Strengths and Weaknesses of Factions' Unit Rosters

[Entropy Judge]

An ... offshoot of Ownager's thread, which I feel has drifted too far into a Carthage vs AS derailment for the original thread topic to survive unscathed. So, let's reboot.

In this thread, please post a short (no more than one post) guide detailing the strengths and weaknesses of a Faction's unit roster; you may include important Regionals and Mercenaries, but don't go too far - the Casse may be able to recruit Horse Archers from the Steppes, but that requires a significant amount of effort for moderate reward. Some ground rules:

1) Please provide a useful amount of detail; no half-paragraph "Faction X has strong units of Class Y, and has a huge amount of cool units" posts. Statistical breakdowns are unnecessary*, although some mechanical points may be emphasized, like Lethality or AP-capability among common or sought-after units. Please provide some reasoning that explains why given units should be attained or are desirable, and list drawbacks that may occur from attempting to recruit that unit.

2) Do not attack other posters or their posts; if you feel a guide that has been posted does not go into enough detail, or is wrong on some points, post your own! However, do not reference the other post at all in your discussion.

3) Related, this is not a thread for discussions; it is intended to serve as a repository for the guides. If you wish to discuss aspects of a guide with someone, please use the PM function.

4) While you can simply talk about the unit roster as a whole, if there are Reforms that add or change things to make a significant difference, make note of them and the advantages (or disadvantages!) they provide. As an extension of this, Camillan and Polybian Rome are close enough in style to be discussed in a single post, but they cannot be discussed alongside Marian/Imperial Rome; the reverse holds true as well.

5) Do not compare factions! Period, end of story. Differences in rosters among closely-related factions can be discussed (the different Gallic unique units, for example, or the differences between Rycalawre and Solduros or Woithiz Watha and Gaesatae), but attempts to directly compare factions, or declare one faction "the best" at anything is not allowed.

6) Please maintain a minimum standard of legibility and proficiency in writing. Perfect English is not required, but paragraphs and punctuation are. Similarly, when referring to specific units, use either the official name or the standard descriptor (IE, "Accensi" or "Republican Light Reserves," and not "Roman Slingers").

*: For those unaware of it, the Heimstatt unit list provides almost all the information a player could want on an individual unit.

To start off the thread, here is a short guide that I think shows the minimum you should aspire to when creating a guide:

The Casse

Factional Strengths:
The Casse have fairly useful early-game units, and very powerful late-game units. Starting from the ground up, the Casse never lose their Teceitos, meaning they have a cheap, fairly solid infantry choice for AP use throughout the game. Another option is the hiring of Cladaca swordsmen from Ireland - though armed with poor-quality shortswords and unarmoured, they carry (low-range) AP Spears for throwing, and their high Stamina and ability to hide in long grass lets you field them in a locatin that allows them a good shot at throwing those spears into the backside of an engaged enemy. Cemmeinarn (and later the Gaelaiche can serve as a relatively sturdy Battle Line, and in the early game the Cwmyr unit gives the Casse the first look at a Britonic specialty - solid units with a Morale-boosting effect, allowing the full utilization of weaker troops. While the Gauls also have access to Eagle units in the Drwdae and the Uirodusios, the former requires an invasion of Briton and the latter is fragile - the Cwmyr have 5 more points of Armour than Uirodusios, and they only get better.

Solid mid-game units (although available early on to a determined Casse player) includes the beastly Milnaht swordsmen - actually recruitable in the Casse capital! Those who are willing to cross the Channel early will also find good use of the Batacorii, Belgae Spearmen. Meanwhile, expansion into Wales and Caledonia grants access to the formidable Silurae Warbands and Balroae; the former are solid Spearmen in the Gaelaiche model, with more Javelins to throw, while the latter are Skirmishers that make excellent Light Spearmen. Around this time, if not earlier, the most useful Casse unit should be appearing - the Calawre. The next Champion unit, Calawre are armed with a powerful Longsword (against the Cwmyr's high-quality Shortsword), are better Armoured, and most importantly: Are recruitable throughout Gaul. Although moderately expensive and coming in only a Small unit size (30 Base), the Calawre is very nearly capable of becoming a Casse army's main battle line.

