Overlords

[Stubbdog]

Nothing wrong with your build there. But, I don't think it quite makes best use of the synergies that you could get. Balthon is a good caster, but his spells don't necessarily lend themselves to your list best. I would swap over to Arik which is more offensive minded for this list. Then that would give you the points you need to upgrade Moraia to Lola who has a ranged attack as well (and a bonus SA spy which is huge if you use the Onyx Legion Doctrine).

 

Then trade around your soldier points just slightly gives you more cohesion in your ranks. So, something like this:

 

Overlords - 1000 points

 

Troop 1

Ashkrypt, Lichlord of Craclaw - Familiar

Ymrilix the False

Lola Darkslip, Assassin

Overlord Crossbowman x 2

Overlord Warrior x 6

Bondslave x 4

 

Troop 2

Iks, Wight Taskmaster

Arik Gix, Inquisitor

Overlord Warrior x 3

Overlord Spearman x 2

Bondslave x 2

 

Troop 3

Onyx Golem

 

Equip

Luck Stone

-----------------------------

3 troops +1 tactician +2 spies

25 models (55 DTs)

[Keldain]

Thanks for the advice Stubbdog, though I noticed in the list you posted you included 1 more Warrior and 2 Spearmen, not that there's anything wrong with that, though I'm in need of explanation as to why you did so, though I like Arik Gix over Balthon, just because he has a big sword and is a very menacing figure, although I'm going to be using the Lich's Bidding Doctrine, thus why there's a great deal of Bondslaves.

 

Currently I own the following:

Ashkrypt

Balthon

8 Warriors

Familiar

 

I'm on a pretty tight budget, so I'm try to get the most bang for my buck per se.

[Keldain]

Overlords (Lich's Bidding Doctrine) - 1,000 points

 

Troop 1:

Ashkrypt, Lichlord of Craclaw

+ Familiar

Kevis, Vizier

Lola Darkslip, Assassin

Ymrilix the False

4 Bondslaves

2 Overlord Crossbowmen

4 Overlord Warriors

 

Troop 2:

Iks, Wight Taskmaster

Arik Gix, Inquisitor

3 Bondslaves

2 Overlord Spearmen

3 Overlord Warriors

 

Troop 3:

Onyx Golem

 

 

Total: 999 points

 

Thoughts?

[Stubbdog]

Overlords are one of the most flexible armies to create lists with. I could spend hours making lists with them. The suggestions I made in my list were simply based on the idea of playing a different doctrine. Nothing wrong with your list either though. But, having said that, let's look a little closer at it...

 

First off, both of your lists already include Ashkrypt, whose Warlord ability is basically a personal version of the Liches bidding. And your third troop is a solo that doesnt get to use it either. So, you are picking a faction doctrine that really is only going to help a couple of models, and even then only while your 4-5 bondslaves are kept on your hip and alive. I love that faction doctrine, but I tend to use it when I field more of a horde list. But, that is just me. Can it work with your list? Yes.

 

So, my list kept 2 good casters but admittedly swapped the third caster for more soldiers. Because again, since you have to be careful with all of your bondslaves you now are really only fighting with 9-10 soldiers. That and I had the other doctrine in mind. If you face off against a slow army then a third caster is great but if you face off against somebody with speed then that third caster is harder to protect. Of course, both are valid uses.

[Stubbdog]

Ok, so here is where I contradict myself (its too easy to do anyway)... So, after I just said I swapped a caster for more soldiers, here I am posting a list which is all about the casters..

 

Overlords - 998 points

 

Troop 1

Ashkrypt, Lichlord of Craclaw

Lola Darkslip, Assassin

Overlord Crossbowman

Overlord Warrior x 3

Bondslave x 2

 

Troop 2

Corvus

Arik Gix, Inquisitor

Overlord Crossbowman

Overlord Warrior x 3

Bondslave x 2

 

Troop 3

Corvus

Strach, Warmage

Overlord Crossbowman

Overlord Warrior x 3

Bondslave x 2

 

Troop 4

Incarnation of Flame

-----------------------------------------

4 troops +1 tactician +2 spies

25 models (54 DTs)

 

There is a fireball caster in every troop. Its not gonna work all the time for sure, but this list is all about setting things on fire and making them use actions putting themselves out instead of attacking you. Then your soldiers can focus on the remaining non-burning enemies.

