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Friday 3 May 2013

The Rise of The Asur


Before I get accused of joining the HE bandwagon (and anyone that does can quite frankly fuck off!) I thought I’d give you my first HE’s list!  I first picked up the HE’s in 1992 and until 8th were along with WE’s the only Warhammer army I had played.  I feel in a fairly good position to comment now being on my 5th version of the HE’s.  They had become a little stale for me during 8th and I went back to WE’s before graduating to some filth in Skaven.  I’m currently playing Ogres while I paint my vintage HE’s which were parts of my old army which I paint stripped. 
The new book has given me a great boost to speed up my painting and all going to plan I will be running them at the Masters in December. 



Characters
You really are spoilt for choice here with now 9 unique Lord & Hero selections. While some of these are clearly going to be more themed/fluff options they do all bring something and add a unique flavour to the list.  Not to mention the points came down for Mages, Princes and Nobles.  I looked at combo’s L4/Prince L4/Loremaster single LoreMaster and there were a few good ones (a L4 Shadow with the book of Hoeth is going to be very obvious and pretty good, but dull given the army) but I have gone for a Loremaster.  I can live without the L4 caster and the 8 sig spells give you excellent tactical flexibility.

Core
In core I have gone for a mixed arms approach – two units of reavers with spears and bows at 95 points each to harass and distract 15 archers as chaff clearance and a bunker and 10 Silver Helms as a fast moving combat/support unit.  600 points on the nose. 

Special       
Special is a bus of Dragon Princes in which the BsB and noble sit protected by the banner of the World Dragon – while this unit can hit very hard it won’t love the grind so picking targets carefully will be key.  However monstrous cav units without res are in trouble as the Star lance and bus will go through them. 
The Phoenix Guard will house the LoreMaster and be there for cleanup of weakened units once they reach the HE lines.
Rare
This is an interesting slot now in the HE book and I again went for mixed arms.  3 Bolt throwers – at 70 points and effective way to pick off chariots, monstrous cav, DP’s etc.  I think they are needed to support the list. 
A Frostheart Phoenix – this guy is a great new unit and my aim for him is to “Tag” corners of units where the Dragon Princes or Silver Helms are going in to reduce the enemies’ strength by 1 point can really help keep the unit from taking damage.  Taking a S5 unit down to S4 is epic. 
I’ve thrown in a lone eagle (due to abuse in the early days of 8th the eagle population has declined..)
   
I don’t think this is in anyway a power build but I think is a solid mixed arms list that I would enjoy playing and would give tactical challenge and flexibility. 
Really interested in your thoughts/comments

1
Loremaster
Lord

Book of Hoeth
1
Noble
Hero
Dragon Armour, Barded Steed, BsB, lance
enchanted shield, dawnstone

1
Noble
Hero
dragon Armour, Barded Steed
starlance, golden crown, charmed shield

1
Mage
Hero
L1 High
dispel scroll

15
Archers
Core
musician


5
Reavers
Core
spear, bow


5
Reavers
Core
spear, bow


10
Silverhelms
Core
shield, standard, musician


15
Phoenix Guard
Special
musician


10
Dragon Princes
Special
Full Command
Banner of the World Dragon

1
bolt thrower
rare



1
bolt thrower
rare



1
bolt thrower
rare



1
Frostheart Phoenix
rare



1
Eagle
rare




4 comments:

  1. Sounds like an interesting idea but I'm worried about the real hitting power in this list. While the Nobles can pack some punch and your shooting is decent, i'm concerned that a multiple-threat army with quick moving, hard to kill stuff might cause you trouble. I'm thinking in particular Warriors but also Brets and Empire also. I think you've dedicated a lot more to shooting and relying on it to do enough damage to have your Helms and Phoenix Guard to finish them off. From my experience, this is hard to do to true deathstars (Skaven Bell unit, Vamp bus, Gutstar in a way). Also, a single Frostie will be an obvious target for any artillery, I would consider taking them in pairs minimum. Maybe drop the L1 mage and a bolt thrower and you've almost got a Fire phoenix - good for putting some hurt on ranked units and skirmishers. Also, have you considered the Annointed? Either on foot (Immune to Phychology and 6++ anyone?) or mounted (probably on a Frosty). Worth a shot.

    Lastly, don't fancy any chariots in your list?

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  2. The book really gets Worse the lower level the caster is and the higher the casting values are. Imo the book is best on a archmage with High Magic. Since you can reliably 1-2 dice most spells.

    How about changing the Loremaster with an archmage with High on a horse in the bus? He increases their ward with every succesful spell? Making your bus Way more durable. And Then maybe a lvl 1 with beast signature. Only sig you really need in a list Like this.

    Frosty is just plain awesome.

    Helms make the better bus imo. But Then you need Bsb with BotWD which sux but might still be the better choice? Maybe even 15 SH and 2x5 DP so they dont loose our on their 2A. And SH Will fight Well in 3 ranks 5 Wide. With 2-3 nobles and archmage. And maybe the noble to keep him in range? Cant rember the tange on beast sig on the top of my head.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh and your Loremaster really lack protection? Only 5+ AS on a 300 point general? :s

      Delete
  3. Welcome to the band wagon :)
    But on a more serious note, List looks fine as a start. I think there are tweaks to be had.
    I don't think bows on reavers are worth it ... Even now

    ReplyDelete