Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Old/Order/Free Peoples

The Free People

Do you want to fight the good fight? Are you partial to moustaches and feathers as signs of authority, instead of huge pauldrons or a huge frog-gut? Are you prepared to fight the thinking man's fight and to be prepared to utilize all the tools in Order's proverbial shed? If so, go get your completely regular sword and shield, find a little armor, put a feather in your hat and stand for inspection! See Impossible Sights and Bang Improbable Chicks! Fight the Unending Hordes of Chaos, and Rebuild the Realms! Die for the Cause! Sigmar Needs You To Join the Freeguild!

The Free People, or more accurately, the Freeguild w/ Friends, is a weird faction in Age of Sigmar. Compromising most of the left-over Empire models that aren't war-machines, holy or magical, the Free People are the exact opposite of most Age of Sigmar armies: Defensive and ranged, in comparison to aggressive and melee-oriented. Not that Free People can't or won't fight in melee (they will, and don't look forward to winning them out the box), but the Free People has easy access to a lot of ranged units that can really do the difference in a battle, especially against opponents who have no ways of protecting themselves against it. Plus, Free People has some really great synergy, which you should totally built around: The Freeguild Guard is phenomenal as a huge, 30 something mob with swords and shields and a little bit of buffs from characters around them, and the Greatsword can really be a good melee elite unit with the right timing. This, of course, gets even better with the addition of the other mortal Order armies like the Collegiate Arcane or the Devoted to Sigmar.

Allegiance Abilities

With the advent of the General's Handbook Part Deux, the Freeguilds have now become even better with new Battle Traits, Command Traits and Artefacts! Now the mortal armies of Sigmar are even stronger than before!

• If your army has the Free Peoples Allegiance, Greatswords and Demigryph Knights count as Battleline choices!

Battle Traits

• Defiant Avengers: Basically the same as the normal ORDER Allegiance; Re-role battleshock tests for FREE PEOPLES units. Especially useful for Free People, since it stacks with both the unit and Freeguild General banners to make us surprisingly safe from Battleshock (but still far from immune).
• Freeguild Great Companies: DETACHMENTS 2.0! Yes, the old detachments system from the old Empire returns, but with a twist! Now any unit with FREEGUILD in its Keywords can support their brethren in battle!
  • The Great Company is made up of 3 units, one of which has to be a Freeguild Guard unit with at least 20 models in it. The other two choices choices each require at the least 10 models, but are otherwise entirely up to you.
  • What do you get from this? Well, at the end of the enemy charge phase, units in a Great Company can support each other by Shooting as if it were the shooting phase, or Charging as if it were the charging phase,, so long as:
    • The Unit lending support is more than 3" away from the enemy.
    • The unit being supported is within 3" of the enemy.
    • Both units are within 6" of each other.
  • The Freeguild Regiment Battalion can form 3 Great Companies on it's own. use this to your advantage!

Command Traits

• 1. Inspiring: FREE PEOPLES units that are within 9" of your General DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE BATTLESHOCK TESTS. While still good, note that it is not as useful on Freeguild as it would be on other factions due to our banner induced bravery shenanigans.
• 2. Battle-tested Veteran: Your General can use Inspiring Presence and their other command ability during the hero phase.
• 3. Shrewd Commander: You receive an extra Triumph at the start of a battle. pretty much pointless unless you're running a campaign.
• 4. Indomitable: Add 1 to the save rolls of friendly FREE PEOPLES units so long as they didn't [i]charge[/i]. With this your expendable, cheap as shit Guard models go to a 3+ re-rolling 1s in combat. Throw down a block of guard, use it in a grand company of Handgunners and laugh your heart out, you sick bastard. Easy contender for best Trait in the game. Note it also brings your General up to a 2+ (because you took a shield like a good boy, didn't you?).
• 5. Righteous Fury: Add 1 to the general's wound rolls if the target has the CHAOS keyword. Very situational
• 6. Grim Resolve: This trait adds one additional wound to your general. Not a game changer, but definitely useful on a normal Freeguild General