 

This list can be used with either doctrine. On the one hand you can hold your bondslaves back to take a drink from, or you can use the other doctrine and run with the equivalent of 4 spies for initiative deck control later in the game.

[Stubbdog]

Here is a list using the theme of the whip chicks!

 

Overlords - 998 points

 

Troop 1

Marquise Zora d'Arengo

Moraia, Warbride

Lola Darkslip, Assassin

Daughter of the Whip x 7

Bondslave Survivor x 7

Bondslave x 5

 

Troop 2

Lorena of the Whip

Moraia, Warbride

Daughter of the Whip x 3

Bondslave Survivor x 3

Bondslave x 5

 

Troop 3

Selthak the Poisoner

 

Troop 4

Onyx Golem

 

Equipment

Luck Stone

Totem of Battle

--------------------------------------------

4 troops + 2 spies

37 models (61 DTs, 69 MAs)

 

Bondslave survivors with charge + rage + battle totem = MAV 6, before support. Or with the Trance of Khardullis spell they can go up to 8.

 

Chicks disable stuff all over the place. Obviously, disabling wont necessarily help the 1 track slaves (although it would help limit how many the opponent could kill each turn), but moreso to make it harder for the enemy to get thru the DR2 of the Onyx Tank.

 

4 assassins with totem boosted MAVs to help them get the kill and if necessary some of them have martyr too to go out with a bang. Just have to be careful with them on defense since they dont have parry.

 

Could always have Marquise cast an Iron skin on one of the Assassins.

 

Onyx Golem clobbers everything in his path.

[Thrun]

Hello, I was wondering if you could help me with something. I am trying to make 2 armies of Warlord (one being Overlords) that will be well balanced and show off all play styles of the game. I decided to use 800 point lists as that would give people the feel of the game but not be quite as expensive as two 1000 point lists. I was wondering if you thought this army was well balanced and could be used well to teach people how to play the game?

 

Troop 1

-General Matisse

-Ranthe, Evangelist of Khardulis

-Kevis, Vizier

-Overlord Warrior x3

 

Troop 2

-Corvus

-Overlord Crossbowman x5

 

Troop 3

-Andras the Ruthless

-Overlord Warrior x5

 

Troop 4

-Onyx Golem

 

 

I thought that this would give a nice mix of melee, range, and magic. It would also have big monsters and large groups of smaller troops. Any thoughts?

[Shakandara]

Before I address the list composition itself, are you sure you want to demo with an 800 point army? It will last nearly as long as a 1K game and have nearly as many models. If you want to show off the basics and give people a feel for the game, I'd recommend about half as many points, and use 2 troops, with one being a solo. This will still hit all the major points (deployment, initiative card deck, activations, solos vs. leader-led troops, etc.). As has been mentioned a number of times elsewhere in other similar threads, I'd recommend ditching magic; the process for it is functionally the same as the two other types of Combat actions, and the few extra things to learn (spell points, tomes, etc.) will just slow the demo down, especially for a noob player.

 

Addressing the O'lords specifically, an Onyx Legion list like this will be even tougher to demo with because of Matisse's WA and the abilities of the Doctrine. I'd see your list above as more suitable for a 2nd or 3rd game with a new player. For a first time demo, I'd eliminate the Elites, and pare it down to something more like:

 

Overlords - 500 points

 

Troop 1

General Matisse

Overlord Warrior x 5

Overlord Spearman x 3

Overlord Crossbowman x 2

 

Troop 2

Onyx Golem

 

Luck Stone

 

~v

[Thrun]

Ah ok, thanks for the advice. I like the idea of starting at a 500 point game and working toward an 800-1000 point game later. Do you guys have any suggestions on the army that I should face the Overlords against?

