Let's Chat: Free Peoples

[Fellclaw01]

22 hours ago, Steini said:

Hi Fellclaw01,

while the ability of the Hurricanum affects all units with the keyword "Order", the Empire Generals Command Ability only helps Free Peoples, no Ironweld Arsenal - so that won't work...

As I'm new to AoS and struggle to convert my 8th Ed Empire Army into the new format, where do you see the Free People comp-wise? Most People in my area play 40k and the AoS-Meta seems to be dominated by the new Battletomes like SE, Sylvaneth etc ... They all seem to pack more punch than the humble humans...

Ah nice pickup on the rockets, normally i run 2 cannons so i guess ill stick with those

mono armies tend to get caught up with 'gimicks' and in my experience struggle agianst mixed order list, went to a 30 player tournament last week and did really well ie nearly tabled every opponent lost a couple of missions thu lol

i took 2 high elf dragons, 2 cannons with gunsmith huricanum and libbies with handgunners, the damage output was something people were not prepared for, model count however hurt me a touch. Played arielle twice she did not see turn 2 because of my coordinated shooting

You could do something similar with freepeopes only, id look at 2 generals on griffons 2-3 cannons with a gunsmith huricanum and a luminark

The general on foot and then  i would look at maxing out handgunners and when the enemy gets close hitting them on 2s wounding on 2s is feral

the generals on griffon are the assualt part of your army and combined should be able to rip most foes to pieces

Delete an enemy per turn with your long range forepower

 

[MrCharisma]

@Fellclaw01 if you wanted to reduce the to wound figure, you could use a Battlemage with Wildform. It only effect one model though 

[Aezeal]

9 hours ago, MrCharisma said:

@Fellclaw01 if you wanted to reduce the to wound figure, you could use a Battlemage with Wildform. It only effect one model though 

What exactly does he do that the loremaster doesn't do better?

[Steini]

Does anyone have any advice regarding Skaven? They're gonna be my main adversary and seem quite strong...

[MrCharisma]

3 hours ago, Aezeal said:

What exactly does he do that the loremaster doesn't do better?

Loremaster only effects a single model while Wildform effects a unit. Wildform can help the battleline units too... so why not just choose both?!

[Aezeal]

Ow though you said it was single model in your last post.

[Dotification]

11 hours ago, Steini said:

Does anyone have any advice regarding Skaven? They're gonna be my main adversary and seem quite strong...

My main gaming buddy plays them (1st of now 3 armies) so I'm come against them quite a bit.

any Verminlord but the Deceiver: shoot with the Luminark's Searing Beam of Light.  

V.L. Deceiver you just mob in combat, or fly a Griffon or Dragon into it & hope he doesn't roll too well with for his Rend -2 D3 Damage stabs.

Larger units of Stormvermin: chaff up with something cheap (e.g. Wanderer's Hounds) then hit with Luminark's Burning Gaze spell/multi-damage ranged fire, maybe bring an Empire Mortar to lob shells with if he runs larger groups of Clanrats too, concentrate fire on if they're not Inspired/B.S. immune

Warplock Jezzails: Deep-strike units like Dwarf Miners, or quicker cav like Pistoliers, or even your own snipers (Handgunner Marksmen Long-guns)

Stormvermin (grinder-fist + 2 or more warpfire throwers in particular): bubble-wrap vulnerable units (like your Hurricanum & Luminark, or Gen. on Griffon) with expendable screening units like F.G. Swordsmen, stuntie warriors with a 6++ prayer up, or even Skink skirmishers, with a gryph-hound or 2 in place for warning cries.

Warp Lightning Cannon: stay out of its range/LoS until you can shoot/charge 6 or so Wounds onto its mediocre save, or indirect fire a solid rocket barrage on it.

 

[Steini]

8 hours ago, Dotification said:

Warp Lightning Cannon: stay out of its range/LoS until you can shoot/charge 6 or so Wounds onto its mediocre save, or indirect fire a solid rocket barrage on it.

 

Thanks for the good advice! Though with 18" range on the Hurricanum you're forced to get into range of the cannon...?

I Thought about a cav-heavy Army with Knights/Demigryphs but still need the General on Hippogryph to do this...

The small weapon teams mean trouble do they?

