The Americas is very different from the other campaigns in Medieval 2 depending on whom you’re playing as. The southern native tribes, including factions such as the Aztecs and Mayans are powerful factions despite their low tech level. Their soldiers are very weak in small numbers. They have low stats all round, very limited technology and are outmatched technologically in every way by the invading European troops. They also do not have cavalry, gunpowder or heavily armoured troops.


When using the Aztecs, Mayans and the like in battle you want to get into melee as soon as possible. Their archers aren’t very good and their spear throwers are worse. Just select all your infantry and charge at the enemy. If the enemy have muskets it’s doubly important to charge and get in melee ASAP. All musket using troops are terrible in melee, but will wreck your unit’s morale if they are free to shoot, so it’s important to catch them with your charge and rout them quickly.

Pretty much all south native troops are very fast for infantry, so this is easier than you’d expect. Tough European units, like the New World Bodyguard and their deadly Conquistadores should be swarmed with as many troops as possible to overwhelm them. The Aztec Spearmen are quite good, so they will do well against mounted Conquistadors. Spanish infantry will die quickly if hit in the back, so flank them with your fast infantry.

The Natives have a lot of high morale, fast moving infantry, high population cities and very cheap unit prices. This lets them crank out massive numbers of cheap troops and overwhelm the enemy with them. Nobody can spam troops like the southern natives can. They begin the campaign with huge cities and a good economy, so you can pump out five stacks in short order after a few turns of getting their economy rolling. This massive army lets you simply overwhelm any enemy that dares attack you. Move your stacks together and just keep sending them at the enemy until they are completely overpowered.

Besides their power, the other issue with fighting these guys as the natives is that the Spanish tend to have musketeers that will easily rout your men, which allows them to be cut up by the Conquistadors.

If the enemy have a lot of musketeers you should try to use Jaguar Warriors instead of rank and file infantry. Their 25 morale lets them mostly ignore the gunpowder penalty for a while and they are more of a match for the Spaniards in melee. If you have archers, use them to target the Musketeers. They have little or no armour and the arrows hits can kill them or disrupt their volleys.

Even if you lose the fight, killing Spanish Musketeers is a big step because they can’t easily replace them and subsequent battles will be much easier without the morale destroying bullets pelting you.

Spain also begins with some tough and skilled leaders. Killing them as early as possible will help you rout the Spanish faster.

While playing as the Natives you should ignore causalities. You will take many losses every battle, but it doesn’t matter because you can crank out more cheap units right away from your populous cities. Just keep attacking. All of the native infantry units are fast moving, so they can get into melee very quickly, but the southern natives have a hard time chasing routers since they lack cavalry. Focus on killing off routing musketeers more than anything else.

Try to outnumber the enemy as much as possible; this cannot be stressed enough when playing as the southern natives. Try splitting up your force and sending the elites like Jaguar Warriors straight at the enemy and, once they are engaged, flank with the other half of your army and the enemy will rout in short order.

If you’re trying to fight Europeans with the southern natives, prepare to take a lot of losses. The best way is to simply drown them in an ocean of bodies, ideally 3 to one. Send natives charging in from every which way and they will fall quickly from the rear attacks. Holding them still with melee infantry while you pelt them with arrows can work too, although this takes much longer. You should always outnumber these guys by a lot since southern natives can simply pump out stacks at lighting speed because they are so cheap.

Make sure to use your priest’s chant ability to both keep your men in the fight and entice enemies to rout faster. Keep them out of the melee as they only affect morale to a useful degree if they are chanting.


The Apaches use a completely different style of combat compared to the southern natives, as most of their strong units are ranged. An Apache army should consist of a lot of archers, normally Dog Soldiers, some Braves to hold the line and provide more missile fire and a war leader.

Most Apache units are pretty terrible in melee with the exception of Scouts, who are merely average and Koitsenkos which are hard to get in great numbers until later on in the campaign. Their main melee unit for much of the campaign will be the Braves and they will be defeated by just about any other melee oriented enemy unit in melee. Braves are good only for holding the enemy in place while your archers wipe them out. Braves are versatile since they can both hurl spears and fight in melee so feel free to use them for either. Just remember that your archers do the real killing, everything else is for support.

Apaches have a unique mechanic where defeating cavalry or gun units enough will unlock new Apache units using those horses or guns. Both foot and mounted Apache gun units are very strong and are your end game units.

Apaches are the only playable faction who can acquire enemy tech, so you should hunt down the French who appear next to you early in the campaign and repeatedly kill them until you acquire muskets and cavalry. This will give you a massive advantage over the other natives and you will be able to sweep the map.

Make a lot of units as the Apaches, their upkeep cost is very low indeed and you can make dozens of units, despite the poor Apache economy.

As with the southern natives use your priest’s chant ability to affect morale.


The Spanish have a huge advantage over the natives in technology. They have firearms, cavalry, artillery and heavy armour. Their units are all very strong and a good army of Sword and Buckler Men or Conquistadores can kill many, many natives, even if hugely outnumbered. Their cavalry meanwhile can just shatter the lightly armoured natives with a charge, killing half a unit with the charge alone.

Muskets also give the Spanish a huge advantage. They can target the natives from a great distance and repeatedly blast them with gunfire until they finally fail to rally, if they are enough gunners.

Spain’s biggest disadvantage is the limited numbers of troops they have to work with. They will have very few pure Spaniards in their army unless they crank out a whole lot of expensive troops. Even then, their units come with half the men of the native units. They will sometimes receive shipments of troops from Spain, and the really good Spanish troops like Musketeers can only be received in shipments until the late game, so they must be very well taken care of.

Spain will have the majority of its army made up of native mercenaries until the late game. These are very similar to southern native troops and are in most cases copies. Most battles will come down to a huge melee between your mercs and the enemies, while the Spaniards turn the tables with their small number of elite troops. The best way to gain the upper hand is to shoot the enemies as much as possible with guns and slam into them with your cavalry as this will cause them to break quickly and they can be slaughtered as they retreat.


