Trench Crusade Faction Focus: The Principality of New Antioch

Greetings to thee of faith! It's time for another Faction Focus, and this time we get grounded and down with the grunts of the faithful, the Principality of New Antioch. The first, last and pretty much the only line of defence Christendom has against the onslaught of the Heretic forces, New Antioch has survived many an attack, thwarting God's enemies through firepower and grit. But how have they achieved such a feat? Well, let's find out!

Credit: Raf Cordero

New Antioch, the bastion of Christendom, stands defiant in the sea of Hell that surrounds it. Despite being torn asunder by a weapon of unknown origin, it has been rebuilt under God’s mighty gaze, and, with His strength and the strength of the men and women who live within it, it stands as a banner of holy might.

Fielding the most significant fighting force for the Christian faithful, New Antioch collects a tithe of warriors, equipment and treasures from all nations across Christendom, to ensure that the city never falls again. These nations vary widely in terms of their fighting specialities, from the borderline pagan Éire Rangers, to the borderline suicidal Stosstruppen of the Free State of Prussia. Wherever they may hail from, each warrior is dedicated to eradicating His enemies, be they heretic or demon.

On the Table

More so than any other faction, New Antioch represents the vulnerability of humanity compared to the foes that leak from the infernal Hell gates. All other factions have access to a large, hard-to-kill centre-piece model, with Court, in fact, having several. New Antioch, however, leaves the army wanting, with the Lieutenant being the only Tough model the army can access.

Five Defining Traits of New Antioch

Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork

The key defining aspects of New Antioch are most certainly the “New Antioch Fireteam” and “Concentrated Attack” rules. The former lets any New Antioch make up to two Fireteams (with some differences between variants). Right off the bat, this is a pretty strong ability, but what allows New Antioch to punch well above its weight, despite its other shortcomings, is the Concentrated Attack rule. Should one member of a fireteam hit an enemy during its activation, the second fireteam member may perform a Bloodbath with just three Blood markers needed to do so. This allows your otherwise fragile units to take down much larger or tankier foes. This results in your Fireteams being constructed in such a way as to maximise this mechanic, in the form of a “set up” unit and “execute” unit. Your setup unit sets up the target by putting in as many Blood Markers as possible through a grenade or SMG and a melee attack, for example. Your Execute unit then goes in for the kill, utilising their already strong ranged or melee power in conjunction with the Concentrated Attack rule.

O Lord, Bless This Thy Hand Grenade

The humble grenade, a staple in a New Antioch warband and your ol’ reliable. Sure, the 8” range isn’t anything to write home about, but the fact that it ignores long-range and cover penalties along with having Blast, Scatter, and Assault means that the sheer amount of utility that a grenade will make it your primary means to deal with enemies at range. As you need to squeeze out as much juice as possible from every unit, you will end up using grenades for a while so that you can hit in both ranged and melee, where possible.

Please, Sir, Can I Have Some More?

Your units are fragile, so you should protect each one, right? Wrong; you need to do the opposite. For New Antioch, there’s no room for niceties. You buy the bare minimum that your units need, and that’s it. The downside of the Fireteam rule means that activating as a fireteam means you’ll potentially be outactivated by your opponent. You’re going to need to get as many units as you can to compensate for that, and importantly, get more units than your opponent. That means you will have to forgo what you want for what you need.

All David, No Goliath

Every other faction in the game gets to field large and monstrous units, like the Anchorite Shrine, Lord of Tumours or the Praetor and Desecrated Saint of the Court of the Seven-Headed Serpent. These large models can often deal a lot of damage and look fantastic as centrepiece models on the table. What does New Antioch get? Some regular ol' humans named Llyod, or Beatrice, or Hans. The largest model you’re fielding is the Heavy Mechanized Infantry, and whilst it can take a punch better than the rest of your squad, it doesn’t come with Tough. In fact, only your Lieutenant comes with that ability, leaving you very vulnerable on the table. But remember the tale: David beats Goliath with a Sling and then cuts the giant's head off with the giant's own sword (the Sling must have had Assault)! You? You'll throw grenades at your enemies and beat them to death with Trench clubs. It's basically the same thing.

Everyone Is Playing Checkers; You’re Playing Chess

If we take all of the previous points together, what you have is a warband that requires you to play not just differently than the rest, but better. Consistently better. Every trade needs to be positive; you need to perfectly time when you will and won’t activate your fireteams together, and you have to maximise the impact of every activation. Seeing as you have just one unit with Tough, and you’re often not given the luxury of having enough armour on your units, you also have to ensure that your units are as safe as possible. This leaves you with a warband that is often more difficult to pilot than others.

Units

Lieutenant

New Antioch Lieutenant. Credit: SRM

As always, we start with the designated Leader of the warband, and for New Antioch, that is the Lieutenant. They come with the standard 6” movement, as well as a +2 Dice in both Ranged and Melee. They have no built-in Armour, but with the Elite Keyword, they can grab Reinforced Armour and even Machine Armour, as well as any other Battlekit from the New Antioch Armoury Tables. Importantly, the Lieutenant is the only model in this warband that has the Tough keyword, so you’ll need to balance protecting them with giving them just enough of what they need to function how they should.

The only ability of the Lieutenant is Hold Your Fire!, which, after passing a Success Roll, the Lieutenant immediately ends their turn and picks another enemy model it can see, and that unit then activates. Now, this may seem a bit of a lacklustre ability, but you can’t underestimate the potential in messing with enemy activations. Being able to force the enemy to activate a chaff model, or a model they don’t want to activate, is invaluable. Imagine pushing an enemy sorcerer or Artillery Witch that is out of effective range for anything, just because your Lieutenant can see them.

