4.0 Characters Must Die!

4.1 Hit Them 34
4.2 Zap Them 35
4.3 Shoot Them 36
4.4 Eat Them 37
4.5 Trick Them 38
4.6 Rout Them 38
4.7 Stop Them 39
4.8 Ka-Boom! 39

One of the most common complaints I hear when playing Warhammer Fantasy Battle, is the excessive power of characters. People find Chaos and the Undead characters especially troublesome. I stopped using full Character Quota a long time ago, preferring to use other methods to win my battles, and thus far nobody has been able to prove otherwise. I have collected few of my tricks that I use against over the top characters here, and I hope they are useful to you. Mind you, I keep the best ones for myself.

Here are my suggestions how to deal with too powerful characters and daemons.

4.1 Hit Them

This is the old fashioned way of dealing with the ultra-powerful characters: Simply finish them of in hand to hand.

The basic tactic is to ensure that all your close combat units are accompanied by a champion. This gives you a chance to challenge too powerful characters in a single combat so they will be able to cause only one wound. Of course it is very probable that your opponent will have a champion of his own to take up the challenge.

Goblin Netters are one good cheap way of hindering characters and other powerful creatures enormously. Since they only need to hit their opponents to stop them from fighting, they can truly affect the match if they net a Great Unclean One or a Vampire Lord. Just make sure that you charge your opponents and not the other way around. Goblins have so low I that they won't be able to strike first otherwise, and they get killed.

Destroyer is a nice weapon for the Dark Elves, since it can steal spells and magical powers of opponent's items. Since it requires only hit, not a wound to be effective, it is very useful in the hands of a Witch Elf Hero.

Undead have the option of using the Skull Wand of Kaloth with the Hell or Doom Banner. Since this weapon kills outright if a leadership check is failed and a hit is scored, the banners that lower leadership make it very deadly indeed. No armor helps you when your soul is sucked from your body!

4.2 Zap Them

There are many spells that are good for taking out enemy characters. Without giving complete instructions, I recommend few:

Curse of Anraheir
Madness
Traitor of Tarn
Crimson Bands (with the Staff of Volans!)
Piercing Bolts of Burning (when Character is alone)
Fate of Bjuna
Light of Battle (recommended!)
The Amber Trance (against Skaven Characters)
The Writhing Worm
Bridge of Shadows (any rivers on the field?)
Purple Sun of Xereus
Death Spasm
The Curse of the Years (terrible...)
Wind of Death (especially in the beginning of the game)
Bridge of Ice
Waaagh! (Especially against Vampires!)
Curse of the Horned One
Lava Storm (against lone characters)
Dance of Despair
Cloud of Flies
Miasma of Pestilence
Bondage of Slaanesh
Chaos Spawn

Ring of Corin is a fine way of getting rid of that Crown of Command or that troublesome Chaos Runeshield. The only problem is if the character in question is protected by the Amulet of Obsidian. It is a good idea to keep the Ring of Coring near the Skull Staff. This enables you to know what items are within 12" instead of guessing.

Doomfire Ring is also handy against characters, though it can be dispelled and the Strength 3 leaves a lot to be hoped for. Well, at least even a magical armor offers no protection against it's effect.

4.3 Shoot Them

Cannons should always be aimed towards characters. Sure thing that they get the "Look Out Sir" roll, but they will eventually fail it. Strength 10 and D6/D4/D3 wounds with no save, even for magical armor should put fear in the hearts of your opponent.

If you see far too powerful opponent to charging upon your hapless unit and you have any artillery to speak about, then flee! You can shoot that offensive creature during your next turn. If that Dragon rider charged from Flying High it can`t even catch your troops!

You should use Dwarf Organ Cannons if possible. Just make them invisible, and put them a bit further than your main battle line. When your enemy is upon you, fire away!

Sky Arrow of Naloer is becoming very popular and causing some headaches to people who like to mount an awful-icky character on an awful-icky monster. It is almost guaranteed to hit any flying target, and punches very hard.

Hochland Long Rifles are popular devices. Since you can pick any target from a unit, they can be lethal against characters. Of course this depends whatever your opponents disallow the use of more than one Long Rifle in one War Wagon or not. Also, Strength 4 and ballistic skill 3 are not that great against powerful characters.