The Late-game Casse Roster is exceptionally devastating, although expensive and comparatively frail. They have access to the Drwdae, of course, and the Eiras of Ireland - despite not having the Eagle their description implies - are lethal infantry with great Morale. Leading the charge of any Casse battle-line, however, are the final two Champion units: the Kluddargos and the Rycalawre. The Rycalawre are, statistically speaking, exactly identical to the Solduros of Gaul, but they have a free Eagle. The Kluddargos are among the most powerful AP units in the game, wielding a massively lethal two-handed Longsword with a brutal 10-point Charge, good Armour, and the Eagle to provide them with useful meatshields bodyguards. Those expanding into Gaul will be able to recruit the Pictone Neitos, a vicious melee combatant with the ability Frighten enemy Infantry.

The Casse Cavalry follows a similar plan. At the bottom are the Myrcharn, basically inferior copies of Leuce Epos; good enough for combat in Britain, but not so much against non-Eleutheroi foes. Next up the ladder are the allied cavalry of Caledonia and Ireland, the Argyn Marca and the Cruvamendica; the former are Heavy Skirmisher Cavalry, but armed with a Longsword, which limits their usefulness against more established cavalry, while the latter are Spear-armed Medium Skirmishers in the vein of Reidonez or Liguriae Epos (complete with incompatible Charge, but with the ability to hide in Long Grass). At the top are the Cidainh, the Celtic Chariots - powerful Skirmishers with a devastating Charge on par with Elephants, Cidainh Frighten enemies and carry an Eagle to boost friendly morale. Cavalry in Gaul is 'limited' to the always-useful Leuce Epos and the powerful but rare Remi Mairepos of the Belgae.

Regional Units and Mercenaries of Note:
If willing to risk the wrath of the Sweboz (or having wiped them out ...), two Mercenaries of note are available in their lands - the AP, Frightening Worgozez and the Germanic Heavy Infantry, powerful but expensive Spear-and-Swordsmen similar to Rycalawre. Those heading to Iberia will gain the powerful Clona Tekonac, an armoured axeman unit, as well as Callacae Roscaithrera to replace the Cladaca, and Scortamareva to provide a powerful, well-armoured Spear unit. Driving deep into Gaul unleashes the powerhouse units of the Alps - Mori Gaesum, Appea Gaedotos, and Tekastos - two powerful Spear units (with Sword and Axe secondaries) and a Large-sized (50-man base) Axe unit with an AP Missile.

Factional Weaknesses:
Most glaring of the Casse weaknesses is a lack of a mainline Heavy Armour unit; their most well-armoured 'Common' unit, the Calawre, has 9 Armour and 2 Shield; the Neitos, the Gallic equivalent unavailable to the Casse, has 12 Armour, a 3 Shield, is slightly cheaper, and comes in a larger size. They have poor Cavalry choices, as well (apart from Leuce Epos) - while they are 'allowed' to recruit Brihentin, AFAIK they are actually unable to build the MIC Level required to recruit them, and so remain locked out of that unit choice***; and the Cidainh, while exceptionally powerful, requires a certain amount of skill to use properly. The Casse economy is also ill-capable of supporting the Elite Champions required to support a standard Casse army; while a fair number of such units can be recruited and used, losses will be felt, and the need for ships to transport units from Britain to the mainland doesn't help the situation. Finally (and arguably the least), the Casse have two useful units removed from normal access, the Dubosaverlacica and the Ordmalica. (The former is a massive juggernaut of a unit, with 17 Armour, 4 Shield, and 14 Skill, an 18-Attack Spear, and a 7-Attack AP Throwing Spear; the latter are lightly Armoured Shock units with a 10-Attack, 10-Charge, .31 Lethality AP Hammer. Ordmalica can, rarely, be seen in Eleutheroi warbands that appear.)

***: As noted by athanaric, the Casse are able to use Gallic MICs that are already existing to recruit Brihentin should they survive.

