Adding Cavalry to a Spear Block

GWvsJohn · **Joined:** Fri Dec 13, 2013 3:30 pm **Posts:** 62

Has anyone had any experience/success with adding one or two cavalry models to a spear block warband? They could hide in the back then zip around the sides to add some knockdown to key combats.

Dr Grant · **Joined:** Fri Aug 03, 2012 1:50 pm **Posts:** 1339

Not a spear block as such but I tried this a lot with my Rohan a few years back. I was finding that all cav + all infantry war bands weren't working for me so started taking all my war bands as a mounted hero and 4 Redshields deployed behind 8 Helmingas with shields and throwing spears. The idea was your cav were protected from enemy missile fire as your D5 infantry advanced and then when the lines clashed the cav would use their superior line of sight and movement to run around the flanks and attack the supporting spear lines. It worked reasonably well and I started thinking of it as the inverse of the traditional spear/shield battle line as your supporting models got behind the enemy rather than behind your own troops. It was good fun to play with too, definitely worth a shot.

JamesR · **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 3:31 pm

It often does work quite well. I have used this tactic a lot with my Easterling Pike-blocks. As shown in the pic the horsemen wait on the wing's so they can out-flank the enemy, counter enemy cav, or prevent your pike-block from being flanked. Also they can drop behind the formation as Dr Grant says to shield from archer fire.

Beowulf03809 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:07 pm

I don't play pike blocks at all because I prefer a more fluid formation. That being said, when I play my Isengard force it usually has my heavily armored Uruks as front rank with some pike ranks behind. I don't keep in a traditional, tight-rank block though and usually break off into several groups with support once close to engagement so the concept is similar but less formal and rigid.

I find Warg Riders a good support for this and usually play with them in the rear flank as pictured above. If there are archers, enemy cav or outlying units they can rush forward and engage. If my opponent is playing more of a standoff then I wait until the infantry forces are pretty much committed and then try to flank with the Wargs. An Heroic Combat is amazingly effective like this.

So if you are only using a small / medium Cav unit in a supporting role keeping them sheltered but available is a very good option. It's just a matter then of deciding when is the right time to spring them considering their relative fragility.

Thurin · **Joined:** Thu Oct 24, 2013 12:10 am **Posts:** 40

I thought only Fell Wargs could make that sort of "charge around a corner" maneuvers.

JamesR · **Posted:** Fri Feb 07, 2014 1:31 am

Thurin wrote:

I thought only Fell Wargs could make that sort of "charge around a corner" maneuvers.

They are the only ones that don't require line of sight. However cavalry models can see over infantry so normally this isn't a problem

Hodush · **Posted:** Fri Feb 07, 2014 2:07 am

So the fell wargs rule is basically only good if they are behind a building or hill, most other cases you would think they could see..

JamesR · **Posted:** Fri Feb 07, 2014 2:25 am

Hodush wrote:

So the fell wargs rule is basically only good if they are behind a building or hill, most other cases you would think they could see..

Yup. It's a very limited rule. However LOS is very often misused. The "in the way" to shooting second and third ranks of troops should be near impossible for example as the front models would block LOS as too much of the models are not visible by true LOS

VandalCabbage · **Joined:** Sun Jan 19, 2014 1:12 pm **Posts:** 286

The fell warg rule could also be used to sniff out troops hiding with elf cloaks.

Adding Cavalry to a Spear Block

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