Carolingians, Merovingians, and Capetians: The Army List

I'm back with another army list review, this time for the Franks.  In my first post, I indicated that I was interested in playing Carolingians, so these are my preliminary thoughts on the troop options available to the army, as well as those available to the previous and successive dynasties, which use the same battle board.

Carolingians, Merovingians, and Capetians

Charlemagne considers fielding a Priest

The Carolingian battle board can be played with any of the three Frankish dynasties which ruled during the dark ages: Merovingians, Carolingians, and Capetians.  All three variants can take mounted hearthguard, though mounted Merovingian hearthguard must be equipped with javelins.  All the variants can arm warriors with bows.  The Carolingians and Merovingians can field mounted warriors, so they'll tend to have more cavalry, while the Capetians can't mount warriors, but can take a single unit of up to 8 warriors armed with crossbows.  Merovingians can also take a single unit of warriors on foot with javelins.  It seems like the Carolingians and Capetians will be pretty similar combined-arms lists, while the Merovingians will play a game more geared toward skirmishing with their javelin-armed troops.


Warlord

• No Equipment - Your battle board works fine for your warlord no matter how they are equipped.  Fielding a warlord on foot protects them from shooting, but limits their ability to spread We Obey throughout the army.  If you're fielding a substantial number of infantry, then you might want to leave your warlord on foot.
• Horse - Mounting your warlord speeds them up considerably, which is useful for making sure We Obey gets where it needs to go.  It also extends the warlord's charge range considerably if and when you need to commit them to the fight.

Overall, I feel that mounting your warlord is the right call for all three Frankish factions.  The versatility that movement L gets you when applying We Obey is too good to give up, especially given that several of your SAGA dice will often be tied up in your Proelium throughout the game, meaning that every free activation you get is worthwhile.

• Charlemagne - The version of Charlemagne you can play in SAGA isn't much of a fighter himself, but he can use We Obey more often and at a range of L, and allows you to field a more powerful unit of hearthguard: the Imperial Guard.  If you want an elite unit of heavy cavalry, or want a warlord who's incredibly good at commanding his subjects, you won't go wrong with Charlemagne.  Determination and Resilience mean it's probably worth fielding the full 8 possible Imperial Guards.
• Roland - Roland seems like a fun alternative to a regular warlord.  He starts on foot, and wants to run headlong at the enemy, getting himself exhausted and killed as quickly as possible.  This is because if he's killed while exhausted, you suddenly get 4 new points of hearthguard to play with.  Your opponent will have Pride, and be forced to charge Roland if possible, which seems like it could lead to Roland chasing enemy units around the table, trying to get himself killed while they try to stay away from him.  Use this to your advantage, and trap your opponent between an over-eager Roland and the core of your fighting strength.

Both of the legendary warlords let you shake things up a bit from the standard SAGA experience, since they both play quite differently from a standard warlord.  Charlemagne shouldn't be fighting at all, while Roland should be dying as soon as possible!  Both legendary warlords are only playable with Carolingians (not Merovingians or Capetians), and it seems like both are good options for when you want to switch things up.  You might also find that you much prefer either hanging back with Charlemagne or rushing forward with Roland.

Hearthguard

• No Equipment - Giving your hearthguard extra resilience against shooting by keeping them on foot does make some sense, and if you're fielding multiple units of hearthguard, you may want to keep one on foot.  This is especially true for Merovingians, whose mounted Hearthguard must be equipped with javelins, and will consequently be more vulnerable to both shooting and melee.
• Horses - Carolingians and Capetians can field mounted hearthguard without javelins, and it's probably a good idea to field at least one mounted unit of hearthguard for use with Illusio.  Four to six hearthguard charging with Illusio do much more damage than the same number of warriors, and mounted hearthguard can charge twice as far as infantry.
• Horses, Javelins - Merovingians must equip their mounted hearthguard with Javelins, which will make them an extremely dangerous skirmishing unit.  They want to ride at the opponent, throw javelins, and ride away again.  They don't especially want to engage in melee, however, so they'll only use Illusio only when the enemy is weakened enough that they won't lose too many of their number by charging in.

In general, I prefer mounted hearthguard to hearthguard on foot so that their exceptional power can get where it needs to go more quickly.