Sniper Priest

Prospero. Image: Beezer

Sniper Priests are Devotees of God who ritually blind themselves, but this disfigurement does nothing to stifle their aim, for they rely on faith and not the lies their eyes can tell them to strike down their enemies.

You can take up to two Sniper Priests in an NA warband by default, and they come with the standard 6” movement, +2 Dice in Ranged (as you would expect), and -1 Dice in melee (I guess blinding yourself doesn’t give Daredevil powers…). When it comes to Battlekit, the Sniper Priest may take anything from the New Antioch Armoury.

For abilities, Absolute Faith grants a buff where enemy players cannot spend Blood markers to add -Dice to your Ranged Attacks, which guarantees more consistent shooting by your Sniper Priest. Cementing that consistency is the Aim Action, which, after passing a Risky Success Roll with +2 Dice, you add +2 Dice to the Success Roll for Ranged Attacks made by the Priest. Taking your dice to +4 to your Ranged Characteristic may seem like you’re getting diminishing returns when considering just the chance of passing the Success Roll. Still, those extra Dice will help you achieve Critical Successes. Getting a Crit is always lovely for the +1 Injury Dice, but equipping a Sniper Priest with its namesake, the Sniper Rifle, grants Ignore Armour on that Crit, taking the deadliness of the Priest up a serious Notch.

The Sniper Priest is a good contender for an Auto-Rifle, making great use of those two shots to fish for more Crits, but if you really want to squeeze out everything your Sniper Priest can do, then go for the Sniper69 or Sniper76 build. With the former, you kit our your Priest with grenades and two pistols, and with the latter, you opt for an Automatic Pistol and regular pistol. Regardless of which you pick, the outcome is the same. Throw Grenade / shoot the Auto Pistol, then charge into melee and fire both your Pistols in melee. Seeing as you can use your Ranged Characteristic when wielding Pistols in melee, you're highly likely to be dealing a lot of Blood Markers. The downside here is that, whilst you can easily deal a couple more Blood Markers, you're a lot more susceptible to being taken out yourself, as you'll be strapped for Ducats to provide enough armour to protect them. Still, if you want your Priest more as a Cleric of the Equilibrium variety, then this is a very fun and deadly build in the right hands.

Trench Cleric

New Antioch Trench Cleric. Credit: SRM

Trench Clerics chant inspiring battle prayers on the field of battle to both heal the wounded or smite the enemy. The large Cross on their back is a portable shrine that pays homage to the warband's patron.

Only a single Cleric can be taken, and comes with 6” movement, as well as +1 Dice in Ranged and in Melee, and, like the other Elites of NA, may take any Battlekit from New Antioch. The Trench Cleric does have the Negate Fear keyword, so is a little more reliable in Melee against the big monsters in the game.

For abilities, God is With Us! grants one Blessing Marker to the Trench Cleric or friendly model within 6” after passing a Risky Success Roll. It’s a short, simple but sweet ability that gets some reliability and protection for your important units. The Onward Christian Soldiers! ability grants a Negate Fear bubble of 8”. Again, it’s simple, but the effects are great. Reliability and consistency are crucial for NA, as they are so reliant on their offensive output to even the playing field. Failing to take something Out of Action and then getting punched in the mouth on the backswing is not ideal, to say the least.

Yeomen

New Antioch Yeomen. Credit: SRM

The standard troops of New Antioch; those who have passed training and been sworn to the service of the Duke of New Antioch. They overwhelm the enemy not with outright skill, but more with their sheer numbers and access to a plethora of weaponry.

With 6” movement and no bonuses to Ranged or Melee, the Yeomen can take anything from the New Antioch Armoury Tables, as well as being able to buy a Bolt-Action Rifle at 5 Ducats at the time of recruitment.

The only ability the Yeomen have is an option upgrade called Trench Moles. This upgrade can be given to two Yeomen (and a third once you reach 1,000 Ducats in total cost) for the Infiltrator keyword, 10 Ducats.

Shocktrooper

Credit: Dandy

The Shocktroopers are the elite soldiers of the New Antioch forces and specialise in breaching enemy defences through rapid assaults and melee combat.

Shocktroopers have the same movement and Ranged Characteristic as Yeomen, but instead have +1 Dice in melee. They may take any battlekit from the New Antioch Armoury Tables.

For abilities, Shocktroopers have Assault Drill and Shock Charge. The first allows you to ignore the Heavy keyword for one Melee Weapon the Shocktrooper is equipped with. You still can’t have more than one Heavy weapon with you, though. This is a surprisingly nice ability to have, allowing you to equip your Troopers with the more basic heavy hitters like Two-Handed Hammers, without sacrificing their movement. Speaking of movement, the Shock Charge ability will enable you to roll 2d6, taking the highest result to determine your charge bonus distance. It’s a nice pair with the previous ability, encouraging Assault shooting and getting into melee to beat someone over the head with a big hammer.

There is a limit to the number of Shocktroopers you can take, but at a cap of five, it’s relatively generous, and you’ve got enough to do what you need.

Combat Engineer

New Antioch Combat Engineer. Credit: SRM

Combat Engineers are the demolition specialists within New Antioch forces, able to destroy fortifications, navigate minefields, and lay battlefield cover on the front lines. Many Combat Engineers suffer the fate of death due to the nature of their mission, but the reality does not stem the tide of volunteers who wish to take on the responsibility.

