The Empire

The Empire is the largest and most varied of all the lands and realms of the Old World. It stretches from the borders of Bretonnia in the west to the plains of Kislev in the east. Within its borders are vast forests, towering mountains, mile upon mile of wilderness. It also contains mighty cities, fertile farmlands, and bountiful rivers that make up a virtual system of watery highways.

The Empire is divided into several provinces and four powerful city-states, plus the Moot. Each of these is led by Electors, who are powerful Elector Counts, the Grand Theogonist, the Arch Lectors of Sigmar (2), the high Priest of Ulric, and the Elder of the Moot.

The Empire has had a long standing friendship with the Dwarfs, and there are many Dwarf communities within the Empire. After Sigmar's army aided the Dwarfs at the Battle of Black Fire Pass, King Kurgan Ironhand showed his gratitude by having the Runesmith Aleric the Mad begin the making of twelve Runeswords, one for each of the great chieftains who commanded Sigmar's armies. The Runefangs, as these swords are called, are carried by the ten Great Elector Counts and by Great Heroes of the Empire.

Characters

General of the Empire

The general is a needed character for his Ld bonus, and he should be deployed in such a way as to afford his bonus to the area of the battleline where it is needed most, generally with your attacking forces, as these are the troops that will most often be called upon to make Ld tests. I always equip my general with his survivability in mind.

Battle Standard Bearer

The Battle Standard Bearer should be deployed with the General so that he may give rerolls to the same units that the General's Ld is being given to, and for the same reasons. This character should be given a magic standard if possible.

Heroes

The Empire has fairly reasonably costed Heroes, even if they do not have the greatest stats. They are still useful for leading units and adding their attack strength to units. Empire Heroes benefit from magic items, but choose the magic item carefully to suit the mission and objectives you have given the hero.

Champions

Most units can benefit from having a Champion with it. They can help to increase your unit's fighting ability.

Wizards

I tend to choose the Colour Magic option for my Wizards, especially Grey and Amber Magic, as these will aid my units' mobility and survivability. I also enjoy seeing enemy units attacked from within.

Regiments

Knights of the White Wolf

These are not my favourite Knights, as even when they charge they strike last. Of course if they survive the charge, they can do devastating damage with their two-handed hammers. (I do love to paint them, though, so I have a unit of them.)

Knights Panther, Reiksguard Knights, and Knights of the Blazing Sun

These are your heavy shock troops, and should be used in good solid blocks at least four ranks deep.

Pistoliers

Pistoliers are useful for screening your Knights and to give your Knights some flank protection. But do not depend on them to fight frontal attacks on their own. They are strictly harassment and screening troops. They can also be useful to make a secondary attack onto the flank of a unit that is already engaged by your Knights, but Winged Lancers are actually better for this purpose. They are fast cavalry.

Outriders

Outriders are mobile missile troops with a rapid firing that gives multiple shots per turn. You can keep rolling to hit as long as you keep hitting up to a maximum of six shots. The only drawback is that the Engineers only have an average BS 3, and unless they stand still they will take minuses for movement and range if the range is over half distance. Even with these limitations, they can sometimes do quite a bit of damage.

Halberdiers

Halberdiers are the backbone of an Empire army's battle line. Even after adding light armour and shield they are only 10 points, which means you can have very large regiments, and you should have very large regiments. I suggest a minimum size of 24, 32 is even better.

Reiksguard

Foot Knights! Good WS, and heavy armour and shield, plus S4 and good Initiative. This makes for a very good unit of assault infantry.

Spearmen

These are good for using to defend your Archers, and any other troops that will not be in your main attack force. When they stand to receive, they fight in two ranks.

Greatswords

I like the looks of the figures, but I do not use these troops in my army. They can only have light armour, and they always strike last.

Swordsmen

I always give my Halberdiers detachments of Swordsmen. I quite often also give detachments of Swordsmen to my Archers, Handgunners, and Crossbowmen. They make great flank guards for the larger units and they make great secondary attack troops to hit the enemy units in the flank after your main unit is engaged with the enemy unit.

Handgunners

Handgunners have a very powerful weapon with a S4 and a -2 save, but it has a slow rate of fire. The way to overcome this is to set them up in two ranks and have them exchange ranks every turn. I usually also give my Handgunners a detachment of Archers to aid their number of shots.

