Today I bring you the hardest and most competitive list with the Sea Guard Garrison infamy army for Warhammer The Old World that Iāve managed to build.
Spent hours tweaking itāthis is as sharp as it gets.
That said, it’s pure spam. One of those lists you see in front of you and seriously consider not even deploying and just going for a beer instead.
Note: The LIST in 1.5 isnāt even worth throwing in the fire ā it doesnāt just need a few tweaks, it needs to be completely rebuilt from scratch. So Iāve added a section explaining why, along with all the changes youāll want to make.
Why So Much Spam? How to Play Sea Guard Garrison
Itās a infamy army list created for romantic peopleāthose who love the lore of the Sea Guard, defending the city, and all that stuff.
But if you want to play competitively, itās also possible. However, the route is spam, as there are lots of limitations on which units you can include. On top of that, many of the units you can include are genuinely bad, leaving you with three or four good units that you’ll need to repeat many times if you want to field something competitive on the table.
Itās a bit like the crazy-hot scale from How I Met Your Mother: the fluffier and more thematic the list, the less competitive it usually is.
The way to play this is by carefully choosing fights with monstrous creatures, destroying support units through shooting, and sacrificing very small units. So even though itās inevitable your opponent will score points, since the units are so cheap and small, you can sacrifice them in a way that their main units don’t kill enough throughout the game to make their points back.
Hereās the list:
Noble [138 pts]
(Lance, Plate Armor, Shield, General, Barded Elven Steed, Reaver Bow)
++ Core Units [675 pts] ++
15 x 5 Ship’s Company [45 pts], 2 units are skirmishers
++ Special Units [550 pts] ++
5 x Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower [80 pts each]
Great Eagle [60 pts]
Lothern Skycutter [90 pts]
++ Rare Units [635 pts] ++
2x Frostheart Phoenix [205 pts each]
Merwyrm [225 pts]
Total: 1998 points. The year when the Tears of Isha campaign was released.
The Importance of the General
As you can see, the list includes only one character: a guy with great mobility, a 2+ armor save, who simply spends each turn firing three strength-5 arrows while staying hidden and at long range to avoid getting killed. His small base makes it easy to hide from real threats. Heās likely to easily make back his points, as heāll have fired 18 shots by the end of the game and is relatively easy to protect.
I still like this guy in 1.5, and you canāt take him in a Grand Army anymore ā not even as a Battle Standard Bearer ā if you want to run the lady that makes Sisters of Avelorn a Core unit. So I think this is the perfect army for him to find his place.
Mandatory Core Units
Remember that this army requires you to spend 33% of your points on core units, not just the usual 25% required by most armies. With that in mind, 15 units of five High Elf Ships Company (two of them skirmishers, since you’re limited to two) are the best option, as Shadow Warriors are too expensive and Sea Guard are really bad despite the buffs from the infamy army.
A couple of changes come to mind here:
- Add unit champions to the archers to further delay lone characters hunting them down (reducing the total number of archers).
- Include a unit of Shadow Warriors to shoot from further away, as they have better range.
IMPORTANT UPDATE 1.5:
Now Iāll definitely include Shadow Warriors if theyāre Core. In fact, NOW Iāll include Sea Guard too.
Keep in mind that the Shadow Warriorsā deployment options and mobility really help with scoring, and the Sea Guardās solid numbers and bonuses (I already covered them in the updated 1.5 High Elf Core post, so I wonāt repeat myself here). These units have improved a lot, and for that reason Iād cut down on the number of small Shipās Company units ā though Iād still keep a few to harass and sacrifice when the time comes.
To add even more ranged pressure and to deal with ā or at least threaten ā monstrous creatures, you can include 6 bolt throwers. In this list, I swapped one out for an eagle, but with the 1.5 rules, Iād probably drop all the bolt throwers ā I think theyāve lost a lot of their value.
The Great Eagle, like the Skycutter, works well here for hunting war machines that deploy far back to stay beyond the 24″ range of the millions of bows we have.
Their possible role as redirectors is mostly handled by the Ship’s Company in most matchups.
Not Everything is Shooting
As Rare Units, this army allows you to spend 33% instead of the usual 25%, which means double Frostheart Phoenix and one Merwyrm fit nicely, since theyāre models with good durability. The idea is for the Merwyrm to support one of the Phoenixes in combat, forcing the enemy to strike last and also imposing a -1 Strength penalty.
Itās been fun creating a horrible list from a fluffy army, but I do consider the standard High Elf army to be far more lethal in Old World, no matter how nasty this list might seem.
If you’re not familiar with the units from the Sea Guard Garrison, like High Elf Ships Company, I made a detailed post explaining them thoroughly, which I’ll link right below.
High Elves units TIERLIST Warhammer The Old World
šŗ THE BEST DWARF INFANTRY WARHAMMER THE OLD WORLD (2/2)
Jade Fleet of Cathay in Old World: Rules, Magic Items and Combos
If you think thereās an error in the post, feel free to reach out at theoldwarrior@theoldwarrior.com, and Iāll review it. Hope you enjoy ToW!