Army of Eumenes - Base Game Inclusion

[Geffalrus]

Starting this thread as a discussion point for bringing the Army of Eumenes of Cardia to FoG2.

Background:

Eumenes of Cardia was Alexander the Great's secretary who later became one of the more impressive generals during the early Wars of the Diadochi. As a Greek in a Macedonian world made reactionary by Alexander's increasing Persophile tendencies, the accomplishments of Eumenes were all the more impressive because he had to overcome the jealousy and distrust of Macedonian commanders at every turn. Perhaps this is why Eumenes was such a dedicated supporter of the royal regent Perdiccas, and of the royal Argead family; these were the only Macedonians who truly valued and accepted him. In a time where allies constantly backstabbed each other for advantage, the loyalty of Eumenes to the throne stood out. As a independent military commander, Eumenes was in action from 322BC - 315BC. During this time, he campaigned from the Hellespont and Anatolia, all the way to Media and Persia.

TTT Mod: Before I go any further, I would be remiss to not mention that Eumenes is already included in the TTT Mod. In fact, I'll be using at least one of the units the creator has already designed. I will, however, be suggesting a slightly different manifestation of the Army of Euemenes, compared to what is seen in the mod.

Initial Argument:

The obvious question to ask is why can't the generic Macedonian army lists for before and after 320BC represent Eumenes in the field? My answer to this is that those lists include units like elephants, warbands, hoplites, and thorakitai that were not present in either or both armies that Eumenes commander during the Diadochi Wars. On top of that, those lists do not accurately represent the units that - were - used by Eumenes in the historical record. In particular, the Cappadochian Cavalry that Eumenes personally raised and trained, and the Original Silver Shields (Argyraspides). In the TTT mod, the creator portrays the Argyraspides as Elite morale pikes purchasable for 120 points, and I agree that this is an accurate approximation within the game's engine.

These Argyraspides were distinct from other veteran pike formations for a few reasons. During the Seleucid Empire, the Silver Shields were the royal guard of the king, and were composed of young military settlers doing their required tour of duty. This system provided for a highly trained phalanx division that would be personally loyal to the king. After their tour, the former Silver Shields would go back to their military settlements until called upon in war time to serve as part of the Bronze Shields, the major portion of the phalanx. Young men become trained bodyguard become older reservists; a good system so long as you don't take heavy losses fighting someone like Rome.........heh. The Original Argyraspides, however, were highly experienced veterans of Alexander's conquest of Persia. They are described as being old men hardened into the fiercest fighting force of their time. And in battle, they mostly demonstrate this by easily defeating the phalanx of Antigonos the One Eyed in two back to back battles. There aren't a lot of Elite morale units in FoG2, but I fully believe that this unit deserves to be counted at the same level as Roman Veteran Legions, Byzantine Klibs, and Viking Beserkers.

The Cappadochian Cavalry were an interesting force because they were specifically described as good quality Persian horsemen.......trained and fighting in the Macedonian manner. Personally loyal to Eumenes, and holding a bit of a grudge against the Macedonians, the Cappadochians were the key elements to Eumenes' early victories over Neoptolemus and Craterus. In particular, they were sent against the famous general Craterus because Eumenes knew that they would never switch sides.......unlike the rest of his Macedonian troops. In game terms, I view these soldiers as best represented as 64 point armored superior lancers, just like Xystophoroi. Their main difference will be in what they make Eumenes's cavalry arm look like as part of his early army.

