Bretonnia: Warhammer Army Project, 8th Edition Tactica

Bretonnia: Warhammer Army Project, 8th Edition Tactica

Created by Mathias Eliasson, this project was a homebrew attempt at giving many of the nations and factions that never got Armybooks of their own (and those left behind and never got one in 8th Edition) such a thing. For this specific page, those items that are completely new will be described in detail (at least to my standards, so don't expect much) whilst those things that are present in the 6th Edition Armybook but changed; will simply be compared to each other as the actual Tactica page will much better explain...well everything.

It should also be noted that Eliasson is constantly updating his work, so don't expect this page to stay current forever. As of now: I'll be using the most current Bretonnian Armybook he has as of 11/17/2016. If anyone wishes to actually update this page and the items that need it later on, go ahead.

Why Play WAP Bretonnia

You love playing as Bretonnia but you're tired of only having mounted Knights and dirty peasants as your whole army. Not only is the roster expansion of the army fluffy (except for a unit or two), you get your own Lore and several reductions in points (Pegasus Knights have 10pts cut from their base cost). Not to mention a few other buffs and changes that are arguably better/worse than the original. Overall, a nice homebrew of Bretonnia except for the reduction of the number of Heirlooms specific to Bretonnia.

Army Special Rules

• The Lance Formation: Basically the same as before, except now the front row receives Devastating Charge; may be a small bonus but it definitely helps.

• Vows & Peasant's Duty: All the same except that the Grail Vow gives Characters +1 to Leadership and they cost more to give to Lords & Paladins.

• Blessings of the Lady: First off, the army prays automatically. Nice. Also, instead of acquiring a 5+ Ward Save against attacks with Strength 5 or better, you get a 5+ Ward against ALL missile weapons (including magic missiles). Whilst this gives your knights a better chance of getting into combat, especially against shooty armies (looking at YOU Dwarves), they're also less protected when they actually get into combat against those more dangerous units/characters. Up to you to decide if this exchange is good or bad. You lose the Blessing in the same ways as before.

Oh, and I forgot to mention this, but if you use Eliasson's Rulebook, your units with Lances get +2 Strength on the charge AND +2 Initiative...yeah...)

The Lore of the Lady

• Lore Attribute: Favour of the Lady: When you cast a spell on a friendly unit, that unit can reroll 1's for Ward Saves. Eh, not bad. Works well with The Lady's Virtue of Valour to give that Lord of yours trapped in a challenge against a Chaos Lord a bit more survivability.

• (Signature Spell) Steed of the Lady: Casts on a 5+. Its an augment only for mounted knights with a range of 18"; the upgraded version is 8+ to cast with a range of 36". The target unit acquires a Movement Characteristic of 10 and becomes Ethereal for the purposes of movement. Since actually making the charge is crucial for any Bretonnian army focused on knights, the Movement 10 is definitely welcome and the Ethereal just helps ensure that buildings and blocking units don't stop you from getting to your target. A nice spell, especially for Bretonnia but certainly not a game breaker.

• Mist of Chalons: Casts on a 6+. It's an augment that affects all friendly units within 8" of the caster. The upgraded version is 12" for 9+ to cast; Remains in Play either way. Enemy units targeting those units affected by this spell have an additional -1 to their To Hit rolls. Combine this with the new Blessings of the Lady and your enemy will have a really hard time trying to whittle you down with their shooty units. Again, a nice spell for Bretonnia since you want to ensure your charges have as much power as possible but again, nothing to rave about.

• Doom of Dol: Casts on a 7+. Hex spell with a range of 18". Upgraded version is cast on a 10+ with a range of 36", Remains in Play either way. Select an enemy model and a friendly champion or character (must be a knight) that are both within the range. Whenever the friendly model targets the enemy model, the friendly model will wound them on a 2+ with Ignore Armour Saves to boot! One of the areas Bretonnia is lacking is in challenges, and this alone will pretty well scare any enemy general from attempting to kill your own. Excellent for area denial (who in their right mind will send their general/monster/critical model against this guy? Hell, going against a unit champion can be a risk with this spell.) But, this alone does not ensure victory. An enemy with high Strength and Initiative will still be able to kill you before you even have a chance to strike. It's a very nice spell, but don't expect this to work consistently on unit Champions nor save your general every time you use this.

• Beguilement of Blondel: Casts on a 9+. Hex with a range of 12" for all enemy units. Upgraded version is 18" for 14+ to cast, Remains in Play either way. All enemy units within the range have to take a Leadership test. Should they fail, they count as having failed a Stupidity test. If in Close Combat, they have their Weapon Skill reduced to 1. Each round, for as long as this spell remains active, all enemy units within the radius, must take the leadership test. Eh, against Dwarves and the like, this is pretty well useless. Against armies like Skaven, this will help. Not too helpful, but WS 1 is a welcome boon against any opponent.

• Wrath of Righteousness: Casts on a 10+. A Direct Damage spell that affects all enemy units within a 12" radius. Upgraded version is 19+ to cast with an additional D6 hits per unit. At the base level, this causes all enemy units affected to suffer D6, Strength 4 hits with -1 Armour Save. When only affecting one unit, don't risk doing the 19+ Version unless you really think it'll be worth it. When affecting multiple enemy units, this spell can be really fun but don't think this will save your lone KOTR unit being surrounded by that block of 50 Clanrats and flanking Rat Ogres. A decent spell but with 19+ to cast for 2D6 hits, this can cost you an entire Magic Phase for just 2 S4 hits...use this only if you're sure it will have a good bang for its buck.

