MITHRIDATIC SUCCESSOR LIST
This list offers three options: Early, Middle and Late covering the First Mithridatic War up to 84BC, the Second and Third
Mithridatic Wars from 84BC to 63BC, and the post-Mithridatic period down to 47BC. Each option uses the core list given
below plus the additional troops on the appropriate list. Note that each of the sub-lists introduces different compulsory
troops in addition to those on the core list. I’ve colour coded the sub-lists and options to make this a little easier to follow.
Troop Type Attack Range Hits Armour Cmnd Unit Min/ Points Notes
Size Max
Pontic or Black Cavalry 3 - 3 5+ - 3 1/2 110 *1, 2
Sea Nobles
Sarmatian Nobles Cavalry 3 15 3 5+ - 3 -/1 115 *1, 2
Armenian Cavalry 3 - 3 4+ - 3 -/1 125 *2, 3
Cataphracts
Light Cavalry Cavalry 2 15 3 6+ - 3 -/2 60 *4
Skirmish Cavalry Cavalry 1 15 3 - - 3 -/2 40 *4
Horse Archers Cavalry 1 30 3 - - 3 -/2 60 *4
Galatians Infantry 3 - 3 - - 3 -/4 25 *5, 6
Mercenary Light Infantry 2 15 3 - - 3 2/- 40 *4
Infantry and
Thracians
Subject Archers Infantry 1 30 2 - - 3 -/4 15 *5
Skirmishers Infantry 1 15 3 - - 3 -/6 30 *4
Scythed Chariot Chariot 4 - 3 5+ - 1 -/1 50 *7
General General +2 - - - 9 1 1 125
Leader Leader +1 - - - 8 1 -/1 80
Allied Subordinate +1 - - - 7 1 -/2 30
Commander
(Galatian,
Sarmatian,
Scythian,
Armenian)
CORE OPTIONS
The following option are available for core troop types on any Pontic armies. See accompanying description for details.
Upgrade Subject Infantry 2 30 3 - - 3 Any +25
Archers
Upgrade Galatians Infantry 4 - 3 - - 3 -/1 +25 *6, 8
to Bastarnae
Upgrade Pontic Cavalry 4 - 3 5+ - 3 -/1 +10 *1, 2
Nobles to Guard
EARLY ARMIES (89-84BC)
If your army is an early period army then the following troops are added to the list. Note that this adds a minimum of 2
compulsory phalanx units per 1000 points.
Phalanx Infantry 3 - 3 6+ - 3 2/- 60 *9
Ex-Slave Phalanx Infantry 3 - 3 6+ - 3 -/2 50 *5, 9
Theureophoroi Infantry 3 - 3 6+ - 3 -/4 45
Refugee Italian Infantry 3 - 3 5+ - 3 -/1 80 *10
Infantry
OPTIONS FOR EARLY ARMIES
Early armies can be upgraded as follows. Note that Ex-Slave Phalanx cannot be upgraded—only regular Phalanx.
Upgrade Phalanx Infantry 3 - 3 5+ - 3 -/2 +10 *9
(not ex-slaves!)
Upgrade Allied Subordinates +1 - - - 8 1 Any +10
Commanders
Upgrade General General +2 - - - - 1 -/1 +25 *11
to Mithridates
Empire Builder
MIDDLE ARMIES (84-63BC)
If your army is middle period army then the following troops are added to the list. Note that this adds a minimum of 2 units
of imitation legionaries per 1000 points. Armenian Cataphracts replaces those in the standard list—i.e. the maximum is
increased to 3 per 1000 in total and all become unreliable.
Armenian Cavalry 3 - 3 4+ - 3 -/3 115 *2, 3, 5
Cataphracts
Imitation Infantry 3 - 3 6+ - 3 2/- 70 *10
Legionaries
Sertorian Legion Infantry 3 - 3 5+ - 3 -/1 80 *10
OPTIONS FOR MIDDLE ARMIES
Middle period armies can be upgraded as follows.
Upgrade Allied Subordinates +1 - - - 8 1 Any +10
Commanders
Upgrade General General +2 - - - - 1 -/1 +25 *12
to Mithridates The
Brave
LATE ARMIES (63-47BC)
If your army is a late period army then the following troops are added to the list. A total maximum limitation of 4 units per
1000 points is imposed on Mercenary Light Infantry and Thracians, Subject Archers, and Skirmishers as indicated below.
Subject archers can still be upgraded from the core list if you wish.
