Warhammer Special Characters Ranked

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The results are in, the "best" to the "worst" Fantasy Battle characters.

Obviously, it's all very subjective and dependent on game conditions, your army selection, your enemy and how you use the units but in a general point-for-point competition, here is what our forum members thought :-

WFB Special Character rankings & strengths & weaknesses discussion

(the forum thread is still open so feel free to add to the debate).

% of all voters who chose these units in their top 10.

11% ¦ The Green Knight
7% ¦ Teclis
7% ¦ Thorgrim Grudgebearer
6% ¦ Mannfred von Carstein
6% ¦ Skarsnik & Gobbla
6% ¦ Grand Theogonist Volkmar
5% ¦ Karl Franz
5% ¦ Nagash
5% ¦ Grombrindal
4% ¦ Krell
4% ¦ Kairos Fateweaver
4% ¦ Chakax
4% ¦ Ikit Claw
4% ¦ Settra, Tomb King of Khemri
3% ¦ Alith Anar
3% ¦ Wulfrik
3% ¦ Greasus Goldtooth
3% ¦ Eltharion the Grim
3% ¦ Crone Hellebron
3% ¦ Drycha
2% ¦ Khazrak
2% ¦ Vilitch the Cursling

176 votes cast.

Image of The Green Knight is © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

free Bretonnian, Empire & Dogs of War banners & standards

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Some war banner inspiration for use with Empire, Bretonnia and Dogs of War

Thanks to CGaffney of bigboysblogotoys.blogspot.com for sharing. Here's some of the flags he used :-

bigboysblogotoys.blogspot.com/2009/04/warhammer-empire-flags.html
(paste the above text link into your browser address bar)

warflag.com has all the instructions you need to get these flags into action.

Here are some of the ones I like:-

click flag to enlarge in a new window

(some Dark Elf Army and Beasts of Chaos banners from GW)

Bretonnia for sale on eBay right now !

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back to Army index

The Grail Reliquae and Battle Pilgrims (Bretonnian Army Rules)

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Is the Grail Reliquae worth including in your Bretonnian Army ? Hmmm... This is a thoughie.

The Grail has 4 attacks and 6 wounds, it is accompanied by 6 pilgrims with 1 attack and E wound each, it costs 118 points.

The same attacks and wounds for normal rank and file (let's say Men at Arms with a standard bearer and musician) would cost you about 70pts (roughly)

So I guess the question is...

What is the value of being stubborn, having hatred and the Lady's Blessing on a unit with a leadership of 8 ?

Well, let me put it this way... It's worth nothing if you put a small unit of 6 Pilgrims with a Reliquae into battle because they will not win you anything (you'll just be waiting for the inevitable destruction,and it will not take long). They are only capable of holding up the enemy for a while and that's the key !

Holding up the enemy is what the Reliquae is all about with this unit. It's not purely for the sake of obstructing the enemy's plans but to lock up enemy units to benefit the rest of your forces. You can do this in two ways:-

1) either use the reliquae to protect your flanks or
2) charge into combat with the reliquae to give your knights the opportunity to flank charge the enemy.

Whichever you choose, keep the reliquae as close to your general as possible, they really need to roll using the general's leadership because they will be taking frequent break tests.

A few important things to note :-

1) using the Grail Reliquae will slow down your advance because you will want them to be accompanied by a unit of knights for flank attacks and preferably one with a leadership of 9 (the Grail can use the leadership of any Knight within 6" - peasant's duty)

2) The Grail is a holding unit and will be taking a lot of damage. Bolster the unit with additional pilgrims (they cost 9 pts each - which is about the lowest you will ever spend for a stubborn warrior). This unit will not be routing anything but the weakest of enemies but it doesn't have to, you're Knights will be doing that. You just need to make sure they can endure some punishment for a few turns.

3) You have to employ at least 1 Grail Knight of character with the Grail Vow to be able to use the Grail Reliquae.

So, should you use the Grail Reliquae in your army ?

Well, for a 3000 pt army the answer is a definite yes.

For a 2000 pt army it all depends on who you're facing and what tactics you have in mind.

What I am confident in saying is that The Grail is worth paying the points for.