1.0 First steam release.
1.04: 24/06/25: Added tactics for the Chihmec units and removed references to them being unplayable

Note that most abilities, like Pikewall are just like Medieval 2 and thus aren’t included here. See that guide for details of returning abilities The only new ability in this campaign is Chant. Chant was usable by AI Aztecs in Medieval 2, but never by playable factions.

Chant

Chant is an ability usable by the various native priest units (Coyote Priests, Medicine Men etc). It raises the morale of nearby friendly troops and lowers morale of enemies. This makes a real difference in battles and troops bolstered by chanting priests will hold for much longer than they would otherwise. At least one priest unit should be standard for every army you create. They are especially useful against European armies and their morale destroying muskets as they are a great help for keeping your morale shattered troops on the field.

Al Holpop Militia
Attack: 7 Charge: 3 Defence: 10 Armour: 2 Morale: 3 Cost: 240 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Mayans

Ai Holpop are weak-ish spearmen and aren’t a match for most other spear units. Their attack is lower than most, but they are armoured, unlike most spearmen. This unit can still defeat cavalry and hold their own in a melee for a while, but support them well and use a lot of them, as their morale is low and it won’t take too much to rout them.

Aztec Spearmen
Attack: 10 Charge: 4 Defence: 10 Armour: 0 Morale: 5 Cost: 310 Upkeep: 94
Factions: Aztecs

Aztec Spearmen have surprisingly good stats. They have a great attack for spearmen and coupled with the generally low defence of most enemy troops they do a solid job even vs infantry. They are fine to use as line troops early on. They are very important to have when Europe comes knocking as they take down cavalry quick with their high attack and are useful against other infantry as well. Don’t overlook these guys. Their morale is average.

Chichimec Lancers
Attack: 9 Charge: 4 Defence: 5 Armour: 0 Morale: 5 Cost: 270 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

Chichimec Lancers might sound like a cavalry unit but they are an infantry spear unit. Lancers have a good attack and have no problems taking down cavalry, but their defence is the lowest among the spear units and in a protracted melee they will die quick. They have no armour at all, so target them with missiles.

If you are playing as the Chichimec Tribes this should be your main melee unit as they will handily defeat the Apache Braves. Silence their archers if you can and get them armour upgrades.

Chichimec Scouts
Attack: 7 Charge: 3 Defence: 7 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 140 Upkeep: 75
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

Chichimec Scouts are the weakest spearmen around. They have no shield bonus, so their shield is actually just a decoration and doesn’t help them in melee or against missiles. These men serve decently against cavalry, but will get shredded in no time against other infantry. Their morale is also low. Only use these men until you can mass Chichimec Lancers and get them armour upgrades.

Onde’s Men
Attack: 14 Charge: 5 Defence: 9 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 430 Upkeep: 30
Factions: Apaches

Onde’s Men are extremely powerful spearmen. They have truly ridiculous morale: 25. Most knights in Medieval 2 have 10 or 12 morale, so you can imagine how brave these men are. They will never rout, they have ridiculously high attack for a spear unit, they have a good charge and they are as armoured as the Apaches can manage. These spearmen are some of the best troops in the Americas Campaign and will destroy cavalry so quickly it’s insane. They will never rout and you can rely on them to see many victories or die trying. They are highly trained.

Tarascan Spearmen
Attack: 9 Charge: 4 Defence: 10 Armour: 0 Morale: 5 Cost: 310 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Tarascans

Tarascan Spearmen are tougher than most, with good attack and defence. They will defeat most other spearmen in melee and take down cavalry quick. They are strong enough to hold on for a while vs. infantry too.

Tlaxcalan Spearmen
Attack: 9 Charge: 4 Defence: 10 Armour: 0 Morale: 5 Cost: 310 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Tlaxcalans

These spearmen are exactly like Tarascan Spearmen and just as useful.


Pikemen seem better in the Americas campaign than in vanilla Medieval 2. They hold their pike wall better, even if some of the unit is in melee and they actually prevent enemies getting close while the wall is up. Pikemen are strongest from the front, so make sure they aren’t flanked, or flank them depending on who you are. None of the pikemen available in Americas start with armour, so building an armourer is highly recommended.

Pikemen
Attack: 8 Charge: 5 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 5 Cost: 270 Upkeep: 125
Factions: England, New France

Pikemen are decent troops this time around with good attack, but they are still unarmoured. They are highly trained.

Pike Militia
Attack: 6 Charge: 4 Defence: 4 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 200 Upkeep: 100
Factions: Spain

Spain’s weaker pikes, there is no real reason to use these except for fodder to hold the enemy in place. They will lose to pretty much any other unit in melee as they have awful stats and no shields. You should have lots of money as Spain and Tericos aren’t that expensive when you can finally recruit them. Pike Militia are a lot worse than Sword Militia and even at the start of the campaign you are better off hiring cheap native mercs than using these guys on the battlefield.

The real use of these men is being used as the best garrison troops for Spain. Unlike most Spanish units Pike Militia have 120 men rather than 60 and, because they are militia you can garrison up to four of them upkeep free, depending on settlement level. Their large unit size makes them more effective at quelling unrest than any other unit. Four units of Pike Militia should be standard for every settlement Spain controls. They are extremely cost effective and the best at keeping order. Make heaps and ferry them across the sea to any far flung settlement to keep it loyal.

Tercio Pikemen
Attack: 10 Charge: 6 Defence: 7 Armour: 0 Morale: 11 Cost: 530 Upkeep: 125
Factions: Spain

Spain’s elite pikes, these are much like they were in Medieval 2, except they can now actually hold a pikewall and tie up the enemy. Tercio will hold infantry for a white and will shred any cavalry you see as long as the pikewall is up. They have 2 hit points, so they soak up punishment despite their terrible defence and no armour. They are also good flankers, as they have high attack and low defence. They are highly trained. The problem with Tericos is that they take so long to be unlocked that you’ll have likely already crushed the other European factions and there is no real need to use pikemen against the natives. While they are strong and are novel for their two hit points there is nothing they can do vs natives that Dismounted Conquistadors can’t do better.

