Ive been working on a tactica with 1.2, now that GS has released 1.2, heres the tactica!
1.2 Tactica:
Lords
Cherubim
Basic Combat-heavy lord. I advise bumping him up to level 1 for the DD and the occasional spell. He can take on human/elf lords with ease and could probably take on a dwarf/Orc/Lizard or even Chaos lord if equipped well. I advise the blessing of Zekiel. He is best used when taking on expensive lords, or chariot busting. He can WM hunt, but he is too expensive for that. When it comes down to it, there is nothing he can do that a dominion or princedom can’t.
Good combo:
Cherubim (200)
Level 1 (40)
Swordstick (14)
Blessing of Zekiel (20)
This is a 275 point lord, with a 4+ ward, either 6 attacks or S7 with T4 who generates a DD and a PD.
Modifications: Level 2, Silvered skin for that all important T5 or Blessing of Camael
Cherubim with Nova Dragon
While taking up 2 hero spots, and 570 points unequipped, this may not seem like the best option off the bat. But with chariot smashing S7, the ability to have a combined 4 levels of magic, terror and being able to see above unit, this is a great choice for any army, probably best above 2.5k, though. One of the best tactics with your beast, is to place him on the flank of your army, fly him forward 20”, and try to fly over a unit or two, to flank a large, expensive unit when it hurts. With 6 wounds and T6, and on top of that, a 6+ ward, he is not going to mere arrows, although a cannonball to the head will really hurt him.
A diagram of the above mentioned tactic is like this:
Setup is:
Power Veng Arch Ang Ang Arch Veng Sons--------------Dragon
Enemy Enem Enem Enem Big Enemy Enem1
Let the opponent move forward. Fly next to enem1. He’ll move everyone else forward, and keep enem1 facing towards the dragon, not wanting to get flanked. Fly above Enem1 into the flank or rear of Big Enemy. With about 10 S7 attacks, not too many units will be able to take him. And don’t forget the terror, that’ll really help against Orcs/Gobbos and really any army.
Ark Virtue:
Your basic lord level caster. I advise level four, and Spellweaver and Knowledge of Raziel or a scroll or two.
Heroes
Princedom
Your all-around good hero. Capable of leading, WM/Mage hunting or dueling characters, he is a very solid character, one who I would bring to all my battles. But what he really excels at is adding those extra points of combat res to that all important battles. With 3 S6 or 4 S4 attacks at WS6 with a swordstick, he can either knock off some expensive knights, or plow through infantry. Against Dragon Princes, the elite knights of Ulthuan, he hits 2 out of 3 times, wounding both times, and leaving the princes with 4+ saves. Against sword masters, heavy infantry, he hits 2 out of 4 times, wounding 1.3 times, leaving a mere 6 up save. That’s easily the difference between losing and tying a combat, or losing and winning even. I do not suggest bringing a battle standard, but you can bring one and make your opponents pass leadership tests unless they want to hit your elite unit on 6’s using the banner of Michael!
Dominion
Truly my favorite character, the dominion is possible of S7 attacks, and with 4 attacks, he will easily destroy those pesky chariots. Give him a swordstick, speed of thought and eagle quills, and watch him fly away. He excels at doling out high strength attacks and a lot of them, he is a must in any aggressive army. His only drawback is the relatively high cost of 130 base, more then some lords and his inability to lead. Both of these are compensated for, when you consider that he can take out many lords, for only 140 points.
Virtue
A basic Hero level caster, the virtue delivers nothing special, but he is still deadly. Using the lore of the ancients, she can greatly bolster the combat potential of every angel unit on the battle field, and allowing that nice charge by increasing the angel’s flight move, or by making those pesky Chosen Chaos Knights wound us on 4+’s by using The Enemy is Weak! Imagine the look on your opponents face, when he realizes one unit has a 5+ ward, +1 A, S and WS and a 16” flight as you crash into his Cold One Riders. Dead lizard for dinner!