One last point to touch on, is that Eumenes' activities can be divided into two phases. In Phase 1, Eumenes is operating solely in Anatolia with his Cappadochian cavalry as his decisive element. After the defeat of Perdiccas in Egypt, Antigonos the One Eyed is sent to deal with Eumenes, and succeeds in bribing/turning the Macedonian cavalry contingent. This, combined with the presence of war elephants taken from Perdiccas's army, overwhelms Eumenes at the Battle of Orkynia, and forces him to take refuge in the fortress of Nora. In Phase 2, Eumenes escapes from the Antigonid siege lines and links up with mighty Silver Shields in Cilicia. Eumenes only had a small force with him at Nora, so the army he has after Cilicia is fundamentally composed of different forces. With the Silver Shields, he marches to Mesopotamia, is rebuffed by Seleucus, and makes his way to Media and Persia where he allies with the Eastern Satraps (except Peithon). So in Phase 1, Eumenes has an army that mixes Cappadochian and Macedonian elements, while in Phase 2, Eumenes relies on the Silver Shields, the Macedonian garrisons of Persia, and Persian levies.

Army Proposals:

To set the stage for what the Army of Eumenes should look like in Phases 1 and 2, we need a brief examination of the state of the army of Alexander as it was breaking apart after his death in Babylon. As Alexander bequeathed his empire to "the strongest" there were three main concentrations of Macedonian military forces spread in the territory stretching from Greece to India. In the west, Antipater the Strategos of Europe held the Macedonian homeland and had access to the spawn point for new Macedonian phalanx units, as well as the quality cavalry of neighboring Thessaly. This combination had allowed Antipater to deal with a Spartan uprising years earlier, but it did not possess the elephants or elite infantry that will be found farther east. In Babylon sat the largest concentration of troops, the Royal Macedonian Army. In this army were large numbers of veteran Macedonian infantry and cavalry, as well as new exotic units like war elephants. Antipater had been marching reinforcements to Alexander regularly over the years, so the Macedonian infantry probably occupied a spectrum of experience from relatively fresh to fairly experienced. The most experienced soldiers, however, were the Argyraspides who were now partway between Babylon and Macedon in the company of Craterus, one of the most well known and respected generals in Alexander's entourage. Craterus's force in Cilicia consisted of various Macedonian veterans, like the Argyraspides, who were being sent back to Macedon for retirement with all their accumulated plunder. Craterus did not have any war elephants as far as we know.

So those were the major forces - aka - the ones with access to significant amounts of Macedonian infantry or cavalry. In addition to these formations of Macedonian pikes, Macedonian cavalry, and Indian war elephants, Alexander's generals could also call upon two other sources of manpower: Greek mercenaries and local levies using the Persian satrapal system. Greek mercenaries were quite plentiful during this early period of Macedonian hegemony, to the extent that Alexander had difficulty making use of them all. Over 20,000 Greek mercenaries were left behind in Bactria to garrison the region, and a large army of mercenaries was gathered by a rogue Spartan using a portion of Alexander's stolen treasury (this whole time period was WILD) in an attempt to conquer Cyrenaica. As for local levies, it seems unlikely that the Macedonians had made any significant changes to the recruitment and armament of the locals from the Persian model.

Eumenes (322-319BC)

This army list represents the forces available to Eumenes as the Macedonian Satrap of Cappadochia, in the civil war between the regent Perdiccas and the rebellious coalition of Antipater, Ptolemy, Craterus, and Antigonus the One Eyed. During this time, Eumenes fought three battles: an unnamed battle with Neoptolemus when he betrayed Perdiccas, the Battle of the Hellespont vs. Craterus and Neoptolemus, and the Battle of Orkynia vs. Antigonus. To fight these battles, Eumenes had three sources of soldiers:

1) Whatever portion of the Royal Army Perdiccas left behind after the conquest of Cappadochia that installed Eumenes as satrap. This portion does not seem to have included any war elephants.

2) Whatever local forces Eumenes could raise from the Satrapy of Cappadochia. He apparently had enough time to find and train a local cavalry force in the Macedonian style, so he probably had the time and resources to assemble infantry forces as well, though no mention of - them - being trained in the Macedonian style.

3) Defeated Macedonian units press ganged into his army. The War of the Diadochi was a civil war where the Macedonian military population was one of the most valuable resources. Most generals in the conflict preferred to enroll defeated Macedonian phalangites into their own army. And this could be a relatively easy process since every general claimed to be fighting for the "true" royal authority.

