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| Some tactics are simpler than others... |
So I was reading a discussion thread over at Ulthuan.net posturing about the new Book of Hoeth (which will be amazing by the way, rerolling a single dice on a cast is crazy good with +5 to cast!) and what to run with it on a Level 4. The first answer was always "45pts fits a 4+ Ward perfectly!". Its not just with respect to High Elves though, it seems to be a pervading opinion everywhere. It made me wonder, why does everyone always say "Ward Save!" as the first option for a Level 4 wizard?
I personally haven't given my Level 4 a ward save since Guardcon last year, and in 6 games only ever used it to save against Miscasts... Yes, I have been known to take the Loremasters Cloak from time to time, but that's mainly for the unit effect rather than specifically the Wizards defense Its certainly not gonna be an item I'll cry about when its gone in a week. That's reserved for the Helm of Fortune...
There are two things that account for the majority of my Level 4s deaths: Miscasts and Panic tests. The others are where I've either been losing horribly and she has nowhere left to go, or I've made a big time mistake.
Lets look through the ways to avoid losing a Wizard:
Combat:
| You should always avoid combat with Rays, Wizard or not... |
A) Make possible Mage hunter units target priority one. They are always small and relatively easy points anyway, and they are often the same units that hold up my White Lions etc from getting into combat so I also need them gone for the big boys to do their job.
B) Always have secondary units to run to if the primary mage bunker is in trouble. That's half the reason I prefer MSU Archer core, (and its only gonna get better now my bunker will be Reavers :-) ) Often I see players with only one dedicated bunker for the wizard, and nowhere else to run to when the pressure is on...
C) Most units that can threaten a mage bunker have no ranks so you can, at a pinch, leave the flank facing the threat and hold them with Steadfast while your Wizard is safe on the far side, until support arrives.
D) This is the one that I generally find most players simply don't even consider; You can often just run your wizard around by herself perfectly safely giving her much greater maneuverability to avoid danger. Its game dependent of course, but many armies have no real ranged threat to worry a lone character, especially by turn 5-6 if you've focused on getting rid of them, so as long as you can whip out your trusty charge arc template, life is good.
Shooting:
| The deadly sniper Cannon, bane of Vampire Lords everywhere... |
Warmachines can always force those annoying LOS! tests and that's an issue you'll always have to live with. It is only a 1 in 6 though, so you can accept it and move on... but there are a couple options to avoiding it though:
1. Shoot them first. Archers/Magic missiles are surprisingly good at killing warmachines.2. Hide. True line of sight hasn't made the table entirely visible, and no spells bar Magic Missiles actually need Line of Sight anyway
2. Make sure you always have enough models to avoid that awkward situation where magic/other shooting kills enough to leave you without a LOS!
3. Give them other targets to shoot at. Simple yet obvious!
Magic.
| This kind of Magic should be avoided at all costs... |
Okay, there's not much you can do about the dreaded 6 dice monkey, but obviously make sure to spread the characters so its not such an obvious target. They also don't allow Wards anyway, so what does it matter?
Snipe spells are really not that dangerous, especially now you get your Generals Ld (or do you...?), and Caress also only averages 2 wounds to a S3 wizard, so you can risk it if needed but an important thing to think about, they all max out at 24". Its not hard to stay out of that range when most buffs nowadays have longer range.
So there you have it, a whole bunch of ways to avoid losing a wizard without a Ward Save involved in any way, shape or form. Hopefully, that gets my point across, about why I think Wizards should never ever need a Ward Save. Would love to hear your opinions on this though!
aside from with woc, i agree. my orc shaman never ever has one, sitting comfortably in the back seat of the trukk.
ReplyDeleteWith most wizards I agree. My wood elf mage never took a ward save (if something is in your archers your dead any way). I think there are a few exceptions of mages who want to be in combat (ogres and WoC stand out). But for the most don't bother wasting the points.
ReplyDeleteDaveOwaR
Yup. Unless you are building a warrior mage, It's better to just play better and save your x points you spend on a ward. Usually points will go into an archer bunker (which you would prob buy anyways) so it does stuff while baby sitting. 2 bunkers are nice, but only if you can afford it.
ReplyDelete