Written by Eric Nimmo
The tall grizzled warrior limped into the amphitheater. The students that filled the seats, young nobles or sons of wealthy merchants, were amazed at the size of the wolf pelt that adorned his great plate armour. He pushed back the wolf head and addressed his audience.
"Hail to you men of the Empire, children of Sigmar. My name is Erik Thorvaldson and I am here to pass on the tricks and tactics that I have discovered in my wanderings as leader of `the Company of Wolves'. Some of these words will be known by you so take what you want. Some of your battles will be won by luck and generalship but you can lose games for the same reasons. Make a battle plan before you start and stick with it. Be ready to adjust for surprises but do not drastically change your plan."
You are aware of the endless possibilities and combinations that leading an army of Empire troops affords you. The only thing that stands between your choice of units you have and troops you want is...... money. (literally) With the new figs that have been released the cost of an Empire army has actually improved! Plastics allow for cheaper cost and are a lot easier to convert. Your core troop units must be large. Especially take into account of armies with missile troops as they will most likely weed your men out as you advance or hold your position. Use the detachment rule of 5+ unit size to take smaller more maneuverable units.I am experimenting now with ranks of 6 across. With the corner touching rule, this gives you more attacks because of the smaller base used for human size models.. This is really noticeable when fighting against a unit with a frontage of 5 or 4 wide. When playing a defensive role, your unit will usually be charged by a reduced enemy (due to missile casualties) and you will want as many attacks as possible after the enemy has had a chance to attack. With frontage of 6 you can afford to lose 3-4 men and then strike back with any heroes and champions that are still standing base to base.Magic items are a personal choice. Some people gear their men to the maximum allowed. I like to take the points in rank-and-file instead. I dole out magic to achieve a role for the fig in question. More attacks are needed for combat result or wiping out war machine crews or lone wizards, higher strength for taking out monsters or good saves for endurance in battle are some examples. The lesser items are excellent for adding a bit of fighting ability to a character. A quick look at the core HtH troops will show you this: Spearmen give you more attacks but 7 points for 5+sv Halberdiers allow you to wound T3 on a 3+ and a -1 armour sv mod but 6+sv in HtH Swordsmen will hit on a 3+ vs WS3 and have a 4+save for 6 points
Swordsmen
Swordsmen are excellent for use against low toughness and many
numbered opponents like Skaven. With the new rules of a further
+1 sv for handweapon and shield, this gives them a save of 4+ in
HtH for 7 points. They are best used as a detachment since they
can't get any options as a detached unit and they don't really
need them.
Spearmen
Spearmen are best used against numerous foes and as a defensive
force such as Undead and Beastmen maybe. These units can be
created to accommodate heroes in the front ranks and then have
more backup in combat with the second rank attacking as well.
They shouldn't be used as detachments since detachments will
usually charge the flanks and charging negates the spear
advantage.
Halberdiers
Halberdiers are excellent for use against high toughness armies
such as Orcs and Chaos. The S4 attack will give you that equal
terms for wounding (4+) and will punch through armor. Shields are
often a waste of points unless you anticipate getting shot to
hell.
Handgunners
The best missile choice. With the first shot being +D6" this
will allow you to peg almost any enemy at the beginning. Since
you won't be moving when you shoot you will generally hit on a 4+
(minus range mods) Handgunners are great because of the extra
save modifier (-2) and the extra rank (you better take so they
can fire every turn) allows them be a HtH back up unit when the
enemy comes to grips with your main battle line. If you spend the
points for a marksmen, make sure you have the points for a
Empire-only missile weapon! Any of the choices are good. Use the
appropriate choice for the army you are against.
Crossbowmen
Crossbowmen are great for defensive, hard hitting, long range
missiles. Deployed with 2 ranks on a hill they are deadly. Again,
no moving means hitting on a 4+ (- range)
Free Companies
These guys are the choice for detachments! Taken 6 wide, they
will smash your enemy's flank with 12 attacks! Their low S is a
factor but who cares. They're bandits anyway! A good Mordheim
warband looks great as a unit and everyone knows that well
painted figs do better.
Archers
They skirmish. Not really a factor. I'm not fond a bowmen. I
always used to use halflings. However the Huntsmen are nice as
they can be used as flanking troops or used to get behind an
enemy and affect his march moves. The huntsmen also get the
longbows. I will take archers only to use my now-useless halfling
figs.
Knights
Knights were too expensive, both in points and money, for me to
use them in a game smaller than 3000 points in 5th ed. Now with
decent points cost and new plastic figs I will always field some.
The new knight box set is a must for your army since they come
with everything to allow you to create a unit to match your army
theme. With full plate armour and an increased move due to the
rules dropping the weight penalty for heavy armour, knights can
be a hard-hitting unit that the Empire needs. Having a 1+ save
means that anyone not fleeing from your charge will be hard
pressed to do any damage to the knights in subsequent rounds. If
you have the points, taking the Inner circle option is a must.
Use your knights to roll up one flank while you shoot the rest of
the enemy's troops to bits.
Greatswords
I would only take these in a big game. Their points cost is
better spent on flagellants. Their 4+ save is good against
missilers and the great weapon S bonus of +2 would help punch
through heavily armoured troops. Their stubbornness is not really
that great as you will be testing on an 8. Remember that heroes
in greatsword units will not be stubborn so you can either test
on their modified Ld or the greatsword's unmodified 8Ld. Field
them in medium size units and use them for support roles for war
machines or missile troops.
