Back in the days of Fifth Edition Warhammer, when Flagellants were a bit cheaper, a bit stronger, and not restricted to units of 30 or fewer, I heard many a tale about power gamers who cheesed out and fielded a single, enormous unit of Flagellants. These giant units of Flagellants were sometimes 80 or 100 strong and could often constitute half the points value of an entire Empire army. Such regiments certainly went against the spirit of the old Empire army list and are, I'm sure, the reason that the Flagellants' unit size is restricted in the current Army book. However, the fact that the cheese heads were tempted to build such armies indicates just how effective Flagellants can be.

Inexplicably, however, I'm seeing fewer and fewer units of Flagellants in Empire armies at tournaments and other events, which indicates to me that their use is in decline. I'm not sure why this is so – baffled by it in fact. Even in the hands of a reckless or inexperienced commander, Flagellants – with their Toughness of 4, 2 Attacks, and effective Strength of 5 on the 1st turn of combat – are an effective hammer with which to bludgeon the enemy. On the other hand, under the command of an experienced general, Flagellants can win battles by tying up the enemy's most powerful units or holding strategic areas of the battlefield. On the next few pages, I discuss a few ways that I've found success with my Flagellants.