Well, as many of you may know Beasts of Chaos ended up at the bottom of the ladder in the recent nemesis crown campaign. While this was caused by many factors, like lack of beast players, it is obvious that we need to form some sort of unified front. Our lists might not be the most competitive now, and 7th edition might have screwed us over a little, but I think if we all group together and talk things out we can make a good tactica.

Let put our heads together and help out our fellow beast players, and hopefully we can dredge our win ratio out of the gutter. The poll is just so I can get an estimate of how many beast players are on Librarium.

Sign ups for each section start now, and if there is a section that you want to see but I haven't made yet, let me know.

Basic Beastmen Guides
Beastmen only Playstyle
Beastmen and Mortals Together
Beastmen and Daemons

Marks of Chaos

Lord Choice Guides
Beastlord
Doom Bull
Great Bray Shaman

Hero Choice Guides
Wargor
Bray Shaman

Core Troops Guides
Beast Herds(this one is very important and varies widely between players, I may break this down into multiple guides)
Bestigors
Tuskgor Chariots
Warhounds

Special Units
Chaos Trolls
Chaos Ogres
Centigors
Minotaurs

Rare Units
Dragon Ogres
Dragon Ogre Shaggoth
Chaos Giant
Chaos Spawn

Advanced Tactics
Get the most out of Ambushing
Using skirmish movement to your advantage
Beastmen BSBs: why, how, when, and when not to
more ideas from you guys.....

somehow i think the links aren't working. none of them are interactive.

those aren't links, those are the proposed topics. he's probably looking for experienced (or at least semi-articulate, well-informed) writers for the different essays.

I would maybe add a section on magic usage in a BoC list, unless you intend for that to be covered under the Great and regular Brayshamen topics.

They aren't links yet, though when it is finished that might be a nice feature.

Having a separate section for magic is a good idea, though I had originally thought of having the magic in the shaman sections. If anyone else thinks magic should be separate I will make a new topic.

I can write a few of the topics myself, but I was really hoping for some help on this. Considering I only started beastmen a few months ago, I have had some very good success, but there are many units and combinations that I have not used. For example the shaggoth, Doom Bull, giant, and centigors.

If you are worried about it being too difficult or taking up too much time, your section needs to only be a paragraph or two. Though, longer is better because it will encompass more of the topic.

Id be interested in helping out with this, though i wont put my name against anything yet. I have little free time and limited internet access at the moment unfortuntely.

Count me in. I'll add my 2 cents.

I'd be happy to get started writing about my play style. I would say it would be best for a few other people to write about their own play style. Mostly because I don't think any of us play exactly the same way others do.

If you want ideas and a starting point, have a look at the Wood Elf tactica in the Wood Elf forum.

i say, just start the thing and post it! that will garnish much more constructive criticism, i think

8Y This sounds like a good idea. I'm not Beast-savvy enough to author any sections, but will be glad to help in any way I can.

We've got a decent tactica nearing completion in the Wood Elf forum - As Skars said, pick whatever out of it that you think you can use.

If you want ideas and a starting point, have a look at the Wood Elf tactica in the Wood Elf forum.

8Y This sounds like a good idea. I'm not Beast-savvy enough to author any sections, but will be glad to help in any way I can.

We've got a decent tactica nearing completion in the Wood Elf forum - As Skars said, pick whatever out of it that you think you can use.

Yeah, that was where I got the idea.

I am just going to start writing up some of the tacticas and have you guys let me know what you think. I'm going to start off with something easy first, like ogres, and leave the more complex stuff till later.

Since you have the info you were looking for, I'm going to close your poll so people don't keep bumping the thread by voting and not posting.

good call.

The first section is up! Yay Chaos Ogres!

Here (http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108279)

On a related note, does anyone know how to easily link to a specific post on a page? Right now I am fake replying to the post to get the post number and copying and pasting it into the url link.

Any of you guys that want to start writing up a section just post it here, and I will format it the best I can and post it over and link it on the tactica page.

well ilke tidea f a unified front and sections on unit descriptions and good vs bad. .....i'm a very big 40k player and getting into fantasy with beast. so this is great for a learning curve. but i offer no experiance or insight. i am supportive.8Y

I think it's a great idea. It's a lot of work, but if you allow it time, it'll be great in the end. I don't know what I can do that Cyric hasn't already offered, but you have my support. Let me know if you need anything.

well ilke tidea f a unified front and sections on unit descriptions and good vs bad. .....i'm a very big 40k player and getting into fantasy with beast. so this is great for a learning curve. but i offer no experiance or insight. i am supportive.8Y
Glad I could help.

The holiday is over so updates should be faster and occur more regularly now.

Minotaurs section is up.
Here (http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108279)

For the mods who say they want to help; I am having a small formatting problem where there is a gap at the "chaos ogre" section. I can't seem to figure out what the problem is, if you know how to or can fix it somehow I would appreciate it.

I hope you can use this...

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

Tuskgor Chariot
Contributors: Auere

A Tuskgor Chariot is clearly one of the most cost-effective (pointwise) units to field. Beastmen generals usually take at least two of them in a 2000 point army unless they are playing an army composition that moves the chariot to special choices.

