Chariot Tactica- Veterans Thoughts Appreciated

[Dancingpigeon]

Hey all,

I'm going to come straight up and say it- I'm terrible with Chariots.

I'm just unsure of how to use these apparently excellant units, and I require a bit of help from all you veteran generals from D.net. My main problem with them, you see, is that because of stupidty and no march move, I'm afraid of putting them on a flank. I just get the feeling its too unreliable as with their movement issues, they just don't ahve the punch to be able to rush down, and get in the enemies flank before he's reached my own battle line. Because of this, I feel forced to place them closer to the center of my own lines, where a failed stupidity test isn't the end of the world- however, this makes it far harder for them to get a flank- and people can see the anvil/bait-counter charge tactic from a mile away.

I guess my main problem is trying to get them supported in their charges... also, I've found putting a noble in one (especially my general) to be mediocre at best... He doesn't possess the speed to be able to get the flanks he really needs to bust units himself (And take advantage of the fact he's US5), and he is nowhere near capable of busting an infantry unit on the front unsupported- and like I said, people see you lining up for a counter-charge froma mile away, so against an general that has any inclination of what he's doing, you will never get a flank easily.

I've found its more effective to have a cheap noble with HA, SDC, Lance, Shield and Dark Steed in a unit of 6 DR's (I'm testing both with, and without, Standard), but thats another topic entirely.

So my question to you all is:

How do you use your Chariots, and Chariot mounted Nobles? How effective have you found them? How do you get flanks effectively with them? And do you find their unreliability and relatively slow speed a factor in using them on a flank.

[Dyvim tvar]

The first thing is that with a character in a chariot, I don't try to flank with them. If an enemy unit presents its flank, all the better. But I don't try to count on it.

To compensate for the inability to march. i generally put chariots near the center of the board. That allows them to get to either side if needsd. The worst thing is to have your chariots taken out of a game completely after deplying on one flank or the other.

A frontal charge by a chariot with a noble in it does a lot of damage--he doesn't necessarily need to get the flank charge. Support with a unit of dark riders for the flank charge, and you have a real winner.

[Denthor]

Are us less veteran players opinions apreciated as well then

I agree completly with Dyvim Tvar because of the random nature of cold one chariots the best thing to do with a hero is gear them up to hit as hard as possible. A cold one chariot with noble gives a minimum 9 attacks on the turn it charges enough to negate a fully ranked units CR if you do some damage.

On the subject of none hero chariots i would employ them the same way. Yes stupidity slows them down but meh bad things happen. Two chariots deployed kinda centuraly can do wonders when supported by cavalry or when supporting an infantry charge. As Dyvim said you just need to playtest and work out what combinations of troops work well when frontal charging with chariots as opposed to trying to get a flank.

[Dancingpigeon]

I think the minimum attacks they can get are 8... 3 from the Noble, 2 Cold Ones, 2 Impact Hits, and 1 Crew member

@Dyvim
I've quickly come to this realisation with the few games I've played my Chariot noble with. I'm used to TK Chariots, where they are a flanking, light cav unit, so I definately require a change of paradigms for their use in the druchii army.

I guess its more about me having to acknowledge that although they are powerful... there are units that I cannot/should not do an unsupported frontal charge...

Its also good to hear that I was on the right track with beginning to deploy them in the center of my lines. I'm beginning to find that having them about 4-6" behind the front of my infantry line is the bset place for them for counter charges... if enemy cavalry choose not to charge my bait unit, and try to come forwards enough to charge the Chariots in their next turn, I can charge them with the infantry and force them into my anvil... well, in some cases, anyway.

@Denthor
I should have said any players opinions appreciated

[Ostron]

I guess its more about me having to acknowledge that although they are powerful... there are units that cannot/should not do an unsupported frontal charge...

That's pretty much a maxim for the Druchii army.

I usually take two chariots and deploy them at 'thirds': 1/3 of the way in from each side of the board. That usually allows them to support the charge of whatever I put in the middle, plus it gives them the opportunity for a flank charge if one of the enemy units turns to head for either my flanking DRs or whatever's in the center of the board. I usually also match them up with COKs; if the chariots go stupid the knights can usually take over for them.

[Frankthetank]

I think the minimum attacks they can get are 8... 3 from the Noble, 2 Cold Ones, 2 Impact Hits, and 1 Crew member

@Dyvim
I've quickly come to this realisation with the few games I've played my Chariot noble with. I'm used to TK Chariots, where they are a flanking, light cav unit, so I definately require a change of paradigms for their use in the druchii army.

I guess its more about me having to acknowledge that although they are powerful... there are units that I cannot/should not do an unsupported frontal charge...

Its also good to hear that I was on the right track with beginning to deploy them in the center of my lines. I'm beginning to find that having them about 4-6" behind the front of my infantry line is the bset place for them for counter charges... if enemy cavalry choose not to charge my bait unit, and try to come forwards enough to charge the Chariots in their next turn, I can charge them with the infantry and force them into my anvil... well, in some cases, anyway.

