D.R.A.I.C.H. Classic Army Lists
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 6:28 pm
Let me start of by saying that I know King Combs is doing the "How to build a Druchii list" section alreay. This thread is more of a how to build sucessful lists around different tactics and themes. I'll be using standard 2000-2250 pts when implementing these "How to's" as it allows for creation of a developed theme and tactic throughout the army and is still short enough that you may not fall asleep in the middle of reading my posts.
The Traditional Druchii Army
When it comes to building an army list there are many things to be considered. This thread will be full of ideas for many different kinds of army lists. Consider it a tome of knowledge to draw upon when forging your own army lists. Druchii were considered the jack-of-all trades army in 6th ed. but with the realease of the new book it is easier to format your druchii army to fulfill more specific goals (for better or for worse). We will start by analyzing the traditional druchii army.
In our traditional or classic lists we must realize and utilize the potential of the most basic units in our arsenal. When forming a Traditional army you must be wary of your points as you need to fill all the traditional army roles adequately. This type of army has the versatility to deal with almost any situation when handled carefully. Thus the army must be mobile, have potent magic and shooting phases, and contain CC threats.
The druchii have always been considered one of the most maneuverable armies in the game. With the fast cav core choice in DR and the brand new flying core choice it is easy to add in light mobile units that can threaten valueable enemy mages, machines and flanks. In the Traditional army 2 units of 5 DR are a standard choice as they give the army some maneuverability and are relatively cheap. Many players would recommend another unit or 2 but this is shifting the focus of the army from its classical feel and sinking more points into maneuverability than is entirely neccessary. Harpies are best taken in the minimum unit size as well as they can still meet their required objective while maintaining minimum point cost. Keep in mind that they are expendable and cheap when using them and use them to threaten machines and mages early on, or take or contest objectives and table quarters with them towards the end of the game. 2 units of 5 harpies does the trick quite nicely for most players.
For the Magic phase 2 lvl 2 sorceress is a good balance of magic and points. The offensice and defensiive power of this can be quite substantial when epuiping one Sorceress with the Sacrificial Dagger and a Dispell scroll. She alone can generate a healthy amount of power with her dagger and the scroll is handy in emergency situations. Place her in a cheap bodyguard of warriors for sacrificing and protection. With the other sorceress you can try many different combinations from placing her in a unit of shades and giving her lifetaker to placing her on a horse and giving her the focus familiar there are many ways to give her a specific role in your army. I usually like to figure out the rest of my army before deciding what to do with her. That way I can see all of my army and determine how to best outfit her to both ensure her protection and make sure that she benefits the army.
There is a lot of debate on many of our CC units. How viable are executioners? Are COK worth taking with their stupidity? 2 Hydra or 2 RBT and 1 Hydra? Well I don't want to influence these debates as they can be found elsewhere on this forum. However the game designers did give our units some good CC potential and when looking at the different special choices available you're probably thinking which one best suites my needs. Well witchelves dish out a lot of low strength poisoned attacks making them ideal for butchering horde armies, while executioners are better suited for taking out high toughness/armoured targets with their high strength attacks. Black guard are sort of the in between unit. When you know what army you are going to play against you can easily tailor your army againt them by taking the appropriate choice. Example: One of my friends plays Goblins, against him I never bring Executioners but rather I load up on Witches. When looking to place one elite unit in your army and you don't know what you will be up against (tournaments) Black Guard are a safe bet. A unit of 14 of these guys with the ASF banner and a hero in them usually does wonders and isn't too bad on the points costs.
For the sake of maintaining balance in the army taking a hydra and two RBTs is a good use of your rare choice slots in this particular army build. It provides you with substaintial shooting power (2 RBTs) and a powerful CC threat that is quite maneuverable and an all around versatile unit (Hydra).
COK are such a hard hitting unit that is actually pretty fast, being cavalry, it is also nice to field a fear causing unit with a 2+ AS and some high strength on the charge. The addition of hatred is nice as it prevent one whiff of CC attacks making your heavy cav go in "rubber lanced" and ruining your day. While stupidity may turn some players off of this unit you will only have to test on the turns that you aren't in combat, which is usually 3-4 times per game. Also the odds of failing are 1 in 6. This means on average that you should at most fail stupidity once per game, twice if you're really really unlucky. This stupid rule (bad pun intended) is easily countered by planning ahead every turn and keeping in mind the possibility of failing a test when carefully positioning these guys. I have played Druchii for a couple years now and have included Cold One Knights in every army I've ever made and have had great success with this unit. I highly recommend COKs.
With our list in desperate need of a block unit for static combat resolution and some shooting we look back again to our core choices. A unit of 10 RxB warriors adds to our shooting nicely and if we equip our DR that we purchased earlier with them as well our shooing phase looks pretty solid. A unit of 20 Spearwarriors is ideal for receiving charges and setting up counters with your other hard hitters (COK, Hydra, even DR) and thus are a viable choice. Or we go think more offensively by making a unit of 15 -20 corsairs and giving them the sea serpent banner. This allows you to charge in with them and get stuck in while your other units line up for flank attacks. The choice is up to you and at this point. You may have to play around with the points a little, but when you're done it should be a well rounded list.
