Slitherine

I just finished the battle of Pydna as Roman. I won the battle, but only just barely, by winning on the flanks with my cavalry. In the center I got crushed. So I am wondering what I did wrong, since the historical battle went the opposite way didn't it?

Should I defend in rough terrain or just behind (ie let the Pike advance through the rough terrain)?
Should I have rushed forward my medium foot to occupy the rough terrain?
Should I have pulled the Romans back to stand on the high ground behind me?

Thanks for any replies

I'm not familiar with Pydna, but here are my ways of defeating pikes and my observed advantages and disadvantages for each strategy.

The major strategies. These are the 'phalanx killers' in my book.

1): Central reserve. Have some manoeuvrable infantry behind your central line and wait for the phalanx to hit you. When your men are driven back, the line will become disjointed. Flank the phalanx.
Advantages: Can catch inexperienced players by surprise. Troops may be hidden in woods or towns behind your line only to emerge when the enemy has already engaged. Excellent defensive option for large armies for whom a single line may be so long the soldiers on the flanks can never get to the centre in time to help.
Disadvantages: The biggest problem is your men may not hold on long enough to put it into effect. Requires that your front line be engaged first, reducing your options for initiative. Experienced players will see it coming and plan accordingly; they may have troops behind their phalanx ready to drive through the gaps and either engage your reserves or start to flank the rest of your line in turn. Soldiers held in the central reserve can find themselves effectively locked out of the fight if your men don't fall back, or the enemy avoids a central fight. This can force you to redeploy.

2: Flank emphasis. Have a strong force aimed at the units protecting the flanks of the phalanx. Either win the flanks by chasing off any units defending the sides of the phalanx and turn in, or separate the phalanx from its protecting units with a first line of units and then push through the gaps with reserves placed behind where the phalanx line and its supporting troops have become separated. Here's a diagram of the latter manoeuvre (enemy up top).

:Mediums:Mediums:Mediums:------------------------------------------:Mediums:Mediums:Mediums:
:Friendlymediums:Friendlym:------------------------------------------:Friendlymediums:Friendlym:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------:Phalanx:Phalanx:Phalanx:Phalanx------------------------------------
------------:FlankingReserves::HoldingForce:HoldingForce:Holdi::FlankingReserves:

The flanking force can be cavalry or infantry.
Advantages: Doesn't endanger your front line by forcing them into a position where they are intended to be driven back. As long as the path is clear, it is quick to execute and hopefully doesn't leave your men struggling against the front of the phalanx too long. Works well in conjunction with the centre reserve strategy if you have the troops for it. Flanking can give a use for raw or poorly equipped units who otherwise aren't good enough to stand in the front line.
Disadvantages: The enemy is going to anticipate a flank attack against phalanxes and will do everything possible to stop it from being a possibility. Many phalanx factions have excellent cavalry too. If you don't also have a central reserve, your centre may very well not hold long enough for the flanking force to arrive. An enemy central reserve can mess up any flanking force, and skirmishers left in the back after the initial skirmish can slow it down and even do some serious damage on the way.

3: Rough ground. Take a piece of rough ground, forest, or the side of a mountain close to the enemy army and force them to fight you there, or at least turn away from you. This doesn't have to be a defensive strategy; if you see a piece of rough ground in the way of your path of advance, beat the enemy to it.
Advantages: Probably the only situation where you're going to beat a phalanx at its own game. Denies a potential target to the phalanx, forcing the enemy into an awkward change of formation or locking them out of the fight. Units on rough ground can be left in a position that endangers an enemy advance, potentially emerging once the phalanx is engaged.
Disadvantages: No one will willingly attack your units, making it difficult to force a confrontation. Mediums may simply go after you instead, leaving the phalanx to focus on other units not on the bad terrain. Units that fight well on bad terrain typically don't do well when forced to come off it. Units isolated on rough ground are very vulnerable to skirmishers and massed bows. Blocking phalanxes with heavies on rough ground only nets you a marginal advantage; the heavies become extremely vulnerable to medium troops while locked in a slow, disrupted fight. They get no advantage at all on mountain sides. Use mediums for this.

Beyond this, there are minor strategies.
-Holding a hill can blunt the phalanx's advance. If it is steep enough and the soldiers holding the hill good quality, they may even throw the phalanx back. Beware your troops pushing the phalanx down the hill and onto ground where they can be hit. Again, you need to make the enemy attack you there somehow, but it's a less daunting target than bad terrain and it is easier to convince an opponent to attack you there, or manipulate the battle line so you meet the enemy on the hill.
-Skirmishers and cavalry can be flitted in front of an enemy phalanx only to run away when it advances. This can slow the phalanx down and disjoint its advance. Parts of the phalanx can end up out of formation, in the way of each other or even stuck on bad terrain if they are foolish enough to pursue you there. Skirmishers can't do much damage to phalanxes unless the phalanx is standing still, but they can annoy the heck out of them provided they aren't caught. If they are caught, your heavies may be able to take advantage of it if they can get there in time. Make sure medium and light cavalry have somewhere to run to and aren't caught in front of the battle line. Using this approach with medium cavalry works best with cavalry heavy armies.

I don't know if any of this applies to Pydna. This is just what I had at the top of my mind.

Nice to know the battle went much like the real battle. In the real battle the pikes were winning until they pushed back the Romans onto uneven ground and started going uphill. Meanwhile the Roman allied forces (elephants and lancer heavy cavalry) beat up the flanking units and the pikes were beaten from the flanks. So that's another possible answer to pikes: elephants, or just put a general with some impact foot and charge, usually superior pikes are needed for them to be successful all along the line. Another way of looking at is to say you only need to get 40% of your opponent so you don't need to beat the phalanx, just the flanks, to win - though with so many men in a phalanx unit it is a lot easier to get to 40% if you rout some phalanxes. Remember you are supposed to have your attention fixed on the phalanx while your opponent stabs you in the flank with some lancer heavy cavalry, so one tactic is to start with your centre troops facing away from the phalanx and retreat every turn in the centre, or to only have light troops in the centre.

Not Pynda specific but the number 1 piece of advice for Romans vs Pikes is to learn how to use skirmishers to rear elements to control pushbacks and break up the Pike line.

Pikes will usually beat their Roman counterparts in sustained melee. As long as the pikes are attacking they will push their opponent's backwards. A pushback is not possible if the Roman unit that lost the melee phase cannot retreat because there is another unit blocking its immediate rear. Use this mechanic to pull attacking Pikes out of line and get flank charges in on them.

A potential counter is to keep Pikes defensive and not attack. In those cases you have time to maneuver for a flank on their ine or if you win the skirmisher war, you can simply sit skirmishers right in front of the Phalanx and pelt them with missile fire and strip them of their deep pike bonus rendering them rather toothless should they choose to remain passive