Men-at-Arms (Shields)

Men-at-Arms (Shields) is a Bretonnia melee infantry unit. Though not noble or powerful like Knights, these men take great honour to take up arms in defence of home.

Description
Each Midsummer, commoners flock to their Lord's castle to present their sons in the hope that they will be trained as Men-at-Arms. For a peasant to have a son accepted into the ranks of a Knight's household is a great honour. Some young peasants will have been guided towards this goal through their entire life, encouraged to stand up straighter and taller than the usual peasant 'slouch' to better improve their chances of selection. All morning and afternoon the Knight inspects the candidates. By dusk, the luckiest and strongest are selected and are taken back to the castle where they are given basic training and outfitted in the livery of their Lord.

Strategy
Expect Men-at-Arms to hold an enemy in place for a bit and you will never be disappointed in their performance. These units have decent melee stats, some armor, and a shield, meaning they can hold for some time but should never be relied upon for long periods of time. Their low leadership is their biggest weakness. There are builds which increase their effectiveness to actually be solid infantry, Repanse de Lyonesse and the Fay Enchantress provide some boosts to their effectiveness in campaign. The Grail Reliquae can also shore up their leadership and prevent them from fear/terror routing.