Conqueror's blade : Sipahis - Chaos in the enemy ranks

Hey my zoulous and welcome to this new article.
In this video, we are going to talk about a rather special cavalry unit that can actually be quite interesting. I present to you the Sipahis!

Let’s start with how to obtain them.
The Sipahis can be unlocked through the Season 4 Blood of Empire challenges. You will first need to unlock the Janissaries before you can start the Sipahis challenges.

You can also unlock the Cyphaux through the unit tree under the Heart of the Mediterranean tab in exchange for Honor.
While we’re at it, to optimize the Cyphaux as much as possible, make sure to pick the unit nodes that increase blunt damage by 15% and movement speed by 10%.
Once the Sipahis are acquired, there are several points to go over.

Let’s talk about veterancy.

Here, we want to focus on the bottom line, mainly for the 15% increased damage dealt to infantry compared to the top line, the 15% damage buff after charging, as well as the additional blunt damage stats.

Regarding doctrines.

You can equip the Combat Doctrine, also known as 3-6-9, as well as the Devastation Doctrine. Optionally, you can also add the Lifebreaker Doctrine, which increases damage by 20% against regenerating units.
To finish with more classic choices, add damage with the T5 Unit Damage Doctrine and potentially some survivability with the Defense Doctrine, which reduces damage taken by 5% and increases resistances.
Personally, I also added the Plains Doctrine to increase the unit’s movement speed, as it is quite slow for a cavalry unit.

Let’s move on to masteries.



The Sipahis also have an important mastery that increases their overall stats, but more importantly buffs the Trample ability through the Steel Knight node by increasing damage and damage reduction by 5% per unit hit, up to a maximum of 25%. (Considering that during a Cyphaux charge it is quite easy to hit a large number of units.)
Regarding the Glory of the Empire node, it essentially grants anti-CC during skills and reduces damage taken while using the Cyphaux’s three skills. This node is, of course, crucial to properly play the Cyphaux.
And that wraps up the customization of the Sipahis. Let’s now move on to their usage.

The Cyphaux is a charge cavalry unit, BUT it is very different from Hussars, Templars, Coutiliers, and other typical charge cavalry units.
This unit has several roles in combat. The first mandatory role is the debuff applied to enemies when the Cyphaux hit them.
Indeed, with the Unleash skill, for 4.5 seconds, units hit by the Cyphaux will take 50% increased damage. This is extremely powerful when trying to break an entrenched enemy formation.
Second role: damage and control. Unlike standard charge cavalry, the Cyphaux aim to create chaos within enemy lines by staying inside the blob, notably through the Trample skill, which deals blunt damage and launches enemies into the air, disrupting enemy formations.
Another possible role: during the charge, the Cyphaux perform a jump that can allow them to reach the backline. A possible use is to target exotic units such as Siphonaros, Shenji, Coco, or even archers with the cavalry.
Be careful: Cyphaux are vulnerable to anti-cavalry units. Unless you are coming from the side or the back of an already engaged unit, avoid charging directly into an anchored pike unit.

Let’s move on to formations. The Sipahis have three formations.First, the dispersed formation allows you to cover more ground. This is interesting for this cavalry unit, as one of its goals is to broadly debuff the enemy blob.
Next, we have the guard formation, which is much more compact. It is a good option in tight areas and also useful when focusing specific units, as damage will be concentrated on a single point, allowing you to eliminate a threat very quickly.
Finally, the rank formation, which is a sort of mix between the previous two. Personally, I don’t use it, but it allows you to cover a fairly wide area, though smaller than the dispersed formation.

Let’s take a quick look at passives. The Cyphaux have three passives. The first one, Calm Recovery, increases the unit’s resistances and movement speed as soon as it takes initial damage for 10 seconds. Since this passive is refreshed when activating the Trample skill, it is beneficial to prolong fights to take full advantage of it.
The second passive, Assassins, grants the unit 30% increased damage for a few seconds if the Cyphaux kill a hero during Trample. It can therefore be interesting to try to focus a hero close to the enemy blob to benefit from this bonus.
The third passive is fairly standard: Fireproof. Essentially, this unit has increased resistance to fire.

That’s already the end of this article—I hope you enjoyed it. Don’t forget the thumbs up if you liked it, and if you want to follow the channel, make sure to subscribe! As a reminder, you can use the code ZYX515 to gain access to some in-game benefits for new players, or ZYL515 for players who haven’t launched the game in over a month.