In the first battle with Neoptolemus, the sources describe Neoptolemus as having the clear superiority in infantry due to his experienced phalanx, but is undone by how effectively Eumenes deployed the Cappadochian Cavalry. Neoptolemus is forced to flee leaving behind the entirety of his phalanx. At the Hellespont, Eumenes specifically sent the Cappadochians against Craterus while he led his Macedonian cavalry against Neoptolemus (who he slew in single combat). Eumenes was reportedly extremely reluctant to let his Macedonian forces even within eyesight of Craterus for fear that they would immediately switch sides and join the famous and popular general. Eumenes victory may have netted him some additional soldiers, but the sources mention that a significant number of infantry slipped away in the night. Loyalty of the Macedonian units was a continual problem for Eumenes, who only solved the problem by providing them with constant plunder from the territory of Antigonus......who showed up to put a stop to that in 319BC after the death of Perdiccas and the Conference of Triparadisus. The ensuing Battle of Orykynia saw Antigonus overcome Eumenes larger force of infantry and pikes with a combination of treachery, trickery, and elephants. Antigonus bribed the Macedonian cavalry commander under Eumenes, adopted a half deep pike formation to make it appear like he had a large phalanx, and led the attack with an elephant charge. Eumenes escaped with a portion of his Cappadochian cavalry and took refuge in the fortress of Nora, bringing an end to his first campaign.

So how does that translate to FoG2? Obviously, Eumenes can bring to the field an army very similar to what you see with the Antigonid, Lysimachid, and early Seleucid list. Let's start with the phalanx. As usual, we have our Veteran pikes and our Average pikes - in this case they represent a combination of units who fought in Alexander's campaigns in the East, plus units more recently raised by Antipater in Macedon. The earliest Seleucid list has the smallest total, while the Antigonid list has one of the largest pike totals. Since Euemes gained most of his phalanx by combat rather than recruitment or requisition from the Royal Army, I'm going to give this list the Lysimachid amount of pikes, which represents a middle ground: up to 3 Veteran Pikes and up to 7 Average Pikes. To further reinforce the fact that Eumenes gained these units through combat, he will have no mandatory Veteran Pikes and only 2 mandatory Average Pikes.

0/3 Veteran Pikes - 96 points
2 + 0/5 Average Pikes - 72 points

Next we have the cavalry. In terms of raw numbers, Eumenes does not massively outnumber his opponents in this regard, as far as we know. And while their quality is clearly high, I'm not sure yet if I can justify giving the Cappadochian Cavalry beyond Superior morale. More consideration will be needed. For now, I'm presenting them by exchanging all the light spear armored cavalry found in the Antigonid/Lysimachid for Armored Noble Lancers. For Xystophoroi, I'll use the amount seen in the Seleucid earliest list, as that is one of the smaller ones, representing that Eumenes was not relying as much on his Macedonian cavalry. So that's 3 (maybe 4) Xystophoroi and up to 7 Armored Noble Lancers. In total, Eumenes can bring a fearsome 10 superior armored lancers against enemies who can bring maybe 5 backed up by light spear cavalry that often includes a few average versions.

1 + 0/2 Xystophoroi - 64 points
3 + 0/4 Armored Noble Lancers - 64 points

After the Macedonian infantry, cavalry, and Cappadochian select horse are dealt with, next up would be Greek mercenaries. The Royal Army of Perdiccas probably had this in spades during the Cappadochian campaign, and I would bet that some amount were left behind with Eumenes as a garrison. Eumenes could probably have hired some additional forces, especially once he started pillaging Phrygia after Hellespont. And, of course, any Greek mercenaries in the two armies he defeated would have been easy acquisitions. What these mercenaries looked like is somewhat up for debate. My point of view tends to be that they are best represented by Thureophoroi, despite the fact that the thureos shield was not yet popular in Greece. In the TTT mod, early thureophoroi are reskinned and named as Iphikrates style Hoplites. Basically, the mercenaries are shown fighting with spear and shield in more open formations good for rough ground, but still capable of operating in the open. Eumenes is not described as having particularly many of these, so I'm going to give him a bit more than the early Seleucid list, but not as many as the Antigonid list. 5 seems a reasonable number to start with. No mention of Cretan mercenaries, and while that doesn't necessarily disprove their inclusion, I'll keep them out to help make the list a bit more unique.

