SBOT 2 Metagame Part 2 - Forces of Fantasy
SBOT 2 Metagame Part 1 - Overview
SBOT 2 Metagame Part 2 - Forces of Fantasy
SBOT 2 Metagame Part 3 - Ravaging Hordes
SBOT 2 Metagame Part 4 - Legacy Armies
In part 2 of this metagame review I’ll be looking at the army lists from Forces of Fantasy. I’m going to talk about some general trends for the faction, then cover a list or two that I find interesting. I’m not trying to cover the best lists, nor am I trying to predict winners, just highlight some interesting choices.
Kingdom of Bretonnia (15 Lists)
Brets are the second most popular faction at this event and people have overwhelmingly gone for Bretonnian Exiles.
Bretonnian Exiles (10 Lists)
9 of the exiles lists took a Outcast Wizard, the other took 3. Only 5 lists took the Green Knight, a surprise to me. 8 of the lists took 2 Bombards, the others skipped it. The lists average spending 856 points on characters, and at 65 Peg Knights we have 6.5 per list; most lists had 2 units, one had 3, and a few had one. One lists omits Banner of the Zealous Knight which is surprising as it’s one of the biggest reasons to go Exiles. Likewise 3 lists omit the Falcon-horn of Fredemund, one of the best magic items in the game.
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++ Main Force ++ [2000pts]
Characters [718pts]
Baron [212pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, General, Royal Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), The Exile's Vow, Heartwood Lance
Outcast Wizard [142pts]: Hand Weapon, Warhorse (Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 3, Daemonology, Prayer Icon of Quenelles
Outcast Wizard [162pts]: Hand Weapon, Warhorse (Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 3, Daemonology, Wand of Jet
Paladin [80pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Battle Standard Bearer, Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), The Exile's Vow, Lance
Paladin [122pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, Barded Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), The Exile's Vow, Frontier Axe
Core [524pts]Mounted Knights of the Realm [165pts]: The Exile's Vow
• 6x Mounted Knight of the Realm [24pts]: Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [7pts]
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Mounted Knights of the Realm [165pts]: The Exile's Vow
• 6x Mounted Knight of the Realm [24pts]: Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [7pts]
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Mounted Knights of the Realm [144pts]: The Exile's Vow
• 6x Mounted Knight of the Realm [24pts]: Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
Peasant Bowmen [50pts]:
• 10x Peasant Bowman [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Longbow
Special [558pts]
Pegasus Knights [186pts]: The Exile's Vow
• 3x Pegasus Knight [55pts]: Barded Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [7pts]
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Pegasus Knights [186pts]: The Exile's Vow
• 3x Pegasus Knight [55pts]: Barded Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [7pts]
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Pegasus Knights [186pts]: The Exile's Vow
• 3x Pegasus Knight [55pts]: Barded Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [7pts]
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Rare [200pts]Border Princes Bombard [100pts]: Bombard Crew (Hand Weapon, Light Armour)
• 1x Bombard [100pts]: Bombard
Border Princes Bombard [100pts]: Bombard Crew (Hand Weapon, Light Armour)
• 1x Bombard [100pts]: Bombard
I can’t not talk about this list. This is the first time I’ve seen three Outcast Wizards and well, I’m not sure how it plays. I suspect that they want to get a bunch of magic missiles, the list does have Bombards. However it doesn’t take Ruby Ring. I’m also worried that when rolling for spells on Daemonology you’ll have a real hard time using some of these on your on-foot wizards.
The list also has 3 units of Yeoman Guard, presumably at least some of these will be used as bunkers. Yeoman Guard are very good, but I don’t think these medium sized units will be able to do much in combat nor hold out very long. The other head scratcher is that the BSB is on foot. I assume he goes into the largest Yeoman unit getting it +2 static res but I’m not impressed, the unit is still very venerable to shooting. I’d like it more if one Yeoman unit was dropped to beef up the main one.
Outside of those choices it’s a pretty typical list. The single character Pegasus Knights unit will be less killy than most, and it’s also 7 models, before the Baron joins, that starts to be pretty hard to maneuver. I think it’s a pretty interesting take on Exiles but I’m not sure if it it will perform well.
