Unit Choices
VII) CommandAll units get
musicians! Charge-baiting and fleeing are vital tactics for an all cav army. With units of mostly LD8, a musician brings that to 9 for rallies. Vital.
Champions are usually a good purchase. You get an additional, potent, attack, for far less than the cost of an additional cav. However, I find it helpful to field my chaff units and demigryphs without champions, so I can avoid being pulled into a challenge. If I want to snipe a character (read: mage) on a charge, it can be very helpful to direct many attacks rather than have him/her isolated by a challenge. So, I try to mix it up.
Banners can be lost if you flee, which you will. CR is the enemy of a cav list more than death by wounds, but with swiftstride, your units will frequently outrun pursuers and rally to charge again. Don’t give up easy points with a banner in your chaff or small units.
VIII) Unit BreakdownCore
Empire Knights – Highlights: 1+ Armor save. WS 4. LD 8.
I don’t generally consider these worth taking in large units. They have the same staying power as other knights, but with S3 after the charge, really lack in grinding potential. Small units of these make excellent warmachine hunters and will topple most missile units as well. I always take with lances.
I typically field these in units of 6, deployed 3x2.
Inner Circle Knights – Highlights: 1+ Armor save. S4. LD8.
The bread and butter of a cav army. These are now core, and should be one of your big hammers. I like units of 10+ in ranks of 5, sometimes more depending on the frontage of opponents. I always field them with lances.
Special
Demigryph Knights – Highlights: T4. W3. S5. A3. Plus an IC knight.
What’s not to love? 2 units of 3 or 4 really add a lot of punch to an army. I field without banners or champions, but with a musician. The greatest challenge I see with these fellows is frontage. Four covers the same width as a horde, which can make them somewhat unwieldy. For now I’ve preferred units of 3 for maneuverability, but can see how 4 with FC could be helpful for grinds.
Pistoliers – Highlights: move and fire, fast cav
Okay, I haven't fielded these since 7th edition, but some folks have strong opinions that, at 90 points, they make for excellent re-directors and chaff removers. The pros are that they vanguard, have infinite reforms, and can slip through enemy ranks. The cons are that they have a poor armor save and are pretty expensive for a fragile, throw-away, unit. With new rules for BS-based missile attacks, the consensus seems to be that you shouldn't expect to hit much with them.
Outriders – Highlights: BS4, multishot
The same pros/cons that hold for pistoliers also hold for outriders. They are lightly armored fast cav, with vanguard and lots of manuverability. The one advantage that outriders seem to have is that, if you can keep them in a safe place where they don't have to move, they do have the potential to dish out some ranged damage.
Reiksguard – Highlights: Inner Circle but Stubborn
Reiksguard are nice. Stubborn is nice. They’re expensive, but if I’m to field a second large unit of “inner circle” knights, these will fit the bill. 10+ in my opinion, with the banner of discipline. I’ve also seen smaller units used to hold up opponents with stubborn. I think this could be useful, but it doesn’t quite fall into my style.
Rare
Steam Tank – Highlights: It’s a tank, and a cannon!
First off, don’t take two. It’s just not nice. But no cav list is complete without one. The unit is so versatile, and draws (and absorbs) so much enemy hurt, it’s indispensible. This will be the only cannon you should take in an all cav army. I use this for area denial, taking down monsters, as the ultimate anvil, or to take out chaff units with the steam gun. I contend that one cannot field a serious all cav list without one of these.
Celestial Hurricanum – Highlights: +1PD, +1 to hit.
It’s a chariot, so it goes in the tactica. I haven’t taken one, so I cannot speak from personal experience, but I can see it being useful, both for impact hits and for its buffing properties. [insert comments about bound spell here].
Luminark of Hysh – Highlights: +1DD, 6+ ward, secondary cannon
The Luminark is, in my opinion, the better of the mage-wagons for an all cav army. Magic defense is more important than offense, and the +1DD really will help. Impact hits could be nice, however its biggest advantage is the bound laser beam on top. At S8 D3 wounds, it’s a legitimate threat, and provides a very nice compliment to the steam tank’s cannon for finishing off tough opponents. Not a must have, but worth the 120 points in my opinion.
Heroes
Captain of the Empire Yep. Full plate, lance, shield and you’ve already got a nice, cheap, durable hitter. You could kit them out with magical blades, but don’t spend too much. These need to be disposable. Captains can be charged out of units to remove chaff or hold up flankers as needed. They can also be fielded on their own as efficient warmachine hunters.
