With the new Bretonnian Preview Army List published in White Dwarf No. many Bretonnian players would heave a sight of release: While the Army List from Ravening Hordes let every Bretonnia fan excpect the worst from the forthcoming Armybook, things became better with the release of the new Preview Army list. Nonetheless there are some modifications to the old WFB 4/5 army list which every Bretonnian general should take into consideration. In the following we try to give you a short overview about the strength and weaknesses of your army.

The Lance

The Bretonnians are a typical shock attack army and therefore depend on speed. Unlike other armies they lack of heavy support troops like canons or mortars. Also their choice in ranged weapons is very limited. Their only strength are the Knights: they are fast and deadly if you use them wisely. One of their greatest advantages is the special formation called the Lance. This formation consists of a single Knight in the front, two Knights behind him, three behind them and so on, forming a pointed wedge. It allows you to attack all enemy models directly in front of the wedge. Another advantage of the Lance is that you get a better rank bonus (i.e. with only 10 modells you get a rank bonus of +2). How much modells you use in your Lance mostly depends on your opponent: If the enemy unit consists of models with many attacks or is hard to break, I recommend to use smaller units. Example: Mercenary Units with Pikes can attack out of four (!) rows. The average 20-men unit will have 20 attacks! Attacking with 15+ knights would be silly and deadly. The chance that more than half of your unit will be killed during the charge is very high. Better attack with two smaller units, one from front, one from flank (your opponent looses his rank bonus if you attack his flank or back).

Don't forget: The most important thing in battle is to cause as much casualties as possible when charging, as the knights only benefit from the strength bonus during the charge. If you can't break your enemy during the charge, subsequent turns could become really hard for your knights.

The Blessing of the Lady of the Lake

This is a an important advantage of the Bretonnian Knights. Each enemy shooter and war machine has to roll a 4, 5 or 6 before he is allowed to shoot at your knights. This can be really hard for shooty Armies like Wood Elves or Armies with heavy support weapons like the empire.

Lords & Heros

I always try not to use more than about a fourth of the Army value for Lords and Heroes. (i.e. for a 2000 point army around 500 points).

Duke

The Duke is a good fighter. WS 6, S/T 4 and A 4 make him a awesome fighter for just 100 points. For another +36 points you can give him a barded horse, armour, lance and shield. It is always worth to give him the Grail virtue, which makes him immune to psychology. A nice magical item like the Morning Star of Fracasse is also a nice addition.

If you can afford it, mount him on a Hippogriff. This does not only give you the opportunity to fly, you also get 4 additional S 5 attacks and the model causes Terror, which means, you don't have to give the Duke the Grail Virtue.

Prophetess of the Lady

Use her only in greater battles (2500+ points) as she is very expensive. If you take a Prophetess, upgrade her to Lvl 4 (+ 35 points) which gives you 4 additional Power dice and 2 additonal Dispell dice. Equip her with Dispel scrolls and perhaps the Silver Mirror (if you have enough points left).

 

Paladin

For 84 points you get a good Warrior with full equipment (horse, barding, armour, lance, shield). It is wise to give him the Grail virtue. The lance of the quest (+2 S) would be a nice addition.

Don't forget: Your army must include one Paladin who must be upgrade to a Battle Standard Bearer at no additional cost.

Damsel of the Lady

I recommend to use two of the Maidens. Equip them with 2 Dispel scrolls each and 'ere we go...