[cristomeyers]

Ah ok, thanks for the advice. I like the idea of starting at a 500 point game and working toward an 800-1000 point game later. Do you guys have any suggestions on the army that I should face the Overlords against?

 

From a purely cinematic point of view: Crusaders. Light knights versus Dark Knights. Looks good on the tabletop and at 500 points are easy armies to get the hang of, which makes them easier to demo as well. You could even build the demo Crusader army similar to the Overlords: Duke Gerard, some warriors, Ironspines, & Unforgiven, maybe Celestial Lion. Should be about equal (I have no idea off the top of my head).

 

Really any army will do, but for sheer "this looks cool!" value, that's what I'd go with.

[Shakandara]

If you want to avoid the look of tin cans vs. tin cans (while from a good vs. evil and fluff perspective, those two are perfect opponents), I'd put them up against the Elves or the Dwarves instead. Those two factions are among the most sold models from the Warlord line, so people must like them. But really, I think the standard advice that we give for someone when starting out playing Warlord applies in this situation: pick something *you* like. You are going to be the one painting and playing them (at least from time to time). Might as well have something you like.

 

If you decide on a faction and want some help building a list to compete against the O'lord list above, let us know.

 

~v

 

EDIT: If you do like the idea of O'lords vs. Crusaders, cristomeyers is right on creating a similar force with Gerard. It would look something like:

 

Crusaders - 498 points

 

Troop 1

Duke Gerard

Templar Knight x 3

Templar Unforgiven x 3

Templar Ironspine x 2

Ivy Crown Archer x 2

 

Troop 2

Celestial Lion

 

Luck Stone

 

Exact same model count, and very similar data cards and abilities. The O'lords hold a slight edge in ranged fire power and have a little initiative control, and the Crusaders have a tiny bit of magic and get Support with only 2 models.

Edited June 22, 2012 by Shakandara

[joshuaslater]

Start with 500 points. That's enough for beginning, and as you get the hang of the game, you'll just buy and paint more. It's good stuff.

[Shakandara]

Man, I forgot how much fun it was to play these guys. This past weekend, I headed out to the FLGS for some Warlord, with the intent of dusting off my Overlords. It's probably been close to 3 years since I've logged a game with them, and I was just way overdue. Back at ReaperCon, a number of my models came home to roost (and they may have been part of the reason I'd not been playing O'lords), so I wanted my list to take advantage of those figures that had been out of my possession for so long. I stuck to Onyx Legion for the game; it's extremely hard to do that and not bring Matisse and 3 elites, so that was a given. However, I eschewed my normal cavalry contingent to make room for the other models I wanted to bring.

 

Overlords - 1000 points

 

Troop 1

General Matisse

Moraia, Warbride

Ranthe, Evangelist of Khardullis

Kevis, Vizier w/Book of Tactics

Overlord Warrior x 8

Overlord Spearman x 2

 

Troop 2

Merack of the Onyx Phalanx

Onyx Phalanx x 4

Overlord Crossbowman x 2

 

Troop 3

Incarnation of Flame

 

My opponent played the following:

 

Tembrithil - 996 points

 

Troop 1

Eawod Silverrain w/Magic Ranged Weapon

Drys, Dryad

Saproling Warrior x 10

 

Troop 2

Chiral, Centaur w/Armor of Courage

Centaur Warrior x 5

Hunting Cat x 3

 

Troop 3

Spirit of the Forest

 

Luck Stone

 

I started the game with the Incarnation unsummoned. In turn 1, I buried my two cards to the bottom of the deck, forcing my opponent to make all of his movements first. He brought his cavalry down my right flank, and his Spirit and saprolings straight up the battle field at me. I used Merack and the Phalanx to form a picket line and anchor my right flank against the centaurs, taking pot shots with the xbows to start. I had Kevis summon the Incarnation, then used the Burst of Speed from Ranthe to roll out my Warriors and Moraia to take down the Spirit, while the Incarnation and Kevis dropped Fireball and Toxic Cloud (respectively) on the Centaurs to slow them down (the fireball was especially effective, catching 4 centaurs for a wound and Burning). Poison tokens from the Toxic Cloud go off, and score a couple wounds.