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++ Main Force ++ [1997pts]
Named Characters [275pts]
The Green Knight [275pts]: The Shadow Steed (Barding, Hand Weapon), Heavy Armour, Shield, The Dolorous Blade
Characters [586pts]
Baron [305pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, General, Royal Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), The Exile's Vow, Virtue of Knightly Temper, Frontier Axe, Gromil Great Helm, Charmed Shield
Outcast Wizard [130pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 3, Battle Magic, Prayer Icon of Quenelles
Paladin [151pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, Battle Standard Bearer, Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), The Exile's Vow, Virtue of Purity, Morning Star, Falcon-horn of Fredemund
Core [515pts]
Mounted Knights of the Realm [165pts]: The Exile's Vow
• 6x Mounted Knight of the Realm [24pts]: Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [7pts]
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Peasant Bowmen [50pts]: Skirmishers
• 10x Peasant Bowman [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Longbow
Peasant Bowmen [50pts]: Skirmishers
• 10x Peasant Bowman [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Longbow
Yeomen Guard [250pts]:
• 35x Yeoman Guard [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Shield, Thrusting Spear
• 1x Warden [6pts]
• 1x Grail Monk [32pts]: Blessed Triptych
• 1x Standard Bearer [31pts]: War Banner
• 1x Musician [6pts]
Special [321pts]
Pegasus Knights [321pts]: The Exile's Vow
• 5x Pegasus Knight [55pts]: Barded Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [32pts]: Banner Of The Zealous Knight
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Rare [300pts]
Border Princes Bombard [100pts]: Bombard Crew (Hand Weapon, Light Armour)
• 1x Bombard [100pts]: Bombard
Border Princes Bombard [100pts]: Bombard Crew (Hand Weapon, Light Armour)
• 1x Bombard [100pts]: Bombard
Field Trebuchet [100pts]: Peasant Crew (Hand Weapon), Field Trebuchet
Here I’m including what may be my favorite Exiles list. This list is pretty focused on what it wants to do, and the builder has picked the right stuff. We’ve taken Falcon Horn and the Banner of the Zealous Knight of course. Two characters will join the Peg Knights while the Green Knight will do Green Knight things, and an outcast wizard to join or hide behind the core infantry. What I really like is that core. A single unit of 6 Knights of the Realm has been taken, and honestly, I could lose these. Knights of the Realm are not terrible core, but they’re generally the worst unit in any competitive Bret list. I find it pretty easy to pick up their not insubstantial points, at 24 points per wound anything that can lower their armor save will easily take the unit down. To make up half of their core we’ve got a unit of 35 Yeoman Guard, these are a pretty great infantry unit and their combination of rules and the size of this unit means it will be quite hard for your opponent to shift them or pick up these 250 points.
I think this is just a great list, the one inclusion I question is the Trebuchet, I’m not really sure what the purpose is and feel like the points could be better used elsewhere.
Grand Army (5 Lists)
With 5 lists it’s safe to say Exiles have supplanted this as the go-to Bretonnian army for tournaments. These lists look broadly similar to the Exiles ones. We have 913 points of characters on average, only 2 Green Knights, only 2 Falcon-horns. However here we actually see the Pegs-Per-List (PPL) go up to 7.2. All 5 lists take a Prophetess, one of the reasons to stick with Grand Army over Exiles.