Swordsmen are the rank and file of European armies. They all have great attack and defence and will prove extremely effective against most native troops due to their superior stats. All swordsmen have 2 hit points, making them very tough and they also universally have high morale so they will stand for a long time against most enemies. Swordsmen only have 60 men per unit rather than 120, so they can be crushed by weight of numbers. Their power lets them hack their way through legions of enemies, even with this number handicap however.

Dismounted Conquistadores
Attack: 14 Charge: 3 Defence: 18 Armour: 5 Morale:13 Cost: 670 Upkeep: 75
Factions: Spain

Dismounted Conquistadores are Spain’s main tough infantry. They have a very high attack and strong defence, with more than enough armour to resist native missiles. They have extremely high morale and they will pretty much never rout. You should use these men as your main army filler as Spain, as they are absolutely devastating to the hordes of naive troops you’ll be facing. For some reason they have a low mental state, so morale shocks affect them more, but it hardly matters as their morale is already so high.

If you’re trying to fight these men with the southern natives, prepare to take a lot of losses. The best way is to simply drown them in an ocean of bodies, ideally 3 to one. Send natives charging in from every which way and they will fall quickly from the rear attacks. Holding them still with melee infantry while you pelt them with arrows can work too, although this takes much longer. You should always outnumber these guys by a lot since southern natives can simply pump out stacks at lighting speed because they are so cheap. See the tactics for the southern natives found at the start of this document for further details.

The Apaches can’t hope to win in melee against these units, so the best idea is to send a few Braves into a suicidal melee so your archers and other Braves can pelt the Spaniards with missiles, which should take them out fairly quickly. Make sure to send more Braves into melee as the swordsmen cut down your men.

The hands down best way of course is to use Thunder Braves. Mounted Thunder Braves can stay out of melee and blast the swordsmen to pieces. Dog Soldiers can do much better than the southern native archers however.

All natives should make good use of priests to scare these men into fleeing sooner as well.

New World Cuirassers
Attack: 14 Charge: 3 Defence: 18 Armour: 5 Morale: 13 Cost: 670 Upkeep: 56
Factions: England, New France

New World Cuirassers are exactly the same as Dismounted Conquistadors in all ways and should be fought against in the same way. They have 2 hit points and a low mental state. The fights vs these guys will likely be among the toughest for Spain. Use artillery and Musketeers as much as possible to whittle them down. Send your mounted Conquistadors charging into them to kill large numbers of them. Don’t even bother with native mercs when fighting these guys, they will be routed way too often by gunpowder troops. Native troops are useful only to hold them in place for a short time and only if they aren’t backed up by Musketeers.

Swordsmen Militia
Attack: 9 Charge: 2 Defence: 14 Armour: 3 Morale: 7 Cost: 390 Upkeep: 50
Factions: Spain

Swordsmen Militia are just like the Medieval 2 version and have high stats for a militia unit. Their morale is also surprisingly high and they have two hit points, so they are much tougher than they seem. They make great general attack troops and filler for armies. They are strong enough to use in your main army stacks, which is useful as they are much cheaper than Dismounted Conquistadors. Use these men as your general attack troops until you can mass recruit Conquistadors. The natives should handle these men the same way as they would Dismounted Conquistadores above. Their lower morale makes them much easier to rout with flank attacks or priest chanting.

Sword and Buckler Men
Attack: 11 Charge: 3 Defence: 15 Armour: 3 Morale: 11 Cost: 520 Upkeep: 75
Factions: Spain

Sword and Buckler Men are like a weaker, cheaper version of Conquistadores. They are weaker in every statistic, but still extremely powerful and more than capable of carving a path though the natives, especially with their 2 hit points. Natives should fight them as they would Dismounted Conquistadores.

The Americas campaign has a ton of infantry who use different weapons, from clubs to hatchets. They all pretty much work in the same way. Thus, categories like my other Total War guides wouldn’t make much sense. Here then is a section detailing general infantry units that don’t fit in one of the other categories. Easily defined troops, like spearmen or archers can be found in their section.

Aztec Warriors
Attack: 7 Charge: 2 Defence: 10 Armour: 2 Morale: 5 Cost: 330 Upkeep: 116
Factions: Aztecs

The rank and file of Aztec armies, Aztec Warriors are balanced stats wise and can hold a line and do damage quite well. They have some armour, but their attack isn’t that great. You’ll be making many, many units of Aztec Warriors and they serve as the general body of Aztec armies; the huge blob that you send in to cut up the enemy’s infantry. They are severely outclassed by European infantry, like Conquistadores, so use as many of them as you can get and rush them en mass. When you can create Jaguar Warriors and Cuahchiqueh in numbers you should forget about this unit, except as garrisons. They are untrained.

Apachean Scouts
Attack: 9 Charge: 3 Defence: 4 Armour: 0 Morale: 9 Cost: 310 Upkeep: 20
Factions: Apaches

Apachean Scouts are light axe infantry. Their axe does not pierce armour, but they have a good attack and very high morale. They are disciplined. Their defence is very low and they have no armour, so they are best used as flankers, but their high morale ensures you can charge them straight into melee and they will hold for quite a long time, even while taking heavy causalities. Use these to support your Braves early in a campaign.

Batab Militia
Attack: 7 Charge: 2 Defence: 10 Armour: 2 Morale: 5 Cost: 330 Upkeep: 116
Factions: Mayans

Batab Militia are just like Aztec Warriors and should be used in the same way.

Cuahchiqueh
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 440 Upkeep: 112
Factions: Aztecs, Tlaxcalans, Tarascans

Cuahchiqueh are the elites of the southern native factions and have all round great stats and the same excellent morale that Onde’s Men have: 25 and they are impetuous. They will never rout. They frighten nearby enemy infantry, so they work great as shock troops to cause mass routs. When you can, make these guys en mass, you have little reason to use anything else as these factions, besides spearmen vs European powers. They are untrained. They are about the only unit these factions have that can stand up in a straight fight with european infantry. They will stomp Sword Militia and all kinds of spearmen and will do a lot of damage to conquistadors.

