Grandmaster Echols Expedition:
Grandmaster Echols and his Knights Panther Cavalry division has been assigned to Altdorf on ceremonial duty. This is part of the normal rotation of all of the "old" knightly orders. A massive Chaos incursion calls most major combat units back to the north. At the exact same instant, one of the Dukes of Bretonnia decides to start a border skirmish. Karl Franz, the Reiksgaurd and all of the Steamtanks move northward. Karl dispatches Grandmaster Echols, and a ragtag force from the city of Altdorf, College of Engineers, and a wizard from the rarely assigned College of Light to assist Grandmaster Echols on the border.
(Note this list is similar to Queeks, great minds think alike. Count Von Aichmaan is at home recovering from wounds suffered from the feared necromancer-zombie Festus, at the Battle of Wurzhofen)
Grandmaster Echols Expedition:
Grandmaster Echols, Grandmaster of the Knights Panther, Laurels of Victory (deployed as a floater)=230 pts
Wilhelm Goering, WP of Sigmar, Heavy Armor, Great Weapon, Barded Warhorse=117 pts
Hauptmaan Fisiel, Battle Captain on Pegasus, FPA, Sh, Lance (on loan from the Vampire Slayers)=116 pts
Zan Zar the Bright, Level 2 Wizard, Barded Warhorse, 2 x dispel magic scrolls (rides with the naked knight unit)=159 pts
Core:
Ceremonial Guard of Altdorf
Panterus Rex, First Knights Panther, The Teeth of the Panther
6 Inner Circle Knights, Full Command, Steel Standard (Sometimes lead by the GrandMaster)=221 pts
Panterus Prime, Ceremonial Guard, Garrison duty, The Claws of the Panther
7 knighty orders, Full Command, War Banner (Lead by Warrior Priest)=226 pts
Panterus Secondus, Ceremonial Gaurds, Garrison duty, The Eyes of the Panther
5 Knightly Orders (Lead by Light Wizard)=115 pts
1st Home Guard Regiment, Engineer School of Altdorf
10 handgunners, Hochland Long Rifle=105 pts
Scouts of the Regiment-Detachment 5 archers=40 pts
2nd Home Guard Regiment, Engineer School of Altdorf
10 handgunners, Hochland Long Rifle=105 pts
Powder Handlers-Detachment 5 Free Company=25 pts
Scouts of the Great Woods-5 Huntsmen=50 pts
1st Home Guard, Crossbows Militia of Altdorf
10 crossbows=80 pts
Special Troops:
Altdorf Garrison, on assignment to Grandmaster Echols
5 Pistoliers=95 pts
Home Guard Artillery Battalion:
2 Great Cannons=200 pts
Rare Troops:
(Due to the lack of foot infantry regiments, mercenaries were hired to help gaurd the artillery by the Engineers School)
3 Ogres, Two Hand Weapons, Light Armor=132 pts
Hellblaster Volley Gun=125 pts
(They left this one behind because is misfires over 75% of the time, it was pressed back into service for GrandMaster Echols expedition)
Strategy:
This army is strong yet weak. It is weak because there is only one ranked unit and that is cavalry (though it is rarely deployed ranked). It is strong because it combines most of the best things in an Empire army. (A note, because these are all Knights Panthers, Grandmaster Echols can easily move between units as needed, just in case one of them gets too shot or magicked up)
Because of my lack of finesse on the attack, I use this army as a counter puncher army. I usually elect to go second unless there is a big nasty to cannon on the first turn. I try and deploy so that if the enemy has cavalry, they cannot charge me until turn 3 at the earliest, longer if my marchblockers are in place.
All the marchblockers and diverters stream forward on my first turn, and I shoot until I can't shoot anymore, while moving my knights for the charge. None of the infantry units have standards, so unless the enemy breaks the knights, there will be very few victory points to garner. However, when I have lost with this army, it is because the enemy has rampaged through my back lot and killed all my soft stuff.
I put the detachments on the handgunners partially to marchblock and partially to help me avoid getting killed by ambushers and tunnelling teams.
I did try this army with medium magic and a steady diet of miscasts convinced me that an army with magic isn't for me. My compromise was to bring back my Warrior Priest. This still gives me 4 dispel dice, and two scrolls. It also gives me a much heavier hitting cavalry unit with his hatred. I chose Lore of Light for a couple of reasons. The default spell gives the magic user 3 ST 5 attacks. Most of the other spells are easily cast. My hope is to attempt to cast two low level spells per turn and the bound spell of the Warrior Priest. Not the most impressive magical attack, but it might work against a caddy dude. What I'm hoping is that I cast the spells and the other guy forgets to dispel them in his magic phase. I did try this with a Heaven wizard, but without a second caster, no one would let me cast the vital Second Sign spell needed to let the Hochlands be maximum effective. I'm just hoping the threat of them is enough to scare some people away. If I were a magic user, I would be scared of this army because of all the fast stuff and the pegasus can go hunt dudes outside of units. However, if I don't get into combat quickly, magic will decimate my forces.
