rcrosby

In RC07, melee type models were generally balanced in their points cost vs their effectiveness, mainly because archers and mages were essentially useless. That was still an improvement in balance as compared to the original Warlord cards because the majority of models are melee type models. Having 50%+ models as relatively cost effective is an improvement over having 10% or less of the models being cost effective. Now that archers are making a comeback, low DV melee types are now at a disadvantage compared to high DV melee types due to their increased vulnerability to ranged attacks yet the point values of these models have not changed. For example, Skeletal Warriors and Skeletal Swordsmen were essentially interchangeable in RC07 - I preferred the Swordsmen for the extra offensive emphasis but would have been happy with the Warriors as well. With RC08, I will only consider taking the Skeletal Warriors.

Unlike all of the spells SE listed in comparison which work against all opponents, Scare only works against a limited number of opponents. I have 4 armies: Army of Justice, Darkspawn (mostly Isiri), Crypt Legion, and Reptus. Scare only works against Reptus and a few of my Darkspawn models. I would only consider taking Scare on one of my mages if it were a one-time game against an opponent where I knew it would work (not a tourney) or if it were for a Crypt Legion mage that could use it as a Necromantic Surge if it turned out to be otherwise useless. Useful half of the time = half of the price.

To avoid confusion, the range should be listed as "Caster" with an AOE of 3". The notes section can have the 18" part.

73 points for a RAV 4 is a bad value. Use the free woods FA's to outmaneuver your enemy rather than overpaying for archers. Rich

I think you will be disappointed with the performance of the Centaur Archers, especially 5 of them. RAV 4 without Sure Shot is pretty bad for such an expensive model, and they don't have much else to offer. The Silver Dragon and the Centaur Warriors are top notch, however! Rich

Technically, a Tough model is not dead until it fails its Tough check or it is Coup de Grace'd - it is only stunned. Rich

For 1501, I suggest: Duke Gerard, Sir Damon, 5x Lion's Lancers Sir Danel, 5x Lion's Lancers Celestial Lion 30 points of equipment (either 2 musicians or +2DV for Damon) I would stick with Army of Justice because with such a small model count, it would be a disaster for a model to become shaken. Rich

It is in the Warlord FAQ Jun 07 (in the Errata section of the web site): Rich

The AOE is measured from the center of the target model. You can also target a point on the ground, but not a point under a model's base. Rich

(Assume size 3 shooter and size 1 target for the following examples.) You have covered the following cases: Smaller than the smallest base size. (size 0 terrain) Equal to the largest base size. (size 3 terrain) Larger than the largest base size. (size 4 terrain) You have not covered the following cases: Equal to the smallest base size. (size 1 terrain) In between the smallest and largest base sizes. (size 2 terrain) The previous clarification was complete because it only ever dealt with the largest base size, so there were only three cases. Rich

This ability helps the non-Warmasters more than the Warmasters. Going from 1 to 2 defensive strikes is a much bigger boost than going from 3 to 4 defensive strikes. Looking at this ability statistically, it means that one defensive strike per model will do 0-0.25 more points of damage (0 if it is an auto-hit, 0.25 if a 6+ is needed, all the rest are somewhere in between.) needed to hit/extra statistical damage due to reroll: 10/+0.09 9/+0.14 8/+0.21 7/+0.24 6/+0.25 5/+0.24 4/+0.21 3/+0.14 2/+0.09 1/+0 (auto-hit, no re-roll!) Rich

I would take them instead of the expensive Archers. The only use I have for the archers is to finish off damaged models without provoking defensive strikes, so a few Javeliners are a much better value for that job. Rich

The Elves still have the shooting into melee ability; it's just that it is the Dark Elves (Darkspawn) that have it instead of the pansy Elves. Rich

vs DV14 the chance of doing any damage is: 34.39% for a Vale Archer and 30% for an Overlord Crossbowman vs DV8 the chance of doing any damage is: 99.19% for a Vale Archer and 90% for an Overlord Crossbowman The main difference is when moving and shooting: vs DV14 the expected damage is: 0.36 points for a Vale Archer and 0.10 points for an Overlord Crossbowman vs DV8 the expected damage is: 0.96 points for a Vale Archer and 0.70 points for an Overlord Crossbowman I think the main point is that ranged attacks are only effective if you expect your ranged models to have enough low DV targets to shoot at, either models that start with low DVs or models that have been damaged down to low DVs (good way to avoid those Warmaster defensive strikes from an otherwise crippled model!) Rich

I think the Army of Justice FA's are currently the best in the game. Armor of the Faithful provides me a huge tactical advantage as does The Wolf. If the advantages don't fit your play style, then playing something else might work better for you. Rich