Eagle Warriors
Attack: 17 Charge: 8 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 370 Upkeep: 112
Factions: Aztecs, Tlaxcalans, Tarascans

Eagle Warriors use two handed clubs and are thus somewhat susceptible to the bug for 2handed units. They narrowly lose to Aztec Warriors, but are defeated badly by Jaguar Warriors. Eagle Warriors aren’t really worth their cost; they don’t do anything that a normal warrior unit cant and Jaguar Warriors completely wreck them. They are highly trained, one of the only native units that are and have 25 morale.

Guachichil Warriors
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 510 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

Guachichil Warriors are strong, elite axemen with all round good stats. They are armoured and have the same unbreakable morale as Onde’s Men. They are great flankers too because of their high attack. They are impetuous. These guys will likely be a large thorn in the side of an Apachean player. War with the Chichimec is all but assured and they love to use hordes of these dangerous troops. They should be a top priority for your archers when they appear in a battle, as they will murder any Apachean unit in melee. Dog Soldiers can take them down safely from range.

If you are the Chichimec Tribes this is the best unit you have. They are superb vs any unit in melee and you can rip up any other tribe once you can mas them. Note that they do not pierce armour so they are still going to have trouble with the Spanish.

Medicine Men
Attack: 13 Charge: 3 Defence: 10 Armour: 0 Morale: 25 Cost: 270 Upkeep: 15
Factions: Apaches

Medicine Men are some of the toughest native troops and have sky high morale. They can also chant to keep their fellow warriors fighting. They are very cheap, so you can make loads of them, giving your army a big morale boost, as well as strong melee units.

Nacom Warriors
Attack: 7 Charge: 2 Defence: 10 Armour: 2 Morale: 5 Cost: 330 Upkeep: 116
Factions: Mayans

Nacom Warriors are just like Aztec Warriors and serve the same purpose; as basic line infantry for Maya.

Jaguar Warriors
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 520 Upkeep: 139
Factions: Aztecs, Mayans, Tlaxcalans, Tarascans

Jaguar Warriors are elite, have high stats that are well balanced, have 25 morale and are still quite cheap. You should replace all of your weaker warriors with legions of these men when you can recruit them en mass, as they are strong units and their morale and the fact they are disciplined make them nearly impossible to rout. They easily defeat Eagle Warriors, and most European infantry besides conquistadors They are highly trained.

Tarascan Warriors
Attack: 7 Charge: 2 Defence: 10 Amour: 2 Morale: 5 Cost: 330 Upkeep: 116
Factions: Tarascans

Tarascan Warriors are just like Aztec Warriors and are also untrained.

Temple Guard
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 520 Upkeep: 138
Factions: Mayans

Temple Guard are just like Jaguar Warriors, except they are impetuous rather than disciplined. You should replace as many of your normal warriors with these men as you can when you can recruit them en mass. They are untrained

Tlaxcalan Warriors
Attack: 7 Charge: 2 Defence: 10 Armour: 2 Morale: 5 Cost: 330 Upkeep: 116
Factions: Tlaxcalans

These men are yet another in the long line of identical basic infantry for the southern natives and work in the same way. They are untrained.

Zacatecos Raiders
Attack: 9 Charge: 3 Defence: 6 Armour: 2 Morale: 9 Cost: 310 Upkeep: 112
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

Zacatecos Raiders are average axemen. The problem is that the Apaches will be fighting them mostly and the main Apache melee force; the Braves are no match whatsoever for these axe wielding monsters. You should use Braves to hold the axemen in place. They will be able to last for a while in melee. While this is happening, use the superior Apachean archers to wipe out the raiders. They should drop quickly before your Braves rout. Don’t try to out melee the raiders with Braves alone! They are disciplined and highly trained.

If you are the Chichimec Tribes this unit is an excellent stopgap until you can mass Guachichil Warriors. They should handily defeat most early units and have the morale to rush archers effectively.

Skirmishers work the same way as Medieval 2, but this time around they do not pierce armour, but almost everyone in the Americas campaign has little or no armour anyway so this isn’t much of a problem. There are also far less cavalry in this campaign, so skirmishers have an easier time staying alive.

Arrow Warriors
Attack: 11 Missile attack: 7 Charge: 6 Defence: 13 Armour: 2 Morale: 9 Cost: 360 Upkeep: 112
Factions: Aztecs, Tlaxcalans, Tarascans

Arrow Warriors are versatile troops, as they have a strong melee attack and decent ranged stats as well. Their melee weapon counts as a spears, so they can defend themselves against cavalry as well, the only skirmisher unit that can. Take advantage of this!

Aztec Spear Throwers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 250 Upkeep: 94
Factions: Aztecs

These men are mostly useless skirmishers; they are unarmoured and have weak stats. Only if you do not have archers available and want ranged support should you recruit this unit. They are untrained.

Apachean Braves
Attack: 9 Missile attack: 9 Charge: 4 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale: 5 Cost: 520 Upkeep: 30
Factions: Apaches

Apachean Braves are the main infantry for the Apaches at the start of the game. They are skirmishers, but also have good melee and missile stats. This is handicapped however by their use of spears in melee. They will suffer against any non-spear infantry. Braves have pretty average morale, despite their name and it won’t take too much to make them rout. The main job of Braves is to engage the enemy in melee and hold them still while the Apachean archers, the real strength of their tribe rain down death and wipe out the enemies. The Braves only have to hold the enemy in melee and stay alive until this happens. Always order your Braves to throw as many javelins as possible before the melee to whittle down the enemies’ numbers. Trying to use them like pure melee troops against more melee oriented natives will just get your men decimated. The best thing about Braves is they can do double duty as melee and skirmishers. You should send just enough Braves into melee to hold the enemy and have your other braves continue firing. As the melee Braves are cut down you can send more units in to replace them.

Mayan Javelinmen
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 8 Armour: 2 Morale: 3 Cost: 280 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Mayans

Mayan Javelins are weak skirmishers with a low melee attack and missile attack. They won’t really be killing much of anything with their javelins, as their lousy aim and lack of ammo mostly castrates them. They are at least armoured, unlike some other skirmishers, but they are still best used as fodder and battering ram pushers. They are untrained.

Tarascan Spear Throwers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 250 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Tarascans

These men are just like Mayan Javelinmen, except unarmoured. They really aren’t much use for anything and you’re better off with just more warriors. They are untrained.