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++ Main Force ++ [1997pts]
Named Characters [275pts]
The Green Knight [275pts]: The Shadow Steed (Barding, Hand Weapon), Heavy Armour, Shield, The Dolorous Blade
Characters [723pts]
Duke [371pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, General, Royal Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), Virtue of Heroism, Lance, Gromil Great Helm, Gauntlet of the Duel, Sirienne's Locket
Paladin [146pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, Battle Standard Bearer, Royal Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), The Knight's Vow, Virtue Confidence, Lance, Gauntlet of the Duel
Prophetess [206pts]: Hand Weapon, Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 4, Battle Magic, Prayer Icon of Quenelles
Core [517pts]
Mounted Knights of the Realm [213pts]: The Knight's Vow
• 8x Mounted Knight of the Realm [24pts]: Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [7pts]
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Mounted Knights of the Realm [127pts]: The Knight's Vow
• 5x Mounted Knight of the Realm [24pts]: Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
Mounted Knights of the Realm [127pts]: The Knight's Vow
• 5x Mounted Knight of the Realm [24pts]: Bretonnian Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
Peasant Bowmen [50pts]: Skirmishers
• 10x Peasant Bowman [5pts]: Hand Weapon, Longbow
Special [482pts]Pegasus Knights [241pts]: The Knight's Vow
• 4x Pegasus Knight [55pts]: Barded Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [7pts]
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Pegasus Knights [241pts]: The Knight's Vow
• 4x Pegasus Knight [55pts]: Barded Pegasus (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield
• 1x First Knight [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [7pts]
• 1x Musician [7pts]
I don’t have a ton to say about this list. It’s very run of the mill. It takes Green Knight, which I like, but it skips Falcon-horn, which I do not. The Prophetess is on a warhorse here, I suspect she’ll use one of the Knights of the Realm units as a bunker, and Battle Magic is a good lore and Prayer Icon of Quenelles is very good, and I think worth the nod over a Lore Familiar. Core really loads up on Knights of the Realm which I don’t love, but is fine. Then we have 8 Pegasus Knights. Having two units will be nice for deployment, picking which unit your characters go in, and unlike in Exiles you don’t have to worry about which is carrying a banner.
Wood Elves (11 Lists)
I was not expecting this many wood elves, but as I said in the previous article the fact that the first SBOT was won by them has to play a factor. Looking across the lists some high level things of note:
5 Dragons
11 level 4s (one list with 2, one skipping it)
23 Deepwood Scouts units (19 in core, 4 in special)
17 Glade Guard units
25 Sisters of the Thorn units
11 Wild Rider units
13/17 casters taking Battle Magic
Looking at this it becomes clear that most Wood Elf lists will start with a level 4, 2 units of Deepwood Scouts in core, and 2-3 units of Sisters of the Thorn. Which all makes sense, those are all very good things. I’m a little surprised there are not a couple more dragons, Wood Elves are a very squishy list but have a very survivable dragon, I feel like having one gives you a lot more wiggle room on your play, though I think the dragon-less builds are probably a bit stronger if played perfectly.
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++ Main Force ++ [1998pts]
Characters [973pts]
Glade Lord [550pts]: Asrai Longbow, Hand Weapon, Light Armour, General, Forest Dragon (Full Plate Armour, Serrated Maw, Soporific Breath, Wicked Claws), Ogre Blade, Talisman Of Protection, An Annoyance of Netlings, A Befuddlement of Mischiefs
Spellsinger [154pts]: Hand Weapon, Elven Steed (Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 2, Battle Magic, Lore Familiar
Spellweaver [269pts]: Hand Weapon, Elven Steed (Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 4, Battle Magic, Oaken Stave, Ruby Ring of Ruin
Core [503pts]
Deepwood Scouts [180pts]:
• 12x Deepwood Scout [15pts]: Asrai Longbow, Hand Weapon, Hagbane Tips
Deepwood Scouts [120pts]:
• 8x Deepwood Scout [15pts]: Asrai Longbow, Hand Weapon, Hagbane Tips
Glade Guard [65pts]:
• 5x Glade Guard [13pts]: Asrai Longbow, Hand Weapon, Hagbane Tips
Glade Riders [138pts]: Ambushers, Reserve Move
• 6x Glade Rider [20pts]: Elven Steed (Hand Weapon), Asrai Longbow, Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon, Hagbane Tips
Special [522pts]
Deepwood Scouts [120pts]:
• 8x Deepwood Scout [15pts]: Asrai Longbow, Hand Weapon, Hagbane Tips
Sisters Of The Thorn [134pts]:
• 5x Sister Of The Thorn [24pts]: Blackbriar Javelines, Hand Weapon, Steeds of Isha (Hand Weapon)
• 1x Handmaiden of the Thorn [8pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
Sisters Of The Thorn [134pts]:
• 5x Sister Of The Thorn [24pts]: Blackbriar Javelines, Hand Weapon, Steeds of Isha (Hand Weapon)
• 1x Handmaiden of the Thorn [8pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
Sisters Of The Thorn [134pts]:
• 5x Sister Of The Thorn [24pts]: Blackbriar Javelines, Hand Weapon, Steeds of Isha (Hand Weapon)
• 1x Handmaiden of the Thorn [8pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
Sorry to this player, your name isn’t listed in your army list and I’m not going to find it.