Combat Engineers have the usual 6” movement, as well as just a +1 in Melee. They do, however, come with an innate -2 Armour, thanks to their built-in Engineer Body Armour. They also come with a Shovel, but they can take any other Battlekit from the New Antioch armoury Tables.

For Abulity, we start with Battlefield Demolition, which ignores the Heavy keyword for a single Satchel Charge that the Engineer may carry. Secondly, the Defuse Mine ability does exactly what it says. Namely, after a Risky Success Roll, the terrain piece you are touching is no longer considered mined. Lastly, the Fortify rule allows the Combat Engineer to retain the Cover keyword until they move away after passing a Risky Success Roll.

Mechanized Heavy Infantry

Credit: Raf Cordero

The Mechanized Heavy Infantry are the heavy weapon platforms of NA, with the privilege being granted to the best soldiers in the force. Through chemical enhancements, their strength and endurance are bolstered, allowing them to operate the Machine Armour that gives them their namesake.

The Mechanized Heavy Infantry (MHI) has the standard 6” movement, and a Ranged Characteristic of +1 Dice and no bonus for Melee. The MHI have a built-in -2 Armour, but also can get -3 Armour by purchasing Machine Armour for +10 Ducats. The MHI has no special abilities, but comes with the Strong keyword. Despite its small profile sheet, the MHI is going to be one of your key models, as no other model in the faction has the Strong keyword. For that reason, your MHI is going to be carrying your Satchel Charges, your Heavy Shotguns and Heavy Melee Weapons and will most certainly be one of your execution models in a Fireteam. With a cap of just 3, in higher Ducat games, you will wish you had more, but in the early game, grabbing a couple as soon as you can, and getting them promoted asap is an excellent choice, as losing one permanently can really hurt you.

Combat Medic

New Antioch Combat Medic. Credit: SRM

The Combat Medic takes a modified Hippocratic Oath, under which their allies receive medical treatment while the enemy is swiftly dispatched with their lethal misericordia knives. Revering Saint Michael, known for protecting Medics, they roam the battlefields, ever on the lookout for allies to heal or enemies to put down.

The Combat Medic has the standard 6” movement, and no bonus to Ranged or Melee. They do, however, have an innate -1 Armour, and come with a built-in Gas Mask, Medi-kit and a Misericordia. They may have any Battlekit from the New Antioch Tables, apart from Armour.

Ability-wise, Expert Medic gives them a +2 Dice to the Risky Success Roll when a Combat Medic uses a Medi-Kit. The last ability, Finish the Fallen grants a +1 Dice to Injury Rolls when the target is both Down and does not have the Black Grail or Demonic keyword. This means that a Combat Medic attacking a downed Heretic human, for example, would have +2 Dice, ignoring armour, which is very deadly. Finding ways to boost that Melee Success Roll, though, is going to be imperative.

Battlekit

Grenades & Satchel Charges

Ah, the reliable grenade. New Antioch and grenades join the ranks of the most well-known pairs in all of history. Some things in the universe are just inseparable, and this pair is no exception. The reason for this pairing is twofold: their point efficiency and New Antioch's need to maximise its offensive output to bring down foes. Grenades are just so cost-efficient for the amount of Blood markers they produce. You’re usually dishing out two Blood markers for just 7 Ducats, which is extremely good value. You need to get relatively up close to follow up in Melee, so spending money for extra range is pretty pointless. Given that Grenades have the Scatter keyword, there are some amazing shenanigans that you can pull off, including purposefully targeting the floor near an enemy in Melee, so as a result, you can still cause damage to an enemy model in melee, whilst also avoiding hitting your own models. The Grenade is going to be your staple, and for that reason, your opponents are going to quickly invest in Combat Helmets if they can, and they will. Despite that, you can still invest in Incendiary Grenades, which instead have the Fire Keyword but cost more.

Satchel Charges take the notion of the grenade, but crank it up. Rather than acting as part of a “set up”, they are usually rendered to finish off foes, as they have the Ignore Armour keyword. They do have the Heavy keyword, which limits who can take them, but they usually go onto your Mechanized Heavy Infantry. They can go on your Engineers, but with no bonus to range, you can potentially mess things up and hit yourself. Despite being a consumable, you’ll want to be sure you have at least a couple on hand.

Submachine Gun & Automatic Rifle

The SMG and Auto Rifle fulfil a similar role, in that, like grenades, they pair well with your “Set up” Fireteam member, providing a means to place two Blood Markers on a target with relative ease. The SMG pairs particularly, in that at half range, they fall within the deadly 8” threat range that New Antioch excels at, but can push outside that range, if they need to.

For the Auto Rifle, it’s a similar benefit, but whereas the SMG can make two Shoot Actions and choose two different targets, the Auto Rifle makes two attacks on the same target. The Sniper Priest makes excellent use of this weapon due to the increased range. The Auto Rifle also makes great use of the Priest's Aim ability, where, despite shooting at long-range, the Priest would still be shooting at a +3 Dice should the ability go off. This means you’re getting a reliable 24” threat range, shooting twice, and some decent potential at getting a crit.

Heavy Shotgun

The Heavy Shotgun is the perfect match for your Mechanized Heavy Infantry. When you’re out of Satchel Charges, you’re going to need something that can capitalise on all those Blood Markers your set-up unit has dished out. With a +1 Dice and +2 Injury Dice, it’s a great weapon to take down foes through sheer number of dice. As it has the Shotgun Keyword, you do lose an Injury Dice when shooting at long-range, but you’re still going to be doing work at that range regardless.

