Deity horse thief - Horseman for worker steal?

InaneObserver

Warlord
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
100
Location
Norway
Has anyone experimented with getting a Horseman out fast for improved worker stealing?

An early-game skirmish with a deity AI often makes sense, to slow them down, prevent close settles and farm workers. The starting warrior is often used for this. I'm wondering if it's worth it to get a Horseman?

Advantages: Faster movement rate = snipe more workers and farm gold from pillage.
Disadvantages: May come too late to be useful, higher production cost, may cause a tech detour (on the other hand, HBR is on the way to Civil Service). Lose 2 gpt from selling horses. May cause an extension of war that makes white peace harder.

Thoughts and experiences?

Edit: Alex may be particularly suited for this strat.
 
far too late to make a difference, at that point in the game I'm usually stacked with workers
 
On Deity, with every turn past 10, worker steals become exponentially more difficult, as the computer plaer is making units and improving city bombard strength.
 
Horseman is only good for capturing cities on deity and recapturing workers used for baiting. Usually too weak to attack units, and their movement after attacking is especially good for cities that can be recaptured.
 
If the worker is not near a city or melee unit then you don't need the mobility.

If the worker is near a city or melee unit, then your unit needs to stack with the worker and be able to stand up to a hit (or two). So that does not describe a horse unit either!
 
If the worker is not near a city or melee unit then you don't need the mobility.

If the worker is near a city or melee unit, then your unit needs to stack with the worker and be able to stand up to a hit (or two). So that does not describe a horse unit either!

Not to mention the fact that you need workers to improve the horses so you can steal workers. It's just inelegant all around.
 
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