Meteor Hammer

Meteor Hammer is a Chinese heavy cavalry unit featured in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.

Overview
Meteor Hammers are strong hand cavalry unit that has a high base attack that is effective against light infantry and powerful against artillery. The Meteor Hammer also has a range of five, but still deals hand damage, making it strong for ranged support in crowded fights. It is trained in the Forbidden Army with Iron Flails, making it a very powerful cavalry army. Combining these two with Beiyang Army provides strong raiding potential against settlers, skimishers, archers, artillery, and heavy cavalry. Adding the Territorial or Old Han Armies to these makes a good force with counters that provide against any type of enemy unit you might face.

History
"Classified as a martial arts chain weapon, the meteor hammer evolved from ancient Chinese hunting weapons and basically consists of two weights connected by a rope or a chain. The “hammer” is a small ball of bronze about the size of a duck’s egg, and the chain can vary in length, from 6 to 15 feet. The meteor hammer offers an unparalleled level of speed when striking, and can be utilized in different attack styles depending on the conditions of the battlefield: thrown, swung, or whipped. The most skillful wielder can wrap the chain around a number of body parts before unwrapping it to release the hammer with a jolt of accumulated energy. This causes the hammer to shoot forward with such speed that it strikes a target with deadly force. It is this burst of speed that earned the weapon its name. If space did not allow for this kind of combat, the meteor hammer could be modified to ensnare the weapon of an enemy attacker, or to strangle an enemy from a distance."