Mount&Blade/Vaegirs

The Vaegirs are a powerful faction, with good archers and cavalry as well as fairly strong infantry.

The differences between the Vaegirs, Swadians and Sarranids are largely aesthetic, although all have their own individual strengths and weaknesses (for example, Vaegir Marksmen fire much faster than Swadian Sharpshooters, but not as fast as Sarranid Archers).

Combat strategies
As one of the two original factions, the Vaegirs have a more developed troop tree than any faction other than the Swadians. Vaegirs are very adaptable, but the correct use of a varied party is still the key to victory. Vaegir infantry are pretty tough and use a variety of weapons, and a group of them will often spawn with a mix of axes, swords, and bardiches. They also tend to have wages that are a bit lower than other factions and make more use of two-handed weapons than other infantry. They do have a few weaknesses though, most notably in the Vaegir Guard's tendency to spawn without a shield, leaving them vulnerable to archers. Vaegir Guards are slightly buffed in Warband, but not enough to change their overall quality.

Vaegir Knights, while not as strong as their Swadian counterparts, are still very capable of making quick work of the opposition, and are a bit faster. They are more likely than Swadian Knights to be using a two-handed weapon, meaning more power but also the lack of a shield. The Vaegir Knights aren't quite the best, but still very useful, and a group of them is still a nightmare for unmounted units.

Vaegir Marksmen are the best archers in the game. They are the most accurate and until the addition of the Sarranids in Warband they were also the fastest. Groups of them can take down enemies quickly and they are extremely dangerous when they are defending Vaegir castles. The only disadvantages they have compared to their Nord counterparts is their worse performance in melee combat and their higher costs.

Against infantry
Archers are the key to victory against slow moving infantry, and will generally do well against all other troop types. The Achilles heel of Vaegir archers is their relatively poor armour at the early stages, so back them up with some infantry or cavalry of your own when the enemy infantry gets too close for comfort.

Against cavalry
Spears are not necessarily the best weapon against horsemen. Cavalry forces are only effective against scattered individual troops on flat terrain. With infantry and archers, the best bet is to find high ground and bombard the horsemen with volleys of arrows and have the infantry close in with the enemy cavalry when the arrows are all used up or when the they get too close for comfort.

The key to winning against cavalry with infantry on open plains is to tightly pack them together. Remember, horsemen need momentum to be effective, deny them that with infantry surrounding them and they easily crumble.

If you are feeling especially daring, it is possible to catch pockets of charging cavalry amongst your infantry, to be surrounded and overcome. Instead of bunching together, spread out until just before the charge hits. Then, close up / charge (end result tends to be the same, except charge encourages the troops to pursue and they may break the pockets in which you're slowly stitching up the cavalry...). This tactic is one that requires practice and can lead a 100 strong army of low-mid level troops (helps to have shields and a few bows) to victory against large forces of tundra bandits or other horse-reliant forces.

Against archers
Archers are rightly feared on the battlefield for their ability to cause casualties before the main forces engage. Fast moving cavalry, especially heavy cavalry (Vaegir Knights) will make quick work of these nuisances. In cases where cavalry is unavailable, the best option is to close as quickly as possible with your infantry and force the archers into an outright melee. Beware, vaegir guards often use 2-handed weapons, so they are unable to block enemy arrows. It might be a worth getting a few other troops from mercenaries or other factions. Vaegir infantry uses shield much more often than guards, so it may also be a worth to have always few infantry not upgraded to guards.

Against ranged horsemen
Mounted archers are without a doubt the single most irritating opponent in game. The Khergits are the only faction capable of fielding such fiends alongside their lance wielding medium cavalry. The slower Vaegir horsemen will not be able to stand a chance against the superior cavalry forces of the Khergit horde, so infantry and archers will have to come into play.

When engaging with Khergits, it is always important to find the high ground and fight on terrain that hinders the mobility of their horses such as forests and mountainous regions. Remember, fight the battle on your own terms. Have your archers placed behind your infantry or dismounted troops and rain missiles down upon the enemy.

The enemy lancers may force your infantry into the defensive with the initial charge, but tightly grouped formations of infantry will destroy the medium armoured horsemen with ease.

Once the lancers are removed from the playing field, the only thing to do is to return fire and wait out the bombardment before the horse archers are forced into melee.

Against mixed forces
Put the archers in a line ten steps behind the infantry and cavalry so the archers have space to shoot. When the enemies are close, order the infantry and cavalry to charge a few times, then order the archers to attack. Never put your infantry and cavalry behind your archers as - apart from getting in the way of your forces' charge - they don't make a great defensive shield for themselves.

The only time it is prudent to place well spaced out skirmishers and archers on the front line is if you are facing another heavy-missile-based force on uneven ground. One strategy that works well against all the different nations troops, Kerghit and Rhodok included, is to gather at least 100-120 men and mix them up. ie, don't upgrade every one to elite - the cheaper, quickly trained lower ranks can prove very useful, in seiges as well as open battle. It is often best to face a mixed army, using purely Vaegir troops, by making up the bulk of your force with archers and marksmen. They will feather any forces charging towards you. The charges and enemy missiles coming at you can be soaked up by the lower ranks and infantry, as the guards (who carry no shields) press through to counter-charge before a simple flanking maneuver, pincer or (or counter charge) with your horsemen and cavalry.

Try to get the enemy to waste their shots on the cheap fodder than the troops with which you will cut them down. Fast-moving horsemen, compared to bulky knights, can act in the same way as Vaegir infantry does to the Vaegir guard should the need arise. Neither will catch any troops mounted on a courser, however, such as mentioned above Vs. the Khergit.