COLEMANIA: Loose Cannon! - An Analysis on Cannon Defense
Mar 28, 2021 23:10:38 GMT
wilsonthenarc, FvonSigmaringen, and 9 more like this
Post by KevinC on Mar 28, 2021 23:10:38 GMT
Loose Cannon!
A Guide And Analysis of Tactical Defence Considerations Against (Arguably) the Most Dangerous Weapon in Warhammer Fantasy Battles
By Kevin Coleman
A Guide And Analysis of Tactical Defence Considerations Against (Arguably) the Most Dangerous Weapon in Warhammer Fantasy Battles
By Kevin Coleman
Definition: Cannon – /kanǝn/ noun, plural can•nons, (especially collectively) can•non.
1. A ‘Laser-Guided’ War Machine in Warhammer Fantasy Battles that destroys everything in its path.
2. The reason not to bring out your Big Gribbly.
3. The reason not to mount your General on a fancy mount.
Stigma, Mythos, and Theory
If your character and monster models have ever fallen victim to the dreaded Warhammer cannon in a game of Warhammer Fantasy Battles (WFB), particularly in the 8th edition, then you probably relate, if not completely agree with the points listed in the definition above. As for myself, I rarely field cannons in my armies (they’re not available to Goblins), but my armies are often on the receiving end of their destructive power. As much as I can relate to the definition points above, and although cannons are indeed extremely potent weapons, I believe they are scarier on paper than in actual game play and if you play specifically to counter them, the effectiveness of a cannon can be mitigated, if not negated. In this tactica, we will take a closer look on how cannons work and the best ways to counter them.
A Historical Accounting of Warhammer Cannons
The rules for cannons in WFB have essentially remained the same throughout the various editions. The rules for firing cannons in 8th edition originated from the then-new cannon rules that first appeared in White Dwarf magazine issue 147 (March, 1992!). These rules were written for the 3rd edition of Warhammer, but at the tale end of that edition (WFB 4th edition, would be released in October of the same year). At this time, White Dwarf featured a brand new miniatures range for the Empire army along with new background lore, rules, and a full army list. Alongside of these new Empire army rules were ‘experimental’ rules for cannons, which used the cutting edge scatter and artillery dice (created for the Space Marine game) we all use today.
For nearly 30 years, WFB players have been rolling artillery dice when shooting their cannons. The most significant change to the cannon rules was in WFB 8th edition with the removal of the old ‘guess range’ element (though in 3rd edition a model wounded by a cannon was simply killed). But enough of WFB history, let’s examine how the cannon rules work in 8th edition.
How a Cannon Works and What are the Odds?
When firing a cannon, the player chooses a point within line of sight (LOS) of the cannon model and rolls the artillery dice. As long the cannon doesn’t malfunction by rolling a ‘misfire’ result, the cannon will overshoot the nominated point by 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 inches as per the number result on the artillery dice. The artillery dice is then rolled a second time representing the bounce of the cannonball, traveling another 2-10 inches (assuming a misfire is not rolled, which means the cannonball doesn’t bounce). All models in the path of the total length of the bounce roll, from the point where the cannon first struck through the final point where the bounce ends, suffer a S10 hit that causes D6 wounds. Ouch!
Players quickly determined that that best ‘point’ to choose when firing a cannon is a point 10” from the rear of the desired target’s base. That way, the initial cannon shot cannot overshoot the target. If a 10 is rolled, the target will be hit and if the model is on a large base, an 8 or even a 6 might hit the target as well. However, if the player does end up short, he still gets the bounce roll, which can make up for the distance it fell short by and still strike the target. This means if a cannon fires at a model on a 50x50 mm base and targets a point 10” from the rear of model’s base, the player will need the initial artillery dice roll plus the bounce roll to equal 8 or higher. This is not particularly unlikely. In fact, the probability of rolling a total of 8” or more on both dice rolls (the initial shot + the bounce) is approximately 67%. Not bad. Much better than the 28% chance a stone thrower has of hitting a target with the hole of the stone thrower template.
Considering the mathematical probability, the cannon does seem laser-guided, especially if you fire more than one cannon at the same target. However, this ideal shot, that is – nominating a point 10” from the rear of the target’s base, is not always so easy. And if you disagree, well fine, for our objective here is to discuss tactics of cannonade defence and so the goal is to make that ‘easy’ cannon shot not easy.