[athanaric]

Quoting my post from the previous thread:

Hayasdan

The Armenian faction has a relatively small native roster, which offers a wide range of tactical options, though. The lineup consists of:
- Armenian Spearmen, a unit very similar to Parthian Spearmen. Lightly armoured, but with a big shield and a dense formation (as well as relatively swift), they are a staple unit that is useful for holding the line, fighting off cavalry, and enduring arrow volleys. A local take on the "mobile roadblock" role that spearmen often occupy.
- Armenian Swordsmen, well-armoured and equipped with sword and javelins, they are one of the many legionary-like swordsman types in the game. Versatile thanks to their equipment and decent at what swordsmen are supposed to do (flanking, taking/defending walls, filling holes in the battle line, hacking down light infantry), their only real weakness is the low (0.1) lethality of their swords.
- Royal Guards, an elite infantry unit equipped with spear, sword, and shield. They are very well armoured and well capable of taking on both infantry and cavalry. Their secondary sword is quite lethal (0.225), making them especially useful as siege assault units. Their only weaknesses are small unit size and small AoR.
- Armenian Mounted Skirmishers, the standard light cavalry, equipped with spear, shield and javelin. Pretty standard light javelin cavalry, their main strength is their unusually large supply of ammunition.
- Armenian Horse Archers, equipped with bow and sword. They are light HAs of the same type as Scythian or Parthian HAs, with long range, 40 arrows, and a not very spectacular sidearm.
- Armenian Medium Cavalry. Some armour, a shield, and the combination of spear and axe make them a very versatile cavalry unit for tackling a great variety of threats. Best used for chasing missile cavalry, or in tandem with cataphracts.
- Armenian Heavy Horse Archers. A fearsome cataphract unit that combines long range missiles, lance, and heavy armour. Good for archery duels as well as for charging anything.
- Armenian Noble Cataphracts. Slightly less armoured than the heavy HAs, but with better morale and stamina, they are the perfect choice for difficult tasks, such as defeating enemy bodyguard units. The combination of lance and mace makes them very potent against other armoured units.
- Royal Kinsmen Cavalry, the early bodyguard unit. Very similar to the Noble Cataphracts, though inferior in terms of armour.
- Armenian Late Bodyguards, the reformed BG unit. A heavier version of the Noble Cataphracts and the fourth most armoured cavalry unit in the game.

The native Armenian units are powerful, but more expensive than their Parthian or Roman counterparts.

Apart from these, Hayasdan gets a wide variety of other units, some of which are recruitable from factional MICs as well, but most requiring regional barracks. Of particular note are Caucasian Archers and Caucasian Spearmen, two of the three most important units in early campaign (the third being the early BG unit, obviously).

Hayasdan has privileged access to the Persian, Scythian, Sarmatian, and Hellenistic regional rosters, as well as to Iranian units in general.
- Persian units: Persian Hoplites, Heavy Persian Archers, Persian Archers, Eastern Slingers, Kinsmen Heavy Cavalry.
- Scythian units: Scythian Foot Archers, Axemen, HAs, Riders, Noble Cavalry, i.e. all five of them.
- Sarmatian units of note: Sarmatian Foot Archers, Sarmatian HAs, Sarmatian Noble Cavalry, Aorsi Riders, Roxolani Riders, Roxolani Noble Cavalry.
- Hellenistic units of note: Pantodapoi Phalangitai, Thureophoroi, Peltastai, Syrian Archers, Sphendonetai, Lonchophoroi Hippeis.

Can do one for Suebi as well (and for basically all other factions), though that would basically be a short version of my guide.

[Ownager]

I guess I should have done this, but I really wanted AS vs Carthage over, one way or the other. Anyways, here's Makedon.
Makedon
Overview
Makedon is good for one thing. It has a rigid, solid unit composition. It has a great main infantry line of pikes, perfect supporting flankers, and elite cavalry. However, they are not as good at adapting to different fighting styles by changing their own, although an imaginative player could do so with a little help and luck. Don't play as them and expect to get off easy if you are bad at phalanxes though, since they rely heavily on them.
Early Game and Light Levies
Early in the game, you will simply be dreaming of Companions. You will start with some heavy cavalry, but their expenses account for your negative income. While later on, Companions will barley dent your profits, right now, they seriously hurt. Your starting units are high quality though, a very good addition even to mid game armies.


You have militia hoplites and levy phalanxes.


Phalangitai Deuteroi are very high quality,and I have even used them as late game phalanxes for factions I want,destroyed, but am not willing to devote good troops to subdue. Phalanxes like this can form a mainstay for your army for the first 20-30 years.


