How to Brayherd

So I am a bit excited by all of the discussion, hype, and propaganda that a new edition of one of my favourite wargames brings. A new version of Warhammer was recently released, and I've been curious what this has meant for my armies. One of them is a Beastman army, which is, at best, a semi-forgotten faction in a sea of new and extensively promoted factions. But I **think** there is something in the list that can make it useable, so I thought that I would look into it with the obsessed singlemindedness of a cash poor part-time wargaming fanatic and see what I could come up with.

As a part of doing this (or more likely while painting!) I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts, The Honest Wargamer (I can't quite remember but I think it was this one) where Rob, Nathan, and Jonathan discuss the impacts of the newly released 2018 General's Handbook on the different factions of Age of Sigmar.

Rob quite succinctly pointed out that he thinks there may be a build in there for Brayherds, and that almost no-one cares (both of which I agree with!). He said that there may be a Brayherd player out there somewhere that has come up with a list, and good on them if they have. They then moved on without much of a discussion on the (extremely limited) finer points of Brayherdiness.

So being a Brayherd player I decided to see how dangerous I could make a pure Brayherd list.

But before I could come up with an all conquering list for AoS2, I had to answer the following question: What does a strong army in AoS2 look like?

So I readily admit that I have stumbled at the first hurdle. I have not played a single game of AoS2, so I'm not sure I'm really well equipped to come up with a decent list. But a delve into the rules and the missions (plus having listened to quite a few podcasts), tells me that:

1. board control and movement are still going to be crucial, 
2. an army that can deploy all in one go (i.e. a single battalion) is probably at an advantage,
3. and that Hero's with artefacts of power, and Wizards, are going to be required for a couple of the missions.

So breaking that down into three steps:

1. Board Control and Movement.

• Ungor raiders are available to Brayherd armies, and have the special rule Vile Invaders. This allows them to make a move after deployment but before the game begins.  These guys have a move of 6, can run d6, get +1 to run with the banner, and if they start their move within 8" of a Great Bray Shaman get +3" to their move. So they can move 10+d6" out into no mans land before the game starts. Even if I don't get the first turn (and with my single drop army it's 50-50 at worst) these guys will be out the front getting in the way of units that want to drop in, run up to my units, or jump on objectives early. So these guys are my weak, flimsy, and annoying board control.

2. Single drop army.

• The only way to get a brayherd army that deploys in a single deployment (i.e. all at once, rather than piecemeal, alternating with their opponents army) is to take a battalion. And the only Brayherd battalion in the 2018 Generals Handbook is the Wildstalker Brayherd. Which simplifies things nicely. As far as battalions go it is pretty big, and requires basically a whole army:
• 1 Beastlord
• 1-3 Great Bray Shamen
• 2-4 Bestigors and Chariots
• 3-9 Gors
• 4-12 Ungors or Ungor Raiders
• The battalion grants +1 attack to units when they are within 16" of their beastlord (so he is the lynchpin), and re-rolls 1's to wound when also within 16' of a Shaman as well. Which is actually pretty awesome, provided you can utilise it while your squishy 5 wound hero's are alive. It also grants the ambush ability, but since I've got the Brayherd Allegiance and I gain the ability to ambush there that's redundant. 
• I'll go through my thoughts on the hero's and wizards later.
• Bestigor are actually a pretty decent unit with 2 attacks each (or 3 if they are within 18" of the Beastlord), so I'll be taking a big unit of 20 or 30 of them. I probably can't take 2 units though (both because of points and financial cost, as a unit of 30 Bestigors costs 207 Aussie dollary-doos, which is 131 euros, 117 quid, or 155 greenbacks. Plus they come with square 25mm bases, so I would have to fork out some additional hard earned for 32mm rounds as well, adding to the expense). So the worn out old wallet in my back pocket says no. A chariot gets the nod for the second Bestigor/Chariot option (because I have one). It gets re-rolls to charge, so may actually be useful dealing with someone else's chaff, but I would be a little surprised if it is. It's really there for shenanigans when combined with the Shaman spell Devolve.
• 3 units of gors. With the additional attack from the battalion, and the possibility of an extra attack from the Anarchy and Mayhem special rule they are fast, and hit hard, but with a 5+ save they can't take it back. But they are cheap, so their job is to get a charge off and kill something dead. Then if I'm lucky I get a double turn to do that again before they are killed off. They need 20 or more of them to get Anarchy and Mayhem, so I think a minimum size for a unit should be 20, with 30 for a unit you think might be exposed to casualties on the way in. I'd say the units of 30 should have shields, and the units of 20 should have two hand weapons, but if you're expecting to face a lot of shooty death then the shields might be a waste (as they only work in combat).
• As discussed in board control above I'm looking at running multiple small units of ungor raiders, so 4 units of ten there. I might consider a big unit of 40 to sit near the herdstone, but I'm not convinced of the merits at the moment. The units of 10 can protect the gors a bit if I can't/don't ambush, spreading out in advance of the main line before the battle begins. One unit can also be positioned to draw an enemy chaff screen away and clear the path for the gors thanks to the spell Devolve. 

