By Tyler Cherrison

The Portuguese Tercios and Militia are truly a jack-of-all-trades kind of force. You have access to a roster of very solid units backed up by useful Special Rules. You can build a list that can handle a ton of different situations or you can spam a specific unit to overwhelm your opponent! With the revised edition of No Peace Beyond the Line came many changes that boosted the effectiveness of certain units in this force. Not to mention if you love Cavalry, this is currently my favorite way to run an all Cavalry force!

Portuguese Brazilian History

Ever since they landed on the 22nd of April 1500, the Portuguese worked to establish their foothold in the New World. Brazil became their seat of power and influence, though it would be contested. Their primary adversary became the Dutch, who also had settlements in Brazil, which fueled a bitter rivalry between the two empires. Eventually, the Portuguese managed to kick the Dutch out of Brazil and soon began to work on the sugar plantations that would destroy much of the forested lands of the Amazon.

Portuguese occupation of Brazil was always under attack by the local native tribes and the Quilombos, communities of escaped slaves mixed with native tribes. When gold mines were discovered, the colonists shifted their resources towards mining rather than growing sugar. This new valuable resource caused a mass influx of colonists looking to make their fortunes in the New World and would reap great rewards for Portugal going into the 18th century.

Reading About the Portuguese Brazilians

The history of Portugal and its empire is long and complex, so most books include the Brazilian element as just a portion of the book. A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire: Volume Two is a great place to start!

You can get an easy overview of the history of Colonial Brazil in this Wikipedia article.

Portuguese-Brazilian Tercios & Militia Faction Special Rules & Force Options

The Portuguese-Braziliano Tercios & Militia Faction is found in the Unaligned chapter of the No Peace Beyond the Line expansion for Blood & Plunder. There is an 18th-century counterpart to this faction in Raise the Black, but this review will focus on the version of the Portuguese-Brazilians centered on the 17th century.

The Faction Special Rules for Portuguese-Brazilian Tercios & Militia are that all Core units gain the Drilled Special Rule at no cost, and that Milicianos Indios units may exchange their Bows for Firelock Muskets. 

You also have the choice between two different Force Options, which can really shake up how you make your list and help you specialize into a land or sea list.

Guarda Costas

This force option lets you take European Sailors as Core and Marinaros (Spanish) as Support at the cost of not including European Militia Cavalry and European Artillery Crew.

Jewish Militia

This option allows you to take Jewish Militia as Core at the cost of not including European Militia Cavalry and European Soldiers in your force.

Faction Rules

Drilled adds strong value across the faction. It boosts the Milicianos Indios’ damage output and improves the firepower of your European Sailors. Giving your cavalry Drilled also unlocks the Reformado, improving their action economy. With cavalry now cheaper, you can field an aggressive—if fragile—swarm of mounted militia who, thanks to Drilled, function as budget dragoons: rush forward, dismount, and deliver close‑range fire with their Firelock Carbines.

The second Faction ability, which lets you trade the Milicianos Indios’ bows for Firelock Muskets, is excellent. With their 6 Shoot Skill and the Drilled rule from your first Faction ability, this swap greatly increases their damage output. Add the Strict rule from the European Commander list, and you’re putting out serious musket fire from a 5‑point unit.

The optional force choices are also strong. Giving your European Sailors muskets and Drilled creates another reliable shooting option. At 4 points each, you can take plenty of them, and their 6 Shoot Skill paired with Strict and Drilled hits far above their cost. This also lets you build a force tailored for sea games, which is notable since few militia factions perform well on both land and sea.

The other option is taking Jewish Militia as core. They’ve dropped to 4 points per model, and even with Tough being nerfed, it remains a solid free ability. Keep in mind that choosing either option prevents you from taking European Militia Cavalry. If cavalry isn’t a priority, it’s not a major loss. Both force options are genuinely good, leaving you without an obvious frontrunner—this kind of balanced list design is one of the reasons I love Blood & Plunder so much!

Using Drilled

Before we get into the rest of these force options, let me give you the Drilled Special Rule rundown since it is very important to understand how it works and when to use it for this force.

 Drilled: This unit is more effective when in formation. A Drilled unit in formation may (only) use Carbines or Muskets of any type to make a Shoot action as a Dedicated action, which receives all the standard penalties and bonuses for a Dedicated action as explained in the Actions section.