Militia Hoplites are a strong, well trained unit, for a levy unit. They can hold a line well, though not as well as phalangites, these guys are much more mobile than a cumbersome phalanx. I suggest having a second line of them. Saved me from a Thessalian cavalry charge on my exhausted pikes once. They aren't built for heavy duty lifting, so don't reach the alps and expect them to uproot Rome. They won't. But, these suckers have a lot of staying power though once again they aren't as good as phalanxes.


MidGame
At this point you have defeated your immediate threats, Epirus and KH. You have three ways to expand, and your armies will be modeled on that. Before that, I highly recommend conquering Crete, since they have good archers to augment your phalanxes.


1. If you go North, you will need a decent army. At this stage, you should get a few units of Cretan regionals, as well as a new addition to your army. Say hello to Pezhetairoi!


Pezhetairoi are the strongest regular phalanx available to all Greek factions that fight in the Successor way, including Epirus. They are the perfected anvil, although they will be replaced in Makedonia by a better pike unit. Short of elites, these guys can definitely hold most everything the Getai can throw at you. They should be your main mid game phalanx.


Another unit that you hopefully have at this point are the Agrianian Assault infantry. Until you get more elite Thracians, these are your best flankers, and also very good assaulters. They come at the same barracks level as the Pezhetairoi, so you should have both. Use them well, since they can replace medium cavalry for flanking.


Thessalian Heavy cavalry or Hellenic medium cavalry will be your main cavalry at this point. When used in conjunction with phalanxes, these guys can be deadly to the point of invincibility, whichever one you use. Remember that some cavalry are better at melee, and these units are better used in the charge.


Against Getai, good archers and heavily armored infantry are vital. They have good archers and plenty of missile units, plus the ability to recruit horde archers. Their infantry is not to be scoffed at, though they don't always have strong armor, so missiles are useful. Use,your cavalry on one flank and Agrianians on the other to flank them, and you should be fine.


2. Expand East
This expansion is slightly more difficult, since you may be facing the Seleukeid behemoth that many call the grey death. BEWARE going here without an absolutely well equipped army and navy, since the sea,in between is not known for its peacefulness. This expansion is only slightly more lucrative than the Roman one, since lots of Seleukeids can easily overflow your men, and you will find your only true ally gone.


3. Expand West
i don't like forcing you to go North, but West is even worse than East. In the East, you face one faction to get Asia Minor. Here, you need to face two, since Carthage may have a presence there. I highly recommend not expanding here, since you will get reformed pikemen from the Romans indirectly.


Late Game
For Makedon, late game is clearly defined. Getai is destroyed, their lands are now yours. Thracians should be recruitable there. Rome will be strong. AND may have given you the reformed Pezhetairoi.


Reformed heavy pikemen are the late game phalanxes of Makedon. With good improvements over the Pezhetairoi, especially in AOR, these guys can definitively hold a line, even pushing forward when not in guard mode. Use them to form an almost impenetrable anvil.


Companions are your late game hammer. While you may not want them in every army, they are useful in your most important ones. When your enemy can't get past the indestructible object that is your pikemen, they get hammered in the backs by the unstoppable force, your companions. Use these elite cavalry like all heavy cavalry, and you have an almost invincible force.


Additional useful units.
Thracian heavy infantry and Taxeis triballoi can replace or complement Agrianians as flanking infantry. They also add to your assault infantry choices.

[Ownager]

Pahlava
The Pahlavan army is focused almost exclusively on horse archers and elite heavy cavalry. This sets them apart from the Sauromatae, who use horse archers with very little heavy cavalry. They are closely identical to the Saka in the early game, both having many horse archers and strongly armored generals for heavy cavalry. Later on, the Saka move towards an infantry heavy army once the Indo-Saka reforms hit. Until then, these two factions are pretty close.




