Tactica: Tomb Kings 8th Edition Book

[Echunia]

I agree with enigmatik, KB is the way to go. I would also try to flank them with your colossus, he is s6 after all and on a charge he can be pretty crazy.

[bigbear bailey]

you can make him str 8 with the great weapon as well. I would flank them or hit them with killing blow as described. If it's not there for you I would throw my unshapti at them, as the STR 6 should bring them down and the plus one attack spell lets all 8 get their extra swing, which is nice.

[Drakcore Bloodtear]

Just a small question, because we don't take break tests and don't have to worry about steadfast how do you rank up large units of skellies, do you go for ranks and a small frontage to keep the static combat res or do you go for a wide front for the attacks?

[Jericho]

I agree with enigmatik, KB is the way to go. I would also try to flank them with your colossus, he is s6 after all and on a charge he can be pretty crazy.

Be careful he doesn't just "make way" with the Grandmaster if you try to flank the Knights with a monster. I think that unit might be a tough one for TK to deal with, you should just be happy the Grandmaster doesn't get re-rolls from the Preist

[KimikoPT]

But gets from the Waltar :P

[ewar]

Cheers for the responses - those were pretty much my thoughts on the matter too.

In hindsight I would have been better off engaging it with my skelly block to the front (8 ranks deep), hold for a turn and then flank with the colossus. As the TGM would be engaged against Skellies he couldn't then make way to smash the colossus up.

Either way, that assumes the rest of the army isn't doing it's damndest to stop me! Still, live and learn.

I think it was probably the first time I've played with Tomb Kings where I thought I had set everything up perfectly, but then just watched all my units flop horribly and my army get rolled - there really is no margin for error playing with these Egyptian types. Get your target priority wrong for one phase and you can really screw yourself over.

In the game described I rear charged 3 Demigryph Knights coming down my flank with 2 Tomb Scorpions - I knew it would be close, but with +3 for rear charge I thought I'd break them but it didn't happen. The 9 S5 AP attacks really hurt and he made a lot of 3+ saves (no KB of course). So in subsequent rounds they killed my Scorps before proceeding to take out my casket and archer bunker. The Hiero made a brave effort to flee away (at 4" per turn ) but got killed. All in all it wasn't pretty.

What I should have done was target the DGs with the casket first (I did try but it was scrolled in turn 2) as 2 on 2 would have been much more even than 3 on 2.

[Enigmatik1]

I think it was probably the first time I've played with Tomb Kings where I thought I had set everything up perfectly, but then just watched all my units flop horribly and my army get rolled - there really is no margin for error playing with these Egyptian types. Get your target priority wrong for one phase and you can really screw yourself over.

There is definitely a snowball effect at work with the TK army, I think. When things are going well, the army is very hard to stop but when things go south, they go to hell-in-a-handbasket quickly (often too quickly for you to recover from).

[bigbear bailey]

Just a small question, because we don't take break tests and don't have to worry about steadfast how do you rank up large units of skellies, do you go for ranks and a small frontage to keep the static combat res or do you go for a wide front for the attacks?

Horde 10 wide. They fight pretty well so i have no prob with them getting swong back on. I think people forget that our troopers are 4 pt unbreakable ws 5 warriors (always a prince if you're smart) that have a 6+ save. I ALWAYS run mine in at least blocks of 50, but I think I may up that to 70 here soon.

[GodlessM]

Just a small question, because we don't take break tests and don't have to worry about steadfast how do you rank up large units of skellies, do you go for ranks and a small frontage to keep the static combat res or do you go for a wide front for the attacks?

Deep bus formation myself, just to reduce attacks back at them as they aren't killing anything and their purpose is to hold things up. It works too.

[Drakcore Bloodtear]

Horde 10 wide. They fight pretty well so i have no prob with them getting swong back on. I think people forget that our troopers are 4 pt unbreakable ws 5 warriors (always a prince if you're smart) that have a 6+ save. I ALWAYS run mine in at least blocks of 50, but I think I may up that to 70 here soon.

Deep bus formation myself, just to reduce attacks back at them as they aren't killing anything and their purpose is to hold things up. It works too.

Ah, thats my problem I don't know whether to get more attacks but more attacks back, or less frontage.

I might try the hoard so my Hierophant has a better chance of making way out of combat.

Cheers guys

[Enigmatik1]

Ah, thats my problem I don't know whether to get more attacks but more attacks back, or less frontage.

I might try the hoard so my Hierophant has a better chance of making way out of combat.

Cheers guys

With Skeleton Warriors I can't see the point in trying to get more attacks. Skeletons don't generally kill enough of anything, even with WS5/6, to warrant going horde imo. The only case in which I could conceivably advocate going horde with Skeletons are against S/T3, 1A units with little to no armor.

