Help with Grail Reliquae?

[ColonelMendez445]

Hey there. While putting together a 3500 point list for a tournament in a week or so, I was thinking of using the Grail Reliquea for the first time. I currently have:

-Lord equipped for dueling characters
-(1x)BSB Paladin Mounted w/Virtue of Duty
-(1x)Cheap Paladin w/Virtue of Empathy
-(1x)Standard Mounted Paladin
-(3x)Mounted Damsels for mainly dispelling enemy magic
-(1x)KE unit of 9x Knights w/FC and Erranty Banner
-(5x)KOTR units of 8x Knights w/FC (for the lord, BSB, Mounted Paladin, and 2x damsels)
-(2x)M@A units of 24x Men w/FC
-(1x)Skirmishing Peasent Bowmen unit of 24x
-(4x)Pegasus Knights w/Gallent
-(1x)Grail Knight unit of 8x Knights w/FC (w/one mounted damsel)

Now i have enough points left over to get a good unit of pilgrims w/the reliquea but before I go and buy a unit of M@A to convert one and I would really appreciate any experience or suggestions if I should use it or not and if its worth taking. Please respond to this post because latley I feel i'm getting shafted by you guys. No offence.

[grimmtu]

Please respond to this post because latley I feel i'm getting shafted by you guys. No offence.

I think it's just the fantasy forum in general - much less popular than the 40k forum. Sorry I can't really help - I'm pretty new to fantasy myself.

[strewart]

Please respond to this post because latley I feel i'm getting shafted by you guys. No offence.

Brets aren't the most popular army really, or if they are the forum isn't that busy because most Bret players seem to figure out the army fairly easily so aren't around to talk about the finer points.

There are mixed opinions on the Grail relique, I would suggest proxying it for a few friendly games before the tournament (smaller games so you get them done quicker) to see if you like and and to see what it does for you on the battlefield. Everyone's tactics are different.

In my opinion, it is pretty useless. Its basically a stubborn unit of peasants that don't have halberds. It can look pretty cool on the battlefield, especially if you convert it up. Think the huge cross from Kingdom of Heaven. If your army is mostly peasants, then it could be pretty good, but if you are using mostly knights (which you are) then you will probably find it gets left behind by your army. I think the M@A will already, they probably won't be too useful.

[The_other_guy]

Take it easy guys... not like we all look at the forum every day.

Well the grail reliquea is cool look and have some nice things like ward save and stubborn, but then again it is expensive, a good block of 25 men-at-arms with spears near a unit of knigths have same Ld, 2x the attacks and close to a 100 points cheaper.

I would go for 25 men-at-arms and use the points for bowmen or dispel scrolls.
The magic are getting more hardcore (again, the deamon and dark elves really have some magic firepower).

sorry not for posting at other threads

[infadork]

I personally love the Grail Reliquae, but maybe this is just me. Their strengths are that they basically have the same leadership as regular knights as peasants plus they're stubborn, which is amazing for setting up the flank charge. They also get the prayer bonus, which is great for keeping them alive that much longer. However, they are stupid expensive, which could cause problems for smaller armies. I for one always run an additional 6-12 pilgrims to help give them some numbers....
Hope this helps....

[Arizzar]

I agree with infadork. I really like the Grail Reliquae. While it is true that a group of maa can serve much the same purpose in some respects I believe it is very important not to overlook how important stubborn can be. I have used, and seen Grail Relic used as a roadblock unit many times. Sure they will likely never win a combat against anything serious, but they can stop almost any kind of unit long enough for you to smash a lance of knights into the side or rear. And similarly they can block the side and rear of your knights for far longer than you can expect maa to do it.

They can be a little expensive, that is true, but I have had good experience with them. As suggested earlier, try proxying them for a couple of games and see if they fit your playing style. They are slow, and as maa they risk being left in the dust when the knights charge forward, but unlike maa they can better handle that situation due to being stubborn.

/Arizzar

[grimmtu]

What is really needed, I think, to make MAA effective is a paladin with the virtue of empathy to lead them. Without that, they lack the leadership to really work as an "anvil" type unit. Obviously, the Grail Reliquae lacks this disadvantage and costs nearly the same when you factor in the paladin w/ virtue of empathy. Furthermore, the Grail Reliquae benefits from the Blessing of the Lady.