As per usual, our esteemed high priest offers stellar advice.
Yet i do still see them in lists and tournaments. What on earth are they thinking!?
As Nagash pointed out -heavy horse are basically useless. There are only three reasons why heavy horse might appear in a tourney list IMHO:
1). The list in question is crap (a little harsh but invariably true TBH),
2). The player doesn't have enough models to fill up the points quota without them (unfortunate but fair enough),
3). The player is looking to score a few extra points in the army composition category by fielding a sub par unit (dubious IMHO).
That's pretty much the top and bottom of it as far as HH go. As a confirmed fan of light horse myself though, I think there are a couple more uses that deserve noting beyond those already mentioned by Nagash (and as one of those that wouldn't consider a tourney list complete without them, perhaps such an opinion may provide some insight even if you ultimately find the reasoning flawed).
So my question is:
what makes these boyz so good that theyre not so bad as they seem?
- do you use them and what roles do you think they're good for?
Okey dokey then, lets start with the uses Nagash already mentioned:
As bunker for a priest (often wielding SoRav):
This is one of the most common uses of SLH and you will see it time and again in many lists since it provides both mobility for the liche (effectively extending the range of his incantations and SoRav) and to gain the all important
Look out sir! roll that will help keep him in one piece.
You need to be a bit careful with this one because of course the SLH will
not stand up to a sustained battering from missile fire and magic. This actually tends to be much less of a problem in practice than it does on paper though due to a couple of factors:
1). An adept general will perhaps be a bit more cagey with how these are deployed in the critical early turns. Often they are deployed behind either interposing terrain or, more commonly, behind another unit that can take the hit. Since this shielding unit will often be the target of the attendant liches' incantations anyway, this actually works out rather well.
For example: The SLH/Liche will often be deployed behind a unit of chariots on a flank. This not only shields the Lt Cav but keeps the liche in range to support the chariots if they have to go roving ahead to deal with a threat or exploit an opportunity. Provided you don't make a boo boo with your positioning, you can actually make it very hard for your opponent to get a shot at them between the large frontage of your chariots and the impassable table edge. Because they're also classed as fast cav you can generally still get your own missile fire (& SoRav) off against a non missile unit -moreover you can still fire behind you at any fast (usually flying) units your opponent uses to breach your lines. SoRav can be particularly effective here since these units typically only have a toughness of 3.
2). As a general principle, more experienced generals tend to be a
lot more agressive in victimising the ranged units that are the bane of SLH as a matter of course. This is something that is naturally very hard to quantify and prove in terms of pure math hammer etc, but (in my experience at least) you will find it born out time and again on the 'top tables' in any given tourney.
Fortunately this is something we TK are naturally
very good at. Between our two ICFB units and (even better) our carrion, it's easy for us to shut down any opposing missile units that cannot easily be otherwise avoided. At this point (usually turn two-ish) you can actually afford to be a
little bit more cavalier about their placement, though you will still need to keep an eye on enemy wizards of course.
Redirecting enemy units.
This is perhaps the best use of Light cav, and at only 70pts a pop it's one they are ideally suited for. They are invaluable for tying up BFMs (like dinosaurs and war hydras etc) since each unit of Lt Cav will typically buy you two more turns to deal with the big nasty in question -and this in turn translates to 2 extra turns of missile fire, magic and -critically- up to 4 extra shots with an SSC. Since the cav die so quickly in toe to toe fighting (and yes, that's actually a
good thing here), it means your target unit will be unengaged and hence an eligible SSC target when your shooting & magic phases roll around again.
Have you ever been in one of those positions where you think to yourself
"If I can just kill *that* I'm probably gonna be alright... but if I don't then I'm probably gonna lose..." ??? Well if you use your light cav to buy yourself that extra turn or two then statistically you are all but guaranteed to get at
least one more hit with the SSC. Almost
all tournament armies can be
expected to field one or more big monsters that require the attention of the SSC, so by using the synergy offered by the light cav here we can greatly shift the odds in our favour.
Although I've made much of the increased synergy afforded to the SSC, the light horse are also very effective against problematic foot units. If you look for opportunities to redirect overrunning units into difficult ground then you can effectively knock an irritating unit (like phoenix guard etc) out of the game. Definately 70pts well spent IMHO.
Needless to say, every time your opponent fails a fear check in a situation like this like this then you will have gained yet
another turn and stalled their attack even longer...
Winning the charge.
This is a big one. Many units (like our chariots) only win consistently when they are the ones who are on the charge. By carefully positioning a disposable unit of light cav at an angle between two such opposing units you can all but guarantee to be the one who is doing the charging
(you see, it really
is better to give than to receive.
)
This use is essentially a gambit: You effectively trade the 70 points worth of light cav for the cost of the opposing cold ones/dragon princes etc. Should your opponent decline to charge then you win again because you have negated their hammer unit
and can still use the cav for missile duty etc.
If you're not sure how to do this then let me know bud and I'll try to find you a few pics that will demonstrate it properly. It will make a
huge difference to your win/loss record.
Cavalry as Psuedo-Carrion.
Like many of us I
love carrion. You will probably have seen some of the '3 or 5?' carrion dabates yourself and accepted some of the 'additional' reasons why many people use five. Aside from the more obvious stuff like march blocking, I'm particularly thinking of things like crossfire and grabbing table quarters. This is all very true, but consider that the light cav can
also be relied upon to perform almost all of these 'additional' duties assigned to carrion in a pinch as well.
Missile fire support.
This one is (much) more hotly debated. I'm really not a huge fan of using bowmen in 10 man units, and though many people are, even those that
do will generally concede that they die in droves when confronted in meelee. Whilst this is also true of the cavalry, at least here you generally have the mobility to avoid having them engaged in the first place -and if your opponent is daft enough to make a concerted effort to get them then you can always sucker them in for the gambit.
Assuming you don't sacrifice them yourself in the mean time of course, any surviving light cav will generally dish out more or less the same number of bowshots over the course of a game, but you will enjoy a lot more flexibility from them IMHO.
Flank support.
This is rarely worth it TBH because the cav will usually give away more CR to your opponent than they can generate/negate, still it
does happen from time to time and can make a big difference when it does come up. The very fact that you have the
option to do this in the first place is often more than enough to cause your opponent to hesitate and stall an opposing unit.
Nagash said:
This is so, so true... even by us TK players. I think the main reason for this is that it can be quite tricky to learn all the sneaky stuff you can pull off with them whilst learning how to keep them alive long enough to do it. I suppose it's a bit like learning to keep your heiro alive, at first you will make mistakes and your lich will get nuked -you live and learn. Unlike the obligatory heiro though, many people will discard the lt cav after a few such 'nukings' and perhaps not persevere with them long enough to discover all the benefits.
The best thing about Light cav IMHO is their incredible flexibility. By themselves they are -admittedly- a bit pants (to say the least), but that's not really the point. Their
real value comes in the synergy they provide in combination with our other units like chariots and the SSC. Since these two units are often the main damage dealers in any TK army, the ability to enhance their effectiveness so sharply for such a small points investment is usually well worth it IMHO.
I hope that helps Digger. At the very least it should throw up a couple of uses you might not have considered.