Quote Originally Posted by Wishazu
i say spartans too. i disagree with the arrows thing, whenever i use greek hoplite troops they only suffer from archer fire if it is coming from their unprotected rear, anywhere else and my casualties are allways negligable. however, regular skirmishers using pila/javelins etc. are far more effective against a hoplite phalanx.
This is not true for Spartans. Regular hoplites have about 7 armor compared to Spartan's 3. The Spartans do have 2 HP but with 2-3 regular archers focus firing on them, they get decimated before they even hit the battleline.

Besides, even if they are still standing, they are a lot less tough since often they survive with only one HP remaining and are no longer supermen.