Core
Angels
Angels are our most basic core, and come in 2 varieties. The first is the basic, straight up angel. He is a good basic core trooper, able to hold his own against all similar competition. While tied for the highest WS, he also has good leadership, and average S and T. They form the basis of many armies, and one must have as many units of angels (or more) then of arch-angels, their more powerful cousins. They have access to a respectable 3+ armor save for a mere 1 extra point. I advise that you use angels to take on other core troops, using their superior movement to have multiple angel units in combat with a common foe. Flanking a unit with a small unit of 10, while 10 more take the front insures us at least a fighting chance against almost any unit. Other tactics might involve having a unit of 15, and a unit of 10 working together. You force your opponent to charge your small unit, while having the 15 strong unit ready to flank your opponent after his (hopefully failed) charge. I like units of 10-15 angels, so you can have some bait units and some flanking units, while not having a huge flank.
The second form angels take, are the archers of the Angelic Armies. Armed with a Bow and Bs4, they are a fearsome shot, although they may turn the way of HE archers, and will not be used that often. Adding to this is the fact that only half your angel units can have bows, forcing angels into a more front-line appearance. I advise moving forward every 10”, while combining fire on small units that can harass your front-line fighters. In a few turns, these units can go into combat, helping their comrades. The same tactics that I advised for their brothers are applicable for them, only I advise using these guys as the small bait unit. I advise units of 10-12, for maximum shots, and minimum cost.
Arch Angels
Arch angels are stronger, better equipped angels, capable of dealing out 2 S4, Ws 5 attacks, or 1 mighty S5, Ws5 attack each. And for a mere 14 points? Sign me up! These guys are less versatile then their lesser cousins, lacking the option for bows, but have the option to take different hand to hand weapons, making them solely close up fighters. To prevent paeople from having as many arch angel units as possible, we have made it so one can only have as many archangel units as they have normal angel units. As fierce a foe as any, Arch angels are a must in any angelic army. I advise having most of your units with 2 hand weaps, and only against high toughness armies like chaos or lizardmen or dwarves should you get halberds. Do to their relative expensiveness, I advise small units of 10-12, for maximum combat strength, and minimum cost.
Vengeances
Renegade fighters, they have been granted the awesome weapon of twin-bladed swordsticks, allowing them to choose each combat whether to use 2 S6 attacks, or 3 S4 attacks, making them our most versatile unit yet! Now with the point decrease, to an easy 24 points, they are going to appear in almost every angel army. We have made it so one cannot field more then 1 unit per 1000 points, and they don’t core as core, so we don’t see armies of vengeances. This does not, however limit their tactical uses. I advise using these in conjunction with a large block of angels, or with powers, or just on their own, to take out small units of cavalry or skirmishers. With a possible 15 S4 attacks, those skirmishers/fast cav are as good as gone, and with 10 S6 ones, so are those cavalry. These guys fill every conceivable combat role we have, making them incredibly versatile. They also skirmish, and have a 4+ ward against shooting, insuring they will get to the enemy mostly intact. The stubbornness means you can put them into unsure combats, and wait till help arrives. Against chaos, they gain hatred, which makes them even more powerful.
Special
Anelai
13 point non-fliers. They must suck. But alas, they do not. They skirmish, have 2 attacks at S4 each and scouting means they bring it to the enemy, and hard. They are cheap enough, so they can be used as bait, and when given flaming bows, they become deadly at range as well. I advise you give them bows, as their lack of flight means they can’t reposition themselves easily, and must rely on shooting to kill after the enemy has marched on. Remember, as skirmishers, they can march (or move at double pace, as they call it) and still fire, so use this to your advantage. But, don’t forget that if you can get into combat, do. Its their main strength, and they’re very vulnerable to shooting. I like units of 8, with bows. Cheap, but effective
Cherubim Guard
Cherubim are our fastest unit (right now) with a 12” flight. Use this to your advantage. Try to get around flanks, and rears. Exploit gaps, and combine charges, and most of all, make your opponent react to you. You have a good chance at smashing up cavalry, with 2 S6 attacks, or carve up infantry with 3 S4 attacks, both at WS 5. Remember, protect your cherubim, because you have to take your cherubim guard out of a favorable fight, possibly, if he is killed. Make sure he is nowhere near danger, or in a fight he can’t win. If he is, then fly as fast as you can towards him. I advise a unit of 15 or 12 of cherubim guard, so they can own in combat, and have enough numbers so they can fight, despite shooting. And they are fairly cheap then, coming in under 300 points.
