Wrath of the Gods (Wrath Review Part 1: Cygnar and Protectorate)

Wrath is upon us. The book's been selling, apparently too. I was at a store just yesterday and had gotten the second-to-last copy, and was hearing about a lot of stores selling out right away! There's quite a bit of good stuff in here, too. Let's take a look at this faction-by-faction. (I'm going to just look at models not already released, plus the warcasters that just came out.) I'm going to divide it into 3 parts. Today I'm going to look at Cygnar and the Protectorate. Next time will be Khador and Cryx, and then we'll finish off with Retribution and Mercs.

Cygnar
Constance Blaize is a completely different flavor of Cygnar than almost any caster they've gotten so far. She is also a massive troop caster, with little support for her own warjacks. Crusader's Call and Transference are the highlights of her spell list, which further cement her as a troop caster. I can see her being fairly good with Trenchers on the front line, giving them that extra movement for their Assault, bringing some heavier infantry (Sword Knights, her obligatory Precursors, or Stormnouns) behind. Her feat brings a similar flavor to Terminus'. It actually supports the wave tactic fairly well; you can send the squishy troops in first, let them die, while letting your shield walled Precursors get to insane ARM levels with all of her souls. Then she has plenty of focus for the next turn that she can either hand off to 'jacks or use for the next wave to boost with Transference.

I'm not sure how Blaize is going to end up working, but I like the new warjacks Cygnar got. The Minuteman is a beast of a light, and while squishier since it uses the Hunter chassis, it boasts a solid threat range and is able to get out of melee pretty easily while still being able to damage heavy targets. I can especially see Kraye getting good use out of him. The Avenger is another simple but effective heavy. The Centurion chassis makes it survivable, and like most Cygnaran 'jacks can fight well in melee (with its good-POW Stun Blade) or at range (with a great knockdown effect on the seismic cannon). Triumph is actually relatively basic compared to what I thought he'd be, but with reach and Purgation with Blaize he's nothing to sneeze at. Precursors also help ease the focus load off your 'caster.

Cygnar's new goodness concludes with Archduke Runewood who brings a bit more support to the Sword Knight side. You're probably going to want to take a 'jack with him, since it makes him that much more survivable due to Sacrificial Pawn. Cygnar will probably come with many debates as to whether it's better to use Runewood or Rhupert to support its troops. Arguably, you could use both; Rhupert can give them defensive buffs (through Dirge of Mists or Heroic Call), while Runewood can give them that offensive punch (through Overcome or Path to Victory).

And then there's the Storm Strider. This makes up for everything. It just shoots lightning everywhere. While its RAT is nothing spectacular, the cannons are devastating when they actually do hit. It's also no slouch if it gets stuck in melee; first off, it can get boosts off of attacks against it. Next, it sends those melee threats away with its Revenger-like Repulsor Field. The +2 to hit on close models with its own Gunfighter ability then pays the attacker back in full. Did I mention that field also works for Stormblade blasts, or the Firefly's gun? This thing can be a toolbox under the right circumstances. (I'm looking at you, Nemo...)

I think Cygnar got a few tools, but I think the other factions may have come out a bit better. They got a melee warcaster in a faction that prefers to stay at range, but they still have ways of getting to melee. Meanwhile, they got a 'jack that can get out of melee and wreak havoc (as well as a light that can make two-handed throws). Nothing seems that overpowered, though, and nothing really jumps out at me and says “TARGET ME!” like some things out of other factions. It's not that I think their stuff is bad, but I think it could be better. (*coughTriumphcough*)

Protectorate of Menoth
Thyra is a solid melee toolbox for the Menites. Her feat will be tricky to predict, because not only does it increase her threat range, but it also messes with threat angles. Charge lanes that were nonexistant exist now. Throw in Carnage and you have a massive melee threat coming in, whether it's her army or Thyra herself. And she can hold her own. Carnage also combines nicely with Silence of Death, so enemy casters have to look out when that combo starts coming close.

