1.0 Overview-The Bretonnian army list is, in my opinion, the most solid in the game alongside the Undead and Dwarf lists. When I say this, I mean that there is a standard tactic that is intended to be used a majority of the time. Bretonnians depend on the charges of their Knights. The key to winning with a Bretonnian army is to strike the proper balance between Knights and the support for the Knights, and in deciding what is the proper support for the Knights. In this treatise, I endeavor to enlighten you on what I think this balance is.
2.0 Bretonnian Characters-Bretonnian Characters are standard Human characters except that they take Virtues. There are 2 types of Virtues: Primary and Secondary. The Primary Virtues are the Knight's Virtue, the Questing Virtue, and the Grail Virtue, while there is a whole slew of secondary virtues, a few of which I will discuss here.
Primary Virtues-I give an overview of all 3 Primary Virtues here.
Grail Virtue-The Grail Virtue, which makes you immune to all Psychology, is very popular. However, you really only need it against Chaos and Undead, or if you are expecting a large monster headed your way. In most games, the only Psychology test you will be taking will be Panic.
Questing Virtue-The most useful Virtue, the Questing Virtue makes you immune to all Panic. Against everyone except Daemons and Undead, you should put this on your characters
Knight's Virtue-This makes you immune to panic by non-Knightly troops. Only RnF and their Champions should have this virtue. For them, however, it is very important. More on that later.
Secondary Virtues-I will only discuss a few Secondary Virtues here, those which I consider to be important and valuable.
Virtue of Knightly Ardor-Called the "Virtue of the Countercharge," this virtue is the most associated with Bretonnia. It should be taken against any army with fast troops who might charge you, especially Chaos. Otherwise, though, it is terribly overused.
Virtue of the Impetuous Knight-An underused virtue, this helps you get those all-important charges that might have otherwise failed. Use it when charging a defensive enemy like Dwarves.
Virtue of Purity-The Virtue of Purity provides a 4+ dispel for the unit: crucial against Undead, Skaven, and others with deadly magic. Read the spell cards for Gaze of Nagash, Drain Life, The Curse of the Years, Plague, and Warp Lightening if you don't understand what I'm talking about.
Virtue of Devotion-This makes the bearer immune to magic. If you have a character on a flying monster and you're going against the aforementioned armies, take this virtue. You wouldn't want Hand of Dust to turn him into a Wight, now would you?
Virtue of Knightly Temper-The best virtue for a single character, this is horribly underpriced. If a character with it has the Tress of Isoulde (hits on a 2+, wounds on a 2+) so much the better. If that character also has the Hydra Sword…..well, I'd suggest that you come in a full suit of armor if you do that, because your opponent is going to do his level best to bash your head in…
Bretonnian Lord-The Bretonnian Lord is just any old Human lord except that he can carry a virtue. This is almost always the Virtue of Knightly Temper, for a good reason. Your Heroes should be carrying the virtues which help units, while your Lord should be out there killing things! He is often given the Tress of Isoulde and a magic weapon plus either the Black Amulet or the Armor of Protection. These are certainly good combos, though the Tress can be used to equal effect on a Hero of some sort. My usual Lord is equipped with the Ogre Blade, Black Amulet, and Crown of Command. The Ld10 is really nice, especially since it makes the unit he is leading all but unbreakable.
Bretonnian Heroes-They would be normal heroes, except that they may have a second virtue, which makes them very important to the Bretonnian army. EVERY Knightly unit should have a Hero to carry a virtue such as Knightly Ardor, Purity, or Impetuous Knight, as well as to increase hitting power. Once again, these guys are critical. You have a 75% character allowance. Use it on these guys.
Bretonnian Champions-The various flavors of Bretonnian Champions are all second-choices to the Heroes, since they cannot carry an extra virtue. They should be used to carry around Black Gems and the like. Otherwise, take Heroes instead.
Bretonnian Sorceresses-These wizards use battle magic. Blech. I HATE Battle Magic. Take a high-level Sorceress, give her the Book of Ashur, and use a real deck like Necromancy, Skaven, Nurgle, or Tzeentch (my order of preference.) Remember, though, Book of Ashur does not allow you to use the deck abilities of the spell deck that you are drawing from. If you want to be able to pick your Necromantic spells, use the Crown of Sorcery: a steal at 125 points. In many smaller games I will take the Crown and not take a Sorceress at all.
3.0 Bretonnian Troops-Bretonnian Troops are generally dividable into 2 types: Knights and Commoners. Knights are required to be 25% of your army, I suggest closer to 35-40%.
