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

==Magic Items/Upgrades==
RIP the days where armies had a plethora of unique magic items to choose from. Denizens of the empire now get a total of 9.
*'''Runefang:''' 85 points. A Sword that auto-wounds, no armor saves allowed in case you wanted to call your commander "Count" instead of "General". A much more impressive (and expensive) sword than the Obsidian Blade, but rightfully so.
*'''Mace of Helstrum:''' 50 points. Two-handed, Always Strike Last weapon. You can trade all your attacks for a single S10 hit that has the Flaming Attack and Multiple Wounds (D3) special rules. This will make a skaven player fielding the hell pit abomination cry, not only will you be able to deal upto 3 wounds but you will also strip it of it's annoying regeneration. That is, if your near-naked lord survives the abomination attack. Hint: snipe those with the cannons
*'''Armor of Meteoric Iron:''' 50 points. 1+ Armor save, and 6+ Ward Save. The 1+ is very impressive, but 6+ Ward is not. Take a Talisman of Preservation if you want a good Ward, since 1+ armor may be good, but any challenge character in another army will likely be S6 or higher, inflicting -3 modifier on your save. And that's assuming no Armor piercing special rules. Or consider taking the dawns tone for half the cost which allows him to reroll his armour saves, assuming that the enemy is s6 3+ rerollable is much better than 3+ 4++
*'''Helm of the Skaven Slayer:''' 15 points. Causes Fear, and if playing against Skaven, it causes Terror. But, all Skaven gain the Hatred special rule when attacking the unit containing the bearer.
*'''The White Cloak of Ulric:''' 50 points. Enemies in base contact with bearer have -1 to hit. Also, confers 5++ which becomes 2++ if you're attacked by a Flaming weapon. Awesome against Flame breath weapon dragons and the like, and Tzeentch daemons.
*'''Van Horstmann's Speculum:''' 40 points. When in a challenge, you swap all (not pick and choose, you must swap all) characteristics with your challenger. Hilarious when you steal a Vampire Lord's characteristics when you challenge him with a mere Empire Battle Wizard.
*'''Ring of Volans:''' 30 points. One use only. Choose 1 spell from any of the 8 Rulebook lores and generate a spell as if the bearer was a Level 1 Wizard. The Spell can be cast just like a bound spell, with a power level equal to the normal casting value.
*'''Griffon Banner:''' 60 points. Your extra rank bonuses are doubled. However, you can never pursue an enemy and must ALWAYS hold their ground when being charged. Hint: you cannot purse, but your detachments are free to do so.
*'''Steel Standard:''' 35 points. You ignore any negative movement penalties for barding an re-roll 1s when determining charging, fleeing, or pursuing distance. Awesome way of quickly catching up to enemies.

First off, you need to properly kit out a champion to handle challenges; most armies you'll face are likely to have a champion bigger and nastier than yours. In order to survive and thrive in challenges, a character will need three things:
* A good weapon. Good choices are the Runefang (15 points cheaper now), the Mace of Helsturm (sort of a Ghal Maraz-lite) and the Ogre Blade (+2 Strength). If you're looking for something more economical, and the Sword of Anti-Heroes can be awesome if your opponents are still playing Herohammer.
* Good Armor. The Armor of Meteoric Iron gives a 1+ armor save and a 6+ ward save. Armor of Silvered Steel and the Armor of Fortune are also good choices.
* Take the Talisman of Preservation or the White Cloak of Ulric to make a character harder to deal with, especially if you're taking a Templar Grand Master or something equally nasty.
* My suggestion on a grandmaster is: Ogre blade, Talisman of preservation, full plate armour, shield, barbed horse. This will give him a 1+ armour save 4++ ward and strength 6 on every round of combat. 

Magic banners will help you out tremendously. The Griffon Banner is great if you can afford it, while the Steel Standard has your knights ignore barding penalties and allows them to reroll 1s for movement.  The best banner for its points, however, is the Standard of Discipline.  It boosts the Leadership of the unit it's in at the cost of using your general's Inspiring Presence; however, this downside is negated completely (and then some) if you put the general in that unit.

Some character in your army has to take an enchanted shield, its 5 damn points for +2 to armour! A no brainer choice.