CoC-riding master - set-ups

How to beat those cowardly High Elves?

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Valvet
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CoC-riding master - set-ups

Post by Valvet »

Hi everyone,

For my new list i was thinking about giving my old CoC-master a little ride-out.
I know, that without US 5 he has lost quite some of his efficiency, but i have a nice conversion, which is getting a bit dusty on the shelf.

So my question would be, if anyone has experience with a CoC-Master under 8th and if so, what would be the best set-up. Would you give him the BsB ( my list will aldo feature a CoB and im struggling to choose between whos going to be the general and who will carry the glorious Banner).

To get things started, here is a build i came up with:

Master on CoC
- Bsb
- Whip of agony, Dawnstone
- Full mundane kit
255 points

Not the cheapest hero there is, but quite hard-hitting on the charge, he will generate massive amounts of CR on the charge. he is protected with 1+ rerollable AS, which will help keep him alive in the battle, however a sinlge cannon will easily take him out.

I'm curious to hear your suggestions, thanks in advance.
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Demetrius
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Post by Demetrius »

As you said, he isnt a good choice, specifically because hes slow (cant march), cannons make short work of him, and steadfast is obviously a problem.

However, I think he can still be effective if played right. In the grand scheme of things, theres only two armies with cannons, worse case scenario they will have two cannons. Give other targets for your opponent, or utilise our warmachine hunters, and he should be able to make it safe into combat.

Steadfast is still a problem, but is for any character (even dragons). The difference is, chariots can be bogged down easily if they dont break the opponent on the charge. However, you can counter this by running a second chariot to support him, or a block of spears to negate enemy steadfast. Remember, you only need a corner of the chariot touching the enemy, so use that to your advantage.

If your going to run spears alongside him, Id consider giving him the Pendant. This way, at least hes protected by cannons so if he is hit, he'll most likely survive. If the chariot goes, he can run and hide back in the spears, so they can act as a backup plan as well.

Alternatively, the BDE could be useful. The 2d6 S4 hits, plus D6+1 st5 impact hits, plus master and chariot attacks, will wreck most units.

Good luck, and good effort trying to go with alternate builds :P
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Tethlis
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Post by Tethlis »

I agree that such a character can be kitted out to be a complete rank-and-file murderer, and could be tremendous fun. I think the most important thing for such a character, as has been mentioned, is dealing with cannons and other forms of ranged damage. However, I think this is easily mitigated by simply having a Hydra or other major warmachine magnet that will take some of the emphasis off the chariot. I also agree that having a backup infantry unit to put the character into if the chariot dies is huge. Nothing happens in a vacuum, there are always lots of units and different threats on the table, so having an effective hard-hitting chariot rider plus other cannonball magnets could easily mean that your chariot makes it safely into combat. I think that chariot riding-characters are rare enough, and Hydras are common enough, that many opponents will take their chances with a chariot and focus their attention on the Hydra.

Having discussed the survivability of such a character, I think its flexibility is also a major reason to give it a try. Swiftstride is tremendous, and being able to run down an enemy unit with your chariot or go rampaging through a warmachine line with your one character is nice. Even a pegasus rider can fall victim to rubber lancing or being overwhelmed by pretty small Steadfast units, but the rank-and-file killing power on a chariot is big enough that this kind of Noble can take on all sorts of support units with reliability.
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Valvet
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Post by Valvet »

Thanks for the replys, theres some good ideas in there.

First of BDE really seems like a great buff for the killiness on the charge: D6+1 impact hits, 2D6 hits from the breath-attack plus the attacks of crew, COsand of course the master, thats what i call maximized damage output. However with only 20 points left to spend on defensive items i feel he might be a bit too frail to challenge enemy heros.

The role i want this Hero to fulfill would be something like going allong with the main battleline, providing the BSB-buff where it is needed and charging alongside bigger units to generate massive amounts of active CR, maybe with spears to deny steadfast. Being near the main battkleline would also mean he would be close to CC-infantry units like BG, which he could join in case the chariot gets hit by nasty canonballs (but as Thethlis pointed out, having a hydra means most opponents will focus their shooting elsewhere).

But is there anyone who actually has some experience with a CoC-Master , and if not, is there a specific reason no one uses this very fluffy way to field our nobles?
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