Flamethrowers & Heavy Flamethrowers

Many factions in the game can make use of Flamethrower weapons, but it’s a particularly great source of offensive power for New Antioch, thanks to Trench Mole Yeomen. Being able to infiltrate cheap Yeomen units to pressure a flank or important objective can really get into an opponent's head. Flamethrowers bypass a Yeoman’s lack of Ranged Characteristic, and the -1 Injury Dice can be offset by spending Blood markers, which you’ll put back on thanks to the Fire keyword, and the Ignore Armour is the icing on this very spicy cake. This is also the same case for Flamethrower Shocktroopers in Prussia, for example, where the +1 Dice in Melee, as well as the +1 Dice to Dash Actions, pair very well.

Machine Armour

This Machine Armour is particularly unique to New Antioch and grants a -3 Armour characteristics, cannot be paired with a Trench Shield (but you can equip a Ballistic Shield), and comes with a couple of abilities. First is Bulky, which means a model equipped with Machine Armour needs to be on a 40mm base, and a model in Machine Armour can only have a charge bonus of D3”, instead of the usual D6”. Secondly, Steadfast turns any incoming Down Injury result into a Minor Injury instead.

Whilst Bulky is a little bit of a downer, it has minimal impact when you equip your Mechanized Heavy Infantry for Ranged instead of melee, and Steadfast is great for ensuring continuous movement. Machine Armour costs 50 Ducats, or +10 Ducats if you’re upgrading an MHI. That 10 Ducats may be needed elsewhere,e though, but spending it on ensuring the MHI’s survival is still a great option.

Trench Club x2

I know, I know, Trench clubs are the basically the default weapon of the game. But as I have said, New Antioch is strapped for Ducats and you have to make do with what you have. Despite that, though, double Trench Clubs can do some work when you slap them on a model carrying grenades. A Grenade + two Trench Club attacks can be four Blood Markers, which is amazing value for the price. At the end of the day, New Antioch needs to be dishing out Blood markers like they're communion wafers.

Mercenaries

We’ve covered all of the Mercenaries in a previous article, but it’s important to note how some of these Mercenaries work within an NA warband.

Mamluk Faris

The Mamluk Faris is a great inclusion for an NA warband, simply because they allow an extra Fireteam, as well as allowing the chosen Fireteam ally with the Mamluk to gain the Concentrated Attack ability. This places the Mamluk as the setup unit in that pair, and in order to maximise the amount of Blood markers you can dish out, you’ll want to equip the Mamluk with a Sword and Pistol, allowing for shooting with the Jezzail, then following up in melee, hopefully dealing the needed three Blood markers.

Observer

With some very good Activation shenanigans, the Observer can still provide some real utility, whilst still remaining on a back objective. A Mamluk Faris and Observer in your warband can ultimately create some very frustrating turns for your opponent. Imagine this: a Prussian list with a Lieutenant, a Mamluk, and an Observer. That’s four Fireteams and two units providing some activation shenanigans. With some luck, you can activate five models (two Fireteams, one Observer) before your opponent has even had a chance to activate an important model it wants to activate.

Anti-Tank Communicant Hunter (and Ammo Monk)

A long-range shooter that Ignores Armour is always going to be valuable, no matter the warband. It doesn’t have the best synergies with the rest of the Warband like the previous two, but who cares? It’s shoring up a potential weakness in your army, and you can leave your Sniper Priest to take up the Auto Rifle and get more involved and leave the long-range back line shooting to the Communicant. Or not, as a Priest and Communicant are a deadly pair. It’s a self-contained unit that doesn’t need synergy to function at its best.

Variants

Papal States Intervention Force

Operating under the command of the Supreme Pontiff of Rome, these warriors are sent to the front lines on vital missions, from eliminating key leaders to recovering important artefacts.

When it comes to the rules, Papal operates slightly differently, not just from New Antioch but also from the rest of the warbands in the game. When starting a campaign, instead of starting at 700 ducats, you start with 500 ducats and 11 Glory, gaining 4 Glory when it needs to call for Reinforcements. Your ducat cap increases by 100 as usual, so you’re going to be relying on Mercenaries a lot more than most factions, allowing you to pad those unit numbers quickly and ensuring you’re not outactivated.

Other changes this variation provides include being unable to take any Trench moles and not needing to include a Lieutenant. However, you must include a Trench Cleric, which also comes with an additional ability in the form of Arise and be Healed! After passing a Risky Success Roll, you can pick any model (including the Cleric) within 3”, and they immediately stand back up and remove up to D3 Blood Markers or Infection Markers. If you do include a Lieutenant, they and up to 4 other models can have the Negate Fear Keyword. Lastly, the one model must take the Supreme Pontiff’s Crucifix, which is a special and unique item for this variant and grants the Inspiring Relic ability. This ability means that should the bearer fail a Risky Success Roll, it does not end their activation.

If you love Mercenaries and want to bling out your warband with glory items, then the Papal States variant could be what you are looking for.

Éire Rangers

New Antioch warband. Credit: SRM

Hailing from the Emerald Isle, the Fianna Warrior-hunters have withstood constant raiding from heretical forces, as well as a full-scale invasion. This continuous threat has left the warriors of the Isle hardy, bitter and skilled in the arts of guerrilla warfare, using the lay of the land to take down their foes and fashion grisly trophies from them. Instead of the regular tithe demanded of them, the Poet-King Tadhg O’Connor sends a contingent of these Ragers, much to the satisfaction of the Duke of New Antioch.