Tlaxcalan Spear Throwers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 250 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Tlaxcalans

This unit is just like the Tarascan version and should be used only for fodder.

Archers serve a much larger role in the Americas campaign than the Medieval 2 campaign. All native troops have very little armour, so arrows will completely devastate even the strongest native troops. Elite units with high status mean less in the New World, because the almost universal lack of armour means elites die just like anyone else to a hail of shafts.

This means costly, elite units, like Koitsenkos will die just as fast and easily as rank and file Apachean Braves. Battles in the Americas will sometimes boil down to two sets of opposing archers wiping out each other’s army before shooting each other, since so many men will die from arrow fire. Some factions, like the Apaches revolve around using archers and a large force of archers will cause immense damage to enemies. You should use up to 50% archers in a typical army and at least have a few units of them in every army in the Americas campaign, as they are a huge threat in battle and will crush the strongest enemies if kept safe.

Aztec Archers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 8 Armour: 2 Morale: 3 Cost: 380 Upkeep: 94
Factions: Aztecs

Aztec Archers are average archers and share their stats with others. Their low missile attack isn’t much of a problem since it is shared with many other native archers and since armour is rare they will still be able to dish out many causalities to enemies. They aren’t much weaker than Aztec Warriors in melee, so feel free to use them as melee support. They are untrained.

Chichimec Hunters
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 250 Upkeep: 75
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

These men are just like Aztec Archers, minus the armour so they will suffer in a ranged duel. They are untrained. As the Chichimecs this is not a great unit. They are just too unskilled to satnd up to Apachen archers. They are a necessary evil however. You need ranged support to at least whittle down all the people shooting at you and because most of the time Apachen archers tend to have no armour you can still inflict great damage on them and stop them wrecking your melee units. Against the southern natives these men can hold their own but get them armour ASAP. As soon as you can recruit Zacatecos Archers you can stop using this unit, as they are better in every way.

Dog Soldiers
Attack: 7 Missile attack: 7 Charge: 2 Defence: 2 Armour: 0 Morale: 5 Cost: Upkeep: 15
Factions: Apaches

Dog Soldiers are solid archers with a better missile attack than almost all other archers in the Americas campaign and better melee attack and morale as well. Hordes of Dog Soldiers will likely be your army’s mainstay as the Apaches. Just watch out in melee because they have no armour and horrible defence, so they will drop very quickly. Counter fire is a major danger too. Get them armour ASAP. They are highly trained.

Holkans
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 3 Armour: 2 Morale: 3 Cost: 350 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Mayans

Holkans are the archers the Mayans should use most since they have armour. They are just like Aztec Archers, which gives the Maya parity with them. Their other archer unit; the Mayan Archers are unarmoured and should not be used if this unit can be. They are untrained.

Koitsenko's
Attack: 12 Missile attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 630 Upkeep: 30
Factions: Apaches

Koitsenko's are elite archers, by far the best ones in the Americas. They have a deadly missile attack that will decimate any enemy that comes into range. They have an equally massive melee attack and they are armoured. Their defence isn’t that great, they will still drop to missiles and melee quickly Do your best to keep them out of a protracted melee or counter fire. The biggest problem with Koitsenko's is obtaining them. A script needs to trigger to get them and sometimes the script bugs out and they never unlock. They are also expensive for the cash strapped Apaches. They are impetuous and highly trained.

Longbowmen
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 6 Charge: 2 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 490 Upkeep: 100
Factions: New England

Longbowmen are much the same as the Medieval 2 version, except with less morale. Their very long range makes them incredibly effective against native troops. They still pierce armour which can come in handy against other European powers. They are untrained.

Mayan Archers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 330 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Mayans

Mayan Archers are just like other southern native archers, except they are unarmoured. This is a big disadvantage since they will suffer in archery duels. Use Holkans rather than these guys when possible. They are untrained.

Rabbit Boys
Attack: 2 Missile attack: 4 Charge: 1 Defence: 2 Armour: 0 Morale: 1 Cost: 230 Upkeep: 10
Factions: Apaches

Rabbit Boys are very weak archers, inept in both ranged and melee combat. Their morale is terrible, their missile attack is awful, their melee skills are pathetic and they will rout very easily. They are just awful troops, only saved by how powerful archers are in the Americas campaign. You will probably end up using them, but don’t rely on them at all in battle. They are the worst unit in the campaign in melee. They are, unsurprisingly, untrained.

Tarascan Archers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 8 Armour: 2 Morale: 3 Cost: 380 Upkeep: 93
Factions: Tarascans

Another in the line of clone native archers. They are untrained.

Tlaxcalan Archers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 8 Armour: 2 Morale: 3 Cost: 280 Upkeep: 75
Factions: Tlaxcalans

Ditto.

Zacatecos Archers
Attack: 7 Missile attack: 7 Charge: 3 Defence: 4 Armour: 0 Morale: 9 Cost: 360 Upkeep: 75
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

Zacatecos Archers are like a stronger version of Dog Soldiers, as they have slightly more defence but otherwise the same stats. Use them in the same way. If you are fighting them make sure to target them first as they are skilled archers and will kill your men quickly. They are disciplined, but untrained.

As the Chichimec these men are excellent archers superior to any archers archers besides Koitsenko's and lets them fight the Apache head on whenever at range or melee. Upgrade to them ASAP.

Crossbowmen aren’t so necessary in the Americas because of the almost total lack of heavy armour for them to pierce, but they will still dish out plenty of causalities to any unit. They are also very handy against other European forces.

Aventurier
Attack: 9 Missile attack: 14 Charge: 3 Defence: 9 Armour: 3 Morale: 9 Cost: 540 Upkeep: 115
Factions: New France

Aventurier are the strongest crossbows in the Americas campaign by far and are just as powerful as they were in Medieval 2. They have somewhat less morale now, but it’s still very high for a missile unit. When facing these you’ll want to swarm them with as many units as possible, as they are strong in both melee and ranged.