But I think this is a great list and probably how I’d build Wood Elves. In characters we have a pretty typical dragon build for Wood Elves, it really wants to challenge other dragons where it’s likely hitting on 3s and being hit on 5s. Then two wizards are taken, the level 2 having Lore Familiar to ensure Pillar of Fire and likely take Arcane Urgency for the other. I like this as it lets you roll on the level 4 and gives you the best chance of doubling up on your best spells.
In core we’ve got 20 Deepwood Scouts then a smattering of Glade Guard and Riders, and I think that’s a fine mix, I’d probably max out on Glade Guard rather than taking the Riders but I don’t think it’s very important. Then in special we have a third unit of Deepwood Scourts and three units of Sisters of the Thorn.
I like this list so much because it very much knows what it wants to do. Run away and cast spells. It’s very much focused on that and skips out on units like Wild Riders that don’t really gel with that. The Forest Dragon is the one bit that stands out, but with its speed and durability it can get where it needs to go to support the rest of the list.
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++ Main Force ++ [2000pts]
Characters [650pts]
Treemen Ancients [325pts]:
• 1x Treemen Ancient [325pts]: Full Plate Armour, Oaken Fists, Strangleroots, General, Wizard Level 4, Battle Magic
Treemen Ancients [325pts]:
• 1x Treemen Ancient [325pts]: Full Plate Armour, Oaken Fists, Strangleroots, Wizard Level 4, Battle Magic
Core [632pts]
Glade Guard [140pts]: Vanguard
• 10x Glade Guard [13pts]: Asrai Longbow, Hand Weapon, Arcane Bodkins
Glade Guard [140pts]: Vanguard
• 10x Glade Guard [13pts]: Asrai Longbow, Hand Weapon, Arcane Bodkins
Glade Guard [130pts]:
• 10x Glade Guard [13pts]: Asrai Longbow, Hand Weapon, Arcane Bodkins
Glade Riders [111pts]: Reserve Move
• 5x Glade Rider [20pts]: Elven Steed (Hand Weapon), Asrai Longbow, Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon, Arcane Bodkins
• 1x Glade Knight [6pts]
Glade Riders [111pts]: Reserve Move
• 5x Glade Rider [20pts]: Elven Steed (Hand Weapon), Asrai Longbow, Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon, Arcane Bodkins
• 1x Glade Knight [6pts]
Special [598pts]
Sisters Of The Thorn [134pts]:
• 5x Sister Of The Thorn [24pts]: Blackbriar Javelines, Hand Weapon, Steeds of Isha
• 1x Handmaiden of the Thorn [8pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
Sisters Of The Thorn [134pts]:
• 5x Sister Of The Thorn [24pts]: Blackbriar Javelines, Hand Weapon, Steeds of Isha
• 1x Handmaiden of the Thorn [8pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
Sisters Of The Thorn [134pts]:
• 5x Sister Of The Thorn [24pts]: Blackbriar Javelines, Hand Weapon, Steeds of Isha
• 1x Handmaiden of the Thorn [8pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
Wild Riders [196pts]:
• 5x Wild Rider [27pts]: Hand Weapon, Hunting Spear, Light Armour, Steeds of Kornous
• 1x Wild Hunter [7pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [47pts]: Banner of the Wildwood
• 1x Musician [7pts]
Rare [120pts]
Great Eagles [60pts]:
• 1x Great Eagle [60pts]:
Great Eagles [60pts]:
• 1x Great Eagle [60pts]
Like the triple Outcast Wizard list above I’m a sucker for a casting list. Like the Wood Elf list above, this player didn’t include their name in their army list.
This list is a lot less focused than the last list, it does take double level 4 treemen which are pretty cool. With Battle Magic they’re probably looking for the expected Wood Elf spells, but if the enemy gets close they can defend themselves. I am a little worried about that however, sure they can fight off small units, but what happens when a dragon charges your 325 treeman?