The Pahlavans first class of units is completely horse archers. The Pahlav have absolutely no light cavalry that fight exclusively as melee fighters. Instead, they have many different types of horse archer, ranging from light horse archers, to medium horse archers to heavy horse archers. The light horse archers are expert cavalrymen, able to destroy armies much larger than them. Even though Pahlav has no light melee cavalry, the horse archers can be used as light cavalry to hunt down routers or to deliver flanking support or serve as distractions. A Pahlav player must always watch his men, for many casualties happen due to friendly fire. With so many archers, some of yours are bound to hit Pahlavan flesh. Leaving fire at will off can help solve that problem. The medium horse archers are the Dehbeds. These guys are strong shock cavalry, although they also function as horse archers. They can be used as the main shock force of early Parthian armies, and were used like that in history. The heavily armored horse archers are not worth it in my opinion. They are good at archery, and wield a lance for melee. Since your bodyguards can do that for you, you don't necessarily need these guys. They can be useful in the late game though.




The second class is made of the Cataphracts, which Parthia is famous for. While these guys aren't as great as the beastly Grivpanvar or the RTW Cataphracts, they can get the job done with interest. These guys form the second part of Parthian warfare, the hammer charge. They make sure the infantry stay in their ranks, unless they wish to be trampled by Horsemen. They are essential to fighting larger armies, ones which cannot be weakened by only horse archers, but need an extreme oomph. They are the Cataphracts, the Noble Cataphracts, and the Late Elite Cataphracts. The Cataphracts are well dressed, carry large lances, and can deal with almost any other heavy cavalry. These guys are usually the first heavy cavalry you get besides your general, and are the first only melee cavalry you get, if you advance regularly through the MICs. They will add a much heavier and permanent addition to your armies, since they don't run away from enemies when they come near. The second group are the Azad nobles, the noble cataphracts. These guys are barely worth their price. They have one more melee point, and use a higher lethality sword than the regular Cataphracts. The reason why I feel they are not worth it, is because they have two points less morale. This means that putting them in prolonged melee might be fateful if they are outnumbered. They will rout faster than the other Cataphracts, but their high lethality swords make them worth it. These Cataphracts are better equipped for melee than the regular ones. The final Cataphracts are the Grivpanavar, the elite Cataphracts. These guys are gods. They look really cool, and have a devastating charge. To top it off, they can flatten most other heavy cavalry. Even companions will have a tough time trying to dispatch these armored guys. They only come from a reformed Parthian government, so they don't just appear.


Regional Units and Mercenaries of Note:
There are a few good men in the area. Dahae riders and Dahae noble cavalry are good soldiers, the first being extremely worthy for their price. The archer spearmen mercenaries can take the role of garrison duty to free up your more expensive horse archers. While early on you will need mercenaries, later on you can recruit them directly. I suggest having a stack of them on campaign to garrison cities and let your horse archers go free.


Factional Weaknesses
Stone walled cities are the bane of your armies. Since you can recruit only a few different types of infantry, these battles will be hard. Tempting the enemy to sally out by using fewer men will work. Also, the Pahlav lack of infantry can up hurt the average EB player. While I have experience both as the Huns and the Sarmatians in BI, those who have never used horse archers will find this a problem. Horse archer tactics are completely different from infantry tactics. If you do not like the idea of horse archers, but want to try it, I recommend you to play as the Saka. You can use horse archers until the reforms, when you can use a successor hammer and anvil. However, you will not have access to Phalangites in India.


Pahlav guide from other thread. Hope it is according to the rules. Ain't nobody got time for that

[Principe Alessandro]

Well I claim Koinon Hellenon for this factions' unit guide.
About this faction I can only say spears, lot of spears!!!

In fact Koinon Hellenon is the faction that most rely on spears for many infantry roles, from the bulk of the first line to the units of flankers, shock infantry and fast moving anti-skirmishers. The first advantage of the Koinon Hellenon roster is that you can make with it one of the best infantry line for the role of stationary defense, the combination of armor and shield makes the KH unit almost unbreakable in a melee fight and from ranged attacks, anyway there are also some weakness, firstly the lack of a good swordsmen unit, the peltastai are enough good to be used in this role but anyway are essentially a skirmisher unit with good melee stats, KH lacks also good elite cavalry and gets phalanx infantry only later through the vanilla marian reform.

