Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Warscrolls Compendium/Bretonnia
Points are now in the GHB as of the 2019 edition, therefore you can use your chivalrous French dudes without having to show your opponent ancient texts saying it's okay.
Bretonnia Summary
Fast Hard hitting Calvary, blobs of expendable peasantry, harassing mass shooting, and Trebuchets. That is Bretonnia in a nutshell. Being an older army means that Bretonnia has a wider range of units and playstyles when compared to the new Age of Sigmar Army Books. At its core, Bretonnia is a classic hammer and anvil style army. Large units of expendable peasants tie up your opponent's units, and hard-hitting calvary wipes them out. All of which is supported by mass shooting from peasant bowmen or trebuchets. Of course, all of this can be changed by playing all cavalry armies, all peasant armies, or once you start to take allied units from other Order Armies.
If you are looking for a VERY mobile and surprisingly durable army with lots of variation, then Bretonnia might be good for you. Just be aware that their range of miniatures is no longer available, and they are not included in the main rulebook. So their life span from now on might be short.
Bretonnian Warscrolls
Lords
King on Hippogryph: An excellent all-round commander who is nearly an auto-include in most 2000pt and higher lists. To start off with he stops battle shock for all Bretonnians within 24".(Great for peasants with a bravery of 4) His shield grants him the ability to attempt one dispel. Gains a slight advantage against heroes and monster with a re-roll on hits with his sword. Can heal D3 wounds per turn and buffs the already buffed up Nobility units of the army, giving most a 2+ to hit. On top of this, he is on a flying mount with a decent 3+ save rerolling 1s on the charge and a general statline somewhere between a standard hero and a dragon rider. One of the best generals around. An absolute beast of a character and one that works well with Pegasus Knights. Don't forget that his command ability also affects him allowing him to hit on two's when he charges.
Enchantress: Don't mess with this woman. She can use magic twice per phase and can use her chalice one per turn to reroll a single casting roll. She loses pretty quickly in combat. But is otherwise pretty survivable healing D3 wounds per turn with a 4+ save. Finally, she buffs Grail Knights within 10" giving them to reroll missed hits in combat. A must have if you are using more than a single 5-man unit of Grail Knights. And her general buffs make her a very valuable buffer in most lists.
Sacred Protector: The Bretonnian hard-to-kill combat hero. The Green Knight can appear anywhere on the board on a 4+ up to 9" away from foes. Make him your general with the Reckless Command Trait and get a pretty good chance of making that charge the turn he appears. The Sacre Protector takes a lot of firepower just to remove him from the board because he has a 3+ save AND IS IMMUNE TO REND with a 6+ save after he takes a wound. Note that giving him a Phoenix Stone for healing makes him nearly impossible to kill. He is a great tarpit that can slow down enemy units, kill war machines, or as a great distraction. He won't win against many competent melee heroes, monsters, or good close combat units, but he will tie them up for a long time till they kill him due to tons of attacks or if they decide to retreat from the amount of time he wastes.
Heroes
Bretonnian Lord: A mounted General, designed to help your knights make their charges and harass monsters/heroes. His command ability allows all Nobility within 18" to reroll their charge rolls making much less likely for your knights to be caught flat-footed. Can come on a pegasus to improve your charging and reach of your command ability. Putting him on a pegasus to use for hero/monster/war machine hunting is usually your best option. Gaining fly and a 16" move makes him hard to catch, and a re-rollable 2+ to hit against monsters and heroes on the charge.
Noble Standard Bearer: A decent combat hero who buffs the bravery of Nobility units, giving them the ability to reroll bravery tests. Only really useful if your knights get stuck in combat as they can reroll Bravery Tests on the charge with a banner anyway. He also has a Relic Weapon which deals +1 Damage to units with the Daemon or Death keyword. Make sure to remember that Seraphon Units count as Daemons as well!
Damsel: Can come on foot, horse or pegasus back. Can use magic once, heals and can grant an extra 6+ save to peasants and 5+ to the nobility. Great choice, keeping your cavalry alive. When using with men at arms mystic shield is better than the blessing of the Lady by a little bit, unless you are going against mortal wounds. Like most magic users keep her out of any combat since she will not survive much damage and never waste her magic on herself unless it is the last available option.
Noble Champion: Your peasant hero. Same profile as the Noble Standard bearer except on foot. Allows peasants within 6" to use his Bravery when taking Bravery Tests and also carries a Relic Weapon. Not a whole lot this Hero but if you are taking a lot of peasants in smaller point games, he will certainly help them stay around.
Cavalry (AKA Nobility)
Knights Errant: Your most basic knight unit and cheapest knight battleline. For twenty points less than the Knights of Realm you lose 1 on your to hit rolls and 1 point of Bravery. Can rerolls 1's in combat if a Damsel is nearby, but the slight reduction in points doesn't really make up for the drop in quality from your standard knights. They can still get the job done against low armor infantry but need more support than Knights of the Realm.