Imitation Infantry 3 - 3 6+ - 3 2/- 70 *10
Legionaries
Late Phalanx Infantry 3 - 3 6+ - 3 -/4 60 *9
Mercenary Light Infantry 2 15 3 - - 3 40 *4
Infantry and
Thracians
-/4
Subject Archers Infantry 1 30 2 - - 3 15 *5
Skirmishers Infantry 1 15 3 - - 3 30 *4
SPECIAL RULES
*1 Warband (rules 2+3 only)
*2 Shock
*3 Slow
*4 Skirmish
*5 Unreliable
*6 Warband
*7 Scythed Chariot
*8 Fanatics
*9 Phalanx
*10 Legion
*11 Mithridates Empire Builder
*12 Mithridates the Brave
Phalanx. Standard phalangites most probably raised from the 6,000 Greek mercenaries hired early in
Mithridates’ reign and from the independently-minded, wealthy trading city of Sinope. They wear linen or
leather armour and carry a small shield. Armed with a long pike and wearing bronze and iron helmets.
Some may have been wealthy enough to afford armour.
Ex-Slave Phalanx Troops who had been set free from the Greek Asiatic cities and incorporated into the
army. They were wiped out in the first battle they fought in. They would have been armed equipped as
phalangites but probably wore a wide variety of clothes .
Refugee Italian Infantry and Sertorian Legion: Standard legionary troops, who had fled from the
Roman civil wars, well trained and equipped, armed with pilum and large shield.
Imitation Legionaries. The Pontics retrained most of their close fighting infantry to mirror their Roman
adversaries. However, whilst shields, helmets and weaponry may be quickly provided chainmail was much
harder to produce. Without access to sources such as the Roman armouries we therefore consider these
troops to be more lightly protected than their Roman counterparts, some wearing mail and some not.
Galatians. Celtic tribes who lived in the desolate parts of Anatolia, part time subjects of Pontus. Armed
with javelins, long swords and shields and with captured Greek weaponry. They were notoriously fickle.
Theureophoroi:. Troops from the cities of Greece and Asia Minor , most likely levies, and mercenaries.
They wore a bronze helmet also they carried a long spear and shield.
Bastarnae. The Bastarnae were renowned to be ferocious fighters. They were an important tribal group
possibly of mixed German/Celtic ancestry although this is uncertain. Later they fought with the Dacians.
Unarmoured but carried a shield with some fighting with a weapon similar to the falx.
Subject Archers: Provided by various subjects and Armenians! Primarily armed with the bow but could
also have a sword and small shield. Armenian archers were supplied for the Pontic re-conquest.
Mercenary Light Infantry and Thracians. Pontic mercenaries and other infantry of the peltast type
including Thracians. They were lightly armoured and armed with a shield, javelins and sometimes long
spear. They fought in a looser order than the phalanx.
Skirmishers. Pontics, Armenians and mercenaries who fought from a distance and avoided close combat
where possible. Likely to be armed with javelins.
Pontic or Black Sea Nobles. Pontic nobility armed with long spears, swords, helmets and body armour.
Sarmatian influence suggests some possibly had horse armour. May be upgraded to Guard to represent an
elite bodyguard unit of nobles and retainers some of whom stayed loyal to Mithridates until the very end.
Sarmatian Nobles. Armed with bows, kontos, swords, helmets and body armour .Many with horse armour
of bronze, leather and horn. The bow fell out of use with the Black Sea Sarmatians , possibly through
contact with the Greeks and the amount of horse armour may have declined too
Armenian Cataphracts. We have represented these troops as more heavily armoured than the usual heavy
cavalry riding horses which are also armoured. Armed with the long lance-like kontos wielded in two
hands, they are slow and ponderous.
Light Cavalry: Armed with javelins and shields. They fought in a looser order than heavy cavalry, their
role to skirmish from a distance but to close with the enemy in the right circumstances.
Horse Archers. These are mercenary Scythian horse archers raised from the steppes. They fought at long
range with bows and were expert horsemen and archers.
Skirmish Cavalry. Mounted skirmishers armed with javelins or bows and wearing no armour. They fight
from a distance avoiding close combat where possible.
Scythed chariots. A chariot festooned with scythes and blades whose sole purpose was to drive into the
enemy ranks to disrupt their formation.
Mithridates Empire Builder. Mithridates raised Pontus from an insignificant nation into a major power
that threatened the power of Rome. Many greeted him as a liberator from the Roman oppressor. He built
an empire in Asia Minor and Greece as the champion of Hellenism whilst forming a solid trading alliance
and dependent territories across the Black Sea and into the Mediterranean. Mithridates has the Empire
Builder special rule. Before the game, roll a D6 and deduct 2 down to a minimum of 1. This indicates the
number of enemy troop units affected (between 1 and 4). These units are considered to be Unreliable until
such time as one of your own ‘core’ units has been destroyed (i.e. scoring units for withdrawal). The
opposing play picks which of his own units are affected—these must be units that are not normally
Unreliable.
Mithridates the Brave: In later life Mithridates liked to command from the front. He was wounded in the
face and knee at Cabira, 67BC, and in the thigh at Zela, 67 BC. For purposes of one of his own command
rolls during the game Mithridates can make up to 4 normally reliable units Brave—ignoring the usual
command modifiers for enemy within 20cm and exposed flanks.