Requirements for Drilled

To be in formation, this unit must:

• have at least 4 non-Shaken models
• have no models in a Structure, unless that Structure section is open-topped.|
• all models must be in base-to-base contact

Units in formation still have a 360° Arc of Fire just as an individual model would. Units don’t need to move in formation, but they must be in formation at the end of a move to benefit from the Drilled Special Rule.

 Drilled is a Dedicated Action, which means that:

• It must be the first action you take when you activate.
• You do not trigger any suit-related actions (e.g., Fast Reload, Marksman).
• You add a -1 bonus for each unused action after the first action.

Interacting with the Drilled Special Ability

Special rules like Quick, Skirmishers, and Artillery Crew will not work if you plan to use Drilled to perform a Shoot Test. 

Now, the benefit of Drilled is the potential Shoot bonus greater than -1. When a unit with 3 Actions uses Drilled, it can get a total bonus of -2 to its Shoot Test. The first Action is the Shoot Test, and the last 2 available Actions give it that -2 bonus. Instead of waiting for a later Activation using Clubs or Diamond for those 3 Actions, a Trained unit with your Commander or Officer with a Command Point to give 3rd Shoot Action can Activate on a Heart, use a Command Point to perform the Shoot Action, and use its own 2 Actions to get that -2 bonus.

Keep in mind that a Unit that is using a Drilled Shoot Action will not be able to move at all during its Activation or Reload. So while the benefit is great, the risk of being caught out in the open is equally as great. I find that it is best to use Drilled when you are at a range increment that puts your Shoot Test at a 9 or 10 to hit. This range is usually in the 12-16” range for your Milicianos who have a Shoot Skill of 7. For your European Soldiers, Milicianos Indios, and European Sailors, it is 16”-20” away. If you are beyond these increments, your Shoot Bonus from Drilled is just going to be eaten by the negative range modifiers, keeping you at a 10 to hit. 

Things to keep in mind with the Drilled Special Ability

You also typically do not want to use Drilled if you are about to be Charged by more than one enemy Unit, as you will always end your Activation with 2 Reload Markers, leaving you extremely vulnerable to an uncontested Charge. If you are close to an enemy Unit that has already taken casualties and your boosted Shoot Action will finish them off or stack enough Fatigue to rout them, then obviously that is a good move.

Just keep in mind the vulnerabilities that come with using the Dedicated Shoot Action. The main strategy for this force is stacking other benefits with Drilled. The biggest ones are the Strict rule, which gives you a ‑1 bonus to any Test, and the Ruthless rule on your Milicianos, which gives an additional ‑1 to a Shoot Test if the target has more Fatigue than your unit.

If you can stack all these bonuses, you end up with a ‑3 on your European Sailors, European Soldiers, and Milicianos Indios, bringing their base Shoot Skill down to a 3. Or you can reach a ‑4 from a Milicianos unit performing a Drilled Shoot Action from a Command Point given by a Commander in the unit, targeting an enemy with more Fatigue than your Milicianos.

Portuguese-Brazilian Tercios & Militia Units

Portuguese Tercios and Militia have 11 total unit options available to you, with 7 in Core (the European Sailors becoming Core and Marinaros Support with one Force Option and Jewish Militia Core with the other option) and 4 Support units. This makes them one of the more flexible armies in the game. Let’s take a look at some of the units and combos and see what really makes the faction such a powerhouse.

Core Units

European Soldiers

European Soldiers are the generic soldier option in Blood & Plunder. These highly skilled troops come in with a 6/6 Fight, 6/6 Shoot, and a 5 Resolve. They have the Expertly Drilled and Brawlers Special Rules, making them a threat in ranged and close combat. At 6 points, this unit is expensive, but their performance will more than make up for it. That Shoot Save if 6 and Resolve of 5 make this unit an excellent one to hide your Commander in. The European Soldiers also act as a great anvil for your force. March them up the field, half-shooting to start stacking Fatigue on the enemy, and then flank from both sides with European Militia Cavalry!

