How does the AI pick army composition?

[Ezephkiel]

Im knee deep in baktrians at the moment and they're fielding quite good troops. Mainly a core of medium phalangites and a few elites with eastern crap to bulk up their formidable armies. Also they're building cataphracts, by god they're annoying.

[teh1337tim]

say that to me, allied with makedonia...who crushed greece (theyre bosphorion kindgom now)
and epiros (out of greece to pergamon, atm trying to take pergamon back after a pyrich victory against 3 armies)

they would have a greek army of like 5-8 hoplites, 2 toxaitas a couple skirmisher/calvry and a phaangita deutoria or something
but while at demetria and pella they got elite stacks just sitting the the city
in demetria alone, silver chevronned agrispidaes (8 units),2/3 vet hydapsists/peltsti makedonia(2units)
a couple pezhetairoi and a general with 6 and 8 stars with high management etc...
while there faction leader is all maxed out with 10 stars and a crazy army full of silver/gold units...
while theyre armies are fought to standstill in getai and pergamon... theyre just leaving elite stacks in their main cities doing nothing... haha no wonder theyre right under me seleukid and carthage
(effen carthage conqured all of africa and started into ptolemaio...now i conquered 1 city and a fken whole stack of sacred bands and elites are besieging me)

ya i think theyre pretty accurate... considering most of there field armies are pretty balanced...
anyone think that when those pesky 3 units stacks form into something (takes like 6 years for ai to do that lol) it actaully is pretty good?

now what do i do with that carthage beseiging me with 7 full elite stacks and 5 balnced ones...

[fenix3279]

now what do i do with that carthage beseiging me with 7 full elite stacks and 5 balnced ones...

Uh... hire alot of Gaesatae?

[satalexton]

believe it or not, bataroas are very good at gutting a phalanx up. Don't place all your units in a line, space them all out in small groups.. then promptly advance and flank each section of their line one by one. U can gut a phalanx army of equal numbers easily, taking less than 8% casaulties.