Varu (Civ6)

The Varu is a unique heavy cavalry unit of the Indian civilization in Civilization VI.
* Attributes:
** Ignores enemy zone of control.
** Reduces the Combat Strength of adjacent enemy units by 5 ( non-cumulatively; cumulatively under other rulesets).
== Strategy ==
The most important aspect of the special ability of the Varu is that it acts on multiple units at the same time. A single Varu will reduce the Combat Strength of all enemy units next to it, so the best use for these majestic beasts is to throw them directly into the line of battle and support them with other hard-hitting troops. The Varu will not only weaken all adjacent enemies, but they will also do decent damage. Varu are also an amazing defensive troop since a group of them will weaken an entire army, reducing the damage done to your cities.
Under Gandhi, this unit is more defensive with a domination tendency for skilled players since it is quite slow, but under Chandragupta, the Varu force turns absolutely deadly. Once a War of Territorial Expansion is declared (one of the easier Casus Belli to satisfy), it moves as fast as the standard Horseman, and its 40 Combat Strength and ability to weaken surrounding enemies make it the strongest military unit on the field. A Spearman has only 30 Combat Strength (counting its +10 bonus against cavalry) when fighting next to one Varu, and (in vanilla Civilization VI and Rise and Fall) even less when next to two or more of them. Aim for Military Tradition to unlock Maneuver and keep cranking out an army of Varu, and nothing will be able to stop your march. The Varu's Combat Strength penalty to nearby units even applies to both land and naval units, even when the Varu is embarking. However, it will not reduce the Combat Strength of a nearby embarked unit below the embarkation Combat Strength threshold.
With the release of Gathering Storm, Varu change in some noteworthy ways. The Combat Strength penalty they impose on enemy units is no longer cumulative, so enemies will lose 5 Combat Strength even if they're adjacent to multiple Varu, balancing out its power level a little bit. However, in exchange, their maintenance cost is reduced from 3 to 2, so the Indians won't put as much of a strain on their economy by adding some Varu to their army. Lastly, they can still be trained after unlocking Cuirassiers (until Combustion renders them obsolete).
Overall, the Varu is a powerful and effective unit killer. Its negative Combat Strength aura helps your other units, especially ranged units on the backline, deal more damage on offense and take less damage on defense as well. It is a crucial unit under Chandragupta, much less so under Gandhi.
== Civilopedia entry ==
== Gallery ==
File:Varu concept art.jpg|Varu concept art
File:Civ6 varu1.jpg|Varu in game
File:Historic Moment Varu (Civ6).png|Historic Moment for building the Varu
ru:Вару (Civ6)
Category:Indian