1 + 0/4 Thureophoroi - 42 points

The last contingent for Eumenes will be the Cappadochian levies. While he clearly spent much effort upgrading the heavy cavalry, we hear nothing about any changes to the infantry. As such, I'll be drawing from the common Anatolian units: light javelin cavalry in a small amount, a moderate amount of Irregular Foot, and a collection of Eastern Archers/Slingers and javelinmen. Similar numbers to what we see in the early Seleucid list.

1 + 0/3 Light Javelin Horse (eastern variant)
2 + 0/6 Irregular Foot (Caucasian variant)
1 + 0/4 Eastern Archers
1 + 0/4 Eastern Slingers
1 + 0/4 Light Javelinmen

So that's a rough sketch of what the army could look like for Eumenes in Anatolia during the First War of the Diadochi. Probably have to retool things slightly to make sure the points work out correctly.

Eumenes 318-315BC

(Edit: Sorry for the delay. Okay, here we go.) In 319BC, Antigonus had Eumenes and a few supporters trapped in the fortress of Nora, but still needed to deal with the remaining Perdiccan faction generals and their private armies. Leaving a small siege force, Antigonus moved on, leaving Eumenes to entertain himself by inventing exercise routines for his besieged soldiers. Things changed in 318BC when Eumenes received word that Antipater, the senior member of the anti-Perdiccan coalition, had died of old age, leaving his title of Strategos of Europe to his lietenant Polyperchon.........rather than his son Cassander. This sparked a completely new civil war in the Macedonian Empire, and Eumenes took this as his cue to escape Nora and take his show on the road. After rallying a few supporters in Cappadokia (probably members of his elite cavalry), Eumenes crossed the Taurus Mountains and entered Cilicia where he encountered the Silver Shields led by Antigenes and Teutamus. The Silver Shields were guarding the royal treasury depot at Kylinda, so when Eumenes won them over to his side by playing on their loyalty to Alexander and his family, he gained an elite phalanx - plus - access to enough money to purchase a sizable mercenary contingent. This new army was enough for Eumenes to be secure enough moving around the empire, but not strong enough to overcome Antigonus in direct combat. Eumenes marched east to acquire additional allies. Seleucus, satrap of Babylon, rebuffed his diplomatic entreaties, but allowed him to march through his territory largely unmolested. Peithon, the satrap of Media and former Perdiccan ally turned him down as well. Things got better once Eumenes arrived in Susa and raided another royal treasury and got in contact with the rest of the Eastern satraps. Led by Peucestes the Persophile, the governors of the eastern territories sided with Eumenes and added their forces to his army. Eumenes was now ready to fight Antigonus........or so he thought. Over the course of two battles (Gabiene and Paraitakene) the infantry of Eumenes was easily victorious, but Antigonus snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by winning the cavalry fight just enough so that he could capture the baggage train, and the accumulated treasure and families of the Silver Shields. Valuing these things more than loyalty to a dead king, the Silver Shields handed over Eumenes to Antigonus ASAP. So ended the career of the Greek secretary who went toe to toe with the best of the Diadochi.

So first and foremost, we need to figure out the phalanx. As previously stated, I have no problem using the Silver Shield unit modeled by the TTT mod. Elite pikes for 120 points. Additionally, Eumenes would have had access to some number of veteran pikes representing other units drawn from Alexander's conquering army, as well as average quality pikes representing less experienced units more recently recruited from Macedon and sent east by Antipater. In terms of numbers, I'm going to take the max amount of pikes available for the Antigonids and replace 3 of the average pikes with 3 Silver Shields.

