Duchies of Vinci Skirmish Tactics
| Duchies of Vinci | ||
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| Setting: | Age of Fantasy | |
| Games: | Age of Fantasy, Age of Fantasy: Skirmish, Age of Fantasy: Regiments | |
| Species: | Human | |
| Version: | v2.50 | |
Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.
Why Play Duchies of Vinci
In many ways, the Duchies of Vinci are a lot like Humans. You're going to be buying them in numbers. However, the duchies rely more upon their crossbows to take down foes from afar rather than relying on melee to tie them up. Helping matters is the existence of the Automa, special units that are immune to morale.
Pros:
- Lots of Activations
- Automa give you morale-resistant forces
- Crossbows. Crossbows everywhere
Cons:
- Your marksmen aren't very melee-capable
- You're really going to be relying on Rending
- Your troops are lightly armored
- Your troops aren't all that good
Army Special Rules
- Automa: Your Automa units are immune to Morale checks. Instead, any time they take a morale check they roll a die for each model in the unit. Any 1s or 2s mean that the unit suffers an unsaved wound.
- Good Shot: Units with this rule add +1 to their shooting rolls, driving home their power in firepower.
Wizard Spells
- Fury Herbs (4+): Friendly unit within 12" gains Furious next time they charge. If you're going to be relying on assassins or melee Automa, you need this.
- Choking Fog (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes three AP 1 hits. Not much, but it can weaken some mobs.
- Clearview Leaves (5+): A friendly unit within 12" adds +6" to their shooting range the next time they shoot.
- Deep Rot (5+): One enemy unit within 12" takes a single AP 4 Deadly 3 hit. Sadly won't kill a hero or special weapon without setup, but it can still nail ogres or Eternal Wardens like a champ.
- Mesmer Oils (6+): One enemy unit within 12" must take a morale check. If they fail, then you can make that unit charge one of their allies, which can be quite hilarious.
- Neurotoxin Gas (6+): Enemy unit within 6" take a hit per model, making this hell for mobs of grunts.
Unit Analysis
Heroes
- Grand Captain: A fairly cheap hero with a decent upgrade in Captain (Gifting nearby allies either +3" in movement, +1 to either shooting or fighting, or +1 AP in shooting) that has use anywhere in an army. He only has a hand weapon for melee but you can accompany that with either a handbow or crossbow depending on how much you intend to be in combat as well as a pigeon bomb for some Indirect fire. To help your mobility is the option for an automa horse for Fast.
- Master Assassin: This guy is tailor-made to ruin someone's day. Ambush lets them jump in at any time, Strider and Stealth make them hard to shake off and Takedown guarantees that any heroes they face will particularly suffer. While throwing knives can provide some shooting, it pales in comparison to the upgrades available to the armblades, providing either Poison, AP(1), or Deadly(3).
- Inventor: The Inventor is specially-geared towards shooting, with Good Shot letting them hit on a 4+ instead of 5+. While you can buy either the Explosive Gears (for a short-ranged blast) or a Sleeve Gun (for mid-range AP), both will leave you quite impotent up close. On top of this, they can also buy Repair to support your Tough units and a horse for speed.
- Alchemist: Despite the name, they're still just flimsy Wizards who shouldn't be anywhere near the front lines. You'll need to hide them behind some tougher guys, especially since they lack a mount.
Infantry & Cavalry
- Militia: Your basic infantry squad. In an army primarily based on shooting, these are your most basic and diverse melee unit, capable of filling whatever role you need of them.
- Harlequin: By default, they're a basic infantry trooper with AP(1) on their two attacks, but that alone isn't worth the price rise and drop in model count. Then you notice that they have Tricksters to randomly grant either +1 AP or a -1 to get hit in melee. They also have Good Shot and their only upgrade is the Juggler's Bombs for a cheap small blast.
- Assassin: A stabby fella with Ambush and Stealth, helped with a 4+ quality to guarantee their value. Their only options are for Poison in melee and throwing weapons to harass the opposition.
- City Guard: The one unit that emphasizes how much the duchies love their crossbows. Gifted with Good Shot and a crossbow to use it on. If you're looking for something more close-range, you can also buy a Shotbow for rapid-fire fun.
- Upgrades: While you can freely swap between crossbow and shotbow, you can't do the same with their arrow upgrades. Only the crossbow can take one of the following: Heavy Bolts to punch through cover, Toxin Bolts to grant Poison, Dual Bolts for an extra shot, and Flame Bolts for a spicy +2 AP. The Heavy Bolts will see quite a bit of use in a denser map, while Dual Bolts and Flame Bolts are going to make you pay for such power at 30 points.
- Automa Guard: Your basic robot comes with a decent 4+ to quality and defense and handbows so they can close the distance with the enemy. Because they ignore morale, they can be of use as a distraction unit, and if you buy Regeneration, you can even keep them around longer than most models in that kind of role.
- Scout: Another close-quarters model, gifted with an edge by Scout and Good Shot so they can shoot their handbows a little better. They also have Signal Flare, which allows them to mark an enemy unit so that whoever fires next at them can add +1 to hit when firing upon them. That said, this guy needs cover if you expect them to survive long enough to throw those flares even once.
- Automa Drone: Lighter and weaker than the Automa Guard, but they fly and possess sawblades for a bunch of Rending attacks. They also have Good Shot so if you decide to swap the saws off for twin handbows for free, you'll be doing so with less worry.
- Aerea Guard: You've got a City Guard with a giant jetpack and slightly better armor. Because of this, Shotbows aren't going to be as much of a liability, but the hike in cost for the model might dissuade you from picking up special bolts unless you're really focusing on them. They can also work as melee thanks to the addition of claws, though this also forces you into melee. At least the claws aren't as costly as the arrows.
- Sniper: You've got a guy with essentially a Sniper crossbow with a slightly better range. What's not to love? If you're worried about an enemy sniper, you can pick up the Pavise Shield so you can add +2 to their defense. In any case, NEVER leave them in a situation where they could be caught unawares.
- Automa Brute: Your big burly automa. They're equipped like the regular Automa Guard, but with the slightly bigger handbow and Tough(3) as well as a powerful 3+ to quality and shooting. while you can also buy Regeneration, it's significantly more expensive here, making it a bit less appealing.
- Automa Cavalry: Essentially Automa Guard riding a horse. While by default they come with a lance to focus on Impact, you can also swap that off with a handbow if you're keen on adding more firepower.
List Building & Tactics
General Advice
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Tactics
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See Also
| Duchies of Vinci |
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| Overview - Tactics - Skirmish Tactics - Miniatures - Quickplay Armies - Skirmish Quickplay Armies |
| Age of Fantasy: Skirmish tactics |
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| Beastmen - Chivalrous Kingdoms - Dark Elves - Deep-Sea Elves - Duchies of Vinci - Dwarves - Eternal Wardens Ghostly Undead - Goblins - Halflings - Havoc Dwarves - Havoc War Clans - Havoc Warriors - High Elves Human Empire - Kingdom of Angels - Mummified Undead - Ogres - Orcs - Ossified Undead - Ratmen Rift Daemons - Saurians - Shadow Stalkers - Sky-City Dwarves - Vampiric Undead - Volcanic Dwarves - Wood Elves |