Milicianos Indios 

Milicianos Indios are the real meat and potatoes of this list. Normally equipped with Bows, this unit can swap out bows for firelock muskets for free thanks to your faction rule. With a Fight of 5/8, a 6/6 Shoot, and a 6 Resolve. This unit can apply pressure at range and then charge in for the kill when it closes with the foe. The Milicianos Indios come with Elusive, Quick, Scouts, Skirmishers, and Drilled (from the faction). This combination of rules gives you a lot of options on what you want to do in any given scenario. Though keep in mind that using Drilled will prevent you from using the Free Actions gained from Activating in a Spade. While 5 points is a little pricey, the benefits you will receive are more than worth it.

Milicianos

Ah, good old Milicianos, armed with muskets, but boy do they want to hit you with them! In all seriousness, Milicianos are one of my favorite units in the game. If you need cheap bodies to overwhelm your opponent, these are your guys, and they’re deadly at range in large numbers. Upgrade their Matchlocks to Heavy Matchlocks, park them in the backfield, and pray for 10s. Where they really shine is in a good old fist fight. Rush them up the board, trade Drilled for Elusive, blast at short range, and then charge in for the kill. Poorly Equipped isn’t much of a downside—they only need to shoot once.

They work especially well in this force alongside European Soldiers, who can lay down accurate Half Fire to build Fatigue on the enemy, letting Ruthless kick in for your Milicianos. You really can’t go wrong with a unit—or ten—of these maniacs.

European Militia

The lackluster cousin of the Milicianos. Seriously, these folks come in with the same 6/6 Fight, 7/8 Shoot, and 6 Resolve but, importantly, lack the ability to trade Drilled for Elusive and don’t get Ruthless. I have a hard time figuring out why you would ever take them over the Milicianos. They cost the same at 3 points, and even if you upgraded them to Trained for 4 points each, they are worse than Jewish Militia. They just lack the free Special Rules that they gain from other factions.

Caballeria Lancero

Now, when it comes to cavalry in Blood & Plunder, these guys are the GOAT (or the horse?). The Caballeria Lancero ride in with a 5/7 Fight, 7/7 Shoot, and a 6 Resolve, making them the hardest‑to‑shoot cavalry in the game—saving on an 8+ in the open instead of the usual 9+. With Ruthless, Skirmishers, and Quick, they’ll fly up the board and kill whatever they hit, as long as the target doesn’t have Defensive Fire. That’s why you need to support them with the rest of your force. Use your European Soldiers or Milicianos Indios to stop enemy units from shooting on the Charge.

They can take Brace of Pistols or Firelock Carbines, but it’s rarely worth it. Every action should be spent moving or charging. This unit is a fragile but deadly guided missile that can delete a problem unit—just don’t let them get caught out in the open.

European Militia Cavalry

The breadwinners of this force, maybe. Nobody benefited more from the No Peace Beyond the Line revision than these lads, which saw them drop from 4 points down to that all-important 3 points. You can take a lot of these, and I mean a lot. The European Militia Cavalry don’t have the best statline, but they don’t really need to, and with the Drilled special rule they gain from being in this force, you can add a Reformado to them, which will effectively make them a Trained unit without having to buy the upgrade. They will die in droves but at the speed they can move, your opponent will not be able to ignore them. These can even work great as a red herring for your Milicianos as they march up the board.

Optional Core Units

These are the units that can become core should you choose their force option. 

European Sailors

A very powerful Core choice for this force. They have a good Shoot and Fight skill, excellent Resolve, and Brawlers helps them stick in combat. The real strength comes from the Drilled rule they gain if they take the 4‑point Firelock Musket upgrade. Starting at a Shoot of 6 with Drilled on a 4‑point model is huge and adds another serious ranged threat to the list. Combine this with a Commander who can take Strict and Expertly Drilled, and you’re shooting on par with the French.

They also have the Artillery Crew rule, which is essential for sea games. While you can run a small‑arms‑heavy ship list, being able to crew cannons gives you more options. You will lose access to European Militia Cavalry and European Artillery Crew, but if you’re not planning to run cavalry, there’s really no downside.

Jewish Militia

Another unit that really benefited from the revision is the Jewish Militia. Dropping from 5 points to 4 is a huge improvement. They have a 6/6 Fight, making them solid in combat, and a 7/7 Shoot, which isn’t great but becomes workable with Drilled. You can also trade Drilled for Elusive, giving you a unit with average damage but better staying power—and that’s the real reason to take them.

