Unit Analysis: Mounted Cavalry

This time, we look at the outrageously brave (and some might say reckless) mounted light cavalry options for each faction.  In every list there are several options listed as 'cavalry', but today we only focus on bike or horse-riding troops, who ride into battle full of dash and elan seeking to close with their enemy. Because of their speed and offensive capabilities, these units are an important part of your force and can be employed in many ways - they can pick off isolated enemy units and harass or destroy them, they can turn back large-scale infantry assaults, or attack troops holding Objectives. They can also be used to claim an Objective themselves.  However, their speed and offensive punch come at a cost.  These units are glass cannons; if your opponent turns their guns on them, or mounts a serous counterassault, then it's likely the unit will suffer heavy casualties and swiftly be Annihilated.

Mounted light cavalry is a great choice to be deployed from a flank and the threat of doing so is likely to mean either that your opponent will need to consider dedicating some of their units to provide a defensive deterrent, or risk losing valuable backline units like artillery or field guns.  But deploying mounted Cavalry in this way also initially negates one of their main advantages - speed.

However, a dash across the table isn't without risk - running a gauntlet of enemy fire, like the Light Brigade at Balaclava, may well result in the same level of heavy losses.  Mounted light cavalry don't have the PIONEER special rule, meaning that you must trade protection for speed if you want to use terrain, like forests, to keep them safe as they advance.

Except for the Enlightened, mounted light cavalry have the same defensive profile as basic infantry (Defence of 2 and Damage Limit 1) meaning they will lose a model for every two damage taken. Because of this high attrition, mounted light cavalry is usually purchased at the size of 5/10/15 (for basic/reinforced/full strength units). In addition, many mounted cavalry units give away 3+ Victory Points when Annihilated, and aggressive use of these units mean it’s a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’, your opponent gets these points, so the challenge is to ensure that you get a favourable return on this investment.

Horse Guard Cavalry (Crown)

The Crown's only concession to the rise of the use of automata seems to be these robot steeds, who admittedly don't get spooked by enemy fire, need food or water, nor make a mess on their neat parade grounds.  With a speed of 8" they are fast, but slower than bike units.  They have only one attack, but it’s big; a Melee of 6(9)/8(12)/14(21) with the SHOCK rule, meaning you use the parenthesis value against Light enemies.  At full strength, that cavalry charge will be a truly overwhelming attack!  However, fighting in Melee means you can expect to take damage in return, so your damage output needs to exceed that dealt by your opponent, as mounted cavalry can die very quickly.

The Horse Guards also have two Special Rules; IRON RESOLVE means any Command you play on these troops counts as having a card value that's 2 higher than listed, meaning your opponent is less likely to be able to counter it, and OVERRUN which is triggered after you fight an enemy and fail to Annihilate them, and allows you to discard a card from your hand and fight again.  This makes them a reliable (and potentially unstoppable) flanker and if the Horse Guards do reach their intended target. They will likely inflict heavy casualties, but with no ranged weapons, each such assault is likely to whittle down your own numbers.

As you'd expect from the Crown, the Horse Guards maintain a high level of Discipline (7) with a Break Limit of 2, which again can be boosted by the LIONHEARTED Battle Group Special ability if necessary.  The Horse Guard will set you back 65/105/155 which is a fairly standard price for a mounted light cavalry unit and they yield 2/3/4 Victory Points when destroyed.

Jindouyun Steambikes (Empire)

The Steambikes are fast, moving at 10" with the HOVER rule, which allows them to move across obstacles, difficult terrain and water without penalty.  Where the Horse Guard do one thing very well, the Steambikes can do lots of things, giving them significant flexibility, but not the same overwhelming punch.  A key to their use for the Empire is their speed, the Jindouyun are one of the very few fast units that the Empire can field and therefore can play an invaluable role in seizing or contesting Objectives in the early turns, while the rest of your troops are still marching forward.

The Jindouyun tri-cannons have a good range of 7"/16" and against Light targets they shoot 5/10/15 while against Heavy targets a less impressive 3/5/7.  In Melee they are on a par with basic infantry at 3/6/9 so, they are most effective when staying at range and spraying enemies with fire, rather than getting too close to the action.

The Jindouyun are ideally suited to harassment of isolated or weakened enemy units, and even a cheeky last-activation-of-the-turn objective claim, and this is reflected in their Victory Points which are just 1/2/3, the lowest for any mounted light cavalry.  Despite not having the bells and whistles of other mounted light cavalry, the Jindouyun cost the standard 75/130/195, but they are less motivated to stay in the fight than many others, with Disciple 6, Break Limit 2.