Cannon Defence 101: Line of Sight and Obscuring the ‘Point’
As mentioned, when firing a cannon, the player must “nominate a point within the war machine’s line of sight” (WFB, pg. 112) and within the cannon’s range. The rulebook goes on to state that this point does not have to be a model, but any point within the cannon’s LOS, including a point on the ground. LOS is the key point here.
As we have discussed, the cannon player will want to nominate a point 10” from the rear of the target’s base. When this point is chosen, the opposing player should always verify that the cannon actually has LOS to this chosen point. I state this not because the cannon player is cheating but because, in my experience, the LOS to the nominated point is often assumed or unwittingly ignored.
Verifying the point though is really just precautionary; you need to be proactive in disrupting your opponent in being able to choose an ideal point. This means deploying your army and manoeuvring your units in such a way as to maximize the obstruction of the best cannon target points on the table that would lead to an easy cannon hit on your precious cannon magnets – monsters, ridden monsters, chariots, ridden chariots, war machines or otherwise vulnerable single model units or characters (hence forth collectively called ‘Big Gribblies’).
The best way to obscure the point in this manner is with highly manoeuvrable units such as fast cavalry. This is accomplished by moving the fast cavalry unit in front of the 10” point and facing the direction of the enemy cannon, thus blocking the cannon’s LOS to the ideal 10” point. Unless elevated, the cannon’s nominated point would have to be either a model in the front rank of the blocking unit or a point in front of them. The idea here is to cause such a cannon shot to fall short because the 10” point is obscured, forcing the cannon player to either nominate a point more than 10” away from the rear of the target’s base or to choose a different target altogether.
In photograph 1, the cannon’s (circled in blue) shot to the Goblin Warboss mounted on a Gigantic Spider (circled in green) is obstructed by the unit of Goblin Wolf Riders who are wholly blocking the 10” point. The cannon could still try and hit the Goblin Warboss by targeting a point on the front rank of the Wolf Riders, but the chances of striking the Goblin Warboss will be considerably lower than an otherwise perfect 10” point-shot. Not to mention, the Wolf Riders present an immediate threat to the cannon.
Photograph 1:
Of course, a cannon deployed on a hill does benefit from a significant advantage. Depending on the height of the hill and its distance from the targeting point, a cannon may be able to see over blocking and intervening units. The above obscuring-the-point tactics with fast cavalry can still work, but it may require more finesse and it involve multiple units.
Regarding hills in general, you must make every effort to deprive your opponent from deploying their cannons on hills with dominating views of the battlefield. If you win the roll to choose tablesides, ensure your opponent gets the side without hills, or with the least amount of hills, or with hills in an inferior position (i.e. a hill that’s positioned all the way to the table’s left or right edge, making a potential cannon shot easier to avoid). Do this even if you’d prefer the other side. Remember mitigating the effects of a cannon is hard work, do not let yourself become complacent by choosing a tableside that’s merely convenient for your army, rather think about making it inconvenient for your opponent even if it’s inconvenient for you as well.
During deployment, avoid deploying your Big Gribblies until after your opponent deploys his cannons. Then deploy your Big Gribblies to minimize the most ideal cannon shot. Furthermore, before the game it’s worth stepping around the table, stooping down and spying the battlefield from the perspective of the enemy cannon(s). This will give you a general idea of what the cannon can see and the space on the table you need to obscure.
Finally, it’s worth noting to always keep in mind the LOS rules: wings, tails, banners, weapons, and “other ornament” the model has is ignored for purposes of LOS (WFB, pg. 10). Considering these elements of a large fantastical model, the miniature becomes much easer to block with intervening terrain and obstacles when those pieces are ignored.
Make the Cannon Shot Illegal
Another important aspect of cannon targeting is that a cannon cannot shoot in a particular direction if it “has a chance of hitting a friendly unit or an enemy unit that is engaged in close combat” (WFB, pg. 112). This is more important for later in a game, where your Big Gribbly may not be in combat, but overruns, pursues or otherwise manoeuvres in such a way at to position itself behind or in front of an enemy unit or a friendly unit in combat and where a cannon shot could unintentionally strike such a unit. Take note of the position of enemy units, units engaged in combat, and places on the table where your Big Gribbly could move to or end up moving to after an overrun/pursuit and where it would be illegal to fire a cannon. These imperative points are often ignored or forgotten during the heat of battle, but with careful consideration your Big Gribbly can effectively gain cannon immunity.
Photograph 2: Photo 2 coming soon (I didn't have the right image readily available).
Overwhelm Them with Multiple Targets
A single cannon is not so scary and is much more manageable by using the tactics discussed above. However, many armies that have access to cannons will often have two, if not three or more (cringe!).