Captasus. Yes! In an army where mobility is vital, these provide even more of it. Try to get a 1+ if you can (i.e. helm of skaven slayer). Again, I’d field them cheap. I find that opponents do not target them with artillery. They have better, higher priority, targets.
BSB will have a 1+. I like to give him the dawnstone.
Warrior PriestYes. Yes! A thousand times yes! Prayers are so very excellent for cavalry, and so important. Hatred is the least of their wonders. Hammer of Sigmar from a charging unit will always draw dispel dice. The 5+ ward is just plain silly when combined with a 1+ armor save. And, warrior priests can be pretty durable when mounted. I tend not to give them a 1+, although I could see a use for the enchanted shield here. 2+ with T4 makes them relatively durable.
I’ll say here that I think Luthor Huss is a fantastic character for a cav army. He is nicely durable, hits plenty hard, and with his once-a-battle buff, actually presents opponents with a dangerous challenge. He can be, for one combat round, the best statted character Empire can field. I’ve never played without him.
Battle WizardI take a lvl 4, but I can see how a few lvl 2s with beasts could be dangerous. See the “Dirty Tricks” section for how to protect them.
Witch HunterCan’t ride a warhorse. If you want to put him on a carpet, knock yourself out.
Lords
Grandmaster I put him first because I have something potentially controversial to say: leave him home. In my opinion, he’s too expensive for what he does. I’d rather have multiple captisus or roving captains than a grandmaster. He’s great against tooled up enemies, but there are other ways to remove them. Please, if you have another opinion, share it and I’ll get it in here.
Wizard LordI take a lvl 4, with a scroll on a barded steed. See “Dirty Tricks” for how to protect him. I think you cannot field a force without a lvl 4. He’s too useful for magic defense and offense. I also like to keep him as safe as I can, and having to protect multiple mages would be more difficult.
Another option is to take a Beasts lvl 4 on a Griffon. I haven't tested this, but it could be an interesting option.
ArchlectorSeveral experienced players are of the opinion that a AL on the War Altar fits nicely in a cav army. With charmed shield, he can be somewhat cannon resistant, and is used for his bubble hatred (the only hatred that buffs Demigryph mounts!) and for the LD bubble, as well as bubble prayers. At ~300 points, he's a bit steep, but if he replaces your general, he might well be useful. [Need more concrete suggestions here from those with more experience]
General of the EmpireI don’t field one, but the leadership and hold the line are nice. I can see this fitting in an all cav army nicely. One option I have not tried, but would like to, is fielding one on a griffon. That could be both fun and effective in an army with so many high-value targets.
IX) Magic Synergies
Magic in cav armies is really important. Firstly, you need good magic defense. There are some spells that will wipe out expensive units and ignore armor saves. You need good protection against these. Take a lvl4 and a scroll.
I’ve found that the synergies are different from infantry-heavy armies. I’ve tried to list them below by lore, but a few other general notes worth making first. 1) Your units will be more spread out – inevitably. Spells with longer ranges are simply more useful for a cav army than a static infantry force. 2) Remember that your armor save is one of the most important features of your army. Spells that buff your ability to make those saves, or that add ward saves, are extremely helpful. The more knights you have alive to deliver in a charge, the better. 3) Your mage will probably be in combat before too long. Be prepared to have spellcasting hindered by this.
Heavens I list it first, because I am of the opinion that this lore is the best compliment for a cav army. Harmonic Convergence is the finest armor-related durability buff available. Your 1+ vs. S3 or S4 becomes virtually invulnerable when re-rolling 1s. On charges, re-rolling 1s helps immensely, as you want to be causing maximum impact. Curse of the Midnight Winds and Iceshard Blizzard are both excellent hexes, with low enough casting costs that you can force an opponent to make very difficult choices. Comet is a wonderful spell for a high mobility army, as you can deny board area with it and maneuver around with your mobile units.
LifeRaising knights is great. T5 or T7 is nice, although you’re already pretty durable with the 1+. The best thing about life is, in my opinion, Throne of Vines. Miscasts are bad in any bunker unit, but when that unit is composed of Inner Circle Knights… yikes!
LightTimewarp wins in my book here. So many opponents forget that this doubles your movement, in addition to adding ASF. They’ll never forget again when your hammer unit charges 22” into their mage bunker. A glorious combination. Pha’s is very nice against enemy artillery.
BeastsCavalry are beasts! -1 casting cost to all spells!
