Slackest_Dorf

Thanks mate, yellow was painted as the following: Averland Sunset (base) Yriel Yellow (layer) - Use numerous thin layers to get it smooth. 1:1 mix Lahmian Medium and Agrax Earthsade - Wash. - don't let it pool too much on the flat surfaces. Screaming Skull (Edge Highlight).

Thanks mate, I've updated the link 😉

Greeting fellow free peoples of the cities! I am currently in the process of making spell and ability cards for the seven free cities and related units that make it easier to keep track of the vast number of spells and command abilities available, link is below: https://mtgcardsmith.com/user/brandt050/cards Let me know if there are any issues.

"Leos von Liebwitz was the younger brother of Countess Emmanuelle von Liebwitz of Nuln, who died under mysterious circumstances." "Hans Leitdorf, brother of deceased Marius Leitdorf, was the Grand Master of Knights of Sigmar's Blood. Though he had a claim on the title of Elector Count of Averland, he decided his position in the Order to be of greater importance. Ten years before End Times, Hans Leitdorf along with witch hunter Tibalt Greer had led the Knights of Sigmar's Blood into Sylvania to destroy the Black Dame of Kervheist. Many good knights had died back then. When the End Times finally befell the world, Hans led his knights against the forces of Mannfred von Carstein. The Grand Master single handedly fought his way through a horde of Skeleton Warriors to reach the Vampire Lord, but was ultimately slain in their ensuing duel." The Freeguild General on Foot / Horse is an essential unit for a Freeguild army. Simply this guy makes your weaker units hit harder and more resilient. He is a great platform as he has so many options at his disposal. He's not much to look at, 5 wounds, 5" move, 4+ save and a Bravery of 7. But he get's better once you start loading him out with the panoply of war he has available. He has the same weapon's options as the Freeguild General on Griffon (which I will review in the future). Sigmarite Weapon - 1", 5 attacks, 3+, 4+, -1 rend and 1 damage each. Great Weapon - 1", 3 attacks, 3+, 3+, -2 rend, D3 damage each. Freeguild Lance - 2" range, 3+, 4+, -1 rend, 2 damage each. Pistol - 9" range, 1 attack, 3+, 3+, -1 rend, 1 damage. The most viable options are the Freeguild Lance or the Sigmarite Weapon because they can be taken with Freeguild Shield and the Stately War Banner (see below). Take the Pistol and lose the shield, take the Great Weapon and lose the Freeguild Shield and Stately War Banner. Warhorse - The warhorse increases the Generals movement to 12" and allows the Warhorses' Steel-shod hooves attack - 1" range, 2 attacks, 4+/4+, 1 damage each. Take this, the General costs the same. ABILITIES Stately War Banner - This is an optional upgrade for the Freeguild General that substantially improves the battle-shock immunity of your army. With this the Freeguild General gains TOTEM and all Free Peoples units at 24" test battleshock with two dice and choose the lower. By itselfs it's strong but along with the benefits of the Freeguild unit banners and Defiant Avengers (Order battle trait) At 24" all units roll battle-shock with two dices, re-rolling failures and all 1's are auto-success. Add the Freeguild Regiment Battalion and it's 1's and 2's are auto-successes. TAKE. THIS. EVERY. TIME! Charging Lance - Give this mustachioed gent a Lance and he can add 1 to his damage characteristic on the Freeguild Lance if he charged. Not bad, but not great. Freeguild Shield - Give's him a save of 3+. You can take a shield and banner, so like the banner TAKE. THIS. EVERY. TIME! COMMAND ABILITY Hold the Line! - If a Freeguild General uses this ability, pick up to three Free Peoples units within 15". These units cannot move or charge during your turn, but you can add 1 to all hit and wound rolls for them until your next hero phase. This is an excellent command ability. It supercharges all your units turning Crossbows, Handgunners and Greatswords into absolute monsters. Yes you can't charge or move, but you rarely charge, you want the enemy to charge you to activate those nasty Great Company supports and the feared Stand and Shoot. This will make your enemy think twice about charging you. Get your troops up the table with your General, plant your feet on that objective and unleash unholy volleys of gunfire, crossbow bolts and greatsword blows with +1 hit and +1 wound. The fact you can choose three units at 15" is great as it's not wholly within and you will rarely have your units outside arms length. Long live the Empire death-star! NOTE: If you have Hold the Line! on a Freeguild Guard and/or Freeguild Greatswords unit, you can still counter-charge in the enemy turn and not lose the ability. Positives Cheap - 100 points! Why not take two? Freeguild Shield - 3+ save. Stately War Banner - stacks with Defiant Avengers and the Freeguild Guard, Crossbows/Handgunners and Greatswords banners. Can take a Stately War Banner, Freeguild Shield and one of the weapons options. This guy doesn't skip arm day. 12" move on the Horse. Hold the Line! command ability is amazing, turns your basic b*tches into rabid killers. Negatives Screams "Kill Me!" to your opponent. This guy is a linchpin in your army. General on a Horse sits up high making him a tasty target for sniper/ranged units. 5 wounds. Mediocre in combat, but that isn't where you want him. Hot Takes Use cover! Run all day with this guy, who care's, you don't want him in combat and it doesn't turn off his abilities. Solid core hero and general for your army, load him up with Indomitable command trait (+1 save for Free Peoples units wholly within 12" in the combat phase and if they didn't charge). Battle-shock banner aids in making your army highly resilient to checks. Keep him with your Great Companies, he gets Look Out Sir! and is essential in buffing up your weaker units. Consider taking two for redundancy. Take the General on Foot to hide behind cover. Must have for a Free Peoples army - makes Free Peoples across the a more efficient and resilient force. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAD NEWS: As of writing this the Freeguild General on Foot / Horse no longer exists on the GW webstore. He went last change to buy about a month ago. With the announcement of the Cities of Sigmar Battletome, finger's crossed we see him come back in a new model or repackaged as he is an essential part of the Free Peoples.

