WHFB TACTICS:
Dealing with Powerful Characters

Here are my suggestions how to deal with too powerful characters and Daemons.

HIT `EM

This is the old-fashioned way of dealing with the ultra-powerful characters: simply finish them of in H-T-H.

The basic tactic is to ensure that all your close combat units are accompanied by a champion. This gives you a chance to challenge too powerful characters in a single combat so they will be able to cause only one W. Of course it is very propable that your opponent will have a champion of his own to take up the challenge...

Goblin Netters are one good cheap way of hindering characters and other powerful creatures enormously. Since they only need to hit their opponents to stop them from fighting, they can truly affect the match if they net a Great Unclean One or a Vampire Lord. Just make sure that you charge your opponents and not the other way around. Goblins have so low I that they won`t be able to strike first otherwise, and they get killed.

Destroyer is a nice weapon for the Dark Elves, since it can steal spells and magical powers of opponent`t items. Since it requires only hit, not a wound to be effective, it is very useful in the hands of a Witch Elf Hero.

Undead have the option of using the Skull Wand of Kaloth with the Hell or Doom Banner. Since this weapon kills outright if a LD check is failed and a hit is scored, the banners that lower LD make it very deadly indeed. No armour helps you when your soul is sucked from your body!

ZAP `EM

There are many spells that are good for taking out enemy characters. Without giving complete instructions, I recommend these few:

• Curse of Anraheir
• Madness
• Traitor of Tarn
• Crimson Bands (with the Staff of Volans!)
• Piercing Bolts of Burning (when Character is alone)
• Fate of Bjuna
• Light of Battle (recommended!)
• The Amber Trance (against Skaven Characters)
• The Writhing Worm
• Bridge of Shadows (any rivers on the field?)
• Purple Sun of Xereus
• Death Spasm
• The Curse of the Years (terrible...)
• Wind of Death (especially in the beginning of the game)
• Bridge of Ice
• Waaaaagh! (especially against Vampires!)
• Curse of thr Horned One
• Lava Storm (against lone characters)
• Dance of Despair
• Cloud of Flies
• Miasma of Pestilence
• Bondage of Slaanesh
• Chaos Spawn

Ring of Corin is a fine way of getting rid of that Crown of Command or that troublesome Chaos Runeshield. The only problem is if the character in question is protected by the Amulet of Obsidian.

It is a good idea to keep the Ring of Coring near the Skull Staff. This enables you to know what items are within 12" instead of guessing.

Doomfire Ring is also handy against characters, though it can be dispellef and the S3 leaves a lot to be hoped for. Well, at least even a magical armour offers no protection against its effect.

SHOOT `EM

Cannons should always be aimed towards characters. Sure thing that they get the "Look Out Sir" roll, but they will eventually fail it. S 10 and D6/D4/D3 wounds with no save, even for magical armour should put fear in the hearts of your opponent.

If you see far a too powerful opponent charging upon your hapless unit and you have any artillery to speak about, then flee! You can shoot that offensive creature during your next turn. If that Dragonrider charged from Flying High, it can`t even catch your troops!

You should use Dwarf Organ Cannons if possible. Just make them invisible, and put them a bit further than your main battle line. When your enemy is upon you, fire away!

Sky Arrow of Naloer is becoming very popular and causing some headaches to people who like to mount an awful-icky character on an awful-icky monster. It is almost guarenteed to hit any flying target, and punches very hard.

Hochland Long Rifles are popular devices. Since you can pick any target from a unit, they can be lethal against characters. Of course this depends whatever your opponents disallow the use of more than one Long Rifle in one War Wagon or not. Also, S4 and BS 3 are not that great against powerful characters.

Dwarfs have a very good anti-Character option:

The Flying Hammer(tm) is my favourite way of dealing with too powerful characters and Daemons. Thrunes needed are: Master Rune of Flight, and two runes of Smiting (2D6 W! Each wound must be saved separately!) against Daemons and Master Rune of Flight, Rune of Smitng and the Rune of Breaking (D6 W and breaks opponents magic weapons) against characters. This little device allows me to choose one opponent within 12" and hit him automatically. I tend to give this to Burlok Damminson (remember, Dwarf Special Characters, apart from Felix and Gotrek, can be equipped with any magical items you wish, see Dwarf Book p.81) since Burlok has a S of 7 (or 8 if affected by the Sceptre of Norgim) I can be fairly sure of causing some damage, and the rune of Breaking only needs to hit to be effective.