In core they’ve skipped Deepwood Scouts, I think this is a mistake, but with double treeman this list is less able to run away and more has to castle up. In special we have triple Sisters again and a unit of Wild Riders. The riders are interesting in this list in particular. As your opponent will probably be gunning for your treemen you can use the riders as a reaction force, or it’s possible they’ll flank with the pair of Giant Eagles.
I don’t think this is the most competitive way to build wood elves, but it looks fun.
Empire of Man (8 Lists)
Empire representation in SBOT2 is very middle of the pack, about what I’d expect for a popular faction that has limited competitive list building options. Empire lists took a lot of level 4s, 12 of them in these 8 armies. And that’s in large part thanks to 2 lists packing 3 of them. But that’s not all Empire spammed, we have 17 Engineers, 17 Great Cannons, 12 Helblaster Volley Guns, and 21 Empire Archer units. Now on the other hand I’m very surprised to see only 1 Imperial Griffon, 2 units of Demigryph Knights, and 4 Steam Tanks. With only one unit of 5 Flagellants across all 8 lists I do expect empire to really struggle into dragons.
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++ Main Force ++ [2000pts]
Characters [885pts]
Captain of the Empire [70pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Dragon Bow
Engineer [75pts]:
• 1x Empire Engineer [75pts]: Hand Weapon, Ruby Ring of Ruin
Engineer [55pts]:
• 1x Empire Engineer [55pts]: Hand Weapon, Grenade Launching Blunderbuss
Engineer [55pts]:
• 1x Empire Engineer [55pts]: Hand Weapon, Grenade Launching Blunderbuss
General of the Empire [380pts]: Hand Weapon, General, Imperial Griffon (Heavy Armour, Serrated Maw, Wicked Claws, Two Heads), Great Weapon, Full Plate Armour, Potion of Toughness, Healing Potion, The Silver Horn, The White Cloak
Wizard Lord [250pts]: Hand Weapon, Wizard Level 4, Illusion, 3x Power Scroll, Lore Familiar
Core [500pts]Empire Archers [54pts]:
• 6x Archer [9pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Fire & Flee, Scouts
Empire Archers [54pts]:
• 6x Archer [9pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Fire & Flee, Scouts
Empire Archers [80pts]:
• 10x Archer [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Fire & Flee
Empire Knights [156pts]: Drilled
• 6x Empire Knight [22pts]: Barded Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, Lance
• 1x Preceptor [6pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
• 1x Musician [6pts]
Empire Knights [156pts]: Drilled
• 6x Empire Knight [22pts]: Barded Warhorse (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, Lance
• 1x Preceptor [6pts]
• 1x Standard Bearer [6pts]
• 1x Musician [6pts]
Special [375pts]Great Cannon [125pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Great Cannon
Great Cannon [125pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Great Cannon
Great Cannon [125pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Great Cannon
Rare [240pts]Helblaster Volley Gun [120pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Helblaster Volley Gun
Helblaster Volley Gun [120pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Helblaster Volley Gun
There are a few things I want to talk about with this list. First up is the Wizard loadout, with 3x Power Scrolls you can see something of a trend at this event. 24 lists took Power Scrolls and this was not the only one taking 3. I’ve not played with Power Scroll but with how powerful magic is in this edition it’s probably an item that should be on an upswing. As an interesting thing to note, only 2 Dispel Scrolls were taken. If Power Scroll is good enough to have over almost 40 in the event, we probably should be seeing more Dispel Scrolls.
Anyway, back to the list at hand - Power Scroll was taken here an Illusion caster to try and protect the list from charges because oh boy will people want to charge it. The two units of Empire Knights and the General on a Imperial Griffon are the only models in the list that can’t shoot. Triple Engineer will offer lots of rerolls to the 5 war machines, and this is really just a classic gun line list, can it kill you before you charge it? The general gives it a little bit of an ability to fight back, but really it needs to blast you off the table.
