I'm playing Brets and am wondering which is best to face them, either a baby Steg with both upgrades, or 7 cold one riders with full command and a scarvet with 1+/4++ and great weapon. I was planning on pinning the Knights with big blocks of Saurus and TG, and then hitting the flanks with which of the above I go with. I can see benefits to both and am worried about his trebuchets. Having had a Steg flattened by a direct hit before you can understand my concern. Comments welcomed.
Re: Steg (plus upgrades) vs 7 Cold Ones (plus 1+/4++ scarvet Are you running the scar-vet with the stegadon also? So is the choice between the stegadon and the unit or between the stegadon and the unit+scar-vet? I mean if you are in either case taking the scar-vet you might find the stegadon better as the heroes can usually perform well just on their own. The trebuchets do bring a real threat to the stegadon but they can almost as good kill the cavalry also with the high strength. However I think the real question here is why would you take the baby stegadon over the ancient? I mean the cost difference is just 15 points but the performance difference of these two is just huge. As I mentioned earlier on other topic I don't really see the point in taking the stampede upgrade for the stegadon so by dropping that the point difference is almost negated. However in this case if you are tailoring the army against the bretonnians the stampede can actually help a little as you are not able to make the stomp attacks. Anyway I think you should always bring the ancient due to the higher strength and armour save. If the choice is between the steg vs the unit+vet. Then I would definitely go with the latter. Scar-vets are so much more versatile than the stegadon in any case and game. BR Agrem
Re: Steg (plus upgrades) vs 7 Cold Ones (plus 1+/4++ scarvet Thanks for the responses and I've had a play around with my list and having dropped something have gone for an Ancient Steg with full upgrades including EotG. As I'm using Tetto too, it will make his casting even easier. So amongst other things, there will be an OB on foot (1+/4++) in large TG bunker for a slann (yes, slann and tetto - Its a 50% Lords/heroes game) and a scarvet cowboy - Just need to finish his build now - Got the full 50pts to play with (no Armour of Destiny though as the OB has that, plus some other stuff!
Re: Steg (plus upgrades) vs 7 Cold Ones (plus 1+/4++ scarvet Oldblood is easy to get to 1+/4++ without AoD, so I'd save that for your scar vet. Oldblood with Talisman of Preservation for the 4+ ward. He has a 4+ armour save baseline. Throw a shield on him for 3+, lightarmour for 2+, and any kind of defense boosting item as a magic armour. Replacing your mundane shield with an enchanted shield isn't a bad choice, neither is a dragonhelm for that 2+ ward against flaming. This also leaves him with about 50 points for something that can help him deal with the ridiculous armour saves the brets have. You lose out on the GW, but that's not a huge loss, since you can grab better items for that price. Obsidian Blade has done well for me against Brets before, or just get the ogre blade for the +2 strength without ASF - Brets don't have that impressive an initiative, so the Oldbloods initiative is pretty close to theirs already, which can help him strike at the same time as them. Dawnstone rarely seems good, because the most dangerous stuff hits at S6, and a reroll for a 4+ armour save isn't worth the points in my experience. Rather spend that on something that makes it easier to kill them.
Re: Steg (plus upgrades) vs 7 Cold Ones (plus 1+/4++ scarvet You will need some stubborn combat blocks to be able to stand against a Brett charge. They have easy access to rank bonuses and probably your steadfast will be denied. So a big Temple guard w/ slann is stubborn, you may need a Saurus Lord in a big Saurus unit with crown of command. Against brett is a bad idea running cowboys without Look out Sir ! They always field 2 trebuchets.
Re: Steg (plus upgrades) vs 7 Cold Ones (plus 1+/4++ scarvet Somewhat, yeah. A 4+ ward helps, because a cowboy is a small target, and even if it lands a direct hit, it only wounds 50% of the time, and you still have a 66% chance of getting killed. Not even taking in the odds of it wounding (Still 2+) Honestly, I think it's a gamble that will often end in your favour. And if they target your lone scarvets, they aren't targetting your more expensive, and far more vulnerable, monsters. And if they draw fire for 2 entire turns? Win.