The Éire Rangers specialise in hit-and-run tactics, preferring to lie in wait for their foes, hit hard and then retreat to set up their next ambush. As such, Shock Troopers in this warband can have the Infiltrator and Skirmisher keywords for just +10 ducats. Lieutenants in this variant lose their Hold Your Fire! and instead gain the Skirmisher ability. Solidifying their squirrely nature, all models in this warband add -1 Dice for enemy Melee Attack Rolls that target a retreating Éire Ranger. Rounding out the unit changes, you can take up to two Trench Clerics in this variant, with each getting to choose between one of the following additional abilities. The first is Arise and be Healed!, which we saw in the Papal States, and the second is Away Serpents! which, after a successful Risky Success Roll, you can pick an enemy model within 12”, and they are immediately downed, with a -1 Dice to that roll if the enemy model is on a base of 40mm or greater. This ability is so fantastic, with some great utility, from essentially adding +1 Injury Dice for your other units should they attack that model, to downing an unactivated model and thus reducing their movement by half when they do activate. The Light Infantry rule allows you to take up to four Combat Engineers, but you may only bring one Mechanized Heavy Infantry. Last for our unit changes is the Berserker ability, which can be given to a Lieutenant or a Fianna (Shock Trooper). For +15 Ducats, the Berserker can’t wear armour, except shields, but they have the Negate Fear keyword, and Blood markers cannot be placed on them for any reason. Put this upgrade on a Lieutenant with some Martyrdom Pills and a shield, and you have a good beatstick that your opponent will need to deal with.

Supporting this beatstick and the rest are the unique items in the Battlekit, as well as some weapon changes. First off is the Carnyx, which is a unique Musical Instrument that also grants the bearer the Fear keyword. For dealing with that pesky armour, you have Armour-Piercing Bullets, which cost just five ducats. This special ammunition reduces the effectiveness of armour by one, meaning -2 armour is treated as -1 instead. The Light Infantry rule also changes what weapons you can bring. You can bring up to four Satchel Charges to go along with your Combat Engineers (thoughts on that later). A significant limitation of previous versions of this variant was the lack of two-handed weapons, which has fortunately been fixed in this iteration of the rules. Up to three models may have a Great Sword / Axe. However, your Mechanized Heavy Infantry may not wield one, but instead is the only model that can have a Ranged or Melee Weapon with the Heavy keyword (Combat Engineers can still have Satchel Charges). Continuing with the MHI, this is the only model that can have Reinforced Armour or Machine Armour.

Stoßtruppen of the Free State of Prussia

Credit: Dandy

The Stoßtruppen of the Free State of Prussia are the elite of the elite. Called upon by the Duke of New Antioch when a stalemate in No Man’s Land needs breaking or a critical location needs to be raided, the Stoßtruppen are experts at storming fortifications with flame and firepower. The Stoßtruppen approach enemy bunkers carefully, making no sound and communicating with hand signals, despite working in almost complete darkness. When in position, they snap into action, tossing a plethora of grenades into bunkers and Trenches to scatter enemies and meet the flame and bullets their brethren unleash. After that, it’s time to take down the stragglers hiding within using Clubs, SMGs and other close-quarters weapons.

When it comes to the rules, Prussia takes some core fundamental aspects of New Antioch and cranks them up a notch; namely an increase in the number of allowed Fireteams, which goes up to three, and an increase in the range of all Grenade keyworded weapons by 4”. These are some fantastic upgrades to the standard New Antioch warband, as more Fireteams make it easier to take down troublesome foes, and a larger Grenade range increases your threat range considerably.

For unit and roster changes, starting, your Trench Cleric is now called a “Feldkaplane” and may take one dose of Holy Smoke. The warband must include 2-8 Shocktroopers, and they lose the Assault Drill ability, but up to two of them may have the Infiltrator keyword, which costs +10 Ducats. On top of that, your Shocktroopers and your Lieutenant may gain the Rapid Assault ability for +5 ducats, which grants them +1 Dice to the Risky Success Rolls when making a Dash action. You’ll be taking Rapid Assault whenever you can, as it’s just that good. Rounding out the unit restrictions, you can only take one Sniper Priest and one Mechanized Heavy Infantry.

When it comes to Battlekit changes, they reflect Prussia’s excellence in close-range combat with an increase in the cap to SMGs, as well as Automatic Shotguns and Automatic Pistols being able to be taken by your regular units, too. On the downside, Machine Guns are limited to one, and you cannot take Martyrdom Pills and Grenade Launchers. This is a fair exchange, and whilst no Martyrdom Pills on your Lieutenant is quite the loss, getting Auto Pistols on regular units is pretty tasty. When it comes to the unique Battlekit, Holy Smoke grants a -1 Dice for enemy Injury Rolls, but it is consumable. It functions exactly like Martyrdom Pills, but may only be taken by a Feldkaplane. Again, it is a shame that Prussia loses Martyrdom Pills, because as you gain Elites in a campaign, they’ll be able achieve the benefit as well. A -3 armour and-1 Dice Mechanized Infantry is pretty spicy. Still, I can see that allowing a Feldpaplane to double up on Pills with Holy Smoke is too strong, and it certainly was during that brief period when it was allowed. Bringing up the rear is possibly one of the best melee weapons in the game and a contender for best weapon name thus far. I can only be talking about the Tank-Splitter Sword, of course. This two-handed sword is Cumbersome, but grants +1 Injury Dice and has Critical also. The best thing about this weapon, though, is that when it targets a unit with Armour (including a Shield), you may set one Injury Dice to a six and roll the remaining dice as usual. Seeing as you gain +1 Injury Dice from this weapon, before any other modifiers, you will be rolling two dice, with another automatically being a 6, meaning you have some excellent odds of taking down larger armoured foes.

