Editing Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire (section)

===Melee Units===
*'''[[Spearmen]]:''' Bare basic troops that have a charge bonus against cavalry. Cheapest of chaff but no shield. You'll see these guys alot in multiplayer, Empire tends to skimp on infantry so they can put more money into missiles/cavalry/artillery.
*'''Spearmen (Shield):''' Spearmen but with better defensive stats and an ability to tank arrows while costing a teeny bit more. Unless a chaos host will be hitting your bare-bones settlement in 2 turns and it's the only thing you can recruit locally, always get Spearmen with Shields.
**'''Eldred's Guard''' (Spearmen)(ECST) In the campaign they are spearmen with expert charge defense and anti-large damage.
*'''[[Swordsmen]]:''' Your very basic melee infantry and the epitome of average. Doesn't do well against all but the weakest of enemy fighters (Think Skavenslaves, Peasants, Zombies) and will get positively obliterated by most of the baseline troops of the WH2 factions. That being said, they work well enough for their cost and have decent morale.
**'''Sigmar's Sons''' (Swordsmen)(ROR): Unbreakable and better defensive states, making them better qualified to hold the line.
**'''Swords of Ulric''' (Swordsmen)(ECST) Swordsmen with frenzy and fear, making them better frontline damage dealers.
*'''[[Greatsword]]s:''' Your melee infantry elite. As usual, nothing all that groundbreaking and a bit frail. They were weak even in the first game and they have only gotten worse as better elite infantry arrived in later games. They have poor stats compared to other elite units and they are overpriced, a trap unit. They don’t kill well, they die easily, and they cost too much. 
**'''Carroburg Greatswords''' (Greatswords)(ECST): Unbreakable Greatswords that deal magic damage, as well as an area buff increasing nearby units melee attack. Tend to get focused down a lot by the AI. The aura means bringing one of these to support your frontline is a good investment. 
*'''[[Halberdier]]s''': Available fairly early on and a really good option for your frontline. Halberdiers make Bretonnians and Dragon Prince's cry, they are a very cost-effective counter against all matter of heavy cavalry that gets thrown their way. They share the same boons of Greatswords: Armour-Piercing, good model count, decent morale. Granted only 40 armor and no shield means that if the enemy has any kind of missile unit, these guys are going to say hello to Morr very quickly. Your best frontline option if you don’t need shields.
**'''Nordland Mariners''' (Halberdiers)(ECST): The marines negate charge bonus from anything they brace against. They're also aquatic, making them good in fighting in maps with a lot of water like in lustria or on the high sea. They have also have perfect vigor while above 50% health so they can handle long melee grinds better, a straight upgrade to halberders.
*'''[[Flagellant]]s (DLC):''' Your most cost-effective tarpit. While being ''extremely'' fragile, they tie down enemy units, especially those without bonuses against infantry very effectively. Generally speaking, they work better in MP than on the campaign, where Suicide units are not worth it. Combined with an Arch-Lector or Volkmar leading your army (especially the latter, who buffs their Physical Resist up to 33%), they turn into shockingly vicious chaff killers with Bretonnian levels of charge bonus and 50% Missile resist.
**'''The Tattersouls''' (Flagellants)(ROR): Even better at tying down enemy units, having both more health and bigger unit.