[Dotification]

I don't think you need Line Of Sight to the WLC for the Comet of Casandora at least.

I would like the various lances & cav. hammers/halbreds better if they also gained Rend on a charge in addition to the damage & to wound bumps.  That leaves either Grail Knights or SC Dracoth Guard for heavy rending/assault cav.

As far as my current FreeGuild/Order list, let me preface my thoughts by mentioning my local meta/monthly tournament is heavy on Ironjawz, Stormcast, mixed Destruction, & soon Tzeentch.  So lots of 30" shooting, magic/mortal wounds on tables that are sadly rather lacking in terrain.

My plan centers around a C. Hurricanum & Luminark*, w/ 2 min. squads of Handgunners shield-walled by an "anvil" of 20 Dwarf Warriors w/ great weapons, shields, & a runic icon, supported by a Runepriest for either an extra 6++ or Rend -2.  The "hammers" of my army are FG Gen. on Griffon (Rend -2 hammer & shield) + a unit of SC Fulminators.  Support heroes include a Knight Heraldor for the Fulm.'s cycle-charging & tree-bursts, + a Life Wizard for heals/6++'s.  Oh, & a unit of Dwarf Miners to tunnel onto/threaten a distant objective.  Finally; a gryph-hound to watch each flank, or chaff up as needed.

I would like to run 30+ FG Swordsmen as my anvil but for 2 reasons;

-FG Handgunners can draw Line of Sight over the heads of the stunties better

-that Tz. spell that does Mortal Wounds to every model in a unit on a 4+ (nice power creep, GW) which dissuades hordes more. The Warriors' (& Miners') Runic Icons at least give me a 1/3 chance to ignore nukes like that, & the Luminark's 6++ bubble should save a few more.

*my original list had an Aelf Archmage to bubble his 6++ spell, plus a H. Rocket Battery to help my Hurricanum target Bloodsecrators, Savage Orruk Bosses & other force multiplier-Heroes, but damn, the 30" Damage 6 laser array is fun on a bun, coupled with the 6++ forcefield & +1 to dispell bubble for the points, & having a free leader spot leftover to take the anti-horde spell can come in handy (3 d3 M.W.'s on units of 20+ models.)

[Steini]

Hello guys here is a list to go Up against Beastclaw Raiders in 1000 pts matched play. My opponent is just learning the game as well as me. 

My plan is the bubble wrap around the Hurricanum and to use the Knights for counter charge. Would a cannon/mortar be better? 

Any advice or tipps against Raiders in General would be very welcome thank you :-)

Mage on Hurricanum

30 State Guard w Swords

20 Handgunners

10 Bowmen

5 Imperial Knights 

[Hugh Halligan]

I am interested to see what list people would take to a 1500pt tournament?

I currently have 2 lists which I am having a fair amount of success with. List 1 - I really do not like the empire knights but I  need  some speed to grab objectives but they are rubbish in combat. List 2 the crossbow damage output is great but the list really lacks any speed, which is crucial in objective style games. I love the lore masters ability on the hellstorm and the general on griffon, it gives me significant damage output from turn 1.  I think the weakness in both lists is that I do not have enough models on the tabletop.  

LIST 1:

Free Guild General - (General) Tenacious

Free Guild General on Griffon - Quicksilver potion

Lore Master

Hurricanum

10x Freeguild swordmen 

10x Freeguild swordmen 

10x Handgunner

10x Handgunner

5x Empire Knights

Hellstorm Rocket Battery

 

LIST 2: 

Free Guild General - (General) Tenacious

Free Guild General on Griffon - Quicksilver potion

Lore Master

Hurricanum

30 x crossbows

10x Freeguild swordmen 

10x Freeguild swordmen 

Gryph Hound

Rocket Launcher

 

 

 

 

 

[jobume]

@Hugh Halligan I think List 2 looks stronger. The general on griffon is pretty mobile, and the Hurricanum is pretty fast also. I have my Freeguild general on a warhorse and he's been claiming objectives in the later turns in many of my games. Looks like solid lists with a little bit of everything, and some good synergies and combos. Please let us know how your games go.