And I haven’t even mentioned the best part: the Tough rule. Tough makes this Resolve‑5 militia unit extremely reluctant to leave the battlefield. I’ve personally packed a Galleon full of Jewish Militia and seen great results. Even though Tough was nerfed, it’s still an excellent ability; if you keep Fatigue under control, you maintain reliable command over your units.

Support Units

European Pikemen

Now this is a really interesting unit. They are locked in the Support section and have the Support (Any unit with the Drilled or Expertly Drilled special rules), which means you really need a job for this unit to bring them along. They don’t necessarily want to Charge your opponent, but they do want to BE charged for their bite to kick in. If you are worried about enemy cavalry or an aggressive combat list, then maybe these guys can see some use. Excellent models, I might add!

European Artillery Crew

If you want a Field Gun, then you need to take this unit, although I don’t believe cannons are as effective on land as they are at sea. Still, if you’re feeling up for it, the option is there for you to take. There definitely is a list here where you take a Field Gun to bolster your gunline, supported by pikemen on the flanks to absorb charges. I’d be curious to see how it performs.

Optional Support Units

Marinaros

An excellent unit compared to your other standard Support choices, as they are a good unit in the same way the Milicianos are. A Fight of 5 and Ruthless is pretty good, though they are slower than the Caballeria they can take advantage of cover more. They don’t necessarily gain a lot from being in this list though something can be said about dropping their Pistols to make them 3pts each and intersperse a unit or two amongst your Milicianos swarm. They will also compliment your European Sailors in Sea games as a reliable melee threat.

Portuguese-Brazilian Tercios & Militia Commanders

The Portuguese Tercios and Militia list has access to 3 different Standard Commanders and one historical commander.

Generic Commanders

The first Commanders are the Untested (0), Experienced (15), and Seasoned European Commander (25) found in No Peace Beyond the Line. Now you may not get to choose the Special Rules that these guys have, but they do come with a small advantage of having a 4” increased Command Range compared to their Standard European Commander counterparts found in Raise the Black. Out of these choices, I prefer the Untested European Commander because he costs 0 points to take, which can always be useful for smaller games or if you are taking advantage of more Characters. My second choice would be the Seasoned European Commander due to his 16” Command Range, Inspiring, and Expertly Drilled, which makes him an excellent choice to lead a large mass of Jewish Militia or Milicianos.

You also have the choice of a European Sea Commander in the standard three experience brackets as well. In my opinion, the Seasoned Sea Commander is a better choice to get useful Special Rules such as Broadside, Commodore, and Inspiring; all are fairly useful at sea. Don’t forget that you can take European Sailors as a core unit, which remains competitive with other sea lists. Having the ability to build small arms or cannon-heavy sea forces is always a good thing; you can even do both!

Standard Commander Special Ability Options

The Standard Unaligned European Commander is where things get saucy. The Experienced and Seasoned versions get to pick from the following list of Special Rules:

• Strict
• Inspiring
• Broadside!
• Expertly Drilled
• Battle Hardened
• Commodore
• Tactician
• Unwavering

You truly have some amazing options up here, and this list really supports you if you choose to make a shooting, close combat, or hard-to-remove list! Strict and Expertly Drilled will allow your ranged units (many of whom start with a 6 to shoot) to send some precise and deadly musket balls downfield. Battle Hardened and Tactician will help you to keep you cavalry in the fight and get those all-important Spades to use Quick and Skirmishers! Inspiring and Unwavering will keep your Soldiers or Jewish Militia in the battle and fully operational. 

Historic Commander – Francisco Barreto de Meneses

This force has only one named commander, and he’s a solid choice. Francisco Barreto de Meneses costs 30 points, which isn’t bad, and he comes with Expertly Drilled, Inspiring, and Cunning. Cunning lets your unit Fall Back 5″ instead of 4″ when they become Shaken, preventing your opponent from Pursuing if you don’t perform well in a fight and letting you set up a Charge or Shoot action on your next turn. His 16″ Command Range and 3 Command Points are also strong.

He really benefits a force of Jewish Militia, since he can hand out re‑rollable Rally Tests that, combined with Tough, keep your units exactly where you want them. He also works well in a Milicianos or European Militia Cavalry swarm, as those Command Points keep your Inexperienced units running up the board.

