[FONT=arial][SIZE=10.5pt]I was lucky enough to get my hands on a new book and read it over. I've got a lot of thoughts that I felt might be worth discussing and want to slowly lay them out. For starters, here are my thoughts on characters.[/FONT]

A. Do we need Leadership 10?

High leadership is practical as it reduces our chances of breaking from 1 in 6 (16.7%) to 1 in 12 (8.3%), not including a re-roll. With a re-roll, LD 9 breaks 1 in 36 (2.78%) and LD 10 breaks 1 in 144 (0.7%). If you are losing combat and not steadfast, the extra point of leadership is even more important.

Finally, we do need to watch for Spirit Leech. LD10 is critical to avoid being at a disadvantage, especially as we no longer have superior magic defense. You'll see this often times against Vampire Counts as they have death magic and a LD10 vampire lord. Overall, I think LD10 is probably worth it if you can support the points.

B. If I want Leadership 10, do I need to take a Dwarf Lord?

Dwarfs got an upgrade for their Thanes, who are now LD10. There is no rule that requires the Dwarf Lord to be the General if a Thane is present (other than the grumblings of other dwarves at that absurdity). The 75 point allowance for Thanes means that he can easily take all the toys a standard protective lord wants. 45 points in three runes of Warding and you have your 4+ ward save with 30 points left. Alternatively, 3 Runes of Iron for T6, 3W, and 5+ regen can be just as hard to kill. In short, there are plenty of ways to have a normal, protected general.

If you want to have a super protective general, or a general with some offense, a Dwarf Lord is probably warranted. This assumes you are putting on Shield Bearers for that +2 AS and +2 Wounds. Otherwise, what’s the point of simply getting an additional 50 points in magic allowance and extra wound for more than double the Thane’s price? So either you take a Lord on Shield or simply take a Thane.

C. So why take a Shield Bearer?

Aside from looking cool, the lord on shield has much more tactical applications than a normal lord. The +2AS means you can go down to a 1+ AS with Rune of Stone or a Shield. The +2 wounds is probably the biggest key. At 5 wounds, many lords don’t want to get stuck in a drawn out combat with him. Sample builds include – two Runes of Cleaving, Rune of Might, 3 Runes of Warding. With S5 armor piercing attacks, and S10 against T5, the lord can cleave through most things.

You can also pull some dodgy formations because the Lord takes up two rank and file positions. If you have Hammerers or any other stubborn unit, a two wide formation with the Lord in front will essentially protect your lines, all the while getting the benefit of supporting attacks.

D. Can I take two Lords on Shields?

That old rule of one per army is gone now. You can build some really aggressive hammer-and-anvil lists with the Lords eating up attacks from scary characters while the rest of the army fights away.

E. So what about Runelords and Runesmiths?

They both got hit with a nerf. The biggest loss was in magic defense. They don’t generate a dispel dice immediately but have to channel. More importantly, the defensive runes all took a dive. Master Rune of Balance only works half the time, which is too unreliable. The Runesmiths can no longer take three Rune of Spellbreaking as separate effects. Now, it is basically one “Dispel Scroll” per Runesmith. So for two scrolls, you have to take to Runesmiths/Runelords.

As compensation, they picked up MR1 or MR2 and give the unit armor piercing attacks (Forgefire). MR1 and MR2 are typically negligible for the unit unless you are dealing with magic missiles and the Master Rune of Grungni. Direct damage and characteristic tests (Dwellers, Pit, Purple Sun) don’t care. However, they at least give your combat characters with 4+ ward saves something to use.

Because of Forgefire, Runesmiths are now support combat characters much like Warrior Priests for Empire. The rule is good for combat since it only works in close combat (ranged weapons don’t gain AP unless it has that rule). On the charge, even rank and file Dwarfs become S4 with a -2AS. That overcomes any other shortcomings for Runesmiths. Thanes are likely to be obsolete except for those that are either the General or BSB.

F. What about the Anvil of Doom?

Don’t bother. I just finally painted one up and it’s going back on the shelf when the new rules take effect. Here are the biggest problems. #1 Runelord with Anvil only generates +1 DD. It used to generate +3 which constituted formidable magic defense. #2 Toughness 5. It used to be Toughness 10. That means you are now cannonball and Stone Thrower bait. #3 4+ ward is now replaced by a 5+ ward. Again, you are likely to get shot. #4 You are a war machine. You fail all characteristic tests which means you are a likely target for Dwellers and Pit of Shades. #5 Your spells are terrible and requires power dice. The Direct Damage spell has a range of 24” and no longer halves movement. To use it, you are basically required to have the Anvil close to the battle lines, which is probably the last place I want it. The other runes are not terribly impressive. I think I’d rather have the old 6th edition anvil instead. Also note, your opponent’s all-comers list probably has a Scroll and a Level 4. The spell you want to cast will almost always require IF in order to go off.

G. So What About Master Engineers?

The Master Engineer is the only way to get BS4 for your war machines (notwithstanding Rune of Accuracy) now that the Engineer upgrade is gone. Furthermore, the Master Engineer doesn’t even have BS5 anymore. They were marginally useful with Bolt Throwers before, but only because you could elect to use his BS after you rolled to hit.

The Artillery Master rule isn’t bad on paper but the average price you pay per war machine went up accordingly. For example, you can try an Organ Gun with Rune of Accuracy and Rune of Forging, along with the Master Engineer. The combo is a whopping 240 points. What you get is the equivalent of BS5, the ability to re-roll any misfire, and the ability to re-roll any single artillery die. If you think that’s too expensive, you are probably right. You’ll fire it twice (three times if you go first) before things fall apart.

When would a Master Engineer be cost effective? Considering he can’t control the bounce of a cannonball or Flame Cannon, and you have to nominate the machine in advance, I’d say never. Runes (especially Forging) are almost always more cost effective and more functional.

H. Now How About Them Slayers?

The Dragon Slayer and Daemon Slayer both got neat tricks to distinguish themselves. Dragon Slayers get the D3 multiple wound rule versus monsters. That’s great except that you usually are wounding on 4s and monsters tend to Thunderstomp. Unless the Dragon Slayer is in a unit of Slayers, he would likely die simultaneously while killing the monster. I suppose that’s not too bad. However, you do need to watch out for the character that might be riding the monster and who might happen to be faster than I4. Daemon Slayers force a re-roll of ward saves, which makes sense if he is fighting Daemons.

Overall, the Slayer characters need to be in a unit of slayers to be effective. That way there is an outside chance of surviving more than one round of combat. I would probably take the Dragon Slayer over the Daemon Slayer because of points and the D3 wounds. This of course assumes any sane monster would want to get near him.

Cool Combo 1. Dragon Slayer, Master Rune of Flight, Rune of Might. This was a great gimmick in 6th edition when S7 blew up chariots. You can do it now against enemy monsters by hitting on a 2+ at S8 with D3 wounds.

Cool Combo 2. Dragon Slayer, Master Rune of Swiftness, Rune of Might, Rune of Fury. Fairly sure no monster will survive 4 Attacks, WS6, ASF, S8 and D3 wounds.