Hearthguard without equipment have a place, especially in a Merovingian warband.  They'll take advantage of your SAGA abilities which affect a limited number of models without sacrificing any armor, either in melee or at range.

Mounted hearthguard without javelins will be a good and flexible melee force for both Carolingians and Capetians, hitting hard and fast when they're needed, and remaining at the ready until then.  They'll use Illusio to charge a long distance without accumulating fatigue, and the excellent Frankish defensive abilities to keep their numbers high through several melees.  Capetians in particular will want to take mounted hearthguard, since they can't take mounted warriors.

Given that Illusio only affects units of 6 models or less (if your Proelium happens to be full), Carolingian and Capetian hearthguard should be fielded in units of 6 or less.  Either 3 points on 2 units of 6, or 1-2 points on 1-2 units of 4 will give you small but hard-hitting units which can use Illusio well.

Finally, mounted Merovingian hearthguard with javelins will play an aggressive skirmishing game.  Since they don't want to charge until the late game, you can field a single unit of 8 without giving up using Illusio too much.  Their shooting backed up by the Carolingian battle board will be well worth it.

Is there a reason to take hearthguard?

Yes.  Illusio allows a unit with a number of models up to twice your Proelium to charge without generating fatigue.  This is quite powerful, but a unit of 4-6 warriors won't be able to hit nearly as hard as a unit of 4-6 hearthguard, and will suffer more casualties as well.  However, Illusio is the only ability with a limit based on unit size.

The Proelium in general encourages you to take a smaller number of more elite units simply by tying up 2-3 of your SAGA dice.  You'll have fewer dice to spend on activations and battle board abilities, so it makes sense to put the dice you do have into the most powerful activations possible.

Finally, if you're playing Merovingians, only hearthguard can be fielded with both horses and javelins, and if you're playing Capetians, only hearthguard can be mounted at all.  Both of these are considerable advantages, and reasons to field hearthguard.

For Carolingians, hearthguard are more optional, since mounted warriors can make decent use of Illusio, especially in concert with abilities like Fortis, Vinco, or the Combat Bonus.  However, hearthguard still do much more damage for a given unit size.


Warriors

• No Equipment - Warrior infantry is solid in all the Frankish subfactions.  They can close ranks, have full armor against all attacks, and can take advantage of just about all the abilities on the battle board, with the exception of Illusio, which hearthguard and cavalry use better.  A single unit is a good investment to protect your more fragile ranged and cavalry units.
• Bows - Bows are a very solid equipment option, and all the Frankish subfactions should probably take at least one unit, possibly more.  They're an easy-to-activate, consistent source of damage, and they do alright in melee.  Their armor is bad, but the Carolingian battle board has some excellent options for protecting them.
• Horses - Merovingians and Carolingians can take warriors on horses, and a unit or two is a very good idea.  The speed of a couple cavalry units is extremely useful.  Merovingians will use mounted warriors as their primary melee cavalry while the hearthguard shoot until the late game.  Carolingians will probably use mounted warriors to soften up the enemy for a decisive charge by mounted hearthguard.  Units of 6 limit your attack pool, but let you use Illusio.
• Javelins - Merovingians can take a single unit of warriors on foot with javelins, and they're a good investment.  In addition to shooting well, the Saxon mercenaries can charge in to good effect.  As with other lightly armored troops, their frailty is offset by the defensive options on the Frankish battle board.  A single point's worth is solid, but you can take up to 12 if you like.
• Crossbows - Capetians can take a single unit of up to 8 warriors with crossbows, and it's a good investment.  Crossbows do a bit more damage per activation than bows, but can't activate to shoot as often.  One unit is a good backup to a unit of archers.  Fire the crossbows once, then if you have extra activations for ranged attacks, put them into the archers.

The core of the Frankish armies will be their warriors, and they'll want a good mix of the options available to them.  You'll want at least 3 points, and should consider ranged warriors, infantry, and cavalry as equally attractive options.  Archers are a necessity, I think.  The Carolingian battle board does a lot for ranged attacks, and in general it's good to have some archers to back up your melee fighters.

Archers will do a lot of damage consistently at range.  Cavalry will charge weakened units to wipe them out, or charge stronger units to weaken them and add fatigue.  Infantry will mostly stay near your archers, and charge or absorb a charge from units which threaten them.