Taking a look at the numbers, one quickly discovers that the chariot have top marks in both defence and offence.
A Toughness of 4 is average, but 4 wounds and 4+ armour save is clearly amongst the best. Usually, however, the defence of a chariot does not play as much of a role, as long as it is desent. The usual banes of chariots are strength 7 hits and getting run down, obviously.
It is the offensive capabelity that makes this chariot stand out. It produces 1-6+1 impact hits with strength 5. Add to that; two charging tuskgor attacks, and the crew, who are not to be underestimated. The beastigor's attack has good chance of causing a wound with his high weapon skill and strength. One of these potent chariots can easely remove the entire first rank of a unit of toughness 3 troops!

All this hitting power, and still it remains pretty cheap in points...

Although few, the chariot does have some downsides. It has low leadership, for one, and although the "undivided" mark gives it a re-roll on psycology test (hence about a 75% chance to overcome), it does not help the chariot against break tests. If beaten just slightly by bad dice rolls, you can be almost certain that the chariot breaks from combat. Keep the general and battle standart bearer close!

It it also somewhat a problem that fleeing tuskgor chariots only have a 55% chance of rallying, unless the general is nearby. Make sure that you get the charge!

The movement of the chariot is not great either compared to others of its kind. The tuskgors have a move of only 7', and there is a risk that the chariot falls slightly behind your battle line as you advance, because of marsching rules. It compensates however with a 14' long attack, so it should not be much of a problem.

Most of its other weaknesses are common to nearly all chariots: strength 7 hits, can not negate ranks, obstacles and terrain.

Like all chariots, the tuskgor chariot works well in collaboration with ranked units who do not have the punch to overcome the enemy alone. Beastherds come into mind... The chariots also break about everything if they attack in pairs. Very violent indeed.

Pros:
Good overall defence
Impressive hitting power
Relatively low point cost
Chaos Undivided mark

Cons:
If a combat is lost, it most likely flees!
Low movement, compared to others of its kind
Susceptable to high strength hits

Use against:
Ranked infantry units mostly, but nearly anything goes
Avoid:
Terrain, cannons, kroxigors (and alike), unbreakable units, getting charged

Sure thing, i'll post it right away.

LO seems to be back in order, so Lore of beasts and lore of shadows are both up.

http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1062905#post1062905

Well I was on somewhat of a hiatus as of late as the real world once again took its hold on me. I don't expect most of you noticed, but I have returned to help out my fellow beastmasters and post on the tactica again. First order of business, my sincerest apologizes to MouseC112, as he gave me a great start on the warhound tactica but it took me forever to post his contribution. Note, that I may try his interesting idea on the fear causing warhounds sometime, but I felt I needed to add the large paragraph in the middle about baiting and flee and edit his spelling and grammar:P. No worries, great job, I appreciate the help. Warhounds are one of my favorite units, and it is good to have them up there.

I also added more to magic a while back, but have yet to tackle tzeentch for no apparent reason other than my fickle behavior. How very tzeentch-like of me.

It is good to be back, more work will be done on the tactica.

I am going to double post here in a second so I can link the submission guidlines to the Beasts of Chaos Tactica page.

I have been getting a few messages for people wanting to help with the tactica (http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/fantasy-work-progress-tacticas/108279-librarium-online-beasts-chaos-tactica.html), and that is great! I much appreciate the help and enthusiasm I have generated in the forum. I ask for you guys who want to contribute to send me a PM of what you wish your section to say. That way I can look it over for spelling and grammatical errors, as I am sure not all of you have English as your first language and/or the internet has made you lazy. I know it has for me, but I am picky and don't want any misspelled words or anything in the tactica for ease of reading. After I look it over, and trust me I read them many times, I will add what I think is missing, might change your paragraphs around so it flows better, format it properly, and add the link.

I know it might sound picky, but I want the tactica to be the best that it can be. Also, do not feel afraid to send me a message if you think I might have missed something the first time around. I will add it in as soon as I am able.

Hey, so far it's looking really good. Just one thing I'm irritated about for this. I'd promised myself that if I collect BoC I'd try find tactics myself. Oh well.

If I *ahem* buy it with my own hard earnt money (the Army Book), I'll add a few stuff to your article.

From what I've seen about the Beastmen, they seem like Woodies that have a harder time winning as they have low Ld and can't do Bait-and-Flee (always hard when you try and outmaneuver your opponent). Good luck with it.

-AFG

Hey, so far it's looking really good. Just one thing I'm irritated about for this. I'd promised myself that if I collect BoC I'd try find tactics myself. Oh well.

If I *ahem* buy it with my own hard earnt money (the Army Book), I'll add a few stuff to your article.

From what I've seen about the Beastmen, they seem like Woodies that have a harder time winning as they have low Ld and can't do Bait-and-Flee (always hard when you try and outmaneuver your opponent). Good luck with it.

-AFG

I am glad I could help...sort of.

The armies do play similarly, which is why I have great respect for those over in the wood elf section. The main differences are the leadership problem for the beats, but this is offset by the fact their their troops are very cheap, so they have numbers over the wood elves.

