Topic: 1'000 Pts. for a slightly restricted tournament. What do you say?

[Daymz]

Hey guys,

Another tournament is coming up a few months from now, and it's time to get mustering. There are, as the title says, few restrictions, but those few surely are notable. (But hey, considering the area I play, this is as close to unrestricted as I got in the past four or so years!)

Restrictions are:

- max. 2 levels of magic (warrior priests are considered lvl 1 wizards)
- no magical items that cost more than 50 pts
- no energy scroll
- special choices cannot be doubled
- max 1 rare unit in total
- no special characters
- max. one unit with an AS of 2+ or better
- no skirmishing units containing more than 10 models each
- max. 1 flying model or unit
- max. 1 large target (must not be flying)
- max. 2 warmachines

So that's that in terms of restrictions. There will be seven games total in two days.

Now, here's what I've been thinking of thus far...:

1 General of the Empire with sword of might, fpa, enchanted shield, crown of command
164 Pts.

1 Warrior Priest with heavy armour, shield
69 Pts.

35 halberdiers with full command
-> Detachment of 12 Swordsmen
240 + 84 = 324 Pts.

3 Demigryph knights with full command, steel standard
239 Pts.

1 Great cannon
120 Pts.

10 Huntsmen
80 Pts.

I believe the general + wp halberdier unit to be very robust and destructive, while a stubborn 12 Swordsmen can come in very handy as well. The huntsmen are in because at 1'000 Pts., I'll likely get some nice deployment for them, and they are reasonable against pretty much any army.
The demigryphs are my choice over the idea of a steam tank, with the steam tank being too redirectable, too unreliable and ultimately too expensive for a single model that is a quarter of my army. Besides, as restrictions go, I just have to decide between any heavy cavalry or a steam tank - I cannot take both. (And the steamtank, for enemy army lists that lack redirectors or really, really big guns, is overkill).

There's no magic except the wp, but at those points and restrictions I don't think betting on magic will get anybody anywhere really, so I don't think that not getting a +1 or +2 to dispel things is going to be my nemesis.

So much for my own reflections. I'm happily welcoming all critics!

[librisrouge]

1 General of the Empire with sword of might, fpa, enchanted shield, crown of command
164 Pts.

He's a good source of Ld9 bubble but the GotE isn't that good overall. Consider an Arch-Lector.

1 Warrior Priest with heavy armour, shield
69 Pts.

If you take an Arch-Lector then this guy can get replaced with a BSB Captain (solidly anchoring your line.) If you don't take an Arch-Lector than this guy needs to stay so that the Halberdiers have Hatred.

35 halberdiers with full command
-> Detachment of 12 Swordsmen
240 + 84 = 324 Pts.

My only concern is that the swordsmen are too small to do their job. If you free up any points consider bumping up their numbers.

3 Demigryph knights with full command, steel standard
239 Pts.

This is your heavy hitter. It'll likely either win you the game or cost you a 1/4 of your points for nothing if they can effectively counter it. Beware Metal wizards and...

1 Great cannon
120 Pts.

... these guys.

10 Huntsmen
80 Pts.

I really like Huntsmen but be aware that just having Scouts in your enemy gets +1 to the roll to go first unless they also have Scouts. If that is a pain then downgrade them to archers to cover the Cannon and use the saved points elsewhere.

The only other advice I'd give is to go high dice on your prayers. They can't counter them if you Irresistible Force (which has almost no consequences.) As such I'd throw 6 dice at every prayer if you can.

[Daymz]

Thanks for the advice!

My updated list (things I changed are highlighted):

1 General of the Empire with shrieking blade, fpa, enchanted shield, crown of command
154 Pts.

1 Warrior Priest with heavy armour, shield
69 Pts.

35 Halberdiers with full command
-> Detachment of 15 Swordsmen
240 + 105 = 345 Pts.

3 Demigryph Knights with musician, standard bearer, steel standard
229 Pts.

1 Great cannon
120 Pts.

10 Huntsmen
80 Pts.

My explanations:

I have considered an archlector, hence making way for a bsb, but the problem is that the points just explode at that. If I still want everything to be stubborn (CoC) and give the AL a bit of survivability (enchanted shield), adding to that a fpa + shield bsb, I end up spending 14 points extra, and my archlector-general is pretty squishy with a 3+ AS and a WS of 4.

