The composition of my starting warband is no less tricky than picking out spells for my Wizard. Of course it makes some kind of sense to leave the expensive boys behind – something to aspire to as the campaign cash comes rolling in (thanks for the tip Clint).
Looking at the bargain end of the list we have a War Hound, a Thug and a Thief (sounds like the start of a joke to me!). Hounds can't carry treasure which means they're going to have to earn their pay some other way. They're low on health and armour – and they're animals so could be controlled if your opponent has the right spell – but appear to be ok fighters, and they can move quickly. Thugs are not dissimilar, but slower with a bit more health and a bit more fight. The Thief falls somewhere in between.
Next on the list we have Archers and Crossbowmen. Decent fighters, decent shooters, with a bit of armour. Their stats and gear are identical except for…you can guess. The Infantryman, who costs the same as our shooty friends appears to be a poor man's version of a Templar in the list, a decent fighter with a 2-handed weapon.
In the next price bracket things start to get a bit more funky. We have a Man-at-Arms which, again, appears to be the poor man's version of the more expensive Knight. Better armour than the Infantryman thanks to a shield but similar in most other respects. Then we have a Tracker, a rather speedy all-rounder and a Treasure Hunter, a good fighter.
I'm not going to look any further on the list. The expensive end of things looks very cool but would mean I won't have many men in my list. As things stand I could possibly take all Thugs and Thieves (to go alongside my Wizard and obligatory Apprentice) giving me a head count of 17!!
Of course this would give me no ranged attacks, which is rather silly, but a lot of bodies could do the business – too many targets for the enemy to deal with perhaps?
Alternatively I could take a mix of Archers/Crossbowmen and Infantrymen, giving me a head count of 8. However, if there is a lot of terrain all that firepower could be wasted (especially if my opponent has the Wall or Fog spells).
This leaves us with a mix of characters from all three price bands which, as Bull has noted, gives a few less bodies for a bit more punch.
More things to consider before I make my final list and play my first game of Frostgrave!
A couple of points to make
ReplyDelete1. The apprentice isn't strictly obligatory - you don't have to take one, but you'd be stupid to skip having a second spellcaster
2. I seem to recall that there is a limit on warband size, presumably to prevent people using thief/thug swarms and encourage a mix of types
I'd agree that it is probably a good idea to avoid the more expensive types at the start, then to add them later on when you've amassed some treasure. A mix of melee and missile fighters is probably the optimal approach.
Thanks Tamsin.
DeleteI agree, it'd be daft not to take an apprentice.
I want to be excited about this game. It seems to be incredibly popular right now, but I just can't generate any enthusiasm for it. It wouldn't take much for me to get involved either, just re-tool a couple of my Mordheim warbands. Maybe the call of the wild west is just to strong right now.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Kris. I'm worried it's going to be a poor man's Mordheim and it's wide reaching success could be in some way due to the void left by GW's classic.
DeleteI think without checking that the max size inc wizard and apprentice is 9. So it looks like you have all the options. I started with a Construct (I played an Enchnter, 3 Archers and 3 soldiers) it was not a terrible selection. Constructs, zombies, demons animals etc Do count to the maximum size. But you can summon most of them before the game (2, 1 from wizard and 1 from Apprentice)So that can also reduce the cost to buy warband members. I would also recommend saving at least 50 gold each game. This will allow you to buy a healing potion.... Very useful or two cheap thug/thief henchmen.) to replace any losses you may take.
ReplyDeleteRemember all wizard schools are good so pick one that suits you. Most importantly to cast offensive spells means you have to see the target which means they can see you (unless you have a certain sigilist spell). The result is if you are seen EVERY model on the enemies team WILL target your spell casters.
Max warband size is 10 which leaves 8 soldiers after counting wizard and apprentice.
DeleteI like the idea of summoning additional members for your warband. That explains what I've seen in a few Frostgrave videos on Youtube. I will be treating my Wizard like a Warcaster in Warmachine – lose him, lose the game – so I'll be keeping him out of the front line!
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