Kings of War/Tactics/Basileans

Why Play Basileans

Basileans are an entire army of lawful good paladins, battle nuns, and angels. If that's your thing, these guys are for you. It also is the natural place for your unused Stormcast Eternals to find a home in Kings of War. You want your angels, archangels and nuns on panthers? Then this is the army for you!

Army Special Rules

• Blessed Be The Pious: All units, except those noted, have Iron Resolve, meaning they heal a wound every time they pass a nerve test while steady.

Unit Analysis

Hero

• Abbess: If you are running a lot of sisterhood, she is great for being very inspiring for them. Otherwise, she is strictly worse than the Dictator. On a panther she can be a hilarious flanker in a smaller game.

• Abbess on Chariot: In terms of being a leader, the Abbess on Chariot is no better than the regular Abbess: she helps her sisters, but nobody else. However, taken as simply a chariot she is only slightly less effective than a regiment of them, but is significantly more durable, cheaper, and can use hero only magic items. Remember as a chariot she still can get double or treble attacks on flanking charges, and she is the cheapest hero slot that can do that in the list.

• Bearer of the Holy Icon: Your cheap source of inspiration. He's a basic, single attack hero with Inspiring. As simple and bare bones as you can get. He is dirt cheap though, so you can almost always fit one in if you need it. Good for keeping large groups of infantry in your bubble if you are building towards a large horde.

• Priest: Like an Abbess, put for penitents. The priest however can also be reasonably useful in a general list, as he has both Heal and the ability to gain Bane-Chant as well making him a versatile support character for not just a horde of penitents, but really any Basilean unit.

• Dictator: A cheap general. He is halfway between a Bearer and a High Paladin. He has the armor and nerve of the High Paladin, without being headstrong or having quite as many attacks. As an individual however, his combat potential is severely nerfed in kings of war so the Dictator could be skipped for either a Bearer or War Wizard for a cheap hero.

• Gnaeus Sallustis: Gnaeus is essentially a straight upgrade on the Abbess on Chariot, getting a bit more durable and nimble, while also becoming more versatile for inspiring an army without sisters. If you are allowed special characters, Gnaeus is your best melee character who cannot fly.

• High Paladin: A bigger version of the Dictator. He's got Crushing Strength (1), Headstrong, Heal (2), and Inspiring. He can also be put on a horse like the Bearer if you so desire to increase your speed and gain Thunderous Charge (1). The mix of Heal and Inspiring make him more versatile than a Bearer in a lot of ways, granted at more than twice the points cost. Problem is he is split between wanting to be in combat and wanting to be in a support role, kind of separating his focus in two different directions. As an individual however, his melee potential is quite low, so you should probably look elsewhere for a combat character.

• High Paladin on Dragon: The biggest hero available to the Basileans. Comes with all the things you'd expect from a dragon and a high paladin. He'll hit like a ton of bricks in melee, but can also breathe fire if that's more appropriate. Remember as a flyer, you get nimble for extra pivoting.

• High Paladin on Griffin: Not quite as awesome as a dragon, and only slightly more durable than the cheaper Ur-Elohi. The High Paladin on a Griffin doesn't really fill any niche in the heroes slot, but if you like griffins, he'll serve you well.

• Julius: Julius is a upgraded Ur-Elohi, doing everything they do, but strictly better in all respects. His biggest boon is having the only natural 6+ defense in the Basilean army. He also gains Elite if he and Samacris are both in your army and alive. He is cool, but he costs a ton that make you wonder if he is really worth 50% more expensive than a normal Ur-Elohi, or if you should simply spend a bit more and get a Paladin on Dragon.

• Samacris, Mother of Phoenixes: Where Julius is very much a melee character, Samacris is the Basilean's super wizard, with powerful versions of fireball, lightning bolt, and heal. She also has regeneration like a phoenix. She is definitely a steal for her points in an army that is starved for good ranged attacks, and can use an inspirational angel who actually wants to stick around your basic rank and file instead of flying all over the board to get flank and rear charges.

• Ur-Elohi: The Ur-Elohi is a slightly cheaper, but more durable than a regiment of Elohi, while still largely doing the same amount of damage in combat. He is also the most cost-effective combat hero in the list. He is a straight upgrade on every hero cheaper than him, and is largely competitive with the few that are more expensive. It's incredibly easy to fly him through your opponent's ranks, and cause mischief and rear or side flank attacks, which he can double or triple his attacks on.

• War-Wizard: Your basic wizard. Comes stock with Fireball (8), but can also buy Lightning Bolt (3) or Wind Blast (5). Inexpensive for a source of magic if you so desire. Same risks and rewards apply to him as to any magic user. Consider that with an upgraded Lightning Bolt, he is basically a more accurate and mobile alternative to 10 crossbowmen for only a handful more points.

Infantry

• Crossbowmen: These are your only infantry unit that has a ranged attack. Crossbows aren't the worst ranged weapon, but you will need to run them as a horde to get anything substantial out of them. Otherwise one might be better off sticking to spells, magic items, and breathe attacks.

• Men-at-Arms(Sword and Shield): Your basic melee unit. They have average offense and defense. They are more defensive that Penitents and Sisters, but they will not do as much damage, particularly as you scale up from small troops to hordes.