So I kept the characters at what they were, however reducing points expense by switching the generals Sword of Might for the Shrieking Blade, as at these points there are not that many high-leadership-bsb armies around, and my enemy might just blow the roll. Besides, I really want him to be able to hurt ethereals, so it's a cheap option for that, too.

I absolutely agree that the Swordsmen need more bodies, so by cutting a few corners I managed to increase their size to 15, which still is the minimum to work with, but at least it does get sensible.

I considered dropping the Demigryph Knights' Steel Standard for something cheaper, but dismissed the idea because not only do I want them to move at 8", I also really do want to re-roll 1s, as failed charges can really be doom for me. I dropped the champion though, as I don't see much value in a second knightly attack, and this way, I am not forced to accept challenges. And yes, I will beware metal wizards... and if the enemy brings cannons, or, worse, doomdivers, this is my own cannon's first target, along with my huntsmen.

I am aware that my opponent usually gets to roll on a +1 due to my huntsmen, but I think that their tactical value is essentially greater than that. Besides, not getting the first turn is not all that bad with my army I believe, for except if my opponent brings truckloads of bows or crossbows, I don't really fear his first turn all that much. Artillery will be attempted to be LoS-blocked with my huntsmen.

I'll be doing a couple test games this saturday, then I'll know more.  Thanks again!

[Daymz]

So, last saturday I took this list to the club for a few test battles.

I played three opponents: Lizardmen, Ogres and Wood Elves. I won all three games, always by massacre (completely obliterating every opponent I had), losing between 105-200 Pts. in each battle (Swordsmen detachment, Cannon, Hunters and Cannon).

- My demigryph knights proved strong, but not indomitable. At least one flank of theirs is usually wide open which made for a few difficult situations in terms of positioning. Still, the only time they got a serious beating was when they were charged in the rear by treekin, and whatever they charged they always broke through nicely.

- My Swordsmen detachment was kind of the unit of the day, as this stubborn detachment, profiting from the GotE's Hold your Ground! rule, didn't go anywhere. They single-handedly held off opponents that far outclassed them, and the WP's prayers - the 5++ ward save in particular - further helped with all that. It bought me valuable time and protected my halberdier's right flank as an indomitable anchor.

- The halberdiers defeated every single unit they fought in melee, and as I usually got at least one WP prayer through, there was little an opponent could set against them at 1'000 Pts. I always played them in horde formation, as for they are stubborn, I do not require steadfast.

- The GotE's shrieking blade was a godsend, too, as every single unit I fought with the halberdiers caused fear. (Skinks with Kroxigors, Ogre Bulls, Dryads, Treekin). Not having to roll for fear checks was very relieving indeed.

- The Hunters were a nice-to-have tactical unit. They didn't win the game, but as I only deploy four individual units (halberdiers with detachment, demigryphs, cannon, characters) it's very nice to have one unit that can be placed nearly anywhere on the battlefield. As I presumed, at 1'000 Pts. there is a lot of space for them to be put down, and they proved particularly useful in shooting potential redirectors and threatening artillery.

The scenarios played were Meeting Engagement, Dawn Attack, and Battle for the Pass.

[Folken]

FYI, just because the general causes fear, that does not make his unit immune to fear.  He simply is not subject to the effects if his unit fails its fear checks and he will cause fear checks for enemies.
Congrats though!

[Daymz]

Thanks, Folken, in fact I just read that today in another thread where somebody asked the exact question in terms of the Helmet of the Skaven Slayer. I didn't know it before that, though, and it sure is a shame that my unit isn't just immune to fear as I hoped it would be... I guess it's not all that easy