It's extra cool because you can make helicopter noises

I just purchased a Hurricanum to build and paint - I really want to take it, but I'm still having nightmares from painting the Luminark of Hysh 🤣 Glad that my rules question could help you out. I thought that it was too cheesy, the ability to use Stand and Shoot and do a Great Company support in your opponents turn, essentially getting to shoot twice with multiple units, but it really isn't that cheesy as Stand and Shoot can only be used once per turn. With your FEC game, misplays especially with positioning really hurts us Free Peoples. Setting up Great Companies incorrectly, sitting outside buff ranges and getting caught out in flanks really really hurts us, we are so squishy.

"The herald of the Stormhosts, an avenging angel clutching a glittering starblade that can carve a swathe through the hardiest of foes, the Knight-Azyros wields another, far more potent weapon. He carries a celestial beacon, a lantern radiating the searing light of the heavens, a light that falls upon the forces of Chaos as a sea of torment far more painful than those twisted agonies the Dark Gods gleefully conceive. Wherever this light shines, so might Sigmar cast his divine bolts more easily - the Knight-Azyros is the tip of the spear, bringing glorious illumination to those places thought lost to infinite corruption" My Knight-Azyros is a little different. The Azyrocopter II was inspired by a game I had at Call to Glory 2019 (Cancon) against a fellow Free Peoples player and creator of the original Azyrocopter, Danny Carroll. Danny had a beautiful Freeguild army and I enjoyed the game so much that I wanted remember it by creating my own Azyrocopter to pay homage. I have also painted up the original model in the colours of the Hallowed Knights (my favourite Stormhost) so as to use in games where my opponent may not appreciate the Azyrocopter as a proxy. The Knight-Azyros This is a pretty solid support hero, 5 wounds (normal), 12" movement and fly (very nice), 3+ save (:O) and 9 Bravery, very solid stats. Not to bad on the attacks front, 1" range, 4 attacks, 3+/3+, -1 rend and 1 damage. Abilities This is where he shines (pun intended). Illuminator of the Lost - You can re-roll hit rolls of 1 for attacks made by friendly units that target enemy units while the enemy is within 10" of this model. This is where the Knight-Azyros is worth his weight in gold at 100 points. He makes all your basic Free Peoples better with the re-roll 1's - Greatswords, Handgunners, your Griffon's and even basic become so much more consistent in their attacks. Buff up some of these troops where they are 2+ hit re-rolling 1's and you get some nasty outcomes. Light of Sigmar - Once per battle, in your hero phase, this model can use it's celestial beacon. If it does so, each enemy unit within 8" of this model suffers D3 mortal wounds. Chaos units with 8" suffer D6 mortal wounds instead. Whilst only once per battle, this is a serious deterrent to enemies getting close to the Azyros, especially Chaos plebs. Keeping the Azyros next to a large unit or a General on Griffon and closing with this winged angel becomes and ominous proposition. Positives Cheap - 100 points! Resilient at a +3 save. Highly maneuverable with a 12" move and flying. Re-roll 1's within 10" of an enemy - ultimate pathfinder for making those Crossbow, Handgunner and Lumianrk of Hysh shots more consistent. D3 / D6 (Chaos) motal wounds for those peeps who get too close. Negatives Screams "Kill Me!" to your opponent. Tricky to maneuver without being put in a position that will lead to it's untimely death. 5 wounds. Easy line of sight on those large wings for shooting/sniping units. Misses out on all the Free Peoples buffs Hot Takes Use cover! He likes holding hands - Keep him with a Freeguild General on a Griffon as a deterrent or close to large units for Look Out Sir! REMEMBER! He has to only be within 10" of the enemy for re-rolling ones on any friendly units that target the enemy he is within 10" of. Run all day with this guy, who care's, you don't want him in combat and it doesn't turn off his abilities. Must have for a Free Peoples army - makes the attacks of all the things more consistent.