They can bait and flee, rally them afterwards is the issue. I bait and flee with my army every game. I just make sure that it is tactically wise to do so, cheap herds and even cheaper warhounds make bait and flee the best way to win considering the army NEEDS to charge to be victorious.

In fact I think I might just cover some very basic tactics next (considering a few people have asked)....right now in fact! Thanks for the round about way of inspiration, though feel free to not read them if you don't want to. You know you will! Muahahaha, my evil abounds!

uh, dunno if this is necro posting, but the tactica sure aint finished....

Id love to help! This is probably one the few tactica's I can acually write something for.

Things I can do if you like :

Beastherds
Centigors
Chaos Giant
Magic items
Lore of Tzeentch
Ambushing
Beaslord
Shaman
Marks of Chaos
Chaos Trolls

Let me know what I can do!

Regards, Tim

timk1111 please write some of those articles if you can we need to get this tactica going again. its looking good so far just needs some encouragement.

I am into it too. I am starting a doom bull army and I would love to have some advice from experiences players.

What we've done in the WE forum is use a thread like this to post articles and get commentary on them from other members. Then a mod moves them to a thread in the Fantasy Tactica Works in Progress Forum.

If you can get this off the ground, I'd be happy to help with the mod end of things.

Getting the most out of Ambushing
Contributors: Timk1111

Ambushing certainly is one of the sneakier tactics a beast player can utilise. Here, we will look at how to go about a successful ambush, what to do and what not to do.

Contents:
-What is Ambushing?
-Preparing for an Ambush.
-Sounding the Ambush
-Tactics and Uses
-Pitfalls of the Ambush
-Hounds in Ambush
-The General and Magic items
-Kazrak the One Eye

What is Ambushing?

Ambushing is a unique ability the Beasts of Chaos army posesses. It allows half of the units with the Ambush rule to enter from any board edge, on the General's command, from turn two onwards. These units count as if they have pursued an enemy off the table and are re-entering play. The General himself may not ambush and he must also have the Ambush rule himself, for others to utilise it. The General must also be alive when the Ambush is sounded, or all Ambushers count as slain. Ambushers must also pass a leadership check to Ambush where they want to, otherwise their entry point is determined randomly, using the scatter dice.

Preparing for an Ambush

It’s no good turning up to battle with ill prepared units to do the job of ambushing, so lets look at what you need before the game even starts.

The size of herd here will be very important. Since skirmishers enter the field as if they pursued of it, they start of in one long line on the table edge. Herds of 10-12 don’t take up a huge amount of space on the board edge, and are still pretty good against the right targets. Larger herds can be taken, but one will be plenty, supported by the smaller ambush herds.

NOTE: The recent FAQ has now allowed a Herd to move onto the field from Ambush from a single point, the same way they didn't during the 6th Edition Rulebook. This now makes large Herds in Ambush more viable as a tactic, but still consider the room needed to fit them on the board!. See the FAQ on the GW website for details on this change

Only half of the army that has the ‘ambush’ rule is allowed to setup in ambush, so do your math before the battle! If you need more ambush units to allow that extra beast herd to ambush, small hound units are cheap, and good for this. Plan before hand how many units you want to ambush and write a list that will do the job.

Take as many ambushers as you can! Due to the Leadership test required to be successful, three herds in ambush is better than one. If you plan on only using one, you may as well deploy it normally to cover flanks, and this way it will always be useful.

The size of the Herd tends to denote the composition of the command group as well. ALWAYS take a Foe Render. Yes, he’s expensive, but he gets some great stat increases. Most importantly Strength, for dealing with dwarven artillery crew, and Leadership, to make ambushing a little easier. Others will also take a Musician without question. These guys always come in handy if the Herd is fleeing, combined with a Foerender, they have a great chance of rallying. If it’s a larger herd, say 15+, I’d be looking at a full command, as you may be taking on blocks of troops, and even if it’s in a flank, you want the best possible chance to break the enemy!

Sounding the Ambush

An army of Beasts has the option of sounding the Bray Horn from turn two onwards. There is hardly ever a reason not to sound it on turn two, as this gets you into combat faster and minimises the risk of the General dying before the ambush is sounded. As a result, always ambush on turn two. Of course, Wahammer can have limitless situatuions arise and you can certainly play this by ear if needed.

Tactics and Uses

Here are few things you can do to use ambushing to the fullest.

Herds will get their points back very quickly by targeting war machines and their crew. With a ten strong herd supported by a Foe Render coming in at 75 points, the majority of warmahcines out there are much more than this, so the Herd will get their points back after one charge. Also, being tough, and able to pump out a large amount of attacks, there isn’t much in war machines out there that will stand up to these guys. Ten to twelve is all you need for this.

Putting a herd in a flank threatening position can be used brutally, when used in conjunction with something fast and hard, like Chariots or Centigors. Threaten the enemy’s front with the faster unit, stick a Herd in the flank, and no matter what they do, they’re dead. This won’t work against enemies that are fast, as they could probably just charge the Chariot or Centigors you have lined up, anyway, so pick on infantry, or slow monsters.

