((Brother Kardel,
Hopefully I won't repeat something anyone else has already said. I'm feeling lazy today, so no story-review for you.
1) So… a level 4 Metal wizard. Um… is he a Heavy Metal wizard ^_^ Yeah… me and my dumb sense of humor. Anyway, usually wizards are on foot, or on Pegasus. I tend to have mine on horseback though, as well. Keep in mind, it does make him a bit easier to target, and doesn't let him hide quite as easily.
2) With the 1+ Armor Save your Grandmaster already has, he doesn't need the Enchanted Shield. Also, I've never really been impressed with the Biting Blade. If you want the -2 to Armor Save, just pony up the points, and get the Sword of Might.
2-A) Though, with the Grandmaster, he can use the Runefang to dangerous effect. Especially if you get him some ability to gain additional attacks, or re-roll to-hits. For example, Beasts has "Savage Beast of Horrors", which would give the Grandmaster some 7 attacks to Runefang with. That's some serious hurt he's putting down. Speaking of Beasts…
3) Life, to me, is a defensive Lore. It has one of the weakest signature spells in the game, and you basically have to use Throne of Vines to empower all of its spells. Also, in order to really use Life, you have to be Level 4, otherwise, you have zero spells to use the Throne on. As such, a Level 2 Life wizard is not one I'd recommend.
3-A) Given your Knight heavy army, I'd suggest a Beasts wizard instead. Beasts has one of the best signature spells in the game, and the rest of its spells are aggressive, and offer a lot of punch to your army. With the high concentration of characters you have in one of your units, Beasts also offers some great-character buffing spells.
4) For the Warrior Priest, you have too many points in magic items. The 50-point armor is about all he can afford.
5) Spearmen tend to be one of the weakest units in the Empire army… as they lack both the punch of a stronger weapon, and the parry save that Swordsmen get.
5-A) Mind you, I do use Spearmen, as I already have the models, and they're already painted. If you use Spearmen, Enchanted Blades of Albian is a great buff for them. Fire's Flaming Sword of RUIN is also a sold buff for Spearmen. Overall, though, don't expect much from them. They're humans… with spears.
6) You have 30 Halberds in two detachments. Instead of making Spearmen, I'd suggest making more Halberds, and running a super-sized block of 40+ Halberds. Halberds offer a better bite, and they're fairly cheap, so you can get a huge block of them without spending too many points. The 40+ size lets you either deploy them Horde or Steadfast, depending on how the battle dictates.
6-A) No shields for the Halberds. Save the points. There are enough armor penalizing or medium-strength attacks out there, that'll punch right through the shield. Better to just save the points, and get more bodies.
6-B) Be advised that detachments can be more dangerous than they're worth. If they break, or are annihilated… it'll force a Panic test on their parent company. Also, while the detachment can support the parent (via the counter-charge / stand-and-shoot), the Parent cannot do the same.
6-B-1) It is usually just better to field all independent companies, rather than parent-and-detachments
6-C) Empire Missile troops are fairly weak, as they have BS 3, and zero other options. In comparison, Dwarven Crossbow troops can at least get armor, so they can survive a turn or two of melee. Our crossbows… just die in melee.
6-C-1) Still, of the missile troops we get, Crossbows are probably the best. (Again, though, that's akin to saying 'well, of all the pathetic running backs we have, he's the best'… hardly a glowing recommendation.) Keep in mind that you set up about 20 - 24" away from your opponent… so you can back-deploy your Crossbows, to take maximum useage of that 30" range.
6-C-2) Overall, though, Archers are usually a better way to go. All weapons can now wound all Toughnesses, so the low-strength of the Bow really doesn't matter. It can still wound a Toughness 10 creature. Archers are cheaper; and Archers can Skirmish, so they can stay dynamic with the battle.
7) I like the Steel Standard. The +1" of movement gives you basically a 15" threat radius. (8" + 3k2 = 15" threat radius). And the ability to re-roll "1" means you'll reliably get at least 7" on 3k2 for all your charge, flee, and pursuit moves.
7-A) Still, if you need to save a few points, the Movement Banner works in a pinch too.
8) Your Demigryphs should at least have a musician. The ability to Swift Reform is freaking huge, and it's +1 to LD to rally is also very nice.
8-A) I'd suggest a Champion as well for the Demigryphs. It is a fairly cheap upgrade, and increases the density of your attacks.
9) Your Greatswords are in an awkward tween-sized unit. And well all remember how awkward our tween years were. I'd suggest at least upsizing them to 30. That way they can Horde. Greatswords don't need to Steadfast, as they have "Stubborn".
9-A) Keep in mind that our Greatswords, are very dull when compared to other Army's elite troop options.
9-B) While I like aggressive, combat-bonus, banners… for the Greatswords, they really don't need the Razor Banner. They're already inflicting -2 to enemy Armor Saves. I'd suggest, instead, either the War Banner or the Terror Banner. +1 to CR is always nice, and Terror adds Psychology to the mix.
9-A-1) See above about the detachments.
10) I just noticed you didn't bring a BSB. Find the points, and get one. Our LD is… mediocre… on a good day. You need the BSB. It lets you re-roll ALL LD tests. Fear… Panic… Rally… Swift Reform… Restraint… Terror… etc. It is a huge bonus, and one the Empire greatly needs more than most other armies.
Anyway, just some thoughts. ))