Powers
Powers act like any other Ogre sized creature, except they are better. With angelic flight (makes them un-marchblockable, although we do have 2” smaller charge), 4 S6 attacks (perfect for can-opening heavy armored things, like cav) and Ws4, they are beasts in combat. They work best with a dominion armed with extra hand weaps and speed of thought, as that will kill several enemies before they can strike at us. We do have a fair initiative (4) but cav can out charge us, making them vulnerable to high strength cavalry charges. By cutting a few down before they attack means the powers will suffer fewer wounds, and will be able to dole out many attacks in return. A second good combination, is having 2 units of powers guarding the flanks of your army or a large, expensive, important unit. No one in their right mind will try to flank a unit knowing powers are their fate (and if they do, well all the better, I guess!) Powers and vengeances also work well together. The powers on the flank, dealing out many high strength attacks, with more lower strength ones (still a respectable S4) coming from the vengeances in the front almost guarantees the death of their enemy. I suggest 3 or 4 powers, depending on the shootiness of the opponent. Against Dwarves, I’d use 4, but against chaos, 3 will suffice.
Sons of Fire
A truly jack of all trades unit, combining powerful missle attacks, with an automatic hit, and an attack, on top of that. This unit is at its best 11” away from an enemy, with 3 S5 hits (assuming a unit of 5). I suggest using these guys to guard a flank from fast cav or scouts, as they are good enough in combat to knock off most T3, no armor scouts, and have a powerful missle attack to take down fast cav, with an effective range of 26”. These guys work best alone, as no one else is like them, and they share a very pivotal role in our army. Later in the game, they can pop into a combat, possibly turning the tide with (normally) 8 S3 hits. These guys’ downfall is their lack of armor. Even a 5+ ward won’t save against a really strong foe, and being skirmishers, they don’t negate ranks. Keep away from combat against ranked opponents, unless there are other troops in the combat as well, possibly angels or arch angels. On the other hand, they’ll be great against Treekin, with their high strength flaming attacks :D. I suggest the minimum unit size of 5 for these guys. Anymore becomes a points liability, and any less is illegal.
Rare
Mylia
What we do not have, is a unit with full flight. The mylia come closest, with a 16” flight. They are shock troops, capable of getting behind lines with their superior movement. They can’t negate ranks on their own, but when combined with a character (possibly a dominion with eagle quills?) they can wreak immense havoc. With 4 S5 attacks, and 2 S3 attacks, they are like a mini cav-unit., capable of breaking units on the charge. Unfortunately, they are very suseptable to shooting, so I suggest that you keep them away from targets, and get behind the lines as soon as possible, for that is the only way to avoid shooting. I also suggest that you take two mylia, and have them work together, to negate ranks together, and to add some redundancy. If 1 is shot, you still have the other to carry out its job. Again, I suggest you take 2 mylia for 1 rare choice.
Choir
Against a horde army, the choir is amazing. Choose a large skaven unit of clan rats (hopefully with a rattling gun) and watch them take an ld test on their base leadership (of 5?) and take 2D6 wounds. If they lose just 20%, they automatically flee, spreading panic across the board. Against Dwarves or Elves, its not as effective, as they need to fail a ld test on 8 or 9. This unit is not very versatile, only being incredibly effective in a shooting-type attack, against horde armies.
Abalim
The abalim is a great tool if you want to play a defensive army. Casting 4 S4 Magic Missles a turn (till it loses a wound) means that it will definitely cause some carnage. If one is going to play a magic-heavy army, this is great for drawing out dispel die. I suggest, against a well defended opponent against magic, using this in the beginning of the turn, as they will try and dispel it. Against an army that skimps on the magic defense, they won’t have anything left, after dispelling your powerful enhancement spells.
---Baran
---Baran