• Spiteful Glance: Casts on 11+. Hex with range of 12". Upgrades version is 18" for 16+ to cast. Your wizard targets an enemy character whom your model has line of sigh to. That model must take an Initiative Test or else be turned into a frog and removed immediately as a casualty. On its face, its a good character sniper spell. However, almost all good characters have an Initiative of 5 or better. Target those wizards, BSB's or characters weighed down with magic items with I4 or worse (Oldbloods and pretty much all Lizardmen characters except for Skinks come to mind) and this spell should do you good for what it does.

• The Lady's Virtue of Valour: An Augment that affects a single unit which casts on a 12+ with a range of 12". The upgraded version affects all friendly, units within 12" with a cast of 24+. Roll a D6 for each unit, and the affected unit(s) add +1 to their statistics for a turn with the following results:

1: +1 Weapon Skill

2: +1 WS & Initiative

3: +1 WS, I, & Strength

4: +1 WS, I, S, & Toughness

5: +1 WS, I, S, T, & Attacks

6: +1 WS, I, S, T, A, & Leadership.

A very good spell, that...when used right ( and with the proper rolling luck)...you'll tear through that enemy your charging like a Bretonnian Hippogryph tearing apart a Goblin. A 9 man unit of Grail Knights rolling a 5 for this spell gives you 25 attacks at S7, I8 (with Matthias's lances anyway; otherwise I6), WS6. You won't be able to tear through that giant block of Clanrats, but against units like Chaos Warriors...you'll get your moneys worth. In the description its implied only knights are affected by this spell...but the actual rule says no such thing. Take that as you will. On the charge and with a large enough result, knight units will see this spell used at its best, but remember it is a D6 results..and your charge upon which could hinge your victory could only be aided with something that might not help it in the smallest way. Still, this spell has excellent potential in the Bretonnian army.

Overall, this Lore really well compensates for many of Bretonnia's weaknesses and you should always consider taking this unless your running a peasant army (for whatever ill-found reason).

Virtues of Bretonnia

• Virtue of Heroism: Same as before except now it has a price tag of 50. Eh, I see its uses but I'd generally tell you to avoid this.

• Virtue of Stoicism: The older one lets you reroll failed Break tests whilst this one gives you Cold-Blooded. Both cost the same and whilst this one is an improvement, you won't find much use of this except against armies that rely heavily on Fear and the like.

• Virtue of Knightly Temper: You get a 5 point discount and you're allowed to take magic weapons with this one compared to the old. A nice Virtue made even better, always consider taking this.

• Virtue of the Impetuous Knight: Again, you get 5 points taken off AND you add D3" to all your charges this model is involved in, not just D6 for the first. Combine this with Steed of the Lady and scare the pants off your enemy as your knights move halfway across the board to trample their units into the ground. Just remember, this only helps you get IN to combat, it doesn't help any further so be sure you have good combat gear or a spell on this guy if you intend to fight something nasty.

• Virtue of the Ideal: Oh look, another 5pts discount, nice. Otherwise, its the same as before. He'll act as a nice challenger especially with Doom of Dol. Just keep him away from your peasants, unless you want them running when the enemy so much as breaths on them.

• Virtue of Audacity: Exactly the same as before. But now with the Lore of the Lady, this Virtue has even less viability then before. The Virtue itself is fine, its just situational.

• Virtue of the Penitent: This one may be 15pts cheaper, and you now can take mounts and magic items, but this Virtue is still lacking in usefulness. He becomes Stubborn with the stipulation he cannot join a unit for any reason...skip this unless you have a VERY specific strategy in mind.

• Virtue of Duty: Another Virtue with 5pts taken off and this is no longer a One per army Virtue. Certainly not bad and when your knight units are trapped in a long drawn out fight, every bit helps.

• Virtue of Confidence: No points reduction here but with Doom of Dol and a Magic Weapon that raises Initiative a character will rip and tear through nearly anything that it can drag into a challenge.

• Virtue of the Joust: You want another Virtue with 5 points taken off? Here ya go. Even still, a bit lackluster but not without its uses.

• Virtue of Purity: Another 5pts taken off...I'm seeing a trend here. Knights now have a constant 5+ Ward Save. Grail Knights however now gain a constant 4+ Ward...for 15pts...certainly not something to put your nose up to (however, if you're only wanting a 4+ Ward, take Talisman of Protection instead. The Grail Vow itself is 35pts and this is 15 for 50pts in total for something you can take for 45pts. If your actually using the Grail Vow to take other things, go ahead and tag this on him).

• Virtue of Discipline: Sorry, no points slash here. This Virtue had little use and it still does; some things never change I suppose. Generally stay away from this unless you know you're fighting against a horde-reliant army.

• Virtue of Noble Disdain: Well...another Virtue with 5 points taken off won't hurt. Otherwise, the same as before but with this version of the Lady's Blessings, you have a nice little synergy going on. What it's meant to do, it does pretty well.

• Virtue of Empathy: What? You expect a 5pt discount to a Virtue that's already dirt cheap? Get the hell out of here you piss poor peasant. Same as before except if you take this on your General, they use his Leadership in a large 18" bubble. If you're heavily peasant reliant, this is a near necessity. Otherwise, its pretty meh.

Overall changes, positive. Though your new Lore does make some things less viable (if your bring magic users to begin with, of course) and a lot of Virtues do have 5 points taken off, giving you a couple more points you can put towards something else.

Blessed Heirlooms of Bretonnia

• Silver Lance of the Blessed: Same except for the following: This one forces successful enemy armour and Ward saves to be rerolled but if the wielder of this Lance flees for any reason, the Lady of the Lake bitch slaps him with D6 hits that are Flaming and Strength 4 with Ignores Armour Saves! Even more killy than before, but be sure you never ever put this guy in a combat you think he won't find victory in or he will pay for it...