Crossbowmen
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 11 Charge: 2 Defence: 5 Armour: 3 Morale: 5
Factions: Spain, English, New France

Crossbowmen are the bog standard unit of xbows. They pack a punch at range and sustained fire will put a serious hurt on any unit. They are lousy in melee however, so try to keep them out of it.

Crossbow Militia
Attack: 3 Missile attack: 9 Charge: 1 Defence: 2 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 cost: 250 Upkeep: 65
Factions: Spain

Crossbow Militia are about as weak as the vanilla unit on med 2. They are excellent against the natives in this campaign! They fire more quickly than guns and their AP missile attack is more than enough to cut down the natives. This is an excellent unit vs the natives and as long as you can keep them away from their fast moving warriors they should shoot down tons of them. The problem with this unit is it has quite high requirements; a bowyer can only be created in minor cities.

Mounted Crossbowmen
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 5 Armour: 3 Morale: 3 Cost: 480 Upkeep: 130
Factions: Spain

Mounted Crossbowmen are best against other European powers, especially against powerful heavy infantry. Mounted units are also effective for surgical strikes against units like priests who are chanting or native Chief Bodyguards, who will die quickly to sustained missile fire.


Gunpowder is one of the European’s main advantages against the natives. Musketeers are in short supply and some gun units are still bugged like in Medieval 2, but they destroy native morale and kill them very fast. The natives have no cavalry to quickly charge in and disrupt your musketeers, so a large line of musketeers with some strong infantry can be just about impossible for the natives to combat. The musketeers will inflict great causalities on the natives from very long range and the repeated gunpowder hits will rout them often long before they can even get near the gunners. The natives will then rally, only to be routed once they start getting hit by gunfire again. This can often continue until the enemy finally fails to rally if you have enough musketeers to keep up a constant barrage of fire. Musketeers can only be given to you in shipments as a reward from Spain so be very careful with them as you will have few and they are impossible to replace.

Arquebusiers
Attack: 3 Missile attack: 14 Charge: 1 Defence: 1 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 410 Upkeep: 80
Factions: Spain, English, New France

Arquebusiers have a good missile attack and their fire will scare the heck out of the natives. They are much easier to get than musketeers. Just make sure they aren’t attacked in melee at all, as their melee stats are terrible and they will be cut down before you can blink.

Chichimec Gunners
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 14 Charge: 1 Defence: 1 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 560 Upkeep: 112
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

These gunners are exactly the same as Thunder Braves, and just as staggeringly effective. They will wipe out any enemy very quickly and are superb for stopping the Spanish as it goes right though their armour. They are especially excellent for wiping out Conquistadors and New World Cuirassiers, as their horse is a nice big target and they are heavily armoured. They are a rare sight if you are not playing as the Chichmec, as this faction will probably be mostly wiped out by the Apaches and starts far from any European power, making it difficult for them to have enough contact to acquire guns.

Mounted Thunder Braves
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 14 Charge: 1 Defence: 1 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 900 Upkeep: 50
Factions: Apaches

Mounted Thunder Braves are musket wielding Apaches on horses. They are obtained by defeating European forces in battle enough. After each battle there is a random chance muskets or horses will be found. Finding both unlocks access to this unit. These men are remarkably deadly to just about anything that gets within range. Their mobility and devastating guns give them a huge advantage over their enemies, letting them shoot infantry down in droves and stay out of combat allowing them to dish out ridiculous amounts of causalities. Just keep them far away from melee, as they have horrible melee stats, low morale and are expensive.

Musketeers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 16 Charge: 2 Defence: 2 Armour: 0 Morale: 5 Cost: 530 Upkeep: 100
Factions: Spain, English, New France

Musketeers are going to be a battle winning force for Spain, as they can dish out a ton of kills to the natives, who have no easy way to counter them. Musketeers can be trained locally once you reach the rank of Viscount and build a basic gunsmith. Musketeers still suffer from the same bugs as they did in Medieval 2, so use them in two ranks and watch out for archer fire.

Spanish Dragoons
Attack: 8 Missile attack: 17 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 6 Morale: 11 Cost: 1400 Upkeep: 138
Factions: Spain

Spanish Dragoons are extremely powerful mounted gunpowder troops. They have a devastating missile attack and will rip up virtually anything left in their range. They have the best accuracy for gunpowder cavalry in the Medieval 2 series and you can crush native armies with them alone. They are even strong enough to serve as light cavalry as they have decent stats and good armour. They are so rare and hard to get in the Americas campaign however that you shouldn’t even think of using them as melee troops unless the situation is truly dire. They are disciplined

Thunder Braves
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 14 Charge: 1 Defence: 1 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 560 Upkeep: 35
Factions: Apaches

Thunder Braves are musket wielding Apaches. They are obtained by defeating European forces in battle enough. After each battle there is a random chance muskets will be found. They are a huge coop for the natives, as they allow the Apaches to fight fire with fire. Their combination of mobility and very strong firepower lets them dominate other infantry based native armies and take virtually no casualties. They also come in very useful for defeating strong Spanish infantry. Just keep them far, far away from melee as they will be shredded in seconds.

Cavalry are a big advantage for the European factions. Cavalry charges will decimate native forces because of their lack of armour; absolutely shredding them and insta-routing less steadfast units. Take full advantage of your cavalry when playing as an european faction. Cavalry are best used to charge and withdraw afterwards, as the often huge numbers of natives you’ll be fighting can whittle down cavalry if they are left in melee.

If you are fighting cavalry as the natives the first rule is to use spearmen. Native spearmen universally have quite good stats and can cut down the horsemen quickly. Make sure to keep them in 4-5 ranks so they can absorb and halt the cavalry charge with their weight and density. Shooting into then melee with missile troops is also a very useful tactic. Cavalry are as vulnerable to missiles as they are in Medieval 2.

If your army lacks spearmen the next best idea is to use dense units of melee natives 4-5 ranks deep in a large mass. This will halt the cavalry quickly and tie them up in a large melee. Cavalry will drop pretty fast in a melee and the AI often won’t pull them back.

