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Strategies vs Empire

947 views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  ArchonFarseerGuy 
#1 ·
A friend of mine is going to be picking up 2000 points worth of Empire pretty soon, and I was wondering, what kind of strategies should I expect him to use on me/me use on him? I don't know very much about how Empire works other than it can do everything and its units are very average. Any pointers?
 
#5 ·
I'd use anything that ignores panic. You will suffer losses to missile fire, so be sure you have something that reaches the lines. Khornate Marauders are both cheap, won't run away and they pack a good punch once they're at them. Use horsemen to deal with enemy ligh cav that is used to march block you. The horsemen can also be used to knock out warmachines.
 
#6 ·
Don't be surprised if he gives you a run for your money in combat. The Detachment system means that they will frequently do well on CRes, and maybe even knock a rank off from out-of-sequence shooting.

Magic, too, you may be surprised by. There are a few sneaky items in the Empire arsenal, like the Rod of Power, which allows for a great amount of flexibility. If I have too many PD, I can just switch a few. The Grey Wand is a favourite of mine for a Wizard Lord, as it enables him to get off a good amount of offensive magic. And the Lores of Metal and Fire are both nasty against WoC, as I think you'll be aware.

However, the greatest piece in the Empire army, to my mind, is the Van Horstmann's Speculum. Be VERY careful about issuing and accepting challenges, as this piece means that even a Warrior Priest can bring down a Chaos Lord and barely think twice (the WP with VHS and a GW as a favourite of mine - the bane of nasty characters everywhere).

You can expect to win combats based on kills, and the lack thereof scored by the Empire. Chaos Knights will chop through everything, Chosen and Chaos Warriors should both do very well, and Chariots should be able to win combats on their own (D6+1 Impact Hits, plus two horse attacks, plus 2-3 crew attacks - can't remember the exact number).

Special mention goes to the Helblaster Volley Gun, which, as you will come to discover, is an extremely explosive piece. It has the potential to dish out 30 S5 hits, but will average between 10-15, and still has to roll to hit and wound. It is also very prone to Misfiring, and has a horrible Misfire chart (horrible for it, anyway). So bear in mind that the damage output of that thing is more psychological than actual damage. Whilst this isn't to say to flash your Chaos Knights in front of it, it isn't as lethal as most people think.

But as has been said, you will most likely be up against a gunline. Generally, these are the easiest types to army to beat, I find. Screen your big, nasty killers with cheap, quick units (again, as has been said), and you should have little trouble beating them in combat. Empire artillery is expensive, and can be destroyed by a reduced unit of Warhounds. If your army is fast, you'll be facing one or two rounds of shooting, which should enable you to close with his ranged units having taken little damage.

Hope this helps:).

-AFG//
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all the advice. I guess I should be most focused on countering his magic and preparing for gunlines. This guy seems to always roll terribly on artillery (I've seen him misfire and blow up 2 cannons on his first turn before) so that shouldn't be an issue. Now, for 2000 point games I typically run with a lord on a juggernaut and two sorcerers, which seems to be able to destroy just about anything I've dealt with so far. Is empire magic heavy enough that I'd want to go for another sorcerer or an sorcerer lord? And one more question regarding magic, what's the best way to deal with a dwarf player who's stacking antimagic stuff?
 
#8 ·
And one more question regarding magic, what's the best way to deal with a dwarf player who's stacking antimagic stuff?
Rush his Runesmiths? I'll let a Chaos general answer that one more definitively.

Is empire magic heavy enough that I'd want to go for another sorcerer or an sorcerer lord?
Whilst Empire magic definitely is nasty, it's more down to the flexibility of the wizards (configuration and Lore choices) that make it so. So whilst it is potentially a force on the battlefield, it's not like HE/DE magic that can incinerate units at a time.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I have fought WoC with my Empire and i can only emphatize the points above: i wacked a lot of warriors and hounds with my handgunners and Helblaster volleygun (the volleygun being the scourge of the game).
But when it came to CC my swordsmen did what they do best: turn tail and run. Even with the LD of a Warrior Priest they seized the first oppurtunity to run off the board... yeah great... thanx...

So don't get disheartend when your opponent fusillades half your army: the other half can still tounce all of the empire lines.

So screen those warriors wth hounds and ram riders in his flanks, it's what i would fear!
 
#11 ·
If a unit shoots 6 out of 10 warhounds, the rest will flee. Instead, use small units of 5 hounds, that will present more targets for the opposing player, which is good for you.
 
#12 ·
The problem that will likely be encountered is that a simple Fireball should be able to kill two-three pretty easily, which will, in turn, free up LoS to your Chaos Warriors/Knights for the Shoot Phase. You will have to be prepared to expose a few expensive units to some nasty shooting, and be thankful that you won't be experiencing too much of it.

Also, the Marks of Nurgle/Slaanesh are generally pretty safe bets, as you won't be needing too much more protection or combat prowess, and both Marks will reduce his shooting by either eliminating Panic, or making it harder to hit.
 
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