A volley of javelins announces these men; their swords eloquently make a general's point.
Employing Celtic shortswords or the xiphos, with its very similar blade-shape, these heavily-armoured elite swordsmen acted as frontline and shock infantry in Pontic armies. Garbed in scale armour and carrying thureos shields, they were equipped with javelins in addition to their swords. When charging or receiving a charge, they would throw their javelins at close range, draw their swords and attack before their enemy had chance to recover. This has led to them being referred to as imitation legionaries and the suggestion that they copied the fighting style of the Roman Legions. Over the course of the three Mithridatic Wars, waged between Pontus and Rome from 88-63BC, there was certainly time to recruit and reorganise the Pontic army on the Roman model. However, such infantry may equally have developed under the influence of the Celtic Galatian settlers or the Hellenic thorakitai, a more heavily armoured form of thureophoroi. Whatever the case, Pontic swordsmen were well disciplined and equipped, and highly effective in battle.
Unit Name
Pontic Swordsmen
Main Unit Key
Eas_Pontic_Sword
Land Unit Key
Eas_Pontic_Sword
Naval Unit Key
persian_transport
Soldiers
160
Category
Melee Infantry
Class
Melee Infantry
Custom Battle Cost
700
Recruitment Cost
700
Upkeep Cost
85
Missile Damage
34
├ Missile Weapon
rome_javelin_precursor
├ Projectile
javelin_prec
├ Missile Damage
19
├ Missile Ap Damage
15
└ Base Reload Time
40
Accuracy
5
Range
40
Reload
0
Shots Per Minute
2
Ammunition
2
Melee Attack
30
Weapon Damage
38
├ Melee Weapon
rome_celtic_hellenic_sword_elite
├ Melee Damage Base
33
├ Melee Damage Ap
5
├ Armour Piercing
No
├ Bonus vs. Large
0
├ Bonus vs Elephants
0
└ Bonus vs Infantry
7
Charge Bonus
16
Melee Defence
72
├ Base Defence
37
├ Shield
thureos
└ Shield Defence
35
Armour
92
├ Armour
scale
├ Armour Defence
57
└ Shield Armour
35
Health
65
├ Man Entity
rome_infantry_heavy_fast
├ Man Health
55
└ Bonus Hit Points
10
Base Morale
50
Abilities
Pontic Swordsmen
Shieldwall The unit moves into a close formation and raises shields.
Armour strength, bracing, melee defence, shield strength
Limited speed
Use the Whip Improved attack and fatigue resistance for a short time.
Melee attack, weapon damage, fatigue resistance
Exertion: fatigue
Attributes
Disciplined This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
Hide (forest) This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
Resistant to Heat This unit tires less quickly in the desert.