The Protectorate didn't get a light warjack this time around, but they did get a couple of nice heavies. The Sanctifier doesn't need much focus investment from its warcaster, since it's going to get souls that become focus. Throw it behind some squishies and watch it counterattack, and likely win due to support from the Choir. (You're taking Choir, right?) It's only a shame there are no 'jack marshals in Protectorate to take advantage of this. Meanwhile, Blood of Martyrs is what I'd like to call the “heavy Dervish.” Thyra gives it side-step, and regardless it makes a great partner for the aforementioned Sanctifier. With Choir support, Blood of Martyrs is suddenly MAT 10 with two POW 20's if something died near it. I personally don't want to be anywhere near that, especially if Silence of Death is on it.

Nicia works a lot like the Retribution's Narn. She is a pinpoint assassin solo with a gun you're going to use occasionally. Acrobatics helps her get to her target, Quick Work nets an extra kill, and Sprint helps her live to fight another day. (Useful, since if she's hit, she's not going to survive. At all.) She's simple and effective, and that's all she needs to be.

And then there's the Vessel. Oh God, the Vessel of Judgment is insane. For 2 damage, you have a fully boosted POW 15 gun, which is going to leave a dent (not including the boostable Ashes-to-Ashes effect added to it). On top of that, while it does take damage, the miracles are just amazing. Doors of Judgment is one last middle finger, especially if they manage to take out an important solo such as Nicia or Vilmon. Its other miracles aren't bad either, fitting into Protectorate's denial and fire themes, as well as keeping it safe. It will be taking a ton of damage to do this, but considering their access to mechaniks now, I don't think taking damage will be that much of a problem.

It's a preliminary judgment for sure, but I'm tempted to call the Protectorate the winners of Wrath. Thyra is a great assassin caster and will make enemies that rely on tough like Trollbloods or Privateers pay. All 3 'jacks in the book can hit like absolute trucks, and I can see the Sanctifier being a solid addition to just about any force. And the Vessel of Judgment is just stupid good. I don't play Protectorate, and I never will, but Wrath gave them a lot of good stuff.

Next time, I'll look at what Wrath brings to the Reds and the Undeads!

We're #2! Retribution Success at Blood, Sweat, and Tiers

Blood, Sweat, and Tiers happened yesterday in Flint. Having never played them up there, I decided to pack my Retribution. The lists were required to meet Tier 1 minimum. I ended up taking Tier 2 Rahn and Tier 4 Dawn's Talon Vyros (from No Quarter 35). The metagame was pretty varied this time around. (1 Cygnar [Kraye], 1 Khador [eIrusk], 2 Cryx [Mortenebra, Mortenebra/Terminus], 2 Retribution [Kaelyssa/Vyros Book, Vyros NQ/Rahn], 2 Trollblood [pDoomshaper, Calandra], 1 Circle [Kromac], 2 Legion [eThagrosh, Vayl/Rhyas NQ].) I happened to draw the bye first round; I seem to have a thing for doing that lately. (Remember Hardcore?)

Second round I'm up against epic Irusk. I chose to use Vyros (though in hindsight Rahn would've been nice considering Force Field versus Bombards). We were playing Gaining Ground. Rifle Corps try to bog up the middle of the board with Suppressing Fire, but the army isn't really moving forward. I get my first point after the Phoenix fries a bunch of Winter Guard and my other 'jacks claim the first zone. His Kodiak comes in to try to take care of them, but can't quite squeeze enough damage through. It takes me 2 rounds to counterattack (since Houseguard have trouble breaking armor and my Manticore needed its cortex repaired), but I managed to take care of it. The gun line still wasn't moving to take scenario, though.

The Destroyer, powered by Fire For Effect, was not helping. It did more than enough to that Manticore, and now the Phoenix was getting bombarded. In my last ditch effort I sent it at Behemoth, managing to take out 4 columns and more importantly keeping it away from Vyros. He did drop one boosted bombard on Vyros, but rolled horrible (1-1-2) on boosted damage. I trash the Kodiak finally and manage to keep everything else out of the middle zone, ultimately winning on scenario after attempting some VP-sniping.

