I have posted 3 other tactica posts, not because I wanna brag or show off my ability, I'm well aware that I'm certainly not the best player or even remotely close, but that I want to help people get the most out of the new Empire book, and taking advantage of the crazy amount of games I play (my friends love to try to pick on the 8th Ed Empire) I want to help my fellow Elector Counts, who haven't had the chance to play many games, but down to the meat of the potato I'll be covering all of our units, including all the characters. FOR THE EMPEROR!!!!!!
I won't be stating how any unit is more useful than another I'll simply put what their best at, what they are ok at, and what they are bad at, Empire gives way too many options (I know a guy at the mall where I live who can beat Elves with a BS shooting heavy list
) to make a bog standard list.
Core: You know them, you love them, you gotta field them. Core is core what do they bring? Human stat-lines and an insane level of options, lets get started.
Halberdiers: Ah the ever humble Halberd +1S in a unit that is still dirt cheap, able to dish out an insane level of S4 hits, and can die by the truckload without you caring, bad news?? Shooting of all kinds totally turns these fellows into Swiss cheese, be it arrows, bolts, bullets, and even rocks, BS shooting rips these guys apart, but not nearly as bad as Elite Infantry....... The speed that WoC infantry can rip Halberds into shreds is alarming, Temple Guard, Black Orcs, Bestigors, any Special infantry will grind our units so hard its ridiculous, don't plan on engaging these units unless you have a nasty trick up your sleeve.
What are they
Great at? Being S4, Being cheap, dying instead of your expensive troops.
What are they
Ok at? Fighting cheaper troops, having Steadfast.
What are they
Bad at? Taking arrows, surviving against Elite troops.
Spearmen: Our cheapest unit, and yet not our worst, great for hordes and toss a few buffs (Beasts lore sig, and Mindrazor are the best) and they become insane, Toss in a WP 5+ Ward and they become a maddening tarpit, though just as bad at taking shots as Halberdiers, and their punch against armor is ridiculously little, just don't expect them to grind out Knights of The Realm any time soon.
What are they
Great at? Being cheap, getting buffs, being Hordes.
What are they
Ok at? having Steadfast, keeping ranks.
What are they
Bad at? Fighting armor, taking arrows, not dying.
Swordsmen: Our answer to those WS 4 core in other armies (pack of cheaters I say) 7 points may seem too much for this unit, but just think of it as already paying for the shield in a Halberd unit and WS 4 means they will be hitting most other infantry on 3's instead of wounding most other infantry on 3's, and given that WP's let us reroll both rolls its not much difference, though Halberds are still better in almost every case, (especially armor) however they make great detachments, as you won't require to have many numbers, and still getting the WP buffs, and all the battlefield psychology, Detachments are a home run with this unit.
What are they
Great at? Hitting things, being Detachments, Having Shields.
What are they
Ok at? Having buffs, surviving longer than spearmen, not getting hit on 3's.
What are they
Bad at? Making Parry saves, Having steadfast, being a parent unit, hurting armor.
Free Company: Ah the old mixed bag.....6 points for an extra attack, these boys are gonna live fast and die young, remember that if you field these guys NEVER expect them to live, as such should only be taken in small numbers, but to be fairly honest the only way that these guys can be decent is with buffs, and your buffs are better off elsewhere, they have a place just not a very obvious one.
What are they
Great at? Having more attacks, sacrificing themselves, being cheap.
What are they
Ok at? Fighting cheaper troops.
What are they
Bad at? surviving, being better than other core troops, not getting shot at.
Handgunners: Empire's answer to big strong Vikings, mutant Beastmen, and crazy Orcs.....Gunpowder the worlds great equalizer.....Has seen better days, better days and cheaper troops, however their place is still useful in the Empire, great for taking out the more armored troops, and Cavalry units that aren't stupid enough to get within 24 inches of your HelBlaster, alas BS 3 and Move or Fire will cause you much frustration, and there are few ways to improve your odds of hitting and no way to let them move and fire, but they can be Detachments and they are no worse than the average human in combat, also the special weapons their champions can take add a little more bang for your buck, use them as detachments for your Halberdiers to give them some retaliation against the inevitable shots that will come their way.
What are they
Great at? Shooting Bretonnian and other T3 Cavalry, thinning out armored and Elite troops.
What are they
Ok at? Hitting things with their guns, being Detachments, not being worse than normal humans.
