When the two groups clashed, the barbarians calmly emerged from their lairs and put to the sword the wearied and God-forsaken Georgian army, arresting many and putting the remainder to flight.
— Kirakos of Ganja, History of the Armenians
| Kipchak Cavalry: Vital statistics | |
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Unit type |
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Built/trained at |
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Damage and weapon type |
High; lance |
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Armour |
Strong |
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Production cost |
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Range |
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Unit move and creation speed |
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Unit HP |
Respectable |
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Technological requirements |
Fort:— Upgrades to: |
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Factions available |
All |
The first Medium Cavalry unit in the game, Kipchak Cavalry represent the middle ground between Lancers and Light Horse units, granting those who can afford to recruit them a degree of flexibility in choice, and are trainable as long as you have a Detinets' wonder, where they will be recruited. In large numbers, Kipchak Cavalry can even overwhelm the knightly heavy cavalry which are the pride of Christians and Muslim Turks. Fools often underestimate the strength of these fierce and relentless warriors, who if led properly are more than a match for any of the world's heavy cavalry, although they may not follow their traditions.
However, although they may be arguably the best unit in the Dark Ages, there is one problem to them: their cost. Kipchak Cavalry, instead of costing timber, require metal to be trained. For the two nations that can obtain them, Poland and Russia, the value of these units is fairly moot. Although they are vastly cheaper as regards to resources, they somewhat lack the hardiness and capabilities of the indigenous heavy cavalry components, those being the Druzhinnik Cavalry. These units could serve well in repelling cavalry strikes, such as those by the Hungarians and the Mongols, but in a long fight against hardier or more devastating unit types such as Byzantine Scholarii or knights, there could be problems. Worse is that these units cannot be upgraded and will remain as weak as they are. Thus, training these units in the early game may work if you need a fast yet hard-hitting cavalry component, yet will be of no use in the late game, once other factions begin gathering better cavalry units and even more devastating anti-cavalry units like Arquebusiers.
Unit summar[]
- Medium cavalry unit, trainable only from a wonder.
CtW info[]
As their name suggests, Kipchak cavalry form the mainstay of the Kipchak barbarians' military strength, and are often paired with the deadly Khorchin for maximum effect. In large droves, Kipchak Cavalry can easily crush any enemy unprepared to meet them. Far worse is the fact that they can also gather food, thanks to the Kipchak cultural bonus for generating food with cavalry. Javelin cavalry (such as Iberian jinetes) might be a very useful weapon to use against these units and all other medium-strength cavalry units, since they have some cross-country capability and an enhanced anti-cavalry attack, thanks to their long throwing spears.