It wasn't until after round 3, pairing Rahn and Rhyas, that I realized we were the only 2-0's. This game didn't go so well for me, though. I got way too aggressive with the Phoenix, opting to Combust rather than launch the Halo Cannon after arcing a Chain Blast to take care of some of Rhyas' troops. (I easily could've had Houseguard take care of them while keeping the Phoenix safe.) Discordia didn't fare too well on the other side. I got a War Chief and a good chunk of Typhon with the spray, but I didn't have enough in the way, and it became Carnivean bait from Rhyas' feat.

I counterfeat to attempt to clear out the rest, but my dice were giving up at this point. I roll boxcars on a Repair check to bring my Chimera's arc node back, and I couldn't hit the Harrier on a boosted roll until it was too late. I manage to get Force Hammer off to send the Carnivean back into a wall, but that was the high point of the turn. The Battle Mages weren't rolling too hot either. I ended up losing everything save my free Arcanist, but my other tiebreakers were enough to maintain second.

It feels cheap getting second on technically one win, but I'll take it. My Vyros list worked really well (its own access to Covering Fire helped a lot against those Winter Guard), and while Rahn didn't perform exceptionally well, a lot of it involved bad tactics on my part. So really I can't complain. It is time to take the Retribution off the battlefield for a little while, though; I need to get painting them!

Unbinding Unbound

No Quarter released a new variant format for Warmachine/Hordes in their latest issue. (#36 – get it!) The format, called Unbound, is an alternate way of playing games of 150 points and higher using 3 or more warcasters/warlocks. However, instead of using the typical turn structure, each player takes a number of turns in each round equal to the number of starting warcasters/warlocks per side plus one. A few things about the round change as a result (for instance, focus allocation is at the beginning of a turn rather than during the control phase), but you can check out the magazine for the specifics. I want to deal with tactics. Specifically, how it can affect feats.

The timing of your feat in a game is always key, but Unbound brings about a whole new dimension to this. Because there are now multiple turns in a round and you can only activate so many models (and only one warcaster-/warlock-controlled battlegroup) in a turn, you do lose some of the power a feat can provide in a multicaster game. For instance, in the 150-pt non-Unbound tournament I was recently in, I was able to combine Prime Butcher's feat while also barreling Sorscha in, reaping the effects from Blood Frenzy. This is impossible in Unbound. Because Blood Frenzy lasts for one turn only, other battlegroups don't benefit from it. It's restricted to The Butcher's battlegroup and models you activate during that turn. Privateer is pretty lenient on what you can activate during a turn (in fact, a decent number of non-battlegroup models can still activate), but you still have to be careful about what you activate when. Of course, turn-length spells such as Rhyas' Dash, Irusk's Battle Lust, or Caine's Deadeye are affected by this as well, but since those typically go on one model/unit (Dash being the exception here), it doesn't affect them too much; you're just activating a specific unit right away.

Round feats have less timing restraints. You typically want them to go off early, considering using them on the last turn of a round will have very little effect, since the round will reset right away and all those benefits will go away. Some feats, like Mohsar's Disjunction, received Unbound-specific errata to deal with this. Many did not, so these have to be kept in mind.

The turn structure brings about a lot of interesting points, though. While only one battlegroup goes, a good number of other models/units can activate with them, and often times you're spending your round tailoring each turn to a certain number of units while making sure not to overcommit or undercommit models and make later turns in the round very quick and/or very devastating. You also have to keep in mind that your opponent can keep track of what hasn't activated, concentrate on killing them, and leave you clueless as you have very few models to activate and all your plans ruined. The alternating turns brings about a lot of tactics that must be considered, and games might actually take a little longer as a result. Do you be “that guy” who kills everything before they activate? Does your opponent activate a section of the board on the opposite flank in order to try to gain an advantage there? Which battlegroup gets to do the smashing? Which battlegroup do you need to be afraid of? There are lots of questions surrounding an Unbound game.

