

Agema Spears
Guardsmen brings years of experience to the fight, along with tried and tested courage.Composed of veterans, agema - or guards - were elite units within Hellenic and Successor armies. They first appeared under Alexander the Great, where elitism was actively encouraged and rewarded, marking the move from citizen soldiers, loyal to the state, to professional armies, loyal to their general. Alexander’s agema probably developed from the ranks of his Companions, but as his campaigns continued successfully more units of veterans naturally emerged. Known as hypaspists, they probably fought in the hoplite style, but used a smaller hoplon than their predecessors. Their role was to protect the vulnerable flanks of the pike phalanxes and support the cavalry. Such units could have long careers, the famed silver shields, for instance, fought as mercenaries first for Eumenes and then Antigonus after Alexander’s death, also being used as the blueprint for the later Seleucid Silver Shields. Highly valued for their experience, many Silver Shields continued fighting well into their sixties. Later agema diversified, and the term came to be used for many elite or veteran hypaspist, peltast or cavalry units during the period. These units often bore battle honours or nicknames celebrating their victories; at the siege of Oaeneum in 169BC a vanguard of peltasts, the ‘nicatores’, or ‘conquerors’, stormed the walls.
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Unit Name Agema Spears |
Main Unit Key Gre_Agema_Spears |
Land Unit Key Gre_Agema_Spears |
Naval Unit Key pel_transport |
Soldiers 160 |
Category Melee Infantry |
Class Spear Infantry |
Custom Battle Cost 840 |
Recruitment Cost 840 |
Upkeep Cost 130 |
Missile Damage 29 |
├ Missile Weapon rome_javelin_light |
├ Projectile javelin_light |
├ Missile Damage 20 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 9 |
└ Base Reload Time 10 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 80 |
Reload 0 |
Shots Per Minute 6 |
Ammunition 5 |
Melee Attack 32 |
Weapon Damage 29 |
├ Melee Weapon rome_spear_elite |
├ Melee Damage Base 24 |
├ Melee Damage Ap 5 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Large 20 |
├ Bonus vs Elephants 20 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 28 |
Melee Defence 59 |
├ Base Defence 34 |
├ Shield thureos |
└ Shield Defence 25 |
Armour 80 |
├ Armour mail_improved |
├ Armour Defence 45 |
└ Shield Armour 35 |
Health 55 |
├ Man Entity rome_infantry_medium_fast |
├ Man Health 40 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 15 |
Base Morale 65 |
Abilities
Agema Spears- Square
The unit moves into a close square formation.
Bracing, morale, melee defence
Can't move
Attributes
- Expert Charge Defence
This unit’s melee attack and damage are increased against charging enemies. - Disciplined
This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often. - Encourage
This unit provides a morale bonus to nearby allies. - Formation Attack
The unit will try to stay in formation when in melee. - Hide (forest)
This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Transport- Very poor hull strength
- Very slow speed
- Weak ramming
- Good defensive unit
- Low damage but average armour penetration
- Average attack
- Normal morale
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Hannibal at the Gates | |
Imperator Augustus |