Archers

I find that these are my favourite missile troops for the Empire. They only have a S3 weapon, but they have a longer range and they can fire every turn, even if they move. I also use Archer detachments set up as skirmishers so that they are harder for the enemy to hit.

Crossbowmen

Crossbowmen are another missile troop available to the Empire army. They have a S4 weapons with a -1 save, but they can only fire on turns that they do not move. Make sure to support them with detachments and other units.

Kislev Winged Lancers

These make for great medium cavalry. They do not have the heavy armour of the Knights, but they have just as hard of striking capability, and they are great for supporting your Knight units and protecting their flanks, as they have a 2" greater move than the Knights.

Kislev Horse Archers

Fast, mobile missile troops that are very maneuverable because of the fast cavalry rules. They are a great skirmishing screen for your Knights, as they have the speed to get out of the way on the turn before the Knights charge. They are also useful for harassing and slowing down the advance of your opponent's line.

Flagellants

You can have one unit of Flagellants. With their special rules, Flagellants are not subject to Panic, Fear, or Terror tests of any kind, and they never Break in HTH combat. They do not take Ld tests for any reason, as they are too insanely fanatic. They carry a flail, which adds +2 to their S on the first turn of combat. I have seen a unit of Flagellants 16 strong totally destroy a Bretonnian Grail Knight unit of the same size.

Dwarfs

These are the steadiest troops available to the Empire General. They have a Ld 9, a WS 4, and a T4. These are the troops to anchor your line with. Their slow Movement means they are best used as defensive troops and missile troops. They have high survivability and a reasonable points cost.

Halflings

These little fellows can be very useful, and they are at a bargain basement cost. They are only 3.5 points per model, which means all of their equipment is at half cost. They have a BS 4, an Initiative of 5, and a Ld 8. They make great Archers, even with their standard bows.

Ogres

You can have any number of regiments of Ogres that you wish, but at 40 points per model they are very expensive. Ogres have a high Movement, S4, T5, 3 Wounds, and 2 Attacks. I usually equip my Ogres with light armour and two-handed weapon, because their 3 Wounds means they should survive to get to strike, even striking last, and with only a 3 Initiative they will probably have to strike last anyway. Strength 6 and 2 Attacks can do a lot of damage.

War Machines

Mortars

This is a typical indirect fire weapon.

Great Cannons

60" range, S10, D6 Wounds, allowing NO save, and Bounce Through. If you guess your range properly this can be a very devastating weapon. I try to set it up where it can fire at an angle through my enemy's most important units to maximize its killing potential.

Steam Tanks

The Steam Tank can be a very powerful weapon if used with care, but you must not over allocate steam on any one turn. If you do, the results will be disastrous. The Steam Tank can be used not only for firing its cannon, but also for running over enemy troops. But this can be a risky tactic. The crew of the Steam Tank never needs to take a Break test for any reason.

War Machines

A monstrous war chariot carrying well armed troops, with weapons such as the Hochland Long Rifle, the Repeater Handgun, the Blunderbuss, Mancatcher, Hook Halberd, and Ball & Chain. This can be a dangerous weapon, but is usually along with the Steam Tank one of the primary targets for enemy artillery and magic.

Hellblaster Volley Gun

Short range, but devastating firepower. It is best used for defending other war machines and defensive positions.

Halfling Hot Pot

This is a good deal points wise it does very good damage, and its description and the description of the damage it does bring a little levity to the battle!

Monsters

The Empire has a fairly wide variety of monsters available. Of these, my favourites are the Griffon, the Wyvern, Pegasus, and Swarms. The Hydra can be useful, and also the Hippogriff.

I very seldom use a Dragon in a serious game, as it eats too large a chunk of points, but I quite often use one in a fun game because they just look awesome. You can buy 45 Halberdiers with light armour and shield for the cost of the cheapest Dragon, or you can buy 2 or 3 powerful Heroes riding Pegasi, or a powerful Hero riding a Hippogriff or a Chimera and have points left over to get a Champion or two, you can buy 4 or 5 mounted Heroes, or up to 6 Heroes on foot.

