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 and Swadians are somewhat aesthetic; while each has its own individual strengths (Vaegir Marksmen fire much faster than Swadian Sharpshooters) there are also some weaknesses that balance this out.

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 boast accurate archers and durable knights, but the correct use of a varied party is still the key to victory.

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
Contrary to popular belief, 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.

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 updgraded 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 before the archers; the archers won't kill too much.