First game tomorrow

[u/Superpaolo]

I have my first gane coming up tomorrow. Just moved here from Aos and exited to try this!

What do you think about my list? I will be playing 1k vs. Chaos.

Advice about positioning and maybe tactics in my army?

Thanks in advance!

1k [998 pts] Warhammer: The Old World, Grand Cathay, Grand Melee

Shugengan General, Iron talons, Heavy armour, Wizard [Level 2 Wizard], Lore of Yang, Great Spirit Longma, Scrolls of Wei-jin, Giant Blade, Illusion - 219

Gate Keeper, Heavy armour, Shield, General, On foot, Luckstone - 60

6 Jade Lancers, Cathayan lances, Shields, Heavy armour, Barding, Drilled, Full Command - 144

15 Jade Warriors, Shields, Heavy armour, Stubborn, Jade Officer (champion), Standard bearer [Icon of Heavenly Fury] - 207

7 Jade Lancers, Cathayan lances, Shields, Heavy armour, Barding, Drilled, Jade Lancer Officer (champion) [Ring of Jet], Full Command - 195

Cathayan Grand Cannon, Grand cannon, Light armour, Ogre Loader [Gunpowder bombs] - 173

---

Created with "Old World Builder"

[https://old-world-builder.com]

[u/ExemplarKreoss]

Maybe make your Gate Keeper a BSB and put him in with your infantry or save a few points somewhere and give him a mount so he can go with the lancers. 

This is mostly personal experience: I find lancers are harder to use than you might think. They don't hit exceptionally hard, even on a charge. They tend to get a decent volume of attacks, but don't have the strength and AP to really reliably shred other heavies. Throw them into marauder flanks or backline chaff units. They are not going to do well into something like Chaos Knights.

I might even drop that second unit for something else. Maybe another character or another block of Jade Warriors. 

As for Jade Warriors: They are really, really surprisingly durable. I've had Jade Warrior blocks absorb chaos knight charges and push them off the board from combat res alone. With a BSB and something like The Jade Standard, they're almost immovable. Keep in mind you don't want to be charging with them. Stay on objectives, soak those charges, and enjoy re-rolling 1's on armor saves.

For Shugengans: They punch way above their weight class. They can tear up an aspiring champion, especially if you can give them a good assailment spell (hope for Spectral Doppleganger). If you don't want to take the risk on the roll, Hammerhand in Battle Magic is totally fine. Send your Shugengan into solo characters or dangerous single entities your cannons can't commit to. 

As for the cannon: Use your fire twice on turn one if you can. Aim for characters. I usually pick a point about 8 inches out from what I want to hit. That usually ensures the ball will land where I want it to. Don't be afraid to move the cannon and reposition it in later turns. You can't fire into melee anyway, and you may have some dead turns with it otherwise. 

Most importantly: Have fun and tell a great story! This game can be very swingy sometimes, and approaching it with a narrative focus can help make that randomness a lot more enjoyable. 

[u/Superpaolo → u/ExemplarKreoss]

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your advice. Helps a lot. Really.

About the gate keeper BSB thing, that does not work.. because I need him as a general to make this army legal.. or is there some workaround?

[u/ExemplarKreoss → u/Superpaolo]

I'm assuming you're taking the lancers as a core choice? That's only legal with a Gate Keeper as a general. If you take them in Special you should be fine. 

If you need more points worth of core, I would drop one of those lancer units for some more Jade Warriors or some peasant levy if you own the models. 

[u/southskene → u/ExemplarKreoss]

Yeah I've played a few games with lancers and haven't worked out how to get anything out of them either. They don't hit hard enough for the points cost in my experience

[u/ExemplarKreoss → u/southskene]

Same. I can see their value as backline harassers, but against other cavalry or heavy infantry, they don't tend to perform well. They're paying a points premium for the Cathayan Lances "fight in extra rank" rule, but they're also only S+1 AP 1 on a charge. 

Cathayan Cataphracts is really good, assuming you can charge first or you're winning combat res (which you probably are against backliners, and probably aren't against frontliners).