# New Empire battalion



## neilbatte (Jan 2, 2008)

The new Empire battalion is now being shown on the GW website.
The contents are 2x10 state troops, 10 handgunners
10 greatswords and 8 knights.
pretty much the same as before but with the ridiculous priced greatswords instead of a cannon and the outriders/pistoliers.
I'd probably buy this at the old price but its £60 which is far to rich for me.
I suppose with 2 boxes you could make a fairly decent Empire army with a bit of imagination and maybe the wizard boxset too but there is no way to justify spending that much for me.


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## squeek (Jun 8, 2008)

Can't say I am very impressed with the addition of Greatswords. They aren't really a unit that most people want to double up with and I can't see many people choosing them over the outriders and cannon really. In my opinion they have made the box less desirable, rather than keep it something worth buying more than one of.


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

The greatswords may be a questionable unit, but I can see buying two battallions. That gives you sixty State Troops, twenty Greatswords, and sixteen Knights-- which is a solid core to a State Troops army (which, in my opinion, has always been the best kind of Empire Army.) I actually prefer this mix in the battallion, since you do get enough State Troops to make it reasonable to buy more than one. The other battallions come with 20 state troops, and assorted other stuff, but ultimately, it's just one unit of State Troops.


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## Ascendant Valor (Jan 3, 2009)

I'm definitely with SoH on this one. It's vital for Empire players to be able to quickly field at least one large unit of State Troops (probably Swordsmen!). That way, they can create a respectable back-bone to their army.

Granted, a cannon or mortar is vital to Empire players, having those Knights and all those troops is nice. The other loss is the Pistoliers/Outriders unit. Those guys were mean!

Now, what I see a problem with is the price. However, if us hobbyists are still in the market we will still likely buy it. It'd be nice, though, to be able to buy more for our bucks, but I can't complain too much. Not like this hobby was ever too affordable.


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## squeek (Jun 8, 2008)

I definitely agree that more State Troopers is a good thing, but I don't personally see much point in having 20 Greatswords. It just seems far too many of what is generally perceived to be a sub-par unit (in my experience). I think for 60 quid it needs to be perfect to build an army from, particularly if I were going to double up. The Greatswords and lack of cannons and outriders makes that a non-starter for me.


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## Ascendant Valor (Jan 3, 2009)

Well, of the Empire units, Greatswords do hit hard. Just not that often...


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## neilbatte (Jan 2, 2008)

If I could choose any of the units to drop it would have been the knights.
The added infantry have there place even the greatswords to a degree but any serious Empire collector I know already has more than enough knights.


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## HorusReborn (Nov 19, 2008)

I think it's not reflective of the Empire army! There is no price on the US site, so I don't know how much it's going to run over here, but to push their great swords in lieu of other things is ridiculous! Though a good solid chunk of state troops is nice. I think it's a good addition to a built up army already... though 8 knights is stupid! I'd rather they make the boxes like the chaos knights or cold one knights. The days of 4 to a rank are done, why do they continue to sell them like that?!? As a side note, it's not something I'm going to buy! The great swords are a turn off for me!


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## karlhunt (Mar 24, 2009)

I still can't believe that they are charging MORE for 10 plastic greatswords than they were for 10 pewter ones! That aside, I think it's great that they finally made an empire box that doesn't include a cannon. I have 15 of them already why the hell would I want another? I agree that 8 knights is rather stupid. IMHO this is what the box should have included.

2x 10 state troops
1x 5 knights (New models!)
1x 5 pistolier/outrider
1x 10 greatswords (come on, they always showcase their new models in a batallion)
1x 10 free company (they have enough bits to make crossbowmen, archers even troops with blunderbuss, much more versatile!)


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