Let's Chat Free People

[Paul Conti]

So the Sylvaneth thread has broken 20 pages... I think Free People can totally top that!

As you are possibly aware, I'm a huge Free People fan - I've got a series on my YouTube channel dedicated just to Free People. 

Free People is one of the most common keywords in AOS, appearing on an outrageous number of scrolls:

Bretonnia - 17
Free Peoples - 10
The Empire - 15
Total - 42

This isn't even counting all of the other scrolls in Collegiate Arcane, Ironweld Arsonal, and Devoted of Sigmar that were once part of Free People in the original compendiums and have since been shuffled off to their own factions, but still work well with the core group. If you add those all in, then we are up to 54 scrolls.

Some other quick facts:

8 Heros with command abilities
7 Battleline choices (plus 4 weapons choices on Freeguild Guard)
4 Battalions (And no battle tome!)
8 Shooting units
11 Cavalry options

There are tons of options and tons of synergies.

My thoughts on the faction so far:

This is an extremely versatile army that you can mold to do pretty much whatever you want it to do. That said, it excels in a few areas (in no particular order)

1. Mobility

There are a lot of cavalry options, including Pegasus Knights with their MASSIVE 16" move. It's really easy to zip around the battlefield to score objectives with Free people. Free People inherited Bretonnian cavalry options, so we have some real strength on the charge, as well as Demigryphs which continue to perform well in later rounds of combat. 

2. Shooting

Possibly the best shooting in the game. It's not hard to get a unit of Handgunners to hit and wound on 2s. Crossbows can unload a ton of shots at long range Peasant Bowmen get a CRAZY triple/quad shot once per game. A lot of buffs are available to increase your accuracy on all of these. Not to mention the artillery options either - also some of the best in the game, with Trebuchets hurling rocks 48" at targets it can't see and auto-hits if there are more than 6 models in the targeted unit.

3. Toughness

This is a really deceptive one, because if someone asks you to think of an army that is really tough, I doubt Free People will come to mind for most folks. But here's my case for their toughness - There are lots of units with 4+ saves or better. Many either re-roll 1's to save, or go to 3+ on the charge. Although bravery isn't that high, there are a lot of modifiers and things that just make you ignore Battleshock all together. Order's Allegiance ability lets you re-roll Battleshock tests. Freeguild General let's you roll 2 dice and take the lowest. Louen Leoncouer makes your whole team immune to battleshock. It goes on and on. I can't tell you the number of times I've surprised an opponent with the resilience of my army - they just stick and don't go anywhere.

 

So what do you all think? What are your tips, tricks, and combos? What do your lists look like?

[Beasts of Nurgle]

Hey man, subscribed to your youtube, really useful for free peoples stuff cheers! 

I've heard alot about Demigryph Knights being overpointed, but in the games I've used them in so far, they've been really good! I think their main advantage is their staying power + the Gryph attacks of course! 

Finding it really hard / impossible to fit in more cavalry to a 1000 pt list on top of Demis and a Hurricanum! 

[Paul Conti]

I uses to be pretty anti-Demigryph, but after experimenting and digging through scrolls, I'm now a big fan of Demigryphs.

I think you really need to use the Brotherhood of Knights battalion to make them their best. I've been going 2 Demigryph units and 2 Empire Knight units. The EKs work as chaff and hold up your opponent's forces while the Demigryphs charge to the prime targets. 760 points for that battalion and its crazy powerful. Those Empire Knights become just about as strong as Grail Knights on the charge, which is bonkers.

I've also started pairing them with a Battlemage withe Wildform - that not only makes them wound on 2s, but it also gets you D3 damage on the talons on 5s. In your aecond turn, you can throw on Hold the Line! To bring that to D3 damage on 4s. That's a huge advantage over your other knight options that are garbage after you charge. 

[Double Misfire]

I've pointed this out before, but big units of Bretonnian archers firing a volley of arrows for x4 attacks, plus a Paladin, plus the Freeguild General's command ability has gotta be pretty tasty.