You will also have the option to put Characters into ambush and though it’s risky, it can pay off. A common tactic here is to ambush a Shaman with the Staff of Darkoth and Power stone, using the spell Wild Call for an immediate charge. This won’t work all the time, as most enemies pack a dispel scroll or two for such an occasion, but when it does work, there is no counter for it, so it can devastate certain targets. Ambushing a Wargor with a 15-16 strong herd can pay off, too. Having a battle ready herd, supported by a Wargor wielding a Great weapon or such, can cause havoc. Ambush in behind enemy lines, or right into the flank to pick apart the enemies battle line.

Ambushing Herds can also make use of the new Crossfire rule, coming into play against enemies that like to flee from all your charges, such as fast cavalry. Ambush in a Herd behind the unit you want to charge, then charge them with something fast and hard hitting, that they can’t hope to win against. Centigors, Chariots and Minotaurs come to mind. What ever happens, they should be dead. Since the Herd can only move onto the Board five inches, you may need to do some positioning if the unit isn’t right up against the board edge, but it’s still quite a valid tactic.

Other than this, having a unit behind enemy lines has pretty good advantages, mainly being, that if the enemy wants to turn and face you, he’ll be turning his back to the rest of your army, and if they don’t turn to face, you’ll be getting a nice juicy rear or flank charge.

Pitfalls of the Ambush

As amazing as such an ability sounds, it does have a few downsides and risks, as we will see.

We’ve already covered taking as many Herds in ambush as you can. Due to the need to pass a Leadership check, some herds WILL fail. It can’t really be helped. By taking many units, you’ve ensuring something gets to where you want it to. Even if all your herds failed their Leadership check, the roll of the scatter dice should land something behind the enemy, though maybe not exactly where you like.

Being so close to the board edge, means if they panic, they’re off the board. They isn’t a great deal you can do about this, except not to target enemies that could certainly panic them, such as a line of Wood Elf archers, or a cannon’s Grapeshot (with a 10 inch charge, you should be able to avoid the template, so don‘t get too close!).

Being at the enemies flank wont always ensure victory. Charging Grail Knights in the flank, for example, won’t cause much death, other than the Herd itself! Always pick the right fight, one that you will win and since the Herd can ambush from any board edge, this should be easy enough. Herds are good, but can’t kill everything!

Whatever happens, make sure you have a plan for when things go wrong and they will. Relying completely on Ambush to win it for you is a bad way to go about things, so have a main battle plan, SUPPORTED by ambushers.

Hounds in Ambush

Currently, only Herds have been discussed in ambush mainly as Hounds are far too unpredictable to count on in an ambush, with such low Leadership. They tend to do much better deployed at the start, as a flanker, screen, or table quarter grabber.

If you do ambush a couple of them, though, they can be handy for all the things a Herd can do, but these guys can negate ranks too! Just be careful not to charge them into a combat, where they’ve denied 3 ranks, but taken 4 kills in return (units with two hand weapons come to mind here). Hounds aren’t very tough at all!

The General and Magic Items

You must keep in mind, that if you wish to ambush with your Beast army, you have more limited choices in your General. Only Shaman, Great Bray Shaman, Wargors and Beastlords can be the general in this case. It’s not ALL bad, as the Beastlord is quite a good fighter, but don’t have your heart set on a Doombull if you want this kind of army.

In ambushing terms, all of these are fine choices. The only thing to consider, is keeping the General alive to sound the ambush (something you should be doing anyway!), so a Beastlord or Wargor tends to be the better choice, with access to more Armour than a shaman. In the end, pick the general that best compliments the part of the army NOT in ambush, as ambushing units get no bonuses which ever General you choose.

There are also two magic items dedicated to improving ambush. The Horn of the Great Hunt in the form of a talisman, and Preyseeker, a magic banner.

The Horn can only be Given to a Wargor or Beastlord and adds +1 to a Herd’s Leadership when ambushing. It’s use is obvious, in making ambushing a little more reliable. Two things to remember though, is that the talisman ‘slot’ it takes up is quite a valuable one for a General, as it usually offers some sort of ward save for the character. You may need other characters, able to take some punishment, as you general won’t really be able to. Also, this item only helps if you roll an 8 when ambushing. If you don’t, it’s wasted points really.

So is it worth it? In an army heavy on ambushers, yes, but it can be done without. However, the extra insurance against the dice gods can come in handy!

Even though pretty cheap, only the Battle Standard Bearer can take Preyseeker, allowing unit containing this banner to re-roll a failed Leadership test when ambushing. This limits his other magic items he can take. Still, even with no items, he offers 3 strength 4 attacks, and another +1 to combat resolution. If going this way, run the BSB with a Herd that you really, really, want to position. Even if it’s a small herd he is in, perhaps that Trebuchet really needs to be killed! He’s probably better in a bigger herd though, where the reliability conferred by the banner allows a big, combat Herd to be placed on the flank of the enemy.

Another thing to do, since the herd can be more relied upon, is to ambush with the 15-16 strong herd, the BSB and another Wargor as well. The 2nd Wargor, when armed with a Sword of Might, or a simple Great Weapon adds even more punch to this unit, and should allow you to take on bigger enemies, with the heightened killing power.

