Rodelero

The Rodelero is a heavy infantry unit unique to the Spanish and Knights of St. John in Age of Empires III.

Overview
The Rodelero is first available in the Colonial Age. It can also be sent from the Consulate building as the Japanese, once a level 40 Home City is attained and Spain is selected as an ally, the Aztec are also able to obtain the rodelero through the home city in groups ranging from ten to forty.

Outfitted with a sword and buckler, Rodeleros are quite different compared to your typical heavy infantry. They move extremely fast (similar to cavalry). This makes a relatively cheap raiding/scouting unit in the very early stages of the game. Rodelero deal less damage against cavalry compared to Pikemen (even at Imperial level), however, Roldeleros can catch up to fleeing enemies due to their speed. They are also a decent melee unit against non-cavalry units as they possess a higher base damage compared to Pikemen.

However, when destroying buildings, Rodeleros are not recommended, as they possess siege damage similar to that of ranged infantry, despite being a heavy infantry unit. Pikemen and Musketeers are far more efficient at razing buildings. Rodeleros should also be wary of ranged infantry and artillery, as they can be easily destroyed by them in battle.

Upgrades
The overall stats for Rodelero can be improved by investing resources on technologies found in the Arsenal.

Veteran Rodelero
Veteran Rodelero is the first upgrade for the Rodelero. It is available for and  once Fortress Age is reached.
 * Hit Points: +20% (162)
 * Hand Attack: +20% (12)
 * Siege Attack: +20% (12)

Espada Rodelero
Espadachin or Espada Rodelero is the second upgrade for the Rodelero. It is available for and  once Industrial Age is reached.
 * Hit Points: +40% (216)
 * Hand Attack: +40% (16)
 * Siege Attack: +40% (16)

Imperial Espada
Imperial Espada is the third upgrade for the Rodelero. It is available for and  once Imperial Age is reached.
 * Hit Points: +50% (283)
 * Hand Attack: +50% (21)
 * Siege Attack: +50% (21)

Shipments
This is a list of shipments that benefit Rodeleros in any way.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%; margin-bottom:0px; margin-top:1px;" ! sab="1148"| Click for a list of Rodelero-related Home City cards
 * - sab="1147"
 * - sab="1149"
 * sab="1150"|

Spanish

 * }

Knights of St. John
Can further boost their Rodeleros' hit points by 20% through the Hand Infantry Hitpoints card (12 damage and 189 hp with all mentioned upgrades except Corselet).

Spanish
Through use of Academy cards from their Home City, Rodelero hitpoints can be increased by 35% and attack by 30%. Unction will then boost the modified damage number by 5-63% (39.93 damage and 324 hp with all upgrades mentioned except Corselet).

Other Upgrades Corselet: +25% hitpoints, -15% speed

History
"Rodeleros were a Spanish infantry who used swords and round shields. This arms combination was often used against formations of pike and halberds. Agile swordsmen could better evade the deadly iron of densely packed pikes and could take formations apart from the inside. In 1506 Cortez arrived in the New World with over 1,300 soldiers, 1,000 of which were rodeleros. They were adaptable, versatile soldiers, capable in close quarters on the decks of ships as well as against the loose, guerilla tactics of non-European enemies. Rodela is a Spanish word meaning shield; Rodeleros are "shield-bearers." Rodeleros were armed with one-handed swords and round shields approximately two feet in diameter. These rodela were most often made of steel, but were also made of iron-bound wood covered with hide."

Trivia

 * Their Royal Guard name, Espada, is short from espadachín, which means "Swordsman" in Spanish.