Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Pretty straightforward question:

What's the preferred load-out? Halberds or Hand-weapon & Shield?


Typical "more damage" vs "more survivability" debate?

I assume you mean Halberds vs Spears? With the forced use of weapons in 8th, you have to use a weapon besides hand weapon if available. I'd probably go for spears since peasants probably wont kill much, rather have them hold up better so knights can dish out the damage

OOops. So it is spears. Yes, Halberds vs. Spears (clearly haven't memorized the book yet)

Mathmatically (you can see my huge post at the round table forums), peasants with halberds win out 90% of the time.

The way I run them...

one block of at least 40, with halberds then I put a damsel with the prayer icon of quinelles in them to give them the prayer save.

I do the same thing, i run a hoard of 50 with halbreds. I also take a damsel (Beast) with the prayer icon and a paladin with the crown of command. That way i can be stubborn with a 6+/6+ in combat at the worst. They are only WS 2 but that doesnt matter against most enemy solders except super elites. I will always take the signature spell on my damsel so i can have WS2, S5, T4, models with a 6+/6+(5+).

Pesants are very underestimated and are prehaps some of the best core around.

I'll add a vote to the halberds camp. Played against them last week, and had a set of peasants get a double wildform cast on them. Peasants swinging at str 6 (!).

UNREAL: If the damsel is killed, will that unit retain the prayer protection?

Yes they will.

Damsel has an item called prayer icon of Quanelles.

You use it during your turn and its one use only the damsel and unit she is with gain the blessing.

as long as you maintain the rules for keeping the blessing, you wont lose it, even if the damsel dies.

Yea, it makes for a pretty scary unit, just out of curiosity, what spells can you double cast, i didn't know it was possible to.

Yea, since you can't get the parry save I think Halberds are the way to go. An extra rank fighting with wildformed spears is ok, but halberds are a little better at punching through the light armor you see on a lot of rank and file guys, with wildform smacking down light armor/shield saves to nothing, so it probably works a bit better over all. I do wonder how big the difference is though; I haven't run the math past a few light instances.

@UNREAL: the signature spells can be known by any number of wizards in an army. A wizard may cast each spell he knows once. So the signature spell can be cast once/caster.

@Warpsolution, thanks that will help allot.
I have recently converted up a BSB on foot, i will be trying a bretonnian paladin on foot with the razor standard in my M@A, it will be pretty different from a normal bretonnian army.

UNREALPwnage wrote:@Warpsolution, thanks that will help allot.
I have recently converted up a BSB on foot, i will be trying a bretonnian paladin on foot with the razor standard in my M@A, it will be pretty different from a normal bretonnian army.

So you're going to run a paladin with a 5+ armor save and the blessing?
I'd put him on a horse (you can still have the virtue), and you've got a 3+ armor at least. Even then, I'd keep a BSB alive more than give peasants AP.

-Matt

The power of peasants is pretty nice...

50 of them were able to take on an entire unit of savage orc big uns for about 2 turns and win combat.

PEasants witha 6+ ward save at str 4 are not horrible at all.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yeah I cant justify the virtue of empathy ever... really tooled out you still only get a 3+ rerollable with blessing...

I go halberds w/ a damsel with the prayer icon and lore of beasts. I think it's the standard build these days.