As I wrote in the report against OK, I didn`t get to evaluate the Griffon Noble properly today. However, what I did realize was that my list is probably quite spell-selection dependent. Furthermore, Fury Ring provides tremendous versatility as far as magical offense is concerned.
While I don`t intend for this list to face gunlines, I do intend for it to face other lists with some degree of shooting, where Soul Quench is really good. Usually however, I`d want at least Apotheosis or Walk Between Worlds in addition (preferably both). To this end, a second mage is really needed. The problem with the "default" SD approach is the lack of the Ring, which is impossible to fit in if you go 2 heroes + 2 mages and one of the heroes carries the Crown of Stubborn. What I`m looking to do then is basically split the Helms into 2 smaller units, one with fighters and 1 for Mages. As the bus is often commited fast, having a secondary unit to jump into and keep casting from is great. Let`s take a look at my current list:
:: Star Dragon ::
Prince on Star Dragon with star lance, dragonhelm, golden crown of atrazar, tots, shield = 598
Noble on Griffon, enchanted shield, dawnstone, heavy armour, lance = 260
Noble BSB on Barded Steed, heavy armour, shield, spear, botwd = 168
High Mage L2, scroll, furyring = 170
Characters/heroes: 1196/598
14 Silver Helms, full command and shields = 352
5 reavers, champion = 90
17 Spearelves, musician and standard bearer with +1M = 188
Core: 630
4 RBTs = 280
Eagle = 50
Frostheart Phoenix = 240
Rare: 570
Army total: 2396
So leaving the Noble at home, we`re looking to include a second L2 mage with the Ring of Fury. This increases my chances of getting Apotheosis from 44% => 91% and I also have the option of 3 casts of Soul Quench. Let`s see what such a list looks like:
Prince on Star Dragon with star lance, dragonhelm, golden crown of atrazar, tots, shield = 598
Noble BSB on Barded Steed, heavy armour, shield, lance, botwd = 172
High Mage L2, steed, scroll, furyring = 180
High Mage L2, steed, powerstone = 150
Noble on Barded Steed, heavy armour, shield, lance = 97
Characters/heroes: 1197/599
13 Silver Helms, full command and shields = 329
8 Silver Helms, Musician and shields = 194
5 reavers, champion = 90
4 RBTs = 280
Eagle = 50
Frostheart Phoenix = 240
Rare: 570
Army total: 2380
20 points to spare that can`t really be put to use anywhere. I suppose a 6th Reaver could fit the bill. The power stone is an item that isn`t crucial, but brings a lot to the list. It could of course be swapped for something else, but the question is what? Protection for the second Noble is an obvious candidate, but he can`t afford the Dawnstone. Yet another possibility here is to re-include the Spears and de-mount both mages, but this makes the Spears worth going for and creates an unwieldy unit that is very vulnerable and worth a lot of points (roughly 500). It would allow me to put the stubborn Helm + Enchanted Shield on the 2nd Noble though. Just a straight-up swap would see the Spears at 18 strong with the M6 banner. Perhaps it could be a viable approach, with that many bodies and Shield of Saphery they are hard to shift at a distance - besides who would want to target them with the Stardragon, Frostheart and bus running around?
In the end, though the Spears are tempting, I think too many opponents can simply target them and eat a big chunk of points from me, or simply suicide-charge to get the mages.