Greek Hypaspists

Summary
Hypaspists are a costly brigade of elite infantry available to the Greek faction group. They are extremely heavy spearmen with the ability to enter phalanx formation to further boost their defenses in pitched battles, while also dealing very high damage.

"Hypaspists are the elite heavy infantry shield bearers of their ruling king."

- In-game Description

History
"Hypaspist", literally meaning shield-bearer, was a word that may have had Homeric and heroic connotations and was, at times, used as a name for elite heavy infantry units, most notably in the Macedonian army of Philip and Alexander and several Hellenistic-era successor kingdoms. This unit was probably equipped similarly to heavy hoplites, but served in a more tactically flexible role than usual for hoplites, protecting the vulnerable flanks of the phalangite pike formations that formed the center of the Macedonian battleline.

In-game, the Hypaspists seem to be used as a stand-in for the most elite hoplite regiments of the various Greek factions, which were in reality probably known under different names.

Tactics
Hypaspists are the strongest heavy infantry available to the Greeks and arguably the strongest infantry in-game. Their defensive stats are very similar to Greek and Sicilian Heavy Hoplites, only with a bit less missile resistance and charge strength. However, Hypaspists have a much higher melee damage output and charge strength while also being slightly faster to move.

Only Etruscan Heavy Swordsmen sport better base stats for protracted melee, but they only have an advantage over Hypaspists if the latter are unable to enter phalanx formation to further boost their defensive stats. Additionally, Hypaspists benefit from having a large brigade size and aren't locked behind the military skill tree, meaning they are available relatively early on.

The downside to Hypaspists is their very high cost. The 150 recruits it takes to create a full-strength Hypaspist brigade is more than any other brigade in-game, and many cities will struggle to keep this brigade at full strength in the earlier stages of the game when population levels and recruitment rates are still low.