A Legion Rises

The  final stage of army construction would bring my list to 800 points, the standard for a game of First Blood. I already had an additional Praetorian built from my first entry (he had been superseded by the Standard Bearer once I had the parts I’d needed to build one). Placing him in the Pretorian Regiment increased their number to eight models, bringing them in line with the legionaries units.

With 120 points remaining I looked to build a retinue for my Commander. After some deliberation I opted for one of each type from the Combat Retinue section. These weigh in at 30 points apiece and although my usual approach would be to go for a job specific combination (three bodyguards for example), I wanted to try out all three to see how each performed.

More on the retinue models in the next entry but with 30 points still to spend I figured that my Xiliarch could benefit from a weapon upgrade. It was a choice between Skofnung and Severian’s Dagger, either of which would use up my remaining points. I opted for the Dagger as it comes with the Flurry and Deadly Blades special rules. This seemed like a nice complement to the Cleave 1 the Xiliarch already possesses, plus the dagger also gives the bearer Parry, further improving their defensive capabilities.

My force now comprised of three units of eight models, each with an Officer and Standard Bearer. Owing to the Xiliarch’s Pentrachoi special rule, at full strength these units would count as Ten models for the purpose of scoring objectives. They also count as being within his command range at all times, so long as the Standards are in play. I was hoping this would give me a force that was durable while retaining a strategic advantage due to the elongated command range and scoring bonuses. The Optio’s also bring a high degree of mobility to the list with their Endless March Command. As for the Commander himself, I was confident that his retinue and upgrades would allow him to hold his own against most opponents.