Despite New Antioch generally being one of the more difficult factions to pilot, Prussia is an excellent variant for beginner players of NA to get into the faction as a whole. Your threat ranges are higher and more lenient, and the extra Fireteam really helps with punching up and trading well.

Kingdom of Alba Assault Detachment

The men and women of the Scottish Highlands are fearsome beyond comparison. Their hatred for the Heretic forces has no equal, desiring little more than delivering God’s judgment, be it through Axe or Claymore. They are constantly needing to repel heretic invasions, due to the fleet of England caring only for its own territory, and they need to continually be on the lookout for valuable loot and treasure to send back to the homeland. Without it, the Kingdom’s impoverishment may worsen and spell its permanent downfall.

On the table, Alba specialises in charging into the fray and getting into the thick of Melee combat. Melee-Focused and Celtic Machine Armour grant your Mechanized Heavy Infantry a +1 Dice to Melee instead of Ranged and a regular D6” (instead of D3”) charge bonus, respectively. Further cementing Alba’s Melee Dominance are the Highland Strength and Rampant Charge abilities. The former grants the Strong keyword to your Lieutenant and Shocktroopers, and the latter grants all your models the Ignore Defended Obstacle keyword, meaning that enemies behind cover aren’t protected from incoming melee attacks. It’s not just unit or variant changes that support your Melee Prowess, but also your weapon economy as well. With Claymore Smiths ability, your Greatswords cost seven ducats, instead of the usual 12. This may seem small, but five ducats per Greatsword really adds up over time. Coupling that, we have Cold Steel, which means that when you buy a Melee weapon type for the first time, you only pay half for that purchase. So, for example, when you buy a Lochaber Axe for the first time, it costs only 10 Ducats, instead of the usual 20. Speaking of the Lochaber Axe, this terror grants +2 Injury Dice, as well as the Block and Critical Keywords. Sure, it is Heavy and Cumbersome, but it combines some serious offensive and Defensive capabilities. Finishing off the Battlekit changes that support your melee are the Bagpipes, which are an upgraded musical instrument that also grants an 8” bubble of Negate Fear. How could anyone fear a demon when the demon should fear the Bagpipes? Rounding it out is the restriction on Reinforced Armour, which is only purchasable by your Lieutenant and MHI, and a cap of 1 for Automatic Shotguns, Grenade Launchers, Machine Guns, Sniper Rifles, and SMGs. Whilst your long-range firepower is limited, you do get the benefit of Dum-Dum Bullets, which grant a ranged weapon the Critical keyword. Lastly, New Antioch can sometimes face problems with Morale, but luckily, Alba has a solution by granting a +1 Dice to Morale checks.

Expeditionary Forces of Abyssinia

Battling the forces of Mammon, the Expeditionary Forces of Abyssinia still pay their tithe, sending their warriors to New Antioch, where they receive cheers and shouts upon arrival. Hailing mainly from Oromo and Amhara, where the rough terrain has led to many warriors forgoing shoes to battle barefoot. Abyssinia favours a variety of battlefield tactics, but particularly emphasises short-range shooting in formating, allowing the strengths of their detachments to shine. From the mighty Chewa who favour close combat and Shotels, to the Holy Warriors, who are even capable of staving off the spread of the Black Grail, each warrior is honed to achieve their role and defend the Solomonic Throne of Ethiopia.

When it comes to playing this force on the table, Abyssinia operates as a good all-rounder, able to shoot and fight in melee pretty well. With some Infiltrator-lite abilities and bonuses to healing and benefits when doing so, Abyssinia is flexible in how it operates when you put all these aspects together. Starting with the unit and model changes, Abyssinia can take up to two combat medics, and may also take up to two Misericordia, meaning you can get some decent melee anti-armour potential. Continuing on with the Melee buffs, the Chewa ability for Shock Troopers and Elites adds +1 Dice for Melee Attack rolls for each other friendly model within 1”, up to a max of +2 Dice. This pairs nicely with the Fireteam rule, allowing your killing unit to get even more melee bonuses, which is always lovely.

Solidifying the Holy nature of Abyssinia, they may take up to one Trench Cleric and up to two Holy Warriors. This model uses the Trench Cleric Rules but also includes Arise and be Healed! Ability we have already seen, but also the Blessed Psalm ability, which is an Action that allows you to take a Blessing marker from the Holy Warrior and give it to a friendly model instead. The Tabot is a Glory Item, where the Holy Warrior receives a Blessing Marker whenever a friendly model heals a Blood or Infection marker, creating the loop that makes Blessed Psalm possible. To ensure the loop is constantly kicking, the Holy Water of Lalibela is a consumable item that increases the chances of healing by adding +1 Dice to the Success Roll for an Action that removes Blood Markers or Infection Markers. Grab those two Combat Medics and a healthy stash of Medi-kits and start generating those Blessing markers!

Continuing on, Abyssinia cannot include any Sniper Priests, and to further support the preference for short-range shooting, the Short-Range Marksmanship ability adds *1 Dice to Success Rolls when Lieutenants and Yeoman make Ranged Attacks within the weapon's Short-Range distance, unless those weapons are a Grenade or have the Heavy keyword. Speaking of Heavy weapons, Abyssinia may only take a maximum of three Ranged Weapons with that keyword (not including Satchel Charges). The Chieftain Panoply stipulates that MHI cannot take Machine Armour, leaving them a little more vulnerable to enemy attacks. Finally, we have Vanguard Forces, which disallows Trench Moles, but instead, up to 4 Yeoman gain the Flanking ability for +5 Ducats. This ability allows for board edge deployment, as long as they are at least 8” away from the enemy.