3. Hero's with Artefacts of Power and Wizards.

• Beastlord - While he is a lynchpin for the army, granting extra attacks to the battalion units, he is also a bit of a beatstick himself. I think his value is in the surprise fast attack, and should go all in with the bestigor and a unit or two of 20 gors. He is a 5 wound hero so will die quickly no matter what you do, so in my opinion he should go for the throat via ambush or just run straight at them turn 1 and try to give you some value.
• 2 hand weapons (giving him re-roll 1's to hit), plus Sword of Judgement. Against hero's and monsters the Sword of Judgement grants d6 mortal wounds on hit rolls of 6+, which is just awesome with his seven (including +1 from the battalion) attacks. He can get a +1 to hit from someone having an artefact like the Brayblast Trumpet, or his own ability Grisly Trophy so can hit on 2's re-rolling 1's with 5+'s causing d6 mortal wounds. That should cause some reasonable damage if I can get him into combat, which I should be able to...
• The other option is the Rune of Insatiable Beast, which grants +2 to charge rolls and re-rolls 1's to hit. So you don't need the second hand weapon if you take this (which lets you re-roll 1's to hit too), so can take a shield or 2 handed axe for extra damage. I'd rather go with the Sword of Judgement initially, but will probably try this out too, depending on how effective my charge boosting magic and command re-rolls are.
• Command re-rolls - One of the great things about the new version of AoS (for my beastmen at least) is the ability to burn a command point to re-roll charge distances. As brayherd have one command ability, that effectively can't be used on turn 1 (because it is triggered when the beastlord kills something; so will only work turn 1 if  your opponent alpha strikes your non-ambushing beastlord which somehow kills something and lives) it's all about getting that first turn charge. Ambushing beastmen have to set up 9" away from the enemy, but with a beastlord nearby they can re-roll their charge roll by using a command point. So what else helps them out in the first turn charge I hear you ask?...
• Great Bray Shaman. 
• The endless spell Chronomantic Cogs can grant all units on the board +2 to movement & charge rolls, turning your Beastlord's reasonably unreliable 9" re-rolling charge (about 50% chance) to a much more reliable 7" re-rolling charge (about 80%) thanks to the cogs.  So I think cogs is pivotal in a beastman list to get that turn 1 charge.
• These guys now also have the spell Devolve, which moves the enemy 2d6" towards the nearest beastmen model. This happens before ambush, so won't move units towards your ambushing units. But if you move a unit of ungor raiders up it will help to draw chaff screens away (and make room for the ambushers), or remove buffing characters from the upcoming fight. It will help out with your army slogging across the board to get first turn charges. It only has an 18" range though, so it needs to be cast from a balewind vortex or through an umbral spellportal. 
• The General can take Scion of the Dark Gods for +1 to cast. The herdstone (arcane terrain to brayherd models) is +1 to cast as well, but you can't use it on turn 1 as you have to set it up 1" away from all models, including your own! But you can get creative, and cast the balewind vortex, set it up in front of the herdstone within 1", then the shaman gets on top and gets a second spell, now within range of the herdstone. Unfortunately this can't be another endless spell though, so he can't cast the cogs; but he can cast Devolve with extra range and at a reasonably reliable +2 to cast.  So cogs can't be cast from the vortex, but it is important, so I'd say your general with +1 to cast casts cogs, and a basic shaman casts the vortex and Devolve. So Chronomantic Cogs is pretty much essential in my list (in my opinion anyway).
• So to get this army to reliably strike first the following three turn 1 spells are needed:
• Chronomantic Cogs from your Scion of the Dark Gods for +2 to charge
• Balewind Vortex to increase the range of Devolve. The Balewind Vortex is a good option if you want to run an ambushing Shaman, as you can only cast 2 spells if one of your three shaman is ambushing, and the vortex lets you cast an extra spell. So I'll go with that for flexibility, but the umbral spell portal might be interesting to play with too.
• Devolve to draw the enemy screens away, or move a juicy hero or monster closer
• Another useful titbit is the Brayblast Trumpet brayherd artefact. This adds 1 to the attack characteristics of  units that ambush, with a range of 18", so putting it on an ambushing great bray shaman will give your beastlord (with Sword of Judgement) D6 mortal wounds on 5's or 6's to hit, rather than just 6's, and significantly buff the ambushing blocks of bestigors and gors. Unfortunately though he can't cast any spells that turn (as he is off the board during the Hero phase), so it may be worth trying this out on a second beastlord instead.

So here is my How to Brayherd step by step guide....

The attached PDF file is an army list from warscroll builder, and sums up what I've said above:
Brayherd_1_Drop

Note that in a 2000 point game there is 150 points left over, so there is some capacity for taking some more useful endless spells to cast in Battle Round 2. Soulshackle Snares or possibly The Geminids might be fun to add. You could also add in ten more bestigors to bring the unit up to 30, or more gors, which is financially possible if you live somewhere other than Australia.

The step-by-step instructions below (which helps out a part time wargamer with a poor attention span like me!) assumes you are getting the first turn for being a single deployment army, and might need some tweaking if you think you are going second (i.e. your opponent has a 1 drop army too, and beats you in the first turn roll off). And like all plans, it won't survive contact with the enemy, so bring your A game!