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++ Main Force ++ [2000pts]
Characters [729pts]
Engineer [55pts]:
• 1x Empire Engineer [55pts]: Hand Weapon, Grenade Launching Blunderbuss
Engineer [55pts]:
• 1x Empire Engineer [55pts]: Hand Weapon, Grenade Launching Blunderbuss
Engineer [55pts]:
• 1x Empire Engineer [55pts]: Hand Weapon, Grenade Launching Blunderbuss
Wizard Lord [220pts]: Hand Weapon, Pegasus (Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 4, Battle Magic, Ruby Ring of Ruin
Wizard Lord [172pts]: Hand Weapon, Empire Warhorse (Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 4, Battle Magic
Wizard Lord [172pts]: Hand Weapon, General, Empire Warhorse (Hand Weapon), Wizard Level 4, Battle Magic
Core [506pts]
Empire Archers [40pts]:
• 5x Archer [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Scouts
Empire Archers [40pts]:
• 5x Archer [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Scouts
Empire Archers [40pts]:
• 5x Archer [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Scouts
Empire Archers [40pts]:
• 5x Archer [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Scouts
Empire Archers [40pts]:
• 5x Archer [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Scouts
Empire Archers [40pts]:
• 5x Archer [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Warbow, Scouts
State Missile Troops [133pts]:
• 16x State Missile Trooper [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Crossbow
• 1x Musician [5pts]
State Missile Troops [133pts]:
• 16x State Missile Trooper [8pts]: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Crossbow
• 1x Musician [5pts]
Special [375pts]
Great Cannon [125pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Great Cannon
Great Cannon [125pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Great Cannon
Great Cannon [125pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Great Cannon
## Rare [240pts]
Helblaster Volley Gun [120pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Helblaster Volley Gun
Helblaster Volley Gun [120pts]: Gun Crew (Hand Weapon), Helblaster Volley Gun
Mercenaries [150pts]
Doomseeker [50pts]: Hand Weapon
Doomseeker [50pts]: Hand Weapon
Doomseeker [50pts]: Hand Weapon
I promise I won’t highlight every list with a ton of casters, but I really wanted to pick this one. And two players must have worked on it together because there is a second list that is extremely similar. So, what do we have here. Well first off we have our three level 4 wizards, all taking battle magic, all with mounts but no units they can join or hit behind. That’s very interesting and means he’s relying on hiding his wizards out of LoS from the enemy, I get pretty nervous about this as all it takes is a good ranged unit on a hill, or a wizard on a dragon and your level 4s need to hide behind terrain. But they do give him a lot of firepower. Then core is a mix of Empire Archers and state Missile Troops, no melee combat here. Then we have the same 5 war machines as the last list. But the really cute thing here is the list has spent 150 points on melee models, a trio of mercenary Doomseekers. Empire melee options kind of suck so I like seeing the Doomseekers come in here. They’ll likely not do anything but in dying their points are denied.
So yeah, these two lists kinda sum up how I feel about Empire, it’s just like a gun line. Which is a bummer, I really hope the Arcane Journal gives them some more interesting playstyles.
Dwarfen Mountain Holds (8 Lists)
Like Empire above I think Dwarves are a very popular faction, but one with some playstyle limitations that will keep their presence down. What they do have here is a very good spread across their army lists with 3 Grand Army and Expeditionary Force, and 2 Royal Holds. So with that I’m expecting Dwarf lists to be the most diverse ones we’ve looked at so far. I’m going to lump all the armies together rather than looking at each type separately because I see a lot of overlap here and we only have a few examples for each. Some of the units I’m including on the charge below I’m including because I’m surprised there were not more.
Key Units:
26 Gyrocopters (heavily influenced by one list taking 10)
9 Doomseekers (3 lists taking 3)
9 Grudge Throwers
9 units of Irondrakes
3 Anvil of Doom
3 Dwarf Carts
If those numbers seem low, it’s because they are. These dwarf players have taken a lot of different things and it’s hard to draw a through-line on what’s good or what they like. There are a lot more things like Thunderers than I expected, and I don’t see a lot of big points denial units. I’d be happy to be proven wrong but I just don’t expect these dwarf lists to run the tables at SBOT2.
I do want to note two trends I see. First, a lot of the melee infantry units are quite small, 8-12 models. In my experience these units will often very quickly be shot off the board or charged by a big bad and struggle to get any points back. Also interesting, a number of these lists have ranged units of 16-20 models that don’t have skirmisher or volley fire. I’m not sure if the game plan for these is to linehammer them, but they seem hard to make work.
