base at knee (evel, the head of the staff, which is adorned with skulls, is held in his outstretched arm as if he is directing the spell in front of him. Both these figures will make a nice addition to any Ore army and are priced at £1.10 each. Undead Cyclops(320) Finally there is the re-release of the Undead Cyclops in the Fantasy Classics range. | like this figure. This is, inno uncertain terms, a very large skeleton. It stands 78mm high’ and is poised with a rock above his head ready to lob it at some poor unsuspecting adventurer. This figure looks as good now as when it was originally released and is priced at £2.99. January saw the release of some new figures for the fighting men army. These were scrutinised by our expert fighting man Robin Dear. FIGHTING MEN Cannon Anyone expecting something along the lines of the Dwarven War Cannon will be disappointed, however there is no need to be. Instead you have a very useful small two wheeled cannon with a crew of wo, Both figures are dressed in a very similar style to the city militia figures i.e. lightly armed and armoured. The first figure is pointing with one hand and holding 2 cannon balt in the other. His base is littered with cannon balls and a powder sack, My favourite point about this figure is his excellent basin cu! hairstyle. The second figure holds a ramrod in one hand while shielding his eyes from the sun with the other. The cannon itself is a small two wheeled affair. thas the all mod cons like an adjustable height mechanism for accurate aiming and a towing ring for casting it around battlefields. It doesn’t have the presence of the dwarf cannon, but then it is designed as a mobile battlelield ‘support weapon, $0 it fits the bil! perfectly. Yes definitely a thumbs up for these figures. They are absolutely superb, and a real myst for anyone with a men army. Mounted Men at Arms. The mounted men at arms are dressed in a very similar style to the men at arms on foot. Both figures are dressed in chainmail, studded leather waistcoats, and helmets. They are carrying spears in the vertical position with their right hand, and shields on their left giving a very military look, Both the men af arms are riding the same unbarded horse which | believe is in the trotting stance. ‘Again a thumbs up for these figui. egh not quite as stylish as the cannon crew they are still definately worth having. All in all both packs contain nice, clean cut models which are both pleasing to look at and are very useful additions to the fighting men armies. | hope Grenadier will continue to Produce such high quality miniatures tor this range. How about a mounted men at arms command pack next (hint hint!) THE UNDEAD ARMY Over the last few months my Undead army has proved itself as a highly formidable foe. {t is not an easy army to beat. Neither is it an easy one to use. So if you are looking for a challenge, look no further than The Undead Army. The Undead Army is primarily an army of individuals. These are paramount to their success in battle. Firstly there are the Necromancers. They provide the necromantic power that activates the undead. To do this fam they form a Cabal, a group made up ‘of iF Necromancers headed - by the warchief. The £ ~; warchief distributes the necromantic power to the units, Second in importance to the members of the cabal are the Wraith and Spectre. The wraith can not only reorganise units that have become ir disorganised following the loss of their leader, but more importantly can enhance the fighting ability of any unit he joins. The spectre is a truly fearsome individual. Not only does he cause undead dread, a fearsome version of the threat, not to be taken lightly. He is also the ultimate killing machine, and one of Swarzenegger proportions. As powerful as any hero on the battlefield but with the added advantage of incredible speed. ro Lastly but certainly not least comes the Lich, He is useful not only as a spell caster, but also because he can Create necromantic power as and when required, as long as he is with the cabal. All these individuals are indispensable. This causes problems when trying to assemble small army of 1000 points. When building an army its strengths and weaknesses must be taken into account, and the Undead, although an army of undisputed strength also has its fair share ofweaknesses. The strength of the Undead lie, as | said eaciier, in its individuals. The warriors on their own are nothing special, being average fighters with light armour they can be easily destroyed. but they do fight to the last man. However place a wraith in the ranks and they become a much more effective fighting force, not only adding his worth, but also +1 to hit and Kill throws. Therefore a mounted wraith, with the mobility to travel from one unit to another at speed, assisting where any unit is in difficulties is worth the high cost in points. Without him units are very easily cutclassed.A mounted spectre is an incredibly fast individual, He can cover the battlefield very swiftly affecting units with the joathsome dread. This will hopefully lead to some units routing. It is very important to either rout or shake opponents before the} come into contact with your units, as this will make it a much more even fight. The important thing is these individuals are not destroyed early in the battle. So care must be taken in manoeuvring them, particularly the spectre. If the spectre is employed well in front of the army spreading dread he must be in cover. Look out for any wizards, as one blast spell can easily destroy your spectre, and any carefully prepared battle plan with him. The 1000 point army This army demands some very difficult decisions to be made. You have to spend a Poa deal of points on individuals no matter jow small the army. How many individuals you employ is the question. My army would consist of the following. 