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Ah, ok. I was looking at the AoS app.

Just in case you need to cite evidence of non-Sylvaneth woods blocking line of sight, the regular woods are called Citadel Woods rather than Wyldwoods.

I have a suggestion I've been thinking about for a while that means you don't need a bunch of additional models for a competitive and a non-competitive or randomised list. How much you recoil in horror at this is probably a good indicator of how much of a competitive gamer you are. All of the lore spells, command traits, and artifacts get randomised in front of your opponent at the beginning of the game. You nominate who your general is and who's getting the artifact(s), choose the relevant table, and then you roll the dice. Obviously either both players do this or neither do (unless one chooses), but I think this would work as a great litmus test for which players are allergic to toning it down. Still plenty of room for competitive list-building, but the player would have to allow for the fact that their list can't hinge on a specific artifact, spell, or command trait, which I suspect would bring the hyper-competitiveness down quite a bit without any extra investment of time or money.

Well, this is what 80 Flagellants looks like. I know the standard is to say "this was a blast/joy/treat to paint", but this was a death march. I learned a lot though. Let me know if you want a closer look at anything in particular.

I'm not going to say Flagellants are some undiscovered super unit that's going to dominate the meta, so it's fully possible your opponent will screen effectively and that'll be that. However, there's screening, and there's screening so that not a single model of your blob of Movement 6 troops get within 6" of their vulnerable enemy hero after pile-in. I suspect that the latter will be a much greater tactical challenge. If even a single Flagellant gets within 6" of a soft target, and the battleshock phase is devastating enough for you, that can be a choice hero sniped by the sacrifice of quite a cheap unit.

I used a random number generator and a spreadsheet to choose what to paint. On the first day I did my Forlong miniature from the Lord of the Rings, on the second my gravesite markers for Legions of Nagash. Then the RNG chose my 80 Flagellants and that's been my life between my 1 year old and my job for the last 12 days. One day, and hopefully soon, I'll be removing hordes of beautifully-painted zealots from the board as they get wiped out immediately.

I haven't tried this, largely because I don't have a phoenix model. I'd also point to the specific wording of the rules for taking wounds and the command ability: "Wounds are allocated one at a time to models in the target unit" "Once the number of wounds allocated to a model during the battle equals its Wounds characteristic, the model is slain. Place a slain model to one side - it is removed from play" and "...if a friendly PHOENICIUM model is slain...that model can fight before it is removed from play." I think an opponent could credibly argue that the first Flagellant to die gets no bonus attacks when he fights, the second to fifth to die get +1 attack, and the final five get +2 attacks for a total of 34 attacks (35 with a prophet). Furthermore, of the first unit to die, none of them get the +1/+1 to hit and wound, because the attacks are carried out before each model is slain, one at time, so none of them is fighting after the first unit is wiped out in the phase and only certain models benefit from the Glorious Martyrs rule. EDIT: Alternatively, if you interpret "slain" and "removed from play" as two separate events, the first Flagellant could benefit from the +1 attack of Glorious Martyrs as he has been slain at the time of the attack, then the fifth Flagellant onward would get +2 attacks for a total of 36 (37) attacks from the unit. That way the final Flagellant to die WOULD get the +1 to hit and wound. Either way the strategy wouldn't be quite as devastating though.

That's sounds like a really good strategy that makes the most of the army's synergies, and it's completely different from my Hammerhal list. Mostly because I don't have enough banners modelled, but also because I'm at Captain Ahab-levels of obsession with making Flagellants work. I was on the fence about getting Aventis Firestrike but I'm strongly considering it now. Is there a reason that in all the minimum sizing the Demigryphs are a unit of 6?

