Warlord
The warlord may be mounted or on foot.
I am looking at several warlord options to cater for different types of games and my whims at the time.
As I said in the first part of this article I like the idea of playing games that have period flavour and the “Old” Brian Boru option suits this.
Brian Boru is equipped with just standard weapons, which you hope he does not have to use as this would be the signal that you are desperate, have been outplayed, or probably both. The advantage is that he allows you to take off fatigue at the end of each turn and generates three saga dice. The lack of a fighting warlord can be off-set with taking other options which I will discuss below.
The “first among many rule” to upgrade a Curaidh can help with some scenarios and is worth considering.
Option 2 is to run a mounted warlord, in which case he has standard weapons and armour 5/5, which has been reduced due to the mounted option. Powerful if also used with mounted Fianna.
Option 3 is to us the warlord on foot with Javelins and 5/6 armour, giving you the capacity to shoot at the end of your move for no additional fatigue.
A Danish Axe option would give armour of 4/6. The Danish axe combined with “Blood of the Kings” is a really good combination if you want to go “Warlord hunting”.
So the warlord options are:
- Brian Boru, if also taking other nasties;
- a mounted warlord if also using mounted Fianna; and
- the Danish Axe option if he is on foot.
I would use the “old Brian” in most games and the Mounted or foot Danish Axe options if in a competition environment.
Use Brian Boru at the back of the table “out of the way” so that he can take fatigue off units without putting himself in danger.
A mounted warlord should join his mounted Fianna and get stuck in a soon as possible, preferably on those weaker warrior units that generate saga dice. By preceding a mounted charge with “Sons of Dana” you will be fighting a weakened unit with up to 13 dice.
Danish axe armed warlords should “get stuck in” as soon as you can.
An Irish warlord should never fight in melee without “Blood of the Kings” preferably by using the “rare” elk dice. The increased resilience of three is very formidable and makes your warlord virtually invulnerable.
Fianna (hearthguards)
Irish Fianna have reduced armour against shooting due to lack of chain mail
and may be mounted (have standard weapons) with armour 5/4 (reduced due to being mounted). If on foot they can have Javelins or Danish Axes Armour 5/4 with Javelins, and 4/4 with Danish axe. See also the Ravens Shadow FAQ for comments and clarification.
I like the mounted option to charge quickly and engage an enemy warrior unit in the first or second turn. Using “Sons of Dana” on an eight man warrior unit can often take two or three off before you charge.
Curaidh
Curaidh can be fielded on foot with an armour value of 5/6 or mounted if your warlord is mounted with an armour value of 5/5.
I would use Ulf if fielding Brian Boru which means you cannot take any other Curaidh. He has several advantages. Firstly, as a hero he is not a replacement for an existing Fianna which means you do not have to take 2 Fianna units to be able to field him. Secondly he is a real killing machine that more than makes up for the “old Brian”. He is armed with javelins.
Should you have chosen either the mounted warlord or Danish axe option I would take 2 units of Fianna fielded as one unit of six mounted or on foot with Danish axes and 2 foot Curaidh armed with javelins. Curaidh cannot have Danish axes.
Priest
Why a priest? Coz they are cool!!! There are three priest options, two have advantages that are similar to taking “old Brian” and the third is the warrior priest.
The priest as warlord option is not one I prefer and have ruled this out.
The Religious adviser gains saga dice and reduces fatigue and the “Enlightened One”, who is a crazy hermit, can change saga dice once they have been rolled to a more preferred option. Both are good but not my cup of tea.
The warrior priest is a different matter. With his “side by side and we obey” special rules he should always fight with another unit. The “blade that punishes” option where you discard any saga dice already rolled to gain 3 attacks, lose one fatigue and add dice to a unit that is fighting in melee with him is just plain awesome.
Brian Boru, Ulf and a priest makes a powerful and themed combination. I would only use a priest in this combination and go unit hunting. Remember Brian was famous for re-building many of the churches and monasteries destroyed by the Vikings so the priest is not a too far-fetched option. Really!!
Bonnachts (warriors)
Warriors can only be fielded on foot, armed with javelins, and have an armour value of 4/3, due to light protection.
Taking at least one unit is a must, as they can be very powerful shooting with their javelins, especially if used with the appropriate saga shooting abilities like Fir Bolg, Eagle Eye and Bansidh Whispers (and preferably all three together).
Warriors can also be fielded as a pack master and Irish wolfhound. They only have an armour value of 3/3 so are very vulnerable to shooting, but can move L without any terrain restrictions (except of course impassable terrain).
Use their speed to fill gaps and charge through terrain to surprise units. I will always have the one maximum that you are allowed. Another option that I have thought about but not used is to run one normal warrior unit of 12 with a standard, for the extra shooting, and a unit of four wolfhounds. Remember you can only use one so 2 four hound units are not permitted.The pack master should carry a red, white and blue banner with a cup emblazoned on it!!!
I would therefore always use at least one unit of warriors and one of wolfhounds.
Kerns (Levy)
Levies Ptah!!!
The only value that Levies have is as human shields and the occasional bit of shooting.
In addition they only move on the rare elk dice which is far more useful for saga abilities than being spent on moving or shooting a levy unit.
Bonnachts and Hearthguard with javelins makes the levies a redundant choice.
Levies do not suit my style of play and I can see no practical use for them.
Just so my view point is extremely clear – I consider them a waste of shelf space and my limited “toy” budget.
Conclusion
I hope this gives you a bit more of an idea on how I intend to use my Irish. To my opponents may the runes always be in my favour and may you always roll ones.
The next installment will be on how I have painted the Irish army. Given most of the figures have already arrived this should be sooner than I first expected.
A really well done to War and Peace Games and Footsore miniatures for their prompt service.