Chichimec Riders
Attack: 9 Charge: 4 Defence: 5 Armour: 0 Cost: 330 Morale: 5 Upkeep: 112
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

These native riders allow the Chichimec Tribes to turn the tables on the invaders a little. They have a decent attack, though their weak defence means they shouldn’t be left in melee for too long. These cavalry are best used to charge into the flank or rear to support an allied unit or to chase routers, as they are not strong enough to charge into the front of units without taking quite a few losses. The Chichimec Tribes under AI control tends not to range too far from their lands so will be very rare indeed that they unlock this unit. This is especially true when playing as the Apaches as these guys are often your first target because they are so aggressive. If you are the Chichmec, send some armies to the east of where the Apaches begin. When the French land defeat them and you should quickly unlock these.

Conquistadores
Attack: 11 Charge: 5 Defence: 16 Armour: 5 Morale: 13 Cost: 1180 Upkeep: 185
Factions: Spain

Conquistadores are one of the main units you’ll be using in the campaign as Spain, once you get sufficient numbers. They have high stats all round and will decimate just about any native troops, except spearmen, their 2 hit points, helping them along greatly. They will still die if left in melee with a large force of infantry, like all cavalry and should be used for charging the lightly armed natives. Their charge bonus is fairly low for a cavalry unit, but since the natives have real resistance to a charge and such light armour they will still be devastating. They have a low mental state.

Gendarmes
Attack: 8 Charge: 7 Defence: 13 Armour: 9 Morale: 9 Cost: 760 Upkeep: 260
Factions: New France

Gendarmes are strong cavalry that are exclusive to France. They have extremely heavy armour and a strong charge, making them perfect for repeatedly driving into native units. Shoot down this unit from range if possible. Mob them with units in melee and consider using pikemen to blunt their charge. The natives have solid spearmen they can use to take these tanks down.

Mounted Cuirassers
Attack: 11 Charge: 7 Defence: 16 Armour: 5 Morale: 11 Cost: 870
Factions: England

These heavy cavalry are the same as Conquistadors, except with higher charge and a bit less morale. They AGAIN have a low mental state!


Bodyguards for native factions are completely different from European factions. They are small units of elite infantry that are far, far more delicate than you’d think cavalry bodyguards would be from playing the previous Total War games. Native bodyguard die very easily from cavalry charges and missiles thin them down real quick, just like any other native troops, so killing them will be much easier than usual. Also remember that since the native leader is in an infantry unit, it’s much harder to retreat him away from danger. Trying to run away while the general himself is fighting personally is a great way for him to get hit in the back as he turns to run and killed. Be very careful if you are playing as a native faction and only commit your leader to combat against weak opponents or with other units supporting him, otherwise he will die fast.

Bodyguard
Attack 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 3 Morale: 25 Cost: 500 Upkeep: 83
Factions: Aztecs

This bodyguard is pretty tough for native troops, but no match for European elites like Conquistadores. They are also very vulnerable to missiles, so don’t except them to do much more than keep the general alive. They have 25 morale and are disciplined and highly trained, so they will win or die. They are disciplined and highly trained.

New World Bodyguard
Attack: 11 Charge: 5 Defence: 17 Armour: 6 Morale: 13 Cost: 1090 Upkeep: 125
Factions: Spain, England, New France

The New World Bodyguard is the bodyguard for all European generals and a tough unit it is too, comparable to European knights. They have great attack and excellent defence, with decent armour and 2 hit points. For some reason English and French generals have 3 hit points, making them very strong indeed and the only unit to have 3HP in the Total War series.

This unit will be very devastating against native infantry, but watch out for spearmen. They can also still be overwhelmed if you leave them in a large group of enemies, so don’t except them to be invulnerable. They are disciplined and highly trained and have very high morale, so they won’t be routing anywhere.

Supreme War Captain’s Guard
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 500 Upkeep: 63
Factions: Mayans

Despite the name, this bodyguard isn’t supreme to other native bodyguards and should be used the same way. They are disciplined and highly trained.

War Captain’s Guard
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 500 Upkeep: 63
Factions: Tarascans

Another bodyguard just like the others.

War Chief’s Men
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 450 Upkeep: 100
Factions: Apaches

This bodyguard is different to the others, as they have zero for their shield stat, effectively turning their shield into a useless decoration which doesn’t help them in battle. This makes them quite weak, defenceless against missiles and they will die quick if the unit is focused on. When playing as the Apaches you should be very, very careful about sending in your war leaders to fight, as their horrible defence and the fact they can’t pull back quickly will put him in major peril. They are disciplined and highly trained.

War Leader’s Guard
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 490 Upkeep: 281
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

These men are just like the Apachian version except they have a normal 5 rating for their shield. The Apaches should keep their War Chief well away from these men. If you are the Chichimec sending these men after the Apache War Chief is a very good idea, as you’ll easily beat him and earn some good traits.

Native Peasants are strong for peasants, and it’s worth using them to add bulk to armies or push rams, as they can fight quite well and much better than European peasants.

Aztec Peasants
Attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 200 Upkeep: 68
Factions Aztecs

Much like Medieval 2, Aztec Peasants are surprisingly good at holding a line and actually aren’t too much weaker than Aztec Warriors. It’s good to send them in just before or with your main infantry blob to tie up enemies and take the hits, so your better troops don’t have to. They are easy to train just about anywhere and nice and cheap. They are also good for the classic peasant tasks of pushing battering rams and acting as arrow fodder. Don’t overlook these men. They are untrained.

Chichimec Shamen
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 10 Armour: 0 Morale: 25 Cost: 270 Upkeep: 75
Factions: Chichimec Tribes

Chichimec Shamen are just like the later priest units, but lacking armour, so you need to be more careful with them. They have excellent morale and will cut up other natives in melee, so use them well. Just watch out for missiles. They are impetuous.

Coyote Priests
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 300 Upkeep: 245
Factions: Aztecs

Despite being in this section because they are priests, Coyote Priests are strong. elite warriors with all round great stats for native troops and very high morale. They will usually fight to the last man rather than rout. They have the chant ability, which raises the morale of nearby troops and lowers that of enemies. This is an extremely valuable tactic with the Aztecs, as you will lose a lot of men in most battles and preventing mass routs is very important. You should always have some priests if you can. They fight very well in melee and are also good for sending in to relieve a friendly unit or as shock troops, but remember that they will stop broadcasting the morale bonus when combat is joined. They have high upkeep, so if you train them use them!

