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Thessalian Cavalry EpirusEpirus Shock Cavalry

Thessalian Cavalry

Superb heavy horsemen who can smash through most opposition on their first charge.

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.

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Thessalian Cavalry

Unit Name

Thessalian Cavalry

Main Unit Key

Gre_Thessalian_Cav

Land Unit Key

Gre_Thessalian_Cav

Naval Unit Key

pel_transport

Soldiers

80

Category

Cavalry

Class

Shock Cavalry

Custom Battle Cost

740

Recruitment Cost

740

Upkeep Cost

130

Melee Attack

40

Weapon Damage

25

├ Melee Weapon

rome_lance

├ Melee Damage Base

14

├ Melee Damage Ap

11

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

10

├ Bonus vs Elephants

10

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

67

Melee Defence

15

├ Base Defence

15

├ Shield

none

└ Shield Defence

0

Armour

40

├ Armour

spolas_improved

├ Armour Defence

40

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

90

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_heavy

├ Man Health

40

├ Bonus Hit Points

20

├ Mount

rome_hellenic_horse_lance_h

├ Mount Entity

rome_horse_heavy_shock

└ Mount Health

30

Base Morale

65

Abilities

Thessalian Cavalry
  • Diamond
    The unit moves into a diamond-shaped attack formation.
    Charge bonus, melee attack
    Acceleration, melee defence

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.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Transport
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Very slow speed
  • Weak ramming
Thessalian Cavalry
  • Good charge
  • Low damage but average armour penetration
  • Weak in prolonged melee
  • Average morale
Requires Buildings
Thessalian Cavalry Lv. 0 Hoplite Barracks
Hoplite Barracks
(greek_military_heavy_3)
Level 2
Royal Barracks
Royal Barracks
(greek_military_heavy_4)
Level 3