Clash of Spears: Iberian Allies

Some more of the Carthaginian allied light troops this week with the melee orientated Iberian Scutarii. You get six of these in the army box and I plan to buy the Iberian army box as these chaps could easily be used as allies in a Roman army as well.

They come with a nice selection of shields and body types giving the unit a good irregular feel.

The Scutarii are armed with throwing spears which can be used at short range to pepper the enemy before they engage in melee, this can be useful to force enemy units out of close order when combined with the Impulsum special ability.

Also with their high Save and Guerrilla ability they can move swiftly through rough terrain and won't build up much fatigue whilst doing so.

The importance of being in close order to heavy melee troops can be illustrated by looking at the standard Punic Infantry man. Armed with a thrusting spear, large shield and partial armour he is a good example of the standard hoplite. Being in loose order is OK for him whilst moving about and charging but when taking a charge he wants to be in close order.

His three close order abilities mean that not only is he harder to hit but he also gets to attack the enemy before they get to attack him (if he has a longer weapon). So against our Iberian's with the shorter throwing spear they are likely to not only reduce the chance to hit but also the number of enemy alive to hit.

So the Iberian wants to force the spearmen out of close order and this can be done via a flank charge or causing at least 2 fatigue from shooting before they go in.

The interaction between the special rules is going to drive the tactical play in the game with each side being rewarded for using the correct unit in the correct manner.