Using both of these items together, can make a Herd nearly always pass the LD check needed to ambush. This is just about the only way Ambush can be relied upon wholly as a tactic. However, Leadership 8 with re-rolls CAN still fail, so still have a backup plan!

Kazrak the One Eye

Kazrak is a special character that allows any number of units to ambush, rather than half, and he can also ambush himself! He also comes with a ‘Horn of the Great Hunt’ of his own, in that units ambushing near him, may use his leadership. Hounds also gain leadership 6 for their ambush.

He is a very tough character in his own right, so getting in behind enemy lines with this guy can really cause havoc.

The advantages of using Kazrak are fairly obvious, in by ambushing a large amount of herds and hounds, you increase the chance of passing enough leadership tests to land where you need to be. The only real disadvantage is his high cost, and lack of ward save, so he’s worth nearly 400 victory points if slain. Also, being a Special Character, his tournament legality may be in question, so have an army without him in mind

That said, Kazrak is a good choice for Ambush enthusiasts, and what he lacks in defence, he makes up in offence.

Conclusion

Ambushing is a very handy ability that can really destroy you enemies game plan and is something no other army can do in this way. However, it’s unpredictable and It pays off the either have a backup plan, or use ambush only to support the main force.

Wow, Tim. I hope you have children so that you can pass on the Warhammer gene. Excellent article.

Wow, Tim. I hope you have children so that you can pass on the Warhammer gene. Excellent article.


Gee, Dave, thanks for the wrap! Much appreciated.

I do have a son in fact, Oliver, and he certainly loves playing with my dice (he's only 2..) s who knows!

With that, I guess I can start working on the other articles, so i'll post them as soon as I can. Gimme a few days I guess....

Thanks again!

Tim

timk1111 please write some of those articles if you can we need to get this tactica going again. its looking good so far just needs some encouragement.

I am into it too. I am starting a doom bull army and I would love to have some advice from experiences players.


tell ya what guys, let me know what you want me to write about next. Check Fronzoncore's tactica in the WIP Tactica section of LO, find one that hasn't been done that you want to see done, and let me know.

Tim

Magic: Lore of Tzeentch
Contributors: Timk1111

The Lore of Change has a good mix of damage dealing spells and protection spells, also boasting seven spells to choose from. Seven spells in the lore has one big advantage - you can ALWAYS swap one spell you don't like, or can't use that battle. Keep in mind that none of these spells count as flaming attacks. However, they are still quite potent. Here, we will look at each spell:

0 - Red Fire of Alteration
A good magic missile that can only be obtained by swapping another spell for it, but should always be taken by a Tzeentchian Shaman. D6 hits at Strength D6 can be quite random, but it's long range of 30 inches more than makes up for this. It's random nature can be used to to the Shaman's advantage, in that a lot of players will let the spell through, without a dispel attempt. Good targets for this spell include Fast Cavalry and enemy missile troops, but you can also soften up bigger blocks of troops, stripping them of a rank bonus or two. With a nice casting value of only 5+, throw 2 dice into this one.

1 - Orange Fire of Transition
An amazing protection spell and combat buff spell combined, allowing the Shaman to re-roll all saves, to hit and to wound rolls. Some clever magic item combos can make this spell extremely effective, ensuring the Shaman is nearly impossible to kill, while dishing out extreme amounts of pain. An example of such a combination is: Staff of Darkoth, Crown of Horns, Chaos Armour, Shield. While using the Staff defensively, the Shaman has a 1+ re-rollable armour save, and a 5+ re-rollable ward save, dishing out re-rollable strength 5 attacks. He can then switch to strength 7 attacks, at the cost of his armour save.

It has one large flaw however - Remains in Play. To use it reliably, it will have to be cast in the Shaman's magic phase, to ensure it can't be dispeled in that turn's combat phase. Becuase of this, be prepared for this spell to only work half the time, as it will be dispelled pronto in the enemies turn, and that's asuming it's even cast! Catsing value being 6+, 2 dice will pull this off, but it depends how bad you want to get this spell off. 3-4 dice for such a good spell can be considered.

2 - Yellow Fire of Transformation
Another nice protection spell, granting the Shaman and any unit he joins a 5+ ward save. This spell is great for protecting Beastherds, who come with little to no amour and also the Battle Standard Bearer for the army, who also has limited access to armour or ward saves.

It has the same weakness as Orange Fire, however, with it's Remains in Play status. As a result, this spell is best considered as a ward save for combat only, as it only becomes a reliable spell to count on in the Shaman's turn it is cast. An enemy that plans on shooting at the unit in their turn will easily dispel this before hand. Keep in mind that this spell CAN be cast into combat, as it targets the caster himself and affecting the unit he joins is an additional effect. Casting value of 6+ enables casting with 2 dice to be easy enough.

3 - Green Fire of Mutation
A very good mass damage spell, causing all model in a unit, excluding characters, to make one attack against the unit iteslf. Deadly to say the least. An enemies unit's hitting power can now be used against itself. Target units with strength modifying weapons to see the greatest damage from this spell, such as Swordmasters, just remember lances won't work. Cavalry tend to be bad targets for this spell, thanks to lots of armour. Other good targets include very large blocks of troops, like Skaven or Goblins. Even at basic strength, there will be enough 'attacks' to deal out some good damage.

