Spearman

The spearman represents the perfection of the pole-weapon infantryman across the Bronze Age and into Antiquity. Armed with a long, well-balanced shaft — sometimes exceeding three meters — and a hardened tip of bronze or iron, he is trained to fight not as an individual but as part of a formation. The tactical strength of massed spearmen lies in the hedge of points they present to an attacker: a charging horseman faces half a dozen spear tips before he can land a blow. From the Bronze Age Sea Peoples to the Macedonian sarissa-bearer, the long-spear infantryman shaped the battlefield for over a millennium. In the game he is a premier counter to cavalry, forming tight formations that absorb charge attacks and grind down mounted units, though he is vulnerable to ranged fire and flanking maneuvers.