Topic: Getting started with TOW 1000pts

[Smoothpop]

Hi all, wondering if i can get some feedback on my first list. I had an infantry based project army that was meant to be for 6th that got shelved but the release of TOW and its kickoff in my FLGS has encouraged me to get it done.
This is my first pass at a 1k list so i can get things started and get to learning the game ready for some upcoming tournaments in June. I dont have much interest in being cheasy but i dont want to put a potato on the table

I hvae most of this painted already and a spare group of 10 handgun ners and a foot BSB i can expand the infantry quite a bit as well as call on a second cannon. I dont have much interest in demigryphs (i suppose its good i dont care much about winning then)

Here goes, what do you think?

The Empire of Man - 1k - [985pts]

# Main Force [985pts]

## Characters [350pts]
Captain of the Empire [200pts]: Hand Weapon, Lance, Griffon, Heavy Armour, Serrated Maw, Wicked Claws, Full Plate Armour, General, Biting Blade
Master Mage [150pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 2, Elementalism, Pegasus, Hand Weapon, Lore Familiar

## Core [270pts]
Empire Archers [35pts]:
• 5x Archer [7pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow
State Missile Troops [70pts]:
• 10x State Missile Trooper [7pts]: Hand Weapon, Crossbow
State Troops [165pts]:
• 25x State Trooper [6pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Halberd
• 1x Sergeant [5pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [5pts]
• 1x Musician [5pts]

## Special [365pts]
Empire Greatswords [240pts]:
• 20x Greatsword [11pts]: Full Plate Armour, Great Weapon, Hand Weapon
• 1x Count's Champion [8pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
• 1x Musician [6pts]
Great Cannon [125pts]: Great Cannon, Gun Crew, Hand Weapon

[GamesPoet]

Are you gearing this for competitive play?

At the moment, and at 1,000 points, hmmm ... I'm thinking less Great swords, and having some Knights.  Maybe a slightly smaller block of infantry.  And there are 15 points left to use if needed.  Perhaps there's a way to fit in some outriders.

And welcome to W-E!  Hope to see ya around.

[Smoothpop]

I wouldn't say im gearing for competitive play but I am aiming to use this to learn for playing in local competitions, I book a place in a competitions to encourage me to complete the army and give me a kick to getting onto the gaming table to prepare if you follow.

i was thinking 20 GS is a bit much for 1k but they dont have heavy infantry so need 5 for a rank . i was considering dropping 5 of them and the Pegasus on the wizard to maybe get 4 knights but id probably prefer outriders. thanks for the pointers and thanks for the welcome 

[Warlord]

So with TOW, your hitty infantry (both halberds and greatswords) make sense to be wider than deep.
So consider making the halberds 7 wide - think a unit of 28.
Greatswords don’t need to be 4 ranks deep, but 7 wide is still good for them too. Consider taking them as a unit of 14.

That should spare you some points for knights or outriders.

Make the crossbows a detachments so they can support stand and shoot if the situation comes up.
Make the archers scouts for some interesting deployment options.

Don’t but a lance if you have a magic weapon. You have to use the magic weapon, so you are wasting points. Also, no shield? Consider Charmed Shield for a single use 5+ ward save.

Otherwise, this is a solid list IMO. Welcome, and Good luck!

[Clymer]

Warlord said exactly most of the things I was going to! 

I’d emphasize finding a ward save for your Griffon. I’d go beyond the charmed shield… he’s going to have a target on him.

And your wizard will be vulnerable. He only benefits from lone character if he’s near the same troop type (cavalry) so either add some knights, or drop the Pegasus and put him on foot.

