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Home » Great Library at Hoeth » Book of Warfare » General » All Things Mercenary
| All Things Mercenary |
| By lorslimshady |
After a while browsing the tactics & army lists on this site it has come to my attention that very few people consider mercenaries for their army.
Tactically, this is a big mistake. Fluffwise......Well fluff is adaptable.
High elves are unique (as far as I know) in that they have 4 rare unit slot rather than the usualy 2 for 2000pts. These slots would not be wasted on great eagles and RBTs. But mercenaries can give us some strength in places that we lack it.
Here is a summary of the uses of mercenaries. I won't mention any solid close combat troops because there aren't any that we can't beat with our elite infantry and spearmen.
Duelists
My personal favourites. A defence against our worst enemy: gunlines. at only 5 points each they are a cheap skirmishing screen that can protect your entire army for less than 100 points. They also have WS 4 so are a match for enemy scouts trying to get them out of the way. I only use them as screeners, so I never give them any unit upgrades. But I'm sure the superior tacticians of Ulthuan can think of a use for them apart from that.
Crossbowmen
ired of your archers being completely useless??? Aren't we all? But with mercanary crossbowmen at our disposal. We have somthing that can replace the multiple firing shots of the RBT and our archers. They can also be used as screeners, in that roll they are just as good as archers but for less points. However, if using them as screeners they have slightly less movment than your elves and might screw up your plans for close combat by getting in the way. Those who would rather take a versatile bolt thrower should consider that crossbowmen do much more damage, for example: a crossbowmen/RBT unit shoot at a unit of T4 orcs at short range. It will do an average of 2 wounds. However, if a unit of 12 crossbowmen shoot the orcs, they will do an average of 3 wounds, that's 50% more! For players who need their army manouverable, either place these on a hill to shoot over your advancing elves, or don't use them.
Halflings-a much more manouverable choice than crossbowmen. For 5 points less than standard archers they do exactly the same archery but with 6 inches less range. However, if you are going to take these, keep them out of the full force of enemy shooting, they are vulnerable and could easily cause widespread panic among your troops. A good place to keep them out of trouble is woods, as they can move through them without penalty.
Light Cavalry
A cheap rank denial unit. The vain horsemen of ulthuan should not be bothered with such petty tasks as rank denial. Petty tasks are the work of other people! If you wanted to use them for some light killing upgrade them with spears and use with extreme caution. Wait a minute, they cost 11 points each! Who cares if they die!?
Cannon
Something to kill those more-than-pesky greater demons, dragons and chariots with. A practised cannonier can use these to much greater effect against high toughness enemies. Who might even be to 'ard for our elite infrantry. Give your opponent a suprise and take one of these to the field. One thing to mention about cannons for those who do not kno the rules for them is that they might blow up...causing a large dent in your chances of killing the big fellas and an even larger dent in the infamous elven pride.
I won't include anything about halfling hotpots because, however amusing the models are. I believe they are just not good enough to use one of our valuable rare unit slots on.
:!:CAUTION:!: mercenaries cannot be relied on in close combat as much as elves because of their inferior WS and lack of ASF rule.
A note on regiments of reknown.
There might be some interesting ideas in the ranks of the regiments of reknown. But bear in mind the point cost. Unless you have a Brilliant use for these overpriced and VERY specialist troops, keep well clear of them.
That concludes my article. If you have any comments, don't hesitate to make them seen.
I hope this has been helpful or entertaining. |
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