Thessalian League (Wrath of Sparta) Melee Cavalry

Thessalian Hippeus

Thessalian horses, Lacedaemonian women and the men who drink from the sacred Arethusa were, according to one oracle cited by Strabo, the three best things in all of Greece. Regardless of whether the last two parts ring true or not, Thessalian heavy cavalry were without doubt a highly disciplined, mobile and esteemed allied unit in Greek armies. Similar in many respects to the hetairoi, the Macedonian companion cavalry, both units used the xyston double-ended lance, but some evidence suggests that at times shorter spears and javelins may also have been used. Their mobility came from the rhombus formation they adopted, reputedly invented by Jason of Pherae, that enabled a unit to turn with cohesion, form up and charge on any of its four points. During Alexander’s campaigns, the contingent of Thessalian Cavalry accompanying him numbered roughly 2,000 men, 200 for every vote Thessaly had in the League of Corinth. They were commonly assigned the left flank, guarding it from enemy cavalry as the right flank spearheaded the attack.

Unit Name Thessalian Hippeus

Main Unit Key Pel_Thessalian_Hippeus

Land Unit Key Pel_Thessalian_Hippeus

Naval Unit Key pel_transport

Soldiers 80

Category Cavalry

Class Melee Cavalry

Custom Battle Cost 1130

Recruitment Cost 1130

Upkeep Cost 190

Missile Damage 32

├ Missile Weapon rome_javelin_precursor

├ Projectile javelin_prec

├ Missile Damage 20

├ Missile Ap Damage 12

└ Base Reload Time 15

Accuracy 5

Range 40

Reload 0

Shots Per Minute 4

Ammunition 2

Melee Attack 42

Weapon Damage 29

├ Melee Weapon rome_spear_cav_elite

├ Melee Damage Base 24

├ Melee Damage Ap 5

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Bonus vs. Large 15

├ Bonus vs Elephants 15

└ Bonus vs Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 30

Melee Defence 48

├ Base Defence 48

├ Shield none

└ Shield Defence 0

Armour 60

├ Armour bronze

├ Armour Defence 60

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 85

├ Man Entity rome_infantry_very_heavy

├ Man Health 45

├ Bonus Hit Points 20

├ Mount pel_greek_horse_h

├ Mount Entity rome_horse_medium_shock

└ Mount Health 20

Base Morale 65

Abilities

No Ability

Attributes

• 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.
• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Very poor hull strength
• Very slow speed
• Weak ramming

• Very good charge
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Weak in prolonged melee
• Good morale

Faction Availability
Wrath of Sparta	Thessalian League (Wrath of Sparta)