Artefacts

• 1. The Armor of Meteoric Iron: This returning piece of armor adds 1 to save rolls to the model. While it doesn't protect against mortal wounds, sticking this bad boy on a Freeguild General with a Shield can make your enemy have a tough time wounding without high Rending weapons.
• 2. Blade of the Realms: Pick one of your weapons, and if you roll a 6 or more for your weapon, the target suffers a mortal wound, IN ADDITION to any other damage that the attack inflicts.
• 3. Luckstone: Re-roll one failed hit, wound or save roll for the model EACH PLAYER turn (not Battle Round). Useful on an Indomitable General so he can reroll his first failed 2+ each turn.
• 4. The Broken Shackle: The unit wearing these broken ass boots may retreat or charge as if they could fly, AND can retreat and charge in the same turn. Most useful on a Griffon General, as it'd allow you to charge into, and subsequently hop over any tarpit lines to get at the juicy backfield units.
• 5. Writ of Dominion: Plant your feet in the ground, roll out a piece of paper, and declare that everything Chaos owns is yours now; you add 1 to the wound rolls made for friendly FREE PEOPLES units that are within 6" of the person who has this artefact. Combo with Hold The Line! on a unit of 30 Crossbows and you will mulch anything short of the gods themselves in a single turn.
• 6. Flag of the Conquerors: Add 1 to the Bravery of FREE PEOPLES units within 12" of the model holding this glorious flag. Also, it lets you re-roll charges for units that are supporting another unit in their Great Company.

Wargear

While there's gear exclusive to the different units, there's several pieces of wargear common army-wide and have the same effect. To count:

• Shields: Army wide, our shields allow us to reroll save rolls of 1, except for Generals who instead add +1 to their save. Helps add some more resilience to your meatshields and makes your Griffon as protected as a Steam Tank.

• Banner: Their bonus is the same army wide, and it allows you to pass battleshock tests on a roll of 1 without losing any models. GREAT when you lose 6+ models in a single phase.

• Musician: This is when the Free Guild gets fun. Remember the Detachments of the Old Empire? Their descendants do and trigger those effects with their musicians. We have 3 main types:
  • Melee infantry (Guard, Greatswords): Lets you attempt a d6 counter-charge to get more units into combat. Really fun for swarming over-reaching enemies. It's also not effected by hold the line since these charged happen in the enemy phase, not your own.
  • Ranged Infantry (Crossbowmen, Handgunners): If a ranged unit with musician gets charged you can fire all your guns/crossbows at the unit that charged you BEFORE they get to swing. That's right, we have "Stand and Shoot"! Even better, the shooting unit DOESN'T have to be the one charged, so if you have two ranged units and one is charged both can shoot the charging bastards.
  • Light Cavalry (Pistoliers, Outriders): This allow the unit to run, shoot and charge. A godsend because it lets the unit to close in and shoot hell on the enemy or flee a dangerous situation while still being on the offensive.
  • Heavy Cavalry (Demigryph Knights): Get 2 extra inches on your charge rolls. Useful.

Warscrolls

Heroes

• Freeguild General on Griffon: It's a general, on a Griffon. Oh my lord this is magical. Has access to a Sigmarite Runesword for anti-infantry, a Sigmarite Greathammer (aka Mini-Ghal) for hero and elite killing and the Freeguild Lance for monster killing. Here, the Hammer might actually be the best choice as you can take a shield with any weapon and the Hammer is pretty strong with its high Rend. Since the Griffon itself is actually pretty damn killy, with two high Damage Beak attacks and quite a lot of Fang attacks with 2 Damage, it can really rip into a Manticore or a Terrorgheist who got too close to your lines. Now, the biggest change from the Freeguild General below is, that this guy has a very, very offensive Command Ability, which boost Bravery, charge range and Hit rate, but only to one unit, unfortunately. In addition, you can use the Shield with any weapon, which the General can. You want to kill things? This' the guy.

• Freeguild General: Mr. Moustache and quite the leader for a Freeguard army. Despite being a regular human, he still has a 4+ and five Wounds, and some surprisingly great weapons: Sigmarite Weapon and Shield for infantry-mulching, Great Weapon for elite-killing and Freeguild Lance for monster and hero-hunting, give him what he needs to fullfill whatever role you need him to. While he can do a pretty good job in melee, he's still not a duelist, and should be kept safe so he can keep using his Command Ability. Now, this thing is just plain fun, it allows three Freeguild units within 15" to add 1 to their Hit and Wound rolls, but they can't Move or Charge (but apparently can run running is not a separate move like in 40k). Put this German mofo in the middle of it all and anchor one hell of a gunline. Be careful to not overlap buffs. Of course you can give him a horsey, but since the Knights have been removed you can still "ally" them to the knights in the legacy list with no issue. If you want to charge though, take the Griffy-Genny up top.

