D.R.A.I.C.H. Ghost Tactics: Fighting Ethereal Units

[Darluith]

Please note that this is still in the tabulation phase and is subject to certain interpretations by all. I welcome your comments and hope that you enjoy the following D.R.A.I.C.H. post.

I decided to take on this thread on ethereal tactica and how you can capitalize on their weaknesses. In this I will delve into two categories.

1) The strengths and weaknesses of your units against ethereal units
2) The weaknesses of ethereal units

Some of the more experienced/wily generals will know these tactics. But with the 7th edition switch it makes them so much easier to use.

[Kheirakh]

Well, I could start:

Our strenghts:
Magic, static resolution and movement. First of all, all magical attacks are poison for ethereal units. And if you can bomb them from afar it's better. Lifetaker is a very good weapon against wraiths and vampires with ethereal abilities because of 3 S4 shots that always hit with 2+. You can be sure that you can take out at least 1 wraith per turn with this weapon. Other magical close combat attacks are also good and the better when you get loads of them. Hydra sword is particularly handy.
Sorcery is a must when facing ethereal units, because nowadays it's good to be a dark elf player who likes magic. Blade wind is probably the most potent spell against ethereal units, and so are S4 magic missiles.
Static combat resolution is our weapon against ethereal units. You almost always outnumber them and have 2 - 3 ranks and banner. Warbanner is also good against ethereal units. The more they loose the combat, the sooner they will vanish with the wind.
Movement is also the key against ethereal units. With movement I mean baiting and flanking. When facing wraiths it is better to bait them with DR and shoot them with lifetaker and magic. And when the ethereal units are in combat, it is good idea to flank them and even better if you flank them and have more magical attacks to kill the bastards.

Ethereal weaknesses:
Well, magic is their venom. And the fact that they don't get banners and musicians etc. And no ranks. But still, watch out for wraiths and don't get tied into stupid combats with spirit hosts!

[Darluith]

D.R.A.I.C.H Tactica on fighting ethereal units

First rule of thumb when fighting against units of this type, they are usually small in numbers. There in lies the strength of your Static CR units (i.e. Spearmen, corsairs, things of that nature)

This tactica is meant to hamper and eventually destroy ethereal units. It’s best to use outnumbering blocks of infantry to "stick" them in one place. Charging them with harder hitting smaller units (MSU tactic) is usually not the best idea in this phase of the game. So here we will delve on the first section of the tactica.

Unit strength and numbers are highly encouraged in this portion of the tactica. A large unit against, let's say for example, a host of wraiths w/ banshee, will 8/10 win the combat for you. Its takes a few rounds to kill them with this, but of course, you're sacrificing core units to accomplish this goal. That leaves harder hitting units to do the job of pounding the rest into submission. Unit’s best to take here are any core Static CR unit you have in your inventory. Spears work best in this effort, as they are cheaper now in 7th, and they are more expendable. Use them to hamper the ethereal units and worry about the ones you can hit with your value units.

Now, part 2 of this is the ethereal units you will face in warhammer and their strengths and weaknesses.

1) Spirit hosts
2) Banshees
3) Wraiths
4) Black coach (differs from the above tactic, which will be discussed later)
5) The Green Knight
6) Vampires with their ethereal gift.

These are the ones that I know well, though I may have forgotten a few. That’s where comments are a necessity in this page.

VC ethereals (spirit hosts, banshees, and vampires) are some of the most annoying enemies to face. They have a multitude of wounds, and are stacked units. It’s difficult to do the damage necessary to break these foul hordes on less than 2 turns. Be careful not to get caught up in the moment and overextend your line as you may need support to break them. If it’s a question of taking out the source, we are faster than most of them and can always use the "go around" tactic. For those of you that don't know it, it's simply as it states. You avoid the ethereal unit’s altogether, making them affectionately useless (or at least wasting a turn or two catching the main battle line). This is the preferred method in games I played against them. As for the vampire with ethereal gifts, it’s best to use a magic item (or two) and rid yourself of that threat.

Black coach... This thing hurts as a hating, flying, multi wound ethereal monstrosity with scythed wheels. If it soaks up enough power die it can really hamper your day. You should try knocking it out early with harder hitting units (RBT's work well if you focus all your efforts on them). If it gets to the point that it's ethereal, it’s a catch 22. If you don't deal with it and get the source of the army quickly, it will crumble like any other undead unit. If you don't (or can't) it will come back to bite you, real hard. Try to take it out real early and it will accomplish 2 things. 1) It will remove a great threat to your line; 2) it will make your opponent rethink his strategy 6/10.

Green Knight... This ones just a tad bit tough to beat since you can't technically kill it. You can hinder him as he doesn't join units. Just remember that he causes terror, ignores armor saves plus he can switch between +2 strength and D6 wounds, and can appear anywhere there is a natural object. Keeping those things in mind gives you a kind of working knowledge on where he will appear. Best tactic is mobbing against him. He can dish out the punishment, but he definitely can't stand against 20 stack infantry and win combat by wounds alone. Just watch for lone knightly unit ready to pounce your flank to death (or the inexperienced player whom overextends him) and you're golden. Just remember that he has 4 attacks at S4 if he does choose D6 wounds (an added note that I just remembered).

Remember, as there are sure to be some that I missed, all comments/additions are definitely welcome here. This is actually my second tactical thread here so I hope that I did well for you all.