1 + 0/2 Silver Shields - 120 points
1+ 0/2 Veteran Pikes - 96 points
1 + 0/6 Average Pikes - 72 points

In terms of Greek mercenaries, Eumenes will get a larger total amount this time to represent the big purchase in Cilicia, but not as many as Antigonus to represent the fact that Eumenes progressively moved farther away from the primary source of mercenaries.

2 + 0/4 Thureophoroi - 42 points

For the soldiers Eumenes originally brought with him from his escape from Cappadokia, I'm interpreting that as most likely to have been a portion of his original Cappadokian elite cavalry in Macedonian style. The implied rapidity of his escape, combined with the fact that they are not recorded as having been decisive in the east, indicates to me that they were likely present only in small numbers as his personal guard.

1 + 0/2 - Armored Noble Lancers - 64 points

Now we come to the rest of the forces provided by the Eastern Satraps. First and foremost, this is the first recorded instance of Eumenes having access to war elephants in battle. Presumably these would have come from these satraps as they were closest to India, though it is theoretically possible that the Silver Shields may have had their own contingent in Cilicia. Either way, their number is thought to have been larger than that brought by Antigonus, but not to the level Seleucus would later bring at the Battle of Ipsus. Presumably, the satraps also provided their own Macedonian cavalry bodyguards, though these were not in large enough number to overcome the cavalry brought by Antigonus (and Peithon). Finally, there is the question of the Persian levies they could have brought. From the record of Paraitakene, Peithon is described as bringing the largest force of light cavalry, so the Eastern satraps clearly did not contribute that much light horse. Light archers would have been present in good numbers considering the archery traditions in this part of Persia. This is where I want to take special not of the Satrap of Persis, Peucestes. Peucestes is described, unique among the Diadochi, as one of the few famous Persophiles in Macedonian ranks, other than Alexander himself. Adopting their dress and some of their customs, Peucestes earned enough respect from his Persian subjects that he was able to bring an army of 20,000 Persians to Babylon in 323BC to attend upon Alexander during his final days. In some sources I have seen at least some of these soldiers described as organized bowmen. Foot bowmen probably represented the middle classes (so to speak) of Persian society, but any levy would include the nobility, who were not retrained as Macedonian lancers, as far as we know. So they would be the 60 point light spear armored superior cavalry we see in various Persian and Eastern army lists. And to round things off, we can probably add some Irregular Foot type units.

0/3 Elephants - 60 points
1 + 0/2 Xystophoroi - 64 points
1 + 0/2 Armored Noble Cavalry - 60 points
1 + 0/2 Light Javelin Cavalry - 24 points
1 + 0/3 Massed Archers - 36 points
1 + 0/3 Irregular Foot - 30 points
2 + 0/8 Eastern Archers - 30 points

Tentative army list for now...........final wrap up coming soon.

[kronenblatt]

Interesting! I recall that Legacy of Alexander by Bosworth (great book btw!) includes a nice chapter on the struggle between Eumenes and Antigonos.

[Geffalrus]

Interesting! I recall that Legacy of Alexander by Bosworth (great book btw!) includes a nice chapter on the struggle between Eumenes and Antigonos.

I quite enjoy Ghost on the Throne by James Rom and Antigonos the One Eyed by Jeff Champion. I've also been listening to some good episodes by The Hellenistic Age Podcast and the King of Kings Podcast. Highly recommend. I'll add Bosworth to my list!

[kronenblatt]

Interesting! I recall that Legacy of Alexander by Bosworth (great book btw!) includes a nice chapter on the struggle between Eumenes and Antigonos.

I quite enjoy Ghost on the Throne by James Rom and Antigonos the One Eyed by Jeff Champion. I've also been listening to some good episodes by The Hellenistic Age Podcast and the King of Kings Podcast. Highly recommend. I'll add Bosworth to my list!

Yes, I liked Ghost on the Throne too. And the title is spot-on and quite dramatic! You may also want to try Dividing the Spoils; the book as well as the FoG2 tournament.

