Command an Army Spear Units Guide: Militia to Vanguard

Why Spear Units Dominate Command an Army

If you have spent any time in ranked matches lately, you have probably noticed that spear units are everywhere. The command an army spear units guide you are reading right now exists because these humble soldiers have quietly become some of the most valuable fighters in the entire game. Top-ranked players consistently place the Spear Vanguard at the very top of their tier lists, and for good reason.

Spear units offer something no other class can match: a massive unit count combined with solid durability. The Spear Vanguard fields 30 individual soldiers with roughly 500 HP each, which translates to around 15,000 total HP per summon. That is an enormous health pool that can anchor a defense line or absorb a charge while your teammates flank.

Helpful resources: tier list, beginner guide, and comprehensive guide.

In this guide, we will break down every spear unit in Command an Army, explain how to evolve them, cover their matchups, and share the ranked strategies that community members and top players are using right now.

All Spear Units in Command an Army

Command an Army currently features two spear-class units in the evolution chain, plus a few related polearm fighters that play differently. Here is the full breakdown of what you can field.

The important takeaway here is that the Spear Militia line is the only true "spear" family in the game. The Halberdier and Pikeman branches look similar on paper, but they fill very different roles on the battlefield.

Spear Militia: Your Starting Point

The Spear Militia is one of the first units new players receive. On its own, it sits in the lower tiers of most tier lists — you will see it ranked near the bottom alongside the basic Archer and Spearman. But do not dismiss it.

What makes the Spear Militia valuable is its 30-unit count. Even at low levels, a full stack of spear militia can hold a chokepoint, block a gate, or stall an enemy push long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Experienced players often keep a squad of these around specifically for defensive stalling.

Spear Vanguard: The Best Unit in the Game?

According to community reports and the top-ranked player tier list, the Spear Vanguard is arguably the strongest unit in Command an Army right now. It evolves directly from the Spear Militia and keeps the same 30-unit count while gaining a substantial stat boost.

Here is how the Spear Vanguard compares to its closest rival, the Spartan:

The Spartan wins on individual stats, but the Spear Vanguard wins on total value. Thirty units at 500 HP each is simply more total health than twenty Spartans can bring, and it costs fewer stars to field. That star efficiency matters enormously in ranked, where star constraints limit what you can bring into a match.

How to Evolve Spear Militia into Spear Vanguard

Evolving your Spear Militia is one of the smartest early investments you can make. Here is the step-by-step process, based on the official evolution system covered by Eurogamer's evolution guide.

1. Level your Spear Militia to Level 20. Units gain XP by participating in matches. The longer your unit stays alive and the more enemy units it kills, the faster it levels.
2. Locate the Evolve podium. It sits directly opposite the Ascension area in your base hub.
3. Place your Level 20 Spear Militia into the plus-sign slot. If the unit is eligible, the Spear Vanguard will appear in the preview box on the right.
4. Confirm the evolution. Your Spear Militia becomes a Spear Vanguard with improved stats.

One important note from experienced players: ascend your unit before evolving it if you plan to do both. Ascension requires duplicate copies of the same unit, and the requirements change once the unit evolves. Handling ascension first saves you a headache later.

Full Evolution Chain Reference

The Spear Militia line only has two stages, which means it is faster to max out than three-stage chains like the Lancer or Flaming Archer. That makes it an excellent priority for newer players.

Spear Unit Matchups: What Beats What

Understanding counters is the difference between a good commander and a great one. Here is how spear units perform against the rest of the roster, based on player experience in ranked matches.

What Spear Units Beat

• Cavalry and Lancers — Spears historically counter cavalry, and that holds true here. A braced spear formation punishes any charge-heavy unit that runs into it.
• Low-DPS infantry — Basic Mercenaries, Squires, and similar units struggle to chew through 15,000 HP before dying.
• Unsupported archers — If you can close the gap, spear units will overwhelm ranged units in melee.

What Beats Spear Units

• Mace units — The Mace is a dedicated shield-breaker and performs extremely well against spear stacks. Community players consistently recommend maces as the answer to a spear wall.
• Flaming Archers — Their burn effect ignores shields, which means your spear formation's defensive bonus does not protect you.
• Samurai — High DPS units like the Samurai can melt through spear units if they catch them out of formation.
• Spartans in formation — A properly positioned Spartan stack can push through spear lines, though it is a costly trade.

How to Break a Spear Stack

If you are facing an enemy spear wall and need to crack it, here is what works:

The Immortal deserves special mention here. It deals the most damage in the game when attacking from behind or the flank, but it has no armor whatsoever. Use it to punish a spear formation that is facing the wrong direction, not to charge head-on.

Ranked Strategy: Using Spear Vanguards Effectively

Spear Vanguards are flexible enough to work in both attacking and defending roles, though they shine brightest on defense. Here are the tactics that top players rely on.

Defensive Positioning

When defending a point, keep your spear units in the middle of the capture zone whenever possible. This positioning shields them from arrow and javelin fire coming from outside. If you stand at the edge of the circle, you expose your formation to projectiles that will whittle down your HP pool before the melee even starts.

Always keep your units in Hold Formation mode while defending. A broken formation loses the spear's defensive bonus and turns your 30-unit stack into easy pickings for Samurai and Berserkers.

Aggressive Poking

Spear units are not purely defensive. When you see an opening — an overextended enemy squad, a lone archer group, or a teammate about to flank — hit the attack command and let your spears loose. They will clean up scattered enemies surprisingly fast thanks to their sheer numbers.

The key is timing. Do not send your spears chasing kills across the map. Push, secure a kill, then pull back into formation before the enemy can regroup.

Map Awareness Matters

Not every map favors spear units equally. On maps with walls and elevated platforms, Lancers become useless because they cannot climb — but spears can still hold ground. On open maps with long sight lines, spear formations are vulnerable to sustained ranged fire and need support from your own archers.

Community players report that spear units perform best on maps with tight chokepoints, gates, and capture points that force enemies into melee range.

Star Constraints and Building Your Spear Loadout

One mechanic that trips up new players is the star constraint system. Every unit costs stars to field, and your total star budget is limited by your account progression. You earn one additional star allowance roughly every five levels, capping out at higher thresholds as you level.

This means you cannot simply bring four 4-star units into every match. You need to balance your loadout. Here is a sample ranked loadout that community players recommend:

That is 13 stars total, which is achievable for mid-level players. If you are still building your roster, swap the Spartan for a second Spear Vanguard or an Imperial Wall to stay within budget.

For more details on unit rankings and how each class performs, check out GameRant's Command an Army tier list breakdown, which places the Lancer, Flaming Archer, and Mace in S-tier while noting the Spartan's strength as a tank.

Leveling Your Spear Units Fast

Getting your Spear Militia to Level 20 for evolution takes time, but you can speed it up. Here is what works:

• Play longer matches. XP is awarded based on play time, not just kills. Keeping your unit alive and active for the full match duration generates significantly more experience.
• Fight player units, not NPCs. Killing NPC units grants reduced XP compared to eliminating actual player-controlled squads.
• Retreat and re-engage. Pulling your units back and re-summoning them extends their active time and contributes to play time XP.
• Use active servers. Full, active servers mean more enemy players to fight, which means more XP opportunities.

A typical ranked match can net your spear units 200-300 XP or more if you stay engaged the entire time. That adds up fast across a play session.

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