Portuguese-Brazilian Tercios & Militia Tactics

There are so many combos you can achieve with this list so I will try to keep it reigned in by listing a specific combination of abilities and units and which types of forces would benefit the most. 

Before we delve into the tactics you can employ with this force, let’s learn about the Strict special rule. Strict allows any unit rolling a test during your Commander’s Activation to gain 1 point of Fatigue to apply a -1 bonus to that Test. This allows you to turn those 6 base shooting stats on a lot of your core units into 5s!

Ranged Threat

Now the really nice thing about this force is that you get access to Strict from the Standard Unaligned European Commanders. Strict lets any unit that performs a test while your commander’s unit is activated gain a -1 bonus on that test at the cost of gaining 1 Fatigue. What this means is that all your units that can hit on 6’s can now have a base Shoot skill of 5 which you can combine with Drilled or Expertly Drilled to lower that even further. This benefits your European Soldiers, Milicianos Indios, European Sailors, and Milicianos the most. 

You can potentially get your base Shoot skill down to 3!

Melee Threat

Strict also benefits your close combat lists as well, with the -1 bonus going to the free Fight Test you gain from a Charge action issued by your commander. Stack this with Battle Hardened and you can give some staying power to your Commander’s unit. Likewise you can take Strict and Tactician on your Commander to farm for more Spades so that you can really move up the board with massed Cavalry lists. Remember that Milicianos have a Fight Skill of 6 and the Ruthless special rule which combined with Strict will let them hit on 4’s. Use this on a unit of Caballeria Lanceros and hit on 3’s with Lances! Worry about that Fatigue while the enemy flies the battlefield!

Staying Power

Now this tactic doesn’t require Strict (but you certainly can still use it still) and focuses more on outlasting your opponent. Take the force option that makes Jewish Militia Core, select the Inspiring and Unwavering special rules on your commander, and replace the Drilled special rule on your Jewish Militia with Elusive. Now you can park your army mid field in natural cover if you have it and trade shots against your enemy! The Tough special rule on your Jewish Militia combined with the rerollable Rally Tests from Inspiring on your commander will ensure that you keep your Fatigue to a minimum while your opponent struggles under the weight of fire of all your 4pt models.

Drilled Milicianos Indios

The unique strength of this force is the ability to give Firelock Muskets and the Drilled rule to Milicianos Indios, who normally only take Bows. This turns them into 5‑point models loaded with useful Special Rules and solid Fight and Shoot skills. Your Commander can take Tactician to help you fish for Spades, letting the Milicianos Indios jump out of cover with the free Move from Quick, fire into enemy units, then slip back into cover with Skirmish—also on a Spade—while saving on 5s thanks to Elusive in natural cover. They’re a bit pricey at 5 points each, but the value they gain makes them hard to ignore.

Gaining Drilled also allows a Reformado to join them, effectively giving you two Hidalgos and letting you run a cheaper Commander. 

Portuguese-Brazilian Tercios & Militia List Building

 As I have already covered in this article, there are so many different ways you can build this force. You can shoot, you can fight, and you can swarm. It allows you to really lean into a specific unit or combination of units for a well-balanced playstyle; here are some lists I have conjured up!

Milicianos Swarm 

This force focuses on overwhelming your opponent with cheap bodies. You will want all of your Milicianos to swap Drilled for Elusive, except for the unit you plan to keep your Reformado in. The strategy here is to traverse your way up the board, saving your fast cards for your Command unit and your slow cards for the rest of your units. When you are close enough, lay down some mass fire to build up Fatigue and then Charge with Strict from your Commander with Units that don’t have any Fatigue into units that have at least 2 Fatigue. This way you will not have to worry about Defensive Fire, and your Ruthless will stack with Strict for a -2 to your Fight Test!

(wishful) Adepticon 2027 Land Tournament Winner

With the 2025 revision of No Peace Beyond the Line, European Militia Cavalry dropped from 4 points to 3, and this list aims to capitalize on that. The plan is simple: overwhelm your opponent with fast threats they won’t have time to answer. I kept Unit Size at 8 to improve your chances of using cover and to make target priority harder for your opponent. The cost in plastic is a bit high, but I’m very interested to see how this list performs competitively.