• Sword of Heroes: You get an extra tax of 5 points but you also get +2 Strength instead of +1 against foes with T5 or better. Synergized well with Virtue of Audacity, though this combo will have to be against a specific foe to be worth it; so avoid taking this in a general list.

• Sword of the Lady's Champion: Hey, hey, hey! 10 points taken off and everything else stays the same, nice. Against high Toughness armies, this 30pt wrecker will ruin the days of Lizardmen/Ork/Ogre armies and allow you to cut down their dragons/monsters like anything else. Just be sure to take some good Armor or Talismans (I recommend taking this with Virtue of Purity as both are only 45pts, and you can still take more defensive gear).

• Cuirass of Fortune: An extra 5 points are tacked onto this one. But, you also get to reroll To Hits of 1 and Armour Saves of 1 as well as the natural reroll To Wound rolls of 1. A good, general piece of equipment (excellent to take with Sword of the Lady's Champion and Virtue of Purity).

• Sirienne's Locket: Twenty points reduced from the old, but still not all TOO useful. You still only have 3 wounds (2 if on your Paladin) and your still affected by Killing Blow and the like. Generally, not something I'd recommend but I can see this working in a specific strategy.

• The Silver Mirror: An extra tax of 5 points...must have come from the Virtues. You use this on a spell that is specifically targeting the magic user wielding this and its unit. The enemy can stop the spell being bounced back to them by using Dispel Die or Power Die. This magical item can only be used once and can't be used on spells that have Irresistable. However, this baby does have its uses. Example: A Slann Mage Priest has already cast 3 spells for the turn and now he's attempting to use Fiery Convocation on your giant block of Men-At-Arms that have a Level 1 Damsel. He used the remainder of his die to sucessfully cast it, but your Damsel just so happens to have the Silver Mirror. The Slann has no more die to even try to dispel his own attack and his Temple Guard along with him are set afire AND he must use future Power Die later on just to dispel it. For spells that affect an entire unit and have a high casting value, this is the perfect counter. Just be sure to engage your Troll Face before hand for maximum levels of Lols and Rage.

• Chalice of Malfleur: Exactly the same as before. Still pretty meh. If you do take this don't and I mean don't put this on your Level 4 Prophetess. No reason to risk your best magic user to get one Dispel Die.

• The Ruby Goblet: 5 points shaved off this one, otherwise the same. But, with the new Blessings of the Lady leaving you more vulnerable in Close Combat, this is worth taking if you have plans on taking on big baddies.

• Tress of Isoulde: Another item with 5 points reduced in price, otherwise the same. Combine this with Doom of Dol and it'll feel like your making the enemy roll for their Anal Circumference. 'Nough said.

• Banner of Defense: Essentially gives whatever (knight) unit that has it, a 4+ Ward against ranged attacks (including magic missiles). So long as they having Blessings anyway. It's only 25 points...take it...take it and ruin the relationship you have with your best friend who just so happens to field an Artillery heavy Dwarf army...go ahead...

Special Characters

• King Louen Leoncoeur First off, the guy is now 375 points. His previous, hefty as hell price of 728 left him all but ignored and for good reason. Characters at half of his score could still beat and kill him, making him impractical altogether and only worth taking in fluffy or fun games. With his price reduced by 353 almost half of the original, that in itself reawakens the posibilites to a worthwhile character. First off, his stats: The new Louen has Leadership 10 (kinda strange that a king imbued with mythical powers wouldn't already have that in the first place) with no other changes to base stats. Beaquis on the other hand loses 1 wound and attack.

Magical Items: The Lion Shield remains the same. The Sword of Couronne, instead of +1 Strength, receives re-rolls failed To Hit rolls. The Crown of Bretonnia gets a small change in that all friendly units within his Inspiring Presence are automatically Immune to Panic, not just to everyone within line of sight. However, he gets a completely new piece of armor called Armour of Brilliance; counts as Heavy Armour and all enemies suffer -1 penalty to all To Hit rolls (close and ranged both) this affects his mount as well. Honestly, that's some serious bling bling he's got going on. A sword that blinds people up close, a crown so shiny it inspires people and now armour that straight up blinds people when they look at him. Louen's officially the new pimp Lord of the Old Worlde.

Special Rules: The Lady's Champion rule remains the same except for different wording.

Now, this is where the two characters branch off coniderably. The old Louen also has The Puissant Virtue which allows him to reroll failed To Hit and To Wound rolls in challenges and counts as having a 5+ Ward. He also has the Beloved Son of Bretonnia which means if he's removed as a casualty, all Bretonnian units must take a panic test and then on become Stubborn. And finally, The Army of the King which removes the 0-1 restriction on Grail Knights and Men-at-Arms and Bowmen become special choices.

The new Louen only has The Virtue of the Lionheart. This lets him roll a D3 at the beginning of every close combat phase and the result is added to his Strength statistic for the phase. Now, the old Louen only has rerolls to hit in challenges whilst the new Louen has them constantly with his new pimped out sword that shares the same name. And while he won't be able to reroll failed To Wound rolls, he does have the D3 extra Strength when he fights as well as The Armour of Brilliance which helps considerably since he's riding a Monster. All in all, this new Louen is a major wakeup call. Hell, his cost being cut in half should be enough but now his survivability is aided by the fact he has a constant -1 To Hit on him at all times. Can he be competitive, I currently see no reason why he couldn't (though I still haven't had an opportunity to actually use him, mind you).

