Kings of War/Tactics/The Herd

Why Play The Herd

You know that war scene from Chronicles of Narnia where the music starts playing and the Eagles fly over the battlefield, dropping rocks and shit, and there's a bunch of cheetahs and minotaurs? Why wouldn't you want that as an army? Sure, you'll get kicked out of the game store for blaring the Narnia soundtrack every time you begin the match, but it's worth it to crush your enemy without any scientific stuff like magic, bows, or sticks.

Army Special Rules

• Advanced Deployment: Units with this special rule are deployed immediately after sides are chosen, before units on either side without this special rule. These units can be deployed anywhere on the table as long as it is at least 3" from any objective or loot marker.

• Creatures of Nature: All units in this army have Pathfinder unless otherwise noted.

• Hunting Animals: Units with this special rule gain a once per game shooting attack. Roll 5 dice that hit on a 4+. Roll to wound as normal, re-rolling dice that fail to wound if used against a unit with the Fly special rule. Once damage has been assigned, roll that many dice and repeat this process until you fail to wound the unit.

• Omniscient: Units with this special rule may fire with their ranged attacks in any arc, not just the front arc of the unit.

• Unstoppable: Units with this special rule cannot be disordered.

Unit Analysis

Hero

• Avatar:

• Centaur Chief:

• Guardian Champion: A cheaper alternative to the Lycan Alpha, similar profile but lacking in speed.

• Lycan Alpha: A fast character with speed of (9). Good defense and nerve values ( as well as 5+ regen) combined with a decent amount of low hitting attacks means the Alpha should not only pack a punch but should be able withstand a couple as well. The profile is very similar to that of the cheaper Guardian Champion so you are paying for the added speed and maneuverability so use accordingly. Best when teamed up with other Lycans to benefit form Inspiring.

• Shaman: Your source of magic as well as inspiring. Comes standard with Bane Chant and has access to Heal and Wind Blast at an additional cost. Unfortunately lacking in the combat department so will be used mainly to buff and support other units, as you would expect from a Shaman. Also as access to hunting beast and has the option to be mounted for an increased speed of (9).

• Shaman on Sacred Beast:

• Tracker:

• Tribal Chieftain:

• Tribal Chieftain on Chariot: As above but gains +2 attacks, nerve and +3 movement. He loses the individual rule meaning no more nimble but more importantly he does now double and triple attacks for flank/rear charges respectively and this combined with ME 3, CS 1 and TC 2 means he is no slouch in combat. Give him the Caterpillar item so he gets pathfinder to fit in with the rest of the army or the ensorcelled armour for the standard hard to hit mounted hero. Has the option to upgrade to get a bow for 10pts and is one of the few ranged options available in the army. If you have the points left over, it is a worthwhile upgrade.

• Tribal Totem Bearer: A cheap source of inspire. Very similar to the offerings from other armies. With our Shaman coming stock with inspire and greater versatility, you should probably always take a Shaman unless you are seriously short on points.

Infantry

• Harpies: The first of our chaff units and with, fly, nimble, vicious and the innate path finder skills, by far the most versatile. With the standard 9/11 low nerve they won't be hanging around, so use their speed and skills to bypass the front of main combat units and hunt down weak warmachines or hit flanks and rears.

• Tribal Spirit Walkers: You can take troop, regiment or horde options and they comes stock with fearless (no wavering), thunderous charge, pathfinder and a high nerve. They are comparable to other armies shock troops but unlike most, the Herd can take them in horde size and with 35 attacks, nerve -/23 and the normal berserker low defence there should be no reason why you wouldn't.

• Tribal Hunters:

• Tribal Longhorns:

• Tribal Spears:

• Tribal Warriors:

Large Infantry

• Guardian Brutes: Intended to represent minotaurs and owl bear type creatures. This variation of your large infantry has Crushing Strength (1), Fury, and Thunderous Charge (2). They hit on a point less than Lycans, but they also have one point higher defense and nerve. They're cheaper as well, but are a lot slower. These are intended for more straight forward attacking vice being better at screening, so use them appropriately.

• Lycans: Intended to represent natural werewolves. They come with Crushing Strength (1) and Nimble, in addition to 9 speed, making them far more maneuverable than Guardian Brutes. They hit on a point higher than Brutes which makes up for a lower attack profile. Their defense is lower than Brutes but they do have regeneration. Do note they lack Lifeleech, like the undead version.

Cavalry

• Beast Pack: Fast and vicious. Use these as you would any other chaff. Storm forward and into the face of your opponent, setting yourself up for the counter charge with your following hammer unit or use as a screen to reduce the effectiveness of enemy fire. Alternatively run them round the flanks to get at the vulnerable warmachines or heroes, though harpies can perform this role more effectively due to the 'fly' rule. They come in troop or regiment size, though you'll only take the former. Being a 'loose' formation, they won't give you access to additional heroes or monsters

• Centaur Bray-Hunters:

• Centaur Bray-Striders:

• Centaur Long-Manes:

Large Cavalry

• Giant Eagles:

• Stampede: Comes in one size, Horde and boy what a horde. 30 attacks, CS (1), TC (3), pathfinder and strider married up to our second highest nerve, make this our go to hammer unit. The average hit roll should be helped by the almost compulsory Brew of Sharpness but the downside is this pushes the unit over 300 points and paints a whacking great big target on it for anyone who's ever been on the receiving end of this beating stick.

• Tribal Chariots:

Monsters

• Brutox: Your large giant sized monster. With Crushing Strength and Thunderous charge (2) it will hit hard, and with 8+ 1d6 attacks it has the potential to do allot of damage. With a decent speed of 8 you should be able to get it where it needs to be. Low defense is compensated by a decent nerve value and the bonus of 5+ regen. (Giant sized monsters have a great presence upon the table and as a result can attract allot of attention, for better or for worse.)

• Chimera:

War Engines

• Great Battle Totem: An unique war engine, so you can only have one in the army. It also restricts your base size to 75 mm x 75 mm, specifically noting you cannot take advantage of the exceptional base size rule for this unit. For 80 points you get a war engine with no attacks and no speed. So what does it do? It comes with Advanced Deployment, Bane Chant (2), Omniscient, Unstoppable, and Very Inspiring. What this adds up to is a forward deployable source of an 18" inspiring bubble that can also cast Bane Chant in any direction. For that cost, this thing is a must-have with any Herd army.

Tactics

Tactica here.