Hornet Throwers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 4 Charge: 1 Defence: 8 Armour: 2 Morale: 3 Cost: 160 Upkeep: 22
Factions: Mayans

This no doubt historically accurate unit flings hornet nests at the enemy. This causes a major morale penalty and can also kill some of them. These units are very useful to have behind you battle line, hurling their bundles of fear into the enemies’ ranks. Note that the hornets will hang around in the area for a while after being thrown, so you can also affect your own troops if you don’t watch out, although hornet throwers themselves are not affected. They are untrained.

Mayan Peasants
Attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 200 Upkeep: 67
Factions: Mayans

These peasants are just like the Aztec ones and should be used in the same way. They are untrained.

Peasants
Attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Cost: 200 Upkeep: 67
Factions: Tlaxcalans, Tarascans

Again these are just like the other native peasants. They are untrained.

Priests of Kukulcan
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 300 Upkeep: 247
Factions: Mayans

Priests of Kukulcan are just like Coyote Priests, with the same chant ability and should be used in exactly the same way.

Priests of Quetzalcoatl
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 360 Upkeep: 330
Factions: Tlaxcalans, Tarascans

These are the same as the other priests.


Only European factions get artillery in Americas unsurprisingly and it is quite uncommon. Artillery is great for scaring the natives and smashing down their walls. All crews have the stats Attack: 7 Charge: 3 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 when in melee. They all have 9 morale and are disciplined and highly trained.

Basilisk
Attack: 63 vs. buildings: 330 Charge: 0 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale: 9 Cost: 1350 Upkeep: 400
Factions: Spain, New France

Basilisks are just like the Medieval 2 version and do loads of damage to walls. They have very high upkeep, so use them.

Bombard
Attack: Vs troops: 55 Vs buildings: 120 Charge: 0 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale: 9 Cost: 760 Upkeep: 250
Factions: Spain, England, New France

The bombard is just like the Medieval 2 version and dishes out plenty of damage to walls.

Culverin
Attack: Vs troops: 63 vs. buildings: 230 Charge: 0 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale:9 Cost: 1000 Upkeep: 250
Factions: Spain, New France

The Culverin is strong against walls and does a good job.

Grand Bombard
Attack: Vs troops: 63 Vs buildings: 180 Charge: 0 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale: 9 Cost: 910 Upkeep: 250
Factions: England

Exclusive to England, the Grand Bombard is better in all ways than the basic bombard.

Mortar
Attack: Vs troops: 63 Vs buildings: 150 Charge: 0 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale: 9 Cost: 650 Upkeep: 250
Factions: England

The mortar isn’t that great and is just like the Medieval 2 version. Its high arcing shots are not accurate and it doesn’t do that much damage. It is good for hitting enemies inside settlements however.

Ribault
Attack vs. troops: 63 Vs buildings: 5 Charge: 0 Defence: 7 Armour: 2 Morale: 9 Cost: 500 Upkeep: 250
Factions: England

The Ribault is a great weapon for wrecking morale: its repeated gunpowder hits can rout troops very easily, although it is less effective against the hyper morale native troops.

Arrow Warriors
Attack: 11 Missile attack: 6 Charge: 6 Defence: 13 Armour: 2 Morale: 9 Cost: 480 Upkeep: 112
Locations: Aztec Territory

Arrow Warriors are useful mercs since they have the best melee attack among the native mercs after Eagle Warriors. They are especially useful in conflicts against Europeans because of their dual skirmisher/spearmen status.

Eagle Warriors
Attack: 17 Charge: 8 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 410 Upkeep: 112
Locations: South native territory

Strong native mercs; these guys do a good job against the hundreds of native warriors aligned against you.

Jaguar Warriors
Attack: 12 Charge: 3 Defence: 12 Armour: 2 Morale: 25 Cost: 520 Upkeep: 139
Locations: Maya territory. They are quite rare.

Merc Jaguar warriors as just as tough as the recruitable version and serve very well to plug gaps in your line where you need, strong infantry.

Native Archers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 1 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: Upkeep: 75
Locations: Everywhere

Generic native archers. These are of very little use to native factions, since their archers are usually better armoured than these men and have the same stats otherwise.

Spain may get some mileage out of them, but their musketeers and crossbowmen are often more than enough. They are untrained.

Native Mercenaries
Attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 6 Armour: 0 Morale: 3 Cost: 200 Upkeep: 117
Locations: Everywhere

Bog standard native warriors, these mercs have no armour and low stats. They are equal to Aztec Peasants. They are useful as cheap fodder, able to hold enemies still while you rain missiles down on them. Just don’t expect them to win any melee on their own. They are untrained.

Native Warriors
Attack: 7 Charge: 2 Defence: 8 Armour: 2 Morale: 5 Cost: 280 Upkeep: 94
Locations: Everywhere

By far the most common mercenary, Spain will use dozens of units of these mercs to bulk up their armies. Most of the time Spain will have a small amount of elite Spanish troops and a large number of native mercs. When using these men remember they are almost always the equal of their opponents so make sure to give your group of natives some advantage to tip the balance in your favour. Rain missiles down on the enemy, flank with a few units or outnumber the enemy. This ensures your men will easily win though. They are untrained.

Tlaxcalan Archers
Attack: 5 Missile attack: 5 Charge: 1 Defence: 8 Armour: 2 Morale: 3 Cost 410 Upkeep: 75
Locations: Everywhere

Superior to the other native archer mercenaries, these guys actually have some armour. They are reliable archers for any native faction and Spain may need a few of them to help whittle down the native hordes. Grab them no matter who you are playing as. They are untrained.

Tlaxcalan Mercenaries
Attack: 7 Charge: 2 Defence: 10 Armour: 2 Morale: 5 Cost: 370 Upkeep: 94
Locations: Everywhere

Tlaxcalan Mercenaries are just like Native Warriors but have better defence. This makes them a premium unit of mercenaries and you should grab these guys whenever you see them. They do very well in melee.