Reading for a crucial exam's really eating up most of my time these days, hence the lack of activity here. Based on various influences, I have a couple of list suggestions which I'd like to show you all and hopefully gather some comments about, should you have any! I feel that I've established a 'safe base' now that I can always fall back to and which I know works fairly well, however I'm always looking to see if anything can be optimized even further. The basis for all of these lists is the ETC rules, since changing from ETC to other comp systems is usually a lot easier than the other way around.
:: List Alternative 1 - Dragon Prince Bus ::
The most 'logical' of the 3, this list idea sees me add some mobility. I do believe this will hurt me a bit against Dwarfs (one of my poor matchups) where Swordmasters are ace, however I'm hoping it'll improve my chances against Ogre Kingdoms (another poor matchup) where I think their mobility can be crucial. The main point here is to have a more flexible battle line - I feel that against good opponents 2 blocks of infantry can, to a certain degree, be neutralized. Going from M5 -> M8 should mitigate this but it also drastically changes the way I play the Dragonlord:
Saerith on Faeria: AoC, VoD, ToL, GW - 622
Curu Olannon with A.C - 175
BSB Naenor on Barded Steed, HoF, SoM, Dragon Armour, Shield - 174
Characters - 971
30 Archers, F.C., flaming banner - 365
15 Archers, musician - 170
10 Spears - 90
Core - 625
26 Lions, F.C., +1M banner, AoL - 450
9 Dragon Princes, F.C, Skeinsliver - 345
Special - 795
2 Eagles
Rare - 100
Total - 2491
:: List Alternative 2 - Enter Sea Guard ::
Basically this list is the least impacting of the 3 and I'm simply seeking to optimize the army with regards to ETC rather than change anything. The question is simple: is armour save worth losing 6" for?
Prince Saerith with Great Weapon, Armour of Caledor, Vambraces of Defense, Talisman of Loec, riding Faeria the Star Dragon - 622
Noble BSB Naenor with Sword of Might, Helm of Fortune, Shield, Dragon Armour, Great Eagle - 208
High Mage Curu Olannon with Level 2, Annulian Crystal - 175
Characters :: 1005
30 Sea Guard with Shields, Full Command, Flamebanner - 425
15 Sea Guard with Shields, Musician - 200
Core :: 625
26 White Lions, Full Command, Banner of Swiftness, Amulet of Light - 450
14 Swordmasters, Full Command, Skeinsliver, Gleaming Pennant - 270
Special :: 720
3 Great Eagles - 150
Rare :: 150
Army Total :: 2500
:: List Alternative 3 - MSU/Coven of Light/Dragonlord (!) ::
This is a drastic change which sees me try and incorporate multiple elements which I believe can synergize very well with the Dragonlord: MSU-elites and a small Coven of Light.
Prince Saerith with Great Weapon, Armour of Caledor, Vambraces of Defense, Talisman of Loec, riding Faeria the Star Dragon - 622
BSB Naenor with Great Weapon, Dragon Armour, Radiant Gem of Hoeth (Light) - 169
Curu Olannon with Annulian Crystal (Light) - 175
Mage (yet to be named!) with Seerstaff of Saphery (Light: Pha's Protection, Banishment) - 165
Characters - 1131
30 Archers, F.C., flaming banner - 365
15 Archers, musician - 170
10 Spears - 90
Core - 625
2 Eagles
8 Lions -120
8 Lions - 120
8 Lions, std w/Banner of Sorcery - 182
7 Swordmasters, musician - 111
7 Swordmasters, musician - 111
Special - 644
2 Eagles - 100
Rare - 100
Army Total :: 2500
Basically the idea here is to have the Lions in a 2x4 formation which should create little frontage-issues. Together with the Dragon even a single unit or two should be able to tear apart most units with ease. I'm open to either going away from the MSU-bit (or simply add 2 Lion units together to boost the Banner-protection) or the Coven-bit to make the other work. However, I think they both have merit AND synergize greatly - especially when you don't need the power-per-frontage due to the support from the Dragon. Also, going magic heavy with the Dragon gives me lots of flexibility.
An interesting fact about this approach relative to my current is to look at the amount of elite infantry: I currently have 26+14 = 40 and this MSU-ish build has 24+14 = 38 (!). So basically I swapped 2 elite infantry for 2 mages (!). While it's of course not this simple, I think it speaks volumes to how much power the list still has.
I'm hoping you have some opinions about at least one of these approaches and I'm very much looking forward to hearing them