How to screen Sword Masters?

[Spider_wells]

I have found that the most effetive way to deal with enemies shooting at my lighter troops is to directly solve the problem. Screening just gets your guys killed, but launching light cavalry strikes and divebombing your eagles at war machine crews is more effective and less dangerous if you can pull it off. It's also a bit more daring, audacious and elven if you ask me, but that's just a personal point. et up in their faces and take 'em down!

Just a thought.

Err you can't exactly tie up/kill war machine/range troops in turn 1 or turn 2 as smart players will try and kill your fast units before it gets to them. And you don't always have the terrain to block LoS / hide your guys in.....That's why you have screeners...

I'm suggesting it as an option. Swift cavalry and Eagle strikes backed up by long-ranged shooting can be suprisingly effective and limit your enemies ability to decimate you at range. It's always been pretty useful for me, though I will admit I refuse to play tournament style games as they ruin them game IMHO, and I can imagine how a stupid gunline would be very difficult to pull this off against.

[Pash]

I've recently had a fair amount of success running 2x 7-man Swordmaster units with a Dragon Princes screen. I'd put on unit behind 6x DPs and the other out of sight of shooters. The DPs charge on turn two leaving my SM with only one turn of being shot at. Can work quite well so I may try it again.

[lathian]

There've been a couple of games where I said "screw it" and didn't. The three or four survivors after RXB/flamer massacres racked up a weakened blood thirster, a unit of corsairs and a unit of cold on knights. Used the points I would have used on a screen on my phoenix guard.

[Musashi]

Ask me after July.

[Pash]

Ask me after July.

What's the point of posting such a pointless reply? That's like posting "I don't know" to a question like this. No one cares dude.

[wamphyri101]

Tactic I sometimes use if I am on the defensive and using my ranged stuff, is stick Sword masters 2 inches behind 2 units of Archers (gives you plenty of room to move and suffer casualties)

I also equip them with the Dragon Horn and Banner of the lion.

On the turn your archers are about to be charged, use the dragon horn (reroll all psychology and rally tests)

Let the enemy charge and your reaction is to flee. Archers flee through the Sword masters (who will get a handy reroll so they don’t flee also).

This means that the enemy either land short, allowing you to counter charge the next turn, or they smack bang into your fresh untouched unit of Sword masters and your archers rally next turn.

This has worked well for me about 8/10 times. The 2 times It didn’t was:

A: a chariot….which ended up being in range and munching a lot of sword masters (Damn a roll of a 6 plus scythes!)

B: Bloody spirit hosts! My archers rolled a crappy 4 and got run over and they hit the sword masters…who didn’t have a magic weapon.

[pk-ng]

Ask me after July.

What's the point of posting such a pointless reply? That's like posting "I don't know" to a question like this. No one cares dude.

8th edition comes out on the 10th july.... hence this post is coming to a using end if the rule changes?

[Lord Anathir]

if your swords are ITP, behind archers is a good place to put them. archers get vision to shoot and them they can run to safety behind the swords when charged, and safe from causing panic.