Saga Undead Army - the one that didn't go to adepticon
I thought it would be useful to talk about the Undead Army I was planning to take to Adepticon.
Heroes and Wizards
I made a mounted Wizard, a wizard on foot and a mounted character that could be the Lieutenant or the Warlord.
I ended up taking the mounted Necromancer (a unique Undead option that allows you to make your warlord into a Wizard). I liked this option because it meant the general could stay out of danger and still affect the outcome of the battle.
I liked the mounted option because I still had the ability to get to where I needed to to cast spells and he could make use of bodyguards and more importantly have the ability to use We Obey. That's the equivalent of 6 extra Saga dice over the game.
I used the Lieutenant in several games but found him to be underwhelming. I swapped him for an extra creature to make that unit more effective. The Lieutenant is quite good as a tank, he can take a hit and help set up the enemy for a counter charge. I never used the ability to transfer a fatigue to him.
Spells
The Undead have access to the Death and Time lores. My favourite spells were
Nightmares - this is a two dice spell, it has unlimited range (useful if you warlord wants the enemy far away. This causes units to gain fatigue when they activate.
Precognition - this allows you to reroll defence dice, this is one of the few spells undead have access to that boosts the units in combat.
Aging - this causes the unit to take fatigue if it activates, this costs one dice but only has range L
Both Nightmares and Aging synergise with the Saga ability Curse.
Curse allows you to nominate 2 units and if one takes a fatigue the other takes a fatigue as well.
My most annoying combo was to cast Nightmares on an enemy unit and then after they have allocated their dice curse that unit and the enemies best combat unit. In one game I cursed the levy with Bow and a unit of Hearthguards, this mean when the Levy activated to shoot they took a fatigue and so did the Hearthguard.
Speaking of Hearthguard
I made up a unit of 6 mounted Hearthguard, these guys formed a second line and were good at counter charging enemy units after they have bounced off the Warrior line. I learned the hard way not to charge Great Kingdom Levy units if they have the Saga ability that allows them to shoot you as a reaction to being charged.
These models are really old GW black knights
Vampirism - this ability grants you some extra attack dice and if you kill some one you get to remove a fatigue. This ability works for Hearthguard and Heroes so would be useful for a combat warlord.
Crypt
For my terrain piece, I made my Crypt out of a GW mausoleum from their Garden of Morr set. I made a new base out of a CD. This is a great terrain item, it adds one to the results if you use the Necromancy Saga ability on a unit within S of the building. So you want to be fighting around this item to get any benefit.
One thing I considered but never did was to use the Spell Crumble to turn the Necropolis into clear ground and charge through the resulting clear section of the battlefield, when they thought it was impassible. That spell is also useful against the Nature loving hippies of the Wild who might want to shoot you from a piece of rough ground or might turn a forest into a monster and try to hit you with it.
Objectives
Adepticon wanted us to have 3 objectives. I made these but I never got to find out what we would use them for. I tried for a simple pallet, indicating they were still mostly cold and frozen.
Warriors
These are the Heart and Soul of the army. They make a great tar pit. There are several abilities that make a unit of Skellies really useful
Necromancy- this ability allows you to raise 2 models and add them back to the unit. This means they don't count as dead so your opponent doesn't get any slaughter points for them. Remember if you do it near your Necropolis you get a bonus warrior. If you use a Rare next to your Crypt you get back 5 Warriors, this means you go from being combat ineffective to full strength in one go.
Tide of Reanimation - this allows you to add a Warrior to 3 units
I like having a unit of Warrior archers, they are good for putting pressure on the enemy to do something.
I used 2 units of Skeleton Warriors as my main battle line. They are great units to put in front of your army and push them into the enemy and dare them to charge you.
This unit has a banner design inspired by the Witcher, this logo was the best thing about that show.
There are some very useful Saga Abilites that you can use with these guys in combat.
Howling Pack - this gives you extra dice for every model you outnumber the enemy by. The drawback is you only save hits on a 6+, however casualties are irrelevant when you can raise replacements.
Already Dead - one of my favourite and most annoying abilities. You don't roll any attack or defence dice but gain resilience 4. This means the unit can take 12 hits before it will lose any models. Even a hard hitting unit of creatures can bounce off and cause no casualties. This might leave you exhausted and for a mortal unit you would be out of the game for a long time. However you are undead and have another trick up your sleeve (next to the giant handkerchief).
All is Dust - This allows you to remove up to three fatigue by removing that many models. Of course you can bring them back with some Necromancy. For 2 dice you can take an exhausted unit back to fresh and maybe at full strength (if you are near the Crypt).
Warmachine
Here is my Catapult, its a very old GW model. I like this unit because it can put pressure on the other side from the beginning. Its Favourite target is mounted hearthguard. Consider putting is difficult terrain to make it harder for enemy cavalry to run you down.
Before I read the rules for Age of Magic I thought these would be really good because you could just dump the combat pool onto the catapult. This would give you a very powerful attack and this could lay down some serious hurt on a key unit. But alas this was not to be.
Creatures
I selected a unit of three quadruped creatures, these form a second hard hitting unit alongside the Hearthguard. I made these out of some Privateer Press beasts.