Levy

• Javelins - Your levy are armed with javelins.  They're decent, and a unit is not a bad idea.  You have warriors for shooting attacks, so levy aren't a necessity.  That said, you get two more ranged attack dice per point, and you have numerous ways to activate your levies, so they're not a bad idea.

Levy are completely optional, but they seem like a reasonable use of a point.  If you have room in your list, it might be good to try them out.  If you do, they'll act as a supplementary shooting force screening your archers either along with standard infantry or instead of them if you want more ranged attacks.


Swords for Hire

• Jarl Sigvaldi - Sigvaldi does not seem good enough to justify taking him over ordinary hearthguard.  Your battle board abilities are too powerful.
• Egil Skalagrimsson - Carolingians have excellent defensive abilities, and when you have them primed, Provocation can be a great way to either force a unit out of position or force it to stay put.  He'll eat into your numbers, and can't use your advanced SAGA abilities, but he's pretty tough in his own right, and the option to shut down a unit is great for the abilities the Carolingians can use.
• Gall Gaedhill - Gall Gaedhill don't offer enough to justify them over infantry which can use your battle board abilities in my opinion.
• Flemish Mercenaries - They're tough, but slow, and with the help of your battle board your other warriors will also be tough.  I don't think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
• Angry Monks - The monks are pretty interesting, since letting them get killed might let you recharge your abilities during your turn and your opponent's.  You can't use your advanced abilities more than once per turn, but you can recharge your Proelium and excellent Combat Bonus at will.  I don't like giving the opponent as much control over that as they have to have, but if you're clever with positioning, you can force them to kill the monks.  Keeping some of your own units close by will help you manage fatigue too.  I'm not completely sold, but it's worth trying.
• Vagrant Warriors - Like the other mercenary warrior infantry, they don't offer enough to make up for not being able to use your battle board abilities.
• Scouts - Scouts give you the option to use terrain without melee infantry in your list.  Your melee infantry is already good, but if you want a mostly cavalry and ranged warband, you can take Scouts to ensure that you're able to deal with terrain much better than you could otherwise.
• Wandering Bard - Your dice are too sparse to give up We Obey, and your defensive abilities are good enough to keep your warlord alive if need be.
• Priest - You do have abilities it's worth giving up bodies to trigger.  Damnatio is incredibly powerful, as are Fortis and Domine, not to mention filling out your Proelium.  You do have Paratus to gain a rare die, but a priest can help you get it withiout giving up two of your valuable dice.
• Personal Champion - The champion isn't as tough as warriors or hearthguard for the point, and doesn't seem worthwhile to me.  They can be mounted, and can use your SAGA abilities, but they don't generate SAGA dice unless they're close to the warlord, and you're giving up on a unit you can use more aggressively if you do that.

Swords for Hire aren't necessary for the Carolingians (or Franks from other periods).  Their regular troop selection has no major gaps, and the Carolingian battle board abilities are far too powerful to give up lightly.  The most attractive options are the ones that let you take advantage of those abilities in new and interesting ways.  Egil, Angry Monks, a Priest, and Scouts each have their own way of doing that, and are all worth considering for that reason, though none of them stands out as a clear winner.  I like the idea of Egil a lot, but that might be because I just finished reading his saga.

With the models I currently have, I can run the following Carolingian list (though I'll have to use a few crossbow-armed models as warriors with bows - shhhh....)

Carolingian Warband
Warlord with Horse (free)
8 Hearthguard with Horses (2 points)
12 Warriors with Horses (1.5 points)
20 Warriors with Bows (2.5 points)

I'm currently planning to field the warrior cavalry in 2 units of 6, the hearthguard in 2 units of 4, and the warrior archers in 2 units of 10.  That will give me a good number of SAGA dice, and a good variety of units to make use of my various abilities.  I'll also fiddle around with a few other unit configurations, including 2 units of 6 hearthguard if the 4-strong units are too brittle or don't hit hard enough.  If I do that, I'd probably rework the points to take more models on foot and less mounted cavalry.  As soon as I pick up an appropriate infantry unit, in fact, I'll try them out.

The main source of damage will be the archer units.  The cavalry will charge against anything I think they can take on, using Illusio when they need the extra distance.  I'll focus most of my defensive abilities on them, making sure their numbers stay high even after I charge them into combat.