Denelspire (1.2)

[Sivrel]

Sir Theo the Bladesister...

 

very interesting...

"sir" Theo, but sir implies male right and sister implies female. So is it a he or a she, or just am it.

[Qwyksilver]

So, I mentioned in another thread that I wanted to start playing some Crusaders because I was tired of hearing how bad they play. Yes, I've put my orcs away for awhile and have started playing the dudley do rights in tin cans

 

So, in a local tourney today I managed to go 2-1. My one loss was to Ranz and a massive mob of Bull Orcs, and I saw that one coming a mile away. But hey, everyone needs their arse kicked when learning the ropes with a new army.

 

My Build: 1500 points (1501 builds for the tourney), 24 Models, 3 troops

 

Troop 1: (Tight knit formation minus Damon, begging for those AOEs)

Mother Superior Kristiana (Breath of Shadarzaddi, Dispell x3)

Sir Damon

Templar Knight x5

Templar Ironspine x2

 

Troop 2:

Sir Brannor (Bandage x3, Bless)

Finari

Templar Ironspine x2

Lion's Lancers x3

 

Troop 3:

Sir Broderick

Halbarad (Breath of Shadarzaddi, Bandage x2)

Hospitaliers x2

Ivy Crown Skirmishers x4

 

 

The plan. Use the Crusaders strength. Good defense and lots of healing from multiple sources, several with Innate abilities. Against Undead, use Holy Burst and fight defensively. Worked out well. Troop 1 was the AOE magnet, except I only faced one of 3 armies with a Spell Caster with AOE spells, and Krissy rolled a bloody 1, which normally still works, except it was Dirt Farming Nefsokar, good thing the spell fizzled and was nearly useless anyways. Send Damon out like the rambuncious mad man he is and cream the big hitters. If he gets the chance to tear down a big boy on an initial attack, forgo First Strike, eat the Defensive Strike, grant Mercy. Use healing and Breath of Shad to keep him coming back like the energizer bunny. This worked well in two battles, letting large chunks of combat focus on him while my smaller numbers were able to whittle away elsewhere. He's a great distraction and fun as hell to bring back from the Dead w/ Hal and then let the 2 Hospitaliers recharge him again. Didn't get as many chances to Mercy as I would like, and several of my attempts failed due to some bad luck with the dice, but I did get an Onyx Golem in relatively good health and a full health, jacked up Braug.

 

So, going back to the drawing board, will look to keep Halbarad with the Breath of Shad, and give Krissy something offensive, since my lack of any ranged threat let people just cruise in unmolested. Maybe look to add a couple ICA just to be annoying and keep people honest. Heavy Lance were nice, but their DV 10 and difficulty with Defensive Adjusts make them pretty vulnerable when they only hit with MAV 2 so First Strike is a gamble. The difficult part is working around the number of expensive models. Of course, with some luck and judicious Mercy, you don't need numbers, since you create your own balance with your enemy.

[Qwyksilver]

Also, as an aside. Most Clerics gain Holy/Vile/Empowered. Why is it that our Captains and Sergeants with Clerical ability do not receive this Special Ability. It sort of bucks the trend for Clerics.

[Brushmaster]

Also, as an aside. Most Clerics gain Holy/Vile/Empowered. Why is it that our Captains and Sergeants with Clerical ability do not receive this Special Ability. It sort of bucks the trend for Clerics.

Look , do you want them to be MORE expensive !

It would be nice though .

[Qwyksilver]

I don't think that's a special ability that is all that expensive, since it's likely tied directly into Cleric X/Y. Maybe a point. I'd be willing to have them cost that extra point if it prevents me from being swarmed by low Discipline Evil mobs.

 

Something nicer would be a Cleric spell to add to the Three Graces that grants Holy to all models in the AOE for the rest of the turn.

 

Call it Holy Aura or something. All Friendly Models of Good Alignment in a 4" radius receive SA: Holy for the duration of the turn. Level 2 spell. Cost around 25 points. Since it's fairly limited in effect and duration, it doesn't need to be terribly expensive.

 

Heck, the marker for it could even be little golden halos for our brave Knights.

[Brushmaster]

Yeh , that would be nice . Can't say that I was overly impressed by the equipment and spells in the Crusader book .

[wrightjd]

Played rather fun army last night and did pretty well with it, considering at the beginning I was pincushioned between reptus and elves with the reptus mage throwing fireballs at me :P

 

Duke Gerard

Bandagex4

Divine Favor, Greater Magic Armor

Templar Knight x7

Hospitaler x2

Lady Devona

Fireballx2, Iceshardx2, Bolt

GMA

 

Sir Conlan

Bandage x2

Ivy Crown Skirmishers x6

 

In the beginning I got hit pretty hard by an elven volley then two fireballs that floated my way. I pulled through in the end though, with Duke Gerard even coming away uninjured (though no hospitalers left). Used the hospitalers as adepts, found the Ivy Crown Skirmishers to work out pretty well actually. Was a fun army overall.