I've fielded Flagellants a few times and I can tell you that they're awful in a vacuum, but their high number of attacks mean that as soon as buffs start affecting them, they are capable of becoming blenders. With room for +3 to hit and +2 to wound before they're at 2+/2+, there's no such thing as a redundant buff on a Flagellant. They require more tactical thought than most units and positioning is key, since you want them in combat at the same time as other troops so that ideally they can strike after their opponent and reap the additional attacks they get from taking damage. The other reason that positioning is key is their battleshock ability. Get into combat with a powerful unit and make sure that one of the opponent's heroes is within 6" of one of the Flagellants, then in the battleshock phase it's entirely possible to spring a nasty surprise on the enemy by having a bunch of fleeing Flagellants assassinate the hero. Doing a mortal wound on a 4+ is statistically a pretty good use of a Flagellant so Bravery penalties are actually not as scary for them as they are for most hordes (unless you're not within 6" of an enemy). They break a couple of other traditional rules as well: because they have no armour save, mortal wounds aren't a big deal to them, and because they get extra attacks after taking casualties, enemies who always strike first can even find themselves at a disadvantage. Overall, I love them, though they will often disappoint. They're at their best in big units, with buffs from, e.g. the Celestial Hurricanum, Knight-Azyros, and various command traits and artifacts, attacking (or at least screening against) high-value targets. They're at their worst fighting cheap enemy battleline, unsupported. If you're looking for an anvil for enemies to get bogged down against, almost any other Cities of Sigmar melee infantry does it better. If you're looking for sneaky tricks and you have ability to outmaneuvre the enemy, you'll be pleasantly surprised by Flagellants.

That's great. Did you find much use in the extra command points generated by banners? I've always felt like that's the most take-or-leave part of the Hammerhal allegiance since Cities are okay at generating additional command points in other ways.

Greatswords, without a doubt. They get +1 to hit from being near a Freeguild hero so they'll want to be near him anyway (it leaves them hitting on 2s so the Twinstone would be wasted on them anyway).

To add to that, I'd point out that whatever army you choose, there's a decent chance it'll have its day at some point. Before their new Battletome, Flesh Eater Courts were widely considered awful. It's entirely possible that this time in 6 months we'll be discussing how to deal with brutally powerful Gutbuster or Slaves to Darkness lists. In many ways, what you think looks cool is the only reasonable way to select armies.

Alright lads and ladettes, here's my plan: 40 Flagellants, plus additional to taste. Celestial Hurricanum with Celestial Battlemage, with Blood of the Twelve command trait, Twinstone artifact, and Wings of Fire spell Knight-Azyros Any additional charge/move enhancers or enemy movement debuffers (Battlemage with Wildform, Mystifying Miasma, or Transmutation of Lead, Chronomantic Cogs, Soulsnare Shackles, etc. A bit of luck with battleplans. The idea here is to get the Flagellants to charge into enemy territory with the Hurricanum and Knight-Azyros in close proximity. This will lead to them hitting on 2s (+1 each for charge, Hurricanum, and Twinstone), re-rolling 1s (Knight-Azyros), and wounding on 3s (+1 for charging), re-rolling 1s (Blood of the Twelve), and then attacking again at the end of the phase (Righteous Purpose command ability). Since they'll be attacking at least once after they've been attacked, they'll get extra attacks beyond their initial 2. It's a bit of an all-or-nothing strategy, but I'm definitely going to try it at least once.

What's up with having that many Cairn Wraiths and Tomb Banshees?