Depending on what you want to do with the wizard, you may want to drop the lore familiar. If you’re going for specific buffs, like Battle Lust (which would be great in this list) then keep the lore familiar. But if you just want a magic missile platform, consider taking the arcane familiar instead and take the summoning and doom bolt, and save a couple of points that you could put into a ward save for your wizard.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

[Smoothpop]

Thanks, thats some really useful advice, I had overlooked about the unit type requirement for characters. My original plan was for the griffon as a bit of a distraction carnifex. I think ive refined that now. Updated list below;
The Empire of Man - Refined - [1000pts]

# Main Force [1000pts]

## Characters [350pts]
Captain of the Empire [215pts]: Hand Weapon, Lance, Griffon, Heavy Armour, Serrated Maw, Wicked Claws, Full Plate Armour, General, Talisman Of Protection
Master Mage [135pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 2, Daemonology, Dark Magic, Arcane Familiar, Ruby Ring of Ruin

## Core [309pts]
Empire Archers [80pts]:
• 10x Archer [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Scouts
2x State Missile Troops [35pts]:
• 5x State Missile Trooper [7pts]: Hand Weapon, Crossbow
  • Regimental Unit: State Troops
State Troops [159pts]:
• 24x State Trooper [6pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Halberd
• 1x Sergeant [5pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [5pts]
• 1x Musician [5pts]
  • Detachment: State Missile Troops[1], State Missile Troops[2]

## Special [341pts]
Empire Greatswords [216pts]: Drilled, Magic Standard, Veterans
• 14x Greatsword [11pts]: Full Plate Armour, Great Weapon, Hand Weapon
• 1x Count's Champion [8pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
• 1x Musician [6pts]
Great Cannon [125pts]: Great Cannon, Gun Crew, Hand Weapon

Im thinking that fireball doombolt and summoning is a very dangerous prospect though maybe im leaning into it a bit much. Hoping the wizard can support the archers. Going to go with 8*3 on the halberds and 7*2 on the gs and im hoping tthey will be a strong enough hammer anvil combo. Im thinking i have enough flexibility here even without cavalry.

[Clymer]

That magic missile combo is really good, I've run it a couple times and it's done great. It's especially good against some specific threats that Empire otherwise has trouble with, like Shadow Warriors and shades, any kind of skirmishing foot unit that might try to outflank you, they are prime targets. Not to mention ethereal elves... but don't waste you magic missiles on their ethereal dragon friends.

The other advantage of going Magic missile heavy with a lower-level caster is that it is easier for him to stay out of dispel ranges and still do his work from a distance, making his lower level less of a liability. That Doombolt template is also great for thinning out enemy ranked units. It's one of the few templates in the game that doesn't scatter.

When you roll for your spells, there's a couple you might want to keep over a magic missile if you happen to roll them. Word of Pain and Battle Lust are very strong spells that could help out your infantry, so is Daemonic Vigor. You might also consider keeping Gathering Darkness if you happen to roll it. It may be tough to use because its short range will likely put you within dispel range of enemy wizards, and because a foot wizard will find it challenging to get where he wants to go before he casts it. But if you can pair Gathering Darkness with a charge from your terror causing griffon, there is a very good chance that anything Ld 8 or lower will be forced to flee from the griffon's charge. If they don't flee, they will be making a break test at -3 to their Ld from this spell plus the griffon's terror. It can be a very devastating combo.

That said, there's no one right answer to making these choices, and if you don't happen to roll any of them, they won't be an option anyway. Just another thing to think about.

Oh, last thing I'll add as a suggestion: Consider making that unit of 10 archers into two units of 5. It will give you more flexibility, make it easier to hide them and fit them into the places you want to deploy them. And there's no reason you couldn't deploy both units in the same area if you see the opportunity, and splitting them up costs nothing.

[Smoothpop]

Thanks for the advice, im really looking forward to testing it out, i had originally thought of splitting the archers but i lumped them together as i had considered them as a protective unit for the wizard in the mid to late game. Definitely something ill play around with though. I was thinking ill always roll for spells, depending on opponent some may be more effective than the missiles it is after all free to roll!

Just got to paint the griffon and the mage and ill be ready to start gaming!