I'm not sure what to think on the format yet. I like big games, but I rarely have time to get one in. I do want to try a few Unbound games, though. I like the combinations you can make in a normal 150+ better because of how feats can be combined, but I'm willing to give it a go. It's really more of a matter of when. In theory, it seems to be a pretty good way to keep players in the game in large games with long turns. But on the other side, there's a bit more bookkeeping involved, resulting in a bit more brainhurt. But I'm going to try it before I bash it.

Satyr in the Shadows

Often, when I play Circle, I draw a fine line between the users of living warbeasts and the users of construct warbeasts. Sometimes, they intermingle, but typically I'll stick to one or the other. (Kaya, Morvahna, and Kromac prefer living beasts in my eyes, while Baldur, Krueger, Cassius, and Mohsar tend to prefer constructs.) Typically, when I use living heavies, I tend to favor Warpwolves. This isn't too surprising. All 3 flavors of Warpwolf are very versatile, and they tend to hit harder because of their ability to augment their strength on top of other effects Circle can provide. This tends to leave me neglecting the Satyrs. Sometimes, I don't know why.

The Gnarlhorn's fairly good in its own right. It has a very useful animus (Bounding can be devastating in conjunction with Epic Kaya's Dogpile and/or the Wayfarer's Hunter's Mark), it's a huge threat if it can get a slam off, and it can hit relatively hard with enough support. But we're not talking about the Gnarlhorn here. I want to talk about the oft-maligned Shadowhorn Satyr.

The Shadowhorn has a reputation of being Circle's “light heavy.” With a 13/17/24 defensive spread and relatively low POW attacks for a heavy, it's often called a large-based light much like the Seraph was in Hordes MkI. It does serve its own purpose, though. It's tied with the Rhinodon for the cheapest heavy warbeast in the game, and low cost has its own benefits. It also has a lot of abilities that can directly support Circle's hit-and-run tactics. It might not hit as hard as a Warpwolf, but it can certainly be an enabler for one of the harder-hitters.

One of my favorite Shadowhorn tactics is to use it to set up a kill for a big target. With Bounding Leap, it has greater versatility than other Circle heavies, who generally can only go directly at their target. Bounding Leap opens up a number of possibilities. One such tactic is to leap behind a warjack or warbeast and lock an arm or weapon system, causing them to be unable to break the lock as the attacker is not in its front arc, thus disabling it. I'm more of the one for destruction though. I'll typically activate its animus and throw the target toward my army. This way, I can both knock the model down and get it into the range of a heavier hitter while keeping the heavier hitter safe. Typically, this will result in your opponent being distracted by a heavy up in their grill. I recommend a Druid Wilder when employing this tactic, as not only can she use the animus for free, but you can also wander a little farther due to her Herding ability. With Kaya the Wildborne, this becomes even more brutal, as she can then use Spirit Door to bring the Shadowhorn back so you can wash, rinse, and repeat the procedure next turn.

Epic Kaya can provide some good options for it, as well. While Forced Evolution is typically best used on a Warpwolf due to their higher DEF and the fact that it augments their strength better, it's definitely not wasted on a Shadowhorn. With Gorax support, the Shadowhorn now hits ridiculously hard, and your opponent isn't going to want to charge a DEF 17 warbeast that grants some dire consequences (Reversal) if you miss. Besides, they'll probably underestimate the Shadowhorn anyways.

The Shadowhorn also has good synergy with its beefier cousin. While you lose the additional movement provided by Bounding or the extra hitting power a Gorax could provide, you also get a very powerful slam that will move a minimum of 5 inches (2 from Virility, 2 from Grand Slam, and a minimum of 1 on the distance die). From there, following up is optional; after all, you might just be knocking a model out of a control zone.