This spell has one big problem though, in that it won't affect Imune to Psychology troops. So, if you face Undead or Daemons, swap it for Red Fire everytime. Casting value at 9+ means we're looking at 3-4 dice to get this spell off.

4 - Blue Fire of Metamophosis
The juiced up version of Red Fire, a magic missile dealing out 2d6 hits with strength d6+1. Has great potential to smah appart the enemy whatever it is cast against, though, like Red Fire, will still roll poorly every now and then. Regardless, the potential of this spell makes it worth it.

The big downer to this spell is it's range, a measly 12 inches. As a result, this spell won't suit a Shaman who prefers to just sit back and blast away, instead useful for blasting the enemy on the way to them depleting a few ranks and such, before the Shaman charges into combat. Being a magic missile means it can't be used in combat either, so don't expect this spell to be used a huge amount during the battle. None the less, when it is, it can be handy. Casting on 9+ means 3-4 dice should be used.

5 - Indigo Fire of Change
The second mass damge spell in the lore, dealing a strength 2 hit to every model in the unit. It's low strength means the spell should target low toughness, low armour blocks of troops where possible. The secondary ability of this spell is the creation of a Horror for each wound caused, placed in combat with the unit. Although this unit can't cast spells this turn, they make for a great speed bump, as long as even one Horror survives until the end of the combat phase, the enemy can't move next turn. The best targets for this spell is anything with only toughness 2, such as Skinks or Gnoblars. The ultimate terget for this spell is Zombies. Being only toughness 2, no armour, and usually fielded in very large blocks, we're talking about a LOT of horrors!

The spell has 2 disadvantages, the first being it's moderate range. 18 inches is reasonable, but still nothing amazing. However, it can be dealt with, given the manouverablilty of the Beasts army. The second is an annoying disclaimer that the spell has, stating that if the player doesn't own enough Horror models to form the unit, the unit can't form. For some people, this means spending money on Horrors, just incase you roll this one spell, for others, grabbing all their spare models, and painting them pink. An easy enough thing to get around, but simply annoying to say the least. It'll be even more annoying if the rules are changed!

Casting Value 11+ mean four dice are needed for this this spell, minimum.

6 - Violet Fire of Tzeentch
This is considered by far the weakest spell in the list, forcing a Character (and ONLY a Character) to pass a leadership check or simply die. It can be quite nice against low leadership characters, such as Skaven, Goblins, Vampires or, ironicly, Beasts, but the range of the spell limits it greatly - a mere 6 inches. Since the spell can not be cast into combat, it renders it next to useless with the few situations you can actually use it in a Beasts army, only having access to characters on foot. Swap it for Red Fire everytime, unless you get Green Fire against Imune to Psychology armies. Casting value is also a big downer, a massive 12+, means we look at 4-5 dice just to cast it, and even then, the leadership check could easily be passed by the target.

tell ya what guys, let me know what you want me to write about next. Check Fronzoncore's tactica in the WIP Tactica section of LO, find one that hasn't been done that you want to see done, and let me know.

Tim

Becaus I have just started collecting Minotuars I would like to see a Doom Bull army write up comparing the different Marks and using complementing support units such as warhounds and herds.

:?Just for clarification in the TZ lore tactica you refer to the casters as Shaman but aren't they Wargors and Beastlords with the mark of TZ? So I don't think having the mark makes them shamans as much as warriors that cast. Therefore the where it's mentioned that the "shaman" can take a bray staff could be an oversight. To the best of my knowledge that's not an option for Wargors and Beastlords. But I am new to Beasts, the local beast player isn't around much anymore so I am not as familiar with them as I once was, and don't have the book with me so I admit shooting from the hip here.

BTW thanks for taking the time to write stuff up. I know it's not easy and it's odvious that you are putting alot of thought into it. Keep up the good work.

Becaus I have just started collecting Minotuars I would like to see a Doom Bull army write up comparing the different Marks and using complementing support units such as warhounds and herds.

:?Just for clarification in the TZ lore tactica you refer to the casters as Shaman but aren't they Wargors and Beastlords with the mark of TZ? So I don't think having the mark makes them shamans as much as warriors that cast. Therefore the where it's mentioned that the "shaman" can take a bray staff could be an oversight. To the best of my knowledge that's not an option for Wargors and Beastlords. But I am new to Beasts, the local beast player isn't around much anymore so I am not as familiar with them as I once was, and don't have the book with me so I admit shooting from the hip here.

BTW thanks for taking the time to write stuff up. I know it's not easy and it's odvious that you are putting alot of thought into it. Keep up the good work.

Hmmm, OK, next ones I'll writeup then are the Doombull, the Marks of Chaos (which will cover minotaurs), and i'll throw in a new one abou the 'monster' army, didn't think of that.

Are you saying I don't know my beasts?!, Joke! Tz Lord certainly are shamans. Go to the page just before all the magic lores in the back. It defines what a 'shaman' is, and mentions the mark of Tz. :) Happy days!