Pegasus Knights of the Bretonnian Army

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These guys are the only genuine Warhammer Fantasy type of unit in the Bretonnian Army - the remainder being the kind of troops you would get in a more traditional historical based wargame.

You might be determined to include them in your army for this reason alone. It's a good enough reason for a friendly game but might not be your best choice in an 'unfriendly' game.

The problem with Pegasus knights is that they don't pack much of a punch per buck (especially in rounds subsequent to charging). Or at least, they don't pack much punch in comparison to ranked up units. Pegasus Knights are quite costly and despite a unit strength of 2, you can expect to be outnumbered and very out ranked..

Also, remember that you have to take at least 3 (that's 165 points). Quite a hefty price to pay for a unit that is not really cost effective in combat.

What the Pegasus Knights lack in value for money they make up in value for tactical flexibility, so to speak.

They open up a few more battlefield options to you. From scattering skirmishers, rear attacks and war machine crew assassination.

If you're fighting Empire or Dwarfs, you need these knights to counter their war machines. You don't have a lot of option in the matter unless you want to 'waste' points on Tebuchets and Trebuchet protection units. This might seem like a viable option and a double bluff but I prefer to concentrate my points on my army's strengths rather than weakening them by trying to take into account every battlefield scenario.

If you opt for Pegasus knights remember you can only take 1 unit. Don't feel tempted to make it a large unit if you're playing a 2000 pt game. Rather take a unit of between 3 and 5 which will be enough to take on any skirmishers or better still Warmachines.

Try to skirt around the enemy's key missile units. You should be ok against 'bog standard' skirmishers (Pegasus Knights have an armour save of 3+ and a toughness of 4). Make sure you steer clear of the likes of Wood Elf bows and out of the field of fire of other missile troops, especially gunpowder ones or any others with a minus armour save modifier.

Your Pegasi will make mince meet of any warmachine crews. Watch out for a flee tactic which they might use to allow any protecting troops behind them to charge you or invite you to follow through with your charge. You don't want to fight any unnecessary combats in the early rounds, once a war machine crew has fled move onto the next one, your job there has been done (unless they rally in which case they have lost at least a turn of firing and you can always come back for them later).

After warmachines your next priority should be :-

1) unaccompanied enemy spell casters
2) other flying enemy units (not characters) if you took a trebuchet
3) interferring skirmishers (but not elite missile troops) and
4) March blocking your enemy for a tactical movement advantage or even forcing frenzied enemy units to charge you (fly off) and counter flank charge with horse mounted knights.

Well, good luck with your Pegasus Knights, they're awesome models so use them well. I hope you found my thoughts useful.

Pegasus Knight Photo © Games Workshop Ltd. All rights reserved. Used without permission

Bretonnia Army List / Reference Sheet (all Army List Sheets are courtesy of Games Workshop)

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Click here for ALL Warhammer Army / race lists and choose the one you're looking for.

The Blessing of the Lady (Bretonnia Rules and Tactics)

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Another "in a nutshell" post...

If you pray the enemy chooses who goes first (so the enemy will go first !)

Praying does the following for all units and characters and character's mounts with a Vow (except Peasant's Duty) :-

• 6+ Ward Save
• 5+ Ward Save against (str 5+ attacks)

The blessing is lost for the rest of the battle if:-

• the character or unit flees
• a challenge is turned down in a combat

Vows of Bretonnia (the Bretonnian Vows)

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In a nutshell...




The Peasant's Duty

• can use leadership of a knight within 6" (providing he's not fleeing)
• no victory points for capturing the standard of a unit with peasant's duty

The Grail Vow

• Immune to psychology but no Knight's vow or Questing Vow can join them
• starts the game with the lady's blessing, no need to pray
• attacks count as magical

The Questing Vow

• ignore panic caused by peasant duty units
• re-roll failed psychology tests
• cannot be joined by anyone with the Knight's vow
• cannot use a lance (magical or not)

The Knight's Vow

• ignore panic caused by units with Peasant's duty

Magic Weapons Rules and Tactics (Bretonnia Sword of the Lady's Champion and Sword of Heroes)

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A Bretonnian Army needs to try and smash through the enemy lines on their charge if possible.

