Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer

Tyrants are the warlords whose efforts ultimately bring the skorne to victory by dictating the precise flow of battle while serving the ranking dominars. Equal parts tactician and warrior, a tyrant stands alongside his men to lend his strength and battle prowess to their efforts. The mere presence of such a commander and his standard bearer brings exceptional precision to the army.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Tyrant
  • Template:Officer
  • Template:Tough
  • Template:Battle Plan
    • Template:March
    • Template:Push to the Limit
    • Template:Reveille
  • Template:Set Defense

• Standard Bearer
  • Template:Standard Bearer

Weapons

• Tyrant
  • Halberd - 2" reach, POW 5, P+S 12 melee weapon
    • Template:Weapon Master

• Standard Bearer
  • Sword - 0.5" reach, POW 3, P+S 9 melee weapon

Theme Forces

• Template:Masters of War. They gain "Optional Take Down" in this theme. They may be taken as a requisition option in this theme.

Thoughts on Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer

Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer in a nutshell

The Tyrant Commander is all about the battle plans (although they can fight a little). Speed, pathfinder on a stick, or standing everyone up. As a rule of thumb the Tyrant Commander is most wanted for his Push to the Limit battle plan.

The standard bearer might be the most pointless and half-assed model in the game, allowing the unit to spread out further while it remains within 5" of the Tyrant. (OK, so it adds a little to Reveille). Meaning the main use of what is effectively the army battle standard is as a bullet catcher. Unlike many Standard Bearers, at least it has a weapon, even if it's not a good one.

Combos & Synergies

• Ranged units get 2" extra on their threat range, that is Cataphract Arcuarii and Cataphract Incindiarii
• Shield wall units (Cataphract Cetrati, Praetorian Karax) aren't so painfully slow with Push to the Limit.
• Praetorian Ferox love the extra speed from Push To The Limit as it combines with the flying leap.
• Tough models and units (Nihilators, or anything via the Mortitheurge Willbreaker) love being allowed to stand up.

Also a couple of warlocks love Push to the Limit (normally to try to pull off their melee assassinations where a charge can't be lined up)

• Master Aescetic Naaresh makes a full advance via Cyclone and doesn't have any natural form of Pathfinder.
• Lord Assassin Morghoul gains an extra 2" of range when not charging, which is common to choose orientation for the feat, or because you are using shadow play to kill something on the other side of a house.
• Makeda & the Exalted Court - Between battle driven and Vortex of Destruction she can assassinate well. Plus, as she is a unit her attendant statues also benefit.

Also, the additional movement of Push to the Limit works on Sprint movement, available to your warlock from the animus of the Archidon.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• It's a support choice in a game that's very easy to overload on the support. Keep the Ty Comm's melee potential in mind when you play.
• The standard bearer seems to be a casualty in the crossfire of the Std. Bearer redesign since most other Std. Bearers attach to units and affect their formation area. This Std. bearer is in a two-man unit, making its effect on formation just plain silly.
• Wording is a little misleading on Push to the Limit; it does NOT add distance to charges or runs, but it adds to Sprint (and some spells like Cyclone; basically anything that state a Full Advance).
• Not exactly a downside, but of the commonly used units, the ranged ones generally don't have a critical need for Pathfinder. Paingiver Bloodrunners and Praetorian Ferox have Pathfinder already, Praetorian Swordsmen and the Legends of Halaak get Relentless Charge, and Immortals turn Incorporeal. That's enough choices for melee infantry without adding a support unit. If you're getting the TyCom, then it's either for a shieldwall unit, a better ranged threat, or both.
• It's expensive enough that you need to leverage a lot out of his support, or be very good at getting an entire extra turn out of their melee game to be worth the cost. Master of War has negated that problem.

Tricks & Tips

• Remember it's a two person unit and take zones.
• You can battle plan, then run/charge.
• The Battle Standard have some boxes and half-decent armor, so he can withstand some light shooting while contesting.
• The Standard Bearer can take out most infantry on a charge, if he hits.
• The TyCom hits fairly hard.
• The Standard Bearer is a bullet stopper and one you don't have to worry about losing.
• Although he wears the armour the Tyrant Commander is not a Cataphract

Other

Trivia

• Released in Hordes: Metamorphosis (2009)