So, gimme 'til after work ( 8 hours or so, my time) and I'll get some more stuff going. Ill post it up in the new stickied thread for review.

Tim

Marks of Chaos

The Beasts of Chaos army offers great customisation of certain units, allowing them to follow one particular Chaos God. Not only will this hace an effect on the paint scheme of the army, but it will also add or change rules for a given unit, as we will review here. Chariots will not be dicussed, as they may not swap the mark of Chaos Undivided.

The General and Mixing Marks

A quick reminder, the Mark the General posesses is very important. If he has been given a mark, other than the Mark of Chaos Undivided, then only the Mark he has can be chosen by other units (again, other than undivided). Remember to keep this in mind when deciding on your armies composition. Also, a unit with a Mark can not be joined by a character with a different Mark. This rule also counts for Undivided unit, so be careful mixing marks when using Chariots or Bestigors! This rule is dependent on the unit, not the character, so a unit without any form of mark, such as a Beastherd, is fine.

Beastlord, Wargor, Bray Shamans and Great Bray Shamans

The mark chosen for Beastlords and Wargors can be quite important. Other than strength, they lack in some key statistics, mainly being toughness, weaponskill and leadership. Marks help fill some of these gaps.

The Mark of Chaos Undivided grants these characters a re-roll to psychology tests. It's uses are limited, since joining a Non-Marked unit will nagate this ability, but it comes with the bonus of costing no extra points to have, so nothing is wasted, really.

There are some good ways to get the most out this Mark, however, mostly revolving around the General. The most important, is that it allows the Beasts army to mix marks freely. So, although the General may be slightly weaker because of this, the very best Marks can be chosen freely amongst other units in the army, boosting the entire armies effectiveness, not only the General's.

Joining a unit of Bestigors with these characters is a good way to get a Character that is rock solid against phychology. It won't help in combat, but it could be a critical charge against a Fear causer that becomes successful, or a Terror check that becomes negated. Either way, suddenly this Mark becomes useful!

The other, more indirect, ability this Mark grants is the ability to mount a Chariot, since Chariots can not swap their Mark. This option is only available to a Beastlord however, so it's quite often going to be the General inside the chariot. It has all the benefits of a Chariot containing a character, in it's Unit Strength of five and more attacks in combat, but exposing the General, without the protection of a Herd, makes this a gamble. He could smash through hordes of enemy troops, or he could have his chariot taken out rom under him with shooting, leaving him out in the open. It's usually becomes Player preference.

The Mark of Tzeentch turns Wargors and Beastlords into wizards with access to the Lore of Tzeentch. The key things this allows is access to some long range fire power, what most Chaos armies tend to lack in general, and boosts the characters profile, again, with the use of magic. See Lore of Tzeentch section, for more details on the spells and magic item combinations. The other thing you get from this Mark is a Wizard that can defend itself, with access to more armour and the ability to fight. Though the Mark comes with a hefty price tag, this can also save you some points, since you need less characters to fill certain roles. One Beastlord will work out cheaper than a level 4 Bray Shaman and two Wargors, for example.

Although this fills the gaps in the Beast army the most effectively, it will always come with the problem of lack of reliablilty. A well prepared opponent can shut down a magic phase, robbing you of the benefits it has to offer. It can also make them more likely to run away, depending on the unit they join, without the Mark of Chaos Undivied. This won't matter if they're inside a Beastherd, or such, though.

The best way to use this Mark effetively is to try and take lots of it. Try not to unbalance the army, as Beasts need units to do the bulk of the killing, but Tzeentch armies need the best possible chance to get it's spells off, in order to properly benefit from it. Another strategy that can be used is a concept called the 'Super Herd'. It involves a 20-25 strong Beastherd, joined by 2-3 characters will the Mark of Tzeentch. The magic the Tzeentch shamans have to offer allows the Herd to become resilient in combat, as well as a good body guard for the Combat-Shamans inside as they destroy the enemy at range and close combat.

The Mark of Nurgle gives these characters an extra wound, as well as causing Fear. The extra wound helps make up for the weaker armour Beasts get, compared to other armies and also the weaker toughness of the Beastlord. A great weapon to utilise this further if the Slaughterers Blade, giving the character a good chance at healing itself in combat. It's particulary useful to Nurgle characters, as the weapon can't be used if they are dead! Simply put, the more wounds the better!

Fear is the second but equaly important ability of a Beasts character. By joining a Beastherd with only one, the entire unit will gain the benefits of a fear causer, helping eliminate one the Beasts biggest weakness - poor leadership. This is a boon particulary against entire armies that cause fear, mainly Undead, Daemons and Ogres Kingdoms, allowing the Beasts to sucessfuly charge, without the need for a leadership check, when it's most critical. The protection offered against Terror causers helps a lot too.

The only downside to this Mark is the cost attached to it. It tends to cause the Beast army to spend a lot on characters, shrinking the army and limiting proper defence against magic as well. None the less, it tend to be worth it cost, with the durability it has to offer.

