Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Empire (section)

==Tactics==
'''Fighting challenges:''' Most armies are going to challenge your heroes every chance they get, so make sure you either have a unit champion to feed to that  Vampire/Chaos Lord or have your hero kitted out for fighting these combat monsters. There are some common stats to expect from these kind of heroes so plan for: WS/T/S/I of at least 4, most likely 5 or even higher, at least 4 attacks and probably re-rolls for something (most often to hit), in most cases you will be looking at a 2+ or 3+ save as well. On the other hand you can probably afford 2 heroes for every one of theirs. Most of the time all you can do is deny them kills and combat resolution so kitting your heroes to survive the stupid numbers of attacks likely to be inflicted on him is a good direction to take as normal troops would probably just get minced. Also remember that challenges aren't your only option for handling heroes. Your goal isn't just to kill them (although if you can it's generally good) it's simply to stop them fulfilling their role. With so many points tied up in a challenge lord, simply deploying well can give you a nice edge, making the opponent march down your cannon's throat if he wants to charge your general. Honour and valour are for Bretonians, the empire fights to win not to play a losing game of who's got the pimpest general.

'''Detachment use:''' If you're using detachments (and you probably should), you need to learn the detachment rules by heart so you always know what they can and can't do in a given situation.  
:'''The Good:'''
:* Melee detachments can make a counter charge.
:* Ranged detachments can make a Stand and Shoot action at no penalty if their parent unit is charged.
:* Detachments get any special rules that their parent unit possesses, as well as any prayers from Warrior Priests.  Moreover, the FAQ has ruled that detachments use the ranks of the parent unit for determining Steadfast, even if it isn't in combat.

:'''The Bad:'''
:* Detachments cannot take command models, so no Hochland Long Rifle in a detachment of Handgunners.  
:* Detachments lose their special abilities if they are more than 3" away from their parent unit.
:* Detachments cause Panic now.
:* Parent units do not get to react like detachments do, so a smart opponent will either just charge the detachment instead or tie it up with a chaff unit unless you can give him a good reason not to.
:'''The Ugly:'''
:* Detachments can take up a lot of valuable real estate during deployment, and can't be placed in reserve unless the parent unit is in reserve as well.

'''Take the high ground:''' In real life, placing artillery on the highest position available gives you an unparalleled vantage point over your enemy, and the same is true in Warhammer. Placing your artillery on a hill behind your troops means that you can fire over them without giving your target hard cover (this is less important for mortars and Helstorms, which fire indirectly). However, do '''NOT''' put your artillery in a building if your opponent has artillery of his own or high-Strength units he can bring to bear on it; every model in the building takes multiple wounds, which can wreak havoc on artillery.

'''Homing Rockets:''' Take a Helstorm Rocket Volley with a Great Engineer. The artillery die reroll can apparently be used on the Helstorm now, as well as the engineer's BS. Bulls-eyes with 4" scatter or less means you can do 21 hits on a unit per rocket, for a maximum of 63(!). Use the reroll wisely, though; you do increase the chances of a misfire. It's best to reroll misfires (duh) and 10s, 8s if you feel lucky. If you roll a 6, just hope for bulls-eyes for a 2" scatter (unless you get three rockets, in which case you might want to go for it).

'''Homing Fireball:''' A funny thing you can do is buy a Witch Hunter a Ruby Ring of Ruin and according to the most recent FAQ their Killing Blow ability applies to shooting spells as well. Hit someone with a Killing Blow Fireball.

'''Kill the Witch:''' Fill your Hero allotment with Witch Hunters. Walk forward every turn, shooting merrily. Kill all of your opponent's characters this way. Put a Warrior Priest in the same unit, and have him cast Hammer of Sigmar to give the Witch Hunters rerolls to wound in close combat, or Soulfire to make all ranged attacks Flaming. Combine with Enchanted Blades of Aiban/Flaming Sword of Rhuin for even more cheese.

'''Karl and Friends:''' Synergy unit, needs skilled use of artillery support and at full placement only can be done in 3000+ games. Karl Franz, Ludwig Schwarzhelm, Kurt Helborg, Luthor Huss and Valten in an unit of Reiksguard Knights with a Magic Banner (Steel Standard, War Banner). The unit has mobility, damage output, damage resistance and passes all Leadership tests with:

:*Inspiring Presence
:*Hold Your Ground!
:*Hold the Line!
:*Immune to Psychology
:*Stubborn
:*Magic Resistance (2)
:*+2 Combat Resolution (+3 with War Banner)
:*One turn Battle Prayer effects: Flaming Attacks, 5+ Ward in close combat or Reroll to Wound. Why one turn effects? To gain flexibility and avoid permanent Flaming Attacks that makes the unit useless against a 2+ fire ward.

Put a Level 4 Wizard Lord (Life, Light, Shadow) with Staff of Sorcery (See FAQ) in another unit for protection from spells like Dwellers Below or Purple Sun. The rest of the army is Steam Tanks, Great Cannons, Witch Hunters, Warrior Priests and Knights units of all types excluding Reiksguard; keep the Wizard Lord in dispel/buff/debuff mode, get a second Wizard (Beasts, Level 1) with a Dispel Scroll to buff your units. Combine this tactic with the previously listed tactics (Take the high ground, Kill the Witch, Homing Rockets, Homing Fireball, etc).

'''The Gunline:''' Yes this tactic is pure cheese but its not illegal. Basically replace all state troops with Handgunners (think American revolution or Napoleonic wars). A block of 10 handgunners with another block right next to them, repeat until gun line is formed. Great Cannons on each side of the gunline to fire diagonally from each corner when your opponents troops move in to engage your gunline and grape shot anyone who wants to engage your cannons. Have some mounted pistoleers behind your gunline to fire over your gunners heads or to charge anyone who make it to your gunline and sweep up all those routing units.

'''Pike and shot:''' This may be a bit obvious, but combing a parent block of spear men with two hand gunner detachments (<del>aside form being historically accurate</del> <del>No they used Pikes not spears, the hint is in the name</del> Eh, close enough) can be devastating. no one wants to charge spear men, but the hand gunners are the bait to make them want to try. if some one tries to run the hand gunners off while avoiding the spear men, intercept them with small blocks of infantry to give your spear men time to get into position. 5 Halberds should be at each of your flanks to charge anyone AFTER they engage your spear block.

[[Category:Warhammer/Tactics]]

{{Warhammer_Tactics_Races}}