Where now the horse and the rider?

I have always been a sucker for cavalry. I absolutely loved  Tolkien's depiction of the Horse Lords of Rohan in Lord of the Rings. Elves, Dwarves? Not for me, Vikings on Horseback it is! This  often lead me to pick factions with a focus on cavalry in video games. I swept everything before me with my Ritterbrüder cavalry in Medieval 2: TW and my heart soared everytime my artillery had weakened the enemy enough to order an all out charge with my Cuirassiers and Hussars in Empire: TW.

Knights who don't say ni.

Sadly this did not expand to the tabletop. In Warhammer 40k I played the Space Wolves and while they had cavalry in the form of bikers, I ran them once and they sucked. I never really got into Warhammer Fantasy, so that was that. (I still have an Idea for an Empire list but that would probably cost more for the core troops than two Warmachine armies)

Then I started Warmachine and lo and behold. My faction Khador derives from ancient Khardic horselords. Though this was not my primary concern when choosing the faction, I soon noticed I could run lots of cavalry. One unit of Uhlans and three solos. There is even Vlad's theme list which allows you to run 11 cavalry models at once. I was in the process of building this theme force when Privateer Press dropped a bomb.

Vlad: My horse better be amazing!

A cavalry caster!

Coming out in July. What's my birthday? Oh right, July. Thanks PP. Gone are the days of envy for the Swans cavalry caster. Now what to run with him? Since whe know next to nothing about his spell list, the prudent thing would be to hold of on choices, analyze him when he comes out and then run the most competitive choices.

F**k prudent, f**k competitive! This is what I will run:

• Vladimir Tzepesci, Great Prince of Umbrey
• Drago
• Full Iron Fang Uhlans
• Uhlan Kovnik Markov
• Manowar Drakhun
• Fenris
• Gun Carriage Battle Engine
• Min Steelhead Heavy Cavalry
• Stannis Brocker, Steelhead Commander of Ternon Crag
• Alexia Ciannor, Mistress of the Witchfire

Assuming Vlad still has 5 Jackpoints, this adds up to exactly 50 points. 16 models, 14 of them heavy cavalry, one a Battle Engine that behaves like cav. *insert mad scientist laugh here* There's also some room to cut and adjust. Lose Alexia and max out the Steelheads. Since we might even get light cav in colossals, maybe switch those in.
It's the time of the horselords come again! So how much cavalry can I paint till July? And why do I not have Fenris yet?


I'm on a horse!
Fenris

"But a force of Iron Fangs would also look really cool with Mr Giant-Shoulders." SHUT UP, BRAIN!