Iron Horse Cavalry (Union)

The Union love their hover bikes and have 3 different options to pick from. Heavier options include the Blazer, festooned with machine guns and wonderfully named UR-31E Iron Eagle, with ARC firing bikes piloted by Automata (yee-haw?)  The Iron Horse is the most versatile of the bunch, intended for lightning assaults, but also packing a lot of flexibility to meet the demands of the moment for Union Generals.

The Iron Horse moves 10" with the HOVER ability, but it can also sneak a march with VANGUARD (10”), allowing a move forward before the game begins, potentially allowing them to seize an Objective in their first Activation, or adjust to any deployment overlaps. The Iron Horse has a 6"/14" shooting range, and are more effective against Light units with 4/8/12 and slightly less effective against Heavy targets at 3/6/9.

The Iron Horse also pack a real punch in Melee, with 4(6)/7(9)/11(13) using the SHOCK rule, meaning you use the parenthesis values against Light enemies.  This means they can both shoot enemies, or Charge them if necessary (for example to drive back and enemy and claim an all-important Objective). The Iron Horse also have HIT AND RUN (4") which allows them to shoot (or charge) and then scoot out of the way of a return attack, which is pretty handy for such a vulnerable unit.

The Iron Horse have Disciple 6 and Break Limit of 2 and can be purchased for a very reasonable 70/120/180, the equal cheapest mounted cavalry, but if (or when) they do get caught napping by an enemy, they yield a painful 3/4/5 Victory Points.

Mono Cav Cohort (Enlightened)

The Enlightened don't really follow the same rules as everybody else, and accordingly they have several fast-moving units who might be considered to fit the role of mounted light cavalry, including robot dogs, infantry (fitted with wheels) and spider walkers but nothing that’s a direct match to the other units profiled in this analysis.  The Mono Cav is the fastest of these options, with a base Move of 7", VANGUARD (7”), HIT AND RUN (5") and LOCOMOTOR BOOSTERS which allow you to activate the boosters to draw and discard a card from your deck, and if you want to double-time or charge, you add the value of the card to the Mono Cav movement (9"-19").  This means the unit could actually move slower than they might normally have been able to (14"), or you might be much faster, potentially reaching an enemy that would otherwise be just out of reach or even pushing right through the enemy line to attack targets from behind – it’s a real gamble, although obviously the unit does not have to move the full available allocation.

The Mono Cav comes in a smaller unit size than the others featured here at 4/8/12 but they are better armoured than any of the other mounted light cavalry, with Defence 3, Damage Limit 1 meaning it will take three hits to remove a model.  However, the LOCOMOTOR BOOSTERS must be used carefully, as the Mono Cav are Disciple 6, Break Limit 1, but also CONSTRUCTS, meaning that if the unit becomes Suppressed then it also becomes Disordered (as described above), and stays Disordered until it gets within 6" of an Enlightened Commander - which may be tricky if they have pushed too far ahead of the main battle-line where their Commander is busy PEER REVIEWING other CONSTRUCT troops.  

On the attack, the Mono Cav can attack Light targets with a range of 8"/14" dealing 4/8/14.  They can't fight in Melee, which means they will definitely lose any close combat fights if charged, which makes holding an Objective a tricky proposition.  They can, however, ram for an unimpressive Impact attack of 2/4/6 if absolutely essential.  So, the Mono Cav must pick their targets carefully, and use their Hit and Run judiciously, to avoid being overwhelmed by light targets in close combat, or being matched against heavy targets they can't hurt.  The Mono Cav are 70/120/180, the equal cheapest mounted light cavalry (alongside the Iron Horse), although this buys less models.  They also yield less Victory Points than the Union cavalry at 2/3/4.

Totenkopf Jaeger Cavalry (Imperium)

The Imperium are all about mobility (along with superior quality troops) and they offer two heavily armed bike-with-sidecar options to unleash mayhem on enemy forces, supporting your infantry as they pile out of their Sturmwagon transports.  But the Totenkopf Jaeger is something else; a self-contained death-machine and a true terror if deployed from a flank.

The Totenkopf Jaeger has Move 9" and an impressive array of weaponry.  Against Light units it has a range of 8"/14" with an attack of 4/8/14 using the SUPRESSIVE rule (which gives a -1 penalty to enemy Suppression tests caused by this weapon).  They also have CORROSIVE FUMES which means that any (non-automata) enemy within 2" at the end of their movement become Disordered, giving them -1 Discipline and preventing them from being issued orders.  When these rules are put together, the Totenkopf have the potential to cause real chaos, so long as they are willing to get into (very) close range.