[Qwyksilver]

Holy Weapon is nice, in the right hands - Gerard, Brannor, Guardian Angel.

 

I really like Breath of Shadarzaddi. Keep a couple Hospitaliers in your troop near your Cleric and you're in good shape for a 3-4 track model. This is a really effective combination. Especially if you can keep bringing back a 200 point model for only 50 points, and unless you face Nefsokar, it's almost automatic for Krissy, Halbarad and Isarah.

 

Holy Burst is nice, but I am never likely to field it because of the price, and the fact that there are only 2 Level 3 Clerics in the Crusader Army, and one of them gets the spell as Innate and my Guardian Angel is already expensive enough, I will ever use this spell unless I field Krissy.

 

Striking Spear is nice, but again, really only gains full effectiveness in a single model - Ironraven, since he and the Ironspines are the only models in the Army with reach. You could stick it on another model for Judgement and Standard, but you;re only using a fraction of the weapon's purpose.

 

Angelic Aspect is okay, but again, there aren't a lot of models I could see this being used on to good effect - Solos mostly to help avoid terrain and increase movement.

 

 

 

I would have liked to see a spell that grants Monster Slayer. It's a pretty cool Special Ability. It's a shame it's only used on a single model. Call it Heroic Aura or something.

[Brushmaster]

While Angelic Aspect might have some uses , I much prefer "Speed". Also I would have preferred that "Divine Grace" could have been cast defensively as the way it is just seems a waste .

[wrightjd]

One thing I would very much like to see is an adept with a new special ability, like monster slayer, but called undead slayer or something like that (and marcus gideon get it as well :P). Maybe add in a rule that marcus gideon can be fielded as a leader when leading these units (since the book does say he is training undead slayers :P). Make it like +1 against undead or something. I think that would be a defining and fun special ability to add to the crusaders.

[spiritual_exorcist]

I don't really see the Crusaders as being the least bit 'underpowered' or playing bad. They are fairly nasty, and there are a number of very lethal combinations they can employ in my mind. I havn't used the poor fellows in some time, but I'm quite content with using them as is. Mercy is 'The bomb', and Army of Justice really do have it sweet against Evil models. There are alot of really nice builds.

 

I can't day I like Breath of Shadarzzari, I'd rather just take a heal spell I think. Kristianna + Justicars = awesome, who needs to give her anything but a dispel or two when she is surrounded by 2 track models she can constantly heal up.

 

There is alot going for this faction, the ony major downside is limited 'Mage' capabilities (but Crusaders arn't the only faction like this), limited ranged capabilities (Ivy Crown Archers pretty much make the decision up for you to go melee heavy), and a mainstay cleric with little staying power. Halbarad rocks...but boy does DV 8 suck. It means your cleric is going to be vulnerable (despite being a terror in combat with MAV 4) or he is going to cost you alot of points. The 30 points for +2 DV is well worthwhile in a default list. But by the time you slap spells on him as well he is running up to 150+ points...I always feel a bit jealous when i look at Balthon with his Level 3 spells, CP 7, and his DV 10.

[Brushmaster]

I just had a silly thought . I don't know its legal but how would one fluff out that a troop with Garr and some Wardogs had a musician ? One of the dog's playing a bone flute !

[Qwyksilver]

I just had a silly thought . I don't know its legal but how would one fluff out that a troop with Garr and some Wardogs had a musician ? One of the dog's playing a bone flute !

 

The Wardogs all have Beast, so you could not add Musician to a troop with just them in it. Of course, if you put them in a troop with a cheap leader and a Skirmisher, you could give the Skirmisher a horn and call it a hunting party.

 

If they didn't have beast, maybe one of the dogs has a bell on his collar that triggers a bloodlust in the puppies.

[wrightjd]

I have a few questions about models I've yet to use and was wondering what people thought of them:

 

Lady Jehanne, Herne, Isarah, Saramonde, Light Lancers, War Dogs.

 

How useful do you find these models to be? Do you take them frequently in your lists? An example troop (or army in Lady Jehanne's case) would be cool too.

 

Also after using hospitalers, I'm not sure if I can ever go back to the army of Justice. Hospitalers seem to be the bread and butter that keep the Crusader army together. Between them and two clerics in the army I think I'll be able to devise a good darkspawn fighting army finally.

[Qwyksilver]

I'm liking the Light Lancers more and more for their point difference. Sure they lack first strike, but I never seem to roll killing blows on the first attack. Their only big difference is the one point less of DV, which, who cares, it's not that much of a difference when they get mobbed by 5 guys each.