Playing as seleucids

[Imperator of rome]

I think the problem will be Pahlava and Baktria when they notice they can own my frontier,I have pitiful troops there and the major problem will be trying to make a quality army there.

[Mujalumbo]

It's around 220'ish B.C. I'm at war with Pontos, the Koinon Hellenon, the Plolemaioi, Hayasdan, and the Pahlava.

There's a bit of a "cold war" going on with Baktria; they have forces stationed outside two of my eastern towns, and the towns are heavily garrisoned. I'm willing to put up with this for now, as the Baktrians are really taking it to the Pahlava.

The Hayasdan aren't so bad. They have no heavy infantry, so seiges are nothing to worry about. If you can bring up some eastern archers, station them behind your pezhetairoi (or pantodapoi phalangitai if you're cheap like me), and in open battle, you'll force them to come to you instead of stand off.

The war with the Ptolemaioi is one of attrition. I kick the stuffing out of their piles of Kleruchoi Agemata and Galatian Agemata, but my pezhetairoi line is usually so battered, I gotta spend a few turns bringing up replacements. We're having back-and-forth fights over Bostra and Sidon.

Overall, I haven't noticed any huge, glaring errors. Unit recruitment throughout the empire is good, I can raise the "Makedonian" line of troops anyplace I can put in a type II gov't (Sardis and Ipsos, for instance). A.I. aggression on VH campaign difficulty seems to work OK. This war on three fronts is fustrating and is preventing me from completing my Arabian expansion, but I was making good, steady progress (captured Halikarnarssos, Pergamon), before Pontos came sniffing for a fight. This is good. I feel if I better manage my cash, fight each and every battle, I may continue to slowly expand.

The elite troops are good. I've had a unit of Pheraspidai engaged by a unit of elephants, taking massive casualties while surrounded, and they stood their ground. Oh, they wavered, but I was able to get some thorakitai argyraspidai over to help and that must've calmed them down a little bit.

Those silver shields are gods amongst men. A good chunk of my cash is going towards the "royal squadron," most to the silver shields, but they're worth it. They were taking on Galatian and Kleruchoi Agemata head on, and winning! Their only real weakness might be elephants.

[MaximianusBR]

silver shields are you sure??I think they will be added just in 0.8...

[Mujalumbo]

Almost completley sure. ;)

From the Diodachi preview: 'The Makedonian Argyraspidai eventually “died out” and was replaced by the reformed Pezhetairoi, while the Seleukid Argyraspidai evolved into an assault infantry corps, the Thorakitai Argyraspidai.'

Argyraspidai seems to mean "silver shield." Even before the preview, I saw that the thorakitia argryaspidai have silver medusa heads on their shield, so I just assumed they were the remnants or continuation of the silver shields.

Either way, they're Bad Dudes(TM), man.

[MaximianusBR]

I'm playing as Baktria and fight some of then...VH/H...they're powerfull!!

[Imperator of rome]

Almost completley sure. ;)

From the Diodachi preview: 'The Makedonian Argyraspidai eventually “died out” and was replaced by the reformed Pezhetairoi, while the Seleukid Argyraspidai evolved into an assault infantry corps, the Thorakitai Argyraspidai.'

Argyraspidai seems to mean "silver shield." Even before the preview, I saw that the thorakitia argryaspidai have silver medusa heads on their shield, so I just assumed they were the remnants or continuation of the silver shields.

Either way, they're Bad Dudes(TM), man.

Yep they are silver shields,but I always put the Hypapistpatai at the right because they are the elite and thrakitai at the left.

[Mujalumbo]

Actually, I was wondering if there were a light, fast cavalry unit. I have few problems convincing the opponents to flee the field of battle, but I've no light, fast cavalry to chase them down with.

I *COULD* bring up Phalava Shivatir or those javelin-armed skirmisher cavalry from the East, I suppose...

[GMT]

Or you could use Mad Asabara (sp?) they're pretty fast too

[Simmons]

Yep they are silver shields,but I always put the Hypapistpatai at the right because they are the elite and thrakitai at the left.

Are they??

Argyraspidai

Makedonia - - - - - - - - Arche Seleukeia
The veteran Pezhetairoi often became the Argyraspidai, the Silver Shields. These are tough men often better armed than their fellow phalanx soldiers, who usually are used to hold the center of a Makedonian or Seleukid battle line. They are older and more disciplined than other phalangitai and are thus able to hold their own against good odds. They are armed and armoured much the same as regular Pezhetairoi, but with slightly better equipment and weapons, including scale reinforcement on their Linothorax. They should be employed in much the same manner, except they can be relied on to hold their ground and should accordingly be saved for where the battle is going to be the heaviest.

Historically, the Silver Shields were an elite force within the armies of Alexandros, made up of the veterans often in their mid-40s and upwards. After the death of Alexandros, the term ‘argyraspidai’ came to describe the veterans among the Pezhetairoi, the soldiers aged 45-60. How this happened is anyone’s guess, but it is what came to pass. In Makedonia the term was used to describe the veteran pezhetairoi who more often than not weren’t a distinct corps, while in Arche Seleukeia they remained a distinct unit, as carrying a silver shield was a mark of elite. The Makedonian Argyraspidai eventually “died out” and was replaced by the reformed Pezhetairoi, while the Seleukid Argyraspidai evolved into an assault infantry corps, the Thorakitai Argyraspidai. As with most elite units, they were best utilized as troops that take the brunt of an assault.

Ok so they evolved from pikemen to spearmen??

[Mujalumbo]

Why not represent them as spearmen?

The Seleukid Argyraspidai were descendants of Alexander's Hypapists, and they were presumed to fight in a hoplite formation, no? Sources on them are sketchy at best, but it appears as if they were some sort of special forces; being re-equipped for special assignments, and also being heavily equipped and taking part in set piece battles.

Not being an EB team member, I can't presume to speak for them. However, portraying them as heavily armed, javelin-throwing spearmen, in my opinion, anyway, accurately portrays their tactical flexibility.

[Trithemius]

Either way, they're Bad Dudes(TM), man.

Bad enough to rescue the autokrator?