Incidentally (but heavily inspired by this thread of yours) I actually bought Jeff Champion's Antigonus the One-Eyed: greatest of the successors yesterday evening, as ebook, and have started reading it. Extensive maps: good!

Eumenes of Cardia: a Greek among Macedonians looks promising too. But sooo expensive.

[rbodleyscott]

Interesting.

[Geffalrus]

Final Army Lists (for now):

Eumenes (322-319BC)

0 + 0/3 Xystophoroi - 64 points
3 + 0/4 Armored Noble Lancers - 64 points
0 + 0/4 Light Javelin Horse (eastern variant) - 24 points
0 + 0/3 Veteran Pikes - 96 points
0 + 0/7 Average Pikes - 72 points
0 + 0/5 Thureophoroi - 42 points
2 + 0/6 Irregular Foot (Caucasian variant) - 30 points
0 + 0/5 Eastern Archers - 30 points
1 + 0/4 Eastern Slingers - 24 points
0 + 0/5 Light Javelinmen - 24 points

Eumenes (318-315BC)

0 + 0/3 Elephants - 60 points
0 + 0/3 Xystophoroi - 64 points
1 + 0/2 - Armored Noble Lancers - 64 points
0 + 0/3 Armored Noble Cavalry (Persian variant) - 60 points
0 + 0/3 Light Javelin Cavalry - 24 points
1 + 0/2 Silver Shields - 120 points
0 + 0/3 Veteran Pikes - 96 points
0 + 0/7 Average Pikes - 72 points
1 + 0/5 Thureophoroi - 42 points
1 + 0/3 Massed Archers - 36 points
0 + 0/4 Irregular Foot - 30 points
2 + 0/8 Eastern Archers - 30 points

So those are my proposed suggestions for two versions of the Army of Eumenes during the first two Wars of the Diadochi. Unit numbers are based on largest army size since my understanding is that the game automatically scales them down when selecting smaller map sizes.

Edit: adjusted mandatory units because far too many were included.

[kronenblatt]

True, numbers should refer to 2000 FP. And are then scaled down in-game for fewer FP.

[fogman]

May I suggest in addition to Bosworth:

Joseph Roisman, Alexander’s veterans and the early wars of the successors (University of Texas Press, 2012).
Entire chapters are devoted to the topic at hand. Chapter 6: ‘The veterans, Eumenes, and Antigonus in Asia Minor’; chapter 7: ‘Eumenes and the Silver Shields’; Chapter 8: ‘The Silver Shields in battle and Eumenes’ death’.

The authoritative scholarly work on Antigonus is:
Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State (University of California Press, 1990). Appendix 2 ‘Antigonos’s Military and Naval Forces’ discuss the sources on military numbers and provenance according to the primary sources.

Not a fan of Pen&Swords military history books.

[SimonLancaster]

Some really great and detailed information. 120 pts for one unit is too much in the current game engine, I think. In terms of standard battles with large armies.. perhaps in specific scenarios it could work? Even 96 pts for a unit is extremely expensive.

[Geffalrus]

Some really great and detailed information. 120 pts for one unit is too much in the current game engine, I think. In terms of standard battles with large armies.. perhaps in specific scenarios it could work? Even 96 pts for a unit is extremely expensive.

Don't disagree per se, but the pike units have a pretty uniform system where each increase in morale from raw-average-superior bumps the cost by 24 points. I have quite a few issues with how pikes in general are portrayed, which tie into how much they cost and what they do on the battlefield, but that's something else entirely. Personally, I generally choose vet pikes over normal pikes unless I'm in a strictly ranged situation where my pikes won't do much and I need everything in light infantry. Vet pikes with their guaranteed 50 extra POA and improved resistance to the occasional flubbed battle roll are just better at doing what I need pikes to do, which is apply a tremendous amount of force in a small area. 72 point pikes can and will fail cohesion tests vs. powerful impact foot units, but I have yet to see vet pikes fall to anything but a flank attack.