• The Fey Enchatress Stat wise, the only change is Silvaron has been reduced to 1 Wound from 3. So be sure to keep her out of combat...I don't care how much you want to see a Unicorn impale an enemy don't taker her into combat. Magic wise, the newer one got kicked a bit. Instead of being able to use all 8 basic lores and having +2 to cast rolls for spells in the Lore of Life; she now gets to use the Life, Beasts, Heaven, Light or Lady lores whilst adding +2 to her cast rolls for Life and Lady lores. If you loving using the Enchantress because she's the only one that can use the Lore of Shadows or Death, you won't like this one. Otherwise it should be fine since the Lore of the Lady is very good for a Bret army (obviously).

Special Rules: The Supreme Aura of the Lady and Favour of the Fey remains the same. For the Blessings of the Lady, the older rules say you no longer have to pray to get the Blessings (something the new army already has without her) and any unit she's joined with gains a constant 5+ Ward Save. For the new rule, units that join her also get a 5+ Ward whilst Grail Knights get a constant 4+ Ward Save...you know what...take her into combat...with a unit of 9 or more Grail Knights. The older rules also have Spiteful Glance, only getting 1 more wound at most but not that bad.

Silvaron's Rules: The older one has a 5+ Ward, +2 Strength on the charge, Magical Resistance (2) and his attacks count as magical and cause fear. The new one only gets +2 Strength on the charge and Magical attacks. The advantages for the old one are kind of meh to begin with since you don't want her fighting either way.

Magical Items: The Chalice of Potions is changed only in that the lore used changes from Lore of Heavens to Lore of the Lady. Really a preference choice here. The Girdle of Gold remains the exact same as well as the Toad Familiar. Finally, the changes in prices in minimal; the new is 510 compared to 545. This price seems to adjust only for the less usefulness of Silvaron and the Enchantresses' fewer choices in Lore; the older one is a bit better for a bit more and the new is bit more focused for a bit less. Both are pretty good but if you plan to use the new Enchantress, use a Grail Knights unit as her bunker to keep her safe (and they get that juicy, constant 4+ Ward). Overall, not bad though still just a bit on the pricey side.

• The Green Knight Both cost the same, 275pts. Stat wise: the new is slightly better with Ld 10 for the knight himself and an extra attack for the Shadow Steed. Other than that, he remains exactly the same (with a few rules worded slightly differently, but there's a big difference between 6th Edition wording and 8th Edition; they all still result in the same way) Is he worth it though? In smaller games he's really fun and its debatable if he's competitive in smaller games. In larger games, he's a fun character but not for larger competitive games.

Armybook Specific Units

This section will cover the new units included in Armybook, not those from 6th Edition.

• Crusader Templars Those knights that have taken apart of the crusades (no really) and found that there's a life beyond the social structure and Codes of Bretonnia. Most are considered worldly and find knowledge to be the most powerful tool, even more so than martial training. As such, they are considered dangerous by many Lords of Bretonnia, though their powerful oration skills on the fields of war help some Lords to view them favorably. Now, as per gameplay...they really don't stand out. At 55pts and their meh stats, they are unremarkable in combat and Fiery Zeal only helps in a limited fashion. In a fluffy game/campaign (a Bretonnian army is invading Araby) this will fit. But straight up, this character is just meh.

• Foot Knights Sometimes a battle demands that Bretonnian knights dismount. Maybe knights have their horses cut out from under them. Some might find it prudent to fight on foot in uneven or claustrophobic battlefields or perhaps even just to inspire the peasants that they stand shoulder to shoulder with to fight all the harder. Really just KOTR without their horses and barding. If you're looking for infantrymen that are actually competent by themselves or a unit you can fairly well trust to hold an object or act as a blocking unit, you can do worse. You can give these guys Great Weapons for 2pts each to give them some more killing power. And since they have a constant 5+ Ward (from Blessings anyway) against all ranged attacks, their footslogging nature will leave them leave less at the mercy of skirmishing, fast moving enemies trying to pry them from the area they're protecting. Altogether, a nice unit.

• Hippogryph Knights The taming of the Hippogryph is considered a great challenge, thus many a Bretonnian knight will attempt to break in such a beast to act as their mount; a potent sign of their prestige and skill (not to mention their prudence/caution when dealing with such a violence-prone beast). As per the unit...I see these guys being worth their points (75pts per model!) I mean...they have a pretty boss mount for something that isn't a Lord/Hero...but remember they're a unit of Monstrous Cavalry and they'll draw the attention of every single enemy cannon and monster killing unit. Their riders are KOTR stats except with S4 & I4 whilst their mounts have S5 with 3 attacks AND being able to Fly and with the option of getting Barding. My biggest (and only valid) quarrel with these guys is that they're a Rare choice at 75pts each; they'll quickly suck up your allowance for Rare Choices and if not used right, they could just be a giant wad of wasted points and potential. Ergo, don't use them in the same fashion as the Pegasus Knights. Your Pegasi are useful as Warmachine Hunters and getting rid of those pesky Fast Cavalry puncturing your infantry with arrows. Use these guys in much more proactive ways, and don't be afraid to let them get into the enemy...at S5 with 3 attacks from their mounts, they aren't pushovers in prolonged combat (just remember to give them Barding).