Deployment: 

• Set up the herdstone in the middle of your deployment zone as far forward as possible (technically you're supposed to set up the herdstone at the end of your deployment, so if you're opponent challenges you on this just mark where you want it to go, set up your models, and set it up at the end. It makes zero difference). 
• Set up 2 shamen 1" from it on your deployment line.
• Set up 4 ungor raiders units on your line, trying to get them all within 8" of a shaman for the +3" movement from the shamen. 
• Set up the beastlord with Sword of Judgement, the shaman with the Brayblast Trumpet, the bestigor and a unit of 20 gors in ambush.
• Set up the other 20 unit gor unit near the front of your deployment zone, and the 30 gor unit back to protect your herdstone. Try to get your 20 gor units within 8" of your shamen if you can to give them +3" movement to help out with a turn 1 charge.

After setup:

• Run the ungors forward 10+D6" (Move 6, +3 from shamen, +1 from banner, +D6 run). Make sure 1 unit is closest to the enemy unit you want to Devolve and in a position to draw them where you want them to be one the spell is cast.

Hero Phase:

• Give yourself +1 command point, you may need it for the charge re-rolls!
• Cast Balewind Vortex (Cast on 6+, or 5+ for your general) with one of your shamen near the herdstone. Make sure the vortex is set up within 1" of the herdstone, to get an additional +1 to cast, and as close as possible to the unit you want to Devolve. 
• Cast Chronomantic Cogs from the other shaman (Cast on a 7+, or a 6+ for your general). 
• Manipulate the cogs to speed up time (+2" move and charge).
• Cast Devolve using the shaman on the vortex on a target unit, (with increased range from the vortex and casing on a 7, so on a 5 with +2 to cast from the herdstone and the vortex) moving the unit out of position towards your carefully placed decoy ungor unit.

Just to put this into context, there is about a 44% chance of getting these three spells to work, without the enemy trying to dispel any. So not ultra reliable by any means!

Movement Phase:

• Shuffle your non-vortex shaman within 1" of the herdstone to get the +1 to cast battle round 2.
• Run your ungor raiders units 9+D6" somewhere annoying for your opponent, remembering that they will also get +2 move and charge from the cogs in their turn. 
• Run up your 20 gors 9+D6" (or a whopping 12+D6" if you had one of them within 8" of your shamen!) if you think you can get them in range for a turn 1 charge.
• Move your chariot up 12", or 15" if you managed to deploy it within 8" of one of your shamen.
• Bubblewrap your shamen and herdstone with units to protect them from counter endless spells and the impending enemy turn 1.
• Set up your beastlord within 6" of a board edge 9" away from an enemy hero or monster you want dead. 
• Set up your Bestigor within 6" of a board edge 9" away from an enemy unit you want dead.
• Set up your ambushing gor unit within 6" of a board edge 9" from a unit you want dead.
• Set up your Brayblast Trumpet shaman within 18" of your ambushing units.

Shooting:

• Shoot with your ungors if you think it will help. Watch out for a wily opponent removing casualties to make charge distances longer. It's okay though, you probably won't inflict many casualties!

Charge!:

• Charge with your Beastlord into the enemy hero/monster (2D6+2" from cogs, re-roll with command point if you fail).
• Charge with your Bestigors (2D6+2" from cogs, re-roll with command point if you fail).
• Charge with your ambushing Gors (2D6+2" from cogs, re-roll with command point if you fail).
• Charge with your non-ambushing gors (2D6+2" from cogs, re-roll with command point if you fail).
• Charge with your chariot (2D6+2" from cogs, re-roll with its own ability if you fail).

Combat:

• Pile in with your Beastlord and attack. 7 dice hitting on 2's (+1 to hit from Blayblast Trumpet), re-rolling 1's (with 5's and 6's causing D6 mortal wounds if he's against a hero or monster). Re-roll 1's to wound, or all failed wound rolls for hero's.
• Pile in 4" with Bestigors (+1" from banner) and attack. 3 attacks each, hitting on 3+ (2+ if the enemy has a standard), wounding on 3+, re-rolling 1's.
• Roll for Anarchy and Mayhem for a gor unit, hoping for a 5+ (for +1 attack), or a 4+ if the beastlord is within 8". Pile in 4", and attack. 2 attacks each (or 3 with Anarchy and Mayhem), hitting on 3+, wounding on 4+ with re-rolls.
• Repeat for any other ambushing gor units.
• Non-ambushing units don't get the +1 to hit from the Brayblast Trumpet, but do get +1 attack from the battalion. 

Battleshock Phase:

• If you have any command points left then consider using them here to keep a unit combat effective. Otherwise, hmm, good luck!

Rest of the Game:

• Remember that it's (largely) a game of controlling objectives, not casualties, so play a wily game, use your movement to block the enemy and try to maintain control of the board. 
• Hope that you've done enough damage to your opponent turn 1 to keep you in it! Like this guy...

So that's it for now. I think that there is the potential for another list that is pretty decent, where you can let the opponent go first, lose a heap of ungor raiders, and then strike back. But that's for another day...