For unique Battlekit items, we have already covered the Holy Water of Lalibela and Tabot, but the Shotel and Anfarro are also unique to the variant. The former is a 1-handed Melee weapon with the Critical Keyword, as well as the unique ability to ignore any penalty to the Injury Dice as a result of a shield. Other special rules still apply, but being able to ignore the Armour bonus provided by a shield is nice indeed. At a cost of only 5 Ducats, it's a nice, cheap piece of equipment, but it is only for Elites and Chewa, however, so it’s not going to be for everyone. The Anfarrp is a unique piece of Headgear, again limited to just Chewas and Elites, and it grants both Negate Fear and adds +1 Dice to the Melee Characteristic of the model. This pairs very nicely with the built-in Chewa upgrade, allowing for some nice power pair/power groups to roam the battlefield and gang up on unsuspecting enemy units.

The Red Brigade

The Red Brigade is the variant designed and created by Westfalia Miniatures, in collaboration with Factory Fortress. They are an official variant like the rest, so don’t feel discouraged about using them! The Red Brigade is comprised of volunteers who share a common grief: the grief of loss. All members, from the very founding by St. Ernest, have all experienced a profound loss as a result of the Great War. All members wear armour that has been tarnished by the blood of a fallen comrade, as proof of a “Blood Pledge”. Under the direct command of the Duke, before they set out on the most dangerous missions that regular units cannot do, they dine with the Duke and the elite in the “Feast of the Dead Men”. To be a member of the Red Brigade is to know your life is at its end. Reality simply needs to catch up with the inevitable truth.

On the table, Reb Brigade is typically seen as a campaign-focused variant. That’s not to say that they can’t be used in One-Off games, but it’s that most of the rules are more effective in Campaign play. As well as the usual unit, Battlekit changes and unique Battlekit items, but also new units not seen in other variants. Oh, and let's not forget about the best part of this variant: Doggos. Yes, the goodest of girls and boys get to join this variant and boost your Glory economy. Starting with the rules, we have The Displeasure of the Church, a decision-based restriction on your Sniper Priests and Trench Cleric. You may either take up to one of each, or up to two Sniper Priests, but no Trench Cleric. It’s an interesting decision to make, as the Sniper Priest in particular is a spicy choice, especially if you can grab two Auto-Rifles. The Fury of Saint Ernest ability is a unique ability that grants the Lieutenant the Gunslinger ability for a cost of 5 Ducats. Being able to take a Skill that is typically only available through a random post-game skill roll is a really nice, unique ability, and the fact that it is Gunslinger is something great as well. For those unaware, the Gunslinger lets you shoot with both Pistols if you have one in each hand, as well as granting the Assault keyword to Pistols, should they not have it. In addition, this variant may purchase Molotov Cocktails for 5 Ducats.

Glory Hounds is an ability all about your doggo companions. As well as being able to purchase Trench Dogs of the Red Brigade for 35 Ducats (more on those later), any Trench Dogs purchased via Glory automatically become Trench Dogs of the Red Brigade. There is a restriction, however: you cannot have more Dogs than you can with regular models. The best part of this ability, which boosts your Glory generation, is that the first two Glorious Deeds performed by a Red Brigade warband grant two Glory Points instead of one. I mean, let’s be honest here, if a Dog is pulling off Glorious Deeds, they deserve to be leading the warband, wouldn’t you say? Don’t tell me you wouldn’t follow Lieutenant Scruffers up and over the trenches to face death head-on? Anyway, before I get carried away and turn this into a screenplay, let’s carry on.

Next up is a bit of a downer. The aptly named No Retreat rule does exactly what it says on the tin: You can’t use a retreat Action (unless you have a special ability that lets you). However, the Remember the Fallen ability is another unique rule in that you can skip both the Exploration and Reinforcement step in the post-battle sequence in favour of recovering all the Battlekits of your fallen models (except Mercs) and add them to your armoury. Finall for unique Rules, we have Wear and Tear, where the enemy gets to place one Blood Marker for every 200 Ducats you have in the total Cost of the Warband. The enemy can distribute those Blood Markers wherever they please, but can only place a second Marker once all of your models have at least one. This is pretty big and a detriment to the faction, potentially curbing some early-game snowballing. But it is damn cool as an ability.

For unique Items, we start with Blood Cloak, which comes in at 5 Ducats. This Cloak grants the bearer the Skirmisher keyword, which is a nice way to enable some movement shenanigans for your models. It’s not always going to work the way you want, but it can enable you to deny some chargers if you can dive and get out of Line of Sight. It is limited to 4, so save it for your most important models. Second, we have the Red Banner, which costs 2 Glory and only has a limit of one, but adds +2 Dice to all Morale Checks as long as the model carrying the banner is not Downed or Out of Action.