Foot Troops

• Freeguild Guard: Your basic infantry. With sword and shield your guys make an amazing anvil (dirt cheap and a 4+ save), but that's not to say other load outs don't have merit. With halberds you get a unit that can mow through skeleton and skaven hordes pretty quickly, and with spears you gain a little bit of reach. Arguably sword and shield are the best loadout, with halberds coming next. Another interesting loadout for them is using militia weapons, which are the same statline as swords in close combat (no parry bonus though), but it also unlocks a 14" ranged attack for the unit. At 20 men in the squad they get +1 to hit, at 30 they get +2, and at 40 models or larger you get 3+ to your hit rolls. Putting a few squads of these in either the Freeguild Regiment or the State Troop detachment and popping hold the line will give you an amazing anvil unit that can dish out the pain (under the right buffs, you can easily get to 2+/3+/-/1).

• Freeguild Greatswords: With Oathsworn Honour Guard and Hold the Line! Greatswords have the potential to deal 2 attacks each at 2+ to hit and wound if they stand still. Compared to other Elite infantry like Stormvermin, Bestigors, Wildwood Rangers etc. Greatswords are an absolutely brilliant and powerful unit, even more so with all the buffs your army has going. Also remember that their Save is 4+ without all the ifs and buts that your Guard has to deal with.

Ranged Troops

• Freeguild Crossbowmen: With the aid of your General, they're a solid ranged unit to have. If you're looking for some decent 20 inch shots to throw out, consider getting 30 of them so you don't lose the bonus as soon as the first guy dies. If you can't afford the 30 model count, or aren't planning to use a general to buff, then it might be best to pass.

• Freeguild Handgunners: Handgunners, at the beginning, seem bad. A sucky save, low bravery and a short-ranged missile weapon that needs a 5+ to hit. Now you look at it's 3+ and it's -1 rend and think: it's not that bad. Then you look at their skills: 20+ models gives +1 to hit and if there's no enemies close them and they didn't move, they add another +1 to hit. Now couple them with an Empire general and State Troop Detachment. Pick 3 units of handgunners and don't space them too much. Enjoy 90 autohits (not in matched play) and nigh ensured damaged. Skeletons will shit bricks.

• Freeguild Archers: Honestly work a second look after admiring the insane combos available from Crossbowmen and Handgunners. A free move before the game begins and an 18" range mean these boys can reach out and poke someone quicker and easier than the handgunners. An average profile of 4+/4+/-/1, but you can reroll hit rolls of 1 or 2 if the unit has 20+ models, or all rolls to hit if they have 30. The bonus, however, is the fact they can shoot this well while on the move, while crossbowmen and handgunners have to remain stationary.

Cavalry

• Freeguild Outriders: Decent-ranged guns and a bonus to hit if they stand still, with an impressive number of shots, but in exchange they are quite a bit worse in melee (where you don't want them anyway).

• Freeguild Pistoliers: Very short-ranged guns and awful Bravery. They do bring Rend and a lot of attacks, but since you have Demigryphs for smashy, you may want to skip Pistoliers for Outriders. Unlike practically any other unit, their melee attacks are exactly the same ones as their ranged ones (they shoot the same pistols point-blank). So, if you can charge the same thing you shoot and get the priority in that combat, they can make a good name for themselves, because they may very well kill their targets before they even get a chance to swing.

• Demigryph Knights: These monsters can chuck out a ridiculous amount of attacks for what they are and have a total of 4 FUCKING WOUNDS EACH. Not to mention they can move 10" like all Empire cavalry, they can and will charge into a unit and hurt it bad. Good at clearing hordes with the mounts 3 rending attacks each and rider's 2 attacks with either weapon. Personally I would recommend giving them sword and lance as it does 2 damage on the charge and will wound on a 3+ like the halberd but this requires care with who they charge as they will lose effectiveness on the second round of combat. Not to mention the models look awesome as hell. Alas, too expensive points-wise for what they bring in Matched Play.

Battalions

Freeguild Regiment

One Freeguild General or Freeguild General on Griffon, one unit of Demigryph Knights, one unit of Freeguild Greatswords, 3 units of Freeguild Guard, 3 units of either Freeguild Archers, Freeguild Crossbowmen or Freeguild Handgunners in any combination, 1 unit of Freeguild Pistoliers, and 1 unit of Freeguild Outriders.

