Warhammer Army Project/Albion

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Albion: Warhammer Army Project, 8th Edition Tactica

(JackInTheBox - Please excuse the incomplete nature of the page, still a WIP doing the write up)

Created by Mathias Eliasson, this project was a homebrew attempt at giving many of the nations and factions that never got Armybooks of their own (and those left behind and never got one in 8th Edition) such a thing.

It should also be noted that Eliasson is constantly updating his work, so don't expect this page to stay current forever.

Why Play WAP Albion

You love the stereotypes of Warhammer: German Empire, French Bretonnians, Spanish Estalians, etc. But you want something different, something with a little woad. Something that says "I can't tell the difference between Celtic Britain and Fairy Stories and couldn't care less." You want a wide selection of Infantry, living chariot units and some weird faerie unit choices to boot, but don't wanna be an Elf. You want to run your army naked, screaming, and painted blue in your enemies face. You want Albion.

Pros

• War Fury gives your units improved alpha strike in close combat.
• Lots of access to Ward Saves through Woad paint and their unique Lore.
• The Lore of the Truthsayers is a great buff Lore.
• Pretty good magical abilities in general as well, including a Sisters of the Thorn style unit made up of Druids that can cast 2 Lore of Life spells.
• Fairy's, Mamouths, and a fold-up flying Chariot.
• Access to a cheap Special unit that does Araloths Bird attack but does not suck at it.
• Has a Hero choice that is essentially Bragg the Gutsman but actually playable.
• A diverse and interesting Special section.
• Their faction leader character can make herself invulnerable to all forms of damage the enemy can throw at her for a turn allowing her to wreck that Chaos/Vampire Lord.

Cons

• War Fury will cause you to suffer in prolonged combat. Like the Celtic armies of the past, once you stop winning you start losing, fast.
• A pretty mediocre Rare section.
• The Lore of the Truthsayers' Signature spell only works on specific units.
• Low Armour saves.
• Even though according to the lore you should have Old One relics, you don't.

Army Special Rules

• War Fury: All units with this rule can re-roll failed charge distances and gain Hatred special rules on any turn they declare a charge or pursue a fleeing enemy. This lasts until the end of turn, and mounts do not benefit from it. However, every time a unit with this special rule takes a Break Test, they suffer an additional -1 to their Leadership for every turn they remain in combat (does not apply to Stubborn units). You're either breaking your enemy or losing badly in combat. Consider making use of the various ways the army has of modifying combat resolution or Leadership in your favour to offset this drawback.
  • War Fury does not make you lose, it only speeds up the rate you are losing.

• Woad Paint: Any model with Woad Paint gets a 6+ Ward Save. If the unit already has a Ward Save, it gets +1 to the existing save. (Thus a unit with an existing 5+ ward save has its ward save replaced with a 4+ one). Bear in mind though you can't stack a Ward to better than a 4+, but getting that 4+ is actually pretty easy for you a lot of the time.
  • Take on everything!! No really, take it, it combines with parry saves to make your units surprisingly hard to knock off in combat and one of your Lore's best spells. For characters, it adds extra protection without taking up your Magic Items allowance.

• Tribal Affiliation: like Nippon clans, Affiliation is the new subfactions army bonus. If one unit has a Tribal Affiliation or was upgraded to have one, all units that can take a Tribal Affiliation must be upgraded to have the same exact one. This will rack up the price of tribesmen, and some named characters will lock you into a faction.
  • Fir Domain: +1 armour save when using shields. Effectively gives unarmoured troops Light Armour and anyone with that already gets Medium Armour for what is usually a point a model. Considering how bad the saves on our units normally are, this is worth taking fairly often to shore up the fragile nature of the army.
  • Sessair: Non-mount models re-roll 1's to wound in CC. Anything that chucks out a bunch of dice like Swordmaidens or Woad Raiders loves this, giving them a bit of extra punch up close.
  • Finians: Roll 3d6 for Break test and discard the highest dice rolled (so you get to pretend to be a Lizardman). to hold the line longer despite the drawback of War Fury and the general squishy nature of most of your units making protracted combat a difficulty.
  • Falians: May deploy as ambushers, and get +1 to Hit in combat when flanking. Your core and elite troops could ambush and flank, beware that you have to have 3 units not in ambush for each 1000 points you bring.

