Guide: How to Win with Witch Hunters

Asp's Guide to Winning with Witch Hunters


This list aims to win by campaign attrition: By booming the warband economically your enemies will eventually not be able to keep up with you.

NB! This works best if there are not Reiklanders in the campaign.
NB! This works best in a long campaign.

Starting List:

HEROES
Captain: Crossbow, Mace, Shield 93
Witch Hunter: Crossbow, Mace, Shield 58
Witch Hunter: Crossbow, Mace, Shield 58
Witch Hunter: Crossbow, Mace, Shield 58
Priest: Mace, Mace 41
----------------------
5 Wardogs 75
2 Flagellants: Flail 110
Reserve gold: 7

Method:

- Keep Crossbow guys out of CC and you will explore with many heroes even if you loose battles.

- Crossbow guys climb buildings and always shoot at the weediest targets.
- Take some of them OOA.
- Stay back with array of Flagellants, Wardogs and Priest until last possible moment. Then charge.

WARBAND DEVELOPMENT:
- Get Rope & Hook for all four Crossbow Guys ASAP
- Get Quick Shot for all Crossbow Guys ASAP
- then Dode
- then Wyrdstone Hunter (with four Wyrdstone Hunters you will be making TONS of money)

- Gradually earn enough money to have 5 Flagellants with Flails, replacing Wardogs as they die
- ALWAYS field 12 models

- Get Halfling Cook as soon as you have 5 Flagellants and GC to spare
- ALWAYS field 13 models (+1 HS)
- Get him Quick Shot
- Then Dodge

- Get a halfling cookbook
- ALWAYS field 14 models (+1 HS)

- Get Healing Herbs for crossbow guys as soon as they gain more than 1 wound

- Don't advance Flagellants to heroes but instead advance a Zealot
- Get him rope & hook
- Get him shooting + speed
- Get him Quick Shot
- Get him Dodge

- Get Elven Ranger
- ALWAYS field 14 models (+2 HS)
- With 4 Wyrdstone Wunters + Elven Ranger you will be BATHING in gold
- Get Armour for all the Crossbow guys

- Optional: If you play with Lucky Charms, get them for the Crossbow guys

- From here on you will be making more gold than any other warband allowing you to win by attrition.

why the shields can i ask in the beginning? surely you could use the money for more weapons or other more useful stuff? or a warhound if correct?

Shield provide a 6+ save vs. bow and sling fire, giving you the upper hand in missile exchanges

ah, was trying to go through if the gold on shields was worth more than some more hand weapons.

Nice ideas, but against a lot of (unofficial) warbands, you will be outshot, and I think it's weak against Dwarfs too, since they can keep up with your campaign gold earning, and are heavily armoured most of the time,
but I think it's not bad at all

gilzenaar wrote:

Nice ideas, but against a lot of (unofficial) warbands, you will be outshot, and I think it's weak against Dwarfs too, since they can keep up with your campaign gold earning, and are heavily armoured most of the time, but I think it's not bad at all

AND dwarves can field an engineer, so they will shoot you with extended range, and WH will not fire back.

But good advices anyway.

Thanks for sharing

That's true, I don't to non-core warbands!

Excellent advice from Asp. I recommend you take it!

Asp's guide pretty much sums up how I've successfully played Witch Hunters in the past, the exception being I've tried to get a bit more h2h power crammed in. Instead of elven ranger I've usually taken the Ogre and also I've rather taken a Flagellant hero than a Zealot hero. This has allowed for a slightly different style of playing:

1) I can threathen with effective counter-charges against bands that have closed in which gives more time for shooters
2) I can in many missions seize the initiative by offensive manouvering thereby accomplishing objectives and forcing the other player to make less advantageous moves
3) I can sometimes beat other shooty bands (too specialiced ones) in close combat, especially with ogre & dogs closing in on ground level enemies and some heroes/henchmen then getting to the upper floors.
4) My warband seems a bit more fair and balanced to others while being highly competitive, so I don't get called cheesy as much... Nobody likes warbands that only sit'n'shoot

But, once again: every warband should be tailored to their players style and the environment where they are used. I've had success with a slightly more balanced list, but of course the differences are miniscule!

Like I said before, the style Asp describes is indeed excellent. The main Witch Hunter advantages are the shooty & wyrdstone hunting heroes and their canine friends. The main disadvantages are non-shooty henchmen and low warband size cap. Cap is to be negotiated with Cook & Cookbook, and if you take Asp's advice you can do a shooty warband very well without those pesky Marksmen

-Touko / Squirreli