Pontos or Epeiros

[Musopticon?]

Chalkaspidai and Kuarothoroi are pretty awesome. Also, the whole Iranian-Euxinian-Galatian-Skythian mix is a powerful and interesting combination. I don't think there's a faction just like them anywhere else in the map. Maybe Qarthadastim is near there with sheer versatility and original mix of units (African-Punic-Italic-Ibero-Celtic anyone?), which is funny since IIRC Pontus is using Carthages faction slot. Pontus also has a very unique situation, they're perhaps the most cornered of all the factions initially under Seleucia's heel, but still once the Black Sea opens to them, possibilities are nearly limitless. It's not unheard of that a player has successfully taken e.g Getai homelands with their incredible mines and stood ground on the massive Arche offence. It's a challenging and in the long run an incredibly satisfying faction.

That said, Epirus is still more finished and now that the Italic recruitment problems are somewhat over with, it's well worth playing. Especially if you don't get cheesy like me and blitz Macedonia. Instead, take Megale Hellas and bask in the sheer coolness of taking Sicilia and making Rome and outpost again.

Me? I'm trying to gather enough courage to take on the Brythonic Eleutheroi and eagerly wait what the next patch brings for Pontus, my favorite faction.

[overmind2000]

You should play Epeiros, if only for the fun of sacking the Macedonian Royal Tombs and enslaving the Romans

[Ravenic]

Not to mention a pretty useless generals bodyguard

I've never seen why they're so useless, they have three or four Javelins each to toss into the backs of units to make up for charge deficency. I also have heroic stories from my Pontos (and Hayasadan, to a lesser extent) where the general bodyguards have turned battle after battle through sheer will, fighting like normal infantry amongst the ranks, and barely pulling through with like three men and the general left. Always fun.

Granted, they aren't nearly as God-like as the Hetairoi bodyguards of the Successor States, more commonly known as the Somaphytales Strategou, or something like that.

For ease on the battlefield, since neither the rank and file, nor the general staff can ever quite pronounce the Somaphytales Strategou, i've ordered the men to simply caution each other that "The Battering Ram" is coming.

[Musopticon?]

Somatophylakes Strategou.

Hah, straight from memory.

[Ravenic]

Eh, I was close.

I never call them...that...anyway, I always say "General's Bodyguard", "Hetairoi", or "The Battering Ram".

[Musopticon?]

It's nothing, e.g I can't ever remember the Roman units by name, for the life of me.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Remember that those pontic bodyguards change in the new build. Plus they get some other decent regionals around the black sea that aren't in there now. And more stuff is in various stages of completion for them.