The Lore of the Truthsayers

Like basically everyone else, the Albion have their own wizard lore that acts like Druidism. This lore is a hybrid between Light/Beasts/Life with heavy focus on the augments, so a buff army is the play of the day. Always try to grab Light of Battle but no spell in the Lore is bad except the signature, which is more just situational than anything (and Voice of Command if you are fighting that one guy at your local who plays Tomb Kings).

Lore Attribute: Mists of Albion: Whenever a spell from the Lore of the Truthsayers is cast on a friendly unit, enemy units targeting that unit suffer -1 To Hit with missile weapons until the start of the caster's next turn. With how fragile a lot of your units are base, any defensive buff you can get is nice, especially since this is effectively a free side effect of the spell.

• Elemental Power (Signature Spell): Cast on 4+. Elemental Power is an augment spell with a range of 18" that affects Fenbeasts, Fenhulks, or Viridian Lords. The unit immediately regains D3 Wounds, up to its starting value of 4. It goes without saying that unless you are taking any of these units, this spell is of no use. However, if you do have those units, it's an easy cast to both replenish the expensive models in them and give them some resistance to ranged attack via the lore attribute. But hey, it's a free spell you always have due to changes to the 9th Ed rules, so if you have the units to use it on, it's there.

1. Wings of Fate: Cast on 6+. Wings of Fate is a magic missile with a range of 24" and causes 3D6 Strength 2 hits. The Wizard can choose to extend the range of this spell to 36" and the number of hits to 4D6. If he does so, the casting value is increased to 10+. Your equivalent to Beasts' Flock of Doom, not that strong but nice to soften up enemy ranged units camping at the back.
2. Blessing of Valour: Cast on 6+. Remains in play. Blessing of Valour is an augment spell with a range of 24". The unit gets +1 To Hit with shooting and close combat attacks. The Wizard can choose to have this spell affect all friendly units within 12". If he does so, the casting value is increased to 16+. A good buff that helps gain that vital first-round victory in close combat, and at 6+ it's easy enough to cast that you usually won't have to worry about it.
3. Gift of Life: Cast on 7+. Gift of Life is an augment spell that affects all friendly units within 12". Each unit within this range resurrects D3 wounds worth of slain models in the same manner as Regrowth from the lore of Life. This spell has no effect on war machines (but it can restore a lost crew member), nor can it bring back a destroyed unit. The Wizard can choose to have this spell affect all friendly units within 24". If he does so, the casting value is increased to 14+. A mini healing nuke that heals Fenbeasts better than Elemental power does (although Elemental Power is a bit easier to get off).
   • Its boosted version is a good way to give your whole army the Mists of Albion boost.
4. Light of Protection: cast 9+. AKA the best defensive spell in this entire lore. Light of Protection is an augment spell with a range of 24". The unit receives a 5+ Ward save until the start of the caster's next Magic phase. The Wizard can choose to have this spell affect all friendly units within 12". If he does so, the casting value is increased to 18+. This spell will be your bread and butter, combine it with Woad Paint for a sweet 4+ Ward Save which when combined with the Lore Attribute makes your troops very survivable. Be wary, a savvy opponent will try and stop this at all costs.
5. Boon of Courage: Cast on 8+. Boon of Courage is an augment spell with a range of 24". The unit is Unbreakable until the start of the caster's next Magic phase. If cast on a fleeing unit, the unit immediately rallies, regardless of how many models are left in it. The Wizard can choose to have this spell affect all friendly units within 12". If he does so, the casting value is increased to 16+. Cast on a unit stuck in prolonged combat to keep them steady. Basically Light of Battle from the lore of Light, but in this army with the way War Fury screws your morale in prolonged combat it's actually fairly useful...if only you didn't need minimum Level 3 on a caster in order to know it.
6. Voice of Command: Cast on 9+. Voice of Command is a hex spell with a range of 24". The unit must immediately take a Leadership test. If the test is failed, the unit immediately loses all its fighting spirit. The affected unit cannot voluntarily move in its Movement phase or shoot in its next Shooting phase. This spell has no effect on models that are Immune to Psychology. The Wizard can choose to have this spell affect all enemy units within 12". If he does so, the casting value is increased to 18+. Situational and will be useless against certain armies (check what sort of LD your enemy has as well as to whether they are Immune to Psychology) but in the right situation, it can be great.