But lets see the factional units that KH can recruit:

Skirmishers

Akontistai: They are low tier skirmishers, their unit has many men, they are cheap and useful in hitting with a rain of javelins the enemy but they are too fragile and you should avoid putting them under enemy missile fire or in melee fight.
Sphendonetai: Slingers are essential in an environment where heavy infantry and phalanxes dominate the battlefield, their AP attribute makes them perfect for anti-tank role but their drawback is that they are very weak to missile fire.
Toxotai: Archers are the least useful skirmishers you can recruit with KH, they are too weak to be used against enemy heavy infantry, they are also out-ranged by the slingers and can be useful only against light skirmishers without shield.
Hippakontistai: They are essentially the mounted version of the akontistai but with the added advantage of being faster, though as their foot counterpart should avoid melee contact and ranged attacks.

Classical Hoplites

Hoplitai Haploi: Probably the best levy unit of the game, nothing beats them in cost efficiency as line holder but you should avoid to use them too much in late game when you will face more high quality infantry.
Ekdromoi Hoplitai: They are a particular hoplite unit designed to counter skirmishers, they are fast and they have a big shield to protect themselves from and catch the enemy skirmishers, if you want to boost your army with an antiskirmisher foot unit they are the best choice.
Hoplitai: They are the old hoplites that defeated the Persians at Marathon and Platea, they are armed with spear, they are protected by their large round shield hoplon, they are the best in holding the ground and in stationary defense but are too slow and tire quickly and have little tactical flexibility.
Epilektoi and Spartiatai Hoplitai: This men are the cream of the Greek and Spartan hoplite formations, tactically are much the same like the common hoplites but are much more better in their role and have better armor.

Reformed Hoplites

Iphikratous and Thorakitai Hoplitai: This troops shows a reformed hoplite concept which combines some degree of tactical flexibility with the staying power of the classical hoplites, firstly they have a little less armor and shield but they benefit with the addition of a sword as a secondary weapon making them better in fighting against enemy infantry in offensive role, their little loss of armor and shield makes them a bit weaker in defensive role but considering the benefits in being more tactically flexible the changes are overall good.

Shock Troops and Heavy Skirmishers

Peltastai: This guys are essential to KH firstly for the fact that they are the only factional foot unit with swords, they are much more tactically flexible and they can perform many different tasks from skirmishing and flanking, they can even fight in melee without being completely butchered like the more fragile akontistai, with hoplites you avoid being defeated but with the peltastai you win the battles!!
Thureophoroi: They are the next evolution of the peltastai, they have dropped the sword for a spear and carry less ammo but both weapons have more punch and they have a better armor, they are a good flanking unit which with their spears can support and complement the swords of the peltastai supporting each other in overcoming their tactical weakness.
Thorakitai: Is the next step of the evolution that started with the peltastai, their armor is even better and definitively can stand in melee even against the best heavy troops without sacrificing the tactical flexibility of the thureophoroi.

Hellenic Cavalry

Hippeis Xystophoroi and Hippeis: KH factional cavalry isn't the best around and you will face a lot of difficulties against Macedonian and Successors Hetairoi, anyway for the role of support and chasing skirmishers and routers is enough good.

Successor Cavalry

Hetairoi Aspidophoroi and Prodromoi: this cavalry can be recruited only in few regions that initially are held by Macedonia and Successor Kingdoms, the first is a skirmisher cavalry while the second is a medium cavalry, they are nothing exceptional but can be recruited to support your heavier noble cavalry.

Factional units with limited AOR

Hippeis Thessalikoi, Sphendonetai Rhodioi and Toxotai Kretikoi: this units give an important option to strengthen your army where KH lacks good cavalry and ranged units, but can be recruited only in one region and as mercenaries so whenever is possible you should employ them.

Unit that came with vanilla Marian Reform

Koinon Hellenon Phalangitai: This unit gives to KH the capability to fight in phalanx tactic in the same manner as Macedonia and Successors, while they are no match with elite successors phalanxes they or an par with their medium phalanxes. The only problem with this units is that is recruitable only if the game reaches the vanilla marian reform so for some time you cannot recruit this unit.

[Ownager]

Somebody help! Somebody! Anybody! Come on guys, you can do better than this.

[Frtigern]

The Lusotannan

Factional Strengths:
Powerful skirmishing troops, good at hiding and fighting in hills and forests. Good hardiness all-around. Exceptional skirmishing roster. Solid light and medium infantry roster mix between spearmen, axemen and swordsmen. Good variability of units by cost. Low cost Iberian and Lusotannan spearmen and skirmishers are above average compared to your Celtic or Eastern counterparts. The medium cost Iberian and Lusotannan infantry and cavalry are more than capable of holding their own against a statistically higher valued attack and defense army. Their use of AP javelins and secondary weapons levels the playing field.

