Pegasus Knights

Pegasus Knights is a Bretonnia cavalry unit. Stronger and faster than the mightiest warhorse, the Pegasus Knight swoops across the battlefield with a powerful airborne charge.

Description
Most Pegasus Knights hail from around the border city of Parravon, hard on the slopes of the Grey Mountains where many of their noble mounts can be found. Their numbers are made up almost exclusively of Knights of the Realm, and then only the richest and most influential can boast of owning a battle-trained pegasus, for the creatures are difficult to capture and harder still to train. Accordingly, to own such a beast is the ultimate symbol of wealth and success for their owners, but in truth a pegasus is also a great practical boon for any Knight fortunate enough to acquire one. A pegasus is stronger and faster than even the mightiest warhorse, easily able to crush a man’s skull with its flailing hooves and cover great distances swiftly. Indeed, in the more wild and inaccessible domains of Bretonnia, there is real merit to a steed that is not prone to becoming mired in mud or entangled in thorns. On the battlefield, small groups of Pegasus Knights will group together, often outstripping the rest of the army as they search for honourable combat.

Strategy
Pegasus Knight units are small in number but can be absolutely devastating if handled correctly. As sword-and-board Cavalry as opposed to the Shock Cavalry that most other Bretonnian knights are, they have surprising staying power in combat, being as heavily armored as Questing Knights but also featuring a shield for additional arrow protection. They will need it--as fliers, ranged units are a constant threat. Yet Pegasus Knights are also some of the best units in Bretonnia's arsenal for dealing with archers or artillery, able to zip around the flanks and descend upon poorly guarded units with brutal results. They can even capably fight units that should counter them, such as Spearmen, thanks to their flying capability allowing them to hit them from above and thus avoid charging into a wall of pointed sticks--this is still not something they should be doing regularly, however. The best way to use Pegasus Knights is to destroy isolated units and back lines, always keeping in mind that with a mere 18 knights to a unit, any time they might face getting stuck into an extended battle, it's probably best to just fly away and find a more friendless target.

Pegasus Knights require substantial investment to get going, but are the cheapest fliers Bretonnia has access to and thus can count on holding down their niche throughout the game. Two or three units of Pegasus Knights are an excellent investment for midgame Bretonnian armies, adding another dimension to their already stellar mobility. They also provide the extremely rare and terrifying ability to charge enemies on top of walls! Given how difficult maneuvering units around is on top of walls, it is surprisingly easy to isolate units, and Pegasus Knights can provide crucial support to the foot soldiers during siege attacks.