This is fine against your average rank and file enemies (even with a 6 model strong lance formation)

But what do you do against enemy units with a higher toughness ? Your knights will not be able to over power them easily after turn 1 once they lose their lance bonus.

So you need to bolster your attack with some magic weaponry. The Sword of the Lady's Champion (for Grail Vow holders only) at 40 points and the Sword of Heroes 35 pts are ideal for this.

The Lady's champion sword means your hero or Lord will always wound on a 3+ against any foe with a higher toughness. This modified strength is also used to calculate armour save modifiers so it's ideal against high toughness heroes who are armoured like a tank.

The sword of heroes is similar but can be given to any hero not just a grail vow one. It's not quite as effective and not a must have like the other sword. It does however give +1 strength against enemies with T5 or above. Unsaved wounds also become D3 wounds. Good for enemies with a T5 but not effective enough against higher toughness.

Bretonnian Army Tactics - don't use the Field Trebuchet use a unit of Mounted Yeoman, Pegasus Knights, a hero on a Royal Pegasus or a Lord Hippogryph

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The Field Trebuchet looks like a good option and it has very useful capabilities but it's not for a 2000 pt game.

The whole emphasis around the Bretonnia battle plan should be to get up 'close and personal' as quickly as possible. You may be concerned about the enemy's long range artillery capabilities but using a valuable rare slot on a trebuchet to counter them
is not the answer.

You must not stand off with the enemy when fighting with Bretonnians. If you include a trebuchet, not only do you miss out on your Grail Knights option but you will need to leave a unit behind to protect it. Therefore when you look at the Trebuchet cost of 90 points you should really read 190 pts because that's the value in point it will tie up.

In larger 2000+ games you might want to rethink this rule of thumb, depending on the enemy race but not in 2000 pts and lower.

King Louen Leoncoeur Rules and Tactics (Bretonnia Special Characters)

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King Louen Leoncoeur a man of great virtues, oh yes. A hard man of steel, you bet. A superb leader for the Bretonnians, without doubt.

Worth 728 points - are you mad ? (not in a 2000 point game !)

King Leoncoeur is an awesome character, you have to admire anyone who can bring any number of grail knight units into battle with him.

He's also a decent exponent of the martial sword arts being able to reroll failed hits and rolls to wound. With regards to magic, well don't waste your time worrying about him, he's virtually impervious to it with his Lion's shield.

The trouble is, he's just a bit too expensive. Granted he also has a 'pet' Hippogryph with 4 strength 5 attacks of Ws 5. Not bad but not good enough for 728 pts in a 2000pt game.

Using a third of your points allocation on a single model was fine in the old days. Normal units couldn't touch them so they could roam the battlefield with impunity (think Mohammed Ali) until they bumped into another 'hard knock' (think Mike Tyson).

This is no longer the case, units can be easily tooled up with heavy great weapons and other magic items specifically for taking on hard characters (even unit champions in some cases). While the King might dispatch a couple of enemy units, what does the rest of your Bretonnians do if he falls ?

True, Gamesworkshop have taken this into account to some extent so that if the King dies his remaining army all become stubborn (a formidable prospect).

All in all though, King Leoncoeur is a very risky option for a small army to take. It's a 'all eggs in one basket' strategy and you could pay the price.

If you do take him, be prepared to be heavily outnumbered and you'd better hope that the knights you can afford to take along will rout the enemy on their charge because, rest assured you will be flanked and charges in the sides and rear.

You have been warned.

Note: he's a must have in a 3000pt battle though :)

Image is © Games Workshop Ltd. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Warhammer Bretonnia Tactics - the Bretonnian Army Lance Formation

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This post is mainly for the benefit of new Bretonnia players and the enemies of Bretonnian Armies.

The lance formation is integral to all Bretonnia Generals thinking. It is indeed the key to success for a unit of knights and as important as their armour save and charging first into combat.

Bretonnian Knights can field units with a front rank of 3 but a lot more than 3 knights get to fight in the melee.

In fact a front rank of 3 with 1 rank behind will allow 5 of the 6 knights to fight. 3 ranks will allow 7 knights to fight out of the 9 in the unit.