• Men-at-Arms(Spear and Shield): Strictly an upgrade from swords to spears, these men-at-arms are more expensive, but get defense against thunderous charges as well as more attacks. Worth pointing out that they are strictly better than penitents against defense 4+ or worse, and identical against defense 5+. Sisterhood Infantry will always be more offensive, but will suffer defensively like the Penitents.

• Paladin Foot Guard: Your elite infantry. They hit on a 3+ and have a defense of 5+, a point better each from Men-at-Arms. They can also switch out their shields for two-handed weapons to gain Crushing Strength (1) at a cost of 1 defense. They also have Headstrong, like much of the army, giving you a 50-50 chance of shaking off wavering results. Like a lot of elite infantry in Kings of War, their offence does not scale up particularly well, even with two-handed weapons. However, they are your toughest infantry to kill so they should be considered for groups of ten to protect your flanks.

• Penitents Mob: The cheapest infantry in the army, who are also headstrong and have Crushing Strength (1). If you need a huge horde on the cheap, these are your guys, however keep in mind that on the field, a horde of Penitents has roughly the same durability of a regiment of most other infantry.

• Sisterhood Infantry: Crazy battle nuns. They come with Crushing Strength (1), Headstrong, and Vicious. Cheaper then your spear and shield Men-at-Arms with the same number of attacks, although slightly more squishy as well, their special rules make them good on offense and weak on defense. Very scary as a horde, easy pickings in smaller numbers.

Large Infantry

• Elohi: Avenging angels to inspire your troops. Expensive for large infantry, but they come with a bunch of special rules; Crushing Strength (1), Fly, Inspiring, and Thunderous Charge (1). Can be used for supporting other units in both offense and for their Inspiring bubble. They move quickly too with a speed of 10 for getting where you need them. Their inspiration is largely going to be only of use to them, as the most effective use of them is to skyrocket to behind your opponent's lines, and forcing your opponent to start pivoting to avoid rear or side charges. Their low number of attacks is misleading as they should only ever be charging in a situation where they can double or triple their number of attacks. Remember that flyers are nimble too, so that on a double move, they still get a right turn pivot, and if they only move 10" they can do a full turn around. Essentially, once you get behind your opponent's lines, you can move all over them, forcing them to pivot over and over. Doing so won't do any damage, but it can easily stall out a whole section of your opponent's army making your life easier.

Cavalry

• Paladin Knights: Horse cavalry for your paladins. They come with Headstrong and Thunderous Charge (2). They hit on a 3+ with the same number of attacks as Sisterhood Panther Lancers, but at a noticeable points cost increase. They do hit harder and survive longer though, making a good increase in value for the points difference, if though slightly less maneuverable. Somewhat of a toss up depending on what exactly you want your cavalry to do for your army. Remember that once they take melee damage though, they lose thunderous charge in the following turn, significantly lowering their effectiveness. Highly recommended that one take a brew of strength to give them crushing blow.

• Sisterhood Panther Lancers: Kitty cavalry for your battle nuns. These have Nimble, Thunderous Charge (1), and Vicious. The extra pivot is nice and they're cheaper than their paladin brethren, but their damage output isn't quite as good. The sisters hit on a 4+, with a +1 to damage and can reroll 1's, versus the paladins hitting on a 3+, but paladins get a flat +2 to damage. Defence is a lot worse, at 3+ against 5+ on the paladins, but again they are more maneuverable and cheaper.

Large Cavalry

• Sisterhood Panther Chariot: Chariots hauled by panthers? Your big nun unit, they lose Headstrong, but keep Vicious and increase to Thunderous Charge (2). They put out a lot of attacks with a speed between the Paladin Knights and Sisterhood Panther Lancers. Good at putting up a lot of damage, although they cost a lot of points.

Monsters

• Phoenix: The Phoenix is a pretty wonderful monster, who is very different from most of the Monsters in the game. Unlike most monsters, the phoenix isn't really all that powerful at melee, although it does have Crushing Strength (1). Instead, the Phoenix has Breathe Attack (10), Heal (6), Inspiring, Regeneration (4+), and Iron Resolve. This makes the Phoenix a surprisingly good support unit, being the best healer in the army, while still being inspiring as well. The Phoenix's Fire breath also gives it an edge in the ranged department, adding to it's versatility. And of course, the Phoenix does fly, in case you need to quickly fly over to help one part of your army or just to cause chaos behind enemy lines. Until you are able to bring in Samacris into your army, the Phoenix will serve you quite well as a support character.

War Engines

• Heavy Arbalest: Your war engine choice. This one has Blast (D3+2), Piercing (3), and Reload! Pretty standard compliment for a cheap war engine and not a bad choice for your army considering the range on it. It lacks Indirect Fire, so don't think you're going to be making the same kind of shots as Dwarfs of either variety, but still a solid choice.

Tactics

Tactica here.

Forget the range and close quickly

Anvil in the middles with either 2 reg or a horde of Men at arms

Attack on the flanks with Paladins or Panthers

Ur-Elohi (take at least 2) are best value for points combine them with cav if possible to smash enemy flank.

Banner can be helpful (is fairly cheap) but Ur-elohi give inspiring so no problem