Spearmen (Empire)

Spearmen is an Empire melee infantry unit in Total War: Warhammer. Spearmen provide the backbone of the Empire's battle line, a defensive row of spears against the enemy charge. Also acts as a counter against lightly armored Large units

Description
State troops are paid as full-time professional soldiers, ready to answer the call to arms at all times. In addition to forming a standing army to repel enemy attack, state troops also serve as city guards, the fire watch and the enforcers of the law. However, most of the time these soldiers spend their days drilling and training with various weapons to the barked instructions of grim-faced Sergeants and veteran Marksmen. Every state trains its regiments to fight together, providing each other with mutual protection on the battlefield. State regiments often march to battle with detachments of differently armed troops to aid them. These detachments form up close to their regimental units, where they guard vulnerable flanks and provide battlefield support, either by joining their regimental units in the bloody melee of close combat, or by showering oncoming enemies with missile fire. Swordsmen fight shoulder to shoulder with Spearmen, the close range parries and ripostes of swords complimenting the longer reach of the spear. Handgunners and Crossbowmen fell their foes with withering volleys of fire, but should a foe survive through such salvos, a detachment of Halberdiers will bravely intercept them, cutting them down with heavy bladed pole arms.

Strategy
This unit functions similarly to Swordsmen in being a cheap Empire front line unit. They sacrifice melee attack of the swordsmen for charge defence and a solid bonus vs. large that makes them the best option for swarming monstrous units or fending off cavalry.

Notably, charge defence only functions when the unit is braced (happens automatically when the unit isn't moving) and charged from the front.

Bonus vs. X applies as a boost to melee attack and damage against whatever X is. So the +15 bonus vs. large gives the spearmen a 35 melee attack vs. large and 34 weapon damage.

This unit is weak to missiles and has low armour, which is how they are most vulnerable.