The Shadowhorn is cheap, but unlike Circle's other heavies, it's not about picking a target and murdering it. The Shadowhorn plays a more tricky style. It sets up the kill or disables a threat. It also provides support for other living warbeasts in your army. It might not hit hard. It might not make anything else hit hard. But what it does do is create openings for your army. And when Circle sees an opening, they'll not only take it, but they'll take advantage of it. And that's what makes the Shadowhorn worth using.

Charging Into the Dawn

I've been putting together my Dawnguard Destors (finally... took a month to get them in), and in the meanwhile I've been looking over ideas on getting them on the field. Retribution's still relatively new, so compared to other factions there are a limited number of synergies available to specific models/units as opposed to, say, Cygnar, since Retribution only has one book's worth of models while Cygnar has six (not including Wrath, obviously). This is a blessing and a curse, as you have less to think about, but fewer options. Regardless, though, I've thought of quite a few.

Destors are heavy cavalry, of course. Their speed is average for cavalry, and their MAT is actually slightly higher, which goes along with the Dawnguard theme. Even their RAT is decent (and also on par with the Invictors), and their ARM is pretty good, especially once you put unyielding into the mix. Destors can play a varied role in the army, as well. On the one hand, they have a pretty good POW charge attack, and they have gunfighter to use their cannons in melee. On the other hand, if they're out of melee, they can take advantage of Dual Shot. (Remember, you cannot gain an aiming bonus if you're in melee, and you can't get your second shot if you don't get an aiming bonus.) It really does go along with the Retribution's theme of having a versatile, dual-threat army.

Some warcasters get better use out of them than others though. Vyros is a fairly obvious choice, as Dual Shot can rack up kills for his feat, plus they can get up to ARM 21 in melee with Inviolable Resolve upkept on them. Vyros is also the only warcaster with a theme force that features them currently (and only in his “Legions of the Dawn” force in Forces of Warmachine: Retribution of Scyrah). Ravyn is also a pretty good pick, since they can get pretty good range with Snipe, and due to Tall in the Saddle can be screened behind pretty much any front-line infantry, letting them get ample shots in before joining the charge. Obviously Ravyn's feat works very well with Dual Shot as well.

I'm going to mention Rahn too, because of a tactic that allows them to get the charge off that I learned from a friend of mine (only he used eNemo and Storm Lances). Using Polarity Shield will almost guarantee they get the charge, unless the opponent has a ridiculous advancing threat range or superior ranged firepower. (Or pretty good luck... I actually thwarted this plan with Trollkin Scattergunners, who rolled godly on dice, killing 4 and forcing the last to flee from casualties – appropriate, considering the luck I had.) Kaelyssa and Garryth don't get as much from them, though Kaelyssa's feat does help get the charge off in a similar nature to Rahn (while also granting Stealth to avoid having them shot to death), and Garryth can play around with their threat ranges with Mirage upkept on them.

I plan on using them in a gaming session this weekend, at least once with Rahn and possibly with Ravyn as well. (Appropriate, too, since I've just finished painting those two warcasters.) I might throw in a battle report if one of them happens to go well. In either case, the Destors have me excited about cavalry again, and I'm ready to finally let them loose.

War: What Is It Good For?

Last weekend there was a War at the Store: a huge 150-point (non-Unbound) tournament that featured 12 solid hours of gameplay that only that point level can offer. I've already discussed my list in pretty decent detail. I'm just going to look at the metagame for the 8 people that turned out (number of asterisks * denoting the top 3):

• 2x Khador (pSorscha/pButcher/Bart, eButcher/eVlad/Strakhov)

• 2x Cygnar (pStryker/Siege/Sloan, eStryker/pHaley/Siege)

• 1x Protectorate (“Epic Prime:” eKreoss, ToM, eSeverius***)

• 1x Skorne (eMakeda, Hexeris, Rasheth)

• 2x Legion (eLylyth/Vayl/Bethayne*, eLylyth, eThagrosh, Bethayne**)

Not that varied, but with a smaller turnout like this, that isn't horrible.

