Greek Mounted Javelineers

Summary
Mounted Javelineers are the only cavalry available to the Greek and Sicilian faction groups. They are a brigade of ranged cavalry, available early in the game.

"With their ability to quickly move around the battlefield, mounted javelineers are ideal at tipping the balance in combat with their supportive ranged attack."

- In-game Description

History
The Greeks originally barely used any cavalry at all, but the Peloponnesian Wars of the late 5th Century BC saw an increase in the usage of light cavalry for skirmishing, reconnaissance and pursuit. The Thessalians and Macedonians were known for having strong and versatile melee cavalry, but the same was not true for other Greeks. Taras, however, was notable for having a prominent force of light javelin-armed cavalry developed for harrasment at range rather than close-quarters combat. This style of cavalry seems to have spread among the other Greeks and is likely the basis for the Mounted Javelineers brigade in-game.

Tactics
Being the fastest ranged unit in the game, they are ideal for harassing enemy infantry. Their long range and high attack also means that they are capable of single-handedly destroying enemies that would give most ranged units trouble, such as Gallic skirmishers. With passable melee stats they are capable of holding their own if attacked by light infantry, but they lack access to anything but the "ranged support" stance, making it impossible to order a direct melee attack on enemy units (they can still be made to indirectly attack enemies in melee by issuing a movement command near the target's location, but this is somewhat tricky to do in the midst of battle and does not allow them to make use of charge damage).

Their downsides are mainly their very high cost and small brigade size, making them less effective at providing ranged support during pitched battles compared to peltasts, who do also have the option to assume a melee stance.

Greek Mounted Javelineers are identical to Illyric Mounted Javelineers. Other cavalry units in the game do not have a ranged option, but perform better in melee and and can execute powerful charges. The player will likely want to recruit melee cavalry from conquered cities of other faction groups to complement their army.