Swordsmen

"They hit at one another before you. Above, the sword slashes through the neck; and below, it scoops out the liver and lungs. This is the sword of the common man. (The users of it) are not different from fighting cocks; any morning their lives are brought to an end; they are of no use in the affairs of the state."

— Zhuangzi

In game

Swordsmen — Vital statistics
Swordsmen	Medium infantry ideal for use against infantry and buildings, but average performance against light cavalry and definitely unsuited for fighting ranged cavalry or heavy cavalry. Strong versus category:archers, buildings Weak versus heavy cavalry
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed	Upgrades to
	6.9s (100t)	120	8	18	1.7s (25t)	29
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 40; : 40	: 1; : 1	1		2	Melee	Small defensive bonus versus missile infantry.

Overall strategy

A weaker but cheaper version of the Guardsman, Swordsmen differ in that they are trained from the Barracks, not the Warriors' Hall, and while they share the same bonuses as Guardsmen, they have weaker tactical stats. They are still nevertheless very useful especially in the mid- to late game where their versatility and their bonuses can make them an asset in changing how wars are fought - rather than using specialised and costly units, you can now easily train these units wholesale, and then flood your opponents' bases for a cheap victory.

Even so, Swordsmen are usually a rarity on most battlegrounds, owing to the lack of metal and the inexperience of early cultures with metalworking, so Swordsmen, while being a strong counter-infantry and counter-building unit, aren't usually trainable by all but the major factions. Thus, your swordsmen like all light infantry should always be placed on the wings of your army, or used as a flanking force at all time. This is feasible given their fleetness of foot. Another feasible but far more risky tactic using swordsmen is the sword rush, given the relative cheap cost for producing swordsmen: in the time that it takes to create 1 pikeman, you could easily create at least 2 bodies of swordsmen. Just remember, however, that since they are weaker, enemy ranged cavalry can easily decimate Swordsmen — the best antidote for that is to bring cavalry of your own.

There are some factions, however, that are able to recruit Swordsmen-type units far earlier and more easily than other factions. There are four distinct mercenary units which can be trained in the early game as a form of early sword unit: Kassite Swordsmen, Pirate Chieftains, and Anatolian Warchiefs. These units all have differing stats and costs, but are still tied in with Swordsmen and Guardsmen as a form of elite infantry unit that does well as a form of assault corps for assaulting settlements and settling melee engagements.

Unit summary

• Hack is the New Black — Versatility is key to using Swordsmen — they do exceedingly well against archers and possibly fortifications, and will perform well in melee against cavalry too but only if they enjoy crushing superiority.
• Shukuthlu Guards — Mitanni players train Shukuthlu Guards instead of Swordsmen — they are effectively Guardsmen that train from the Barracks instead of a Warrior Hall, and cost just as much.
• Halberdiers - unlike other Heavy Axemen, these units, trainable to Zhou and the Chinese civs, are lightly armoured, have no attack bonuses against enemy structures or siege weapons, but move very quickly and have faster rate of attack.

See also

• Guardsmen

Notes

What is the African version of this unit?

• Probably fairly naked; it will be armed with nothing but small shields. Swords could probably be a kopis-type weapon.
• Swords are elite weapons. REcycling units from ALEX is a possibility.

History

Compared to battle-axes, spears or clubs, swords are highly deadly weapons owing to their versatility and their size, being a convenient sidearm like the revolver of our present day. A good swordsman would have been able to cut off the arms or legs of his enemies with a single stroke and still keep going on in defeating many of his enemies in a short period of time.

However, this was not so several millenia ago, when metalworking was still in its infancy, owing to the cost and the weight of the weapon when made from bronze — few cultures had learnt to smith iron well enough to be able to create swords of acceptable quality, in spite of iron's relative availability. Only amongst the most warlike, violent and skilled cultures, such as Greece in the Bronze Age, would the use of swords be considered. Only with the emergence of effective ironworking techniques did the use of swords — having an attractive package of combined flexibility and killing power — spread across the world along with the availability of personal armour.