Conceptual Balance Mod 1.41

[Dedas]

Exactly!

And if you want to do some damage and still have a shield the morningstar troops are standing ready. You lose 1 damage and 1 defence but gain 1 attack (+2 extra against shields) and 1 length. And although the encumbrance is horrible on both of them they can soak a lot of mundane missile fire away from your damage dealers. The pikeneers are better at keeping the enemy away for a sustained time in close combat, while battle axes or mauls can flank and the fatigued (thus low defence) enemy.
Flails on the other hand are great when attacking high defence low protection troops; with the attack bonus and double attacks they have a good chance of hitting. Length isn't bad either at 3, and according to the manual it gets -2 harder to repel after each additional attack. They also get +2 against shields. Perfect for those high defence, low prot, shield wielding Vans. If they have broad swords you can even repel against them.
Everyone has their niche. That is why I think it is a shame that I now only use pikeneers - they have gotten too good. Damage the same as morningstars, better attack bonus, longer weapon, cheaper and so on. Not fun.