[Paul Conti]

I'm not a big fan of Peasant Bowmen with points. Needing to take them in 16s makes them really ackward. Assuming you're already taking a General, its going to cost you 480 for enough archers to get quad shots and a Paladin. 

32 models x 4 shots each = 128 shots

Their stat line plus buffs puts them at about 55% accuract on those shots. So 71 wounds, no rend.

After that one big volley, they're only going to land 18 wounds per turn. You get the same effectiveness every turn from 200 points of crossbows, and their shots will be rending on 5s. (With Hold the Line!)

Yes, 71 wounds should delete anything, but its such absurd overkill for the points I don't think it's worth it. Unless they're taking on something huge they'll never kill their points cost. Plus they can't stand and shoot if they get charged so they're just going to get charged and wiped by whatever they don't kill.

 

[RossMHoward]

@Paul Conti I love to moan about Demis. They're more expensive than both Skullcrushers and Gore Gruntas and have less access to rend, fewer attacks and fewer wounds than all of them. 

Sure they move 10 and get to re roll 1's to save. And sure their banner allows them to totally ignore battleshock if you run them in 3's. And sure they add 2 to their run and charge rolls. But given the lack of attacks and the 4+ barrier to hit, that 2+ to charge bonus just gets you run toward a red light a little bit faster. 

They're still good though! At pushing units off objectives or holding things up for a turn or too but they're just pricy. I'd love to have a bit of change from 200 for them. 

[Paul Conti]

I actually just played Ironjawz the other day and Demis went head to head with Gruntas... no contest ?

I think part of their pricing is all of the buffs they can get from various different places. But I agree they should probably be a little less. Maybe 180 for 3?

[Paul Conti]

Does anyone use something other than a Freeguild General as their general? I feel like Hold the Line! Is such a powerful command ability at such a low price that its hard to justify something else

[Primez]

6 hours ago, Paul Conti said:

I've also started pairing them with a Battlemage withe Wildform - that not only makes them wound on 2s, but it also gets you D3 damage on the talons on 5s. In your aecond turn, you can throw on Hold the Line! To bring that to D3 damage on 4s. That's a huge advantage over your other knight options that are garbage after you charge. 

You're welcome! 

 

My issue with them as i think they are slightly over costed, i like to think the points reflect a possible update coming in the next 12 months. I like Paul, think 180 should be the correct amount. A lot of people have 8th hangover and think they are far better than what they are and taken them off quickly. I find running a unit of 6 is far better than a unit 3 (no surprise there). I still can't justify using them in a tournament for that cost. 

 

52 minutes ago, Paul Conti said:

Does anyone use something other than a Freeguild General as their general? I feel like Hold the Line! Is such a powerful command ability at such a low price that its hard to justify something else

I have been using my General on Girffon for the most part, or other heroes outside of freepeople. Hold the line is good but i don't like having immobile units, moment is so key in this game. I think it's a great ability but doesn't suit how i play. I also find the 5 wound general far to squishes. No i don't run him into combat people just shoot him off. 

[Hugh Halligan]

I have been having success with using both the brotherhood of knights and state troop battalion in my 2000pt army.

The brotherhood is made up of 4 units of empire knights which is only a 640pt investment. These Knights are used to reach out to get objectives and are pretty decent in combat with the additional attack to each of their melee attacks.

The state troop detachment is made up of 3 units of 10 handgunners, 10 greatswords and the general. These normally bubble wrap a hurricanum the general and either 2 cannons or a cannon and a rocket launcher. The cannons get the hold the line and hurricanum buff so they are hitting and wounding on 2s.

Having the two battalions also means I can deploy quickly so I tend to finish deploying first to get the option to go first or second. You also get the two additional artefacts. I tend to give the general the +1 attack trait, quick potion, and plus 1 damage. And then give the hurricanum heal 1 wound each hero phase. I am still not sure what the best artefacts are to take.

