This is pretty much the army I´m trying to build towards. I have a whole bunch of fluffy goodness for them in my head, but this is basically what it comes down to:
Ludwig Nachtgestein, a rich Empire-noble, has gone practically mad over the loss of his wife and children and used all of his wealth to hire a vast army to follow the Ogre-horde that killed them back into their realm. In this manical pursuit, the tragic noble is killed and his army scattered. The last remains, including two Steam Tanks, are lost in the wild mountains the Ogres call home.
Meanwhile, Archlector Steffen "Hexenhammer" Freiholz received a vision from Sigmar. His purpose is clear: recovering the two lost Steam Tanks is vital to the survival of Sigmar´s Empire. Because the Grand Theogonist can not officially condone one of his Archlectors going off on some wild vision quest, the Archlector has assembled a small group of covert operatives to help him on his mission: a valiant, if impetous, young noble; a mysterious wizard who can control and predict the horrid weather that awaits them; two grim witchhunters who have saved (=burned) the souls of hundreds of witches under Freiholz´ leadership.
The Lost (and found) Crusade (2500 pts on the nose)
Lords (382 pts):
Erzlektor Steffen "Hexenhammer" Freiholz:
Arch-Lector with Heavy Armour, Shield, Biting Blade, Luckstone and Dragonhelm, mounted on Warhorse with Barding
Der Grosse Zambrano:
Wizard Lord (lvl 4) with
Lore of Light and Dispel Scroll
(since we just used a Heavens wizard in the last TDG I´ll suggest a Light wizard instead of the usual Heavens guy)
Heroes (419 pts):
Jan von Fichtenberg:
Captain of the Empire with Full Plate Armour, Relic Blade, Charmed Shield and Potion of Foolhardiness, mounted on
Imperial Pegasus and the
Battle Standard Bearer of the army
Lars Stiegelheim:
Warrior Priest with Heavy Armour and Enchanted Shield, mounted on Warhorse with Barding
Gerald "Sündenbrenner":
Witch-Hunter with Brace of Pistols
Norbert "Ketzergeissel":
Witch-Hunter with Brace of Pistols
Freddie "Funkenschlag":
Master EngineerCore (1079 pts):
Ludwig´s Klingen:
48 Halberdiers with Full Command and
25 Halberdiers (detachment)
Ludwig´s Fäuste:
48 Halberdiers with Full Command and
25 Halberdiers (detachment)
Ludwig´s Zähne:
10 Archers with
5 Archers (detachment)
5 Archers (detachment)
Zambrano´s Leibwache:
9 ArchersRare (620 pts):
Sigmar´s Strafende Faust:
Steam TankSigmar´s Rechtschaffener Zorn:
Steam TankLudwig´s Mordlust:
Hellblaster Volley GunThe basic formation is the two big blocks in the middle (either in horde formation or as a bus, depending on the match-up), flanked by their detachments and screened by the archers. One is joined by the Warrior Priest, a Witch Hunter and the BSB. The other is joined by the Arch Lector and a Witch Hunter.
The flanks are protected by the STanks, who also provide reach across the table in the form of their cannons or their fast movement speed (well, potentially fast, anyway
).
The HBVG goes either between them (screened by the archers as well) if the opponent has to come to us, or on a flank if we have to go after them.
The wizard bunker does what a wizard bunker does, obviously.
The characters are all mounted, which is adventageous in my opinion, but YMMV. It gives them a 1+ save for cheap, often lets them avoid combat since they are placed on the outsides of their unit, gives you the opportunity to charge out and, when all is said and done, is fluffy and cool IMHO.
Two characters also have cheap magic weapons in case of any spectral shenanigans.
The AL´s and WP´s roles are pretty straight forward, buffing their respective units. They both have a 1+, with the AL having a bit more bite in melee and some additional defense as well to keep him alive longer.
The WH´s give their MR 2 and Terror-buff to their unit, and will let their designated target think twice of getting close to them (think about the delicious pain they would have caused the Dreadlord in our last TDG if they had gone for his ward-save-challenged Lord who gave us so much grief).
I plan on using a Heavens wizard with this list for fluff-reasons and because of the synergy he has with the STanks and the HBVG, but since we used Heavens in the last TDG (and Life in the one before) I´ve gone for Light this time around, though I´m open to other suggestions as well. He carries a Dispel Scroll, of course.
Last but not least, the BSB can act as a classic Captasus, stick with his unit, or keep in distance to both halberd-blocks if the get separated. He has a magic weapon that lets him wound even the toughest of foes on a 5+ and a Potion of Foolhardiness in case we need him to attack something nasty.
The Archer detachments would make more sense as detachments of the Halberdier blocks they´re protecting; dunno if that would still count as a Griffon formation though. HHG?
In that case they could be placed with the big group protecting one unit of Halberds and the two small ones protecting the HBVG and the other unit of Halberds instead of the big block having to go in the middle (which could cause issues for the HBVG).
