Wow, what a great discussion! I use similar principles in my deployments, but tend to be a bit more flexible since you can never know what your opponent has or deploys. Also, I tend to have some of my redirectors be Spearmen instead of archers, since they're cheaper, hold as speed bumps just as long or marginally longer than archers do, and in a very small block of 5-7 they are still very manoeuvrable.
COMPOSITION:
1 x horde - this is the killy thing. GS in a big points game, Halberds in a lower points game
1x redirector detachment (usually a small block of 5 cheap spearmen, or archers, deployed in front)
1x combat res support charge detachment (usually swordsmen, deployed on the flank)
1 x bus - This will anchor down a flank, usually spearmen with banner. Sometimes in bigger games stick the BSB in here with Griffon Banner for static combat res. with
1 x redirector detachment - as above
1 x bunker detachment (used to be characters couldn't join detachments... But I haven't seen a rule against it in 8th!)
Other things:
2 cannons - one on each flank, in the rear
1 Chaff/deployment drop - often archers, sometimes spears. They end up doing a similar thing as the parent archer unit in Griffon (die quickly)
1 HBVG (sometimes) - This is more to protect a vulnerable flank against knights or other high points, 1w, fast-moving flankers.
Celestial Hurricanum - in the rear, boosting both horde and bus
War Altar (again depends on points) - I use this one less now since it's no longer unbreakable (used to be great flank protector), and deploy similar to Celestial
Steam Tank on a flank if big points game (and depends on points and what I'm likely to face)
DEPLOYMENT:
Standard deployment looks a lot like the Griffon formation, except that I replace one of your counter-charge dets with the Bus.
Oh, and I tend to stick a wizard in with the bus instead of the bunker, so he's in range to fire off offensive spells. I'll pop him out before combat starts, or sometimes leave him in there if I don't think the threat is large. I always run at least two wizards, so one more goes in the bunker to cast buffs.
I usually put my bus down before the Horde. That way, I have the option of switching to the alternate "flank crushing" deployment. I don't use this often, but it can be very effective against certain deployments.
For example, if my opponent has a large, slow-moving hard-to-kill thing in the middle / left but puts a juicy target on the right flank that can't easily get away:
--------------OPP DEPLOYMENT (e.g. Lizardmen)-----------------------------
COK Skink Sally TGuard Skink Saurus
(target)
--------------------------MY DEPLOYMENT---------------------
L -Chaff- Det2- -Det1 --HORDE--- R
E - -Det1 --HORDE--- I
F -BUS- --HORDE--- G
T Det3- -BUS- Bunker H
- -BUS- CH T
E Can -BUS- CH Can
D non -BUS- CH non E
G -BUS- D
E -BUS- G
E
The idea with this is to hug the flank and hit the target on the right with the horde, using magic to clear his redirectors (or charge through them if he made a mistake and you can overrun into the target).
Use the bus to stop anything from hitting the horde in the flank, which probably means engaging his main threat with the bus. Typically, the horde will be in combat one turn before the bus anyway. Use the detachments to redirect things away / block off the bus' flank.
If I have a HBVG, it goes where Det3 is.
