Has anyone ever ran this beastly formation? I was casually looking through daqan stuff and saw that this was possible....

I don't think many do. The speed and flanking potential aren't really as meaningful at that size and spearmen generally have more useful upgrade options if you want a big scary unit.

Somebody ran it at GenCon, and did pretty well with it (top 4 maybe?). I can't remember where I read that.

Just now, Parakitor said:

Somebody ran it at GenCon, and did pretty well with it (top 4 maybe?). I can't remember where I read that.

Yup. Lost to DJ in the semifinal if I recall our interview correctly.

its just such a hilarious idea haha. Its like Gandalf rolling up on helms deep. But I agree. At that size they have the same health as a spear star with less utility.

I've seen it run multiple times. It's a grotesque landslide that you don't try to stop, you just get out of the way. Although now with deaths grasp and duskblade combos it makes the formation a pretty big liability.

Yah I get nervous when I run expensive units... I ran a deahtknight unit worth 56 points. Its tough because you need them to perform to make their investment worth it, but one misplay and you could be screwed. Or one **** moral check...

I've seen them. Run with backup Spear units with Dispatch Runner, and it was pretty effective.

I personally run it with hawethorn, moment of inspiration, Raven tabards, and mastercrafted weapons, for 5 dice attacks with damage surges and double rerolls. I have not yet hit the 30 damage maximum in one attack yet, but I've come close (maybe 27?). Couple it with dispatch runner and and plan your initial engagement well and anything you point it at will die in 1-2 rounds at most. The only problem is it is costs about 100 points.

I could be wrong, but I think this build has the statistically highest damage output in the game.

I've run 6 with hawthorne, haven't run 9 yet, but I've thought about it a few times. Need to paint more horse for that. As I had column tactics, very similar output. Very effective group.

19 hours ago, flightmaster101 said:

Yup. Lost to DJ in the semifinal if I recall our interview correctly.

Round 3 of swiss, actually. He was undefeated until that point though. Was running with 2 sets of spearmen with Dispatch Runner -- Nasty combo, but when I nuked the cavalry, his whole list crumbled.

I've ran 9 trays a couple of times and while it's a super powerful unit, it's tough to completely base your list around something so powerful since it's going to take a beating. I've seen others run like @CerberusUC with success, mostly because of Hawthorne's multiple attack ability and Dispatch Runner triggers. Prior to seeing a lot of ranged units with solid blockers, these units were a lot of fun to run. But now it's just hard to get them to be effective. But never fear, soon we'll have Scouts and we can get behind enemy lines to deal with those pesky archers!

23 hours ago, CerberusUC said:

I personally run it with hawethorn, moment of inspiration, Raven tabards, and mastercrafted weapons, for 5 dice attacks with damage surges and double rerolls. I have not yet hit the 30 damage maximum in one attack yet, but I've come close (maybe 27?). Couple it with dispatch runner and and plan your initial engagement well and anything you point it at will die in 1-2 rounds at most. The only problem is it is costs about 100 points.

I could be wrong, but I think this build has the statistically highest damage output in the game.

4x3 Reanimates with Ardus and Moment of Inspiration are rolling 2 red and 2 white, with the possibility of 8 hits, threat 4, and 1 more from a deathmist banner. 33 damage max.

Hawethorn can make 2x2 Oathsworn go 4x1 wide, and with a moment of inspiriation and tempered steel, you could roll up 7 hits + surge (for 8 hits) and 4 threat for 32 damage. 42 points a unit, requires hawethorn as well.

Shooting, a 3x2 deep wood with Storm Sorceress, Fire Rune and Simul orders can do 22 damage at Range 3 (8, storm sorceress, 8 Fire rune and 6 shooting).

1 hour ago, Darth Matthew said:

and 1 more from a deathmist banner.

I don't personally put much stock in these "Unit X can deal Y Damage in Z ideal scenario" comparisons, but it's worth noting that Deathmist Banner doesn't meaningfully add damage to an attack. Its damage is an independent ping for 1-2.

3 hours ago, Tvayumat said:

I don't personally put much stock in these "Unit X can deal Y Damage in Z ideal scenario" comparisons, but it's worth noting that Deathmist Banner doesn't meaningfully add damage to an attack. Its damage is an independent ping for 1-2.

and can be both useful and useless at the same time. I've used it to good effect in a battle and had it be completely useless in another (so balanced it would seem). It all depends on the units that you go up against.

I have run it once, with Hawthorne. It's a beast, but in a 200 point list I think I would prefer a 3x3 spearmen unit instead. The cavalry (with Hawthorne) is not versatile enough compared to the cost.

I did make a few mistakes, and didnt get to utilize Hawthornes multi attack. The unit did chew through a 2x3 Death Knight unit, really fast, but the DNs condition hurt like ****. The condition alone cost me most of the cavalry unit But I could have handled this better, by just playing better.

I think the biggest issue is that there is not enough points left to build a list around the unit. With a 3x3 spearmen (and embedded golem) you get decent amount of damage for a fair price, and have enough points to build around it (small fast cavalry, support spearmen, heroes etc.). Lance corporal can make the Spearmen even more versatile.