Artefacts of Albion

Your standard mix of some meh items that are mostly situational and others that are blatantly powerful.

Gai Dearg, The Sun Spear: Magic Weapon, 100pts. The big 100 point item is a Spear that grants +1 Strength and hits automatically (both bonuses apply in close combat and in shooting). On top of this, it can be thrown 8" and is quick to fire with the hit being resolved like a Bolt Thrower.

• Though expensive, due to the availability of Ward Saves through Woad Paint and the spell Light of Battle buffing Ward saves means that if managed correctly the Warleader armed with it will not be completely defenseless.

Fragarach, The Answerer: Magic Weapon, 75pts. Ignores Armour saves and for every Wound caused the enemy model has to pass a toughness test or suffer an additional Wound (the way it is worded implies these keep generating additional tests). In addition, the wielder may cast Wind Blast as a Bound Spell at Power Level 3+. The ignores armour effect alone would cost 50pts in the BRB (which is admittedly over cost given how prevalent Ward Saves are in 8th) so for an additional 25pts, you get the ability to cause additional wounds and cast a Bound Spell that can easily be used to troll the enemy.

• This still leaves a Warleader with 25pts to spend so grab a Talisman of Protection to give a 6+ Ward save (along with Woad Paint which can combine to give 5+).

White Hilt: Magic Weapon, 30pts. A Great Weapon that has Flaming Attacks and rerolls failed To Wound rolls against models with Toughness 5 or more. Situational and can sometimes be counterproductive given how common 2+ Ward Saves against Flaming Attacks are. For Monster hunting, The Whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd and the Banner of the Sun King are better. But it is still fairly cheap and leaves room to buy extra protection.

• This weapon is only better against a small group of things that are T5+ and are Flammable such as Wood Elf Treekin and Treemen. Only bring if you know you are facing these sorts of units.

The Ear of Beauty Magic Armour, 50pts. A Shield that grants a 4+ Parry Save that also grants the bearer an additional immediate attack for every save the wielder makes in Close Combat (Not just successful Parry Saves). Combine with an Ogre Blade and Woad Paint for extra troll as your Warleader spits out consistently high numbers of Str 6 attacks in combat. Be afraid of any opponents who see this combination coming and simply take him down with shooting attacks.

The Triskele: Talisman, Truthsayer only, 50pts. A must have and fluffy option that grants the Truthsayer a 5+ Ward save and Magic Resistance (3) while not being a unique item so you can have as many as you want. This item costs only 5pts more than an Obsidian Lodestone. Combine with Woad Paint or Light of Battle if you are worried about not having a 4+ Ward Save.

Staff of Light: Arcane Item, 40pts. +1 to Dispel attempts and +1 to all attempts to channel Dispel Dice. This on an Lv4 Truthsayer will take its toll on the enemies casting phase, especially against low-level Wizards. This item would work well with the protection granted by the Triskele as by having the Staff of Light you are painting a bigger target than usual on the wizards head.

Cauldron of Rebirth: Enchanted Item, 75pts. A unit the bearer is in regenerated D3 Wounds worth of models at the start of your magic phase but restored models can not bestow their Leadership onto the unit. This item is over costed with the only way it will make its money back is in a large unit of high points models such as Hearthguard, Sword Maidens, Neophytes, Warriors of Danu, and Horse Warriors. It also has the drawback of taking most of a Lord's magic allowance.

• Combine with Gift of Life and Regrowth for a never-ending tarpit.

The Chariot of Morgan Mwynfawr: Enchanted Item, 60pts. A model equipped with this can transform it into a Chariot with Fly at the start of any of his turn with the ability to turn back at the beginning of another turn. This is at the cost of joining other units. As a regular Chariot costs 50pts, this may be worth it if you intend to bring a Warleader on a Chariot and don't intend to kit him out with much. The main drawback is that it eats into your magic items allowance but given the ease of acquiring Ward Saves through other means in this army this is not as big of a drawback as it would be elsewhere. Still mostly a skip.

The Whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd: Enchanted Item, 50pts. The bearer gains Multiple Wounds (D6) to his melee attacks which do not apply to Magical Weapons. Overall it can be pretty useful but is arguably expensive and where the Whetstone is an Enchanted Item it cheats you out of many potential combos.

• A Great Weapon is a good weapon to use the Whetstone on, for a monster hunter Chieftain.
• One interesting combo is to have the bearer camp out in the same unit as the Banner of the Sun King to allow the Whetstones carrier to wound anything on at least a 4+. Send him against high toughness Monsters and Characters
  • Alternate opinion: This combo does not need the Whetstone as a large enough unit of Tribal Warriors could drown most monsters in attacks with the only drawback being that it may take slightly longer.

Banner of the Sun King: Magic Standard, 60pts. All models in a unit with this banner will always wound on at least a 4+ in close combat by itself is pretty good and will result in anything big and lacking armour simply melting away. But the standard comes with the additional ability to grant D3 to combat resolution helping to overcome the weakness of War Fury by breaking the enemy quickly. Virtually a must-have item.

Army Units

Lords and Heroes

Named Characters

• Gwenlaen, the Warrior Queen: : Your faction leader character of the Sessair tribe, she has the same statline as a Warleader but has 1 extra attack. All friendly units within 12" may reroll failed Psychology tests and automatically pass Rally tests (Great if War Fury resulted in your units suffering). She only has a 5+ Armour and a 6+ Ward saves but she has 2 Magic items which boost her defense substantially. The first forces the enemy to reroll all successful rolls to Wound against her for both shooting and close combat, the other is the Torc of Protection which can be used once per game at the start of any phase to make her impossible to harm with any Spell, Shooting, or Close Combat attack until the end of the turn. Her Sword gives +2S and the Devastating Charge Special Rule. A character with near unparalleled protection, (send her against that Chaos Lord) her Magic items are impossible to recreate on a generic Warleader well worth the 250 points if possible put her on a Warhorse as her items don't apply to the Chariot.

• Dural Durak, Leader of the Council: Your uber powerful caster Lord. He costs 375pts and is an Lv4 Wizard with access to the Lore of Life, Beasts, and Truthsayers. He comes equipped with a Triskele and Woad Paint. Which on a Generic Truthsayer would cost 320pts, so for 55pts you are paying for his unique arcane item the Heartwood Staff, that gives him +1 to Cast and +2 to cast if he is within 6" of a forest. He also has the special rule High Druid allowing him to reroll all power dice when casting a spell once per turn unless the irresistible force was the result which combined makes him very good at getting spells off.
  • His item and Special rule are in my view worth the extra cost for such a powerful caster who packs a considerable amount of protection.

• Morrigan, the Phantom Queen: Morrigan is really good in an Albion list as she's great at helping you make the most of War Fury. If she's in base contact (she's ethereal, meaning anything that isn't magic can't do shit, use this), she imposes -3 LD, 2 from terror, 1 from her aura, and also buffs friendly units with 1+ to hit. What you want to do is get a charge off with another unit, cast Doom and Darkness from the Lore of Death, preferably Spirit Leeching their Magic Weapon carrying character, then charge her in (she's fast) for -6 LD to whatever she touches, and she probably can't even get hurt due to ethereal. This and the 1+ to hit means that she's very good at helping your dudes win combats quickly, like Albion wants to, and then pursue when they almost certainly break (seriously, an LD10 model has to take break tests on LD4 if she's fighting them with Doom and Darkness, that's a 2/3rds chance of fleeing) and then she can pursue well with Swiftstride and run them down. The only threat to her are flying magical units and magic missiles, but they can completely ruin her day. Anything else does nothing though, so there's that. If you're having trouble with her getting sniped, she can join units, but she will lose out on her mobility. As for spells, I personally like the Spirit Leech/Doom and Darkness combo to make enemies break easily and assassin magic characters, but you could also take other debuffs from Shadow and Death like Soulblight or Enfeebling Foe or The Withering or Melkoth's to help you win combats, as I mildly overlooked that when assuming the enemy would break. Remember she gets Flock of Doom for free, as a spell and as free melee attacks, which along with her mobility means she can charge those magical Dwarf cannons and win the combat.