I am guessing my army is fairly standard but would be interested what you guys are taking to see there are any tricks I am missing.



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[Primez]

1 hour ago, Hugh Halligan said:

The cannons get the hold the line and hurricanum buff so they are hitting and wounding on 2s.
 

 

The Cannon doesn't have the free people key word so you can't buff it with hold the line. You can get it hitting on 3's with hurricanum and re roll hits with gunmaster or whatever it's called these days. 

[Paul Conti]

3 minutes ago, Primez said:

 

The Cannon doesn't have the free people key word so you can't buff it with hold the line. You can get it hitting on 3's with hurricanum and re roll hits with gunmaster or whatever it's called these days. 

I definitely made this mistake for a long time too!

[Paul Conti]

@High Halligan

If I'm reading your post correctly, I don't believe that battalion works anyone under the General's Handbook rules. It's still in the app, but it references things that have all been written out of the game in the Order book and the GHB. If your play group is cool with it, then of course go for it, but from what I've seen most people don't like making that crossover to the original compendium scrolls. Sadly, it's basically dead.

The Freeguild Regiment is similar, but has a MUCH larger requirement. Total bummer - it was one of my favorite tools before Order book came out. 

Running the Brotherhood of Knights with 4 units of Empire Knights is interesting though. I haven't tried that out yet. I typically try to maximize my number of Demigryphs in the formation to get maximum firepower. How has that been working out for you?Have you also tried it with Demigryphs?

[Hugh Halligan]

I definitely made this mistake for a long time too!

The empire cannon which has points I the general handbook has the free people key word. Well at least the crew do! I presume they are one unit.

[Hugh Halligan]

@High Halligan
If I'm reading your post correctly, I don't believe that battalion works anyone under the General's Handbook rules. It's still in the app, but it references things that have all been written out of the game in the Order book and the GHB. If your play group is cool with it, then of course go for it, but from what I've seen most people don't like making that crossover to the original compendium scrolls. Sadly, it's basically dead.
The Freeguild Regiment is similar, but has a MUCH larger requirement. Total bummer - it was one of my favorite tools before Order book came out. 
Running the Brotherhood of Knights with 4 units of Empire Knights is interesting though. I haven't tried that out yet. I typically try to maximize my number of Demigryphs in the formation to get maximum firepower. How has that been working out for you?Have you also tried it with Demigryphs?

It may not be in the order book but the battalion has points in the generals handbook. I read a post from GW a while back and they indicated that you can use the old state troop regiment as free guild.otherwise there would be no point of including the battalion in the generals hand book.


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[Nico]

Quote

If I'm reading your post correctly, I don't believe that battalion works anyone under the General's Handbook rules. It's still in the app, but it references things that have all been written out of the game in the Order book and the GHB. If your play group is cool with it, then of course go for it, but from what I've seen most people don't like making that crossover to the original compendium scrolls. Sadly, it's basically dead.

The good news is that GW have been generous and ruled that the old battalions are useable with moderate keyword adjustment (just don't start messing around with the Charnel Pit formation or saying that Warboss becomes Megaboss to include Gordrakk in a formation). This is actually vital as the following armies are unplayable otherwise - Moonclan, Greenskinz, Gitmob, Beastmen, Spiderfang, Witch Aelves etc..

[Hugh Halligan]

@High Halligan
If I'm reading your post correctly, I don't believe that battalion works anyone under the General's Handbook rules. It's still in the app, but it references things that have all been written out of the game in the Order book and the GHB. If your play group is cool with it, then of course go for it, but from what I've seen most people don't like making that crossover to the original compendium scrolls. Sadly, it's basically dead.
The Freeguild Regiment is similar, but has a MUCH larger requirement. Total bummer - it was one of my favorite tools before Order book came out. 
Running the Brotherhood of Knights with 4 units of Empire Knights is interesting though. I haven't tried that out yet. I typically try to maximize my number of Demigryphs in the formation to get maximum firepower. How has that been working out for you?Have you also tried it with Demigryphs?

