Mameluco Élite

Similarly to Throwing Axemen, Mamelukes are melee units, but they throw their scimitar from a range of 3. Due to their high speed and range (which makes them effective against infantry) and their natural strength against cavalry, Mamelukes are some of the most difficult units to counter. This is offset by their very high cost. As an anomaly, their attack bonus against cavalry does not translate to an attack bonus against . A well controlled group of these can take down any unit, except by higher number of foot archers and ranged infantry, like Throwing Axemen and Gbetos. Mamelukes are well rounded units suited for most combat situations. That said, they are woefully ineffective against Teutonic Knights; even if the Mamelukes can kite them indefinitely, they can only deal 1 damage per shot. When allied with Hindustanis, Mamelukes benefit from the Hindustani team bonus that gives camel and light cavalry units +2 attack bonus against . In team games, if the player has an Hindustani ally, they can use the Mameluke as a supporting unit that can take down non-defensive buildings as well as counter the opponents' cavalry that can put in danger the players siege units that are used against towers and Castles. However, this is more theoretical than practical, since having two camel civilizations with absymal Knight line in the same team is not a wise choice. === Counters === Mamelukes have both the and armor classes, which means they actually take more damage from Elite Mamelukes (+1), Spearmen (+4), Pikemen and Halberdiers (+7), and Heavy and Imperial Camel Riders (+7). Mamelukes are neither in the armor class, nor the armor class (unlike the Camel Archer). However, Camel Archers still possess advantages against Mamelukes, due to not having cavalry armor class for themselves and having a longer range. Also, Mamelukes have no base pierce armor, and Camel Archers are also cheaper, making them a good trade-off fighting with Mamelukes. Counter-intuitively, Camel Riders are a great counter to Mamelukes, since Mamelukes do not deal bonus damage to the Camel Rider line. The Camel Rider line, on the other hand, deals bonus damage against the camel armor class, with Heavy and Imperial Camel Riders both dealing additional +7 damage against the Mameluke armor class. The Camel Rider line is also faster than Mamelukes, which helps negate the latter's range. As for other units that counter them, Genoese Crossbowmen are very strong due to having an attack bonus vs . Other foot archers work effectively against them as well. Also, despite the fact that they can kill siege units fairly quickly, Siege Onagers can devastate a group of Mamelukes with a well-placed shot. Shrivamsha Riders, despite being cavalry, can handle small groups of Mamelukes thanks to their dodging mechanic, while the Mameluke cannot outrun the Shrivamsha Rider. Bolas Riders, despite being cavalry as well, can pose a considerable threat to Mamelukes thanks to their bonus damage against camel units and their snare ability, allowing them to slow them down. With Malon researched, they can even fight back similarly-sized armies of Mamelukes. Monks can also be very effective against Mamelukes considering they are high-value units, especially in gold. Mamelukes require at least 5 (4 for the Elite) shots to kill a Monk with Sanctity, making it unlikely a Mameluke will kill the Monk one-on-one before it converts them. When used effectively, the Mameluke cannot be countered by trash units. === Pairing === Mamelukes work well when paired with Camel Riders, Onagers, Bombard Cannons, and Hussars, all of which Saracens have at least fully upgradeable. Each one of these units helps counter one or two of the weaknesses of the Mameluke. Saracen Camel Riders counter most other Camel Riders and siege, Onagers counter archers, Hussars counter siege and Monks, while Bombard Cannons counter buildings and siege. The Cavalry Archer, while a good option on its own, does not sit well with Mamelukes since both units fulfill similar roles, with the Heavy Cavalry Archer having longer range, while the Mameluke is straight up better. The only case, where Heavy Cavalry Archers can be used with Mamelukes is when facing Teutonic Knights. In addition, Hussars can be used as a cheap meatshield. === Counters in older versions of the game === Before the release of Dynasties of India, Mamelukes also had the armor class, and thus took bonus damage from anti-archer attacks, which made Skirmishers (+2/+3/), Huskarls (+6/+10), Persian-allied Knight-line (+2), and Burmese cavalry (+5 with Manipur Cavalry) effective against them to a reasonable degree, even though these units have low melee armor or cavalry armor class, meaning they take a lot of damage from Mamelukes. Skirmishers were good counters against Mamelukes because they were very cost-effective. They were the trash unit of choice to field against Mamelukes, because they take no bonus damage (as opposed to Light Cavalry) and cannot be hit-and-run (as opposed to Pikemen). Also, in The Conquerors and The Forgotten, before The African Kingdoms, camels and ships shared the same , which made them take massive bonus damage from defensive structures, especially with Heated Shot. Before patch 5.8, they used to be in (+11), which was replaced by the Mameluke class. This class was created to reduce the Halberdier's attack bonus, without changing other attack bonuses. It was reduced by 5 in patch 5.8 and by another 5 in the Definitive Edition. In The Age of Kings, Mamelukes were in the armor class (which was replaced in The Conquerors by the armor class), and they had 0 armor (which was increased to 11 and the armor class was added in The Conquerors), so they used to take bonus damage from Hand Cannoneers and Janissaries, but not from defensive structures, Skirmishers, and Huskarls, and took less bonus damage from the Spearman and Camel lines.