There was recently a very interesting string of conversation on the WHFB discussion mailing list about fighting battles with only very small armies of 300pts. The normal army restrictions do not apply, and any character can command the army, not just a general. At first I was a little shocked, as 300 pts didn't give you that many troops (especially with my beloved High Elves) but after some thought I realised the possiblities of these small forces. They allowed for a great deal of characterisation, and you can really indentify for each force. Also such armies could easily be used in a campaign situation.
A local games shop (Best Books and Games is its name- well worth a visit if you're ever near Liverpool, its in the Liverpool Palace on Slater St.) has a fantastic second hand figures cabinet. In my constant quest to collect weird old models I recently purchased a cool little cart and packhorse, and have been trying to find a use for it ever since. I now decided that it could be used as a centrepiece for my 300pts army. The army itself would be the escort for the cart, with a mage of some sort as its commander.
Looking through my figure collection, the first unit I eliminated was the spearmen, as you really need a lot of these for them to be effective. Silver Helms, my favourite troop, were far too expensive for this purpose. All types of cavalry were out, really, even the Ellyrian reavers, cheap though they may seem. I decided to look at the situation again. In a balanced army you need firepower and good close combat troops. RBTs were really out, as they're not as effective against small units, so I needed archers. For close combat, there was only one real choice, the Swordmasters. They are -1 to hit; ideal against other archer based armies, and once they are in Close combat they are really powerful, hitting with S5. So the cohert added up to 299 points and looked as follows...
Tirahan is a level 1 mage and leads the Cohert. He carries a longbow.
I will use the model as part of my cohert, but it will have no effect on the battle. It will be simply a piece of scenery.
Tirahans personal bodyguards, with heavy ithilmir armour and double handed swords.
I will use these as skirmishers, equipped with longbows, light armour and shields.
More firepower. Equipped with longbows and light armour.
I will now take my retinue to battle. There will have to be some modifications to the rules, such as ignoring the rules for panic, but otherwise using such small forces should be simple and fun. I'll let you know how I get on.