Special Characters

There are several special characters available to the Empire army. The one problem is that none of the characters in the Empire book itself can be used in a tournament, even under the new GT tournament rules. But there have been some published in The Idol of Gork WHFB campaign pack that are official special characters and meet the 2 Wound limit.

The Emperor Karl Franz

The Emperor Karl Franz carries the Hammer of Sigmar and wears the Silver Seal. Except for Ld, which is a 10, he has standard General's stats. He wears a suit of heavy armour and rides his Griffon Deathclaw. He is a good, but not great character for an army leader.

Magnus the Pious

Magnus' special rules make him a very good choice for army leader. He may reroll any failed armour savings throw once (this means for each reason); he may dispel any magic cast against him or the unit he is with on a 4, 5, or 6 on a d6; in HTH he may strike a Mighty Blow instead of his usual HTH attacks, with a S10 doing 1d3 Wounds; he may ride a barded warhorse, but he may not ride a monster, and he may never have magic items.

Ludwig Schwarzhelm

Ludwig is probably the best standard bearer you can find. He has heroic stats with 3 Wounds, 3 Attacks, and Ld 9, and he may carry the Sword of Justice. Should he fail to score a hit, he may immediately reroll the attack, and no ordinary armour can save against its attack, only magic armour saves against the Sword of Justice.

Grand Theogonist Volkmar

He carries the Staff of Command, the Jade Griffon, the Horn of Sigismund, and rides upon the War Altar. The War Altar gives him the ability to cast spells as a 2nd level Wizard. He may choose to be dealt cards from the Battle Magic deck, one of the Colour Magic decks, or the High Magic deck. The Grand Theogonist and all Empire units within 6" of the Altar are immune to the effects of psychology, including Fear, Panic, Terror, etc. The Grand Theogonist or any unit within 6" cannot be broken, and so will never take a Break test or Ld test as long as the War Altar is intact.

The Grand Theogonist is always an independent character, and may not join or lead any unit.

As long as the Grand Theogonist has at least one wound remaining, the Jade Griffon will save him by healing his wounds, at the end of each shooting and/or HTH combat phase.

As long as the War Altar is intact, the Staff of Command will add +2 to the Grand Theogonist's Strength. If the Altar is damaged, it will only add +1. If the Altar is destroyed, the Staff of Command becomes useless.

The Horn of Sigismund may be sounded as the War Altar charges into combat and will cause Terror in the unit charged.

The Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic

The current Supreme Patriarch is Thyrus Gormann, who is a 4th level Bright Wizard. He carries the Staff of Volans and may be given up to three additional magic items for a total of four magic items. I usually give him at least one or more dispel scrolls. The Staff of Volans can be used to cast spells as if they were cast by a Total Power card. The spells cannot be dispelled or nullified in any way. After each use of the staff, a d6 must be rolled, and on a 1 or a 2 the Staff runs out of energy and will not work for the remainder of the battle.

Reiksmarshal Captain Kurt Helborg of the Reiksguard

This is one of the best special characters available to the Empire player. He is the perfect character to lead your Reiksguard Knights.

Boris Todbringer, Elector Count of Middenland

He has two magic items, a Runefang, and the Talisman of Ulric, which will recover one Wound for him each turn up to his original three, so to kill him you must reduce him to 0 Wounds in one turn.

Aldebrand Ludenhof, Elector Count of Hochland

A good, cheap Lord character. His Hawk gives him one extra S3 attack.

Valmir von Raukov, Elector Count of Ostland

This is one deadly archer. Here you have a character wearing heavy armour, riding a barded warhorse, and can fire three S5 Arrows 36" each turn, and if that’s not enough, he carries a Runefang!

Marius Leitdorf, Elector Count of Averland

Mad Marius carries a Runefang, plus a long dagger, he rides a barded warhorse, and wears heavy armour. Mad Marius is subject to frenzy, which means he will attack with 7 Attacks (3 x 2 + 1). He can cut quite a swath through an enemy unit.

T'zarina Katarin, The Ice Queen of Kislev

T'zarina Katarin is a 3rd level Ice Wizard and uses the special Ice Magic deck. She carries the sword Fearfrost, and she rides a warhorse. Her Ice Magic can be very useful to an Empire army.