"The Mountain Guard are the elite forces of Averland who guard Black Fire Pass. They are the cream of the Averland forces and include regular troops, Halflings, as well as a special unit of trappers and rangers. They are often the first forces to intercept invading armies and as such commonly take high casualties. They are successful at their job of patrolling the pass, although it is difficult to patrol such long piece of road" Do you want an unit full of German William Wallace's? The Freeguild Greatswords are the elite infantry of the Free Peoples, wielding giant Zweihanders into battle, they are staunch defenders of the realms of men and veterans of hundreds of battles. They aren't much to look at on paper, they have basic human stats, 1 wound each, 5" move, a slightly better save than the Freeguild Guard at +4 and a slightly better Bravery at 6. Their attack profile is pretty solid, 2 attacks, 4+ hit, 3+ wound, -1 rend and 1 damage each. Not bad really, it's something to work with in the realms of all the buffs the Free Peoples have access to. The Guild Champion (unit Sergeant) gets 3 attacks instead of 2. The Standard Bearer also makes an appearance in this unit. Whilst their save and Bravery is standard for humans. Rolls of a 1 for battle shock in this unit is an automatic pass. This is important as it stacks with the Order Battle Trait Defiant Avengers (allowing you to re-roll battleshock tests) and the Freeguild General on Horses banner (roll two dice for Freeguild units with 24" of the Freeguild General). In brief, ALWAYS keep these guys within range of the Freeguild General with Banner. The Hornblower - Like the Freeguild Guard this creative gentlemen allows your unit to counter-charge after your opponent has moved all of his charging units so long as no enemy models are within 3" of this unit. The counter-charge is a charge based on a D6. Not great, but you will be surprised by the amount of times you can actually get this off (as it overlaps with the Free Peoples Great Company support ability). Abilities Oathsworn Honour Guard - If a unit of Freeguild Greatswords is within 14" of a Free Peoples Hero from your army when they attack, you can add 1 to all of their hit rolls. Only one ability for these mustachio twirling gents. You will rarely move these guys outside of 14" of a Freeguild General (Foot, Horse or Griffon variant). These guys are bodyguards for your General, this ability merely confirms it. As long as you remain within range of your Freeguild General this will bring your guys to a nice to 3+/3+ on their attacks, pretty tasty. Positives Cheaper with GHB2019 - 300pts for 30 finely dressed, mustachioed pantaloons wearing murderers Consistent weight of attacks with rend; a unit of 30 (assuming you can get them all in) has 61 attacks. Standard Bearer has good synergy with the Defiant Avengers battle trait and the Freeguild General to make a highly battle shock resistant unit. They can be underestimated by your opponent - these guys love to get jacked off all the Free Peoples buffs. Perfect as a bodyguard for your General and as the core of your army. Negatives 4+ save - these guys are the hammer to the Freeguild Guards anvil. Bravery 6 - low, but we have have high battleshock resistance. 5" move - They are very slow, hence susceptible to the next point. Highly vulnerable to ranged attack. Very unwieldy in a 30 man unit. They require significant investment of buffs to be viable. Recommendations DON'T put them in threat range of nasty shooters, these are 1 wound +4 save basic dudes, they will get decimated. Keep them supported by Crossbows and Handgunners and within range of your Indomitable Freeguild General. They are great bodyguards for your Freeguild General who is vulnerable at only 5 wounds. Keep him nearby for the 24" battleshock banner, the Indomitable Command Trait (+1 save wholly with 12") and chuck the Hold the Line! command ability on these guys to make them 2+/2+, 3+ save, battleshock resisting monster men. Don't take them below 10 men, it's simply not worth it. A 20 man unit is a nice medium, they aren't to unwieldy to move around the table and you can get two ranks in on the 25mm bases. Good synergy with the Freeguild General on Griffon's Rousing Battle Cry ability. 1+ hit, +2 bravery and +1 to charge roles makes them significantly better. The Amber Battlemage is good to buff these guys with the Wildform spell. +1 wound in the combat phase, couple this with the Rousing Battle Cry command ability and your Greatswords won't be limited by the movement restriction of the Hold the Line! command ability and will have the same attack profile of 2+/2+. A Grey Battleamge is also good for keeping them alive, cast Mystifying Miasma to make the unit they are fighting -1 to hit. Put them in a Great Company, every unit in the Free Peoples needs SUPPORT! Knight-Azyros re-roll 1's just makes them even crazier.