The Traditional Druchii Army
When it comes to building an army list there are many things to be considered. This thread will be full of ideas for many different kinds of army lists. Consider it a tome of knowledge to draw upon when forging your own army lists. Druchii were considered the jack-of-all trades army in 6th ed. but with the realease of the new book it is easier to format your druchii army to fulfill more specific goals (for better or for worse). We will start by analyzing the traditional druchii army.
In our traditional or classic lists we must realize and utilize the potential of the most basic units in our arsenal. When forming a Traditional army you must be wary of your points as you need to fill all the traditional army roles adequately. This type of army has the versatility to deal with almost any situation when handled carefully. Thus the army must be mobile, have potent magic and shooting phases, and contain CC threats.
The druchii have always been considered one of the most maneuverable armies in the game. With the fast cav core choice in DR and the brand new flying core choice it is easy to add in light mobile units that can threaten valueable enemy mages, machines and flanks. In the Traditional army 2 units of 5 DR are a standard choice as they give the army some maneuverability and are relatively cheap. Many players would recommend another unit or 2 but this is shifting the focus of the army from its classical feel and sinking more points into maneuverability than is entirely neccessary. Harpies are best taken in the minimum unit size as well as they can still meet their required objective while maintaining minimum point cost. Keep in mind that they are expendable and cheap when using them and use them to threaten machines and mages early on, or take or contest objectives and table quarters with them towards the end of the game. 2 units of 5 harpies does the trick quite nicely for most players.
For the Magic phase 2 lvl 2 sorceress is a good balance of magic and points. The offensice and defensiive power of this can be quite substantial when epuiping one Sorceress with the Sacrificial Dagger and a Dispell scroll. She alone can generate a healthy amount of power with her dagger and the scroll is handy in emergency situations. Place her in a cheap bodyguard of warriors for sacrificing and protection. With the other sorceress you can try many different combinations from placing her in a unit of shades and giving her lifetaker to placing her on a horse and giving her the focus familiar there are many ways to give her a specific role in your army. I usually like to figure out the rest of my army before deciding what to do with her. That way I can see all of my army and determine how to best outfit her to both ensure her protection and make sure that she benefits the army.
There is a lot of debate on many of our CC units. How viable are executioners? Are COK worth taking with their stupidity? 2 Hydra or 2 RBT and 1 Hydra? Well I don't want to influence these debates as they can be found elsewhere on this forum. However the game designers did give our units some good CC potential and when looking at the different special choices available you're probably thinking which one best suites my needs. Well witchelves dish out a lot of low strength poisoned attacks making them ideal for butchering horde armies, while executioners are better suited for taking out high toughness/armoured targets with their high strength attacks. Black guard are sort of the in between unit. When you know what army you are going to play against you can easily tailor your army againt them by taking the appropriate choice. Example: One of my friends plays Goblins, against him I never bring Executioners but rather I load up on Witches. When looking to place one elite unit in your army and you don't know what you will be up against (tournaments) Black Guard are a safe bet. A unit of 14 of these guys with the ASF banner and a hero in them usually does wonders and isn't too bad on the points costs.
For the sake of maintaining balance in the army taking a hydra and two RBTs is a good use of your rare choice slots in this particular army build. It provides you with substaintial shooting power (2 RBTs) and a powerful CC threat that is quite maneuverable and an all around versatile unit (Hydra).
COK are such a hard hitting unit that is actually pretty fast, being cavalry, it is also nice to field a fear causing unit with a 2+ AS and some high strength on the charge. The addition of hatred is nice as it prevent one whiff of CC attacks making your heavy cav go in "rubber lanced" and ruining your day. While stupidity may turn some players off of this unit you will only have to test on the turns that you aren't in combat, which is usually 3-4 times per game. Also the odds of failing are 1 in 6. This means on average that you should at most fail stupidity once per game, twice if you're really really unlucky. This stupid rule (bad pun intended) is easily countered by planning ahead every turn and keeping in mind the possibility of failing a test when carefully positioning these guys. I have played Druchii for a couple years now and have included Cold One Knights in every army I've ever made and have had great success with this unit. I highly recommend COKs.
With our list in desperate need of a block unit for static combat resolution and some shooting we look back again to our core choices. A unit of 10 RxB warriors adds to our shooting nicely and if we equip our DR that we purchased earlier with them as well our shooing phase looks pretty solid. A unit of 20 Spearwarriors is ideal for receiving charges and setting up counters with your other hard hitters (COK, Hydra, even DR) and thus are a viable choice. Or we go think more offensively by making a unit of 15 -20 corsairs and giving them the sea serpent banner. This allows you to charge in with them and get stuck in while your other units line up for flank attacks. The choice is up to you and at this point. You may have to play around with the points a little, but when you're done it should be a well rounded list.