• Cormac Chath: A shock infantry Character of the Fir Domain. His Hero of Albion rule gives all friendly units within 6" (Note it says unit so this can stack pretty high +1 to combat resolution for EVERY unsaved Wound Cormac makes, pay attention to the fact it says Wound not kill. This is important as his Great Weapon deals D3 Wounds which when combined with his Hero of Albion rule (and his 4 attacks due to Frenzy) he can help guarantee success in that vital first round of combat. Defensively he has a 4+ Armour save and a 5+ Ward Save (6+ from his Magic Armour with a +1 due to Woad) and the enemy suffers -1 to Wound. Overall a good Melee warrior who will help lessen the likelihood of prolonged combat. His cost of 245 is pretty high for a Hero costing more than many other armies unique Lords (the only thing that sets him apart from a Lord is being 2W and being LD 8) so not an instant take but he has good potential as a force multiplier. Stick him in a unit with the Banner of the Sun King for a Death Star that will break the enemy.

• Conor Mac Feud: A parody of Connor MacLeod of Highlander of the Finian tribe, he's an impressive hero that excels at duels. Conor is also pretty much what Bragg the Gutsman from the Ogre Kingdoms would look like if he was any good (and a Human with 1 less Wound). His special rules grant him has Heroic Killing Blow when in challenges and the ability to designate a nemesis that if he kills gives you 100 move victory points but at the cost of him having to accept and issue challenges. He also has a 4+ Ward Save against all attacks except successful Killing Bows while his sword allows him to re-roll all failed To Hit and To Wound rolls. A good character hunter though his 200 points may be a bit steep he only needs to kill 1 enemy Hero to be worth it. (Still cheaper and more effective than Bragg so if you are fighting Ogres I would bring him just to annoy my opponent, also because his HKB is well suited to fighting Ogres)

• Amanthas, the Huntress: wants to start the turn as close as possible the point-blank them in the face. able to scout up to away from the enemy, snipe with a Strong Killing Blow bow, can't be marched blocked, and can fire and march. She wants to get up close as posable and snipe enemy heroes.

• Roth Maclyr: warrior of Sessair and a champion of Danu. his higher leadership make him more likely to turn into his spasm form and bost a killing blow ignore armour Great weapon to complement his strength.

• Agum the Watcher: a heroic giant. has learned from the cygors to throw boulders and he can do it better. when you want to buy a giant and Stonethorwer for a discount out of your hero allowance rather than your rare.

Generic Characters

• Warleaders: These guys are Albion's main generic Lord, with a decent statline of M4, WS6, BS5, S4, T4, W3, I6, A4, and Ld9 (somewhere between an Empire character and a lesser Chaos one). They have the ability War Cry, letting all friendly units within 6" from a given Hero or 12" from a given Lord with War Cry add an extra D3" to their charge range - really useful in helping Albion get the most out of their War Fury. Have the option of taking Shieldbearers (which still allows you to join infantry units), Warhorse, Chariot - and the Mastodon, if you want to go all in. Plus some generic upgrades (weapons, shield, woad).

• Chieftain: For a cheaper hero (60 pts) with a statline of M4, WS5, BS5, S4, T4, W2, I5, A3, and Ld8, and some fewer options (no Mastodon, 50 points of magic items), for a perfectly respectable leader. Useful as a general-style character, or a minor leader in bigger armies, making sure the army has access to War Cry. It can be outfitted into any number of builds...and you're probably going to have one lug around your battle standard too.

• Truthsayer/Wyrd Druid: (240/90p) A generic wizard who is a little expensive compared to other factions but will beat up said other wizards for their lunch money with his WS, S, and I of 4 (the Lord version also has T4 and an extra attack). With the lores available to him (Life, Light, Beasts and Truthsayers) it's mostly defensive and support options with the odd offensive spell if you want to spice things up a little, and if you take the Lord version they can buy the Triskele, a non unique magic item (IE any Truthsayer can carry one) that gives a 5+ Ward (4+ because you're going to take Woad Paint) and a whopping 3 pips of Magic Resistance.