Pistoliers
These are now great troops. Use the fast cav rules for flank
harassment or find a hole in the enemy's battle line and aim for
war machines or missile troops. Never throw them into combat
against big units. Always remember the fusillade rule and smash
the enemy with two S4 hits and a horse attack per fig in HtH. Try
a unit of 12. This can give you maximum flexibility for role use.
Cannons
Take these first before any others. Cannons allow you to hit deep
ranked units and also allows you to threaten those Demons,
wizards or heroes on monsters. It always seems like Chaos needs a
cannonball to the head before they realize the threat of a
cannon. Always aim for a hero in a unit since your opponent just
might roll a 1 for the `lookout sir'.
Mortars
Mortars are good for huge enemy ranks. Skaven and undead will be
shocked to see you plant that 5" template over them. Or try
and target war machines to kill the crews.
Flagellants
A must have if you want a good toughness, nonbreakable troop.
Their low WS stinks but you will usually be hitting on a 4+
anyway. Our house rule is that flail's +2 in the first round of
combat applies to EVERY combat the flagellants fight in. So throw
them forward when the time is right and teach the heretics the
wrath of Sigmar!
Hellblaster
A must have. They cost a little more now but with their new
misfire tables, they should stick around a little longer. Use
them to protect an entire avenue of approach. Watch as your
opponent grinds his teeth in frustration. Use your missile troops
to panic his screening troops and then open up on his more
valuable units. If at all possible set the Hellblaster up so as
to shoot at skirmishing troops. Units like Skaven censer bearers
that are a -2 to hit normally are still hit automatically. If
possible try and buy whichever Hellblaster fig you like best. I
am partial to the old machine but others may feel differently.
Dogs of War
In bigger games you will have room for them. Ensure your opponent
doesn't mind! I have a feeling that the Steamtank and the
Outriders will return as DOW in future White Dwarf. A unit of
pikemen would fit any Empire army just fine and would be
excellent for a defensive plan of attack.
Heroes
My tactic used to always be my general on a pegasus. The general
was the only hero able to take on a small unit of skirmishers or
war machine by himself. Heroes with 2 wounds sometimes died too
quickly. But now with Meteoric Iron armour being a save of 1+ and
Lord and heroes having A3 and 5WS/BS I will use a hero on the
pegasus and allow my general to lead a unit and stay in the
battleline to utilize his Leadership of 9. The other use of a
flyer is to stay out of charge arcs and hinder your enemy's
advance. By staying within 8" you disallow his march moves
and allow you more time to shoot his troops. Your opponent will
have three choices: have your battle line become fragmented but
get shot up and then overwhelmed, slow to keep in line but get
shot up or concentrate force onto the offending flyer but get
shot up. This tactic has always annoyed my Skaven opponent!
Lords
Elector count
Toned down considerably in 6th. He is a given in small games. On
foot and with the plate armour/Handweapon/shield combo he will be
save 2+.
Templar Grand Master
Very expensive. Plus he will be in a big unit of knights. Big
games only.
Wizard Lord
I was never a big magic fan for Empire. Gunpowder was my reason
for choosing Empire. If you want magic go use High Elves or
Lizardmen! He is expensive and can't fight. If you want to throw
your opponent for a loop then in a 2000 point game take a Hero as
General and use a Wizard Lord. More than likely you will have
magic superiority.
Captain
Good to mount on a pegasus and hunt war machines and skirmish
units. A good points value for the many roles a hero can play.
Battle Standard Option: Now the army's Standard will hang around
a little longer. If I have the points I am likely to take him
solely to have more magical standards. I like magic standards
since they affect the whole unit and not just one character.
Warrior Priest
Oh yeah. I love the theme of a priest in battle, smashing the
enemies of his god and invoking prayers to harm his enemies or
bless his followers. He is a good value for his defensive dispel
role, his battle ability, his minor spells and his ability to
HATE foes of the Empire. With this ability passed on to the
anyone he accompanies, he should be included in a large, strong
unit.
Battle Wizard
Bah. Take one 1st level wizard for dispel scrolls in such in
small games. Some magic items can do the same job for less points
(ie standard of Arcane warding). You should probably take higher
level mages in big games if only for defense against enemy magic.
Master Engineer
A good idea but is it needed? I tend to roll a LOT of misfires
and feel that they would be a good safety for cannons and maybe
bring a few hits with a mortar. They must have one of the special
weapons since their BS4 will make the points cost worthwhile. In
HtH they will tend to die but a Van Horstmann's Speculum will
shock the hell out of any heroes on flying monsters.
The griffon is nasty. The `flyer in the backfield' tactic becomes a little more dangerous with a terror causing creature running amok. Pegasus are good for the points cost. The figures were hard to find for awhile but with Balthasar Gelt mounted on one it shouldn't be so bad. My advice is to try and order the old pegasus that the old Empire or High Elf hero was mounted on. It looks nastier and more likely to crush its rider's foes.
"Well men, these are my words for today. At another time I will go on about army themes and large scale tactics. For now I wish you and your soldiers good fighting." The old man stretched his old bones and limped from the Amphitheater.