Another way to defend against such cannonades is to include multiple Big Gribblies. This can create a frustrating, confusing, and difficult decision-making process for your opponent regarding which target is best. Does he target the advancing Giant, the Mangler Squigs closing in on his heavy cavalry or the distant Orc Warboss atop a Wyvern? Chances are they can’t snipe all of them!
In photograph 3, the Dwarf cannon (in the woods) must choose to target the looming Arachnarok Spider, the Mangler Squigs or the advancing Trolls & Grom’s Chariot.
Photograph 3:
Deploy Proper Terrain and Hide, Advance, Pounce!
In miniature wargames that use true LOS such as WFB 8th edition, it is important to make, buy, and play with terrain that will make a difference on the battlefield. Low hills or woods with a couple thin trees do not suffice. Use high or multi-tiered hills, woods with several thick trees or foliage and other large terrain features such as looming towers or other buildings.
Although it may not be ideal or convenient to deploy your Big Gribbly behind a terrain piece, it’s well worth the protection in the opening turn(s) of the battle in a strategy I call ‘Hide, Advance, Pounce!’ If you mitigate cannon shots effectively, your opponent should not have the opportunity to get more than one good shot in at your Big Gribbly. Hide, Advance, Pounce! can help you protect your Big Gribbly while getting them in combat as quickly as possible.
Step 1: Hide. During deployment, conceal your Big Gribbly behind terrain such as a building or place them so that they are out of range of the cannon (or so distant the shot is unlikely). You could also deploy them behind a unit of Cannonball Catchers or an obstacle (more on these below).
Step 2: Advance. During turn one, move your ‘hiding’ Big Gribbly as far and as close as possible to the enemy battle line (with the intent to charge in the following turn). During the Advance step, this is where you would combine other tactics we discussed such as obscuring the point, overwhelm them with multiple targets, etc. This is the turn where your Big Gribbly will be most vulnerable to cannon fire and so this is the turn where you want to maximize cannon mitigation. As we’ll discuss later, there are a number of good items that maximize their effectiveness at this stage (such as the Charmed Shield and the Rock of Inevitability).
Step 3: Pounce! Now it’s time to get your Big Gribbly stuck in combat by charging an appropriate target. As long as the Gribbly is in combat it can’t be targeted by shooting attacks and combat is exactly where your Big Gribbly needs to be. At this point you’ll want to further consider where your Big Gribbly will be if it breaks/destroys the unit and pursues/overruns, and do your best to ensure the Big Gribbly is able to position itself so that any cannon shot is illegal (as we’ve discusses above). For the remainder of the game, keep your Big Gribbly in combat or in positions where the cannon cannot target (i.e. enemy units or friendly units in combat could be hit).
Consider photographs 4, 5, and 6: in this game the Arachnarok Spider began the game concealed behind a building (Hide), in turn two it moved over the building and towards the Dwarf battle line (Advance), then charged in turn 3 (Pounce!). In this case the Spider charged the actual cannon model.
Photograph 4: Hide.
Photograph 5: Advance (during the Advance I also employed the Overwhelm them with Multiple Targets tactic, the cannon fired at the Arachnarok Spider inflicting 3 wounds).
Photograph 6: Pounce! The Arachnarok Spider charged and destroyed the cannon!
Perhaps the most important terrain type is an obstacle such as fences, hedgerows, and low walls, which make for excellent cannonball barriers. For it a cannonball bounces into such a feature it will destroy the obstacle, “but the cannonball travels no further” (WFB, pg. 113). This means you should view obstacle terrain features as a kind of cannonball-shield magic item that are already deployed on the battlefield. A Big Gribbly behind an obstacle becomes extremely difficult to hit because the bounce cannot hit him (it will hit the obstacle first) and if the cannon nominates a point on the targeted Big Gribbly, it is likely the shot will overshoot.
Take another look at photograph 1, even if the cannonball bounce did reach the Goblin Warboss the obstacle would be struck and destroyed first, ending the cannonball’s bounce and protecting the Warboss from harm.
Cannonball Catchers and Cannon Hunters
When a cannonball strikes monstrous infantry/beast/cavalry or a monster, the model must be slain in order for the cannonball to continue its bounce. While monstrous cavalry and monsters are typically too expensive to be used as such screeners, monstrous infantry and monstrous beasts are cheap enough to be bought as an obstructing unit or cannonball catchers as I like to call them, which can be thought of as a kind of mobile obstacle for your Big Gribbly.
