Hi fellow beastmen players, I've been playing beastmen & fantasy now for about 12 months and have a pretty pathetic record (played 36 won 5, drawn 8 & lost 23) which includes a 19 game run without a win. Anyway I recently went to my first tournament where I lost all my games but came out of it feeling alot more knowledgable about how to play the game and my army. Since then I have been doing better mostly thanks to finially making and using a Herdstone. I have found however that I still haven't quite got my list right but here is my latest effort that I plan to try out for 6 games and see how it does. I know about the beast banner but find my opponents just kill him straight away getting 306VPs off me and leaving me without a BSB, I'm hoping that 3 wildforms should mean I can get one off where I need it instead of the beastbanner, and then I can try and keep my BSB out of harms way abit more. I usually lose because I run off so im hoping with the bsb/beastlord/standard of discilpine in the bestigor unit I can keep things fighting, if things get hairy for the bsb I will move him to another unit not worrying about losing +1 strength. What do you guys think about this and my list? Is this an interesting idea if played correctly or is it too risky?

LORDS
1 x Beastlord
Gnarled Hide, Shield, Heavy Armour, Ramhorn Helm, Dawnstone, Crown of Command, uncanny senses (254pts)

HEROES
1 x Wargor
Battle Standard Bearer, Shield, Armour of Fortune (147pts)

1 x Bray-Shaman
Additional Magic Level, Lore of Beasts, Herdstone, Additional Hand Weapon (162pts)

1 x Bray-Shaman
Additional Magic Level, Lore of Beasts, Staff of Darkoth, Additional Hand Weapon (162pts)

1 x Bray Shaman
Additional Magic Level, Lore of Beasts, Hagtree Fetish (130pts)

CORE
40 x Gor Herd
Foe-Render, Musician, Standard Bearer, Additional Hand Weapons (345pts)

40 x Gor Herd
Foe-Render, Musician, Standard Bearer, Additional Hand Weapons (345pts)

5 x Ungor Raiders
(30pts)

5 x Ungor Raiders
(30pts)

5 x Ungor Raiders
(30pts)

SPECIAL
30 x Bestigor Herd
Gouge-Horn, Musician, Standard Bearer, Standard of Discipline (405pts)

5 x Centigors
(125pts)

5 x Harpies
Scouts (70pts)

5 x Harpies
Scouts (70pts)

1 x Razorgor Herd
(55pts)

1 x Razorgor Herd
(55pts)

TOTAL 2400

I'd say, drop the centigors, the ungors raiders (unless deployment is a big thing for ya, but with your winning/losing record I'd say drop 'em anyway :) ) and then put those points into the Bestigor herd.

In 8th you most of the time wished you had a lvl4 magician, so you should try and get a GBS into the list. If I were you I would skip the Beastlord overall, get a standard geared GBS into the Bestigor unit and give them the Disc. banners so your army get LD9.

Why do your lvl1's need ahw? They are just supposed to dance around the herdstone anyway. :) maybe drop the staff and give him Chalice of Dark Rain or a dispel scroll instead?

Ahhh they shamans have AHWs because I had 4 points left to spend hehe. I did consider taking 10 more bestigor instead of the centigors actually and I think this is the most likely change I might make. The reason I have no level 4 is because I feel I pump alot of points into one and he does very little, almost always dies and then my battle plan starts to fall apart. I was hoping having a few level 2's would mean I can afford to lose 1. I think swapping the beastlord for a level 4 though is not something I had actually considered and I might consider this also. couple of good ideas thanks Kallstrom. The raiders are just there for chaff to re-direct enemy units.

I should have said as well that I decided to go with the centigors because in the tournament I was in they were my best unit in my 6 games. I don't know if it was how I used them or not but they seemed to survive/get there points back and cause the enemy positional problems where they had to compensate there movement/positioning. Maybe they just got lucky but they were great in combat.

what youre spending on two of those lvl 1's you could afford a GBS. youd get more spells and a better chance at casting and dispelling.

Gors without BB are useless. Think abut it - what would have happened if u wildform a gor horde with beast banner! Just evil :run:

If u want to play with Beastlord dont drop him - 3lv 2s is enough, bit id drop the fetish and use some shadow magic mostly becouse of spell ranges....

Honestly, your list looks alright. I think the reason you may be struggling is because of character load outs. For instance, if you are having trouble keeping the Bsb alive, he is the one who should have gnarled hide. That 2+ as coupled with a 6+ parry has really helped me in a lot of situations. Also, have you tried the crown of command on your beastlord? It really helps keep those super expensive bestigors in the fight, especially when combined with standard of discipline.

I have run both 30 and 40 bestis.30 is good, but 40 really gives you the bodies you need as you will be striking last.

Also, what exactly is your reasoning for not bringing the bb? Because the guy gives up to mamy points? Tip- keep him at the edge of your horde formation. This way, he is much safer and cannot have attacks dedicated to him in hth.

Personally, I believe leaving home without a lvl4 shaman and beast banner is suicide to put it frankly, but again just my 2 cents.

Well not really. I play without lv4, I use a doombull instead of him, and all my magic are 2 lv 2s and a herdstone, and in fact my results are even better than the ones, when I payed a lv4 list.

But leavin without beast banner is a suicide :run: