A Call To Arms: Writing the Roster Sheet

Apologies for the gap between posts: real life got in the way.

So far, I’ve been waxing lyrical on theme and creating an army with a vivid back-story. Of course, the aim of Warhammer is to lead men, goblins, rats or even women (shock, horror!) into battle. And if I’m to take to the battlefield, I might as well try and win the odd battle.

Now we come to what I have always struggled with: putting together a competitive force.

You will have read that I will happily weaken tactical options in favour of strengthening the theme. So let’s start with the theme and work back from there.

Difficult decisions are the privilege of rank

Friedrich’s troops live in a forest in a remote northern part of the Empire. Clearly, they wouldn’t be trundling any war-machines through the forest: no steam tanks, mortars or beloved volley guns (sniff!) then. I decided that it would be plausible for Friedrich to have arranged for one single cannon to guard the gate – but no more. Almost no war-machines meant by extension no Master Engineers.

Try getting a steam tank over here!

Likewise, black powder would be at a premium, so would only be used by the most elite troops and heroes. No handgunners with their armour-piercing shots, then.

I know what you’re thinking: that’s an awful lot of things to write-off before even starting on the army list. Luckily, the Empire has access to loads of great troops and the Specials and rare slot system forces Empire general to make tough decisions on what to leave out. At least letting the theme drive these decisions would make the army unique.

"Now who will stand on either hand, And keep the bridge with me?"

So what would Friedrich’s force be likely to include?

To start off, there are some units which I love too much to not include. Spearmen are great for the points and their ability to fight on 2 ranks compensate somewhat for poor (i.e. human) Weapon Skill and Strength. Plus, I already had a block of them from a previous discarded project.

Halberdiers are the Empire for me. Though the 6^th edition Warhammer rules don’t make halberds as effective as they should be, they’re still pretty cool. So a detachment of them would join the block of 20 Spearmen.

It just wouldn't be the Empire without these chaps - right?

To patrol the surrounding forest and swiftly report back would require a unit of light cavalry. My all-time favourites, Pistoliers, would fit the role perfectly. Being formed up of the sons of noble and aspiring merchant families, their status justifies this rare use of gunpowder. Their 2 armour-piercing attacks in the first round of combat would allow me to deal swiftly with enemy scouts and war-machines, as well as supporting the beefier units of the army.

Favourite unit in the game!

Friedrich’s back-story – which I will expand on shortly – describes how he was once a Knight of the Reiksguard turned rogue. He would therefore get a unit of Knights – these would be my shock troops and, along with the Spearmen, form the backbone of the army. It might have made sense for them to be armed with two-handed weapons, as lances are a little unwieldy for the forest. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get my hands on any and the arms’ positions meant that these chaps would be quite a bit of work to convert. I’ve learned in previous projects that too much perfectionism can at times cause the entire production to grind to a halt. Lances will have to do!

"Our cavalry will ride them down like grass."

As for characters, I would of course include Friedrich. Maximilian ‘Mad Max’ the Gate-Keeper was a bit of a fun project, but I don’t really see him fitting in my first 1,000 points. Instead, I decided to go for a wizard. The forest meant that one college of magic immediately stood out: the Lore of the Beasts. This ties in particularly well with the theme, as the god revered in Talabecland, Taal, is lord of the beasts. The wizard will form part of a little scenery project, which I will save for another post…

Men in tights, anyone?

Finally, a forest wouldn’t be complete without Huntsmen and their longbows. Hardly the most powerful unit in the game, but with their ability to Scout and their skirmish formation, I’m hoping to irritate my opponents by provoking them into wasting resources and blocking their marches.

You go to war with the army you have. But...

I find it most resource-effective to think about my 1,500pts and 2,000pts lists when writing the 1,000pts list. This avoids buying and painting units for 1,000pts which I then have to drop off for tactical choices when going up to the next step. For example, I desperately wanted 2 units of Pistoliers and worked out how to fit them both in 1,000pts. But then realised I would need another really solid infantry unit in 1,500/2,000pts. So I decided to leave the 3^rd and final Special slot for Greatswords later on. So I spent the remaining points on a detachment of Crossbowmen.

My plan is also to work out what the final list would be so that I can buy/make both a carry case and a scenic display in which the army fits perfectly. Suffice to say I never did this when I was younger.

I also have ambitious plans to create a scenic base for army, which both fits in the display cabinet and can be carried safely to tourneys.