Pict army list

Kester
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:56 pm

Pict army list

Postby Kester » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:35 pm

So I'm really looking forward to getting into Swordpoint and I'm looking at getting the Picts. I have no games under my belt yet so the below list is more so that I have an idea of how much/what stuff to buy. So any comments you guys can give me will be really useful.
From reading the rulebook my main concern about the Pict so far is basically that they are a bit squishy! I'm thinking I might get smashed apart by missile fire and if I roll bad dice on the charge when the opponent strikes back. I don't want to win every game I play and I look forward to playing a bit of a challenging force.
So...

High Chieftain with stratagem-- 50pts
4 Chieftains, 1 minor chieftain on horse-- 100pts
6 units of 8 warriors-- 528pts
1 Noble cavalry of 6-- 120pts
1 Light cavalry of 6-- 108pts
4 skirmishers of 5 (2 with javelins & shields, 1 slings, 1 bows)-- 90pts

Total-- 996pts

Thanks in advance!

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Wayne Richards
Posts: 470
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2016 4:44 pm

Re: Pict army list

Postby Wayne Richards » Mon May 01, 2017 9:35 am

Hi Kester - the Picts are squishy but there are a lot of them so you can afford to lose a unit or tow to secure a victory.
One of their strong points is that being open order you will often have a manoeuvrability advantage over close order opponents. Use this to ensure that you a) get the charge (remember its 2 momentum points for a warband)
b) turn a flank if possible.

With this in mind I would consider reducing the size of the infantry blocks and have 8 units of 6. It is to your advantage to have more units in the battleline and have multiple combats rather than having larger units and there being just on large combat.
Having more units would also allow you to either keep a reserve if you were concerned about being flanked or overwhelm a flank with your superior numbers.

As these guys are about combat then I would consider swapping the chieftains for Minor Chieftains. This will give you an extra attack dice and that could make the difference. If you keep the High Chieftain behind the battleline then you will benefit from his cohesion.

Personally, I wouldn't bother taking 4 units of skirmishers. Maybe take a unit or two for screening troops or taking terrain etc.

Finally I would also consider a unit of chariots, they look great on the battlefield and are a very effective combat unit.

At the end of the day it comes down to your own play style and preferences. The best way is to try a few variations and settle on the one that works best for you.

Cheers W.

Kester
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:56 pm

Re: Pict army list

Postby Kester » Tue May 02, 2017 7:30 pm

Thanks Wayne! That's really really helpful stuff. I'll definitely take that all on board. I'm now very curious about chariots! But i'm struggling to imagine how they work in reality and what their advantages are over cavalry. I'm not sure how i feel about the whole no front on charges, I can see that being quite restricting!

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Wayne Richards
Posts: 470
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Re: Pict army list

Postby Wayne Richards » Tue May 02, 2017 8:48 pm

Hi Kester - they have some advantages, namely they deliver more attacks for an equivalent frontage when compared to cavalry.
A unit with a frontage of 3 bases that included a minor chieftain would give you 9 dice hitting on 3's in melee for a 120mm frontage. They stand up well against cavalry and will sweep away skirmishers etc. It's generally not good to be charging formed infantry head on anyway, whether your chariots or cavalry.
You should be able to pin the opponent with your infantry to the front and work round the flank with your cavalry/chariots.

Proxy some up using bases and give them a try.

Cheers W.

Mikeharding
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Location: Waterlooville

Re: Pict army list

Postby Mikeharding » Wed May 03, 2017 2:27 pm

Hi Kester, I agree with Wayne, do not under estimate the use of chariots, I had a unit of 3 with a minor chieftain on board when I was using my Gallic list against Dave Pearson's Germanic list. Dave charged my chariots with a formed infantry unit (light chariots can't charge a formed unit to the front) and I thought they would be destroyed but with the 3+ save and getting all my attacks back, my chariots caused so much damage and he didn't have a battle line he broke and got run down. I am now looking forward to taking on Dave Johnson's Romans with my Gallic list to see what happens, but that will be in a few weeks time. Tactics and moving chariots around the flanks could be very interesting!! Mike

Kester
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:56 pm

Re: Pict army list

Postby Kester » Wed May 03, 2017 8:47 pm

This is all really great stuff so thanks a lot. In light of your advise I've come up with this:

High Chieftain with stratagem-- 50pts
5 Minor Chieftains, 1 Chieftain (some of these for horses/chariots)-- 120pts
8 units of 6 warriors-- 528pts
1 Noble cavalry of 5-- 100pts
1 Light cavalry of 5-- 90pts
1 light chariots of 3-- 81pts
1 skirmishers of 6 (javelins & sheild)-- 30pts

Total-- 996pt

Only issue now is that I've spent 271pts on cavalry which is more than my 25%! Which is a shame because this list looks great to me.
Should I drop out a noble cavalry base? That would still leave a point out but i'm sure that's OK right?

Thanks again

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Wayne Richards
Posts: 470
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Re: Pict army list

Postby Wayne Richards » Wed May 03, 2017 9:49 pm

If you don't have a particular reason/function for including the light cav then I would take
1 x 6 Noble cav
1 x Light chariots
Think this should come in under your 25% limit.
Take one minor chieftain in a chariot and the rest on horse (remember that they can always join a foot unit)
This should also free up some points which might let you squeeze in another infantry block (although you might have to downgrade it to spear from throwing spear).

Use stratagem to force your opponent to set up first and you can optimise the deployment of your chariots/Cav.

Cheers W.

Kester
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:56 pm

Re: Pict army list

Postby Kester » Thu May 04, 2017 7:34 pm

Ahh ok great. Thanks.


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