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++ Main Force ++ [2000pts]
Characters [527pts]Daemon Slayer [294pts]: Hand Weapon, Great Weapon, Master Rune of Swiftness, 2x Rune of Fury, Rune of the Furnace, Rune of the Hateful, Rune of the Dishonoured
Dwarf Engineer Sappers [70pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, General
Thane [163pts]: Full Plate Armour, Hand Weapon, Battle Standard Bearer, Handgun, Shield, Master Rune of Bursting Flame, Rune of Rapid Fire, Rune of Accuracy
Core [503pts]
Dwarf Cart [65pts]: Dwarf Crew (Hand Weapon), Draft Pony (Hand Weapon), Bugman's Cart
Rangers [102pts]:
• 8x Ranger [12pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, Crossbow
• 1x Ol Deadeye [6pts]
Rangers [96pts]:
• 8x Ranger [12pts]: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Shield, Crossbow
Scout Gyrocopters [120pts]:
• 2x Scout Gyrocopter [60pts]: Hand Weapon, Clattergun, Heavy Armour
Scout Gyrocopters [120pts]:
• 2x Scout Gyrocopter [60pts]: Hand Weapon, Clattergun, Heavy Armour
Special [745pts]
Cannon [115pts]: Cannon, Dwarf Crew (Hand Weapon, Light Armour), Function Over Form, Rune of Forging
Cannon [120pts]: Cannon, Dwarf Crew (Hand Weapon, Light Armour), Function Over Form, Rune of Reloading, Rune of Forging
Cannon [120pts]: Cannon, Dwarf Crew (Hand Weapon, Light Armour), Function Over Form, Stalwart Rune, Rune of Forging
Gyrocopters [195pts]:
• 3x Gyrocopter [65pts]: Full Plate Armour, Hand Weapon, Brimstone Gun
Gyrocopters [195pts]:
• 3x Gyrocopter [65pts]: Full Plate Armour, Hand Weapon, Brimstone Gun
Mercenaries [225pts]
Doomseeker [125pts]: Hand Weapon, Master Rune of Alaric the Mad, Rune of the Hateful
Doomseeker [50pts]: Hand Weapon
Doomseeker [50pts]: Hand Weapon
I have to talk about the 10 Gyrocopter list. SBOT2 has a rule of 6/3 in place, so this can’t be 10 solo copters. But even still this list doesn’t take the full number of units of them. We have pairs of Scout Gyrocopters and trios of the standard ones. I think it’s worth keeping in mind these can be fairly tough units with T5 and 3W per model. Scouts only have a 5+ but regular Gyrocopters have a 4+. I don’t love the dwarf cannon and here we have 3, but I think if you want to make it work you do need a lot of them. taking 7 wounds off a dragon is very different from dealing 9.
We also have three Doomseekers, one tooled up a bit. I think Doomseekers are probably less good/less of a problem than people think, you really need them to kill stuff to make it worth the points invested, but I think they’re still pretty solid and just a bit annoying to deal with. I’m not sure if the 75 points of runes is worth it.
The characters are interesting, the Daemon Slayer is extremely killy but you need to be able to deliver him to a target which can be tricky. Then the Thane BSB I’m not sure where he goes. Rangers are Heavy Infantry so he can join them, but why?
High Elves (5 Lists)
Rounding out the Forces of Fantasy are High Elves. A very popular army in 8th I’m coming off a 29 person event with 3 High Elf lists so I’m surprised to only see 5 here. At 959 character points per list I don’t think any other army will touch the high elves when it comes to herohammer. That core slot comes in with 4 Star Dragons, a Sun Dragon, and 3 Griffons. There are no double-dragon lists. We also have 6 level 4s across the lists.
In core we see a mix of Elven Archers, Silver Helms, Sisters of Avelorn, and a single unit of Ellyrian Reavers and Elven Spearmen. Sisters of Avelorn really stand out across these lists. There are 7 units of them, and two of those are 300+ points of them in Core. High Elves don’t have a very deep bench so it’s not surprising to see Sisters indexed into heavily.
