it may be because i'm in the 1400 to 1500 rating range, but almost every opponent i face makes heavy use of Speartons, wether that's a Spearton Rush, Spearton wall at the Pillar with Ghost Giant, Spearchers, or a defensive Spearton mass that ignores all tough units and rushes after every soft target. compared to those, any other strategy seems rare.
so could we please nerf Speartons?
i'm also struggling to find a good counter (at least one that's fun to play and works on large maps), as Swords can't be built fast enough; Giants and Albowtrosses are too slow, so you could only ever defend, because as soon as you move out, they just run right past them; and Ninja's are suicidal and can only properly be used as assassins, or as a Shadomass -- against Speartons you'd have to relentlessly hit-and-run them, but the Ninjas' suicidal AI makes that just...really undoable. you WILL forget to [shift]+[H] at least once every battle, or some of your Ninjas will have already arived at the targeted area and not accept the Hold order or some such, and just once can be game over if you lose several of them.
you could do a pure Ninja mass (so you never have to select anything else) on a large map ... but i'm sorry but mass-vs-mass is a waste of the strategic depth of this game. this would reduce options on a large map to Spearton mass or Ninja mass. it's also very difficult to pull off, as Ninjas are more expensive and much more micro-dependant.
and while economic harassment can counter the Spearton mass on small maps, on large maps your Swords will be neutered by Archers or CA, and your Archers will face Speartons. this scenario will lead to a situation where the person that can pump out the most Speartons wins, which is exactly the problem.
* i suggest, first of all, that Hold Position is a remembered attitude for units, so you have to click [H] again to undo it. this is dreadfully necessary if you ask me. or at least move the hotkey to [Z] so i can [shift]+[Z] more easily. or make Hold Position the default for Ninjas. anything that will stop them from suiciding.
* secondly, i would suggest an upgrade for the Swordwrath that reduces their build-time. maybe it would cost 100&100 g&m, so it's not really for early game, but it will allow an acquirable way to deal with a Spearton mass. i never see succesful Swordmasses, and if any is done it's certainly in early game, so that shoudn't be a problem.
* another thing i'd like is requiring an upgrade before your Spearton has that kind of speed. at least there'd be a reason for the racing armor.
i like Speartons, it's just the Spearton masses that i'm tired of seeing.
