Questions and Comments About the Improved MA Ulm

[Dedas]

The inquisition bonus is quite nice when sieging castles in enemy dominion.

Oh, and iron darts and iron blizzard is awesome against magic beings. Quite good on normal units as well.
What makes them good is the high precision, good range and "boostability". Iron blizzard is 30+ effects.

[Sombre]

Sure, but priest smith is your guy for those spells, not black priest, iirc.

The inquisition bonus on the very few black priests you might actually build is a very minor consideration. I guess they would be a unit you'd build every turn if someone was domkilling you, to preach in your cap. That's another very minor niche.

[Edi]

The Black Priests are supposed to be marginal in MA. The Iron Inquisition has not yet risen and it is only emerging from the Black Order.

So you build a few of those when necessary and build priest-smiths the rest of the time in your capital and master smiths elsewhere. MA Black Priests are designed to be niche instead of common as dirt. Otherwise it screws up the thematics of the nation.

[Endoperez]

Sombre mentioned something on IRC that piqued my interest. I've always mainly recruited the Ulmish crossbowmen in the early game. The infantry is there to kill the survivors and to keep the independents from reaching the arbalests. Sombre said he mostly uses their infantry.

How do you expand with MA Ulm?

[Edi]

Infantry. Crossbowmen are too inefficient because the arbalests fire just once every three turns. I always recruit indie crossbows if I find them. I do use some arbalests for backup and softening the enemy up, but it's the morningstar infantry and guardians that do the heavy lifting.

[Sombre]

The other problem with the arbs is that they are tailor made to kill your own guys. I would either use 90% arbs or 100% infantry basically.

[Endoperez]

Interesting. I've always used the arbalests at "Fire" or "Fire Archers", and recruited indy archers as soon as I can find them, but generally didn't use the infantry much.

[Meglobob]

Endoperez said:How do you expand with MA Ulm?

I use infantry. I never recruit arbalists. Ulmish infantry is excellent at taking indies if you get the composition spot on.

Indeed, if I recruit crossbows I recruit the siege/crossbows that fire 1/2 rounds, much better.

[Tuidjy]

I dislike arbalesters. They are have two things going for them. They are the
only Ulmish with enough brains to use a shortsword and wear appropriate armour,
which makes them OK infantry. Their weapons have enough power to punch through
heavy armour. Months ago, I did the math, and it shows that crossbowmen are
better than arbalests below armour 17. Well guess what - armour 17 is seldom seen
outside of Ulm's army, and never on the arrow decoys.

Arbalesters have tons of things going against them - low rate of fire, high
resource cost, low strategical move, etc... On the other hand, independent archers
as great for supporting Ulm's infantry, against the only enemy that Ulm excels
against - independents.

[vfb]

Tuidjy said:...
Arbalesters have tons of things going against them - low rate of fire, high resource cost, low strategical move, etc... On the other hand, independent archers as great for supporting Ulm's infantry, against the only enemy that Ulm excels against - independents.

As Skaven I had to fight against an Ulm who had lion tribe indies. Ulm can really pump out a lot of low-resource archers, and of course has an excellent infantry shield to protect them. Nations without high protection/shields or good archers of their own can have trouble countering this in the early/mid-game.