Skirmish lists and tactics

Reading the skirmish book and after a couple of games, i would like to share some considerations and hear you opinions.

ONE: Magic is far more important than in AoS large battles: just to name one, Arcane Bolt is devastating; it can automatically (or with a high chance) kill a model: a mere annoyance on a unit of 20+ models, but a severe hit when a model counts as a unit and its loss forces a battleshock; you should try to combine a kill by arcane bolt and another couple of kills by charge or shooting.
for the same reason, the ability to shut down enemy's magic is equally important.
It's not a case that wizards cost a lot.

TWO: For a similar reason, models with just 1 wound are fragile and dangerous to field, even if they have good stats (Grave guards, Saurus guards and similar).

THREE: All the units that count on numbers to improve their combat / shooting prowess, are severely hampered in skirmish.

FOUR: To have a good move is even more important than in AoS large battles, and with a scenario with many buildings/terrains, the ability to fly is great.

FIVE: Any ability that can target more models is precious.


I'm sure thare are other possible observations, but these are the first things that i noted, and that (IMO) should be kept in mind when you do the list for your warband.




EXAMPLE:

My very first list was for a 30 renown game.

general: Banshee with "master of the black arts" and Helm of Authority
1 x Hexwraith
1 x Spirit hosts


You see that every model got more than 1 wound. They also don't suffer rend, which makes them more resilient.
I've got one fast model (hexwraith) that can potentially roll for a mortal wound for each model that I pass over.
A necromancer costs 22 pts (!)... with 16 pts I have a banshee that casts spells.
The banshee can potentially kill up to 3 enemy models in a turn: magic, shooting and combat.
the helm gives me a certain degree of freedom. For example, if my spirit hosts can charge a model with multiple wounds, i can use the command ability that gives +1 to "to hit", doubling the cances for mortal wounds.

Playing at 25 renown, i would probably sacrifice the spirit hosts, for a dire wolf: another fast model , with passable defence and 2 wounds.

In a campaign where i am going to gain points, i would include other dire wolves and nighthaunt units.

(i'm sure this same reasoning can be applied to FEC, but actually i want to play nighthaunt)





thoughts?

What reasonings do you apply for your lists?

Aranei said:

Zombies are viable only if you want to use them as meatshields, in any other case just take the wolves.

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OK, we can try to find some use for the zombies, given that they cost just one renown.

There are some battles that could benefit from a couple of zombies.
With Clash at dawn, your warband will automatically flee if you lose more than a half of the models: if you play with few, costly models, then keeping a couple of zombies in the back, will increase your chances to fight.
In Treasure Hunt, zombies can search for artefacts while your stronger models do battle.

In the set-up, to place a couple of zombies will give you the chance to see some of the placement of your opponent, thus optimizing the set-up of your main force.

Aranei said:

Here is my warband, I am participating in a local campaign. Note that I chose to pick only painted models, so I have wights and skeletons instead of wolves and nighthaunts.

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That's interesting. Do you plan to post some reports?

Interesting list, and good result overall.

I did a test-match at 40 renown, I'm going to write a short BatRep asap, with pictures.