Best Hellenic faction thureos unit variety

[Frtigern]

I was wondering which Hellenic faction has the most variety of thureos equipped infantry and skirmishers. Are there thureos archers? I want to roleplay a Hellenic faction that ditches the aspis, pelte and sarissa and adopts the thureos and flexible formations when fighting other Hellenes, barbarians and Romans. Did Carthage adopt the thureos as well, and if so did they adopt it earlier or later than the Hellenes? Did they adopt a more Iberian type shield? Was the Iberian shield more like the Roman scutum or like Celtic shields? Was the later Celtic shields known as the thureos in Greece? I know there are some Celtic units in the game that retain a hexagonal type shield. Did that shield remain in use or was it only in use during a certain period? Were Celtic shields solid wood or wood ply? When and where did the thureos first come into being? Illyria, Thracia or Galatia?

[Sar1n]

I'd say Bosporan Kingdom. because they get earlier, and more widespread, availability of Thureophorentes Toxotai and Thureopherontes Hippotoxotai. Those are archers and horse archers armed with bow, thureos, sword and decent armour. You will want to expand across Black Sea to Asia Minor, because you'll get Promachoi and decent availability of core Hellenic units like Thorakitai, Thureophoroi, and local specialities like Galatianized spearmen and swordsmen and Promachoi...and of course resettled Thracians.

[Hellenikon]

A lot of these questions are answered in the mod, by reading the description of units. In short the thureos is a keltic shield, which spread east through the galatians/boii and west through the gauls/celtiberians. The iberians, illyrians, dacians, hellenes, carthaginians all adopted it as result of seeing it's advantages. Before these people used what greeks would call pelta or hoplon style shields. The hexagonal shield is a germanic development and as far as i know, it didn't have much spread beyond the german tribes.

[Roma_Victrix]

I'd say Bosporan Kingdom. because they get earlier, and more widespread, availability of Thureophorentes Toxotai and Thureopherontes Hippotoxotai. Those are archers and horse archers armed with bow, thureos, sword and decent armour. You will want to expand across Black Sea to Asia Minor, because you'll get Promachoi and decent availability of core Hellenic units like Thorakitai, Thureophoroi, and local specialities like Galatianized spearmen and swordsmen and Promachoi...and of course resettled Thracians.

The Thracian Katoikoi, which can be recruited in Thrace, Asia Minor, and even the Levant and Egypt, also wield the thureos shield and, with an armor upgrade, can have chain mail like the heavy Hellenistic Thorakitai. You're definitely right about the Bosporan Kingdom having earlier and more widespread access to the Thureopherontes archers and horse archers, but just to be clear: any Hellenistic faction who controls the northern half of the Black Sea region can recruit these units there. This extends as far south as Mikra Scythia, the province just north of Thrace along the Black Sea coast.

While Koinon Hellenon can have regular Thorakitai, they are the only Hellenistic faction that doesn't recruit the more elite Thorakitai Epilektoi. That's because you can still recruit Hoplitai Epilektoi as Koinon Hellenon, their elite factional-specific hoplite unit. In that case I'd suggest playing as a faction other than KH, if you want the absolute full roster of Thureos-wielding units. It's not that big a deal, though, since Koinon Hellenon can still recruit Thorakitai in every place that other Hellenistic factions can recruit them.

Although they don't wield the thureos shield, the other shielded Greek cavalry include the early "Tarantinoi" recruited from Taras, along with the Lonchophoroi Hippeis and Aspidiotai Hippeis that can be recruited in and around the traditional Hellenistic areas of the Mediterranean (extending as far west as Massalia and Emporion for the Aspidiotai). Although they don't have shields at all, the monstrously heavy Hellenistic Kataphractoi make up for that fact by wearing chain mail, scale mail, breastplates, and cheires/manica style plate armor covering their arms and legs. These units are only available for recruitment in certain locations, though, such as Damaskos and Edessa (I've never conquered territories east of these settlements, but I know as a fact the Seleukids recruit them elsewhere, since I've continued to fight Seleukid Kataphractoi).