How'd I fare? Round 1 (Scenario: Incursion) I was up against the Skorne player. This one was my learning experience, as my whole point was to stack feats, and my deployment spread out my casters. My inexperience with Bart showed as well, since my failure to pop his feat turn 2 resulted in my left flank swarmed by Arcuari and Ferox, and Bart quickly got Molik Karn'd from eMakeda's feat. The right flank worked out better, as the Kayazy were holding their own against Hexeris' beasts, especially once Fury went up. Sorscha feated to try to get a flag back and keep the game alive, but Beast-09 flubbed damage majorly on the following Thresher. One Nihilator made his tough roll, and I rolled 3 and 4 on damage against 2 Gatormen, and one of them then made a Taskmaster-granted tough roll against my bought attack. They were frozen and my opponent forgot to shake his Titans, but Hexeris still managed to arc a Soulfire through the frozen Titan to finish Sorscha and take the last point.

Round 2 was against the second of the Cygnar players on Diversion. I go first again and get Bart on the right flank to go after my flag. I have a few solos take the left, as I'm pretty certain Yuri and Fenris, with Manhunter support, could take on Stormblades. A few 'jacks clashed in the middle, but Khadoran artillery remained superior to Cygnaran firepower. (Wait... what?) Bart's feat keeps Stormguard and Thorn off the flag for my first point, and the following turn Sorscha (with Fury on her) and Butcher double feat and quickly take care of Siege and Haley, and Stryker is forced to regroup. This allows me to contest the last zone with my Mule and win on scenario.

Last round was Grind. Lots of people complained, because Grind is nearly impossible to score on. (The whole room erupted when the eventual winner, as time was winding down, shouted “GOOOAAAALLLLLL!” upon somehow actually scoring.) I was against the Thagrosh flavor of Legion, and my front line got battered by his feat. I lost Behemoth, Beast, and both of Bart's heavies early, but countered with Butcher feating to take care of a Scythean, 2 Angelius, and a few Warmongers that made the mistake of getting too close. Drago was key here, as he took out a Carnivean and Belphagor later on in addition to the Scythean early. Bart then fell to Lylyth, and it became a battle of attrition to the end. Normally Warmachine wins this battle, but Legion had enough guns going for them that I couldn't get too close. Once Butcher fell to Lylyth's arrows, I just had Sorscha go out in style.

The whole thing was amazingly fun, though. I'd do it again. After all, I don't normally play large games. I don't usually have time to. This was one blast of an experience because of all the interactions that could take place. Having multiple feats in play (or even just the possibility of it) brings about a whole new level of strategy. Plus, you get some really cool combos. I mentioned putting Fury on Sorscha and double-feating. Bethayne can feat and give Vayl an auto-boosted Hoarfrost, which is devastating. Epic Kreoss can make a hard-hitting 'caster with Engine of Destruction like Reznik auto-hit. I love seeing these combos. The possibilities just get my head popping.

I need to play more large games like this.

War at the Store

The Detroit area is hosting the first ever (to our knowledge) 150-point tournament this Saturday. My Khadorans are coming to play for this one. I was thinking about scenarios on this one; obviously if I can get to the zones first, I can have a fairly good chance of winning. But how can I guarantee this? I started thinking about warcaster combinations, and one stuck out. I would have to borrow models to do it, but it could be devastating.

Remember how, a little while ago, I blogged about my first game using Bart? Under the original plan, he was to be step 2. My original combination was to use Old Witch's feat to test the waters, then have Bart come in and knock anything down that approaches. I'd then finish up with prime Sorscha, kicking my opponent while he's down. Because we all know how fun being simultaneously knocked down and stationary is...