[TsukeFox]

Hope you get doom & darkness everytime-
Carrion would be nice maybe

[Gradek]

Thinking about going TK as my 3rd army later this summer (currently Empire and WoC). How would this roughly 2000 point list (it is less than 2000, but that leaves room for magic items) perform:

Liche Priest lvl 4
Liche Priest level 2
Tomb Prince
Tomb Herald

40 skeleton archers (FC)
8 horseman archers (st./mus)
3 chariots

3 necro knights
1 warsphinx with roar

1 necrosphinx
1 casket

Does that look like a reasonable list? What would you recommend to start?

[Folomo]

I think the reason to go horde is pretty simple.
If your warriors face a Deathstar (horde of elite troops), if you bus you will last longer, if you Horde you will kill a bit more but last a lot less. Not really much you can do against a unit that cost more than twice the cost of yours.
If your warriors face a Horde of non-elite troops, you will gain more from the extra 20 attack that what you will lose from the 3 extra rows of attacks the enemy will give you.
If your warriors face a non-Horde of elite troops, your enemy is already giving all his attacks, so you will clearly gain more from the 15 extra attacks than the posibility of an extra rank.
If your warriors face a non-Horde of non-elite troops (Tarpit), going Horde will reduce the number of rounds you unit is tarpitted.

Also, in Horde its a lot less probable someone will kill your TP, because he will receive the attacks of 1 or 2 rows maximum, versus the 3 rows in bus formation.
So, in most case going horde (for a decently sized skeleton warrior unit, aka 40+) should be better.

[GrandmasterWang]

I like the 2400 list. Looks solid and I like the construxts and buried threat.

To Gradek, where you thinking of running the prince and herald in that list?

[ewar]

I like the 2400 list. Looks solid and I like the construxts and buried threat.

To Gradek, where you thinking of running the prince and herald in that list?

Thanks for the feedback.

Has anyone tried running 2 level 3s plus Hiero? I'm worried that Death is too short ranged to present a credible threat. Alternative is go Light and hope for banishment... But not sold on Light for TKs yet.

[TsukeFox]

Thanks for the feedback.

Has anyone tried running 2 level 3s plus Hiero? I'm worried that Death is too short ranged to present a credible threat. Alternative is go Light and hope for banishment... But not sold on Light for TKs yet.

Really? The spells are so cheap & beneficial that a single lvl2 +Hierotitan can do a lot Of good even without getting time warp. Not sure however if Light of Battle prevents crumbling-but burning gaze
Is just fine to deal with opponents chaff.

[Empire - Ulric]

Cheers for the responses - those were pretty much my thoughts on the matter too.

In hindsight I would have been better off engaging it with my skelly block to the front (8 ranks deep), hold for a turn and then flank with the colossus. As the TGM would be engaged against Skellies he couldn't then make way to smash the colossus up.

Either way, that assumes the rest of the army isn't doing it's damndest to stop me! Still, live and learn.

I just wanted to point out that while he cannot "make way" to beat on your colossus, he can complete a "Combat Reform" in which he can reposition his GM anywhere he wants as long as it is still in combat after moving.

Depending on how the Army is built the New Empire can be very rough on armies that do not have ways of dealing with lots of high Armor Saves. With little effort they can plop down 2 - 3 tough Units (Demigryphs, Inner Circle Knights, Steam Tank) with a 1+ Armor save and with a little effort they can also field most of their characters with 1+ Armor Saves.

My main army is Empire, however I just started building a TK army after having it sit on my shelves for the last 2 years and I've been thinking about this very problem.

In general how do TK deal with High Armor Save units?

Outside of Tomb Guard with Killing Blow, possibly a War Sphinx or Ushabti with Great Bows/Weapons (Which are not so hot methinks) do we have anything else?

[TsukeFox]

Tomb guard with ap banner.
Spirit leach from Hierotitan or caster.
Casket
Casket+ doom & darkness
Purple Sun

[gdsora]

I just wanted to point out that while he cannot "make way" to beat on your colossus, he can complete a "Combat Reform" in which he can reposition his GM anywhere he wants as long as it is still in combat after moving.

Depending on how the Army is built the New Empire can be very rough on armies that do not have ways of dealing with lots of high Armor Saves. With little effort they can plop down 2 - 3 tough Units (Demigryphs, Inner Circle Knights, Steam Tank) with a 1+ Armor save and with a little effort they can also field most of their characters with 1+ Armor Saves.

My main army is Empire, however I just started building a TK army after having it sit on my shelves for the last 2 years and I've been thinking about this very problem.

In general how do TK deal with High Armor Save units?

Outside of Tomb Guard with Killing Blow, possibly a War Sphinx or Ushabti with Great Bows/Weapons (Which are not so hot methinks) do we have anything else?

Really All I ever use is TG/Warsphinx/Casket


Everything else is usually too unreliable, or cost is too high