Huscarle

Huskarls are infantry units that have decent attack and speed, but their biggest asset is their high base pierce armor. This makes them one of the best raiding units in the game, and an absolute nightmare for archers (they even deal a large amount of anti- attack). Their pierce armor, base bonus attack vs buildings and the Goth anti-building infantry civilization bonus means that Huskarls can destroy a Castle with minimal effort. As with every unique unit, they require a Castle to be created. While Anarchy alleviates this by allowing Barracks to train Huskarls, the Goths still need a Castle for the technology. This means that an opponent can amass a group of archers well before a Goth player has the opportunity to respond with Huskarls, and for this reason Elite Skirmishers will remain necessary against archers before the player can create a Castle. Even once Huskarls are on the field, they can struggle to approach a large group of archers without sufficient numbers, so trickling them into the enemy should be avoided in the Castle Age. Once Perfusion and Anarchy are researched, though, the Goths can spam them enough to easily overwhelm just about any archer army. With 0 base melee armor and relatively low hit points, they are not recommended for any melee combat except possibly against other weak melee units (including Camel Riders, Light Cavalry, Halberdiers, and Eagle Warriors). The Goths are able to field Huskarls very cheaply and rapidly, so they may still be able to overwhelm standard melee units (such as Paladins or Champions) by sheer numbers. Generally, though, it is more cost-efficient and population-efficient to create Champions and Halberdiers to counter melee units. Melee units with higher armor (Boyar, Teutonic Knight), with an attack bonus against Huskarls (Jaguar Warrior, Cataphract, Samurai), or simply with high damage output (Shotel Warrior, Leitis, Obuch (to which the last can also reduce their high pierce armor by attacks), Urumi Swordsman) should generally be avoided. War Elephants and Battle Elephants can also decimate them thanks to their high hit points, powerful attacks, and splash damage, but must be wary of Halberdiers that are usually a part of a Goth player's army composition. Ranged melee units viz Throwing Axemen, Gbetos, Mamelukes, and Chakram Throwers are also effective against Huskarls, since they neither take bonus damage, nor is their attack reduced by the Huskarl's pierce armor. right Onagers can also be a threat since they deal high melee-type damage and large area damage. Scorpions, however, are not effective since they deal mediocre pierce damage, and can be easily handled if not protected well. Organ Guns and Hussite Wagons are also ineffective due to their low projectile damage. Hand Cannoneers and Slingers can be effective against Huskarls due to their attack bonus and long range, but as both of the units take huge bonus damage themselves (an Elite Huskarl kills them in two strikes), they must be massed or protected by melee units in order to be effective. Composite Bowmen will also ignore the Huskarl's pierce armor, but their shorter range and the bonus damage they will take from Huskarls still makes the Huskarl an effective counter. Chu Ko Nu can be hard to tackle if they are in a large group since their bonus projectiles will add up even against the Huskarl's pierce armor, but will die quickly if the Huskarls can close the distance.