Mount&Blade: Warband/Sarranids

The Sarranids are a new faction introduced in Warband. Their troop tree is very similar to Swadians and Vaegirs, but their equipment is different. Usually Sarranid units are less armored but much faster than their Vaegir and Swadian counterparts.

Combat strategies
The Sarranids, like the Swadians and Vaegirs, are markedly adaptable with access to all three troop types. Their most important line is their cavalry. The sword-wielding Sarranid Mamlukes are potentially the best mounted unit in the game, being the only unit comparable to the powerful Swadian Knight in overall quality. Mamlukes are fast, tough, and make quick work of other unit types. Their main flaw is that they usually use one-handed weapons, which weakens their initial charge compared to the Swadian lancers. They sometimes spawn with a heavy lance, but swords are clearly their primary weapons. However them and their war horses are hard to get rid of and they are deadly when up close with their scimitars, so Mamlukes are probably the most dangerous unit to be scrapping against in a battle.

The Sarranid Master Archer is the fastest ranged attacker in the game, but is otherwise quite weak. Sarranid ranged attackers can work well in numbers where the volume of projectiles can overwhelm the enemy, and they are slightly more skilled than Nord and Swadian ranged attackers. However, even the Sarranid Master Archer makes use of the low-end Nomad Bow which does less damage than the higher-end weapons of other factions' elite ranged attackers. In addition, their Power Draw skill is slightly lower than other archers. Another flaw is that they sometimes spawn without a bow at all, and will instead throw their jarids at the enemy. While Sarranids are quite skilled with throwing weapons, a bow is far more versatile for a ranged attacker, especially in a siege. Sarranid archers can do well in large groups, but the ranged attackers of other factions will generally be far more effective.

Sarranid infantry have a variety of skills and are probably the most versatile line of units in the game. Even more so than the Vaegirs, Sarranid infantry make use of a wide variety of weapons, and can be seen wielding swords, maces, spears, picks, jarids, and two-handed axes. Sarranid Guards have one of the rarer and more powerful two-handed weapons in the game, the Sarranid Battle Axe. Additionally, their Sarranid Guard Armor is light yet very protective. Their downside is that their spread in skills means that a given skill won't be quite as high as another unit that is more specialized, and like the Vaegir Guard they can sometimes have problems with their survival in general. However, few infantry units are as flexible as a group of Sarranid Guards. Although they don't have horses, Sarranid Guards are tagged as mounted units and so will not slow you down on the world map.