Elite pikes are probably overkill vs normal units, and superior heavy foot will probably survive vs. them long enough to ensure flanking by the free 40+ points they have. But against another pike army, elite pikes probably have enough poa to force some lost battle rolls and thus cohesion checks on average pikes. Anyway, that's my two cents. I'd be interested to see how they'd fare in the Digital League vs. the usual suspects.

Edit: When I get the chance, I'll make of mod with the later Eumenes army and test it out vs some people.

[SimonLancaster]

Some really great and detailed information. 120 pts for one unit is too much in the current game engine, I think. In terms of standard battles with large armies.. perhaps in specific scenarios it could work? Even 96 pts for a unit is extremely expensive.

Don't disagree per se, but the pike units have a pretty uniform system where each increase in morale from raw-average-superior bumps the cost by 24 points. I have quite a few issues with how pikes in general are portrayed, which tie into how much they cost and what they do on the battlefield, but that's something else entirely. Personally, I generally choose vet pikes over normal pikes unless I'm in a strictly ranged situation where my pikes won't do much and I need everything in light infantry. Vet pikes with their guaranteed 50 extra POA and improved resistance to the occasional flubbed battle roll are just better at doing what I need pikes to do, which is apply a tremendous amount of force in a small area. 72 point pikes can and will fail cohesion tests vs. powerful impact foot units, but I have yet to see vet pikes fall to anything but a flank attack.

Elite pikes are probably overkill vs normal units, and superior heavy foot will probably survive vs. them long enough to ensure flanking by the free 40+ points they have. But against another pike army, elite pikes probably have enough poa to force some lost battle rolls and thus cohesion checks on average pikes. Anyway, that's my two cents. I'd be interested to see how they'd fare in the Digital League vs. the usual suspects.

Edit: When I get the chance, I'll make of mod with the later Eumenes army and test it out vs some people.

You do see players use Veteran Pikes in the league. One or two units. At two units that is 192 pts. You could argue that they provide fairly decent value for money. But, when it is 240 pts for two units, even if they are great, I think it becomes hard to justify. This is especially so in a turn-based game with 24 turns. It is not Total War where you could run around with your Silver Shields and do lots of damage on the battlefield.

Maybe players could just take one Silver Shield unit? In a specific scenario, where you are on the defensive, perhaps it would be fun to play with a small elite force?

[Geffalrus]

You do see players use Veteran Pikes in the league. One or two units. At two units that is 192 pts. You could argue that they provide fairly decent value for money. But, when it is 240 pts for two units, even if they are great, I think it becomes hard to justify. This is especially so in a turn-based game with 24 turns. It is not Total War where you could run around with your Silver Shields and do lots of damage on the battlefield.

Maybe players could just take one Silver Shield unit? In a specific scenario, where you are on the defensive, perhaps it would be fun to play with a small elite force?

I mean, I think it would be pretty smart to take only the single mandatory Silvery Shield in many/most situations. At a cost of 24 more points, you have a unit that is 50 points stronger than the vet pikes, and nigh on impossible to break when near a general. Put that sucker in a crucial position and watch it hold firm. The player will certainly have plenty of other options to fill out the army, including massed archers, irregular foot, and thureos - all of which are quite cost effective. The addition of the Silver Shields just gives the player the option of hitting something with 350 POA worth of power. The ultimate sledgehammer.

There are plenty of other units out there that trade cost efficiency for raw power. The Byzantines are full of them. Not every army needs to be the Irish or the Jewish Revolt, packed to the brim with perfectly optimized units.

[SimonLancaster]

You do see players use Veteran Pikes in the league. One or two units. At two units that is 192 pts. You could argue that they provide fairly decent value for money. But, when it is 240 pts for two units, even if they are great, I think it becomes hard to justify. This is especially so in a turn-based game with 24 turns. It is not Total War where you could run around with your Silver Shields and do lots of damage on the battlefield.

Maybe players could just take one Silver Shield unit? In a specific scenario, where you are on the defensive, perhaps it would be fun to play with a small elite force?