Bretonnian Knights
Grail Knights-Immune to Psychology and boasting extra Weapon Skill, Initiative, and especially Leadership, you should field your 1 unit of Grail Knights in any game 2000 points or over. Against Undead or Chaos Daemons make it a large unit to take advantage of the immunity to psychology, otherwise make it just large enough to get full rank bonus. Include your General, a Hero, and a Champion (the champ is there to accept challenges, i.e. get pummeled, to save the General) in the unit. Always give them a magic banner, usually either the Banner of the Lady of the Lake or the Banner of Righteous Retribution, depending on your opponent's tendency's regarding missile fire. Add in a Virtue of Purity or Amulet of Fire, or better yet Spellshield/Spelleater Shield and you have got a dead hard unit. Fear nothing, kill everything!
Questing Knights-These guys are underused. Panic is the most common type of psychology that you will be facing, immunity to it is great. The problem is the higher points cost when compared to Knights of the Realm, and especially the lack of plastics, which is the real reason that you don't see these guys too often. They are nice, but I don't tend to field them.
Knights of the Realm-These are your "standard" Bretonnians. They cost the exact same price as Empire Knights, who are statistically equal, but they have the Knight's Virtue and may use the Lance Formation. I call these guys the most underpriced troops in Warhammer! In addition, they are available in plastic. Most armies will have 2 large wedges of these excellent troops. When led by a Hero, and given an appropriate standard such as the Banner of the Lady of the Lake, Banner of Righteous Retribution, Battle Banner, Banner of Wrath, War Banner, Banner of Might, or Dread Banner, these guys can beat just about anything if they charge, and if they don't charge, then you should be glad that your Hero has the Virtue of Knightly Ardor! Amulet of Fire/Virtue of Purity are good choices, since these troops (like all Bretonnian knights) tend to be constantly targeted with spells.
Knights Errant-Umm, these guys really suck. For an extra 5 points you get extra WS and S in a Knight of the Realm. The 1 and only reason to take them is for the Errantry Banner against Wood Elves (or Dwarves if your opponent is fond of large Crossbow blocks.) Otherwise, don't use these guys.
Commoners-These guys are all standard Humans. Most are uninteresting.
Mounted Squires-I'll be straightforward here: these are the ONLY commoners you should be taking. These guys have an infinite number of uses. Use #1 is as screening troops for your Knights, this is the key. This protects you from spells that require Line of Sight, bothersome cannonballs, and other such things. Secondly, they guard flanks well. Thirdly, they can use their bows to pick off anti-Knight units like Goblin Fanatics (who they are famous for "drawing out.") The lists goes on. If you intend to use them only as screeners, leave them as is, otherwise you can equip them with Bows or Spears. Spears are for flank guarding, Bows are for picking off guys. These are your second-most important troops after Knights of the Realm. Remember that your Knights do not have to take panic tests if the Squires flee! This is a very important rule. You can have an enemy charge the Squires, the Squires flee 3D6 and your opponent suddenly finds himself about to be charged by your Knights. Cackle evilly before you slaughter…
Squires-Useless. Don't take them
Archers-Just because they have the Arrowhead formation, doesn't mean that they are any good. The big problem with Archers is that your Knights are trying to get stuck in, so your archers are useless once in combat. When combined with BS3, you realize that they are nothing special. Don't take them unless you plan to use Bertrand the Brigand to make them BS4, which can make them somewhat useful.
Men-at-Arms-Too slow to keep up with the Knights. Don't take them.
4.0 Bretonnian Special Characters-Bretonnia is gifted (or perhaps cursed…) with a seemingly infinite number of special characters. Most are so stupid and worthless that I won't even waste my time commenting on them (e.g. Tristan le Troubadour, Knight of the Perilous Lance, Repanse de Lyonesse, etc.) I will talk about the useful guys-Loeun Leoncoeur, The Green Knight, Bertrand the Brigand, and Morgiana Le Fay.
Loeun Leouncouer-He has Ld10, which is nice, but otherwise his selection of magic items leaves something to be desired. The useless Crown of Bretonnia really bogs him down, and other guys may take the excellent Armor of Brilliance. Virtue of the Lionheart is good, but not a match for Knightly Temper. I don't like Louen. Leave him at home.
The Green Knight-Possibly the game's best special character. He can cleave through enemy rank-and-file with ease, and his regeneration makes him a perfect choice to tie up enemy characters. As an added bonus, he causes fear! Take this guy. He's a bargain. The model is fantastic, too. However, he is not invincible. I have seen him killed by the crewman of a Great Cannon (rolled a 6 to wound, then a 1 on the save and a 1 on the regeneration.) Don't rely on him too much…it seems that you roll a 1 every time that it really matters =)
Bertrand the Brigand-Even though he's a mere Commoner, and his magic item The Black Arrow really stinks, he rules because he can make normal old Bowmen into BS4 Bowmen of Bergerac. This is the one and only reason to take Bretonnian Bowmen. With BS4, you hit enough things to make it worthwhile.
