Alexander Empire List Suggestions

Good afternoon everyone.
I have been playing miniature wargames for decades and I enjoy all aspects of the hobby. Having said that, one thing that I have never been particularly good at is building lists!! I am looking at creating one of my favorite armies, Alexandrian Macedonia and would really like some help putting a decent list together. Here is what I'm looking at...

The list from Alexander Empire
500 points
I'd love to use elephants.

Any suggestions of list examples you could suggest would be wonderful. Thank you in advance.

Take care,
Skip

Keep the phalanx at least 3 large units wide, take the upgrades if you can, cover your flanks with CL and keep the elephants behind anything you can until you are ready to unleash them.

If you can afford the 82 points for Alexander and the Agema then use him as a brilliantly mobile strike force to rout an enemy command don't waste him early, and the Silver Shields as an obliquing Pike block can get you out of many difficult situations.

Thank you Granicus... I am new to this system so how many commands would you suggest at 500pts? Also I know I have to take at least one (T)Archers if I take the Indian allies to get the Elephant but do the Indian troops have to be in their own command or can they be part of a command with other troops?

Take care,
Skip

With the Indian allies they have to be their own separate command, given the restrictions on command sizes that means you'll be looking at three commands mate.

One option could be to have your main phalanx command, a second "mobility" command that has troops who can manoeuvre more easily (eg Agema, Light cav, cav in general, the Silvershields) and use them to mask the third Indian command as you advance and then use their mobility to zip off around a flank whilst the Indians pin it from the front.

Thank you once again for your recommendations Granicus. I have been trying to find the "restrictions on command sizes" that you mentioned but have not had any luck. Which book are they in and are the restrictions for tournaments or for casual play as well?

Thank you in advance,
Take care,
Skip

Skip Sommer wrote:Thank you once again for your recommendations Granicus.  I have been trying to find the "restrictions on command sizes" that you mentioned but have not had any luck.  Which book are they in and are the restrictions for tournaments or for casual play as well?

Thank you in advance,
Take care,
Skip

It is in "Advanced Impetus" (link below) under the tournament rules section.

Generally speaking for larger games your largest command cannot be more than 60% of your total VD (this is important, it is not point cost for units that determines the split, it is the victory point value of the unit) which means that in a 2 command army the smaller command must be >40%.

Unless you want to take close to all of the units and options of the Indian allies it can be difficult to make that 40% minimum, at 500 points you have more scope than at 400 but some care is needed to get a genuinely workable army.

One devastating mechanism can be to take three commands one of which is 120 points of allied Indians comprising 2 elephants with various weapons (62points), a heavy chariot (28 points), buff them with an Expert commander (30 points) and use them as a very powerful frontal battering ram or if you feel very dastardly sending them on a flank march and watching the look of horror on your opponent's face if and when they actually come on to the table....

But that's only 9 VD, so unless you spend the remaining 380 points on 13 VD (literally impossible from that list) of troops then you're going to need to either have two other commands OR you're going to have to take some of the other Indian troops.

http://www.wargamevault.com/product/134699/Advanced-Impetus

Excellent information. I'll get myself a copy of "Advanced Impetus". And thank you for the tactical suggestions, I'm definitely going to try those out. They sound like fun!

Take care,
Skip