Thanks Maturin. The movement trays are from Litko, I don't use them for games, just for display. https://litko.net/collections/rank-trays

I've only been shooting once when the above example has appeared in my games, so losing a lot of damage output.

Gday ladies and gents, Just need some clarification on some rules as I may suspect I have been playing them wrong, possibly to my disadvantage. Say I have a Great Company consisting of: 20x Freeguild Guard (Sword+Board) 10x Freeguild Handgunners 30x Freeguild Crossbowmen. I’ve got them arrayed with Guard at the front, Handgunners directly behind the Guard and the Crossbows behind them, they are all wholly with 12” of each other for the Company Support. If the enemy charges my front lines and is within 3” of the Handgunners they Stand and Shoot (as per the Piper rule). As I read that Piper rule this means the Crossbows can also shoot the charging unit because they have a Piper and they are supporting a unit that also has a Piper. Now, in addition to this can I now also shoot with the Crossbows by using the Great Company support to support the Swordsman. So, 60 crossbow and 10 handgun shots that have to go into the charging unit (Piper) and 60 more initiated by the Great Company support for a total of 130 ranged shots in the enemy charge phase. It states that on the Piper and Great Companies rules that they can only be used once per turn, so no issues with activating both. I haven’t been playing the rules this way as I thought it seemed too good. The Piper rule is the crux here, as it doesn’t state that the unit being charged is the only one that fires. Thanks in advance (Free) peeps

Nice one. 40x Halberdiers are a nasty prospect with that mass of attacks at -1 rend, great at pulling down monsters, if only they could get their save to 3+ like the Swordsmen 😪 Greatswords are fun (to play and paint), I've got a unit of 30, hard to get all of them in combat, I'd recommend a unit of 20 for two attacking ranks.

I'm painting another 30x Crossbowmen and 30x Guard, that's enough to trigger painting PTSD for any Freeguild player

I'm thinking that the resin Empire Captain (Freeguild Generals on Foot) are going to go. Secretly though I would love a Freeguild Captain warscroll, a cheap buff character who can be outfitted to buff Freeguild Guard or our ranged units as a compliment to the Freeguild General.

What a great day! Now let's see what Endless Spells, terrain or possible new (or re-boxed) models. Rubs hands in anticipation........................