• Priestesses of Shallya The Goddess Shallya is a deity of mercy, healing and a reliever of pain. So are her disciples. In Bretonnia, since official prayer to The Lady of the Lake is forbidden for the peasantry (and because being a Bretonnian peasant is nothing but hell and any form of relief is greatly appreciated), Shallya is the most venerated deity to the peasantry. It is near-guaranteed that every Bretonnian village will have some form of shrine to her. Shallya's followers are stoic in the extreme, never admitting to their own pain and ALWAYS willing to help those in need, even at the expense of their own lives. These gals are good for one thing: turning that Men-At-Arms tarpit unit into an inescapable quagmire. For starters, she gives the unit she's apart of a 6+ Regen (though she doesn't benefit from this). These gals know three prayers that have a Power Level of 3 and count as Augments:

Shallya's Endurance:The unit she's apart of gets +1 Toughness though she again doesn't benefit from this. This is the main reason why she makes Men At Arms so good at tarpiting. A unit with models only 4pts at Toughness 4 (with 6+ Regen to help turn that 20 wounds into 16) is definitely something your enemies going to avoid taking head long. However, once they realize all of these bonuses are coming from her, they will gun for her. And since she doesn't benefit from any of her bonuses...she's all the more weaker and her stats definitely tell she doesn't belong in Close Combat...she has ZERO count that 0 ATTACKS!

Martyrdom: She creates a link between herself and a friendly Character within 12". This is a Remains In Play prayer. All wounds inflicted on the character are null BUT the Priestess suffers a S3 hit with no armour saves allowed, meaning there's a 50/50 chance she herself gets wounded. Pretty good if your general is hanging by a thread of 1 wound and that big baddy is about to drop the hammer on him. She is only 50 points, so don't be shy about using this.

Purify: All Hex spells affecting friendly units within 12" are automatically dispelled. This alone is worth the cost. But you also get to inflict D6 S5 hits on Undead or Daemonic Units in base contact with the Priestess's unit as a cherry on top.

At 50pts and with potent prayers, the Priestess of Shallya is always a worthy investment even if you take a single unit of Men-At-Arms. If you're taking an all knight army, don't take her. Her worth is solely with the peasants.

• Peasant Levies: These guys/gals are literally just peasants with absolutely no training nor military equipment to speak of. These guys are your cannon fodder...that is their sole purpose...don't ever think they'll amount to anything else. At 2 pointsa model, these guys can come in ungodly large blocks without breaking your point allowance. And when your enemy sees a unit as big as Levies can be, it'll be very hard not for them to waste a shooting phase on them. Seriously, if the enemy dares even use one unit to shoot at these guys, you've probably got your points value from the Levies by having your enemy shoot at what is basically air and not shooting at your knights. However, they're LD4 and will run like the wind when the opportunity presents itself.

• Truffle Hounds: Dogs that have been trained to hunt for Truffles...No, not those...the subterranean fungi. Anyway, these hounds are able to smell out Truffles even when they're under the ground and apparently the hounds are CRAZY for these giant lumps of fungus. Once consumed, the Hound becomes paranoid about the possibility of other hounds getting the attentions of female hounds. However the hounds, in their state, disregard species entirely and will attack anything that is male and will attempt to sever its...reproductive organs from its body. Now, before you guys get excited about finally getting a Warbeast unit, you can forget about it. Instead of actually being an independent unit, they're an upgrade for several units and act essentially as a "AH HAA! Got cha bitch!" Whenever an enemy unit comes within 8" of the unit who bought the Hounds, the Hounds are revealed and will immediately declare a charge against that enemy unit. If the charge is successful, every Truffle Hound will inflict D3+1 Strength 3 hits. Once these are resolved, the Truffle Hounds are taken off as casualties. For most of the time, these guys are kind of meh though a good handful of S3 hits aren't something to put your nose up to. I see this being worth it if you know an enemies going to gun for your archers and the like.

Ex: A 5 man unit of light cavalry has plans on taking out your archers who are entirely garbage in CC. As soon as the enemies about to make that charge, your Truffle Hounds say "Surpise!" (in dog-speak of course) and do enough damage that that pesky unit's gone and your archers are safe for one or two more turns to help pepper away at the enemy. Now, are your archers worth the 10-30pts (10pts for 1 Truffle Hound, max of 3 for those units that can take Truffle Hounds)? That's up to you and if you can use these units well enough. Altogether, a good concept though a bit of a downer since these guys don't even have the option of being their own unit.

• Herrimaults: These people are essentially just Robinhood-esque outlaws. They steal from those nobles that are oppressive, dastardly and selfish (so...pretty much every nobleman/woman in Bretonnia?) to give to the peasantry as well as defending villages from Beastmen and Greenskin raiding parties. They live by a fairly strict code of conduct that includes not harming the innocent, trust your brothers, the regular stuff...oh and be willing to always fight against the Ruinous Powers...even alongside Tyrants. As based on their nature, these guys fight in a loose formation and are pretty sneaky. These guys are 8pts each whilst the Peasant Bowmen are 5pts; there are no difference in stats (except +1 Leadership) and only get Scout and Skirmish (and Skirmish isn't as good as it was in Eliasson's own Rulebook, (though this doesn't mean you can't just use the old one)) whilst the Peasant Bowmen have the option of taking Stakes, Braziers, and Truffle Hounds; Herrimaults don't. They're crappy in melee meaning you don't want to just use Scout to get them closer to the enemy; so you'd probably just want to use these in groups of 5 and deploy them behind the enemy to give your enemy a nuisance or two.

• Faceless: These are generally the leaders of the Herrimaults. Their title comes from the fact that most constantly hid their faces in deep-set hoods. There are even rumors some might be nobles whom wish to carry out justice, but can't do so publicly because of the restraints of their Vows and Codes. Regardless of origin, these individuals are restrained by a strict moral code of their own; and expect their followers to act as honorable and disciplined as they would. Similar to the Templar Crusader, this character will fit in a themed army (a Peasant army led by this guy would be reasonably fluffy) but they're meh. Even the Templar has access to Magical Items but the Faceless only has the option of getting a Great Weapon, Ad. Hand Weapon, Long Bow and/or a Shield.