Knights of the Realm: Your standard knight unit. Knights of the Realm(KoTR) hit and wound on a 3+ and deal 2 damage each (when charging). Take a block of 16 and they can reroll 1's to hit as long as you have more than 10 models in the unit. They are fast and hit hard, but suffer against units with high armor due to no rend. Use them to take out light armored infantry and monsters, but steer clear of elite units as if they get bogged down their killing ability drops drastically. Although, cycle charging with multiple KoTR units will help offset their low number of attacks.
Questing Knights: Their Warscroll tries to sell these guys as monster hunters with charge and damage bonuses, but since Grail Knights do a WAY better job at it these guys will form your more elite fighting wall. Their great weapons mean they hit and wound on 3+ regardless of charging and have 2 attacks each (plus horse attacks). Think of them as super mobile Greatswords/Executioners/Sword Masters with a 4+ save rerolling 1's on the charge. Get them stuck in combat on an objective and they will fight the whole game. Support them with a shock calvary unit like KoTR or Trebuchet Fire and they will win a lot of fights. You can also support them with a Loremaster for re-roll to hit and wound goodness that makes these guys absolutely brutal.
Grail Knights: Powerful elite cavalry, who (due to the change in GHB 2017) are a hard counter for daemons and undead armies. Like all knights Grail Knights gain +1 to wound rolls and damage on the charge. But they also carry relic weapons like the above Noble Champion and Standard Bearer meaning they gain +1 damage against undead and daemons. So on the charge each Grail Knight has 2 attacks hitting and wounding on 3's that deal 3 damage each to daemons and undead. A unit of 5 on the charge reliably kill exalted greater demons, mortis engines, and vampire lords on dragons. With the change Grail Knights have become your elite shock cavalry and one of the cheapest (and best) monster hunters in the game. Take the Enchantress with these guys for her aura giving them rerolls to hit, her blessing spell (for that 2+ to hit rerolling 1's), and arcane shield for a death star that even Archaon has to worry about.
Pegasus Knights: Fast flying cavalry. They have the same stats as your KoTR with move 16, 4 wounds, 2 attacks, and fly. Their damage output isn't anything to write home about, but their mobility means they are experts at taking down war machines and less fighty lords/heroes. Their 4 wounds also force your opponent to spend more than a little effort removing them. Alternatively, you can build an army around them as they can reliably get 1st turn charges with a general with Reckless or a Bretonnian Lord giving rerolls to their charge.
Footmen (AKA Peasantry)
Men-At-Arms: Basic peasant infantry. The more they are the harder they hit. Get benefits for standing still and from paladins. Importantly, it allows you to take a relic bearers which let's you dispel. Just below average surprisingly enough. Nope, at maximum buff (30 models) they do an average of 0,41 damage per model, quite below average. However the unit of 30 near a Paladin would inflict 12.5 wounds while a unit of 15 Sigmarine Liberators would inflict only 10 wounds. Your men at arms are not here to cause damage, you want them to hold the enemy. A large group with a chummy paladin nearby can be surprisingly survivable (use inspiring presence if you absolutely do not want them fleeing.) Holding up the enemy means you are giving your knights the option and opportunity to freely charge the enemy as they hack through your men at arms.
Peasant Archers: One of the top 3 Archers in the game. Once per game they can alpha strike something, shooting 3x or 4x more arrows at 20 models, allowing 2 units to reliably wipe Nagash off the board. Also come with relic bearers as well as spikes and braziers helping them to ward off attackers and do more damage respectively. They do an average of 0,29 damages per model with their bows and an average of 0,16 wounds with their skinning knife. Their arrowstorm compensate for that (1,16 damages per model) but you have to use it as soon as possible. An excellent choice compared to the Men-At-Arms, the only downside is less save (6+ vs 5+ if they stand still, and they MUST). Get 25 of them, add a Paladin nearby, sit back with your 4+ to hit and to wound with the option to reroll woulds of 1 and a one use only 104 shots. (Remember, the leader makes 2 shots with the longbow, not 1.)
Mounted Yeomen: Peasant mounted Archers who get a free move. They just about work as low wound warmachine hunters but suck otherwise. Nope, if you manage to keep a paladin near them (pretty difficult actually, could be a good idea to have a Paladin Standard Bearer with them) they can do up to 1,1 damages per model per turn (0,83 without, same average than Men-At-Arms), wound per wound better than chaos knights. ALWAYS charge on the first turn with them, and then keep charging. Ah, also take 10, not 5 because you have to defeat the enemy unit on the first round, otherwise you will lose the save bonus.
Battle Pilgrims: Urm, elite peasants? Get buffs for keeping alive their special champion, the Grail reliquary but really aren't that great. With an average of 0,33 damages per model they are the weakest foot troops of the army, but at the same time the most resilient (44% save vs 33% of the second runners).