What are they
Bad at? Being mobile, surviving, being cheap.
Crossbowmen: Empire has every other ranged option (besides rocks) so why not a crossbow? Truth be told they aren't that bad their 30 inch range helps them edge out alot of other shooting, and they are no worse at hitting then their gun toting cousins, unfortunately they aren't any better either and not any less expensive, they lack armor piercing, but that extra range will make cavalry think twice before setting up a charge, and they are still S4, throw in Enchanted Blades and suddenly.....Your doing alright.
What are they
Great at? Hitting other ranged guys before they can shoot back, thinning out everything from Orcs to Ogres.
What are they
Ok at? see Handgunners.
What are they
Bad at? see Handgunners.
Archers: 7 points for an arrow.....Well could be worse, and they Skirmish!! Great for popping a few pot shots at anything and everything, your enemies will feel the sheer annoyance factor of killing 2 guys a turn while you laugh at them for dying to such a weak unit, getting to be detachments is awesome too, but where they shine is bunkering Wizards and seeing deployments, being able to take small cheap units allows them to be deployed first instead of your actual battle plan, and Wizards hiding behind huge infantry blocks?! Golden.
What are they
Great at? Hiding Wizards, seeing deployments, being annoying.
What are they
Ok at? Shooting things, not getting hit with shots.
What are they
Bad at? surviving, not getting hit with magic missiles.
Knightly Orders: You know the drill here. Knights, Heroic charges, lots of armor, horses, chivalry, all that mess and they are dirt cheap weighing in at 22 points with any weapon selection, However only one weapon selection matters, Great weapons.....Be warned your not Bretonnia, S3 and Lances do not mix, GW's are mandatory to grind out anything and everything, as such they won't live nearly as long as other Knights, and any other GW or flail using unit will smash you into scrap metal, (and heaven help you if you get charged by any other cav) so if you take these units take small units for combo charges, and on the fly grinders, and the ever popular suicide bomb. (Characters aren't recommended in this unit)
What are they
Great at? Making armor saves, being cheap, grinding, sacrificing themselves.
What are they
Ok at? Fighting other Cavalry, combo charges.
What are they
Bad at? Being better than other cavalry units, functioning on their own, attacking first, using Lances, taking charges from other Cavalry.
Inner Circle Knights: The big brother of our lovable suicide shinies, 25 points nets you S4, which is amazing in every way, as S4 will help them grind anything from marauders, to trolls, and daemons, bad news is you can only have one unit, this single difference makes their strategy totally opposite of their cheaper counterpart, Lances, lances, and more lances are the only thing you should be putting on these Knights, as the S4 and 1+ AS will keep them swinging and grinding, and going last with a reduced save is a very bad thing with a expensive unit you can only have one of, if you plan on taking this unit commit, as a small unit is wasting the serious potential that these Knights have, and characters are very recommended, WP's are near mandatory.
What are they
Great at? Being insanely good for their points, making armor saves, being S4 and having Lances, breaking things on the charge, getting characters to the action, destroying other cavalry.
What are they
Ok at? Surviving S5-6 hits, passing Strength tests, grinding things after the charge, surviving a charge from other Cav.
What are they
Bad at? Using great weapons, not getting targeted by Lore of Metal spells.
Finished with the
Core and now to the
Special, a fair amount of new and great choices puts special on the map for Empire.
Greatswords: The GW toting beard men haven't changed much this edition, still in Full Plate, Still Stubborn, Still S3 and biting off way more than they can chew, these guys are gonna die by the truckload, good news is they will kill by the boatload, grind any light infantry, and won't wimp out from a fluffed round of combat, and they are great at bunkering your General or BSB, but in order to use their exclusive housing service for your characters your gonna have to commit, as in 30+ that gets very expensive, just make sure you get them ready for anything, as they are meant to die horrible deaths while dishing out S5, small units make great speed bumps.
What are they
Great at? Grinding light infantry into dust, making armor saves against troops that totally suck, not running, dying when you want something else to live, stopping WoC and Ogres from dicing up your more important things.
What are they
Ok at? Killing armored troops, holding out against other GW users, bunkering characters.
What are they
Bad at? Going first, being S4, having more than 3T, getting into a fight where the 4+ AS actually matters, Being cheap.
