Pikes attacked on Flank

In 7.7 the -2 for being attacked on the flank does not apply to pike. One of our players was wondering why this was the case (the player is not me! )

I suspect it's two-fold.

1) the ease with which the outer edge of the pike can turn to face in reality and the difficulty that poses. It's a thin skin and locks the pike in place but a square of pike is tough - look at how Eumene's argyraspides even after total defeat were untouchable until their baggage was held to ransom and they surrendered.

2) the penalty for loss to a flank contact is elimination, that's likely 3 bases which is a stiff penalty to pay, so making it a bit harder to achieve seems 'fair'.

I tend to agree. Thanks Zippee.