[Vash113]

Recently I've begun to get a little tired of 40k and since I've always liked the image of Midieval Knights I thought the Brettonians might be the army for me. But I could use some advice as to where to start as I've never played Warhammer Fantasy and know very little about it and have rarely even seen it played. What I had been considering was something like:

Brettonian Lord leading with a regiment each of Grail Knights and Questing Knights to fill the center, with two regiments of Man-At-Arms, one-two regiments of peasant bowmen and a regiment each of Knights of the Realm and Knights-Errant to take up the flanks. Of course I don't even know the organization of Warhammer so I don't know if that is even entirely legal.

In any case would that be a decent army? If so should I start with the battleforce or just buying boxed sets, what should I get first to start off with and any general pointers anyone can give for starting into Warhammer from 40k?

[ToastMaster]

Well, first off, you need the rulebook to start off with. It's got all the Fantasy rules, which are suprisingly quite different from 40k. And then the Bretonnian army book.

I'm not a Bretonnian player, so I can't really give you any specific advice, but I can say that your unit setup is legal. You've got the Bretonnian Lord for Hero/Lord choice, two regiments of Men-At-Arms to fill up your Core units, and then however many Peasent Bowmen regiments are in with the Men-At-Arms as Core units, as are your regiment of Knights of the Realm. You've got your Questing Knights as a Special unit, and then Grail Knights as a Rare choice (your only one).

One of my friends plays Bretonnia, so I know a little bit about them. I would say your best bet is to have your Men-At-Arms take up in the center. Your Knights are very low in number, and expensive, so you want your Men-At-Arms to take most of the damage (which they will if they're in the center). Knights of the Realm would be good charging full on into the enemy (whilst still utilizing basic survival skills like cover), while you allow your Grail Knights and Questing Knights to flank the opponent on each sides (or even better, the rear!). They're the real toughies in CC, which you need to allow to flank so they don't get shot up.

Originally Posted by Vash113

If so should I start with the battleforce or just buying boxed sets

Based on what you're planning to have in your army, I would start off with the Battleforce. It's got a lot of what you planned to use; Knights of the Realm, TWENTY Men-At-Arms, and quite a few Peasant Bowmen. From there just go for whatever Knights and other special-rare units you want to add to your army.

That's 'bout all I got to tells ya. See if there are any Bretonnian players at your gaming store that can give you some tips.

[Hadhfang]

Originally Posted by ToastMaster

I'm not a Bretonnian player

I am! Well sort of, but i do have the army book and I may be able to help out a bit.

First of all, your Knights of the realm are like your firewarriors in that you have to take a unit of them, and your paladin is like a shas'el or o in that one of them is compulsory as well as your Battle standar bearer, a lot of people in othre armies shy away from that but the battle standard when close to your general (if he's a lord) will make your force stay on the table a lot longer.

When you have your books I would suggest writing up an army list first, then buying models for that list, that way you can judge if it is cheaper overall to but the battleforce or the boxes individualy. (If you don't want pegasus knights and bowmen for example then that's a fair bit of the battleforce you won't be using so it may be best to buy the stuff individually)


In my list I am taking a lot of Knights of the realm, simply because a strength 5 charge for a basic core unit (not that any of the brettonian nobels are basic of course!) on the charge is a very nice thing indeed, added to the fact that most armour will be 4+ in combat at teh best (for basic infantry) you will kill a fair few enemies in combat swinging resolution in your favoutr (You'll understand more about that when you get teh rulebook, but it's how we gauge who's winning in CC) added to that that the brettonians are the only army in the game that has units which recieve a bonus for ranks of 3 (other amies needing ranks of 5) even a 9 man unit will get a decent combat res on the first turn providing it charges. So yo will want to combine charges with your knights so you get more kills.


If you want your Brettonina lord leading your Grail kights you will have to give him a Grail vow, which brings me on to equipping heroes.

Your hero or lord choices (depending on the size of the game you are playing) can be equipped with some very nice trinkets and virtues, and a bonus with Brettoninas is that wheras other armies would have to pay for a ward save (like an invunerable save but you get it as well as your armour) you get one free at the start of the game if you pray for it. (in fact all knights will, the only downside is your opponent gets to go first, but I've never seen anyone not pray) This then means you can spend more on virtues and magic items (some of which are very King Arthury, in fact a lot of stuff in the book is!) There is no right or wrong way to equip your characters, so long as it suits your style of play (I am partial to the gauntlet of teh duel and the virtue of confidence myself simply because I think that it is completely out of character not to issue a challenge even if I know I'm going to die)

Also, you have no magic resistance! You should take at leat one damsel with a dispell scroll or two, (I can't blame you for not adding one as you don't have the books yet but they are important as without magic resistance you will be severely hinderd)

Grail knights are nice, but i'd only use them in 2000 point games, and since to start with you will be playing around 1000 points or less I'd go with more KoTR instead. keep your peasants and men at arms, you will need some cannon fodder and shooting support, but go less heavy on the delux items and settle for the core but still deadly units.

Anyway, good luck Sir knight, may the lady guide you!