Alternate take: Do to the fact that they are considered to be "Nobility" for having the reliquae they can be buffed from both the Fay Enchantress and a Damsel. When buffed by the Fay a unit of 12 hits on a 2+ and wounds on a 3+. Men-At-Arms can be buffed by the Fay to have a +1 hit and a +4 wound, this is statistically the same killing power (Unless you're playing a Pitched Battle in which case the Pilgrims are better), however the Men-At-Arms would need to be taken in unit sizes of 30! This means that the Pilgrims are easily buffed to the same killing power of a horde unit while using half the wounds count/points, making them a useful throwaway unit. If instead buffed by a Damsel the unit is given the benefit of having a 5+ semi-rerollable armor save with a +5 Ward save. Combining the two buffs from the ladies will make them surprisingly deadly....for a bunch of peasants, anyways.
Field Trebuchet: Another good unit, probably the best on foot unit of the army. Has 5 weak crew men, can move quite rapidly for a warmachine and does great damage, firing unharmed two shots. Also auto hits units if it rolls prior beneath the amount of models. Followed with a 3+ to wound and a -2 rend, can cause 2d6 wounds to a unit. Helps vs all units.
Army Building
The armies in this section are made without any named character. There is a limit to OP and bretonnians are well above it now!
Catch me if you can
This army use a very simple tactic and at 60 wound it's really balanced.
- 1 paladin
- 25 bowmen (they come in increments of 16, please correct this)
- 10 mounted yeomen
- 1 field trebuchet
Put your paladin, your bowmen and your trebuchet as far as possible from your enemy. Deploy your mounted yeomen as close as possible to your enemy. Charge their warmachines/heroes/small wounds units with the cavalry while hitting hard with all the ranged attack. Once they are done with the yeomen let them go near your archers and shot an arrowstorm. Smile.
A variation of this concept could be substitute 5 bowmen for one Paladin Standard Bearer that will improve the Mounted Yeomen.
Hear my neigh!
Want some OP cavalry rage at 60 wounds?
- 1 bretonnian lord
- 1 damsel of the lady on pegasus
- 5 grail knights
- 16 knights of the realm
- 3 pegasus knights
One simple rule: charge! Oh and don't forget that you can always make a retreat move in order to charge again next turn.
Any variation on that list is purely cosmetic since, in the end, all the knights if well used are equally powerful. This is maybe the most balanced list (due to the flyer and the not-so-many grail knights).
Sir_Tuna's Peasant Archer List
Want to make the sky turn black with thousands (400) of arrow shafts raining down upon your foe then this is the list for you!
- 2 units of peasant bowmen with 48 in each
- 2 units of 16 men at arms
- 1 field trebuchet
- a foot paladin
- 1 Empire general
- peasant battalion
Have the empire general as the general. Have the paladin in range of the archers. Put the men at arms in the front. Have the empire general use his command ability on the archer units. Declare arrowstorm. Remove kebabs and Win.
Author's note: The keyword for the empire general says FREE PEOPLES while the peasants have the keyword FREE PEOPLE. Check with your opponent to make sure this is okay before the game. HINT don't tell them your intentions before the game. Also you cant use the ability on the trebuchet.
Math: on average the peasant bowmen would do about 240 wounds on average combined. Although no rend. :(
Extra Advice
-You might want to give your opponent first turn so that they move up and you can then move full ahead and charge turn one.
-Do what ever you can to not be charged before you can charge. Don't be charged. Knights do lots of damage when they charge but afterwards their damage potential drops of significantly.
-Paladins are a must in your army when bringing the peasantry. If you don't have a paladin your peasants will continue to have their lousy hit rolls and miss more than they hit. Furthermore they buff your nearby peasant bravery when they bring their banners, which their is no reason not to.
-ALWAYS BRING A TRUMPETER FOR THE KNIGHTS. Seriously having a trumpeter greatly helps your chances of making a charge. Nothing is worse than having your important game changing unit of knights fail their 5in charge and lose the game.
-Peasant bowmen. These guys are great. They can once per game triple their shots or quadruple them if you have enough. having a unit of 20 will fire 84 shots hitting on 4+ for paladin, (why would you not bring one), and wounding on 4+ rerolling 1s. Having massed fire of them like 40 can instant gib many heavy units or severely cripple them allowing other thing to deliver the death blow.
- Bringing King Louen Leoncour is not often a bad idea. He makes your entire army immune to battleshock. This is huge for your peasants allowing your to ignore that horrible bravery of 4 and especially helpful for your knights for when you lose 4-5 knight in a round of combat and then 4 more run away. He functions as an acceptable monster hunter being able to kill a giant with some luck or severely crippling it. However don't let the enemy cut him off from your army even with his quick regeneration and good save he can still fall from large amounts of reasonable fire or infantry.
External links
Rules are here [1]
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