1 Warchief leadership 5 111 pts 1 Spectre foot 128 pts 1 Wraith foot 102 pis 3 Necromancers 318 pts 30 Warriors Hd weapons incl Ldr, SB, and Mus 120 pts 24 Warriors Hd weapons incl Ldr, SB, Mus 102 pts 20 Bows incl Ldr and SB 120 pts TOTAL 1001 pis Using The Army Place the Cabal at the rear protected by the 24 warriors. Advance the bowmen protected, if possible, by cover into a position to fire. The 30 warriors can either be placed into a position on a flank, or behind the bowmen ready to interpenetrate if they get into difficulties, as hey are protected by shields. The wraith should be advanced with the bowmen to give them the benefit of the +1 to hit and kill throws. The spectre should be advanced as much as possible, but don't expose him. In the open he is an easy target for wizards and their blast spells. With the spectre forward you can effect units with dread very early in the battle. In the early patt of the battle move as little as possible and save as many magic points as you can. It is doubtful that a swift sharp attack will work with this size army, even at night, especially against a disciplined army. It is best to let the eneiay come to you and try to deplete their force with missile fire, threats, and dread before they contect you, Be prepared at all times for flank attacks on your cabal, whether from flyers, individuals, orcavalry. They are particularly vuinerable early in the battle. Your specte and wraith should be manoeuvred into position if the cabal are ever in any danger. If you Jose the cabul you lose the game no matter how the rest of your army is doing at the time. If you want a wizard you are going {o have to (ose some individuals to do this. In my opinion he needs at least 40 MPs to be effective, In return he can enhance necromantic power and Job the add blast spell if the cabal are endangered by an enemy individual. If you are facing a Dwarf army you could replace two necromancers with a wizard as you could store plenty of necromantic: power because the dwarves will take a long time to get into contact. Thats a decision you have got to make. | said i wasn't going to be easy didn't |. The 1500 point army (feel much happier with this army. This gives you enough points to make a pretty ef:'ctive force. It is the same as the 1000 point an. with the addition of the following. Replace foot Spectre with Mid + pts Replace foot Wraith with Mtd +s pts Lich Mtd with 40 MP's 21 pts 6 cavalry with Lor and SB 1. pts Increase unit of 24 warriors to 27 ++ pls TOTAL 1499 pts Using the army Tactics for this army are exactly the same, except you have that little bit more flexibility. The mounted spectre is an incredibly fast individual able to cover large areas of the battlefield very easily. The mounted wraith has the speed to assist any unit that requires it.The mounted lich an join units in order to hasten or shield them, but has the speed to retum to the cabal should they need him to create necromantic power. He can also provide that much needed protection from enemy individuats with a blast spell. The cavalty provides the army with another unil to cover their other flank.The J0UU point army This is where the fun really starts. 1 Warchie! leadership § 111 pts 5 Necromancers 530 pts 1 Spectre mtd 200 pts 1 Spectre foo! 128 pts 4 Wraith mtd 165 pts 4 Wraith foot 102 pts 2 Lich mtd 40 MPPs 416 pts 40 cavalry incl Ldr and SB 230 pis 4 units of 30 Warriors with HW incl 4 Lars, 4 SBs, 3 Mus and 4 Champs 510 pts 20 Bowmen incl Lar, SB, Mus 120 pts 5 Flyers incl Ldr 195 pis 1 War Rhino or 1 Imp War Mammoth 290 pts TOTAL 2997 pts Using the 3000 point army } love using armies this size. It gives you a chance to use the big figures like the War Rhino. They make for a really impressive [ooking army, and the Undead ones are very good value for money at £10.50. This is not an easy army to {§ use. It involves a lot of juggling of necromantic power points and much head scratching trying to decide what units to activate. The first problem you have to face is scouting. It is very difficult to outscout an opponent, especially if they employ any scouts. The best you can do is to avoid being outmanoeuvred. This is very important for if he picks the time of battle and organises the terrain you are in trouble, particularly with the small armies. Jtit does happen the best you can do is let the enemy come to you, Partly activate only those units in range of missile fire, activate your bowmen to return fire, and store as many necromantic power points as possible. It costs nothing to move your spectre ,s0 use him to the full. With the larger army you al least have the extra wraith, and flying and mounted units to assist your Scouting. Also the lich can assist with an arcane eye Spel. if you want to‘outscout your opponent you have to bear in mind what this is going to cost you. Every unit used will have to be partly activated before they can be reorganised, and all your necromancers will have to have joined the cabal from their respective units to Create sufficient necromantic power to do the job. This is going to take at least 2 time phases, so if you oulmanouewe choose the time of baltle carefully, and if you outscout hope for a good dice throw. Your opponent will have a lot to worry about with this large undead force. Top of the list will be the War Rhino closely followed by the spectres. These figures are too powerful to be ignored, Don’t worry about keeping the chino in cover get him out there and get him stuck in. If you mess around trying to keep him out of line ‘of sight you can go three quarters of the battle without even using him. At worst if he is killed the enemy will have expended a lot of missiles to do it, and he will have drawn the fire from something else. What you do have to watch out for is the wizard as he can blast your expensive creature with very little cost to himself. The way around this is to use your own wizard to hasten him straight into contact with an enemy unit. This will be a lot cheaper than a spellbreak or protection spell, If you can manage to keep your spectre within 6 inches of the rhino then his dread will become a very potent weapon. But don't expose him as he can be easily picked off.So while your rhino is steaming across the battlefield support him with