To screen the Big Gribbly, merely place the monstrous unit in front of the target between the target and the enemy cannon(s). In order to hit the target, the cannon player will have to either take their changes and nominate a point on the model he is targeting (assuming he can see the target) and which will have a good chance of overshooting or they will attempt to fire as they usually would (10” from the rear of the target’s base) with a chance of being blocked by the monstrous unit. For if the monstrous unit is hit, one model most be killed outright per rank for the cannonball to continue with its bounce. “If the monster or monstrous infantry/beast/cavalry model is not slain, the sheer bulk of the creature robs the cannonball of all momentum and the shot travels no further” (WFB, pg. 113). This typically means causing 3 wounds on the unit with 1 rank or 6 wounds (two models) in a unit with two ranks. The more the ranks, the more difficult it is for a cannonball to bounce through the unit. Furthermore, a monstrous unit with a ward save or regeneration makes for the best Cannonball Catchers for they have a chance at a successful saving throw. For this reason Trolls, Beasts of Nurgle, Crypt Horrors and K’daai Fireborn are the best Cannonball Catchers around.
In photograph 7, a unit of Trolls act as Cannonball Catchers by being deployed in front of and screening Grom’s Chariot. For a bouncing cannonball to hit Grom’s Chariot, the cannonball will have to first wound a Troll (17% chance of failure), the Troll must then fail its Regeneration save (50% chance of failure), then the cannonball must inflict 3 or more wounds when rolling for the Multiple Wounds (D6) special rule (33% chance of failure). If all that works out, then Grom’s Chariot could be hit. In this example, the cannon has three successive obstacles to get through before it can roll for damage on the main target, and that’s after succeeding with the initial shot and bounce rolls.
Photograph 7:
In addition to the Cannonball Catcher units that act as shields, small units of flyers, fast cavalry or scouts are ideal at hunting down war machines and destroying them before they get to cause too much damage. These Cannon Hunter units are typically infantry or war beast units that can either fly or deploy behind enemy lines as scouts or have the vanguard special rule in the case of fast cavalry. Obviously with Cannon Hunters, you want to deploy and/or move them as close as possible to an enemy cannon with efforts to destroy the cannon early in the game (turn 1 or 2 ideally) with missile weapons or by engaging them in combat (or both!). It’s worth mentioning to beware of the grapeshot attack, which allows a cannon to fire an artillery dice number of S5, armour piercing hits on a unit within 12”. So if your Cannon Hunters are going to shoot or advance in preparation for a charge, keep them outside of the 12” grapeshot range.
Below is a table that shows the best Cannonball Catchers and Cannon Hunters for each Warhammer Army, some with a notation of a particular ability that makes them exceptional at dealing with cannons.
Shoot’em with YOUR own Cannons!
An old Warhammer tactic was the advice to shoot down your enemy’s war machines with your own war machines. I never particularly agreed with this method because it’s not that simple. Common war engines like stone throwers (and devices that fire like them) are likely to deviate and Bolt Throwers are Strength 6, meaning they will only wound the average war machine a third of the time (most war machines are T7). The exception is if you have cannons of you own. Targeting your opponent’s cannons with your own cannons will not only allow you to dominate the field in shooting, but you’ll be protecting your own cannons and Big Gribblies from the enemy cannons. Remember, the best defence is a good offense.
Cannon Variants
There is a wide range of cannon types that you can face across a Warhammer battlefield, so it’s worth taking a look at the different cannon variants out there…
Dwarf Cannons (Dwarfs)
Dwarf cannons are special because they can have up to 100 points worth of magical Engineering Runes. Any cannon with a rune on it counts as having magical attacks. The most popular rune Dwarf players inscribed on their cannons is the Rune of Forging for 25 points. This rune allows the Dwarf player to reroll any misfire results of the artillery dice, making the cannon even more accurate than usual. Another effective rune for a Dwarf Cannon is the Rune of Burning for this rune negates any Regeneration saves a Big Gribbly might have and will cause double damage Flammable targets. On that note, Big Gribblies that have protection from Flaming Attacks will be useful against a fiery Dwarf cannon. There are several magic items that protect against Flaming Attacks, which we’ll discuss later.
Warp Lightning Cannon (Skaven)
This Skaven contraption is by far the most unusual cannon. It is more vulnerable to mishap than other cannons because a misfire roll on the first artillery roll or the bounce roll will negate the entire shot. Further more, the Strength of the cannon shot is equal to the number on the artillery dice bounce roll. This means roughly half the time the Warp Lightning Cannon will have a dangerous Strength value (6, 8 or 10). The other half of the time it will be only Strength 2 or 4, or not fire at all (i.e. misfire result)! It’s also worth mentioning that a Warp Lightning Cannon cannot fire a grapeshot, making it less threatening to your Cannon Hunter units.
