# Question: State Troops Hordes



## Sworn Radical (Mar 10, 2011)

I was just wondering what people believe would be the *most versatile* setup for a horde composed of Empire (melee) state troops ?
Thirty swordsmen would be nifty for their WS of 4 and their 6++ save.
Thirty halberdiers would be sweet for their strength of 4.
Forty spearmen would be able to attack from the 4th rank.

Any thoughts on this would be most welcome !


----------



## Alexious (Apr 13, 2009)

The State Trooper debate has raged since 5th ed or earlier when we were given choices. However it is a personal choice. However what I can tell you is that it will come down to how you play a little...

Empire State Troops are not supermen... they should not be used as such. What they are comes down to two things.

1). The Anvil.

Anvil troops are large and block like. In a game of 2,000 and above its 40 men. They are never going to kill a unit of Chaos or HE or DE or even Lizardmen. So get used to it! What they are there to do in this use is to hold a large enemy unit in place so you can get at it with the flankers. They need to hold firm and die.... thats all. So it comes down to what you put with them. The BSB, the warrior priest, even a COTE or lector. But it will be the support character that lends the hand to keep them steady even if its spears or swords or halberds. If you want an anvil, my theory is the spear, but its a much of a muchness. You will get the extra rank, thats ok... but its not perfect. They are there to stop the enemy unit so your flanking unit can kill.

2). The hammer.

If you want to use a block as a hammer, the opposite of the anvil, then again it is down to the support characters. Priests, COTE, Lectors, Generals all add their weight here to bring it down. However this is where magic comes into play. You have two choices, boost yourself... or weaken your opponent. Shadow and Life are paramount here to either keep you tough or nasty or weaken the enemy so your state troopers can kill more effectively. I tend to use Death on a level 4 to snipe and do damage as the enemy approach and shadow to weaken them as they hit the anvil or hammer or life or beast to help my own blocks overcome them. I also think the best choice of the hammer unit is the Halberd. It is the extra strength that will tell in the end and with a decent magic boost... they can be nasty.

As for the swordsmen... your right with the shield, but it is more than this. They are basic troops. Even with an extra parry so what? They are not there to live or even win the battle, they are there so your other units can win the battle for you!

Great Empire Generals use the above and others.... so that the other killers can do their work for them.

Mortar... best 75 points worth of death you will get.
Cannon... best killer the battlefield has for anything at range.
Handgunners... keep up the fire on the marching nasty blocks as they approach.

Flagellants... awesome stuff here, with 30 you can go to town with magic boosts and they become killing machines that will not run. But always use a large unit.

Knights... units of 10+ are required these days, but slaming into the flank of DE will kill them. Same with HE. You just need to survive the first strike then you will get them. Magic and Lectors help you stand your ground here. BIG TIME!

Lastly... the Steam Tank... do not let anyone moan and bitch at you. Its a legit choice and it is there as its powerful but can be stopped quickly too with a wily opponent. One of the best combo's is steam tank in the side as the block holds your enemy steady and grind away.... even Chaos warriors will fall.

In conclusion, I hope this helps. Not one State trooper is better... but for my money I use the Halberd. As i can use it as a block of hold the line... or go on the offense with magic support. Swords... meh.. spears ok... but not great on the offense. 
I even use Milita at times! x2 attacks is nothing to be sneezed at in a horde with correct support. 

As for detachments.... use in groups of 5 only for now. They are not toward your core choice. I use mine to march off and stand in front of warmachines to stop them dying or bring out fanatics or whatever or their best use is to stop marching or delay enemies so that the guns... the cannon, mortar and helstrom can continue to load and fire at the enemy as they approach. Even chaos warriors wittled down by 10 or 20 as they come forward mean a lot less that block of state troops has to hold up against when push comes to shove.

Lexi.


----------



## Ratvan (Jun 20, 2011)

Well to be honest my personal preference is swordsmen as I often play an attrition/points denial tactic and the parry save and extra WS and I for a point a model just wins hands down in my opinion. 

With the state troopers as well do not buy models for how many attacks you can get in CC as you will have a few turns of shooting and magic you have to weather before this. 30 swordsmen would be good in CC but you do not start with them in combat.... for me 50+ is good as then you have 20 men that can die before you start losing your attacks (I'm imagining horde vs horde here) same with spearmen and halberdiers die in droves (as they should) so these even bigger 60+

Support Characters are what makes the unit as Alexious says, I have 90 Swordsmen (its a beardy list) in one big block supported with a Level 4 Lore of Life Wizard, BSB and Warrior Priest. With a successful magic phase I now have 90 T7 Swordsmen who are Unbreakable. (Throne of Vines, Flesh Into Stone and the WP prayer) a very tough nut to crack. Paired with a steam tank (who on his own can hold up entire units if used correctly) and a mortar for my 3 unit minimum. The most a player can do is get 75 points for the mortar. I have to kill 86 points worth to win. 

Most versitile tactic for me (at 2k) is the 90 Swordsmen with two detachments of 45 Halberds and Swordsmen again so I can counter/support charge with my detachments (unless you playing skaven then Swords on both flanks too) and the Swordsmen on the flank can stick around for a while thanks to parry save.


----------

