How to deal with Pezhetairoi?

[antisocialmunky]

One of my methods of pinning a phalanx is to set a unit on defense and let the phalanx attack it. This unit usually a big unit of crap infantry or my samnite spearmen/hoplite/other good defensive infantry. This way your men don't die needlessly from charging spears, they just kinda get pushed back slowly and take fewer casualties.

The only problem is that you'll have to watch out for phalanxes turning to kill your horsies. However, if that happens, withdraw the horse and send your pin unit(not not in defense) in to hit it in the flank. Then you reform your horses and slam into the back of the phalanx when the phalanx has turn back around.

[LennStar]

Yes, thats the way. Good Unit in Defense for stopping the phalangites, and then slingers in the back.
(Numidian) skirmishers are also very good for this job (especially if they reach silver), but they need more space for movement.
Horses are also good but tend to get stuck and killed.

This also works very good in cities (very easy on big central places): Get a triangel of defenders and behind them slingers or skirmishers.

range Unit ... defender |
range unit ... defender |____________________
............................... Defender defender defender
............................... slinger slinger slinger

With this, you hold the enemy on position (remember: units in defend mode are longer fresh) and always have someone to to shoot them in the back. is what happens then :D One fresh numidian skirmisher can kill 3/4 of a Karthaginian 50-man Generalunit with this! Done this a lot the last week ;)
Don't ever waste thrown spears on fronts of heavy units! (~20 defense they get very ineffectiv)

[antisocialmunky]

The advantage of horsies even though they get killed sometimes is that they're mroe likely to get healed and they can instantly rout a unit on impact if the charge is formed correctly(the ones that result int two rows of men flying across the screen).

[alatar]

My favorite tatic with phalanx is recruit some palanx units, say 2 or 3 and have the main army behind it with a wing on each end to stop flanking, the AI 7-10 phalanx trooops will
atttack your own engulfing thm, then send the hastati on the flanks, the heavy skirmishers and cavarly destroy the units gaurding the AI's flanks and the classdial hoplites charge the phalanx flanks in a very long and thin formation.
Trouble is as often as not I've discovered I've given them no-whre to run to and they fight like lions.

[antisocialmunky]

If you have problems with men fighting to the death, you can order cavalry to attack. Their mass causes pushes the enemy units into a very small area making them really easy to kill.

[Orb]

Get some half-decent-charge-possessing mercenary non-phalangites to hit them. Preferably large units to give a bigger morale penalty. The Kluddolon were perfect for me in 0.74 (I was Haikaikan, and had earlier had a lot of trouble with the Pezhetaroi), but I don't really know what's changed there.

[Watchman]

If you have problems with men fighting to the death, you can order cavalry to attack. Their mass causes pushes the enemy units into a very small area making them really easy to kill.

Oh, just open a path for them so they stop FTD'ing and rout poperly, so your horsies and whatnots can run them dogs down at leisure.

[antisocialmunky]

Agh, and let the routing catching AI take over? I still find that surrounding a unit and letting a general's heavy cavalry push/stumble/knock them back into a small cluster is more effective if you really need to kill a unit IE SIEGE. They barely manage to make attacks and are too busy turning and moving around to do anything.