Originally posted by Sirp
But can someone explain to me what is so good about Numidian Mercenaries compared to similiar ancient age unique units? They cost as much as legionaries, yet have worse attack. True, they don't require iron and you can get them a little earlier. So how is it exactly that you use them to your advantage during this brief window? Do you go and prosecute a war against a rival nice and early? If so, then I would think that Numids are not the most economical unit to do this: jags or babylonian bowmen would be far better and more economical.
If you're just using Numids for their defensive value, then the Greek hoplites are clearly better: they are 10 shields cheaper, and who cares about that extra attack the Numids have when you're defending anyway? The one type of enemy I can imagine Numids actually being useful against are barbarians, since all barbarians have 1 defense. Against any enemy with 2 defense or more, a Numid just doesn't have enough attack to make it worth risking 30 shields attacking them.
-Sirp.