Running 4 units of Knights has worked really well. I tend to have 2 units on each flank and the hold back until the cannons do their damage. They can take on small units and their one use only +1 to hit ability means you don't need buffs from the hurricanum or general when you want to take on a unit. As they are only 140pts each, it does not matter too much if you lose a unit of two.

I can't seem to justify the inclusion of the Demi's they are just too expensive. The way I play my hurricanum or general would never be close enough to give their buffs.


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[Beasts of Nurgle]

Anyone tried running along a hurricanum with any knight units? Thinking of doing this with a unit of demigryphs + General on warhorse

[Paul Conti]

3 hours ago, Beasts of Nurgle said:

Anyone tried running along a hurricanum with any knight units? Thinking of doing this with a unit of demigryphs + General on warhorse

I've been running the Brotherhood of Knights battalion with a Hurricanum and it works really well. The Hurricanum being on par in terms of movement really helps a lot. 

My current list also had them trailed by a Luminark, which just makes them extra tough. The Luminark's spell is pretty weak, so I usually end up casting Mystic Shield off of it. They just shurg off so many saves its absurd.

[Dez]

5 minutes ago, Paul Conti said:

I've been running the Brotherhood of Knights battalion with a Hurricanum and it works really well. The Hurricanum being on par in terms of movement really helps a lot. 

My current list also had them trailed by a Luminark, which just makes them extra tough. The Luminark's spell is pretty weak, so I usually end up casting Mystic Shield off of it. They just shurg off so many saves its absurd.

It IS absurd, first hand experience

[Primez]

12 hours ago, Hugh Halligan said:

The empire cannon which has points I the general handbook has the free people key word. Well at least the crew do! I presume they are one unit.

 

The crew have the keyword but they have a different attack profile from the cannon, therefore hold the line can apply to the crew (waste) but not the cannon. 

 

[Primez]

5 hours ago, Paul Conti said:

My current list also had them trailed by a Luminark, which just makes them extra tough. The Luminark's spell is pretty weak, so I usually end up casting Mystic Shield off of it. They just shurg off so many saves its absurd.

The Luminark is great for sitting in support. In the past i have sit it behind a block of 40 state troops with shields & swords along with mystic shield and inspiring presence. 3 plus re rolling 1's, with a 6 plus ward no battle shock . The down side is it's range attack is unreliable, i can never get that 3 up to wound. 

[Paul Conti]

1 minute ago, Primez said:

The Luminark is great for sitting in support. In the past i have sit it behind a block of 40 state troops with shields & swords along with mystic shield and inspiring presence. 3 plus re rolling 1's, with a 6 plus ward no battle shock . The down side is it's range attack is unreliable, i can never get that 3 up to wound. 

the Luminark's shot is really swingy, but its extremely powerful when it does go off. Pair it with the hurricanum and it should be wounding about half the time. Remd -2 and 6 damage is brutal. Just point it at characters and about half the time you fry them

[Primez]

18 minutes ago, Paul Conti said:

the Luminark's shot is really swingy, but its extremely powerful when it does go off. Pair it with the hurricanum and it should be wounding about half the time. Remd -2 and 6 damage is brutal. Just point it at characters and about half the time you fry them

Yip it is a great character snipe. I just love it when people ask how much damage is that after failing a save roll, then watching them fall over when you tell them it's 6. 

 

It should go off half the time (also run it with a hurricanum) but my rolling sucks. Went off 3 times over 12 turns in a tournament i recently played in. 

[Hugh Halligan]

Anyone tried running along a hurricanum with any knight units? Thinking of doing this with a unit of demigryphs + General on warhorse

It might be the case but it is not clear cut, as I would say that the crew and the cannon are one and the same unit so all keywords apply. It probably needs a GW ruling to get a definitive answer!