Mounts

• Shieldbearers: put a warleader ontop a Hearthguard champion. for standing among your tribesmen but also want to ride something that can hold a sword.

• Warhorse: the horse we know and love.

• Chariot: to be more like tomb kings bay having your hero joint other chariots,

• Mastodon: put your hero on a Basildon

Core Units

• Warband Warriors: Your basic cheap infantry. 4 points a model, coming pre-equipped with hand weapons and shields. Compare to the Empire's Swordsman cost 2 more points per model, but the Imperials have light armour. Have the option to swap for spears (to deter enemy charges or get a few more supporting hits) or great weapons (if you want to tackle heavier units, also good on a small unit for surprise flank charges against stuff you're holding up with a bigger block) for 1 point. In addition, for a single point a model they can carry Javelins...without losing their other weapon, and thanks to 9th Ed's change to Quick to Fire, throw them on the charge for some extra Armour Piercing (1) attacks. So pretty good overall, a solid unit, a little squishy but you can mitigate this with the plethora of defensive magic you have available and the Fir Domain allegiance to get a slightly better Armour Save. Although they are cheap enough to tarpit, War Fury can backfire spectacularly in this mode.

• Woad Raiders: The premium infantry, with 3 more points then Woad painted Warriors you also get Frenzy and +1 Weapon Skill. They can opt to swap shields for paired hand weapons (which will murder lighter troops thanks to Frenzy and weight of dice), or get spears. Pretty standard and fairly costly. These are the guys you want chasing down the enemy or flank charging something you've locked up with a brick of warriors. These fellas also love the Sessair allegiance, since they can chuck out a lot of dice with Frenzy and the extra chance to wound helps them more than the other Albion core units.

• Youngbloods: She's my little youngblood... (Eh, Green Day reference? Anybody? Nope? Moving on.) These guys are skirmishers, and for 6 points a pop they can make sub-par tarpits when needed. They can carry either Javelins or Slings to harass enemy units from a little way away and since both have Armour Piercing (1) they're not as ineffectual against heavier troops as you might think. You can also buy them shields for a measly point per model which makes them surprisingly hard to kill with missile fire if they're Fir Domain, getting a 4+ save against attacks from the front. In addition, they can't take the Woad Paint that most of your units can, making them a little squishier.
  • 10 with Hurled Heads cost 50pts and can be a nice little addition to fill out those last few points. alas no, the heads are gone, they will be missed.

• War Hounds: A mixed unit of Dogs and handlers. You deploy these guys and they can act like light cavalry skirmishers. Hunt down war machines, get someone in the way to block the charging vector to save a more valuable unit. 6 points plus 3 points per hound handler tax for a 7" movement ain't bad in a pinch. Cheap as chips, doesn't have to pay for an allegiance if you lock yourself into one, and can usually drive off skirmishers and the like...but they die like flies to just about any return attacks.

• Aonbarr Horse Warrior: Standard light cavalry. At 13 points, you get what you pay for - a dude on a horse with an extra point of leadership and WS. You can add the normal Woad, javelins, spears, and LT Armor. An above-average unit that feels pulled out of the Tomb Kings book. As long as you don't load them out with armour and all they're fast as well, so Vanguard move is something you can do.

• Chariot: Like the Cavalry, it feels like we're borrowing from the Tomb Kings book. In the same way, these guys are great - 50 pts a pop, extra armor saves, attacks like a champ, and charges as normal. You can also take Scythes for a small cost per model to give them a free extra impact hit (D6+1 instead of the normal D6) making them real nasty on the assault. These guys win fights for you.

Special Units

• Hearthguard: Bodyguards, and the first infantry you'd want at the core of your army. For more than double the price of Warband dudes, you get Light Armour, Stubborn (which means you get all the benefits of War Fury without the weaknesses), an extra point of WS, S, I, and Ld. Option to get Great Weapons to hit at S6 in the first round of a combat (which is the most important round for Albion units anyway). These badasses hold the line.

