The Swiss Pikeman are a serious threat to many units, due to their hit points and multipliers, especially cavalry. In addition, they have a high siege attack, allowing them to destroy buildings fairly easily and are also quite fast for infantry making them a good all-around unit. However like all infantry they will be defeated by artillery.
When using Swiss Pikemen, be on the lookout for Spy and Ninja units as they will be a threat, killing them with ease due to bonuses against fighting mercenaries.
In some campaign scenarios, Swiss Pikemen appear to assist the players' forces. For example, in the Act I: Blood level Into the Caves, three Swiss Pikemen are provided at the start to help defend the player's colony.
The Hire Swiss Pikemen card is available to Dutch, French, and Spanish.
The Hire Highland Mercenary Army card is not available to Ottomans and Portuguese, and ships 1 extra Highlander, Hackapell, and Swiss Pikeman for the Germans.
Historically, the mercenary corps of Switzerland (Reisläufer) were bitter rivals of the Landsknecht, in large part due to the latter being considered their imitators, yet became increasingly popular upon introduction to the point of supplanting the Swiss all but entirely in service. The two forces were often opposed during the major European conflict of the early sixteenth century, the Great Italian Wars, where the results of their many clashes were often horrific.
Swiss soldiers hired themselves out as mercenaries in many European nations. They were known for their discipline and drill with pike and halberd, but by the end of the sixteenth century had adopted the arquebus, and even mounted soldiers armed with arquebuses. Swiss pikemen were ruthless on the battlefield. They were known to hang their own men for panicking, for giving no quarter to enemies who surrendered, and for loyalty as long as they were paid. The phrase, "No silver, no Swiss," referred to the price of their loyalty, and the consequences of not paying them.
Swiss mercenaries wore a variety of uniforms, favoring colorful Landsknecht-style dress with striped leggings and mismatched stockings, and bright, slashed doublets and sleeves in alternating colors.
Infantry Breastplate (+10%)
Thin Red Line (+20%, British only)
Corselet (+25%, Spanish only)
Cree Tanning (+5%)
Maya Cotton Armor (+20%)
Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Customized Merc Weapons (+30%, John Black's Mercenaries only)
Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%)
Mapuche Tactics (+50% siege attack)
Zapotec Cult of the Dead (+20%)
Yoga (+5%)
Master Lessons (+10%)
Military Drummers (+10%)
Tilly's Discipline (+20%, Germans only)
Incan Road-building (+20%)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Town Watch (+2)
Standing Army (-25%)
Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)
Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only)