This is because those models on the flanks also get to fight. This, presumably is to emulate the old wedge formation and to tale into account the large points cost of units of knights.

Note that standards and musicians do not need to be positioned in the front rank.

The lance formation is key to the Bretonnian charge. Units need to be bolstered with Lords, heros, damsels and magic items to try to ensure that the enemy is taking a break test in the 1st turn.

Bretonnians become far less effective in longer drawn out fights because they do not benefit from their +2 strength lance after the charge. Also, they are very prone to being outflanked amd charged in the side (and frequently the rear aswell).

To counter this lance formations need to be small (mainly 6 models strong in a 2000 pt game and definitely no mre than 9 strong)

You should also keep a unit in reserve to respond to developing threats (if your knights get tied down) before they become a problem.

Keep your eye on any fast moving units that the enemy has, especially flyers.

I will be writing some tips on how to bolster knights and especially including those fine damsel and prophetess ladies in your units. They are well protected by the knights in the initial rounds and can come in very useful in the fight.

Watch this space.

Bretonnian Green Knight and why you should include him in your Bretonnia Army List

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The Green Knight is superb character for inclusion in a Bretonnian army. He is reasonably costed and opens up your tactical options. The Green Knight is ideal for taking out isolated missile and gun powder units because he is ethereal and cannot be hurt by non-magical attacks (which missile and arty troops rarely have access to)

He is also very quick over the battle ground (being ethereal you don't have to worry much about obstacles !)

I would recommend his use in any game of 3000 pts or more. I would probably use him in games of 2000 pts but it would depend on which opponent I was facing and their armies most likely composition.

The Green Knight is cheap-ish, flexible and reliable - add him to your army.

Image and miniature is © Games Workshop Ltd. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Bretonnia : The Fay Enchantress

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Are you asking "Should I include the Fay Enchantress in my army ?"

Ask no more, the answer is a big YES.

For 3000+ pt armies the Fay Enchantress is a must, the only time I would exclude her is if I was playing an opponent who was expecting me to use her and had already successfully beaten an army including her.

For a 2000pt army the decision is not quite so clear cut. The problem being that the Enchantress will take up over a quarter of your points allowance (545pts) and uses up your only Lord choice plus a hero choice. You might want these Lord and Hero slots to use for customised "solid" hand to hand fighters (if you are fighting a predominantly hand-to-hand army with high quality warriors like Dwarfs).

Here are some good reasons for including the Fay in your Bretonnian Army (even a 2000 points army):-

• She gets +2 to Cast Lore of Life spells
• She is virtually immune to magic with resistance 3
• The Blessing of the Lady give a 5+ ward save (!!!) *
• You can include an additional unit of up to 8 grail knights **
• She has a no armour or ward save attack that always strikes first (ie before combat begins)
• Her Mount Silvaron has 2 str 6 attacks on the charge and causes fear
• She has a Lore of Heavens Bound item (useful for ruining a dispel jockey's day !)
• 4+ ward save

Notes
* the addional army wide ward save is enough alone to encourage me to use her. 5+ (instead of the usual 6) for all your army against ALL attacks (not just strength 5+). Also you will not automatically miss your 1st turn because the army does not need to kneel to pray.

I think this alone is worth quite a few points. It's the equivalent of say an extra layer of armour that cannot be lost through an attackers strength (which I would probably pay 3 or 4 pts for per knight if the ward could be paid for). So for a 2000pt army I reckon this alone is probably worth at least 120-160 pts.

A normal Prophetess (lvl 4) would cost 225

The Fay Enchantress (excluding Silvaron the Unicorn) costs 480

So if we assume the ward save bonus is worth (say) 140pts, then you are paying 115pts for:-

the ability to have another unit of grail knights
the always strikes first spiteful glance (no saves)
a bound item for Lore of Heavens
+1 to both power and dispel dice
Favour of the Fay ( a mnior bonus +1 to hit for one model in the army)


If you think this is still a 50/50 choice then if you're fighting Beasts of Chaos, Skaven or Orcs & Goblins then you should definitely include the Enchantress because she causes fear.


** the extra grail knights are quite simply invaluable !