Since they’re Core—and all Core units gain Drilled in this force—the Reformado can join a unit of European Militia Cavalry for an extra Charge action, which is a strong boost to their efficiency. Another solid option is dropping 2 or 3 cavalry units and adding Milicianos so you have tools to put Fatigue on the enemy as you advance.

Portuguese Guarda Costas

The Portuguese are just as deadly at sea as they are on land. For this list, I’ve chosen the Fluyt for its raised elevation and crewed it with 44 European Sailors armed with Firelock Muskets. They all gain Drilled for being Core and your Commander can use Strict on his unit or any he commands for even more accurate fire. A Sharpshooter will give his unit Marksman and Deadeye so that you aren’t always making a Dedicated Shoot Test. The Fluyt is given Heavily Built to absorb cannon fire, and Anti-Grappling Measures to ward off boarding lists. The Streamlined Hull will let you move in one bracket closer to put the heat on. If your opponent is rocking cannons, then just use your sailors to Repair you have plenty!

A Balanced Approach

 With so many options to choose from, I tried to make a more balanced list that doesn’t lean into one gimmick too hard. This list takes advantage of the boost it gives to Milicianos Indios; two units of 10 will form the heart of this force with some reliable shooting. The Commander should be in one of these units, while the Sharpshooter sticks to their other one to give them Marksman.

The Caballeria Lancero unit is your guided missile to remove a problem unit from the table. Just so your cavalry isn’t overexposed, you will have a unit of Milicianos to run alongside them to threaten your opponent and draw fire. Your two Milicianos Indios units should be able to lay down enough Fatigue so your cavalry can Charge unimpeded with their Reformado. Finally, the Mission Priest will help keep the Indios on the field with Inspiring and a well-timed Santiago!

50 Jewish Militia on a Galleon

The title says it all! This is a list I love to drop on my buds at our local game store. The Galleon is hard to shift and forms an excellent firing platform. The Jewish Militia are likewise hard to put Fatigue on and can put out some surprisingly deadly fire from the Galleon’s raised elevation. Sure, you are at sea with no sailors, but who needs them? You aren’t doing anything fancy with this Galleon except eating cannon shot and avoiding raking fire.

Best of all, this list works well on land as well; just replace the Galleon with some more characters or bodies. There is a quality to shrugging off Fatigue; just make sure you do it better than your opponent. I run a similar list with Milicianos Indios who are a point more but save on 5’s on a ship. They are deadlier at ranged combat, but you need to manage their Fatigue.

Buying into the Portuguese-Brazilian Tercios & Militia

Collecting a Portuguese force is relatively easy right now. Most Spanish kits work for the Portuguese, and you have access to the Unaligned models as well. For the core of your collection, you should stock up on:

• Milicianos
• European Sailor Musketeers
• European Sailors

Many of your units can also be made from plastic kits. I recommend the Militia kit for building Milicianos Indios, as it comes with the head options needed and the firelock muskets they used. You could even go the extra mile and get the Natives kit for native heads and some unclothed natives. The Cavalry kit is a must-have if you’re building into mounted lists, and though it’s a grueling build, the models look amazing when finished. The Soldiers kit is excellent for those European soldiers, and you will probably only need one box. 

The new Colonial Military Force Box is a great option as well, with 33 useful models for an affordable price for all your militia and soldiers.

Final Thoughts

The Portuguese Tercios and Militia are one of my favorite go-to forces in Blood & Plunder. I often find myself perusing through the Spanish force lists and then hopping over to Unaligned to check this one out. The flexibility you get with this list is amazing, and you have access to a specific combination of units that are good in other lists but great here. Not to mention that this is the go-to for running lots of cavalry in the game. You get solid Commander choices and 1 Historical Commander who is pretty solid. I really like how easy this one list works for land, amphibious, and sea games. The revision of No Peace Beyond the Line also only made them better; sure, Tough was nerfed, but it went from “amazing” to “strong,” which isn’t really a loss.

The only real downside of the Portuguese Tercios and Militia is that I didn’t discover this list until after I had painted my models all Spanish-like! Anyways, thank you for reading this article; feel free to check out more like it!

Article by Tyler Cherrison

Additional Recommended Reading

• Ultimate Guide to Blood & Plunder Cavalry
• Overview of Unaligned & Minor Power Factions
• No Peace Beyond the Line expansion book that contains the Portuguese Tercios & Militia