Numidian Legionaries are copies of Roman Legionaries by the Numidians. They are swordsmen, and throw pilae before melee, like true Roman Legionaries. However, they are not as disciplined and cannot form the Testudo formation. They are the best infantry Numidia can train, and are worth training in any situation.
Description
Numidian Legionaries are local copies of Roman Legionaries utilized by Numidia, but lack the truly awesome discipline of the originals. They have had training from Roman advisors and centurions, and this makes them the best trained Numidian infantry unit available. As a copy of the Roman Legionnaire, they fight in the same fashion as the original Legionaries, first throwing heavy javelins (pila) at the enemy and then closing for hand-to-hand combat. However, they are unable to use tactics like the tortoise (testudo formation) in battle. A combination of rugged upbringing and harsh training makes them reliable and slow to tire in combat. A Numidian general can safely rely upon these men to get the job done.
General Information
These legionaries are pretty good, but not excellent, especially in the post-Marian world. Statistically equal to the Roman Principes and visually similar to Early Legionaries, they are the elite of the Numidian army. If the Brutii can conquer Greece with Principes or worse, then the Numidians can with their legionaries too!
They can hold against most attacks decently while flanking forces arrive, but don't expect them to defeat too many enemies. Luckily, they can defeat Carthage's early army of Iberian Infantry and even Libyan Spearmen, but unluckily they're not available early game unless the Numidians control Carthage (the city).
Trivia
- Although their icon's posture is similar to the Legionary Cohort's, their armor is similar to Early Legionaries'. Visually, they are recolored Early Legionaries with a different shield, and are identical (except in terms of color) to Armenian Legionaries.
Numidian Legionaries in Roman battle formation.