G'day Brockner! Would love to see some images of your Freeguild project. I'd recommend chucking a Stately War Banner on your General on Foot, all your foot soldiers will melt from battleshock considering all of them except the Greatswords are 5+ saves (die in droves) and have low bravery. For artifacts I would recommend a few for the General on Griffon (GoG): Ethereal Amulet (Shyish)- Ignore positive and negative save buffs. If your GoG has a shield he'll be a 3+ save, this will keep it at that no matter the rend characteristic of the enemies attacks. Gryphfeather Charm (Ghur) - Subtract 1 from hit rolls that target this model. Add 1" to movement. Makes your Griffon harder to shoot and boosts him up to a 16" move. Sword of Judgement (Ulgu) - If your GoG has a Sigmarite Runesword (5 attacks) give him this. for some fun. I like to take this on one of my GoGs because it scares the **** out of enemy heroes/monsters. Give the GoG +1 or +2 to hit and that D6 Mortal wounds will be for each 4+. Pick one of your bearers weapons to be the Sword of Judgment. If the hit roll for an attack with that weapon against a Hero or Monster is a 6+, that attack inflicts D6 mortal wounds and the attack sequence ends (do not make a wound or save roll). Armour of Meteoric Iron (Free Peoples Allegiance) - Flat +1 save to the bearer. Just some suggestions

"The Swords of Ulric, also known as the Sons of Ulric are a Middenland regiment of Templar's and fanatics dedicated and funded by the Ulrican Church of Middenheim. The formidable training of the Swords of Ulric consists not of marches or military drills, but instead on patrols and war parties led out of the city itself and into the hazardous regions of the Drakwald Forest, where they hunt out the tribes of beastmen that have taken residence in the land. Initiates hoping to join this famed regiment must accompany such excursions into the forest; only those that fight with honour (and survive) in the gruesome endeavour shall be admitted into the regiment. It is left to each soldier to equip himself in the blue and white colours of Middenland, but once he becomes a full member, most of the funding for equipment and supplies are administrated by the Temple of Ulric. Since the regiments founding, in the days when Count Mandred Skavenslayer rallied the Empire behind him and became Emperor, the Sons of Ulric have borne yellow shields into battle, a tradition that still hold true today. Also by tradition, each shield must bear a variation of the same device; a red wolf, signifying Ulric embattled. The grim northerners have little room for formal ceremony, but what they lack in parade-ground discipline, they make up for with uncommon savagery and dedication on the battlefield." - Uniforms and Heraldry of the Empire The heart of any Free Peoples army is the humble Freeguild Guard. There is something intrinsically cool about some basic human dude running into battle with little but a sword, shield, floppy hat and scant armor (let alone some without shoes). This is one of the main reasons I love this army, normal humanity fighting against giant daemons, superhuman Chaos tribesmen, ferocious Orcs and the ethereal ranks of the undead. It's all well and good, being a superhuman Stormcast running into battle with god-forged weapons, but when you are Hanz the baker from Middenland with your hand me down panoply of war and facing a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh, things are a little different. Stats are similar to the Crossbowmen I previously covered: 1 wound each, 5+ save (better than the Crossbow 6+), Bravery 5 and a move of 5". Nothing great. All Freeguild Gaurd with Halberds, Spears and Swords can take Shields. The Freeguild Guard have a variety of weapons to take, each with their unique traits: Stats are the same for all Melee weapons: 1" range, 1 attack, 4+ hit, 4+ wound = 1 damage Halberd - Has -1 rend. Spear - Has a 2" range. Sword - Has the parry ability - +1 save in the combat phase. Militia Weapons - get a shooting attack. Ranged - Militia Weapons - 14" range, +5 to hit, +4 wound = 1 damage. For this blog I will be referring to Swordsmen only, as I believe they are the strongest option here. Positives Shields - "You can re-roll save rolls of 1 for a unit equipped with Shields." Parry - "You can add 1 to save rolls for Freeguild Guard equipped with Swords in the combat phase." These two abilities make Swordsmen the best anvil for your Free Peoples army. In combat they are now a 4+ save re-rolling 1's. Add the Freeguild General on Horse with the Indomitable command trait and that is how a 3+ re-rolling 1's. Taking these guys in a 40 man unit with this kind of save is a serious lump of wounds that your enemy has to deal with. Standard Bearer - "Models in this unit may be Standard Bearers. If you roll a 1 when taking a battleshock test for a unit that includes any Standard Bearers none of its models flee. " As with the Crossbowmen, their Bravery of 5 is horrendous. Luckily these guys also have the Standard Bearer allowing for rolls of 1 to be an automatic pass for the unit in Bravery checks. Again i'll re-affirm how important this is as it stacks with the Order Battle Trait Defiant Avengers (allowing you to re-roll battleshock tests) and the Freeguild General on Horses banner (roll two dice for Freeguild units with 24" of the Freeguild General). In brief, ALWAYS keep these guys within range of the Freeguild General with Banner. NOTE: Couple the Parry, Sheilds and Standard Bearer and the +1 bravery for each 10 models in the unit and this makes this unit highly resistant to basic damage and battleshock. Massed Ranks - "Add 1 to hit rolls for Freeguild Guard if their unit contains 20 or more models. Add 2 instead if their unit contains 30 or more models, and add 3 if it contains 40 or more models." This can make the Freeguild Guard very killy against other horde units they will encounter. A 40+ man unit is hitting on 2+ and wounding on +4. Add a Hold the Line! from the Freeguild General on Horse and/or a Wildform spell from an Amber Battlemage and you are looking at 2_+hit, 2+ wound on 40 attacks. Couple this with a Knight-Azyros (Re-rolling 1's to hit) nearby and you have some scary Freeguild Guard just through highly reliable weight of attacks. Negatives No save's against mortal wounds. You'll need a Luminark or Jade Battlemage (with Lifesurge) to help them with this. Lose the +1 save from Parry ability in the shooting phase. Low movement - 5". No rend (unless you take Halberds, but then you lose the Parry). Awkward in large units. Weak combat in small units. Recommendations / Comments Take them in units of 20+ as core battleline for your Great Companies. Protect your shooting units! Use them as an anvil. Whilst the Massed Ranks ability is nice I recommend keeping them alive as much as possible, retreat them from combat when you can to increase survivability and to draw the enemy into ambushes (from your shooting, cavalry or Griffon Generals). 40 wounds with these defensive characteristics is hard to move. 40 dudes is very awkward to move around the table, especially in a Great Company that may include 30+ other models. Practice using large units (that's a rule for any horde army player). You can c**k-block your other units (*cough* Demigryphs) by not manouvering these guys correctly. Remember, they get +1 bravery for each 10 models in the unit when taking battleshock, therefore a unit of 40 is Bravery 9. Always support with a Freeguild General on Horse with a banner. Keep them blobbed if you have an Indomitable general as it states wholly within 12" for this unit to benefit from the +1 save. Use the Knight-Azyros (Re-rolling 1's), the Freeguild General's Hold the Line! ability and the Amber Battlemages Wildform to increase their combat potency Take them in units of 10 for screening units. 80 points is super cheap and they don't lose any significant defensive capabilities from 10 to 40 man units (except the stacking bravery from 20+ models).