// JOB

[Hugh Halligan]

9 hours ago, jobume said:

@Hugh Halligan I think List 2 looks stronger. The general on griffon is pretty mobile, and the Hurricanum is pretty fast also. I have my Freeguild general on a warhorse and he's been claiming objectives in the later turns in many of my games. Looks like solid lists with a little bit of everything, and some good synergies and combos. Please let us know how your games go.

// JOB

My tournament is in a couple of weeks time. I will post some pictures up after the event.   

 

I am starting to lean toward list 2 because of the crossbows threat range and damage output (20" range, 60 shoots, hitting on 2's (Generals and Hurricanum buffs), wounding on 3's (generals buff), Rending on 5&6s (generals buff).   Running the figures that should be an average of 15 wounds against saves of 4+, and 20 wounds against against saves of 5+. The only thing stopping me is that I still need to paint the models up where as list 1 is fully painted

What list do you take?

 

 

[jobume]

The list I've played the most with is this:

1x Freeguild General on warhorse with Stately banner

1x King Leoncoeur

1x Gunmaster

1x Celestial Hurricanum

2x10 Handgunners

10 Archers

16 Knights of the Realm

2x Cannons

It's not super strong but can win some games. I think I've played about 15 games with this list, winning 8 of them, so slightly above 50%.

The list I'm currently painting up is this:

1x Freeguild General on warhorse with Stately banner

2x Celestial Hurricanum

1x Luminark of Hysh

2x10 Handgunners

30 Crossbowmen

1x10 Freeguild guard

16 Knights of the realm

It has better mortal wound output and more bodies for scenarios. I've played two games with it and won one against a Hammerstrike Force and lost one against mixed destruction with Grots and Stonehorns (no Thundertusks though).

[Origin]

@MrCharisma I'm curious to know how you get the counter charge mechanic to work with your free guild guard.

The way I read the counter charge rule is that it works like a charge, so units have to get within 1/2" of an enemy model. With the 1" spacing of models it is impossible to get the second row of dudes, who are on 25mm bases (>1") within 1/2" of a enemy model when there is a row of dudes in front of them. Especially when most players i face keep there units out of base contact but with 1/2" when they move their chargers, only to move them into base with their pile in moves.

The only way i see spears working is if you keep them right behind the front line so they can use the 3" pile in to attack.

I have found the counter charge mechanic to be almost useless except for small units of 10 on the flanks of larger blocks.

[Origin]

And if anyone has any advice on running the Free Guild Regiment battalion i would really appreciate it.

I like the battalion for the +1 to hit within 6" because generally my dudes will have it to the last man, where as outside of the battalion i have to field 30+ to ensure i keep that +1. Also the MSU side of things allows for more champions and long rifles and reduces damage from artillery etc. 

On the down side it is really expensive to run so i have almost now room for cool stuff.

Is it actually worth running?

[nuttyknatty]

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Origin said:

And if anyone has any advice on running the Free Guild Regiment battalion i would really appreciate it.

I like the battalion for the +1 to hit within 6" because generally my dudes will have it to the last man, where as outside of the battalion i have to field 30+ to ensure i keep that +1. Also the MSU side of things allows for more champions and long rifles and reduces damage from artillery etc. 

On the down side it is really expensive to run so i have almost now room for cool stuff.

Is it actually worth running?

I'm taking the Freeguild Regiment to SCGT next weekend!

Initially, I wrote the list as an excuse to get all my old Empire redone, but it's a fun list to play. I run nearly all the units in 20s, bar the cavalry and a unit of archers, and the crossbows and Handgunners can be particularly frightening for opponents.

I've tended to use all my cavalry together on a flank to slow down my opponents, giving my missile troops more time to shoot, and each infantry unit has shone on different occasions.

Sadly, with just one hero, and particularly with the SCGT Battleplans, it's a hard list to win with. Any canny General can just take my leader down and gain the upper hand, so he needs to be kept safely at the back, but with a 15" range on his CA, this isn't a completely auto-lose strategy.

And it all looks ace on the battlefield!?

[Origin]

@The Nameless One

Thanks for the feed back. They do look ace on the field. I have been putting a banner in for every 10 men, plus the general to there are just all these flags, puffy pants and feathers every where. Looks ace.

The lack of heroes bothers me, one of my gripes about the size of the battalion. Be really interested to see how you go. Good Luck.

