if you cannot afford to replace the unit after the battle.
Like swordsmen axemen are vulnerable to cavalry, however because they have
armour-piercing weapons they can often do damage at the same rate as they take
it when faced with heavy cavalry. Against lighter cavalry with little or no
armour Axemen are just as bad as swordsmen. Axemen should observe the same
protocols when facing horsemen, namely stay in a tight, deep formation and try
to fight in the trees. Whenever you can you should use Axemen as flankers as
this offsets their often low defence, use a unit like spears to pin your target
and send your Axemen running around the flanks to hit from behind. This also has
the advantage of inflicting a morale penalty on the foe.
Getting the most out of axemen is quite simple – use them when faced with
armour, try to flank with them and keep them away from targets lacking armour
and you will find them a worthwhile part of your army. Using them against
unarmoured targets is possible but it wastes their potential more than a bit, as
many of the factions using axe units will be up against the heavily armoured
Catholic armies at some point and need every possible advantage when facing a
collection of tin cans!
Axe units are best at: killing armoured units, general fighting in your battle
line.
For more on the armour piercing bonuses look at appendix 4.
Abyssinian guards.
Charge 4 Attack 4 Defence 0 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 6 Cost 175 Support
cost 75
Abyssinian guards are elite, disciplined and have poor defence. The substantial
morale does help keep this unit on the field while it takes large numbers of
casualties and the unit is capable of doing good damage when it ploughs into an
armoured unit or weak unarmoured unit, however in the end the unit is not that
impressive.
Ghazi infantry
Charge 5 Attack 5 Defence -4 Armour 1 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 8 Cost 175 Support
cost 30
Ghazi infantry are armour piercing and impetuous which means they tend to charge
without orders, pick their own targets, ignore orders to retreat and generally
give your general premature grey hair! Ghazi infantry have horrible defence
matched with very good attack and charge stats. This means that will kill and
die quickly. Fortunately they have sky-high morale that means they will keep
going even when half the unit is dead, these men are fanatics and it takes a lot
to get them off the field. Ghazis are fast which aids in the rush to send them
around the flanks to attack from the rear, as long as the Ghazis charge into the
enemies rear most of the unit should survive the battle. This is a very nice
unit when you learn its nuances.
Varangian guard.
Charge 4 Attack 4 Defence 5 Armour 4 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 6 Cost 500 Support
cost 75
Varangian guard are elite, disciplined killing machines. They have excellent
stats – they are the only Axemen who do not need to flank in order to survive.
Varangians are what you would expect from the Byzantines elite Axemen corps –
just wind them up, point them at some armour and let them go. The only real
problem is that this unit is not available in the late period. Varangian guards
can also do a good job of killing unarmoured targets as their attack stat is
very high and their defence and armour stats give them good protection against
most attacks. If you have a choice of targets you should still send them after
the armoured ones for best effect. They have a large shield but it does not give
a bonus in a melee as they sling it on their back to wield the axe two handed,
against missiles the shield has a 0.5 modifer.
Vikings.
Charge 3 Attack 3 Defence 0 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 4 Cost 175 Support
cost 38
Vikings have a shield and are generally quite balanced stat wise. This means
they don’t excel at anything but they are not particularly bad at anything
either. They are solid Axemen and are at home in any army, once again they are
best used to flank armour units and you will get results as long as you do this.
Woodsmen.
Charge 8 Attack 1 Defence -1 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale –2 Cost 75
Support cost 22
Woodsmen are peasants with huge axes, this means they suffer from very low
morale, poor defence and low attack values. As a nice off set to these problems
the woodsmen have an abnormally high charge value for infantry so you should use
this to your advantage. Woodsmen make good disposable troops, just charge them
into the enemies armoured units rear and let them kill until they break and run.
They are dirt-cheap and easy to replace so use them as disposable units to take
out the expensive and valuable armoured units and you will have more than your
moneys worth. They are less effective against unarmoured targets so it is up to
you to decide whether the smaller amount of kills they will achieve is a good
exchange for your money. I would say ‘not’.