BSB - mounted or on foot?

[Gugga]

Hi all, I am very new to the game, waiting for Island of Blood to start painting my first models.
I am very confused about the BSB, considering two protective set-ups. Could you please advise me on which one is better?

1.) On foot (168 pts): Great weapon, Armour of Caledor, Dawnstone
2.) Mounted (182pts): Dragon armour, Barded elven steed, Sword of Might, Enchanted Shield, Helm of Fortune

They cost practically the same, th guy on foot has 1S more, but the mounted guy has 2pts better armor. My main concern is that while being mounted, he loses the look out rule and is vulnerable to war machines.

Given your experience playing, which of these two set ups would you prefer?
I plan to build my army around the models from Island of Blood and the new batallion. Do not know if I want to purchase a unit of DPs yet.

[Taliessin]

If you want him well protected, put him on foot, give him some decent protective magic gear and a greatweapon, Highelves can't field enough calvery to protect him, so its better to go infantry and nearly guarantee Look Out Sir, as well as plenty of ablative wounds surrounding him.

Just my oppinion however

[Athanoes]

i'd say on foot with a block of infantry is much better than mounted.....
i usually put min in a block of sea guard forming my main line where his 12" bubble keeps my army in the fight

try both see which one works the best with your tactics......

[basmans_grob]

Can you have both the enchanted shield and helm of fortune - they are both magic armours

[Athanoes]

Can you have both the enchanted shield and helm of fortune - they are both magic armours

unfortunatley not you can only have one item fromeach type, thats why a lot of people take Armour of caledor, which also happnes to free up the extra arm to carry a great wepon

[Flame of the Asuryan]

Then, if you give him the Dawnstone like I do, He will still have a 2+ armoursave with re-rolls. That will protect him against mass str. 3-5 hits, that you see a lot these days.

[Gugga]

Thank you, guys. I indeed overlooked the two magic armors thing.
I want to put BSB in the center, but the center is already occupied by the anvil 20 PG unit. Is it safe to put BSB in there?

[Jedra]

It is just about the safest place to put him Those PG aren't going anywhere. And with fear you have a good chance of him only being hit on 5+.

For the record, I basically use a) as well. Also, you can never get a better than 1+ armour save, so even if b) was legal, the helm of fortune would be no better than a dawnstone in terms of what you get.

[Todesguck]

The rulebook says magic armor and magic shild is legal!

[SpellArcher]

I think the cavalry option is worth looking at if you have a big unit of these, otherwise I'd go with the foot option.

You could run the mounted guy in and out of units in the last edition but I think that's too risky now.

[tethlis the slayer]

The rulebook says magic armor and magic shild is legal!

Nope. you can combine magic armour or shield with mundane armour/shield, but a model cannot have more than one magic item of the same category.

My preferred setup for the mounted BSB is Dragon Armour, Helm of Fortune, and a GW. Gives him a 2+ rerollable save and 3 S6 attacks. Occasionally I'll add the Guardian Phoenix or Opal Amulet for a ward save. A particularly useful item for him is the Gem of Courage - seeing as a BSB is killed if he or his unit flees from combat, being able to take a difficult break test on 3D6 can help keep him alive (plus its only 10 pts).

[SpellArcher]

A particularly useful item for him is the Gem of Courage - seeing as a BSB is killed if he or his unit flees from combat, being able to take a difficult break test on 3D6 can help keep him alive (plus its only 10 pts).

I love the Gem. If GW had ruled that great weapons don't allow ASF re-rolls I'd likely have gone with this + Sword of Might. Very handy for a surprise hold when your opponent relied on breaking the unit.

[Janwin]

My own kit for the BSB on foot is similar, but I use the Guardian Phoenix instead of the Dawnstone. I'd rather have some save at all against things that remove armor saves than an ability to re-roll a non-existant armor save (because it was removed).

[captaingalenus]

Armour of Destiny for a BSB is another good option. Heavy armour and a 4+ ward

[SpellArcher]

Or Dragon Armour plus the 4+ Ward Talisman.

Though I guess you might need that for your Lord.

[Telabir]

I usually go on foot with Armour of Caledor and Guardian Phoenix for a nice 2+/5+ save. I used to go mounted with Battle Banner but it's lost its effeciency due to steadfast. I also gave a mounted version Radient Gem of Hoeth just to surprise my enemies.
If I wasn't an arrogant high elf who only uses weapons forged by Vaul (or Paul) I'd give him DP kit and generic 4+ for maximum protection. I'm a strong believer of only infantry in an infantry unit otherwise I don't think it looks as good.
A great weapon is a must normally though I don't see why sword of might is taken over a halberd.

[Angel]

A great weapon is a must normally though I don't see why sword of might is taken over a halberd.

Magical attacks.
Or because it looks cool.

[wynforth]

A great weapon is a must normally though I don't see why sword of might is taken over a halberd.

Magical attacks.
Or because it looks cool.

also because it still allows a shield

[Arious]

A great weapon is a must normally though I don't see why sword of might is taken over a halberd.

Magical attacks.
Or because it looks cool.

also because it still allows a shield

I thought Halberds were two handed weapons?

[Xarhain]

They are, he means the sword of might allows a shield.

[Ptolemy]

Since I'm running a RGoH Prince, my AoC is used up with him making me get creative with my BSB.

For my foot BSB, I've started going with the Sword of Might, Temakador's Gauntlets, Dragon Armor and a shield. It gives him a 3+/5+ (on STR 4 or more) which is pretty respectable. He loses the point of STR to gain the +1 armor from the shield, but I tend to think the trade is worth it.

I stick him in with my White Lions. The White Lion champ has the Potion of Recklessness for the extra attack on the charge. The champ fields challenges against characters. If there are no characters, I let the BSB chew up the unit champ and be safe from RnF attacks coming back. White Lions with rerolling misses and STR 6 will butcher more than enough enemies to make up for it. By being with the Lions, he also doesn't really need the Gem of Courage. Stubborn unit on his LD 9 with rerolls isn't going anywhere.