Idol of Gork WHFB Campaign Pack Special Characters

Manfred von Bock

von Bock is a Halberdier Hero. He wears light armour, and carries a halberd. He has the Ring of Volans, which will contain one spell randomly selected from the Battle Magic deck. This spell may be used once during the battle. Due to his reputation, any unit accompanied by Manfred may reroll any Break or Panic test. The unit will also count as having one extra rank for rank bonus. Manfred can be used in any tournament using the '97 GT rules.

Ulrich, General of the Empire

Ulrich is a Knight, so he is mounted on a barded warhorse and wears heavy armour and carries. He carries the Horn of Urgok. When he sounds the Horn, all enemy units within 24" that are in close combat must take a Panic test or be Broken. The Horn is sounded during the magic phase. Ulrich is immune to Panic. Any unit he accompanies is also immune to Panic tests. Ulrich can be used in any tournament using the '97 GT rules.

Zorn, Empire Master Wizard

Zorn rides a Warhorse and carries a hand weapon. He wears the Black Amulet, and he believes that he is protected by Holy Sigmar, and so is immune to psychology.

Konrad, General of the Empire

Konrad wears light armour, carries a hand weapon and a shield, and rides a warhorse. he is also armed with a Dragon Blade. Each hit will cause two Wounds. Konrad is another character that can be used in any tournament using the '97 GT rules.

Rutgar, General of the Empire

Rutgar has a hand weapon, light armour, shield, and he rides a barded warhorse. He carries the Star Lance. The lance gives Rutgar a +3S bonus when he charges, and no armour save applies.

Tactics

As an Empire General, you must choose your troops to suit your style of combat. If you are an aggressive player, you will want lots of Knights and you will probably choose Archers over Crossbowmen or Hangunners. If you are a more defensive player, you will probably go with good steady infantry, handguns and crossbows, and infantry with spears. With either choice, there is one constant in an Empire army, and that is that you should include artillery. You should pick a spot for your artillery where it will have a good clear line of fire. With cannons I like to set them up as near a flank as possible so that they may fire at an angle across the battlefield to take advantage of their bounce-through.

Myself, I have a few favoured tactics and formations. If I am fighting a horde army, I will usually use the Echelon Line or the Castle formation. The Castle formation is especially good against such armies as Skaven, who have limited missile troops, as it will allow you to concentrate missile and artillery fire on your opponent's army from the first turn on, and your missile troops and artillery will have the chance to thin out the enemy ranks before they can make contact.

I always give all regiments that can have them standard and musician.

When attacking with your Knights, concentrate them on one flank. Do not spread them across the battleline. Support your Knights with the lighter cavalry types, such as Winged Lancers, and use mounted missile troops to give the Knights missile support and to screen them until they are within charge distance. It is a good idea to give your Knights a magic standard that will increase their fighting ability and to add heroes to the regiment.

My favourite Empire infantry are the Halberdiers, which I always use in large blocks supported by detachments of Swordsmen and missile troops.

Swordsmen can also be used as independent regiments, but I do not find them as effective as the Halberdiers in this role. Swordsmen are much better deployed as detachments in support of your Halberdiers. I always give all infantry regiments standard and musician.

Missile troops must be chosen according to whether you will be the aggressor or the defender. When you are fighting numerous low Toughness troops, Archers are much better than Crossbows or Handguns, but when you are against high Toughness troops and/or troops that are heavily armoured you should include Crossbows and handguns in your army.

The Empire army as an army of Mankind has mostly average morale and average stat troops. But the Empire army has a large selection of different troop types and it can be tailored to fight any opponent. Think about your opponent when you devise your tactics. There is no sense to tying up points in a few expensive troops, characters, and magic items when you will be fighting a numerically large army made up of mostly average troops with low armour value.

As a wise sage once said, "Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself you are certain in every battle to be in peril."

There are some specific tactics / dirty tricks / or whatever you want to call them that can be used with Empire troops.

One I like to use is to tie down enemy troops is a medium sized unit of Flagellants sent against the enemy troops, and once they have tied down the enemy unit I hit them in the flank with troops such as Winged Lancers.

Another is a very large unit of minimal armed Halflings with the Banner of Courage and a Champion. Deploy this unit in five ranks so that they will still keep their four ranks even after taking losses.

