((
Jomppexx,
For the Pistoliers, don't forget they have a Vanguard move, and being Fast Cav, they can snake around a lot of stuff to be w/in 6" of the rear / flank, but out of LOS of the enemy. Also, with their mobility, they make for great units to park behind other units, keeping them from being able to march move forward. Due to all of this, Pistoliers offer a good psychology weapon against your opponent.
They are a glass cannon, and are inaccurate as all get-out... but, to me, the options they open up due to their mobility (in a normally sluggish army) makes them huge.
SorenJ1) Still the Ogre Blade is 1/2 the cost of the Runefang. If the Runefang were like... 70 points, it would be competitive... just at 85, to me, it prices itself into YMMV territory. Especially at lower-point games. At 2400+ points... maybe. But... it just seems really pricey at 2000 points.
1-A) And, -3 to Armor Save is nothing to sneeze at. A 2+ Armor Save, pretty guaranteed. A 5+ Armor Save, means someone is getting a bloody nose, and a broken rib.
1-B) I will say that if you do keep with the Runefang, take a look at Lores that add to your "Attacks" value. Savage Beast of Horrors (from Beasts) makes for a great way to make a Grand Master highly dangerous with the Runefang. 7 Attacks that auto-wound if they hit is pretty doggone impressive. Metal's "Enchanted Blades" would also be a solid, as it would mean that your Grand Master should be hitting on 3+, if not 2+.
1-C) As I mentioned, I know
why people take the Other Trickster's Shard... I've just never witnessed it doing much. I'd rather just use the points elsewhere.
2) Well, your initial post implied you wanted to win... which usually means a Level 4 wizard. You don't always have to 6d6 spells, in order to almost guarantee IF. The +4 to cast means that you can 2d6 a lot of spells. Meaning, you have more dice to spread around.
2-A) If nothing else, a Level 4 wizard is more likely to roll doubles for spell selection, which'll better insure you're getting the spell you really want to get.
2-B) If you want to keep the Level 3 wizard, I'd suggest, instead, dropping him for a Level 2 wizard and a Level 1 wizard. More wizards = more changes to channel... a different wizard to carry the dispell scroll, and it unlocks the option of going for two, different, spheres of magic.
3) For your BSB, I think you're looking at the magic weapon a bit wrong. To me, the bigger Meta-effect of the BSB is that, if he carries the Magic Banner, he's helping everyone's attacks... not just his. So... that means you're helping the Priests attacks... the Spearmen's attacks... the Champion's attacks... and the BSB's attacks. That's a boat-ton more effective, than just getting a magic weapon that only helps the three attacks from the BSB.
3-A) For example, sure Strength 3 is meh for damage... but Strength 3 with AP (from the Blade-Lazor-Razor-Blazor banner), means now, those 3 to 4 ranks of Spearmen attacks (depending on if you are going Horde or Steadfast) are able to punch through light armor, and better threaten medium - heavy armor. Couple that with the Warrior Priest's Flaming Attacks prayer, and now you have a boat-ton of Strength 3 - AP - Flaming attacks. Not bad... for Spearmen.
3-A-1) And you can always move the magic banner elsewhere as needed, too.
3-A-2) Also, don't forget that your Spearmen can charge too. It still wigs me out how many times I'm able to suprize people by having my Spearmen company attack, instead of absorb an attack.
3-B) Anyway, overall I tend to put my BSB on the defensive... which is why Full Plate, Shield, and Burial Shroud of Sigmar. -1 to Hit means that you stand a decent chance of having your BSB get hit on 5s, instead of 4s (reducing the number of hits by 1/3 ). Not to mention that if you Miasma someone's WS down to 2 or 1, then your BSB is now getting hit on 6s.
4) I think if the character has Fear, the unit does... but my point was more that LD 7+ armies stand a solid chance to avoid Fear, if the BSB is nearby for the LD re-roll. As such, I often don't worry about getting it for my characters... especially at lower levels where I feel points are tighter.
