| “ | Do not be deceived, for the rampant lion's bite is immeasurably worse than its fearsome roar. | „ |
The Black Lions (War Wagons - Helblasters) are an 
Empire Regiment of Renown missile chariot unit introduced in Total War: Warhammer II with The Hunter and the Beast.
Recruitment[ | ]
Recruited with: Regiments of Renown Recruitment panel
Description[ | ]
The Empire War Wagon is an extremely heavy version of a chariot, a mobile armoured battle tower with a crew of six warriors, pulled by two sturdy warhorses. The high walls of the tower protect its crew from arrows and attacks from the ground
War Wagons are a movable platform from which it either transports Empire soldiers through the battlefield or provides a vantage point for units of archers, crossbowmen, and handgunners to shoot the enemy. Its crew can also be armed with a variety of experimental weaponry from the arsenal of the Imperial Gunnery School. War Wagons can install a piece of artillery into its tower, which provides the artillery with adequate speed and the Empire army with devastating firepower.[1a]
As of today, the use of War Wagons within the battlefields of the Empire is now obsolete. However it has been known that War Wagons are refitted to serve as either an Arcane Battle Altar or a War Altar of Sigmar. In the past, War Wagons varied greatly in their size, with some War Wagons being only as large as an over-sized hay-cart, while others were the size of an Empire fortress. As of now, War Wagons have been replaced with the newer and more heavily armoured Steam Tank.
Attributes[ | ]
- Missile Chariot
- ▲ Armoured: Armoured units can block damage from any source apart from Armour-Piercing damage.
- ▲ Armour-Piercing Missiles: The damage of armour-piercing weapons mostly ignores the armour of the target, making them the ideal choice against heavily-armoured enemies. They are often heavier and attack at a slower rate though, making them less efficient against poorly-armoured targets.
Strategy[ | ]
The Black Lions are a very interesting and powerful unit. Their attack functions basically identically to a Helblaster Volley Gun--rapid-firing armour-piercing shots that can shred heavy infantry. However, as they are mounted on War Wagon chassis, they have mobility that normal Helblasters can only dream of. This opens up many possibilities for them that are usually not possible for artillery, such as flanking the fight and sending enfilade fire ripping down the enemy's infantry lines. They are also much less vulnerable to cavalry--being wagon units, their crews cannot drop their guns and as such also cannot be driven from them, and they have the speed and armor to lead harassing cavalry on a merry chase if necessary.
The main downside of the Black Lions is, of course, that you can only ever have one of them. This limits their effectiveness, as a mere three Helblaster guns is a dangerous nuisance but not an existential threat. As such, while powerful, the role of the Black Lions is usually that of the "Distraction Carnifex"--a unit that the enemy should be badly torn about addressing. They're well-armoured and fast enough to take quite a bit of killing, but also do just enough damage that they can't be completely ignored. And if the enemy DOES ignore them, they can put in major work from the flanks.