Also, very large units of Halfling Archers can damage any unit. They have good BS, and they are cheap.

This isn't a dirty trick, but you can give Knight units detachments of Pistoliers, which can be used to screen the Knights and to attack the enemy's flanks after the Knights have attacked their front.

You can give Halberdier units detachments of Swordsmen for the purpose of attacking enemies' flanks and protecting the flanks of the Halberdiers. You can also give the Halberdiers detachments of missile troops to soften up the enemy before the Halberdiers charge them.

You can use the Hellblaster Volley Gun to block lanes of attack and deny them to your enemy, no one wants to move into the fire of a weapon that can potentially do 90 S5 hits. All you have to do is wait for the enemy to come within half distance and then watch the Volley Gun mow down their units.

You can use the Steam Tank not only for its cannon but also to run over enemy units and you can use it to draw magical attacks and artillery attacks away from your other units.

The main thing to remember with an Empire army is to use your combination of troops to support each other, and to compliment each other's abilities. Make sure that you know the capabilities of your troops and the capabilities of your enemy's troops. Learn your enemy's army book(s), and learn the tactics that he can use against you and how you can counteract those tactics.

Give your units magic standards, and equip your Champions and Heroes to deal with the troops, Champions, and monsters that your enemy will use against you.

Vary your tactics from game to game so that your opponent will not be able to predict exactly what you will do with your army.

If you are fighting an opponent who likes to use flyers to swoop down on your rear areas, just take a couple of Heroes and mount them on Pegasi, and put them flying high so that they will be able to counter attack your opponent's flyers any time he chooses to swoop down and attack one of your units, just let him get engaged and bogged down fighting your opponent on the ground, then swoop down and attack him in the flank or rear.

It's also a good idea to use the Scarecrow Banner, the Storm Banner, the Sky Arrow of Naloer, etc. if your opponent has flyers.

It isn't always the most expensive item(s) that are the best items. A combination of lesser items can often add up to a very powerful character. The trick is to choose the correct items for the mission that you have assigned to the character that you are choosing them for. Quite often a defensive item will be more important than an expensive weapon. Magic weapons should be chosen to enhance the fighting Characteristics and fighting abilities of your characters against the major foe that they will be facing. If you will be facing Daemons, purchase Weapons with special abilities vs. Daemons. If you will be fighting Undead, purchase weapons with special abilities vs. Undead. If you are fighting large numbers of troops, choose weapons that will increase the number of hits your characters do. If you are fighting high Initiative troops, choose weapons that will increase your character's Initiative, etc.. Many times a Dispel Magic scroll or and item that dispels magic will be more important than a weapon, items that increase morale that give bonuses to units' combat resulting, etc., are often of more use to characters / units than are an expensive weapon.

It is always a good idea to place your general and army standard where they will do the most good to increase the morale and stability of your army.

Fighting Skaven

When fighting troops such as Skaven, use many missile troops and artillery, Halberdiers supported by detachments, and use fast cavalry to protect your flanks. Do not tie up a lot of points in expensive troops and items. You will not need them, and they will just make it easier for your opponent to encircle you. The Weighted Flank and Echelon Line and Castle all work well against these troops.

Fighting Orcs

When fighting Orcs, you will have much the same situation as against Skaven, but the Orcs will have more missile troops and artillery. You must take this into account. The Orcs also have a fairly large number of high Toughness troops, so you will need your Halberdiers, Knights, Lancers, etc. to deal with them. But again, do not go overboard on the expensive troops and items. The Weighted Flank and Echelon Line are very good choices against these troops.

Fighting Lizardmen

Most of what was said for the two armies above goes for this army. The Lizardmen have some of the best magic users, and so you must counteract them. they also have high numbers of cheap troops.

Fighting Wood Elves

Wood Elves have very deadly missile fire, so you will wish to close with them and get them into hand to hand as soon as possible. For this purpose, your Knights, Winged Lancers, and mounted missile troops are ideal. Whatever you do, do not get into an archery duel with any Elves. I would attempt to tie down the Wood Elves' Treemen, Driads, etc. while I fought the rest of the army. Make sure that you eliminate or nullify the Wood Elves' Archers. The Weighted Flank and Echelon Line are very good choices against these troops.