Bruno. Image: Beezer

When it comes to Special Units, let’s start with the Trench Dogs of the Reg Brigade. These loyal Doggos may take Frag Grenades or Molotov Cocktails, but before you get carried away and imagine a Dog somehow hurling them at enemies Sif style, they instead allow friendly non-Trench Dog models to use the shoot action with these weapons whilst they are within 1” of them. What is cool, however, is the Loyal Hound ability, which lets you form an additional two Fireteams, as long as those within the Fireteam consist of one Dog and one regular model. You still get the Concentrated Attack ability, so sit back and imagine a Dog unleashing a Bloodbath on a Court demon. Just think! Speaking of attacks, to get into the thick of it, the Four Paws ability gives your Trench Dogs +1 Dice to Climb, Jump, Fall or Dash Actions, and the Teeth and Claws ability allows them to make a Melee Attack, despite having no weapon. With a Melee Characteristic of 0, it’s not going to do a lot, but who cares? But should your Trench Dogs be taken Out of Action, they still do count towards Morale Checks, so don’t throw them out recklessly, because well, that’s just mean. Lastly, the Special Training ability allows you to buy an upgrade for your Trench Dogs as follows:

Attack Dog: Add +1 Dice to the Melee Characteristic.

Guard Dog (Limit 1): Enemy Infiltrators cannot deploy within 12” of an enemy Guard Dog.
Mercy Dog (Limit 2): Mercy Dogs carry Medi-Kits and can use them on friendly models. Additionally, by moving into contact with a friendly model that is outside of the melee range of an enemy model, it may drag the friendly model along with it. Still, it may only move half of the Dog’s movement. It cannot do so when it retreats or charges (although the latter would be particularly hilarious)

For our second Special Unit, we have the Crimson Communicant, which costs 75 Ducats. With -1 Ranged Dice and +1 Dice in melee, the Crimson Communicant may take any Battlekit from New Anitoch, as well as always carrying an Atonement Bell. Additionally, the Communicant comes as an Elite, as well as the Strong and Tough Keyword. This bell is a 1-Handed Melee weapon that can only be used to make Off-Hand attacks. The unique property of this weapon is that after a successful hit, the enemy is pushed D3” away in a straight line, instead of rolling on the Injury Table. You can force the model to retreat this way, or to climb or jump, so that you can get some cheeky injuries that way. The Strength Through Pain ability grants a +1 Dice to the Melee Characteristic of the Crimson Communicant for each Blood Marker it has. Additionally, the enemy cannot use any Blood Markers it has to reduce the Communicant’s Success Roll for a Melee Attack Action. This is a nice little touch and a differentiator from the other Communicats we see, though losing the Miracle of Regeneration ability we see on those other ones is a bit of a shame.

Overall, the Red Brigade is a very flavourful campaign variant to try out, with a wide variety of interesting mechanics, Battlekit and units that make for a unique experience on the table. There’s a good mix of give and take here, and they can certainly snowball hard in campaign play, due to the nature of the Glory Point boost and the way their Remember the Fallen ability works.

Example List

Prussia 800/6

## More Prussian for the Rushin' One-off ##

Faction: Stoßtruppen of the Free State of Prussia Rating: 800 Ducats | 5 Glory Patron: None

## Elites ##

Lieutenant • Cost: 162 Ducats | 0 Glory Upgrades & Choices: Rapid Assault • Equipment: Tank-Splitter Sword, Combat Helmet, Gas Mask, Medi-Kit, Frag Grenades, Machine Armour

Trench Cleric • Cost: 122 Ducats | 0 Glory • Equipment: Tank-Splitter Sword, Combat Helmet, Gas Mask, Holy Smoke, Frag Grenades, Standard Armour

Sniper Priest • Cost: 90 Ducats | 0 Glory • Equipment: Automatic Rifle

## Troops ##

Mechanised Heavy Infantry • Cost: 120 Ducats | 0 Glory • Battlekit: Heavy Shotgun, Reinforced Armour, Satchel Charge

Shocktrooper • Cost: 63 Ducats | 0 Glory • Upgrades & Choices: Rapid Assault • Battlekit: Trench Club, Trench Club, Frag Grenades

Shocktrooper • Cost: 63 Ducats | 0 Glory • Upgrades & Choices: Rapid Assault • Battlekit: Trench Club, Trench Club, Frag Grenades

Shocktrooper • Cost: 90 Ducats | 0 Glory • Upgrades & Choices: Rapid Assault, Infiltrator • Battlekit: Flamethrower

Shocktrooper • Cost: 90 Ducats | 0 Glory • Upgrades & Choices: Rapid Assault, Infiltrator • Battlekit: Flamethrower

## Mercenaries ##

Communicant Anti-Tank Hunter • Cost: 0 Ducats | 5 Glory • Battlekit: Anti-Materiel Rifle, Trench Club, Trench Club, Combat Helmet

Despite being the most tuned Variant in the faction, I wanted to go with a Prussia list, as new players who want to dip their toes into the game can both grab some plastic kits to play and also, Prussia is the most beginner-friendly of the variants. The list covers pretty much everything you want in Prussia, and your three fireteams will be your three Elites, two of the double Club Shock Troopers and your MHI. You're Shock Troopers, and Priest will be your setup units, and the rest will be the execution units. For the Mercenary choice, I chose the Anti-Tank Communicant, as it's again the most straightforward for newer players and lets them play the game at longer ranges as well.

Final Thoughts

I hope you have all enjoyed this deep dive into New Antioch. They are a fantastic army to get into, with a lot of variety within the sphere of a core playstyle. Personally, I have bought a bunch of minis to start work on an Éire Rangers warband. Perhaps the building and painting of which I will cover in a future article. In the meantime, thank you all for reading! We still have the Iron Sultanate and Court of the Seven-Headed Serpent to go in our Faction Focus article. Should you have a preference on which we should cover, please let us know!

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Tags: competitive play | Start Competing | trench crusade | new antioch