You'll forgive me if I savagely wrench the subject back away from the udders of daemons and the dairies of hell. Part of me feels slightly better, reading through all these extravagant armies...and part of me is not proud of the fact that I'm no better. 3rd Company, 15th Cohort, 62nd Battalion, 812th Regiment , 4th Division, 12th Army of Hammerhal Aqsha - Freeguild: 1 General on Griffon 2 Generals on foot 4 Generals on warhorses 10 Archers 30 Crossbowmen 3 Demigryph Knights 40 Freeguild Guard with halberds 40 Freeguild Guard with militia weapons 30 Freeguild Guard with swords 30 Greatswords 30 Handgunners 10 Outriders 10 Pistoliers Tengr Aan's Caravan of Wonders - Collegiate Arcane: 1 Battlemage on Griffon 6 Battlemages 1 Celestial Hurricanum with Battlemage 1 Luminark of Hysh with Battlemage Concerned Citizens for a Better Hammerhal - Devoted of Sigmar: 1 War Altar 4 Warrior Priests 2 Witch Hunters 80 Flagellants University of Hammerhal Aqsha Pyrotechnics Club - Ironweld Arsenal: 3 Helblaster Volley Guns 3 Helstorm Rocket Batteries 12 crew for the above 2 Gunmasters 1 Cannon + 2 crew Steam Tank The Steel Panthers - Stormcast Eternals: 1 Lord-Celestant on Dracoth 1 Lord-Arcanum on Gryph-charger 1 Lord-Arcanum on Dracoline 1 Lord-Excorcist 1 Lord-Relictor 2 Lords-Castellant 2 Lords-Ordinator 1 Knight-Heraldor 1 Knight-Venator 1 Knight-Azyros 2 Fulminators 8 Evocators Stormsire's Cursebreakers 20 Sequitors 6 Castigators 1 Celestar Ballista + 2 crew 35 Liberators 10 Judicators 15 Paladins Steelheart's Champions The Farstriders 9 Prosecutors 6 Vanguard-Raptors 6 Aetherwings 8 Gryph-hounds Hammerhal Aqsha Village Green Preservation Society - Sylvaneth: 1 Treelord Ancient 1 Treelord 2 Branchwyches 2 Branchwraiths 32 Dryads 10 Tree-Revenants 3 Kurnoth Hunters 1 Arch-Revenant Ladies in Red - Legions of Nagash Neferata Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon Bloodseeker Palanquin 3 Vampire Lords on nightmares 5 Vampire Lords on foot 20 Zombies 80 Skeletons 20 Dire Wolves 10 Black Knights 20 Blood Knights 2 Necromancers Wight King 10 Grave Guard 3 Vargheists 6 Bat Swarms The Final Curtain - Nighthaunt Lady Olynder Knight of Shrouds on ethereal steed Lord-Executioner Guardian of Souls Spirit Torment 20 Chainrasps 5 Grimghast Reapers 4 Glaivewraith Stalkers 3 Spirit Hosts 2 Tomb Banshees 4 Myrmourn Banshees Thorns of the Briar Queen Da Microfist - Ironjawz: 1 Megaboss Ironskull's Boyz Bounceageddon - Gloomspite Gitz: 2 Aleguzzler Gargants 2 Loonbosses on giant cave squigs 24 Squigs + Squig herders Squig Gobba 20 Squig Hoppers Misc: The Silver Tower boxed set Slaughterpriest Darkoath Warqueen Auric Runemaster 5 Sisters of the Thorn 16 Glade Guard Darkling Coven Sorceress 3 Rat Ogors 3 Packmasters Spiteclaw's Swarm 6 Giant rats 10 Night runners The Godsworn Hunt About 40 old metal ghouls 3 old metal Strigoi (Abhorrent Ghoul Kings) Not included: 40k Drukhari and Craftworld Armies Necromunda Assorted Lord of the Rings stuff I do honestly plan to sell a lot of this. One day.

That's a question only you can answer. No-one can tell you what the new rules are going to be - for all we know an allied Devoted of Sigmar and Wanderers list is going to be game-breaking and dominating tournaments this time next year - but you know whether you like the norse aesthetic of the dwarves, the semi-historical humans with their steampunk quirks, or the high fantasy sharp, clean lines and robes of the elves.