Against Heavy targets they have a shorter 5"/12" range inflicting 3/5/7 but this attack has the PENETRATING rule which means that a model which suffers at least one damage and still has an unallocated hit after the attack, automatically loses a model.  When the Totenkopf Jaeger are at Basic size, this is touch-and-go, but at larger unit sizes, the Totenkopf Jaeger could take out even the most heavily armoured main battle tank, especially if they use their mobility to attack from an angle that defeats rules like RESILIANT (FRONT).  That's going to put a shiver down your opponents spine for sure and make the Totekopf a priority target!

If all that weren't enough, the Totenkopf is also extremely dangerous in Melee, dealing 4(6)/6(8)/10(14) with the SHOCK rule, meaning you use the parenthesis value against Light enemies, as well as the SUPPRESSIVE rule as described above.  They also have OVERRUN, like the Horse Guard, allowing them to dispatch weakened but not yet Annihilated foes in a follow up round of Melee.  This makes Totenkopf is an extremely effective Objective clearer, combining powerful anti-Light attacks as well as being a genuine threat to Heavy targets as well.  Fortunately for non-Imperium players, the Totenkopf doesn't benefit from any VANGUARD or HIT AND RUN shenanigans, making targeting them a little easier.

But the pain doesn’t stop there, if the Imperium takes Totenkopf as part of the Erlkonig Auxiliary Battle Group, you can issue THE WILD HUNT special command which (if not countered) will increase the speed of an infantry or cavalry unit by 2" when charging an enemy and add +2 to their Melee.  If applied to the Totenkopf Jaeger they will become super-duper Light unit killers!

As you might expect, the Totenkopf and has top-notch morale with Disciple 8, but with Break Limit 2 they may decide to retire sooner than others, should the Imperium General fail the test.  They are the most expensive of the mounted light cavalry, costing 80/145/215 and giving up 3/4/5 Victory Points.

Steppe Outrider Cavalry (Commonwealth)

The Commonwealth have two mounted light cavalry options, including the cryo-lance wielding Winged Hussar treadbikes, and each is strong in their own way (although both are very fragile).  But the Steppe Outriders are the truest cavalry (as they ride actual horses) and are incredibly versatile against all targets.  Because they have four-legs the Outriders have Move 8", but unlike the Horse Guards they also have VANGUARD (8"), allowing them to sneak across the battlefield before the game begins and they are IRREGULAR, which gives them some additional flexibility through Open formation and allowing them to target units outside the normal line of sight for ranged attacks (but if doing this they count only half the models to in the unit to determine the dice pool).

If they can reach their target, the Steppe Outriders can take on both Heavy and Light units.  Against Light targets they have a range of 5"/10", which is shorter than most guns, but not bad for a spear or arrow with a grenade on it, dealing 4/9/14 which is both DEVASTATING (meaning you round up any unallocated hits to an extra point of damage) and has PRECISION (meaning you can target enemy officers and cause enemy to become Disordered).  Against Heavy units their range is shorter at 3"/6" with the same 4/9/14 attack profile and again DEVASTATING which is much more likely to be significant against a vehicle.  Finally, if the Outriders charge an enemy, in Melee they inflict 4(5)/7(9)/10(13), again with DEVASTATING and with the WRECKERS ability, meaning you use the parenthesis values against Heavy targets.

The Steppe Outriders are a unit that really exemplify the mounted light cavalry role; it's extremely fragile but can inflict a powerful punch on almost any kind of unit, if it can get into its optimal short range.   Unlike many others, it can really hurt heavy units, as well as light - especially large units like tanks which can't fight back in melee.  It also has HIT AND RUN (5"), making it a perfect unit to mount an ambush, then hastily retreat before the enemy can strike back allowing you to stage your own 12 Strong experience in miniature.

Commonwealth Generals can really lean into this, by taking a Jad Auxiliary Battlegroup (which allows two bolstered cavalry units) you gain the LEGACY OF THE KHANS ability, which means you can discard a card from your hand to allow a unit with HIT AND RUN to increase their range to an amount equal their Movement - so the Outriders would increase this value from 5" to 8", which might make all the difference in terms of escaping enemy retribution.

The Steppe Outriders have a solid Disciple 7 and Break Limit 2. You will pay a standard 70/120/180 for the Steppe Outriders and give up only 2/3/4 Victory points when they are Annihilated, a good bargain given their potential to earn you Victory Points on the offence.

Bersaglieri Outriders (Alliance)

These elite Italian speeder-bikes pack look pretty advanced and pack a real wallop, filling an important gap in Alliance mid-range firepower until your infantry arrive.  The Bersaglieri have a Move of 10" which has the HOVER special rule, but no VANGUARD to get a pre-game jump on the enemy, like some other fast-moving Cavalry.