Fighting High Elves

Fighting High Elves, you will face not only a lot of archery fire (they can fire in two ranks), but they also have very deadly spearmen when they set to receive a charge (three ranks can fight). These large spear units are good targets for your artillery. The High Elves also have some very good elite infantry and very fast cavalry. High Elven heavy armour does not cause any Movement penalty. Try to get as many flank hits on them as you can. The Weighted Flank and Echelon Line are very good choices against these troops.

Fighting Dark Elves

Most of what I said versus High Elves also goes against these troops. They do not have the two-rank Longbowben, or the three rank spears, but they do have repeating crossbows, repeating bolt throwers, and lots of elite infantry.

General Against Elves

Always remember that Elves are fast, and that they have higher-than-average WS and BS in most of their units. But on the down side, they have average T and low armour rating for most troops. Use your artillery to eliminate the Elven artillery and their deep units. Elven armies tend to have very dangerous magic users, so it is a good idea to have a few Dispel Magic scrolls whenever you have to fight them.

Fighting Dwarfs

Fighting Dwarfs, use your numbers and maneuverability against them. Also, use large units of Halberdiers and Knights as your main attack arm and concentrate artillery fire upon them. Against Dwarfs, handguns and crossbows are very useful. Also, Outriders can be of great help against these high Toughness, well armour troops. Flank them and roll up their line.

Fighting Chaos Dwarfs

These guys are a combination of Dwarfs and Orcs. They have very hard hitting but very expensive troops. Once again, roll up their flanks, and stay out from in front of the Blunderbusses. Chaos Dwarfs also have magic available to them, so counter magic such as Dispel Magic scrolls are necessary.

Fighting Chaos

Your main weapons against these are numbers, artillery, and missile fire. Flank them and shoot at them, soften up Chaos units before you charge them, and having counter magic such as Dispel Magic scrolls is necessary. When fighting Chaos, it is always a good idea to have magic standards and other items that reinforce your troop's morale.

Fighting Undead

Against Undead, use your heaviest troops, and give your troops magic standards to aid them, and give your characters magic items chosen to slay Undead. It is a good idea to have magic items and Heroes that will bolster morale to counteract the psychological effects of Undead. The Castle formation and the Echeloned line would be my picks when fighting this opponent.

Fighting Bretonnians

The Bretonnians lack any artillery, but they have outstanding Archery formations and they have a special Blessing which will make your artillery less effective. They also have some of the hardest hitting troops in the Old World, with their Knights and their Knight's Virtues. You must use your superior numbers to envelope the Bretonnian line and attack from the flanks. This is one of the few times that the Empire army can use the Horns formation tactic successfully. You will have to use your war machines and numbers to deal with this army. Once again, magic will be very important against this army, both to attack it and to defend against its magic users.

Fighting Other Empire Armies

The best advice I can give you here is to know the capabilities of all Empire troops, and to know your opponent as well as you can, and to choose your troops and tactics based on this knowledge.

Weighted Flank Formation

This is a good formation when you have some very hard hitting troops mixed with some good steady infantry. This is a good formation for such armies as the Empire.

Echelon Formation

The Echelon formation is a good formation to use when you have superior troops, but you are outnumbered. The formation can be set up echeloned from either right or left. Set up as far to the right or left of the battlefield as you can, with your trailing flank right on the base line, this way your opponent cannot outflank. Move your fast flanking troops on the first turn of the battle to fill the gap between the edge of the table and your deployment zone. Move your presented flank forward and attack the enemy's flank, after breaking it pivot your whole army on your trailing flank, and just roll up your enemy's line. This tactic ONLY works if you have the hardest hitting troop type in the battle, or if you use a very large unit for attacking his flank.

Castle Formation

The Empire is one of the few, actually one of only two armies that I recommend the so-called "Castle" formation for. This basically amounts to: Select a good multi-level hill to defend, and set up your troops as follows: Long range artillery on the highest level, missile troops and medium ranged artillery on the second highest level, and melee troops and short-ranged artillery on the lowest level. If you can have two levels to set up your missile troops, all the better, because then you can deploy them in two lines that can both fire. For the Castle formation, most detachments will be missile troops. Your reserves should be able to react quickly to any attempt to flank your formation, and for this I find Winged Lancers very useful.