Factional Units of Note by Province
Bastetania, Carpetania, Edetania, Lacetania, Turdetania – Iberian Heavy Cavalry, Heavy Infantry, Medium Cavalry, Medium Infantry, Medium Spearmen, Light Cavalry
Lusitania and Turdulia – Lusotannan Elite Medium Cavalry, Elite Shock Infantry, Medium Spearmen
Baleares – Balearic Slinger
Caledryn – Caledonian Skirmishers
Helvetis – Helvetii Phalanx
Gaul, Vindelicos and Mrogbonna - Gallic Light Cavalry, Noble Cavalry

Regional Units and Mercenaries of Note:
Asturia, Cantabria - Asturian Axemen, Cantabrian Light Cavalry
Cambriae – Siluri Warband
Celtiberia - Celtiberian Heavy Infantry
England, Ireland and Central Europe – Celtic Axemen
Galaecia – Callaeci Medium Infantry
Helvetis, Rhaetia and Noricae – Alpine Phalanx
Ireland – Celtic Axemen, Naked Spearmen, Goidilic Cavalry, Noble Infantry, and Shock Infantry
Lacetania - Ilergetan Soldiers
Liguria – Ligurian Cavalry and Infantry
Northern Africa – Numidian Archers, Cavalry, Nobles, Skirmishers, Garamantine Infantry, Maure Infantry
Rhaetia – Rhaetic Axemen
Sicily/Southern Italy – Samnite Heavy Infantry, Hellenic Medium Cavalry

Mercenaries
Balearic Slingers
Celtiberian Heavy Infantry
Gallic Mercenary Light Cavalry
Lusotannan Medium Spearmen
Mercenary Celto-Hellenic Infantry
Massilian Medium Hoplites

Factional Weaknesses:
Lack of archers. Cannot recruit Celtic archers, but you can recruit Hellenic archers in select provinces, but the best archers available to Lusotanna are from Numidia.
No early heavy cavalry. BG are just heavy skirmisher cavalry, good hardiness but not lancers=weak charge. Iberian Medium Cavalry is the best you can do until you can get Iberian Heavy Cavalry. If you blitz Gaul you may be able to reecruit Gallic Noble Cavalry too. Another option is taking Sicily to recruit Hellenic Medium Cavalry, but they aren't much better than Gallic Noble Cavalry. Another option is taking Rome and Capua and getting Camillan Roman Citizen Cavalry, but none of those are on the same impact of Iberian Heavy Cavalry. You may not need lancers, but when you attack Qarth early game you will wish you had some. At that point in the game building up Iberian MICs and shipping over units of Iberian heavy cav may not even seem practical when you can just bring more slingers and medium spearmen.

[Ownager]

Baktria
The one thing that really surprised me was that Baktria has only one variant of heavy cavalry, and one medium-heavy cavalry. Baktria seems to have good cavalry, but not as much super heavy cavalry. Sure, even their late bodyguards can beat up companions, but having a recruitable unit is much better. Their other problem is their starting position. With the monstrous AS to your south, and the terrifying Saka and Pahlava to you North and West, you will find yourself hard pressed without blitzing.

Baktria has what you would expect from a. Greek faction. Even a lesser Successor. They have the standard Makedonian phalanxes, starting with the Pantodapoi and going up. They don't have elite pikemen, but that is pretty much the only unit they don't have. Pikemen can form your main anvil.

What else is special about Baktria? For one, they have a very strong Greek roster. They are the only lesser successor faction that has the full Greek panoply, with phalanxes, and heavy cavalry and peltasts and their like. They have access to elephants, as well as the richest mines I know of. Their Hellenic Cataphracts form a perfect hammer, alone or with the bodyguards. Their Pezhetairoi can hold off most any enemy infantry for a substantial amount of time. They have the ability to recruit Baktrian professional horse archers, as well as nomadic horse archers. They can have three types of archer in their area. Longbow,en from India, and Persian archers with Toxotai from most cities. They combine Greek efficiency with powerful heavy cavalry and ample funding to form a very strong army for any player, Greek to nomadic to manipular.