So, following on from some cross-site snooping I discovered a woody army comprised solely of Eternal guard. It was meant to be a massive Phalanx thingy. And I really liked it. And it got me thinking about massive units. I made a few lists. Made a Druchii one that was quite good, but then I said to myself. What infantry does no one want to engage in combat. And there was only one answer. Grave Guard. ‘Cos they are dead hard and have KB. So I knocked this ickle bit of fun together. Have a look. Explanation below.
I [Heart] Grave Guard V1.0
The Might
Vampire Count (Waking Death, SoM, Ring of the Night, Enchanted Shield, lvl1, Braded Horse)
+ 58 Grave Guard (Shields), FC – Warbanner
The Guard
White Lord (Sword of the Kings, HA, Sh, Barded Horse)
+ 28 Grave Guard (Shields), SM – Banner of the Barrows
The Hook
Vampire Thrall (Wolf Form, GW, Flayed Hauberk)
6 Black Knights (Barding)
8 Dire Wolves
8 Dire Wolves
6 Dire Wolves
5 Ghouls
5 Ghouls
2246pts in total
3 PD
3 DD
86 Grave Guard / 127 models in total
So its completely different to every other VC list about. Its got no magic, no zombies, no banshees no bats etc. It’s just got a massive amount of Grave Guard in two big units. Okay, one is a massive. Before you tell me I am a fool I need to explain the deployment, because its designed with a game plan that revolves around deployment.
The Littler unit of Grave Guard deploy in 15x2 with their Wight Lord. They then go right against one flank. Lets say the right flank. There might be an inch or so to their right, but basically they deploy against the right table edge and stick out 15” into the board. However some times I will deploy them about 8 wide, and then in turn 1 add a pair of ranks to go 15 wide. It all depends.
Then there is a little gap. And then the Massive unit of GG go down. They are deployed about 8 or maybe 9 wide and however millions deep. They are joined by the General, and the Thrall in the first turn. To there left go the nights and at least two, maybe three units of dogs and one or two units of the Ghouls. It does slightly depend. Against an army with things like terradons and such like the ghouls and the smaller unit of Dogs will all be deployed behind the army ready to intercept and destroy. I may also move the placement of ghouls over to the far right or the middle of the board depending on the terrain and threats. Similarly the smaller unit of Dogs can be deployed in numerous places to react to threats and possibly be more huntingy.
The Massive unit of GG move aggressively forward. The smaller unit of Grave Guard move between full speed and half speed. They are a guard or block after all. But a nasty one. The knights and main dog units move up the left flank. They are a simple and obvious pincer that will smash into the flank of anything that engages the front of the big Grave Guard unit, which has to be dealt with, or the enemy aren’t winning the game.
The Wolf Thrall is the Ace in the sleeve. He can sit at the corner of the Grave Guard unit with his S7 and 1+ save and simply make the unit more lethal in combat, so it can auto break enemy charges solo. However with his huge charge range he can also fly out of the unit to deal with the enemy on the left if they look like they are going to produce an attack that will punch through my left and envelop me. Similarly he can pop out the back of the unit to deal with threats that get behind me or he can go and support the other unit of Grave Guard. He is flexibility defined, and even if he never uses his wolf abilities he adds a huge amount by adding another 3 S7 attacks to that huge unit.
This really is an army that works as a whole. The cogs may be powerful, but it relies on interplay in order for the army to work well as a whole. It will be a challenge to play with, but also a real challenge to play against because it is so unorthodox and different both in terms of play style and in the sense of the typical VC list. I don’t think its overpowered. And it certainly can be beaten, but to do so the opponent really has to think about how my army works and how to bet it. If they just try and deal with it like any other army they have played against it will kick seven shades of blue in to them, ‘cos I do reckon its a bit of a tough nut.
You thoughts are as always welcome.
Ras