Outside of sisters special and rare are a grab bag. There are Bolt Throwers, Giant Eagles, Skycutters, Dragon Princes, Tiranoc Chariots, but nothing in great number.
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++ Main Force ++ [1997pts]
Characters [995pts]
Archmage [575pts]: Hand Weapon, Pure of Heart, Star Dragon (Dragon Fire, Full Plate Armour, Wicked Claws), Wizard Level 4, Illusion, Foe Bane, Lore Familiar, Seed of Rebirth, Talisman Of Protection
Handmaiden of the Everqueen [90pts]: Bow of Avelorn, Hand Weapon, Handmaiden's Spear, Horn of Isha, General, Light Armour
Noble [330pts]: Hand Weapon, Battle Standard Bearer (Battle Banner), Pure of Heart, Griffon (Heavy Armour, Serrated Maw, Wicked Claws), Full Plate Armour, Dragon Helm, Charmed Shield, Seed of Rebirth, Lance
Core [502pts]
Silver Helms [146pts]:
• 5x Silver Helm [23pts]: Barded Elven Steed (Barding, Hand Weapon), Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour, Lance
• 1x Standard Bearer [31pts]: War Banner
Sisters of Avelorn [356pts]: Stubborn
• 19x Sister of Avelorn [15pts]: Bow of Avelorn, Hand Weapon, Light Armour
• 1x High Sister [52pts]: Wizarding Hat
Rare [500pts]
Frostheart Phoenix [205pts]: Full Plate Armour, Wicked Claws
Frostheart Phoenix [205pts]: Full Plate Armour, Wicked Claws
Lothern Skycutters [90pts]:
• 1x Lothern Skycutter [90pts]: 3x Sea Guard Crew, Cavalry Spear, Hand Weapon, Shortbow, Swiftfeather Roc (Wicked Claws)
I’m cheating a little as I know the pilot of this list, but I think it’s worth showing regardless of personal bias. In part because it shows a few things for high elves.
Let’s start with the dragon. Rather than taking a Prince we have an Archmage on a Star Dragon. This is actually pretty gross. Star Dragons have S7 and WS7 so they can outfight most other dragons, on top of that they give +3 T so this is the rare wizard dragon with T6. Then we take the very cheap Seed of Rebirth and you’ve got a 4+/5+/5+. Foe Bane, the Magic Weapon goes well with Spectral Doppleganger, it always wounds on 4+ so that will average 3.5 wounds against any target. There is also a BSB on a Griffon which can’t compete with Dragons but will very handily take on most units in the game and is extremely durable with stacked magic items. Lastly the general is a cheap Handmaiden of the Everqueen for reasons we get into below.
In core we have a unit of Silver Helms, I expect them to do very little. Then we have 356 points of Sisters of Avelorn. Being able to take these in Core when your general is a Handmaiden is insane. Rather than taking any of the bad units elves have access to in core you get to take some of the best archers in the game. Honestly I think spending 500 points on these would be worth considering, especially in a list like this that is very mobile and flying heavy. Now I should also note that the unit champion has a Wizarding Hat. This is the only one in the 130 person event. Probably with good reason. This lets you pick any lore in the game, and while I’m sure you’re itching to know what lore he takes, I’ll be a nuisance and leave that surprise to his opponents.
The list is rounded out in Rare with a pair of Phoenixes and a Skycutter. Talking to Zach about the Phoenixes he seems to think they are very much… fine. They don’t make the list, they don’t break the list, but they have a lot of rules and can sometimes put in work. I think High Elves are very much a faction that lives or dies by their characters so that honestly seems fine. The Skycutter is a cheap and very mobile heavy chariot, I think they’re solid, AP -2 on the impact attacks can certainly surprise people.
Wrap-Up
To anyone who made it this far, thanks for reading. I’ll be back with part 2 covering Ravening Hordes, and then a third for the Legacy factions. I aim to get both of those out within the next week or so. I may or may not do some more coverage of SBOT while it’s going on. I’ve not tried to pick winning lists here because I don’t know most of the players and player skill is such a huge factor in this game. Some really strong lists are going to go 0-3, and some lists that look weird will go 3-0.