"The Sterntower Marksmen are a newly formed regiment out of Steingart. They are garrisoned as part of the line of sentry post and signal towers that guard the low foothills of the eastern Wissenland, under the shadow of the imposing Black Mountains. Always at the ready to launch their signal flares to signify invasions, the watchtowers are essential for border defence. The Marksmen share the Sterntower with several other Imperial regiments - Halberdiers and Spearmen - with whom they have established a front-line camaraderie. Sergeant-at-Arms Hans Schwarzblut is the tower officer, in command of the Sterntower Marksmen and a unit each of Halberdier and Spearmen. He is a veteran of many battles against marauding Orcs and his tight discipline keeps all the troops at high alert. Unwilling to sit and wait, Schwartzblut often orders patrols up into the narrow mountain passes." - Uniforms and Heraldry of the Empire Crossbowmen are one of the strongest units in the Free Peoples arsenal, providing robust mid-range shooting and a nasty surprise for enemies who recklessly charge them or the Great Company they are in. On paper they don't look that fearsome. A 20" range, 4+ to hit and 4+ to wound isn't that great. 1 wound each, low bravery, low movement and a terrible save. Where they shine is in the synergies with their in-built abilities and the rest of the army. Positives Pipers - Stand and Shoot 2.0! If an enemy ends it's charge within 3" of the Crossbowmen they can open up and shoot with their Crossbows at the charging unit. You lose the Reload Fire (below) ability when you stand and shoot (enemy will be within 3"). But what is truly amazing is that if another ranged Free Guild unit is charged you can support them without being in the same Great Company as the rule reads "Once per turn, if an enemy unit ends it's charge move within 3" of a unit that includes any Pipers, they can signal their unit to stand and shoot; each model can then shoot it's Crossbow at the charging unit". Standard Bearer - Whilst their save and Bravery is bad, the Standard Bearer allows rolls of 1 to be an automatic pass for the unit in Bravery checks. This is important as it stacks with the Order Battle Trait Defiant Avengers (allowing you to re-roll battleshock tests) and the Freeguild General on Horses banner (roll two dice for Freeguild units with 24" of the Freeguild General). In brief, ALWAYS keep these guys within range of the Freeguild General with Banner. Abilities Piercing Bolts - Each time a you roll a wound roll of 6 or more for a Crossbow, that attack is resolved with a Rnd of -1 instead of (-). Why is it good? Give your Crossbowmen Hold the Line! (1+ to hit and wound) and that means -1 rend on 5's and 6's. With 60 shots from the Reload Fire ability (below), that can get scary. Reload Fire - Freeguild Crossbowmen can shoot twice if their unit has 20 or more models and there are no enemy models with 3". Why is this good? You can move and still punch out 60 shots (as long as no enemies are within 3"), this means you can support your Swordsmen on the move without any negative effects (unlike the Handgunners). You can also do 60 shots with the Great Company support (again no enemies within 3") in the enemy charge phase even if the enemy hasn't charged (because the enemy just has to be within 3" of the unit being supported). Negatives 6+ save Bravery 5 5" move Get picked off easily by long range units (looking at you SC Vanguard). Recommendations Keep them 3.5" from the front line of your Freeguild Guard (so as to not jeopardise the Great Company support and your 60 shots). Keep them within range of the Freeguild General (for the banner and Idomitable (Command Trait)). Keep themwithin range of the Luminarks 10", 6+ ward save (if you have one). Use Hold the Line! (+1 to hit, +1 wound) from the Freeguild General to give them 3+, 3+ (though they can't move) Make them insane by getting two command points, giving them Hold the Line! and Rousing Battlecry command abilities (+1 hit) from the General on Horse and General on Griffon and then have an Azyros in range of their target (within 10" targetting unit get's re-roll 1's). Bathe in the sheer ****** of 2+ to hit (re-rolling 1's) and 3+ to wound on 60 shots. Use them to support your Freeguild Guard. These are your damage dealers, they are essentially ranged Greatswords.

