Fielding Command Groups

Which command group options a unit can take -- usually up to "full command" (a champion, standard bearer, and musician), though some units can only take one or two -- is set by the miniatures available and detailed in that unit's own Warhammer Armies book (light troops, for instance, often skip the standard bearer, preferring not to draw attention with a big flag). Command group models are always taken as upgrades to ordinary rank-and-file models.

What's in a Name?

Most army books use "standard bearer" and "musician" as generic terms, even though the model itself might carry an icon, pennant, drum, horn, or some other instrument entirely -- the rule still applies the same way. A champion is different: it's rarely labelled simply "champion," instead going by whatever rank or name that unit uses. If a unit has a champion option, it'll be whichever one isn't clearly a standard bearer or musician -- and a champion always has a slightly different characteristic profile from the rest of the unit, which makes it easy to spot if there's ever any doubt.

Position Within a Unit

Command group models must be placed in the unit's front rank, fighting alongside the troops they lead by example -- unless there simply isn't room, in which case as many as possible go in front and the rest in the rank behind. Whenever a unit reforms, its command group automatically repositions into the new front rank, regardless of distance.

Champions »