There's no problem combining the kits. If anything it makes the army look like it has more individual soldiers in it, which I enjoy. The oldest ones were made by the Perry twins and have slightly smaller weapons and hands than more modern kits, being more realistic in scale. The middle kits are monopose and possibly the most boring in terms of what a line of them looks like. They have the puffiest clothes of the the three and again stick with the historical aesthetic, though with slightly bigger hands and weapons in line with Warhammer's fantasy scale. The most modern kit is where they tried to move away from history and into the Empire being its own thing, with more expressive faces, extras like relics hanging off their belts, details like bare feet, and really gigantic weapons. Definitely my favourite of the three but I have all of them combined in my army and it really does look just fine.

Sure, if the Greatswords were literally one line and the Handgunners stood very deliberately a little less than 2" behind them, then by charging the Greatswords an enemy would open themselves up to a stand-and-shoot reaction from the Handgunners while still facing off against the Greatswords alone unless they had very good melee weapon range. In those circumstances, however, the Handgunners would lose a +1 to hit bonus for not being within 3" of an enemy. Great companies are where Freeguild troops excel, but (especially if accompanied by a Freeguild General) they're by no means useless as part of a grand alliance army.

No, the Handgunners would only be able to shoot if the charging unit ends up within 3" of them. The only way the two units can interact in that example is if the Handgunners were charged and the Greatswords' musician allowed them to counter-charge D6" at the end of the enemy's charge phase. The stronger ability that the Freeguild allegiance provides is that the Handgunners can shoot at any unit within 3" of any other unit in the great company, not just themselves (other conditions apply, but this might be one of the strongest things about Freeguild as an army, if the positioning is right), or the Greatswords could counter-charge the regular 2D6" in the enemy's charge phase as long as their units are within 3" of another unit in the great company.

Unfortunately not. The Freeguild great companies are an allegiance ability, just the same as Stormcast's ability to teleport on to the board or Legions of Nagash having grave sites. The good news is that the musicians in Freeguild Guard, Crossbowmen, and Handgunners apply a weaker version of the great companies' abilities so you don't completely lose the ability to act out of sequence.

Free People are really good at shooting but have no particular defense against magic or mortal wounds (aside from the numbers to take the hits) or way of causing mortal wounds. For this reason, Collegiate Arcane wizard allies paper over a lot more cracks than either Ironweld Arsenal or Devoted of Sigmar. There's definitely something to be said for Knights-Incantor as allies, but if you like the human aesthetic, then grey or green wizards help the defensive capability of your army. Celestial Hurricanums are mortal wound machines, but cost some serious points.

The wording for the War Altar's The Power of Faith rule is "Devoted of Sigmar units from your army do not need to take battleshock tests if they are within 10" of a War Altar" (emphasis mine). Together with the FAQ being specific that in the context of re-rolls "you can" means "you can choose not to", I think this wording indicates that you can choose whether to take the battleshock test or not. I would argue that the ability is to stop battleshock for Flagellants that are more than 6" away from the enemy, then when they get within 6" you can elect to take the test, even using the battleshock re-roll afforded to Order to maximise your casualties/mortal wounds.

I wish I hadn't been so traditional with my own War Altar, because it being drawn by gryph-hound looks amazing and pulls it straight into Age of Sigmar.

Yeah, I've played the Regiment at 2,000 and 3,000 points, both times against Sylvaneth. The 2k game was on quite a small table and I got hammered, while the 3k game was on a bigger one and ended up going really well for me. I'd say only bother if you're playing 2,500 points plus, because while you can technically fit it into 2,000 points, it's mostly tax at that level. Basically it puts the Free People's existing army synergies and strengths into overdrive, making it so you're very rarely hitting on worse than a 3+ (and even then 3s are way less common than 2s) and surprisingly resistant to Battleshock. On the other hand it does nothing for your weaknesses, with not much rend and no source of mortal wounds, and no defence against same army-wide. This is why it's important to do in bigger games: so you can ally in a battlemage or similar. Any match-up you can see defensive play and volume of fire working well in, the Regiment will do even better. Any match-up you need mobility or magic and you're no better off than you were.

I can't give much advice on tactics with that list, but that's a seriously beautiful army that breaths new life into Free People.