ME Ulm Vs Jotunheim advice wanted.

[thejeff]

Note that this isn't Niflehiem, so the Jarls aren't there and abusive blesses aren't as much of problem.

ME Jotunheim is still tough to fight with Ulm, but at least the early SC Jarls aren't a threat.

[Kalin]

Doh... what the heck was I thinking (prolly too many complaints on nif), my sincere apologies. The above strategy (using pikeneers) works just fine on the giants of Jotunheim, perhaps even more so. To be honests, I've never had that much trouble with Jotunheim's giants (which is probably why I was thinking Nif all the way when you mentioned a giant army).

The only thing you have to be careful about Jotunheim is the Vaetti and Moose Riders, they are stealthy, so you might not see them before it's too late. The Vaetti are size 1, and can fill in between the giants, which might be a problem, for most troops because they use spears (range 4, most get repelled). However, your pikeneers still out range them, and chances are, they will also one-shot them in the repulsion process. The Moose riders are only trouble for low protection troops, and yours is well covered, so they will probably end up hurting their own troops more than yours from afar, and as calvary they are bleh.

[thejeff]

I haven't had much luck relying on pikeneers and repelling.
That's just 1 damage and the accompanying morale check right?

It probably depends on which giants you're up against.
The militia run from their own shadow. Some of the others will just ignore the pinpricks and smash the silly little people with the long sticks.

[Kalin]

Yeah, but that's 1 wasted attack, and there's only 1 giant per square due to his size, so you just got 3 chance to hit him back. When shields and armor does nothing, repel is the about the only thing you've got left... ^_^;; all of Jotun's troops morale is generally 12-13, and they don't have that great of a defense (mostly prot and HP), so unless he's accumulated a ton of experience, that means you've got a decent chance of negating the damage.

In general, I've found that pikeneers are subpar when compared to heavy shielded troops for tanking size 3 and below enemies. However, when you are fighting size 4 and above who doesn't trample, pikeneers shines. Usually large creature have massize strength and will kill you in one hit regardless of armor, so the ability to repel and negate their attack works great. There's the question of the Vaetti in between the giants, but those guys shouldn't be able to scratch Ulm's armor. Pikeneers also happen to be one of Ulm's cheapest national troop, so it's pretty good for the price of a foddler.

[Sandman]

Ulmish pikeneers also have 11 morale, compared to 10 for their other infantry.