Lord Hawthorne
# of Trays: 1 ( 34 points)
- Shield of Margath ( 6 points)
- Might of Daqan ( 4 points)
= 44 total unit cost

Oathsworn Cavalry
# of Trays: 6 ( 46 points)
- Moment of Inspiration ( 5 points)
= 51 total unit cost

Rune Golems
# of Trays: 2 ( 28 points)
= 28 total unit cost

Heavy Crossbowmen
# of Trays: 3 ( 27 points)
- Tempered Steel ( 3 points)
- Rallying Cornicen ( 4 points)
- Rank Discipline ( 4 points)
= 38 total unit cost

Heavy Crossbowmen
# of Trays: 3 ( 27 points)
- Tempered Steel ( 3 points)
- Rallying Cornicen ( 4 points)
- Rank Discipline ( 4 points)
= 38 total unit cost

Summary
This army is based on the 1st place list from Gencon 2017. I have replaced the second Cavalry and Spearmen units with 2 Heavy Crossbowmen units. The crossbows both have Rallying Cornicen to ready Tempered Steel and Moment of Inspiration. With those upgrades, the cavalry in 3x2 formation average 11.28 damage and the crossbows average 8.34 damage each . Hawthorne and the golems are primarily blockers. It's a very straightforward strategy but deals a ton of damage with a mixed array of units.

This looks like a very solid list that could handle most things. Can't wait for cross bows to be released to try this.

Take a look at Tvayumat's list in the thread about turtling opponents. It'll makebya think a little bit. Ive got an event coming up and I think he'll be playing that list and I cant wait tonsee what he does with it.

The only thing I see to worry about is the horns on the crossbows. Getting a surge on RB is far from reliable, so dialing it in makes Tempered Steel perform better. I suppose you could still do so selectively, but it muddies the roles a bit.

Good point Bhelliom, it is a compromise. We can either spend 22 points for horned spearmen or 8 points to give both crossbows horns. I like it this way for points efficiency and redundancy. I would probably have 1 crossbow on horn duty while the other just dials in surges.

7 minutes ago, Contrapulator said:

Good point Bhelliom, it is a compromise. We can either spend 22 points for horned spearmen or 8 points to give both crossbows horns. I like it this way for points efficiency and redundancy. I would probably have 1 crossbow on horn duty while the other just dials in surges.

You can at least dial it in on that first attack. First attacks in this game are such a huge deal too.

Just now, Glucose98 said:

You can at least dial it in on that first attack. First attacks in this game are such a huge deal too.

Yes and if you do a Rally + Hawthorne skill on turn 1 you can bank 2 inspiration tokens for your first few attacks.

1 minute ago, Contrapulator said:

Yes and if you do a Rally + Hawthorne skill on turn 1 you can bank 2 inspiration tokens for your first few attacks.

Forgot about that -- you know -- you could dump the two Rallying Cornicens to make two 1x RuneGolem blockers for your crossbowmen instead.

You certainly could, and it's probably worth testing. I do like having the horn option available though, not only for readying but also in case of nasty blight situations.

Yeah, playing against Waiqar is probably colouring my opinion some, but bane removal and upgrade readying is hugely helpful. In some ways the horn is even better than inspiration tokens, as it can clear banes outside of the unit's activation.