I have been toying with the idea of running 10 pistoleers inside the battalion backed up by a griffon general. With his CA they'd pack a punch, 40 attacks in combined shooting and combat all at 3/3/-1. But it seems like a poor use of the overall battalion abilities. There just seem to be too many average units with not enough points to make them truly competent. 

[Aezeal]

Try running a hurricanum if the general dies a lot. Both need to be central in the army and you can probably hide the general behind the Hurricanum against shooting (this is theory, I don't actually play free guild or have the models)

[nuttyknatty]

@Origin  Here's my list

Freeguild General (100) - Command Trait : Master of Defense - Stately War Banner - Artefact : Phoenix Stone

3 x Demigryph Knights (200) -Cavalry Halberd

10 x Freeguild Archers (100)

20 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (200)

20 x Freeguild Greatswords (320)

20 x Freeguild Guard (160)

20 x Freeguild Guard (160)

20 x Freeguild Guard (160)

20 x Freeguild Handgunners (200)

5 x Freeguild Outriders (140)

5 x Freeguild Pistoliers (140)

Battalions Freeguild Regiment (100)

Total: 1980/2000

Sticking the General on the Griffon is almost certainly the best choice, but as I said, my list was written to get as much of my stuff painted as possible! I''ve only ran the list 4 times so far, with just the one win under my belt against an Ironjaws list with no shooting, and I wonder whether that's the best match-up I can hope for - something that needs to run at my big blocks.

I do like the one drop ability to ensure I can always play for the double turn, and there's certainly a lot of targets for my opponents to worry about.

 

[jobume]

10 hours ago, Origin said:

@MrCharisma I'm curious to know how you get the counter charge mechanic to work with your free guild guard.

The way I read the counter charge rule is that it works like a charge, so units have to get within 1/2" of an enemy model. With the 1" spacing of models it is impossible to get the second row of dudes, who are on 25mm bases (>1") within 1/2" of a enemy model when there is a row of dudes in front of them. Especially when most players i face keep there units out of base contact but with 1/2" when they move their chargers, only to move them into base with their pile in moves.

The only way i see spears working is if you keep them right behind the front line so they can use the 3" pile in to attack.

I have found the counter charge mechanic to be almost useless except for small units of 10 on the flanks of larger blocks.

1 inch is 25,4mm so a 25mm base will fit through the gap. That being said, I still think the counter charge ability is pretty useless. If you want your back line to be in combat, just position them 2,5 inches behind the chaff line. I really don't see a good use case for countercharging.

[nuttyknatty]

@Origin I too haven't really got much mileage out of the counter charge mechanic, but I see it more as just a nice little bonus rather than a game winning tactic.

Obviously the pile-in can sometimes allow you to get a few more models into range, but I'd also be interested to see if any more canny Generals have found anything clever to do with this special rule. 

[Dotification]

I liked it better as the State Troop Formation--not as many units required, & thus more flexibility @ 2K.

Say, if you can free up the points, a White Wizard on Luminark gives you a big gun/laser, a 6++ forcefield, a 2nd Hero, & is a better use of a Phoenix Stone for your 2nd artefact/drop.  Freeing up 40 pts. would leave room for a Black Ark FleetMaster, while 60 gets you a Witch Hunter, Skink Chief, or Death Hag (only 1 of these really makes sense to being there though!) 

Question; would the Reckless Cmd. Trait help the Guard's counter-charges??

[Blitzel]

Made a list I think I will try to use.

Normal general on horse, griffon supported by pistoliers, they hit really hard, especially buffed by volkmar with rerolls if needed. I took reckless as I think it is the best trait that buffs the combat units and his command ability buff the shooty units.

The mage keeps the behemoths going strong and volkmar makes them more killy. Everything is folliwed by the missile troops to fire at units locked in combat.

Gryph hounds look cool and grant some pretection against weird deployment enemies. 

Freepeoples.pdf

[nuttyknatty]

4 hours ago, Dotification said:

Question; would the Reckless Cmd. Trait help the Guard's counter-charges??

Personally, I play it that it doesn't. A counter-charge isn't a charge going by the letter, but I can see the argument. Unless something clear cut, I'd always play the way with the least contention.