• Swordmaidens: Same price as Hearthguard, but with some trades. We trade Lt Armour and a Shield for a Great Weapon, and a point of Strength for Woad Paint and Devastating Charge. They're a glass cannon with 2 Greatsword attacks each on the charge but fairly costed.

• Druid Neophytes: Imagine if you took a caster unit, chopped it up, and spread it into a unit. That's what the Druid Neophytes are, and then some. They're treated as a Level 2 Life wizard with Awakening of the Wood and Shield of Thorns (somewhat situational spells but not bad) and get an extra +1 to cast (to a maximum of +3) for every five models in the unit. They're also Skirmishers for some protection from missile weapons, and can help with dispelling things without using up Hero or Lord slots.

• Hunters: At 9 pts per model they are your standard Special archer unit with BS4 on the unit with the Champion having BS5. They can swap their bows for Javelins for free, kind of meh (but they are Scouts if you wanted to get up in someone's face and pepper them with BS4 Javelins). But the really interesting option is that for 3pts each they are able to take War Hawks. Each Hawk provides an additional S3 shooting attack with infinite range and hits if the target fails a WS test. This is your Warmachine killer unit, as Warmachine automatically fail WS tests the Hawks hit automatically. If you are against a Warmachine heavy army take multiple units of 5-10 Hunters with only the Hawk upgrade, this makes your Monsters and Monstrous Infantry more viable.

• Warriors of Danu: The most blatant of the many blatant Slaine rip-offs, "blessed" warriors who shapeshift into monstrous forms when in battle. They are not that great and their special ability to shapeshift only works when they pass an LD test at the start of EVERY round of combat, and even if they pass they only gain +1 to WS, S, T, and A. They come with Great Weapons which means that unless you are against high T foes the S bonus of transforming is a bit wasted. Swordmaidens and Hearthguard can also fill the elite great weapon role, so these guys mostly just come down to personal preference: they tend to perform a bit better against bigger stuff thanks to having a potential S7 and can hit at I3 even with the -2 bonus, but they cost a little more per model.

• Pixie Swarms: At 40pts each these swarms are incredibly underpriced. they have a Ward save(5+), 10 wounds, Initiative 5, and Leadership 8. But their main attraction is their Befuddling Glamour special rule which forces all enemy units within 12" and line of sight to make a Leadership test at the start of their turn or be forced to move straight towards the Pixies as if they failed a Stupidity test. Use them in the center of your army to disrupt the enemies' front line units to allow your main forces flank charges.
  • They have several downsides the first is that they are only T1 but as long as you keep them away from Magic and avoid bad combats they should be fine. The 2nd downside is that their Glamour rule does not work on any unit that is Immune to Psychology so against certain armies they lose a lot of their usefulness. The final downside is that their ability won't come into effect to often as the enemy will often be within their generals Inspiring Presence so you should never rely on it working, but the threat of it working can force your opponent to be more cautious just in case. Spirit Hosts could be used to represent some especially angry Pixies.

• Fenbeasts: 65pts each and require you to take at least 1 Caster to bring. These guys in the lore are the signature unit of Albion and they are... alright. Each has W4 S5 T5 A3, Fear, Regeneration, Unbreakable, and Unstable. They have Stupidity but their LD of 8 will help with that. They benefit from the Lore of the Truthsayers Signature Spell allowing them to recover D3 Wounds. Can also purchase one of four upgrades for the unit: +1 Attack (never a bad thing), +1 Strength in a turn in which a Life spell was cast within 12" (Druid Neophytes always have Life spells even if you take other lores on characters), +1 to their Regeneration (making them obnoxious to try and remove without flaming attacks), or -1 WS/BS to enemy attacks against them (situational compared to the boosted regeneration).

• Viridian Lords: Elite Skirmisher melee infantry Mossmen, Regeneration, and Flammable. They have WS5 S4 T4 I4 A2 and LD9. They have 2 Hand Weapons or can swap to a Great Weapon for 2 points to go whack some heavier troops. You can also replenish the unit for a small investment of magic dice with the signature spell of the Truthsayer lore, which is funnily enough one of the better uses of said spell. For models, Dryads could be used to represent the 2 Hand Weapons option, or perhaps Tree Revenants.