Masters of the Tomb is a useful ability with these guys, it raises their armour to 5 and can be very useful if you are shot at. You can also use this with Heartguard
Monsters
I made this Titan out of a Mierce Miniatures model and some GW Bits. You can't use Saga abilities on this guy and he is slow but tough. so he's another model to put on the front line with the warriors. Don't let him get near any Paladins, you will get cut up in short order. Surprisingly they don't like being shot at. even a single unsaved hit will cause you expend a fatigue, which you then need to remove by resting. I think this guy is best used to receive a charge from an enemy attack unit then you can attack the weakened unit with one of your hitting units.
Heroes and Wizards
I made a mounted Wizard, a wizard on foot and a mounted character that could be the Lieutenant or the Warlord.
I ended up taking the mounted Necromancer (a unique Undead option that allows you to make your warlord into a Wizard). I liked this option because it meant the general could stay out of danger and still affect the outcome of the battle.
I liked the mounted option because I still had the ability to get to where I needed to to cast spells and he could make use of bodyguards and more importantly have the ability to use We Obey. That's the equivalent of 6 extra Saga dice over the game.
I used the Lieutenant in several games but found him to be underwhelming. I swapped him for an extra creature to make that unit more effective. The Lieutenant is quite good as a tank, he can take a hit and help set up the enemy for a counter charge. I never used the ability to transfer a fatigue to him.
The Undead have access to the Death and Time lores. My favourite spells were
Nightmares - this is a two dice spell, it has unlimited range (useful if you warlord wants the enemy far away. This causes units to gain fatigue when they activate.
Precognition - this allows you to reroll defence dice, this is one of the few spells undead have access to that boosts the units in combat.
Aging - this causes the unit to take fatigue if it activates, this costs one dice but only has range L
Both Nightmares and Aging synergise with the Saga ability Curse.
Curse allows you to nominate 2 units and if one takes a fatigue the other takes a fatigue as well.
My most annoying combo was to cast Nightmares on an enemy unit and then after they have allocated their dice curse that unit and the enemies best combat unit. In one game I cursed the levy with Bow and a unit of Hearthguards, this mean when the Levy activated to shoot they took a fatigue and so did the Hearthguard.
Speaking of Hearthguard
I made up a unit of 6 mounted Hearthguard, these guys formed a second line and were good at counter charging enemy units after they have bounced off the Warrior line. I learned the hard way not to charge Great Kingdom Levy units if they have the Saga ability that allows them to shoot you as a reaction to being charged.
Vampirism - this ability grants you some extra attack dice and if you kill some one you get to remove a fatigue. This ability works for Hearthguard and Heroes so would be useful for a combat warlord.
Crypt
For my terrain piece, I made my Crypt out of a GW mausoleum from their Garden of Morr set. I made a new base out of a CD. This is a great terrain item, it adds one to the results if you use the Necromancy Saga ability on a unit within S of the building. So you want to be fighting around this item to get any benefit.
Objectives
Adepticon wanted us to have 3 objectives. I made these but I never got to find out what we would use them for. I tried for a simple pallet, indicating they were still mostly cold and frozen.
Warriors
These are the Heart and Soul of the army. They make a great tar pit. There are several abilities that make a unit of Skellies really useful
Necromancy- this ability allows you to raise 2 models and add them back to the unit. This means they don't count as dead so your opponent doesn't get any slaughter points for them. Remember if you do it near your Necropolis you get a bonus warrior. If you use a Rare next to your Crypt you get back 5 Warriors, this means you go from being combat ineffective to full strength in one go.
Tide of Reanimation - this allows you to add a Warrior to 3 units
I like having a unit of Warrior archers, they are good for putting pressure on the enemy to do something.
I used 2 units of Skeleton Warriors as my main battle line. They are great units to put in front of your army and push them into the enemy and dare them to charge you.
This unit has a banner design inspired by the Witcher, this logo was the best thing about that show.
There are some very useful Saga Abilites that you can use with these guys in combat.
Howling Pack - this gives you extra dice for every model you outnumber the enemy by. The drawback is you only save hits on a 6+, however casualties are irrelevant when you can raise replacements.
Already Dead - one of my favourite and most annoying abilities. You don't roll any attack or defence dice but gain resilience 4. This means the unit can take 12 hits before it will lose any models. Even a hard hitting unit of creatures can bounce off and cause no casualties. This might leave you exhausted and for a mortal unit you would be out of the game for a long time. However you are undead and have another trick up your sleeve (next to the giant handkerchief).
All is Dust - This allows you to remove up to three fatigue by removing that many models. Of course you can bring them back with some Necromancy. For 2 dice you can take an exhausted unit back to fresh and maybe at full strength (if you are near the Crypt).
Warmachine
Here is my Catapult, its a very old GW model. I like this unit because it can put pressure on the other side from the beginning. Its Favourite target is mounted hearthguard. Consider putting is difficult terrain to make it harder for enemy cavalry to run you down.
Creatures
I selected a unit of three quadruped creatures, these form a second hard hitting unit alongside the Hearthguard. I made these out of some Privateer Press beasts.
Masters of the Tomb is a useful ability with these guys, it raises their armour to 5 and can be very useful if you are shot at. You can also use this with Heartguard
Monsters
I made this Titan out of a Mierce Miniatures model and some GW Bits. You can't use Saga abilities on this guy and he is slow but tough. so he's another model to put on the front line with the warriors. Don't let him get near any Paladins, you will get cut up in short order. Surprisingly they don't like being shot at. even a single unsaved hit will cause you expend a fatigue, which you then need to remove by resting. I think this guy is best used to receive a charge from an enemy attack unit then you can attack the weakened unit with one of your hitting units.
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