Demigryph Knights: A chicken hawk on mega steroids, coming in at 58 points making them a very close contender for cheapest MC unit in the game, (a unit of 3 with full command costs 9 points more than a unit of 3 bret peg Knights with full command) but don't mistake cheap for lousy, a 1+ AS and 3 wounds makes them very hard to kill even at T3, and they come with a punch too 3 WS 4, S5 armor piercing hits, (and stomps) makes this beast really nasty and able to grind down any infantry unit, add an IC Knight on top with a lance and your doing pretty good, you can take Halberds but they are not recommended, as being only T3 makes your 1+ save essential to survive.
What are they
Great at? Earning way more than their point cost, destroying any infantry unit, killing off alot of cavalry units, not dying, being cheap for what you get.
What are they
Ok at? killing off hordes, taking GW's to the face, not needing characters.
What are they
Bad at? Not headbutting cannonballs, being T4 like the mount, surviving Lore of Metal spells.
Reiksguard Knights: An IC lance Knight and for 2 extra points you get to be stubborn.....Thats right a 1+ AS and stubborn, the Bret kids are weeping with envy, these Knights make an Insane mobile anvil, great for taking a charge and staying alive to talk about it until you flank them with another unit, some people like to take them in units of 5-7 I don't recommend it, as the kind of charges these guys will be taking are far too brutal for 5-7 to be viable, go big or go character support, while they are IC knights, and also stubborn, and you take more than one unit, bad news is their stubborn makes them even more of a target for ranged attacks as nobody wants to engage a stubborn 1+ AS.
What are they
Great at? See Inner Circle Knight then add the fact that they are Stubborn.
What are they
Ok at? See Inner Circle Knight then add the fact that they are Stubborn.
What are they
Bad at? See Inner Circle Knight then add the fact that they are Stubborn.
Huntsmen: Think special archers but you payed 4 points for scout, thats pretty much it.
What are they
Great at? Being annoying, being cheap.
What are they
Ok at? Killing war machines.
What are they
Bad at? Surviving longer than Turn 2.
Pistoliers: Our cowboys have seen better days for sure, a harassment unit that is meant to be expendable doesn't mix well with expensive. They are great at making pot shots from 6 inches away, bad news is they will most likely never get withing 6 inches and stay alive long enough to shoot. Take them for annoyance and war machine hunting.
What are they
Great at? Being fast, moving and shooting, having guns, being annoying.
What are they
Ok at? Killing war machines, killing other war machine hunters.
What are they
Bad at? Hitting things with their shots, surviving, being cheap.
Outriders: 1 point less than a normal Knight gets you a unit that is much more lousy in combat, but has 3 handgun shots at BS 4, easily some of the best BS shooting in our entire army, what do I need to say take them, make a vanguard move and unload, watchout for return fire magical or otherwise, as your move or Fire rule will leave you lacking in mobility.
What are they
Great at? Shooting the socks off of anything not Empire, hitting with their shots, being cheaper than Handgunners on a shot for shot basis.
What are they
Ok at? Being cheap, staying out of close combat.
What are they
Bad at? Not getting shot at after they shoot, having a save that matters.
Great Cannon: Ah our ever amazing cannon. What can I say?? It kills monsters, cavalry, and even other war machines, take it....Take it, take it take it.
What are they
Great at? Killing any type of single target, hitting at S10, doing d6 wounds.
What are they
Ok at? Not misfiring, firing grapeshot, being cheap.
What are they
Bad at? Fighting war machine hunters.
Mortar: The same as it always was.....except S2, same rules apply throw it in huge blocks of wimpy troops and it still earns its points.......eventually.
What are they
Great at? Hitting things, taking advantage of the large template, destroying a unit after you hit it with a Toughness debuff.
What are they
Ok at? Causing wounds against wimpy troops, not misfiring
What are they
Bad at? Being cheap like it used to, being not totally useless against T4 or armor.
Flagellants: Crazy people make a good suicide bomb, toss in unbreakable and frenzy flails and they can mess things up, don't consider them as a speed bump think of them as a bear trap....Hurts really really bad when you step in it, not so much after, yea they can martyr and a War Alter near a large unit is still very awesome, just not as awesome as they used to be, though WS 3 helps against WoC.
What are they
Great at? Passing break tests, hitting with alot of S5 attacks, taking charges.
What are they
Ok at? Functioning in large units.
What are they
Bad at? Getting bonuses from Martyr, being useful after the first round of combat.
This is the end of Part 1, part 2 will sum up the rare and characters in our armies.