@Denthor
I should have said any players opinions appreciated

Another way i use them is a fron charge with a brick of warriors so i get combat res for the warriors and lots of kills for the chariot.

[Sv_harlequin]

I run each Chariot backed up by a Unit of Dark Riders just of the the rear flank of them, The idea being hitting wiht the Chariot First and then following up with Riders into the flank or also the front. Also this way you get 2 units with crossbows aswell so a few shots at the regiment you are charging into before hand can help.
The other reason is if the Chariot gets caught or stuck the Riders can Provide support in numbers for either CR or bait to draw away possible attacks.

[Duke of swords]

I think next to and slightly behind a large infantry unit is the best place for them. You charge with the infantry which gives you static CR and the chariot adds wounds plus helps reduce counter swings. Meanwhile their charge range extends beyond that of the infantry and a flank might presnt itself as an alternative.

DoS

PS-I love Firefly

[- human]

They're one of the few units on our army that can do a frontal charge well. As you said, they are a tad slow - especially when you take into account a failed stupidity test that might happen on turn 1 or 2 (god help you if it happens after then ). This slowness makes them somewhat harder to flank with.

Not a problem! Jus throw them in there, charge the enemy head-on. Maybe even with another chariot. But make sure you've got something ELSE doing the flank, dark riders or whatever. Chariots can really dish it out when you roll a 4, 5 or 6 on the auto-hits. It's the one roll I'm really good at making

At 97 points, they're good baits too (for the right cause). Particularly because they're not "typical" baits. Don't throw them away wastefully, but it's a small price to pay if it ends up with you putting a key enemy unit in a very bad position.

Good luck! Don't give up on chariots. They're awesome.

[Mutator]

How do you use your Chariots, and Chariot mounted Nobles? How effective have you found them? How do you get flanks effectively with them? And do you find their unreliability and relatively slow speed a factor in using them on a flank.

This may not be of any use to you, but my personal thoughts are that if a Ld10 general isnt on the flank, the chariots arent on the flank either.

The chariots are going to spend one or two turns of the game stupid. Thus I prefer they are where the action is going to be, and hope that they are not stupid on that one turn they need to charge.

I try not to overthink with chariots - they go up the guts, attempt to charge something, and probably do not survive the game. If they've killed something worthwhile, or by their presence supported my plan or ruined my opponent's plan, then they've done their job. That is pretty much it.

Obviously I dont put heroes in chariots

[Ironhand]

I'm quite new with Druchii but an old Warhammer hand, and the one thing I've found about chariots is that they almost always work better in pairs. Not necessarily side-by-side, I've frequently used Ostron's 'thirds" deployment, but just having two on the table.

[Fellblade]

Likewise with the pairs, and even more important for our stupidity-prone chariots. I use one list with 4 chariots, 2 units of Knights, and 4 units of Dark Riders. The chariots are there to provide the hammer-blows. The general goes in the middle where his Ld can benefit chariots & Knights.

March with the Riders, and hold the Knights back with the chariots until turn 3 charges.

[Ironhand]

@Fellblade

All cavalry army? That's an interesting idea - how does it work on the tabletop?

How big are your DR and CoK units?

[Sulam]

In my army each chariot should be ridden by a noble. This makes him far more relyable since you suffer less fro the effects of stupidity and low impact hits rolls.
I dare to charge each infantry unit with them. (perhaps exept peasant bowmen because of the stakes;)and HUGE undead units which lock me in combat) If you ever get the opportunity to charge cavalry, please do!
The chariot truly has enough hitting power to do so. Keep him in the centre of your army so that he will advance to the enemy straight. Wheeling the chariot will cost too much movement and will cause your chariot to get behind your lines.

Supporting him is the key to archive succes if you don't break enemies in the first round of combat. DR are ideal to attack the flanks or even rear in the second round of combat.

'lone' chariots are good for baiting. Everyone will charge them and with US4 they will not cause panic in other units when fleeing.

Back to the noble in the chariot: Your power lies in the charge IMO. Equip him with a lance versus T4 opponents (O&G, motral chaos etc) and a halberd vs T3 opponents.(brets, HE, etc) so that you'll always wound enemies on 2+.

Sulam

[Die go]

I´m a chariot lover, and I use them almost always, one or two pairs of them. It means 4 stupidity tests every turn, but usually they work quite ok, and they´re cheaper than a unit of 6-7 CoK.

I use them mainly becuase of their psichological impact upon my oponents actions, making them think twice when a chariot is near and to waste lots of firepower on these T5 4W monsters. Combo charges of two chariots or one chariot+Spearmen unit are usually more than the oponent can handle, and characters on chariot are one of the best thing ever, but I don´t try to use them as flankers.

Just advance with towards enemy lines, pray to Khaine every single Stupidity test and if it´s not the right fight, flee without remorse.

[Entreri bloodletter]

'lone' chariots are good for baiting. Everyone will charge them and with US4 they will not cause panic in other units when fleeing.

The only bad thing about that strategy is that if you flee with your chariot through your own troops you will still cause impact hits, which could in turn cause a panic if bad enough.