head to head
vs
Cossacks II: Napoleonic WarsvsMount & Blade: Warband
Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Mount & Blade: Warband leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Cossacks II: Napoleonic WarsMount & Blade: Warband
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 5
Mount & Blade: Warband leans harder on execution: Directional blocking with a real skill ceiling
Reads2 vs 2
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 3
Mount & Blade: Warband leans harder on variance: Emergent campaign events and lord politics
Optimization9 vs 8
Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars leans harder on optimization: economy, army composition, macro management
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.