Welcome to the first entry for my Free Peoples blog. I have been working on this army since 2015. It's been a passion project of mine since first seeing the Empire army in the 8th Edition army book. I had always wanted to start an Empire army but never though I had the painting skills to do them justice. In 2015 my best friend James was painting up his Bretonnian army. We reconnected (we had deployed together in the military and became good friends) after a couple of years and we got talking about Warhammer again. I had picked up the 8th Edition Empire book whilst we were deployed. I read the whole thing front to back, immersing myself in the awesome lore. After speaking to James I picked up the Empire Battalion Box and started my journey. Unfortunately I was deployed again in mid 2015 to early 2016, missing out of the transition to Age of Sigmar. When I came back the Empire was still alive in the form of the warscrolls and was not yet referred to as the Free Peoples faction (except in the keywords on the Empire Warscrolls). I spent most of this time hobbying, including re-basing the few miniatures I had completed prior to deploying (a single unit of twenty Averland halberdiers). Over the next 3 years I built up my army to what it is today. I vowed not to play the army at an event until I had 2000 points of playable Free Peoples painted. Below is the photos of my army at Cancon 2019, the first time I had taken the fully painted army to an event. The point of this blog will be to keep track of my hobby and gaming progress with this army that I love so much. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the content.

Thanks Duck, glad you like the list. The good thing about the Handgunners is that they are effective as sniper teams and flank protectors in units of 10, with the Long Rifles (3x in that list) you can snipe characters at 30" ( and combine this with the Cannon @ 32" range shooting, that could be nasty). With the Greatswords you have to get them into combat with their very low movement (5"), at least with the Handgunners they are cheaper, can shoot out to 16" and have a 30" sniper champion. As for the unit of 30x Handgunners, they suffer from moving which is huge as they are mid-range shooters, this makes them susceptible to long-range shooting. Hiding a 30x man unit is hard, but hiding a 10 or 20 man unit in scenery is easier. Also if you split the units you get more 30" long rifles. You'll be surprised by the damage output a unit of 10 Handgunners can do with Hold The Line! and not having moved. The Great Companies are built to exploit the potency of our shooting, hence the 30x Crossbows and 20x Handgunners split into two different Great Companies, as they can be activated separately. Also remember that with the supporting Great Company fire you don't have to target the enemy charging the Great Company, so you can split that fire to other threats. Hope this helps mate ")

Hey Duck, With what you have provided and using my experience of playing the Free Peeps in quite a few 2000 point games at tournaments, I think you enjoy the list below. It's not going to blow anyone's socks off but it is well rounded and has a good set of tools for armies you'll be encountering on the battlefield. So what are point of interest? Ethereal Amulet - Ignores modifiers, both positive and negative. This will keep the General on Griffon at a flat 3+ save ignoring rend (and also your Indomitable). This will allow him to go out and about. You can also still cat Mystic Shield on him making him 3+ re-rolling 1's. Jade Battlemage - Can cast one spell and dispel one. The spell Lifesurge is amazing - Casts on a 5, pick a unit within 18" and heals D3 wounds, also has a 6+ ward save (wounds and mortals) until your next turn. Two Great Companies - Splits your shooting into two companies creating two problems for your enemy to deal with. It's also good as you can use one company to defend a flank whilst the other pushes forward on the attack. Make sure to keep your General with Banner in the middle for the 24" battleshock shenanigans. Outrider - Good objective grabbers and scouting. Can be made better with the Rousing Battlecry and Hold the Line! abilities. These guys can also support the Griffon General. Cannon - Free Peoples have a lot of mid-range shooting. The Cannon gives you the ability to reach out and touch people (not in a good way :D). I'd prefer the Luminark for it's laser beam and buffs but we make do. Extra Command Point: 1 extra command point, this comes in handy with activating the General on Horse and the General on Griffons command abilities in one turn, turning your Crossbows, Handgunners, Outriders or Griffon into damage beasts!. Would love to know what you think Duck. I'm excited to hear how you go with the Free Peeps Allegiance: Free Peoples - Mortal Realm: Shyish LEADERS Freeguild General on Griffon (280) - Shield & Greathammer - Artefact : Ethereal Amulet Freeguild General (100) - General - Stately War Banner - Warhorse Battlemage (110) - Specialisation : Jade - Allies Knight-Incantor (140) - Allies UNITS 20 x Freeguild Guard (160) (GC1) - Swords and Shields 30 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (300) (GC1) 10 x Freeguild Handgunners (100) (GC1) 20 x Freeguild Guard (160) (GC2) - Swords and Shields 20 x Freeguild Handgunners (200) (GC2) 10 x Freeguild Handgunners (100) (GC2) 5 x Freeguild Outriders (120) WAR MACHINES Cannon (140) - Allies TOTAL: 1960/2000 EXTRA COMMAND POINTS: 1 WOUNDS: 152 LEADERS: 4/6 BATTLELINES: 6 (3+) BEHEMOTHS: 1/4 ARTILLERY: 1/4 ARTEFACTS: 1/1 ALLIES: 390/400

For solid Allies I recommend: The Luminark of Hysh - All Order units within 10" get a 6+ ward save against wounds and mortals. 30" laser beam that can one shot 5 wound characters (re-roll 1's if that Azyros is near the target). Has a Battlemage on it. +1 to Unbind for Wizards nearby. Cheap. Knight-Azyros - Can keep up with your Griffon General / Horse Generals. Re-roll hit rolls of 1's for friendly units that target an enemy unit within 10" of the Azyros. Once a battle Lantern that does D3 mortals to each unit with 8", D6 for Chaos plebs. Battlemage - Grey, Jade or Amber variants. -1 hit spell (Grey) , healing / +6 ward save spell (Jade) and +1 wound for friendly unit (in melee) spell.