The Mark of Khorne grants Wargors and Beastlords Frenzy and an extra dispel dice whilst on the battlefield. It is the ultimate mark for boosting the hitting power of a character, with the extra attack, and saving points on magic defence, since it's built in with ectra dispel dice.

The only real problem with the Mark, is that it boosts what a Beasts character already has - the ability to kill. It's the ability to survive that can be the problem, so these characters should be very well equipt. Armour, ward saves and the like are a must, to get the most out of this Mark. Other than that, it's plug-and-play. Place them where you need to, and watch them go!

A tip when joining a Beastherd with these characters too: When not in combat, keep them placed around the middle of the Herd. The reason is the biggest problem with frenzy itself in involutary charges. If the character is placed at the front of the unit, there's a chance he will charge out of it, leaving his Herd. In the middle, he won't be doing this, and thanks to the Mob Rule of a Skermished unit, they are placed at the front anyway, during combat.

Finally, the Mark of Slaanesh grants the characters immunity to psychology. It's uses are extremely limited. Unless joining a unit of Slaangors, or Slannesh Minotaurs, the benefits are completely wasted. Other than these two cases, the Mark of Chaos Undivided is always a better choice, simply because of the points saved. There is an exception though, in the case of Shamans. the Lore of Slaanesh is a very powerful lore, so usuing this Mark purely to access this great lore is certainly an option.

One more thing to note with each mark, is a Marked Wizard must choose the magic lore is his patron God. This rarely turn out to be a disadvantage, but just be aware that if you have your heart set on the Lore of Beasts or Death, the Mark of Nurgle and Slaanesh will overide it.

to be continued, and also proof read later....

Tim, I like most of what you said, I have one problem. There needs to be some clarification one the khorne marked hero. Even if he's in the middle of beast heard he can still see out. The rule book says something to the extent of, due to special training of skirmished units, all model they all have 360 line of sight. If he's attatched to the unit he can see out, and therefore still be required to charge... without his unit. If you place him in the middle of the unit, without attaching him, then they would block his line of sight but then he could be killed by rock lobber or cannonball, if it goes through that unit, and he cannot charge because he lacks line of sight to anything.

Ok, I've added a line as to why placing him around the middle actually helps, thanks for pointing that out.

As for surounding him with a herd, he has joined to unit, hence, 'a tip when joining beastherds with these characters...'' etc. How would you prefer it worded? I dont mind changing it (than, you get get your name on it as a contributor! sneaky, eh ;) )

Next lot is up soon, too! (As in, more marks ;P)

Tim

keep up the good work Tim, i really like your articles so far as they are explained well and really cover all the corners :)

oh when you have time could you do an article on how to fight against Vampire Counts please, as these are my worst nightmare atm, thanks in advance :)

keep up the good work Tim, i really like your articles so far as they are explained well and really cover all the corners :)

oh when you have time could you do an article on how to fight against Vampire Counts please, as these are my worst nightmare atm, thanks in advance :)

Hmmm, OK. Ill change the part in the 'Dealing with a specific enemy' to a guide to killing each race. See how I go...

Also, kbolster12345, I'm sorry about the delay on the Doombull army tactica, I must admit I dont know a hell of a lot about it...Im going to try and learn more, but it would be great if someone who actually play minotaur armies could help witht he tactica...

That said, it shouldn't be too hard for me to figure out, similar to Ogre Kingdoms I think,....just less choice!

Tim

Ok, I've started the VC tactica, and posted it in the Stickied thread. I'd like to use that thread from now on please, only because it's stickied. Let me know what you think!

Tim

Hmmm, OK. Ill change the part in the 'Dealing with a specific enemy' to a guide to killing each race. See how I go...

Also, kbolster12345, I'm sorry about the delay on the Doombull army tactica, I must admit I dont know a hell of a lot about it...Im going to try and learn more, but it would be great if someone who actually play minotaur armies could help witht he tactica...

That said, it shouldn't be too hard for me to figure out, similar to Ogre Kingdoms I think,....just less choice!

Tim


I play OK but I think Doom Bull armies could be quite different. The real difference is the supporting units. Warhounds and Beastherds are so much better at supporting heavy hitters like Minotuars then Gnoblars could ever dream to be. I will be testing this theorey out this month. I can share the results but I certainly don't think a month's experience is enough to write a tactica.

BTW Thanks for heads up on the tactica.

It has one large flaw however - Remains in Play. To use it reliably, it will have to be cast in the Shaman's magic phase, to ensure it can't be dispeled in that turn's combat phase. Becuase of this, be prepared for this spell to only work half the time, as it will be dispelled pronto in the enemies turn, and that's asuming it's even cast! Catsing value being 6+, 2 dice will pull this off, but it depends how bad you want to get this spell off. 3-4 dice for such a good spell can be considered.

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but isn't this just plain wrong?

The turn goes, magic, shooting, close combat. Therefore, during the magic phase, IF the spell is cast successfully, then you're guaranteed one round of close combat with the spell active. You simply can't dispel during a close combat phase, unless there's some crazy magic item floating around I'm not aware of.

The spell will then very likely be dispelled in the opponents magic phase (ie next turn AFTER a round of combat has been fought with it in effect), using their power dice to make the dispel.

Right?