Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Empire Campaign - Chapter 2, Mission 1

Here are general tips for playing the Empire Campaign in Warhammer: Mark of Chaos on HARD Difficulty. A list of all our Warhammer: Mark of Chaos articles can be found here.
We won't be hand-holding you through absolutely everything, but instead just give tips on situations that we found tricky or that you might not have considered.

Chapter 2: The Hosts of Ulthuan

Mission 1: Minions of the Under-Empire

Overview

• A really easy mission if you can avoid getting blasted by the Lightning Cannon. Just bring lots of handgunners.
• Securing the Mustering Horn (standing a unit near it for 30 seconds) will call reinforcements for both yourself and the skaven.
• Once the Horn is secured, almost the entire skaven camp will mobilize and move toward you.
• Allied Level 3 Knights and Level 2 Handgunners will come from the east. They will largely be ignored until they kill the Skaven Warlord. As they exit the map, StormVermin will slaughter them.
• Skaven will also receive light reinforcements from the west.
• Walking in between the plague clouds is tricky as the unit could still be diseased without you being aware. There is nothing visible on the unit if it has the plague -- just a chance that a model will suddenly fall dead.
• The safest way past them seems to be going around to the west, hugging the western mountain base.
• "Destroying" the altar of vitality transforms it into a non-regenerating shrine for the empire that can give you units. Since this is quite an easy mission, you might consider not filling out your regiments prior to the mission and using the altar for 50 HP worth of units.
• Destroying the skaven camp means destroying the Warpstone Pinnacle. Leave it along if you want to use the Altar of Vitality last.
• Not sure if you can do anything with the Neutral Helblaster Volley Gun during the mission but you get it at the end of the mission.

Walkthrough

• Sight the Skaven Lightning Cannon and units nearby with your Hunters, who have a long sight range. Move your cannon just enough to hit and draw the units around the cannon. Clear them before rushing the cannon with just the Captain.
• Deploy in the southeast. You are too vulnerable to being sighted by the lightning cannon. The Stormvermin near it cannot let it target you for some reason, but the Poisoned Wind Globadiers can.
• At the ridge west of the horn, you can set up your cannon and Hunters. Hunters can hit the patrols, drawing them up to you one regiment at a time.
• Shell the enemy until the Warpstone pinnacle is used up, then advance on the camp carefully.
• If you do not approach the camp, the enemy regiments will stand still while you continue to bombard them. Do this if you think you cannot handle the horde.
• If you deploy on the ridge west of the horn, you might be able to slow the advance of the skaven horde by getting them into a traffic jam as they turn up the hill.
• When you get close enough to the camp, all but one regiment of Stormvermin will start walking to you. The Warlord will remain behind. Reinforcements will come later.
• When you get close enough to the Warlord (going farther into the camp than is necessary to trigger the skaven army moving), he will move, but will go back if you pull back far enough away.