Tiger Claws are fast melee shock infantry, similar to Coyote Runners, but with an anti-infantry multiplier and a negative heavy infantry multiplier. Combined with their lack of an anti-cavalry bonus, they are ill-suited for fighting hand cavalry and heavy infantry.
They have an anti-infantry bonus that combined with their speed and not being classified as heavy infantry allows them to resist and hunt down enemy Skirmishers and other ranged infantry, basically working like a cheaper and weaker shock infantry version of the Naginata Rider.
They can be greatly boosted by home city cards, especially those of the Haudenosaunee and French, pushing them close to the performance of far more expensive cavalry units without taking up any population space.
Their speed also makes them efficient raider units, while they are also affected by two out of three Bhakti technologies, making them more capable at later stages of the game.
Upgrades native warriors to Elite/Disciplined/Veteran and Champion/Honored/Royal Guard (if not already); Native Embassies get +40% hit points and +5 build limit (also +4 Uhlans for the Germans)
Infantry and shock infantry train time -40% (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians)
"Native Treaties" is available to Europeans (except the Maltese) and Native Americans, and ships 2 Tiger Claws if the player had built a Trading Post on a Bhakti Temple.
"Native Alliance" is available to the Aztecs, Inca, Indians, and Japanese.
"Native Warriors" is available to Europeans and Native Americans (except the Haudenosaunee).
"Native Warrior Combat" is available to the French, Haudenosaunee, Inca, and Mexicans (upon revolting to the Maya).
"TEAM Native Weapon Trade" is available to the Dutch, Native Americans (except the Inca), and also British and French upon revolting to Canada.
"Blood Brothers" is available to the Aztecs, French, Germans, Haudenosaunee, Lakota, Portuguese, Russians, and Spanish.
"Liberation March" is available to the Mexicans and Spanish.
"Fencing School" is available to the Aztecs, Europeans (except the Maltese, Ottomans, and Spanish), and Indians.
Maroons, native warriors, and Villagers now regenerate hit points at a rate of 0.25% per second when idle; Yoruba Eso Rider hit point degeneration rate -60% and Militiaman hit point degeneration rate -10%, and for both stops at 25% hit points
Each different allied native tribe sends a large shipment of their respective native warriors and upgrades them to Elite and Champion (if not already); native warriors train time -10%; native warrior shipments and "Native Treaties" arrive time -50%; costs 500 food, 500 wood
"Indian Friendship"/"Chimayo Genizarios" ships 3 Tiger Claws if the player had built a Trading Post on a Bhakti Temple.
Ships 1 Carbine Cavalry for each shipment sent so far this game including this one; unit train time (except Heavy Cannons), technology research time, and age-up time -10%; costs 250 food, 250 wood
"Indiana Mobilization" is available upon selecting the Indiana Federal State.
Despite what their unit history states, the Tiger Claw's weapon, when examined closely, is actually the Japanese tekko-kagi instead of the proper bagh nakh. The tekko-kagi is a gauntlet occasionally used by ninja as a climbing piton, while the bagh nakh is a ring system (individual or knuckleduster-esque) occasionally integrated into knife handles.
The Tiger Claw was originally topless, as shown in his unit portrait, his art and model in the history portrait.
History[]
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The tiger claw, or "bagh nakh," is a weapon named for the wound it inflicts: a series of slice marks that resemble the clawing left by a wild animal. Usually made of metal, the tiger claw was wielded by Indian assassins and warriors of the seventeenth century. The basic design consists of a metal handle that is grasped in the palm. Two to four curved claws sprout from handle, sticking from the gap between the fighter's fingers. More of a close-quarters, brawling weapon, the tiger claw is believed to have also been used in larger battles, most famously by Sivaji, the powerful emperor of the Indian Maratha.