This Battalion is humongous! Even at minimum unit sizes, you're looking at an army of 80+ models! The benefits of such a huge battalion are the following:

• Stand Together, Stand Strong: Add 1 to hit rolls if the unit attack is within 6" of another unit from the battalion when the attack is made. This is especially deadly to your foes with the new Great Company ability, which has you keeping your army close together in order to reap the benefits.
• Regimental Discipline: Units in this Battalion have +1 Bravery when they're within 10' of their General, and NO models flee when taking a battleshock test if you roll a 1; If the units includes Standard Bearers, no models flee on a one or two. Combined with their Allegiance ability, "Inspiring" Command Trait and the Flag of the Conquerors, this basically makes the Freeguild almost unbreakable if they stick closely to their general.

Army Building

At it's core, Freeguild armies are horde armies, and starting with at least 2 20-man guard squads, a general, and some greatswords will give you a good core to expand off from. From there, adding in handgunners or outriders for ranged support, more infantry for some staying power, or adding in some Demigryph Knights and allies for more punch, it's all a matter of what you want your army to play like. A huge part of making this list effective is stacking buffs and synergies to upgrade your crappy state troops to mustachioed sons of sigmar. Things like the state troop detachment, hold the line, and other buffs that apply to FREE PEOPLES are almost mandatory from a more 'competitive' side of things. By themselves: a single guard squad will not do much beyond stall deadlier units or die, but with the right support they can make just about anything think twice.

• With the new Freeguild Allegiance, various points changes across the board and the new Allies system, things just a whole lot more interesting when fielding an army of the Free Peoples!
  • a Freeguild army can draw up to 400 pts of allies and still keep their Allegiance abilities. The Allies that they can draw from include the Collegiate Arcane, the Devoted of Sigmar, the Ironweld Arsenal and the Stormcast Eternals. They don't count towards the number of Battleline choices you pick; however, they do count towards the number of Leader, Behemoth and Artillery choices you have, so choose wisely.

Allied Armies

• Stormcast Eternals Let's be real here. With the Freeguild General's incredible buffs, you have better anvils and better shooting than the Stormcasts can provide with Liberators and Judicators. Thus, if you want these guys, you want Paladins and Dracothian Guard. A couple Retributors can do you some good and a the fact that Dracothian Guard are ridiculously powerful even without buffs makes a couple Concussors a great addition as well. Vanguard-Hunters, Vanguard-Palladors and Vanguard-Raptors could also prove useful as a distraction while your army moves up the field.
• However, if you're looking for a force multiplier the Stormcast possess a gem in the form of the Knight Azyros. The Azyros possess a fast, durable platform, the capability to pump out D3 wounds in an 8 inch bubble (D6 on Chaos because fuck 'em) and with the ability to give all your shooting attacks re-rolls of 1 against nearby enemies the Azyros will boost your gunline to unprecedented levels at an arguably criminal price. Keep your Azyros right behind your tarpit lines, giving out re-rolls and slapping out mortals when your lines eventually get swarmed, and you will aggravate your opponent to no end.
• Ironweld Arsenal: This, right here. The best choice. It gives you your cannons back.
• Collegiate Arcane: And this is also great as it gives you your Wizards back. Revel in the utter bullshit of the Celestial Hurricanum or give your Greatswords some Wildform.
• Steamhead Duardin Eh. Yeah, Irondrakes may be great, but a nice big buffed block of Handgunners is almost as good and you don't need any faction shuffling for those. Duardin/dispossessed make for great allies for Freeguilds. they form better anvils then our state troops, all the while having more sturdy ranged units and good beat-stick characters. However, if you want to reap the benefits of the Freeguild Allegiance, you're probably gonna want to stick with the units you have, as the Dispossessed are not one of the armies the Free Peoples can draw Allies from despite the fact the Free Peoples can draw allies from the Ironweld Arsenal, who have Duardin in their ranks
• The Empire: Though technically a legacy list, it brings back all the stuff that was lost/passed into other armies. Knights, empire cannons and mortars, and all of the named characters are great additions, as well are the 2 battalions in the list as well. You could probably just stick to the stuff you've got, considering the recent neutering of all the legacy armies.

External links

Rules are here

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-general-griffon-en.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-general-en.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-guard-en.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-greatswords-en.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-crossbowmen-en.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-handgunners-en.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-archers-en.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-outriders-en.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-pistoliers-en.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-demigryph-knights-en.pdf