HC (of course also Jannies) are a good unit, if used correctly ?

I recently read some post claiming that HCs are a bad unit, that you should almost never build. There are some videos that support this claim by showing how HC does against several units including arbs, that not only win 1v1 but also work better against infantry (which is the supposed strength of the HCs).

And i dont want to argue with this point, obviously you should not engage arbs on the field with your HCs. If use them like this the unit is indeed not very powerful. There are however 2 situations in which this units shines, and is better than the arb.

Mixed unit combat. Jannies (yes they have +1 range) or HC (FI) + Kts is for example a great combination for 2v2 Arena. And here with a meat shield the gunpowder units shine. If both sides have the same amount of kts and the same amount of arb/xbow or HC, be sure that i will allways take the HCs. Against the 4 pierce armor kts, the damage output of the HC is superior. And that is the situation in that the HC is the strongest: together with a meat shield against units with a mid-> high pierce armor.

HC are the perfect damage dealer for this situation.

The second situation is more obvious. It is for a unit switch/or a FI scenario. If you feel that you need a range support for your troups, the way to HC is mostly the shortest, no (not many) upgrades needed. For FI or jannie-push in castle age, it is obviously the only choice, since they do very good against most castle age units.

It is also worth noting that many civs that get HC dont really have a good archers as an option.

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So HCs are good as a support units especially against mid-high pierce armor units. They are not the best option against trash though.