Like the Steppe Outriders, the Bersaglieri are also an IRREEGULAR unit, giving some flexibility to movement and to help to shield them as they speed toward their targets, they are also SHROUDED , giving any ranged attack a negative modifier to hit them.

The Bersaglieri can terrorise both Light and Heavy targets at a respectable range of 10"/20" for both; against Light Targets they fire 4/8/12. But they really shine against Heavy targets shooting 3/5/7 with the PENTRATING special ability, giving the potential to knock out a whole model with each shot. However, the Bersaglieri are better at shooting rather than getting into close quarters. In Melee, they fight with a mediocre 3/6/9, which is on par with the Empire's Jindouyun Steambikes.

As you'd expect for such elite troops, the Bersaglieri have a high-level of self-belief, with Discipline 7 and a Break Limit of 2.  They are also amongst the cheaper of Light Cavalry options with a points cost of 70/120/180, equal in price to the Union's Iron Eagles but giving up less Victory Points at 2/3/4.  With their speed, the Bersaglieri should be able to line up their choice of targets, especially if deployed from the Flank.  But they'll not withstand much concentrated return-fire, nor a determined counter-charge in Melee, so must be used with care and not necessarily relied on to clear the enemy from an Objective.

Macedonian Companions (Sultanate)

Name-checking some of the most famous and successful cavalry in history, it’s easy to see why the Crown might be a little dark about the Macedonian Companions – after all they have taken the same mount as the Horse Guard and just done everything else better and with more flair (including those flowing cloaks!)

Like the Horse Guard the Companions have a Move 8” and have no shooting attack, in favour of mixing it up at close-quarters; complete with the ability to OVERRUN their target to ensure they finish the job. In Melee they deal an identical 6(9)/8(12)/14(21) with the SHOCK rule.  This attack is also DEVASTATING adding an additional punch. The Companions also have some additional tricks to complete their mission.

First, they have the VETERAN (1) Special Ability, which allows it to transform one single hit, into two automatically.  A powerful benefit, especially when used with OVERRUN.  The Companions are also the best protected of mounted Light cavalry, with both SHROUDED and the potent special rule DURABLE, meaning Heroic Strikes only inflict a single hit, instead of two.

You can also embrace Greek strategy, employing hit-and-run tactics for the Companions as part of the Armatolis Auxiliary Battlegroup by issuing the KLEPHTOPOLEMOS Special Command, which (if not countered) allows the Companions to PORTAL STRIKE, Charging straight into Melee via a Portal and potentially delivering a real sucker-punch to any Light unit unfortunate enough to be targeted in this way.  If planned carefully through Portal placement at the start of the turn, this allows the Companions to target any unit on the table and likely devastate them.  Of course, such a heroic charge into enemy territory may have consequences, and the Companions may be swiftly cut off, surrounded and wiped out after their initial heroics.

As befits their legendary name, the Companions have Discipline 7 and a Break Limit of 2.  But they also have a legendary price-tag costing 85/145/215 and giving up 3/4/5 Victory Points.  Easily the most elite and expensive mounted Light Cavalry unit, in a field where there’s bragging aplenty.

In the final analysis…  mounted light cavalry provide a fantastic offensive option for your army and, therefore, are a strong inclusion in most lists.  The question that Generals must then consider is what size of unit should be included, given their relative fragility and Victory points that they’ll yield when Annihilated, and whether they will be employed primarily to seize objectives, or to hunt enemies (or try and achieve both functions).

Most factions have additional cavalry options that can perform other, more specialised roles, and the decision about which unit to take will likely depend on other choices made in list building and player preference.  Obviously putting too much reliance on Cavalry units is risky, given they are built for offence, not defence, and a balanced list including infantry and armour, where Cavalry are used as a key supporting element, is more likely to perform better under most circumstances.

Across the factions, the Imperium and Sultanate offer mounted light cavalry options that are extremely aggressive and able to deliver a real hammer blow to virtually any enemy formation, especially if fielded at a Reinforced size or larger, but this comes with the dual risk at your opponent is likely to know this and ruthlessly target them from the jump.  Other factions have options that are more versatile, such as the Union and Commonwealth, but to use these units effectively a General must not only consider their attack run, but also how they will evade a devastating counter-punch using HIT AND RUN movement, which makes the tabletop terrain and placement of other units a key consideration when you activate them.

This post reflects the view and opinions of the author – your experiences may vary.  It was written based on the state of the game at the time of the Armoured Clash Global Update in May 2026 (Rules v1.04).  All game rules, descriptions and pictures created by Warcradle remain their Intellectual Property.