These tarpits are made up of very cheap models allowing them to field extremely large units. So they go into the fight with many more ranks than their opposition and even after your unit butchers a bunch of them, they still have enough ranks leftover to comfortably claim steadfast. Take your example of the Skavenslaves unit, which I've read usually clock in at 100+ models, they can endure many rounds of losing 10+ models before they ever lose their steadfast. That means they get to take that break test on leadership 10, often with a BSB reroll. Those are good odds. Sure your unit will eventually cut through them, but how long will that take? I think for such a solo character to work, they have to be either Stubborn or Unbreakable. But maybe someone more experienced like @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl , @NIGHTBRINGER , @Killer Angel , @Krox_v.2 can weigh in on the topic? What kinds of characters (if any) can take on @Quinn 's deathstar unit that he describes a few posts back? Can they actually constitute a viable counter to such a unit?
Oh yeah, forgot about steadfast. I almost never use it due to temple guard being stubborn and usually fielding my saurus only 4 wide.
I agree that without steadfast the tarpit would be useless. Interesting... why do you field them so narrow?
I don't think characters alone would be the counter to a tarpit. I would include them as part of the counter but not the sole counter. I would probably drop a few characters built as blenders into the front rank of a unit of saurus or temple guard around 30 or so strong, engage the tarpit in the front and then flank charge the tarpit with a stegadon, cold one riders or ripperdactyl riders.
Sorry, I don't think I phrased my question correctly. I didn't mean a character versus a tarpit, I meant a solo character as a potential counter against the Temple Guard deathstar + Oldblood character that @Quinn devised... We were exploring potential counters to his deathstar and one of the ideas I threw into the mix was a solo character. I'm curious as to if it would be a viable strategy, and if so, what type of character build.
Ah, in that case a solo character build I think would be a counter would be something akin to the unkillable Tzeentch WOC lords or the Nurgle Daemon princes. Just use a character like that to trap the deathstar in place for most of the game. @NIGHTBRINGER is more familiar with those style builds. Course, I kinda like a strategy I remember from an 8th edition White Dwarf battle report between WOC and a Night Goblin themed greenskin horde. The greenskin player, I think it was Jeremy Vetock, had multiple massive units of night goblins loaded up with cheap Night Goblin heroes and lords, armed with just great weapons and cheap magic items. He kept locking down the Chaos lord and some units by endlessly feeding the many cheap heroes into challenges to keep the chaos player's lord, heroes and unit champions from slaughtering the rank and file. Combined with the casualties inflicted by fanatics, squigs and the static combat res from the ranks and command, it wore down a number of units, if memory serves me right.