I mean, I think it would be pretty smart to take only the single mandatory Silvery Shield in many/most situations. At a cost of 24 more points, you have a unit that is 50 points stronger than the vet pikes, and nigh on impossible to break when near a general. Put that sucker in a crucial position and watch it hold firm. The player will certainly have plenty of other options to fill out the army, including massed archers, irregular foot, and thureos - all of which are quite cost effective. The addition of the Silver Shields just gives the player the option of hitting something with 350 POA worth of power. The ultimate sledgehammer.

There are plenty of other units out there that trade cost efficiency for raw power. The Byzantines are full of them. Not every army needs to be the Irish or the Jewish Revolt, packed to the brim with perfectly optimized units.

I do love the idea of including more unique units in the game as a whole. We have lots of Def Spear, Off Spear and Medium Foot. I think one thing that would really improve FoG 2: Ancients and FoG 2: Medieval is to include some more special units that are restricted to a few army lists. We have units like Scottish Spear, Islesmen, Welsh Bowmen and Veteran Samnites. In Medieval we have Muslim Lancers and Dismounted Knights. Adding Silver Shields would be a good thing.

Would they be available for the Seleucid and Macedonian lists only?

[Geffalrus]

Would they be available for the Seleucid and Macedonian lists only?

From what we can tell from the records, the Silver Shields first emerge as a distinct identifiable unit when they're sent west with Craterus by Alexander the Great to enjoy their retirement in Macedon. Upon news of Alexander's death, Craterus halts march in Cilicia near one of the Royal Treasuries, and camps there until receiving a marriage proposal and request for aid from Antipater, under siege in Lamia. Craterus zips over to Greece to help put down the upstart Athenians, but leaves the Silver Shields behind for some reason. My personal theory is that their baggage train was quite substantial as it contained all their accumulated plunder as well as their families (wives, children, etc). This train might have been slow to move if Craterus was trying to reach Antipater ASAP. The train was certainly super important to them, as later events would show.

Anyway, they hang around there and I - don't - think they participate in the Cappadochian Campaign. They do accompany Perdiccas on his march south to Egypt to punish Ptolemy after his theft of Alexander's funeral cart. They were possibly used by Perdiccas in an attack across the Nile River near Pelusium, but the arrival of a large Ptolemaic army halted that attempt. Further futile river crossings frustrated the army, and the Silver Shield commander, Antigenes, conspired with Seleucus, the cavalry commander, and Peithon, the satrap of Media, to kill Perdiccas. The army then marched back north to link up with Antipater and Antigonus who leave them again in charge of the royal treasury in Cilicia. Which is where Eumenes comes across them and makes them the centerpiece of his army. And then it's off to Persia for their final adventures in battle vs. Antigonus.

All of this together makes me think that the Silver Shields should - also - be an optional unit for the Macedonian 328-321 army list. That lists covers the army towards the end of Alexander's campaign, as well as the Royal Army under Perdiccas's Regency. As such, I'd argue that they should have 0/3 Silver Shields added to them as units distinct from the existing Veteran Pikes. Again, we see three tiers of phalanx during this period: the unique Silver Shields, other units of Macedonian veterans of Alexander's army, and fresher units drawn from Macedon and Pantodapoi recruitment. Making them 0/3 instead of 1 + 0/2 gives the player the same flexibility in army composition they currently have, and also represents the fact that the Silver Shields are not present at - every - action the Royal Army saw.

The Seleucids, however, should not have any access to them, nor should the Antigonids. Antigonus - specifically - dispatched them to the Far Eastern Satrapies in small units so as to remove them as a competing source of power. He was not about to fall prey to the very dynamic that he'd used to defeat Eumenes. The Seleucid Silver Shields probably drew on their mystique, but was a very different formation. The Seleucid version was made up of young military settlers acting as personal guard of the king, whereas the original version were a bunch of cranky grandpas powered solely by Old MAN STRENGTH. They were basically The Expendables except unironically. The existing system of the Seleucids getting a slightly larger amount of Veteran Pikes does a great job representing the Silver Shield Corps in its later incarnation.