Horseman

“Speed is armour. Speed is a weapon. Speed is everything.”

The Horseman is the first mounted unit, representing the revolutionary moment when warriors first took to horseback and transformed the pace and scope of warfare. Fast, hard-hitting, and capable of outrunning any infantry, Horsemen excel at flanking manoeuvres, raiding, and running down retreating enemies.

Stats

Abilities

• Melee Attack – Standard melee combat against adjacent units.
• Flanking – Bonus when attacking units already engaged with another friendly unit.

Available Promotions

• Combat I – +10% attack (5 XP)
• Combat II – +10% attack (15 XP, requires Combat I)
• March – Extra movement point.
• Blitz – 2 attacks per turn.

Upgrade Path

Full chain: Horseman –> Knight –> Tank

Strategy

Horsemen are glass cannons on hooves. Their 10 Attack hits harder than any other Classical Era unit except the Swordsman, and their 3 Movement lets them strike where the enemy is weakest. Use Horsemen to exploit gaps in enemy lines, raid undefended Workers and Settlers, and pursue retreating forces that slower infantry cannot catch.

However, Horsemen require a strategic resource – Horses – which limits when and where you can build them. Their 5 Defence also makes them vulnerable if they end their turn adjacent to strong defensive units, particularly Spearmen, who receive an anti-cavalry bonus. The key to using Horsemen effectively is to attack and withdraw, never allowing the enemy to pin them in place. Hit exposed units, pillage improvements, and fade back before the enemy can concentrate force against you.

Historical Background

The domestication of the horse, believed to have occurred on the Pontic-Caspian steppe around 4000 BCE, transformed human civilisation as profoundly as the invention of agriculture. Mounted warriors could cover distances that would take infantry days to march, appearing without warning, striking, and vanishing before a response could be organised.

The earliest cavalry forces were light horsemen armed with javelins or bows, used primarily for scouting and skirmishing. The Scythians, a nomadic people of the Central Asian steppe, perfected mounted warfare to such a degree that even the Persian Empire under Darius I failed to subdue them. Their hit-and-run tactics – striking quickly and retreating into the vastness of the steppe – anticipated the cavalry doctrines that would dominate warfare for the next two thousand years.