• Spirits of the Fey: (It's about goddamned time we get a spirit type unit after reading about nature oriented spirits aiding the Bretonnians in battle from official Armybooks! Bloody hell GW, thanks for making us Bretonnia players feel as valued as SoB players!..Eh-hem...) The very lands of Bretonnia run rampant with the magical energies of nature...so much that spirits made of this energy rise up to defend the lands from those that would seek to despoil the forests, rivers and other such natural havens of Bretonnia. Fey spirits in the guise of a human, the souls of dead warriors and knights; they join the living of Bretonnia to defend it sanctity and purity. At last! Field-able spirits of Bretonnia! These guys count as Ethereal, have a 4+ Armour Save AND have a constant 5+ Ward whilst also being able to replace D3 wounds previously lost at the end of each Close Combat when they're partially in a forest or water terrain piece! These spirits are pretty tough though their stats are nothing to "Whoop!" about. But these spirits aren't killy, they're a tarpit almost without equal. And they have 4 attacks of their own meaning they won't suffer as badly from Unstable. Just be sure to remember what enemies have Magical Attacks, and you'll be fine.

• Sacrosanctum of the Lady: An altar of relics, taken from Grail Chapels and mounted atop a cart. Maned by a Grail Damsel, these females read aloud prayers from a holy book acquired from the Grail Chapel which in turn drives knights to fight all the harder. Oh, boy. This unit is pretty good. Now, it doesn't belong in Combat despite being a chariot and it doesn't have any ranged abilities. Instead, this unit can use 1 of 3 Blessings every turn. And man oh man, are they good.

Shield of Faith: All Bretonnian units within 12" of the Sacrosanctum acquire +1 to their Ward save that comes from Blessings of the Lady. This needs little explanation why this is good. (And remember that The Fay Enchantress gives Grail Knights in her unit a 4+ Ward? Well, with this, it's now a 3+ Ward AND if she casts a spell on them, they reroll 1's for Ward Saves...with this blessing, shrug off cannonballs and attacks from the likes of Kroxigor.)

Radiant Light: All enemy units within 12" have -1 to both Weapon and Ballistic Skill. Though not as good in my opinion as the first, this helps in a pinch, especially when your knights are fighting against a unit with the same Weapon Skill level.

Renewed Valour: All friendly, fleeing, knight units within 12" automatically rally AND REGAIN THE BLESSINGS OF THE LADY!! Okay, this one seems pretty unfluffy since The Lady's view of cowards are pretty strict but HOLY HELL is it good!

With Toughness 5 and 5 Wounds, enemies won't be able to blow on this to make it fall apart. Just be sure you don't leave this thing open to attack, because when the enemy finds out what this thing can do, they'll gun for it.

Additional Unique Characters

• Bohemond 'Beastslayer', Duke of Bastonne: At 290pts he his a comparatively expensive Bretonnian Lord kitted out to deal with other Lords/Heroes and Monsters. He comes with the Grail Vow, Virtue of Heroism and gets Hatred against Beastmen, Skaven and Orks & Goblins. However, if you're going to take him, it's going to be because of the next two unique pieces of wargear he has.

First: a badass mace whose head was carved from meteoric iron by dwarven smiths and the shaft carved from the thigh bone of a dragon. It increases Bohemond's Strength by 2 for a constant S6 and Multiple Wounds (2); making him a pretty scary character/monster hunter. Use Lore of the Lady on him and prepare to wipe the floor with everyone aside from resilient, named characters. Second: a shield that actually breaks other magical weapons. For however many hits that this model suffers, roll a D6. On a 6, the magical weapon used against this model breaks and can't be used for the rest of the game.

• Tancred, Duke of Quenelles: Like Bohemond, this Duke is just a Bretonnian Lord specialized for a certain type of enemy...this one is specialized for Undead. His blade of banishment wounds undead models automatically...not a 2+ rerolling 1's...AUTOMATICALLY. And in case that wasn't enough, you get to ignore any armour undead models have. His shield also forces all models with the Forces of Destruction to hit him with a -1 modifier (and not in the AoS sense: but all chaos forces, Dark Elves, Vampire Counts, Orks & Goblins, Beastmen and Skaven). He also has a small draught that lets him gain D6 Strength for a single turn, should you find yourself against a non-Undead enemy. If you know your fighting Vampire Counts, he's not a bad choice though wounding automatically with 4 attacks won't help much against an V.C. army completely made up of Zombies, Skeletons and Necromancers...but against a Deathstar of Blood Knights with a Vampire Lord...you'll relish the horror etched on your opponent's face.

• Joan of Arc Repanse de Lyonesse: A pretty odd Character. She's a Standard Bearer...with Terror...and a Magical Resistance of 3. Her sword saps other magical weapons of their properties and makes them mundane but only for as long as the model is in base contact with Repanse. Her flag is also an oddity in that it only gives you one power die from your enemy and you add it to your dispel die, more of an unsubstantial gimmick then anything else. Hell, she's just about as expensive as Tancred with the stats of a slightly more veteran Knight of the Realm. She's definitely not competitive material, though she isn't...Bad per say. Hell, seeing a single, crazy peasant woman chasing around whole units with terror can create a few laughs.

• Armand d'Aquitaine: Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce the bane of all Skaven and Goblin lists everywhere. He has the Bretonnian Lord profile except for 3 attacks...but its not for him specifically that you bring this guy...it's his banner. Now, allow me to quote directly from the source, so you don't miss a single, glorious word.

Banner of the Lady (Magic Standard) This banner was first carried by Gilles le Breton himself who rode to victory under the Lady's benevolent gaze, instilling fear of Her wrath into his enemies. It was blessed by the Lady of the Lake herself and bears her image. All enemy units with at least one model in base contact with the bearer of the Banner of the Lady get no combat bonus for ranks. In addition, they lose 1 point to their Leadership (after applying any other bonuses) for every point of rank bonus the unit carrying the Banner of the Lady has.

