Starting warband - Possessed

[kramplarv]

Hey ho!

We've decided to start up a Mordheim league here in the polar bear covered sweden. Only core Mordheim rules+warbands with the addition of Orcses.
so my beastmen are not allowed to venture into the city of the damned I took the next best thing then; the possessed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I'd like to discuss my thoughts;


The 5-heroed warband with mutated possessed;

Magister 80
short bow

Possessed 130
scorpion tail

Possessed 130
scorpion tail

Mutant 73
extra arm
axe, mace,dagger

Mutant 71
extra arm
mace, mace, dagger


484 gc

the 5-heroed warband with naked possessed and a few Gors.

magister 70

Possessed 90

Possessed 90

Mutant 73
extra arm
axe, mace,dagger

Mutant 71
extra arm
mace, mace, dagger

----

Gor
axe, mace
Gor
mace, axe

--------

Which one should I enter the fray with? #1 without henchmen have stronger possessed which is good. On the downside I only have heroes, so no exra bodies to use as decoys etc.
Another advantage is that with 5 guys in my band the income will be quite high, even if only 2 stones are found.

#2 on the other hand have more bodies, but slightly weaker possessed. Which in the long run means that the possessed are to be changed when I have a large extra stash of gold.
The possessed core stats are quite high so it might not be needed to add extra arms and crabs and whatnot.

Both warbands have rout checks on the loss of 2 warriors. In band #1 that means it is easier to kepp the band together and trying to get local number advantage. But it is hard to cover ground.
in #2 I have a few mor guy so can cover mmore ground, but may also be routed faster since it will be harder to go in large groups.

opinions?

[Catferret]

I think I'd end up running something similar to the first one. Cults have to start small and then attract followers so running with just the heroes isn't out of character I guess. Just make sure to only fight on your terms. It is a problem that any casualty will affect your exploration without henchmen but nothing worth having ever came easy.

Only suggestions would be to upgrade the shortbow to a bow on the Magister, or get some shortbows on the Mutants using some of your remaining gold.

[Tulkas]

That's a tricky set up you've got going there. Warband #1 will indeed be a hard hitting rock, but you run the risk of being outnumbered two to one fairly easy. You could also consider just getting a Magister and two heroes (Possessed/ Mutant or two of each) and save up money to buy a really buffed Possessed later on in the game. If you spread your henchmen into groups of one, you have a chance of getting Lads got Talent much quicker to help you gather income. You can always have the Talented lad sacrificed (or something similarly suitable) if you need to make up room for a Possessed.

[brokenv]

Always get Beastmen henchmen, as you need them to turn Hero ASAP!
Also, only buy one possessed to start, as you should save up for the second one like he was a Minotaur or Ogre or similar to other warbands.
Lastly, I only give beastmen double hander or sword/shield depending on my strategy as their S of 3 is awful, but their defense is awesome, so either balance their attack (+2 S) or load up on defense (parry, save). I prefer the latter as I wand my Heroes taking folks OOA, not henchmen

[kramplarv]

Alright. I've been thinking I will be running a different warband from these.

I will only have one possessed, with no mutations, (cheap is nice!) and max out on other heroes, and a few beastmen gors.
I will save up until I can get a titanic possessed. for around 300gc. What do you think of that plan?

[Tulkas]

Most important is this: have fun at what you're doing. Just start this warband and see how it goes. Basically, it's not a bad idea. If you can however, it might be nice to give that Possessed at least one Mutation (since you can't buy them later on). Two of my favorites are Spines and/ or Black Blood and they're the cheapest after Deamon Soul. But keep in mind the Gods of Mordheim are fickle, and it's perfectly possible that your house of a Possessed gets taken out of action on the first turn and rolls a DEAD as a result (I've seen it happen). Something to consider before you save up (and flush away) alot of Gold.

[Jape]

I'm starting up my 1st Possessed warband and I have to admit I've been taking the opposite approach - ie bare bones Possessed, one Mutant and a half dozen bretheren to soak up some fire but honestly I didn't realise you cant upgrade your monsters after a campaign starts - so I might go for a more hero heavy starting force

[brokenv]

The last campaign I played, the dude with possessed army started with Mutant/Tail, Mutant/Arm, Possessed/Claw, Magister/Bow, and one of each Henchmen. For the first 8 or so games, he was raped up and down the field, although his possessed did get some good kills in, but his Magister suffered a heap of serious injuries, and his henchmen suffered from death a lot.

By the end of the Campaign (say 30 games in), he was unstoppable at warband max plus 3 hired swords every game at a total of 18 overpowered freaks, including his mid game Possessed with 2 claws and an ascended bretheren henchmen who became possessed by the shadowlord. What we found was Chaos basically has no limit to their end game, where as the others (witch hunters, undead) all sort of 'capped out' on their progression.

In my mini campaigns as possessed, I found that to avoid the really difficult beginning the warband consistanly suffers I just had 2 unarmed bretheren run out front to die so I could rout after a few turns and save up money to complete the warband. Cowards trick, but I like the idea of chaos sending people to die on purpose.

One campaign I went aggressive, tried to kill off the magister to empower the Mutant and get 2 beastmen heroes. Took awhile, but sending off the magister to stun himself with a spell and take a dude out with him every game was hilarious.