missile troops. Have a unit of foot following closely behind him to take advantage of any holes he creates’in the enemy lines. At the same time advance the cavalry and another unit of foot on each flank. He will be too concerned about the rhino and spectre to concentsale on anything else. So exploit this advantage. What you have to watch out for is not to have too many units in combat at the same time. This can seriously drain your power, and can lead to some units having to be sacrificed by being left unactivated, purely because you haven't enough power to fully activate them all. This is why Tuse the largest units | can, because the fewer number of units you have the easier il is to control them. Also because they don't rout they take a long time to be destroyed, thus allowing your individuals the time to move around to assist. As | said at the beginning this is not an easy army to use. A serious sweat can develop the more you try to stretch your non-existent necromantic power, but you must remain cool ‘on the outside. You can find yourself in the situation of having your enemy on the run, bul with very few power points at your disposal tc finish the job. At this point the best tactic to use is to look incredibly smug, flash an inane grin al your opponent, and go for it. Be bold and use al the power at your disposal to finish him off. He is rarely aware of how many power points you have, and is far too busy concentrating on his ‘own army to realise that you may also be in any| difficulty. Do you possess the attributes to be an Undead Warchief. Are you a clever tactician, Someone who is able to make a bold move when it is required, but who can remain cool, calm, and collected, even in the trickiest situation. If you think you are then go out there and get an Undead army, they are great fun to use, bul don't forget to practise that stupid grin. The Battle of Kicking Battom This was a battle fough! between Steve White's Barbarian army and Robin Dear's Men army, and clearly illustrates the point | was making about leaving individuals out in the open, Each side consisted of 1500 points worth of troops, and was fought ona 6 x 3 table. Steve and Robin iake up the story | look al my command with pride, waving my sword and whipping them up into a fervour the likes of which haven't been seen since the poll tax. However things were no! good. My army may be fast and brutal in combat, but they do rely on cover as they are susceptible to missile fire, We had been outscouted and the only cover available to us was one hill, and one wood. | deployed my command behind the hill, the other command led by Beowulf my battle leader was behind the wood. There was nothing for il. 1 turned to Sax the herald and ordered him to sound the charge. My delighted warriors shouted ancient battle cries of long dead heroes as the sound of the ancient horn resounded around the battle field. However they were short lived as one warband was immediately ripped to pieces by crossbowmen, Our shields offered little resistance as comrade fell upon comrade. The other warband faired no better at the hands of the veteran longbowmen. We'd been shot up in the middle of the bloody night on our own battle line. “They're good", said Sax, "too damn good”. Both warbands routed. "Come back you cowardly crelins", | shouted after them, but my words were lost in the night.| despatched Zola the courier with attack orders to Beowulf. His command was thus far unaffected by the misfortunes of the others, and was holding steady in the woods. Meanwhile Orca the Destroyer, and Foullongue the Giant charged on towards the elite foot knights, white Tyson the Beastmaster charged Sir Robin's elite cavalry. ings didn't improve in the second phase of the battle. Orca and Foultongues obscene threats were more than matched by the foot knights who countered with obscener and fouler threats. Luck was obviously not on our side as by some strange quirk of fate Orca and Foullongue were last seen, hair on end, complaining about the public education system, and routing into the shadows. t was bad, but not all bad. The longbowmen blackened the sky at Tyson, bul he knew not what fear was, dodged ail forty arrows, continued the charge, and routed the efite cavalry.Sax, Caswolen the banner bearer, and | sped towards Beowull's command, We found them in good shape and they seemed undaunted by the recent happenings. They had accepted the attack orders readily and advanced. Tysons tiger, who had faired so well up to now was cut down by a new contingent of elite knights accompanied by a mounted hero. | sent him a Victoria cross by Eldritch command. Tysons bravery had halted the advance of nearly half of Sir Robin's army. We advanced out of the woods, and there it was, a chalice sent from the Gods themselves. Sir Robin the Reliant’s over confidence had shown itself. An earlier Blast spell had failed on his hero, but this was different. As a direct fine of sight between my wizard and Sir Robin became exposed like a parting of the Red Sea itself | felt a six megadice blast spell coming on. Sir Robin's parts flew all over the battle field His armour failed and so did his armies morale as the soggy torso knocked the mounted hero from his Rarse routing the knights..The foot knights and missile troops were showered with arms and legs sending them fleeing from the battle field, while the head of Sir Robin himself was impaled upon a pike amongst one of his. pike units. Victory was mine. Sir Robin had fought without faull up until that very moment, but lowering your guard in Fantasy Warriors can cost you highly. That's what {fove about the game. s.W Well whal can | say? My longbowmen and crossbowmen were absolutely wiping the battle field of all Barbarian resistance. Both his main infantry units sustained heavy casualties and were routed off the field by my missite units, His Destroyer and Giant fled after being counter threatened leaving his centre empty. All thal was left was for my cavalry and men at arms to engage and defeat his berserkers and bowmen and victory was mine