HELLLOOO Skaven...your unit of 50 Clanrats is looking mighty fine tonight...you wouldn't mind if I just slide over and POUND YOUR ASSES INTO THE FUCKING FLOOR LIKE THE LITTLE WHORES YOU ARE!!?....Ah-hem...anyway. And if you weren't sold yet, he also has Virtue of the Knightly Ardour meaning he can counter-charge an enemy, literally. Not a little bonus like 40k's version but a "Oh...you wanted to charge me? Nah, bitch I'm uh charging you." If an enemy declares a charge against the unit this model is apart of (and that unit is in it's front arch) you can choose to counter charge. First, you must pass an Initiative test then you both roll your charging distance. If your roll is higher than your enemies, their charge is nullified and you charge that enemy with all the bonuses of a regular charge. Do I really need to type any more? Just bring Armand, alright guys? It's that simple.

• Odo d'Outremer and Suliman the Saracen: If you get Odo, you can get Suliman, and they act as a team. They can be attached to a unit. Why would you want them? Odo's Morning Star of Fracasse - he gets +2 S on the first round of combat, and for every hit in close combat in the first round, roll a d6. For each 4+, destroy a magic weapon. His Gauntlet of the Duel forces those he challenges to fight. With a basic WS of 6, he can be a good magic hunting unit for 135 points. Suliman is a toss up - 85 points for whats basically a Paladin with +1 I and causing Fear on charge.

• Tristan the Troubadour and Jules the Jongleur: Hard to kill Knight and Bard. Decent gimmick unit.

• Bertrand the Brigand: Basically Robin Hood, Bretonnian style. Comes with 2 additional models, Hugo le Petit (Little John) and Gui le Gross (Friar Tuck), and the option to attach a unit of Herrimaults with BS4 at 10 pts a model.

Changes to 6th Edition Units

• Bretonnian Lord: His basic gear, rules and stats remain the same as well as his points, 110 vanilla. But with many virtues having a 5pt discount to them, they get a bit more money to spend on other things for their Magic Item allowance. However, the Questing and Grail Vows now cost more, so it balanced out. (However, since the Vows aren't under the Magical Item allowance, they still get just a sliver more allowance with certain Virtues meaning you can now take that Magic Item that used to be JUST out of your allowance for him. All basic weapon options (Lance, G. Sword, etc) remain the same price but a Warhorse is now 3 more points for him but 5 less points if he takes a Pegasus.

And to the Hippogryph (now the Royal Hippogryph); this baby has gotten some nice upgrades. Now it costs 40pts less, but it also gets an additional wound AND Weapon Skill. You also have the option of giving it several upgrades: including Armour Piercing, Multiple Wounds (2), Frenzy with Hatred, and Devastating Charge with Charge Bonus (1) (Charge bonus is a rule in Eliasson's rulebook; its +1 Strength on the charge). So, while you won't want to always put this on your Lord, you should definitely do it if you have the right kit and a sufficient amount of points to put into him without jeopardizing the overall performance of your army too much.

And whilst you can be upset that you have a specific pool of Magical Items about a fourth the size of the original, chances are you probably didn't use them too much. And you'll probably find a suitable replacement in the Rulebook's generic Items. Overall, pretty much the same Lord except for a much better Hippogryph.

• Paladin: Changes in stats, cost, gear options, and mounts are either minutely changed or exactly the same. Nothing to see here, move along peasant.

• Prophetess of the Lady: With no reduction in stats, 15 less points base AND with two more Lore options (Light & Lady) she gets a nice buff. She can also have a Sancrosanctum as a mount, just remember to give her the protection she's due if you're gonna pour another 120pts into her.

• Damsel of the Lady: Costs 10pts more but she gets to use the Heavens, Light and Lady lores, so its a positive trade-off. Otherwise, the same low-tier Magic User.

• Knights Errant: A very slight nerfing in that these guys can only carry an Errantry Banner instead of any banner that's 25pts. However, there is no limit to models per unit for these guys, so they can be a pretty good pseudo (if comparatively expensive) tarpit with their 2+ Armour Save should the need arise. Just remember this should not be their main role...take Men-At-Arms instead for a dedicated tarpit.

• Knights of the Realm: All in all, same except for minimal changes in Command Model costs. Now, these guys too don't have a model limit, but most people wouldn't even take them in units of any more than 12 even with a 15 model limit so really nothing new here.

• Men-At-Arms: No longer are these guys a really bad, sub-par, piss poor unit good only for tarpiting. They have WS of 3 putting them up there with all other basic infantry and they all now have LD of 6 with -1pts to their cost (now, they don't have shields anymore in their base kit and you have to buy them for 1pt each, but an increase in WS & LD is excellent for these guys). You can also give them Heavy Armour for 1pt each and you also have a small tax of 1 when you give them Halberds. You can give them a good variety of loadouts, making them a bit more fun and now they're finally able to stand toe-to-toe with other basic infantry. Now, even still, don't expect them to carry the game or be able to do things your knights do (which is anything awesome)...but now they're a nice, standard infantry unit you can entrust to "hold the line".

• Peasant Bowmen: The same, dirty peasants you've gotten used to. Keep them away from your enemies, don't give them armour, the regular shpeel. They do cost 1 less point at the cost of no Defensive Stakes (you can still buy them if you actually use them)...though I see a lot of people not minding.

• Questing Knight: Nothing to see here...though if these guys are in a prolonged combat and they have The Lady's Virtue of Valour put on them with a high enough roll, they'll show themselves to be the most killy knights against tougher units whilst Grail Knights will be the best against lighter infantry with this spell in prolonged combats.