I've since modified my combination as I was worried about hitting power and model count (as both Sorscha and Old Witch are primarily infantry casters, and I wanted to limit the number of models I needed to borrow), so I replaced the Old Witch with the Butcher. I still get some of the same support (Iron Flesh), but I get a feat that directly benefits my army (sans Bart and crew), and a caster that can run a few warjacks efficiently. And unlike Karchev, who I was also considering, Butcher offers more support for his army, not just his battlegroup, as he also has access to Fury. I have him running 5 'jacks, which is a bit steep, but in a bigger game I don't have to send them all in at once.

I round out the army with some Doom Reavers to tangle up with the front lines, Kayazy to hold a flank, Demo Corps to clog the middle after the Reavers, Dirty Meg running a Freebooter, and a fair number of support units and solos like Widowmakers, Manhunter and Yuri, a Koldun Lord, Fenris, and the like. I tried to maximize my support options while also maintaining a reasonable 'jack count and not duplicating anything (as there's a prize for not duplicating anything and winning a lot). With that feat combination possessed by Sorscha and Bart and the support to keep the flanks busy, I should be able to do pretty well tactically.

I've never played any games on this scale before. I've played a couple of 100-pointers, but that's nothing compared to this. The combinations are bound to be brutal. (I know that a Bethayne/eLylyth/Vayl combination is coming, for instance. Auto-boosted Hoarfrost, ew.) It's going to be chaotic. It's going to be a really long day. But it's going to be a blast. I can feel it already.

Where Are the Blighted Swordsmen?

For some reason, I've been looking at Legion a lot lately. I don't know if it's faction envy or just a desire to play them in general. Something about the famed “Legion of Everbroke” has caught my eye. Lots of jokes run rampant in one of my groups about everyone being “closet Menites,” since each of us is occasionally subject to thoughts of minor pyromania. (“Fire good.”) I guess that would make me a closet Blighted? (...You get what I'm saying. I'll work on the wording, but it does work since I occasionally give Cryx a look too.)

Either way, I was looking through Legion models in Primal Mk. II the other day, and I stumbled across a unit that, honestly, I'm surprised I don't see on the other side of the table that often. Which unit is this? The Blighted Nyss Swordsmen. And I constantly wonder why. On their own they look solid: fearless, high MAT troopers with weapon master. They hit as hard as Bane Knights, and while they are fairly squishy, they also have relatively high DEF for a melee unit, which is tough for most to hit (barring your boosted Chain Lightning/Ashes to Ashes/other similar spell).

Let's look at the Swordsmen compared to some other Legion melee units. They arguably compare best to Warmongers, even more so because they share the same point cost. You get two Swordsmen per Warmonger, but the Warmongers have enough ARM to survive hits as they get in. Damage output is roughly equal between the two, but in my mind the Swordsmen are slightly better, since a) you have twice as many guaranteed attacks, and b) they won't attempt to kill each other if they have nothing else to kill, since Swordsmen don't have Berserk. You sacrifice Reach, but you can get a similar effect with the Abbot and Champion, since they grant Overtake and Cleave, which can give the benefits of berserk and reach without the nasty side-effects. I also happen to see Legionnaires a fair deal, and while they are fairly cheap as a 4/6 unit, they don't hit nearly as hard, or as often. They do have reach and CMA, but their ARM is still fairly low without Defensive Line, and their DEF is anything but great. Once again, I think the Swordsmen win. Did I mention that the Swordsmen are faster than both?

You can say what you want about Legion being a beast army. Even Legion lists I've seen recently have been more balanced, and I think the Swordsmen are a fine addition to any list. After all, most warlocks have something in their arsenal that the Swordsmen can benefit from.

• Prime Lylyth doesn't get as much use out of them due to her small control area and her tendency to stay in the backfield, but if things get sour her feat can make them even more deadly. Plus Swordsmen love finding a target that has been Parasited...

• Prime Thagrosh can throw Draconic Blessing on them, giving them attack power rivaling Khadoran Doom Reavers. Add in Thagrosh's own abilities in Fog of War and Death Shroud, and you have a solid, hard-hitting melee squad that will get into combat and wreck face.