The Warp Lightning Cannon does have the ability to cause perhaps the most damage of any cannon, for the smaller round template is placed where the bounce ends, with the shot hitting each model along the path of the bounce as normal and every model touched by the template at the end. Regardless of its Strength, the attack ignores armour and counts as magical. This cannon is perhaps better geared for shooting at troops, in particular large formations of heavily armour troops, such as Dwarfs, Chaos Warriors and heavy cavalry.
Ironblasters (Ogre Kingdoms)
The best cannon in the game! Though expensive at 170 points, the Ironblaster is a mobile, chariot-cannon. Although its range is ‘only’ 36”, it can move 6” and fire, so in truth its range it really 42”. In terms of firepower, it rolls two artillery dice for the bounce with the Ogre player choosing the highest result. This means the cannonball has a better chance at both actually bouncing and having a longer bounce distance.
What’s more is that the Ironblaster is difficult to destroy (T6, W5, 4+ armour save) and is a real threat in close combat (not only does it inflict impact hits but the Ogre riding it and the Rhinox pulling it each have multiple high Strength attacks). You can’t send your Cannonball Hunters against this cannon, for even if they avoid combat and attempt to shoot the chariot down, the Ironblaster has a Strength 10 grapeshot! You’ll need a powerful unit to hunt this cannon down.
On a good note, because of it’s high point cost you typically won’t see more than 1 or 2 Ironblasters. If your opponent does take 2 of them it will mean they are tying up nearly 400 points in chariot/cannons. That’s a large chunk of points.
Skull Cannon of Khorne (Daemons of Chaos)
The Skull Cannon is similar to the Ironblaster in that it is a chariot as well. Its cannon has a range of 48” and can also move 7” and still shoot, making its true range 55” (just shy of the 60” range of a Great Cannon). The most significant difference to recognize is that the cannon shot has the Flaming Attacks special rule. While an effective feature against models with regeneration or flammable targets, it’s also a potential weakness (as mentioned with the flaming Dwarf cannons) since there are plenty of ways to defend against Flaming Attacks. See the comments regarding magic items below.
Magma Cannon (Chaos Dwarfs)
Another Fire Cannon, the Chaos Dwarf Magma Cannon fires like a standard cannon but instead of a bounce the flame template is placed. All models hit by the template suffer a S5 hit with the Flaming Attacks and Multiple Wounds (D3) special rules. The strength and damage of the Magma Cannon is not a bad as the traditional cannon, but another example of how anti-flaming attack magic items are a good option for your Big Gribbly.
Choosing Magic Items for your Big Gribblies
Several magic items are ideal for protecting against the heavy damage a cannon can cause and worth taking for any Big Gribbly with access to magic items. Lets take a look at some of the best ones.
Charmed Shield and Opal Amulet
These are cheap magic items that are both one use only items. If you play your Big Gribbly right, your opponent should only get one good shot at it (as previously discussed: Hide, Advance, Pounce!). When this happens one of these item can save the day by negating that one good shot. The Charmed Shield negates the first hit suffered on a 2+, and the Opal Amulet provides a 4+ ward against the first wound suffered. When fighting against an army with cannons, often the first hit or wound a Big Gribbly is going to suffer is going to be from a cannon, which makes these cheap items extremely effective against cannons. I can’t recommend the Charmed Shield enough for a mere 5 points.
Armour of Destiny, Armour of Fortune, Talisman of Preservation, Talisman of Endurance
These items grant a 4+ or 5+ ward save, solid protection against cannonballs. The talismans can be further combined with magic armour (such as the Charmed Shield) for even greater protection.
Dragon Helm and Dragonbane Gem
These items provide the bearer with a 2+ ward against Flaming Attacks and so offer excellent protection against cannons and other war machines with Flaming Attacks (as discussed, 3 cannons variants have Flaming Attacks). The Dragonbane Gem can be combined with a suit of magic armour since it’s an enchanted item. The best way to use these items is on a character riding a monstrous beast. Since the character and mount combine as one model, a single 2+ ward save protects them both!