• Centaurs: Fast Cavalry with War Fury, 1 hand Weapon. 17 points a model. Lots of upgrade options (Spears, Great Weapon, Extra Hand Weapon, Bows, Shields, Light Armour) to fits lots of Fast Cavalry profiles, and in addition to whatever weapon you gave tgem they can also buy either Javelins or Throwing Axes to chuck out some more pain on the charge or harass enemies with Armour Piercing (1) on the Javelins or S5 on the axes (but crappy range). Centigors from the Beastmen army or Mantic Centaurs are a good choice for the model.

• Half-Giants: Monstrous Infantry with War Fury and Fear. 31 points a model, 3 models a rank. They can carry Polearms or Great Weapons, making them great can openers against stuff like Dwarf heavy infantry or Chaos Warriors, and can buy Woad Paint.
  • These suckers are tough beasts, basically, Ogres fighting for Albion, but with access to Woad Paint and other Albion upgrades. Good vanilla, and better with serious point investment. Use them as you would any other Monstrous Infantry Unit. For the purposes of models, use Ogre Kingdoms infantry, with a Celtic flair. They're the right size, fit the role with some minor additions.

Rare Units

• Fenhulk: A single (chunky) Fenbeast as a large monster. Can still buy the same upgrades as the regular Fenbeasts, but also comes stock with Magic Resistance (1), forces Dangerous Terrain tests on enemies that engage it in combat and gives +1 to channelling rolls for your casters within 6". At T6 with 6 wounds and a potential 3+ Regeneration, pretty hard to put down without heavy units or war machines of some kind.

• Stone Thrower: War Machine, stone thrower that can't move but is S5(10). 100 points. For the purposes of models, use Bretonnia Trebuchet. Make the peasants more Celtic? Now with the option to take fire ammunition instead for bigger AoE and Flaming Attacks.

• Mastodon: Very similar to the Stegadon from the Lizardmen army, with similar uses. Does D6+1 impact hits and has a 4+ natural armour, and has Immune to Psychology and Stubborn. Crappy Initiative of 1 though means literally everything will attack before it.

• Giants: You know em, you love em. The ever-venerable giant. The Giant is an effective monster hunter but its purpose is often limited to receiving multiple cannonballs to the face. A good choice for the purpose of having fun but not much else. Compared to some other armies you can give it a 6+ ward save but that doesn't do much for keeping it alive. A couple of units of Hunters with War Hawks on Warmachine sniping duty will make him more viable.
  • Alternate opinion: The Woad Paint should average out to give the Giant the equivalent of an extra wound.

• Bonegrinder Giant: Pretty much just a regular Giant +1, with increased stats and some more brutal special attacks. It's expensive and will attract every cannonball in the local vicinity, but can squash a fair bit of stuff.

Army Building

For your basic Human minatures, Warlord Games have a large Ancient Briton range which can cheaply give you most of your army quickly and cheaply.

The name of the game with Albion is getting the charge and winning the first round of combat, failure to do so will hurt you badly. War Fury is a nice boost but will be the bane of your existence, as such make sure to include a BSB and several of the following units that have either morale-boosting effects or just ignore War Fury and/or it's downsides.

• Gwenlaen
• Cormac
• Hearthguard (Stubborn)
• Druid Neophytes (Mini BSB)
• Viridian Lords
• Giant

Albion will do well against armies and units that have trouble sticking around in combat.

Albion will struggle against armies that do not break from combat such as Undead and Daemons along with armies that can get high LD such as Dwarfs and Skaven

External Links

The Project's website

Warhammer Army Project Tactics Articles
General Tactics	About 9th edition Magic Items Magic Tips Regiments of Renown
Forces of Order	Albion Amazons Bretonnia Cathay Cult of Ulric Dwarf Empire Estalia Halflings High Elves Kingdoms of Ind Kislev Lizardmen Nippon Wood Elves
Forces of Destruction	Beastmen Chaos Dwarfs Daemons of Chaos Dark Elves Orcs & Goblins Skaven Vampire Counts Warriors of Chaos Zombie Pirates of the Vampire Coast
Unaligned	Araby Dogs Of War Hobgoblins Norse Ogre Kingdoms Pirates of Sartosa Tomb Kings