(Thanks to kobahl and csjarrat for the below)
-Wysanns Wildform, we all know and love it, +1T and +1S is fantastic. really helps those lancers keep the wounds coming in in the 2nd round of combat and keeps them on the board with the higher toughness. thanks to the all cav + lore attribute, its cheaper to cast than usual, needing 5 for a lvl4 to cast, it can be safely 2 diced.
#1 is a poor MM at S2
#2 Can give a character +3T, boosted all characters within 12" get it. This is where the peggy mage shines. the flying march means you can get exactly where you need to to get the maximum bang for your buck with this spell. it makes your character cavalry bus much much harder to take down and can swing a challenge back into your favour.
#3 Amber Spear, either a bolt thrower or a cannon that never misses. absolute beauty of a spell. very underrated. shines in the all cav list because you are gun-light. sling it against an enemy monster and it becomes easier to cast thanks to lore attribute.
#4 is a really nice movement inhibitor spell and CC spell. The bad guys get a -1 to hit (shooting and CC) And treat ALL terrain (including open) as dangerous that test fail on a 1-2. This can come in really handy to limit a unit that you don't want to charge or if they do charge they have to test and then are -1 to hit you.
#5 is your character booster that can get crazy. Lower level choose 1 dude and give him +3S and +3A. Boosted version every character within 12" gets the boost. If you have a character heavy front line and get the boosted version off, you should be chewing thru most anything!!
#6. Transformation, ditch it, you cant use it when mounted. this is your swap for wysanns
DeathFireMetalShadow(courtesy of kobahl)
Lore attribute- Lets you switch places with another friendly character of the same troops type within 18". So your wizard gets caught out of place and is getting attacked? Would like to get some muscle there to help him out? Use the lore attribute to move a fighty character into his place.
Sig spell- Melkoth's Miasma. The targets WS,BS, Int, or Movement, you choose, is reduced by D3. Boosted version lets you get all of them reduced. So many applications here. Reduce those Chosoen warriors who hit you on 3's are now hitting you on 5's...tired of hitting after everybody else? Lower their Int....The tactical list of applications goes on....And cast on a 5+
#1 Steed of shadows- Augment that lets the wizard or friendly character within 12" make a fly move. That could come in really handy to get to where you need to be if you a mobile mage like a Peg wizard. You could fly 20", and then get this spell off and all of a sudden you are in his back field behind all his troops and still in easy hex range. Or if he has a gun line all in a row, use the Pendulum spell to hit them all. A lot a tactical options here.
#2- Enfeebling foe- What's one of our weaknesses? Low T. So lets make the bad guy have less S. Spell reduces target S by D3. Pretty easy to do the math on this one. Great spell
#3- The Withering. What's another weakness? Low S. So let's make all the bad boys we gotta hit a lot easier to wound! Reduces target T by D3. Another easy math problem...lol
#4- Penumbral Pendulum. Straight line 6D6" away from the caster and each model must pass a I test (warmachines auto fail) or take S10 hit with D3 wounds. Boosted lets you double the range. Like stated above with the #1 spell. A mobile mage could really wreck a gun line with this combo.
#5- Pit of shades. What's to say? Casters love it! Low Int troops hate it! Pass the test or die. No saves. Great for getting rid of those big monsters that creep around tearing up our troops. And again, cast in on a warmachine, auto die.
#6- Okkman's Mindrazor. Models use their LD instead of S when rolling to wound. If you get this off on the right unit, they will chew through any target. Or will make the enemy think long and hard on whether he wants to charge that horde of S7-10 unit! And with the lastest change in the FAQ, you can use the Generals IP for LD.
X) Dirty Tricks
a. Mage BunkerPut your mage in the largest unit on the board. I like 13+ knights with full command, and two combat-kitted characters. Make the unit 5-wide and place both combat oriented characters in the front rank. Now there is no more room in the front rank, since you have to have command in front. The mage goes in the center of the second rank. He’ll be safe until you lose your champion. This is certainly not original, and it can be frowned upon, but I feel better doing this, knowing that Chaos can field a caster with a 2+/3+.
Pro - He is well protected from sniping and direct combat.
Con - The unit will be expensive and will be a target for enemy artillery, magic, and elite units. He adds nothing to the combat output of the unit.
Alternately (from zifnab0), you could use a smaller Wizard Bunker - A small (5-10) unit of knights, outriders, pistoliers, or other unit that provides enough models for a Look Out, Sir! roll and is capable of defending the wizard against small arms.
Pro - A small, highly mobile unit that protects your wizard from enemy light units.
Con - Requires an additional 100+ points to protect the wizard that could be used elsewhere.
[clearly more to do, but I wanted to get it up here and started, so I can start collecting opinions and corrections]