War Mammoth


 * For the mount, please see War Mammoth (mount).

 is a Norsca melee monster unit introduced in Total War: Warhammer. This twisted and enraged beast is a terrifying totem of might and power.

Description
To the Chaos-touched tribes of the Northern Wastes, the Mammoths are living totems of might and power - beasts who go where they will and destroy what they will, and are so considered sacred creatures in their own right, that to tribes which through fortune, sorcery, or the favour of the gods come to bring one of these creatures into the fold (for none can ever be truly tamed), great honour and fear is attached. The Mammoths roam all across the north, feeding off blasted scrubland and thorny barrens and, from the shores of the Sea of Claws to the cold wastes of K'dathi they are venerated by Norscans and Hung alike; but it is the Dolgan tribes that have historically had the most success adding the prodigious strength of the Chaos Mammoths to that of their tribes through the jealously guarded secrets of their shaman. These Chaos War Mammoths, or vraszas is the name given to them by the Dolgan, make fearsome foes in battle against which few mortals have a hope of standing firm against. The greatest warriors of the tribe ride into battle on their backs, fighting from fortified wooden platforms while others, given over to the tribe's shaman-sorcerers, carry the mighty war-altars of the Chaos Gods, held aloft and inviolable for all below to see.

Abilities

 * No Ability

Attributes

 * ↑ Anti-Infantry: Anti-infantry units have an advantage against targets that are smaller than a horse. This advantage can be a damage bonus against small targets, superior weight used to smash through lighter enemies, or an explosive attack from range that effects a large area.
 * ↑ Armour-Piercing: The damage of armour-piercing weapons mostly ignores the armour of the target, making them the ideal choice against heavily-armoured enemies. They are often heavier and attack at a slower rate though, making them less efficient against poorly-armoured targets.
 * ↑ Armoured: Armoured units can block damage from any source apart from Armour-Piercing damage.
 * ↑ Causes Terror: This unit can cause terror, making its melee target rout for a short time. Units that cause terror are immune to terror and fear themselves.

Strategy
Although expensive, War mammoths are, by some long standing players, considered to be the most effective melee unit in the whole game. A 'Doomstack' of a lord, a wizard and 18 war mammoths can take on armies of 1.5 times it size on any difficulty with a decent player controlling it. The strength of war mammoths comes forth from the fact of their extremely high hit points, and their effective attack animations, and their ability to cause instant routs due to terror and fear. It is considered to be the best unit in the norscan army roster.

Notably, the missile attacks from its back are javelins which have a bonus vs. large making the War mammoth one of the few units to have a bonus vs. infantry and large units.