5) True, Inner Circle Knights still are only T3... however, since knights tend to be smaller units, to me you should emphasize that they HULK SMASH. Strength 3 with no frills is meh... Strength 4 at least offers a -1 to Armor Save. And, as was mentioned above, Strength 6 offers the -3. Also, Inner Circle knights are still 1+ Armor Save.
5-A) As an aside, one of the reasons I use a mounted warrior priestess is that it helps my knights keep from being "Knights of the Nerf Lance"... and makes them "Knights of the Royal Nuka-Cola-Fat-Boy-Lance" (and bonus points, if you get the reference). Being able to re-roll those to-hit rolls, on the first turn, often makes quite a difference. Even if I'm the one getting charged, I still get to re-roll the hits... and I'd rather be re-rolling hits that will hit at STR 4 over STR 3.
5-B) Not to mention, at lower-point games, you're less likely to see significant numbers of high-armor save troops. You'll see some... but usually not legions of them. As such, the higher strength of the Inner Circle is more likely to cause enough wounds, that it'll cripple the combat effectiveness of the high-armor-save troops.
6) Fair enough about the Spearmen. My models have the shields, so I just pay the points and use them as such. I wasn't stating that they'd get the Parry Save. They would get a 5+ Save against missile fire (before penalty) and a 5+ Save in melee (before penalties).
7) You really have worked the Psych aspect of the Volley Gun with your opponents, which is pretty sweet
Where I am, a Volley Gun without an Engineer is usually considered a secondary threat, and not a primary threat. Still dangerous, but not a priority target.
7-A) That's because, without the engineer, you can estimate you'll get 1 Low Result (Misfire - 2), one Mid Result (4 - 6), and one High Result (8 - 10) each turn. Even at the better result of the result range (2, 6, and 10), you can estimate you'll get 6 hits out of your 18 shots... nice, but survivable. And, if the Low Result is the Misfire... you basically get a crappy set of shots off.
7-B) In contrast, if you get the 2-6-10 with the Engineer, you should be re-rolling the "2". Why? Because you have a 5-in-6 change of getting the same result, or better... and a 4-in-6 chance of getting a better result. To me, that's worth the risk, as I stand a good chance of getting at least the same number of shots, if not better.
7-B-1) So, your 2-6-10 has a good chance of becoming 4-6-10 (if not better). So... now you have 20 shots, of which you can estimate 10 hits.
7-B-2) Mind you, with your Twin Volley Guns, if you get 2-6-10 and 2-6-10 results, you do stand a decent chance of getting 12 hits... which is more than the Engineer-Volley Gun... but also more expensive too. Though, 2-6-10 and Misfire-4-8 would probably give you a more realistic result of what the Twin Volley Guns will do... resulting in 8 estimated hits... still lower than the cheaper Engineer-Volley Gun
7-C) Anyway, understood that you use the pair of Volley Guns for psychology purposes.
7-D) Though... to be snarky, your army already is pretty much a standard Empire Army
8) I don't have my Main Rule Book in front of me, but I think that Magic Missile and Direct Damage spells have to have LOS to your target. If your wizard is "in the back" you might be blocking LOS to what he can shoot at.
8-A) If your wizard is more for support, I would look at Spheres / Spells that are more Hex / Augment based... which Heavens does have a few of.
8-B) Also... Beasts might do surprisingly well for your army. Amber Spear makes your wizard a mobile Bolt Thrower, that doesn't need to roll BS to hit. Flock of Crows, while on the weak side, can be cast with good success on 1d6, with your Level 3 wizard. And "Curse of Scary Things Grabbing From the Ground", stands a good chance of slowing down critical enemy units via the forced Dangerous Terrain tests, giving your tank and Volley Gun Twins more time to shoot... and I think it also penalizes the to-hit roll, which couples well with the Burial Shroud of Sigmar.
9) Oh, and your Archers need a musician. If they ever have to fall back, the +1 LD to rally is critical.
Anyway, good luck. ))