 

The beginning of turn 2, I added in all of my tacticians, giving me 6 cards to my opponent's 2 (one down due to the loss of the Spirit). I used 1 more of my spies to bury a card of his to the bottom, giving me the first 3 activations. A failed Burst of Speed from Ranthe meant I got less of my troops across to Eawod and the Saprolings than I would have liked, but the part of the troop that had taken down the Spirit last round was still close enough to engage the saprolings guarding Eawod. Kevis popped off a Blight, catching the remaining non-Burning centaur with Curse and Disable. Moraia, Matisse, and several warriors made short work of 4 of the saprolings. The Incarnation dropped another Fireball, this time with less effect. The xbows succeeded in scoring another hit, and the Phalanx base and kill Chiral (as the rest of the Centaurs are burning, I want them to have to blow an action to put out the flames, then move to base me, denying their chance for first strike). My opponent scores a couple wounds on Matisse from point blank range, takes the Warbride to her last track, and kills a couple of my warriors. His hunting cats base the Incarnation, and the centaurs begin basing my Phalanx.

 

I don't need to use my 4th Spy in turn 3, as the cards come up all me at the beginning of the turn. Ranthe drops an Ironskin on Matisse, and Kevis uses Ice Shard to would a hunting cat. Matisse and the warriors/spearmen mop up Eawod and a couple of the remaining Saprolings. The Incarnation breaks B2B from the cats, and kills two Centaurs basing the Phalanx. He takes a couple wounds. Those Phalanx are now free from B2B, however, and gang up on the remaining centaurs, all but one of whom are promptly mopped up. I lose a Phalanx in the exchange. Crossbows take shots at Saprolings, but don't Pierce, so they survive. The Hunting cats again engage the Incarnation, and die for the effort. The centaur scores a wound on Merack, but dies on the defensive strikes. The remaining Saprolings trade blows with my warriors, each of us losing a model. Drys kills Moraia, but I Martyr and eliminate Drys on defensive strikes.

 

We call the game at the start of turn 4; my opponent having only 2 saprolings remaining, and my losses only Moraia, 3 warriors, and one phalanx.

 

I was really pleased how the combination of the Incarnation's fireball (and subsequent Burning tokens) helped limited the effectiveness of the Centaurs' First Strike capability, allowing me to hold that flank with only the (very slow) Phalanx. It let me engage them on my terms, keeping them from ganging up with massive First Strikes to take out critical targets on my side.

 

~v

[TGP]

I think this is a legal [?] army:

 

It is really sort of a figure inventory -- "all in" -- 'what have I got to work with?' Army.

I seem to have too many solo things for the number of leader figures available.

 

Overlords -- 1488 points

Troop 1
General Matisse
Ymrilix the False
Overlord Warrior x 5

Troop 2
Onyx Chevalier
Vincente, Chevalier
Shadow Legionnaire x 3 (Proxies -- three Ghost King 02991 I have somewhere)

Troop 3
Thurion, Blackguard (this one I need a proxy for....)
Overlord Spearman x 5

Troop 4
Bile, Wyvern

Troop 5
Mageguard Golem

Troop 6
Incarnation of Flame (holding out for the translucent Bones version)

Troop 7
Onyx Golem

Troop 8
Andras the Ruthless (proxy a wingless General Matisse figure - somehow I have two of Gen. M.)
Overlord Warrior x 5

[ObsidianCrane]

Well its legal.

 

Of course typical army size is 1000pts and the one bit of advice I got a lot early on is "mix up the troops", this will help you see synergies if nothing else :)