I’m looking for some balancing advice. I am hoping to make (or have suggested) a handful of 500 point armies for my brothers and I to pick from to try out the game. However, I have never played a tabletop wargame and would like some listbuilding advice. Not looking for the most powerful strategies, just for lists that interact in interesting ways, aren’t overly complicated, and are balanced against each other. If there is potential to combine pairs of them for a 2v2 game: bonus points.
I just don’t know enough to accurately know how they will play against each other intuitively. I have some guesses, but I would appreciate some veteran support. I don’t know when it is better to have two troops of infantry or 1 hord, or if a given amount of front line is sufficient to hold while cavalry flanks or range harasses, or how effective inspiration really is, how often does Wavering actually come into play, etc. Basically, lots of guesses but no practice to weigh them.
I can only make 2 lists at a time, so here are my first two:
It’s got everything you want to have: a horde tarpit, some shooting, an inspiring + surge casting hero plus a medium damage dealer in the shape of zombie trolls. you won’t have speed, but that’s why you protect your z-trolls with the horde of zombies and archers if need be!
Yeah, most undead want both surge and inspiring, preferably both on the same hero. As undead commands aren’t that good (but you really want the “loses shambling and gains pathfinder” one) there’s no reason to take more heroes than absolutely neccesary.
In the previous edition, the first character you wanted in undead was a necromancer with inspiring talisman. Now the talisman got more expensive, the first character you want is an army standard with the tome of darkness.
The second character is a necromancer with inspiring talisman and surge. It’s roughly as expensive, but has only inspiring instead of very inspiring. The upside is that it can take other spells, such as Blizard.
In a 2,300 point army you can theoretically get away with these two. I would take a 3rd inspiring source depending on which units I’d want, so a crypt gorger if I want ghouls or a lycanis if I want werewolves. The barrow wight seems interesting too, but I’m still torn about spending 240 points on a 4-attacks combat hero. I’ve tried the vampire lord on undead pegasus and she just doesn’t do enough damage to warrant the 225-point cost.
I appreciate the deep insights. I just dont have access to the rules about most of the magic items for 4th edition, which makes it even tougher than it would otherwise be jumping in mostly blind. I take it you main Undead; do you have any insights on other armies?
When I demo Kings of War, I try to not use the undead because they are different to play and play against compared to armies that don’t use surge. Something like orcs lets you learn to move and fight without having to think to much about strategy in your first game. Just my opinion.
Nice thing about KoW is that after that first game you’ll know the rules pretty well.
I appreciate the insight! I am just having fun theorycrafting armies, and I’ll let my siblings choose whichever sounds most fun. I will be sure to note that though.
Never really tried 500pt games in 4th ed. I might try to put in a troop of goreriders instead of trolls for some speed and maybe try a regiment of Ax and a troop of moreax.
Banner of Command gives an extra die. Torc of Command gives 6" more range for commands. Since orcs want to use Green Rage and that needs a 5+ and extra die could come in handy.