• Pegasus Knights: With 10pts reduced per model and given Barding as standard, they get an effective buffing. They also don't have a restriction of 1 max unit anymore.

• Grail Reliquae with Battle Pilgrims: Like the Men-At-Arms, they now have a much needed WS of 3.The only other changes being 10pts taken from their standard cost of Reliquae and 6 Pilgrims, as well as 1pt reduced from the cost of more Battle Pilgrims. Just a little something something for those of you who actually use these guys.

• Mounted Yeomen: Unless if Matthias forgot to add the stipulation, you can now give them Light Armour without taking away Fast Cavalry. They also have 2pts deducted from their base cost...meaning you can take these guys at their 6th Edition cost whilst giving them 4+ Armour (shields and L. Armour) while still having Fast Cavalry. Not bad, considering most Fast Cavalry have no armour aside from actually having a mount (and MAYBE shields).

• Grail Knights: The biggest difference here is they finally have Toughness of 4 (though this is to be expected, since fluff shows that Grail Knights are much tougher to kill than most other mortal humans, and most Bretonnian players wondered aloud why they didn't have this in the first place). They now have a champion called the Grail Saint with a respectable WS5, T4, I5, A3 and LD9; they're a superior challenger against most other unit champions and with Doom of Dol, they can stand toe to toe with Heroes and the occasional Lord whose either not kitted for CC or hanging by a single wound. And the dot of whipped cream on top is that they don't cost any more points...in fact they're one point less.

As described before, they are murdering machines of an indescribable level with a good rolling from The Lady's Virtue of Valour spell and while on the charge...surpassing even the legendary Blood Knights in terms of raw killing power...but inflaming rhetoric aside, they are probably the best cavalry on the charge with Lady's Virtue of Valour on them. Just remember, unit wide spells that remove models with no saves of any kind allowed are their bane. Perhaps the worst feeling a Bretonnian player can have is their Grail Knight unit all but crippled from a single casting of Dweller's Bellow or Final Transmutation.

• Field Trebuchet: Unlike almost all other units, the Trebuchet has now lost a good part of its viability. First, its now 10pts more. Second, the models under the template but not under the central circle now only suffer a S4 hit instead of S5. But the punch right to the gut is that it can't even pivot...leaving the Trebuchet that much more vulnerable to any enemy coming in from an unexpected angle and ensures you enemy just needs to avoid their front cone...leaving you with a T7 nurgling infant with 4 accompanies nanies and 100 wasted points. And with the Lore of the Lady helping the other units to better handle the Elites of other armies, its lost its spot as the single, surefire way of countering elites. It's definitely been beat up to the point of near uselessness (BUUUT...since these rules are unofficial to begin with...you can just ignore the 'can't even pivot' malarkey to ensure your Bretonnian army has at least 1 useful ranged unit).

9th Edition Updates

• New Unit, Squires: Generally nobles themselves, they serve as the personal retinue for a full-fledged knight; cooking his food, preparing his baths, polishing his armor and generally coddling the noble bastard, all the while learning heraldry, swordplay and learning how to behave like an uptight asshole Bretonnian nobility. These guys are...by and large irrelevant. They have the same BS as the Peasant Bowmen who cost two points less and bring next to nothing to the table. Really, they have 1 pt higher on their WS (They are a RANGED UNIT! You should never have them anywhere near close combat, nor will 1pt higher on WS save them), 1pt of higher leadership, no armor...they even have the Peasant's Vow...I mean...just...pass.

• New Unit, Brigands: Although mercenaries are frowned upon greatly in Bretonnia, those citizens of Bretonnia whom have lost their own lord and wander the land fighting as mercenaries get a pass...probably because there are plenty of Lords who use these wayward peasants to set loose upon adversaries they want punished in ways that the laws and vows of the land won't allow. And, these peasants get a pass for this because, of course, the peasantry have no single iota of the concept of honor and self-restraint...let's all give a round of applause to logical superiority of Feudal Hierarchies. Anyways, these guys have an interesting place in Bretonnia's armies just because they are essentially your jack of all trades infantry unit. They can choose basically any melee combination, as they come with HW's, can buy shields, spears, halberds, Great Weapons, Crossbows and Handguns...yes handguns. Aside from their variety of weapon choices, they really don't have much going for them other than good base cost. Note: They don't come with the Peasant's Duty.

• New Unit, Ballistas: Just a standard Ballista that counts as a Bolt Thrower...oh, and you can buy a Wall Warden for 15pts (Note: you can also get these for Trebuchets, Mangonels and Bombards) that lets you reroll an Artillery Die or a To Hit roll. Sure, it's a once use per game thing, but it'll be worth it if you're targeting the Zombie Dragon that's charging your Knights of the Realm in the side when they're setting up to win that game winning charge and you happen to miss with your first shot.

• New Unit, Mangonels: Acting as the smaller, more maneuverable cousin to the Trebuchet, it counts as a normal Stone Thrower. And...in all honesty, you may as well just use the rules for the Mangonel for your Trebuchets, just because the ability to not pivot is pretty neutering for artillery unless the map is so claustrophobic your enemy has only a few ways they can attack and/or deploy.

• New Unit, Bombards: Essentially acting as the Ballista's Trebuchet...it can't pivot on the spot nor move, but it packs quite a wallop...with the additional disadvantage of having an additional -1 Modifier when rolling on the Black Power Misfire Chart. Up to you if the more limited mobility is worth the greater killing power (although, you can easily buy two Ballistas and still have about twenty points left over instead of a Bombard...AND the Bombard counts as two Rare Choices.)

External Links

The Project's website