Because Chaos Runeshield and the Sword of Destruction affect only those magic items whose possessors are in base-to-base contact with the wielder of these things, they are of no use against the Flying Hammer. Since this thing is relatively useless aganst R-N-F, (unless they are Dragon Ogres) your opponent will soon learn to put his/her faith in regiments instead of characters.

EAT `EM

Giant is an entertaining way of disposing of unwanted Characters. Since the usual tactic of hiding inside units isn`t effective against Giant, wizards are in a grave danger. If characters are your trouble, just choose "PICK UP" option from Giant`s attacks and voila! You have 50/50 chance of disposing of the troublesome charcter, and 1/3 chance of getting rid of the character for good! Sure your opponent can make 1 attack, but this might not hit and there is a good chance it doesn`t wound. Especially wizrds are vulnerable to this. If your Giant decides to eat or squash the bothersome character, then no armour or Black Amulet is going to help him! I have eaten a Savage Orc Lord (lively breakfast), Lord Skrolk and a Champion of Nurge (Yech!) in my heyday.

TRICK `EM

Van Horstmann`s Speculum (the Chaos Special Character`s!) is becoming a real hit. I recommend on taking it against Chaos (and Undead) very strongly. Give the bearer the Hydra Sword in addition and you can score D6 hits with your opponent`s S and Atttacks!

Amulet of Ravensdark	Is Bloodthirster or a Vampire Lord on Manticore bearing down on you? Don`t worry - anything that has wings and charges a unit with this item is doomed to die. Especially useful against those Chaos Disc riders.
Black Gem of Gnar	Take the Cheapest Character possible and give him this wonderful device. Since it can be activated at any time, you shouldn`t be afraid of anything. just choose the most powerful character you can get into base-to-base contact, and then "do the Time Warp again!"
War Banner of Mork	Popular with Orc armies. I prefer either giving it to a Battlestandard bearer in unit of Goblin Wolf Riders (M9) or mounting the Battle Standard on a flying monster. Of course your opponent will start to hide his/her wizard inside units to evade this, but at least he can`t use those spells that require LOS...

ROUT `EM

Great many super-powered characters use some flying mount. There is only one good thing about them: If they ever lose a battle, they are automatically driven off, or if they fail their break test they flee 3D6" just like regular regiments!

To achieve this, you need a favorable combat resolution.

A very good option is the Banner of Defiance. You might not be able to pursue, but you`ll either drive flying creature off, or if that super-powerful creature doesn`t make its break test, it is a sitting duck for your artillery.

Another is the Battle Banner. And if these two are combined in one unit (via Battle Standard)...

STOP `EM

There is a unit of Dragon Ogres, led by a Dragon Ogre Lord and a Chaos Lord, rolling towards you? Your opponent just made a classic mistake of concentrating too much in one unit! There are two ways to deal with this:

White Dragon	As long as you score just one hit, and the whole unit is unable to do anything at all! (except fight back when attacked). No spell-casting, no shooting, no nothing! Just blast with your own artillery, and the followers of Chaos are history. Some people have claimed that White Dragon`s breath affects only models hit, but the Bestiary (p. 55) says otherwise.
Wardancers	Just charge the opponents with "the Shadows Coil" and they are trapped in a fight they can not win, since every combat round automatically ends in draw. Proceed with cannons.

KA-BOOM!

One of the oldest tricks in the book is to use the Heart of Woe to hurt your opponent`s characters. I have a few suggestions for variations.

Mummy Tomb Kings. Do you have any idea how big hole Settra leaves when he explodes?

Dwarfs with Runes of Fortitude(s). You can create a Dwarf Rune Lord with 7(!) wounds and blast whole Chaos army into oblivion. (I call it " a medieval Tactical Nuke":))

A Dwarven War Machine with the rune of Immolation is also good against powerful Characters who attack your poor defensless Cannon. I once saw an Organ gun with three runes of this kind. Fried that Chaos Lord and his Manticore good and proper...

-Longsword