Dwarfs have a very good anti-Character option:

The Flying Hammer(tm) is my favorite way of dealing with too powerful characters and Daemons. The runes needed are: Master Rune of Flight, and two runes of Smiting (2D6 Wounds! Each wound must be saved separately!) Against Daemons. Master Rune of Flight, Rune of Smiting and the Rune of Breaking (D6 Wounds and breaks opponents magic weapons) against characters. This little device allows me to choose one opponent within 12" and hit him automatically. I tend to give this to Burlok Damminson (remember, Dwarf Special Characters, apart from Felix and Gotrek, can be equipped with any magical items you wish, see Dwarf Book p.81) since Burlok has a strength of 7 (or 8 if affected by the Scepter of Norgim) I can be fairly sure of causing some damage, and the rune of Breaking only needs to hit to be effective. Because Chaos Runeshield and the Sword of Destruction affect only those magic items whose possessors are in base to base contact with the wieldier of these things, they are of no use against the Flying Hammer. Since this thing is relatively useless against rank and file, (unless they are Dragon Ogres) your opponent will soon learn to put his/her faith in regiments instead of characters.

4.4 Eat Them

Giant is an entertaining way of disposing of unwanted Characters. Since the usual tactic of hiding inside units isn`t effective against Giant, wizards are in a grave danger. If characters are your trouble, just choose "PICK UP" option from Giant`s attacks and voila! You have 50/50 chance of disposing of the troublesome character, and 1/3 chance of getting rid of the character for good! Sure your opponent can make 1 attack, but this might not hit and there is a good chance it doesn't wound. Especially wizards are vulnerable to this. If your Giant decides to eat or squash the bothersome character, then no armor or Black Amulet is going to help him! I have eaten a Savage Orc Lord (lively breakfast), Lord Skrolk and a Champion of Nurgle (Yech!) In my hay-day.

4.5 Trick Them

Van Horstmann's Speculum (the Chaos Special Character's!) Is becoming a real hit. I recommend on taking it against Chaos (and Undead) very strongly. Give the bearer the Hydra Sword in addition and you can score D6 hits with your opponent's strength and Attacks!

Amulet of Ravensdark: Is Bloodthirster or a Vampire Lord on Manticore bearing down on you? Don't worry! Anything that has wings and charges a unit with this item is doomed to die. Especially useful against those Chaos Disc riders.

Black Gem of Gnar: Take the Cheapest Character possible and give him this wonderful device. Since it can be activated at ANY time, you shouldn't be afraid of anything. Just choose the most powerful character you can get into base to base contact, and then "do the Time Warp again!"

War Banner of Mork is a popular with Orc armies. I prefer either giving it to a Battle standard bearer in unit of Goblin Wolf Riders Move 9 or mounting the Battle Standard on a flying monster. Of course your opponent will start to hide his/her wizard inside units to evade this, but at least he can't use those spells that require line of sight.

4.6 Rout Them

Great many super-powered characters use some flying mount. There is only one good thing about them: If they ever lose a battle, they are automatically driven off, or if they fail their break test they flee 3D6" just like regular regiments! To achieve this you need a good combat resolution.

A very good option is the Banner of Defiance. You might not be able to pursue, but you`ll either drive flying creature off, or if that superpowerful creature doesn`t make it`s break test, it is a sitting duck for your artillery.

Another is the Battle Banner. And if these two are combined in one unit (via Battle Standard)...

4.7 Stop Them

There is a unit of Dragon Ogres, led by a Dragon Ogre Lord and a Chaos Lord, rolling towards you? Your opponent just made a classic mistake of concentrating too much in one unit! There are two ways to deal with this:

White Dragon. As long as you score just ONE hit, and the whole unit is unable to do anything at all! (Except fight back when attacked). No spell-casting, no shooting, no nothing! Just blast with your own artillery, and the followers of Chaos are history. Some people have claimed that White Dragon`s breath affects only models hit, but the Beastiary (page. 55) says otherwise.
Other option is to use Wardancers. Just charge the opponents with "the Shadows Coil" and they are trapped in a fight they can not win, since every combat round automatically ends in draw.
Proceed with cannons on offending unit.

4.8 Ka-Boom!

One of the oldest tricks in the book is to use the Heart of Woe to hurt your opponent`s characters. I have a few suggestions for variations.

Mummy Tomb Kings. Do you have any idea how big hole Settra leaves when he explodes?

Dwarfs with Runes of Fortitude(s). You can create a Dwarf Rune Lord with 7 wounds and blast whole Chaos army into oblivion. (I call it "a Medieval Tactical Nuke")

A Dwarven war machine with the rune of Immolation is also good against powerful characters who attack your poor defenseless cannon. I once saw an organ gun with three runes of this kind. Fried that Chaos Lord and his Manticore good and proper.

Next part: Chaos Dwarf Tactics.