Ironcurse Icon
While the Ironcurse Icon only provides a 6+ ward save against war machines, the key here is that affects an entire unit. This means, for your character riding a monster or chariot (or the like) the item will also confer the mount with a 6+ ward against cannons. Not the best protection out there, but better than nothing and one of the few ways to confer a ward save on a Monster mount. If a cannonball hits your Big Gribbly you’ll have a 1 in 6 chance to negate the cannonball. Well worth 5 points.
Healing Potion
If your character is wounded by a cannon, a third of the time is will only cause 1 or 2 wounds. Your wounded character can down a healing potion in his following turn and be back to full health!
Golden Crown of Atrazar (High Elves)
Similar to the Charmed Shield and Opal Amulet, the first wound suffered by the bearer receives a 2+ ward save for only 10 pts. Since it’s a Talisman, the wearer may also take magic armour. This is a good option for a Dragon rider. If a High Elf army includes multiple big Gribblies, say two Dragon Riders, one wearing with the Golden Crown and one armed with the Charmed Shield makes for a good defence. Also remember these items can be combined with High Elf Dragon Armour that provides further protection against Flaming Attacks.
The White Cloak of Ulric (The Empire)
This talisman provides excellent value for 50 points. In addition to causing a -1 to hit penalty in close combat attacks targeting the bearer, the talisman provides a 5+ ward save and a 2+ ward save against Flaming Attacks. These means against cannons with flaming attacks, the wearer will be nearly immune to the flaming cannonballs, while still also receiving a decent 5+ ward against non-flaming war engines. Since it’s a talisman, the White Cloak can be combined with magic armour for further protect. The 5-point Charmed Shield (I know, I know I keep mentioning this item) makes a great combo: full plate armour + Charmed Shield + the White Cloak of Ulric provides the character with a range of different defensive measures and only costs a total of 55 points worth of magic item. That’s a deal.
Magnificent Armour of Borek Beetlebrow (Dwarfs)
This suit of Dwarf armour gives the wearer a 2+ armour save as well as a 3+ ward save against attacks of S6 or higher. This item is ideal for a Rune Lord with an Anvil of Doom, which can attract ranged attacks such as cannon fire.
The Rock of Inevitability (Daemons of Chaos)
If you’re worried about your Greater Daemon or Daemon Prince getting sniped by a cannon it may be worth investing in this underrated item. Although it has a hefty price tag at 75 points, it could save your Big Gribbly from certain doom.
The item has, a one use only ability, to create an automatic 8” long wall within 6” of the bearer of the item at the end of a Daemon Movement phase (with potential to grow further, see the item). This means a Great Daemon/Daemon Prince following the Hide, Advance, Pounce! strategy could drop an obstacle right in front of him during the Advance step. It’s worth noting that this Daemon-wall is long enough to hide two Big Gribblies as well!
Blackened Plate (Beastmen)
For 20 points, the item provides the wearer with a 2+ ward save against Flaming Attacks and the unit he is with gets a 4+ ward against Flaming Attacks. This means if you Beast Lord is riding a chariot, the chariot will benefit from the ward save as well, which is extremely useful against cannons with Flaming Attacks. It could be combine with the Talisman of Preservation, providing you Beast Lord with stellar protect for 65 points: 4+ ward, 2+ ward against Flaming Attacks, Chariot 4+ ward against Flaming.
Chalice of Dark Rain (Beastmen)
This 40-point item is one use only and forces enemy cannons (and other war machines) to first roll a 4+ in order to shoot during one Shooting phase. Chaos players should not overlook this item because of its one use only; playing this item in one key Shooting phase early in the game can potentially cripple the enemy’s shooting strategy. Remember with ‘Hide, Advance, Pounce!’ the enemy should only have one good Shooting phase to get your Big Gribblies. Activate this item during the Advance step.
Storm Banner (Skaven)
Even better than the Beastmen’s Chalice of Dark Rain, this 50-point banner forces war machines to first roll a 4+ before they can fire, but it continues for the duration of the game unless it exhausts - potentially disrupting multiple shooting phases before its power wanes.
Cloak of Twilight (Dark Elves)
Provides the wearer with a 3+ ward against all shooting attacks and spells – it doesn’t get better than that! This cloak is a must for any Dark Elf Dragon rider.
The Mask of the Furnace (Chaos Dwarfs)
Another double ward item that provides a 4+ ward and a 2+ ward against Flaming attacks. It also confers an additional +1 armour save bonus – perfect for a Great Taurus or Lammasu rider.
And that brings us to the end of this instalment of Colemania. If I’ve done this right, you’ve hopefully found at least one new and useful tip to help combat your opponent’s cannons. If I missed something that you do to defend against cannons please let us all know by posting a comment.