Morgiana le Fay, the Fay Enchantress-Morgiana rocks. She grants favors, can turn enemies into frogs, and has the good sense to take an item that gives her a 4+ Special Save, and even has the brains to ride a Unicorn! Morgiana is a superb character, and I like to include her whenever I can. Imagine turning Nagash into a toad…
5.0 Bretonnian Tactics-Well, there is only one tactic here: The Knightly Charge. However, this isn't as simple as some people make it out to be. There are many variants that prove crucial to this strategies' success.
The first thing to cover is, well, the Knights. These guys are the key to the success of the Knightly Charge (whoa! A revelation!) The 2 types of Knights you should be seeing a lot of are Knights of the Realm (henceforth to be called "Realms") and Grail Knights ("Grails" for short.) Your Realms are the key to your battle. Realms can break just about any unit if given the right banner and characters. Grails are even better, since they usually hit on a 3+. Given the Banner of Might they are deadly. The only thing you have the right to fear is getting charged by enemy Knights, 20+ Chaos Warriors, or Dwarf elites with the Rune of Courage on their standard. Otherwise, my typical Knightly wedge can break anything. It usually consists of 9 Rank and File troops, just enough for a full rank bonus. It is lead by a Hero who usually has the Virtue of Knightly Temper, which lets him do more points of all- important Combat Resolution. In addition, the Standard Bearer has a Magic Standard, usually either the War Banner, Banner of Might, Banner of Arcane Protection, Banner of the Lady of the Lake, Banner of Righteous Retribution, Banner of Wrath, or Battle Banner. What I take depends on my opponent.
My General, often equipped with the Ogre Blade, Crown of Command, Black Amulet and Virtue of Knightly Temper, is usually at the head of a unit of 15 Grail Knights. The Grails have either the Banner of Might, Banner of the Lady of the Lake, Banner of Righteous Retribution, or Battle Banner. In addition, I oftentimes have 2 Heroes in this unit. One bears the Tress of Isoulde, Blade of Leaping Gold, and Virtue of Knightly Temper, while the other has either the Virtue of Purity, Virtue of Knightly Ardor, or Virtue of the Impetuous Knight, plus perhaps some magical weapon. This is a dead hard unit that is assigned to the most troublesome enemy out there. The hero with the Tress handles that Bloodthirster or Vampire Lord who is posing a threat to the unit. Hydra Sword is an even nastier choice than Leaping Gold, but that's getting even more cheesy that the aforementioned rather beardy combination.
Anybody, however, can build a big mean Knightly unit. What distinguishes my army is the fact that it always includes multiple units of Mounted Squires. These brave men ride in front of my Knights and get pummeled by Goblin Fanatics, Archers, Cannons, spells that require Line of Sight, and everything else that would be hitting my Knights if it wasn't for the presence of the excellent Cannon-Fodder that rides in front of them. These poor souls are usually equipped with bows so that they can snipe away at the Fanatics and keep them from doing too much damage before they hit the wedges. And when the enemy charges the Squires, they flee…but the Knights don't need to take a panic test because of the Knight's Virtue! And the enemy is a sitting duck for my charge. If the enemy decides not to charge the Squires, then I roll them to the sides and the Wedge thunders through!
Only two things can mess up the delicate timing of this plan-fliers and War Machines. Whether they are Harpies, Carrion, or Dragons, they must be stopped. I tend to opt for one solution for the same problem-two Heroes on flying monsters, one on a Griffon and the other on a Pegasus. The Griffon serves to cause Terror on War Machine crews, hopefully scaring more than one away, even if the Talisman of Ravensdark comes out. It can also destroy small enemy units straight-up. The Pegasus is out there for attacking harpies, attacking outlying crews, preventing marches, hitting light units like Archers, and especially as a mobile support for my Wedges, able to apply that extra bit of pressure that a Hero with Knightly Temper can provide anywhere on the battlefield. He can also assassinate lone enemy heroes who are on their own. Finally, if given Heart of Woe and Dark Mace of Death, he can "nuke" an enemy deploy zone…very effective!
6.0 Conclusion
Bretonnians are a very good army list to play
with. Your powerful Knightly charges, supported by Squires, Magic, and
Heroes on Flying Monsters, can wipe aside any enemy. Just remember to Pray
to the Lady and never shy away from hand-to-hand, and you can beat anybody.
If you have any comments, questions, concerns, anecdotes, or life stories,
don't hesitate to email me at [email protected]