• Vayl doesn't offer too much for them, but remember that Chiller CAN be cast on a unit. Throwing it on them early can help clear the way for Vayl and her beasts to get in and wreck face with Incite up.

• Rhyas brings her own tools to the table, granting Occultation to let them cross the field safely, Dash to do it even faster, and a feat that, with the Abbot and Champion, can give them 3 attacks if they manage to kill something, including a teleport and an Overtake move or two.

• Absylonia and Bethayne both bring Carnivore to the table, increasing their already high MAT and giving a nice RFP ability. Bethayne also comes armed with Ashen Veil to help them cross the field. Who said that spell had to go on Hex Hunters?

So really, only eLylyth and eThagrosh don't have anything that directly benefits them, but that's because they're either extremely ranged-focused (Lylyth) or beast-focused (Thagrosh). But still, the majority of Everblight's chosen can get fairly solid use out of them, and the point cost isn't exactly through the roof. Legion's only a beast army? Let's see what they say when these weapon masters start tearing them to shreds.

In Which I Ramble on Color Schemes

When I first started playing Warmachine and Hordes 4 years ago, one of the things I thought most daunting about the hobby (besides managing everything going on, which I can do in my sleep now) was painting the miniatures. I am NOT an artist. I never was, nor do I really intend to be a hardcore artist. Regardless, though, everything in this game looks better when it's painted. I got tired of being the guy who was known for the armies with that “raw pewter look,” so I finally decided to take the plunge. And when I started? I was bad.

(Circa 2008)

So I looked to a few friends in my group for tips. It took a couple years, but I finally began to get the hang of some of the other techniques besides just coloring in the lines. Drybrushing and washing took a while to learn, but I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it. Some details (particularly faces) are still rough on me, but my painting skill has come a long way since then.

(Finished 4/13/11)

But I'm not here to talk about the evolution of my skills. Today I wanted to talk about something I've been musing over with my Retribution army, which is just now getting its first major dose of paint besides the “battle box.” It got me thinking about how each army has its own divisions and themes. And while it is possible to paint everything in the same scheme, it does have one negative side effect: everything DOES look the same. While it's true that you want a nice, uniform look to your army, not every model uses the same themes.

The Retribution actually serves as a good model for this. I divide the Retribution's troop selection into two distinct themes: on the one hand, you have the heavily-armored Dawnguard. On the other side, you have the Mage Hunters, who have little if any of the armor plating the Dawnguard sport, but a lot of leathers and cloaks. In between, you have the Battle Mages and Houseguard, who borrow some elements from both sides. The Houseguard share a lot of elements with their Dawnguard cousins, but they're not as pronounced as the Dawnguard's. The Battle Mages have a theme of armor plating in common with the Dawnguard, but they also sport cloaks not that different from those on most of the Mage Hunters. It's my plan, because of this, to sport two main themes when I get paint on them. Mage Hunters are going to have a lot of grays, with green cloaks. Instead of the traditional white, my Dawnguard models and myrmidons are going to have a lightish blue theme.

The key, in my opinion, is that while you can have some distinct themes, you still have to tie them together. My main Retribution theme is the light blue (armor), trimmed and complemented by the greens (power nodes, cloaks), and neutralized by the grays (leathers, etc.). Obviously I lean each subtheme of the army towards the respective colors, but to tie them together I bring elements of the others into it. For instance, my Narn is predominantly gray and green as a mage hunter, but his shoulder pads are being done in my blue base color. My Dawnguard Scyir receives similar treatment due to the cloth parts on his model, which are done in Iosan Green. Warcasters and warlocks are no exception, either; I'm currently repainting Kaelyssa in my new thoughts for my mage hunter scheme. That said, she's wearing warcaster armor; despite the presence of leathers and cloak, she's got a fairly good blue presence.

This isn't necessarily restricted to Retribution, either. Circle players can have a basic theme for models more related to the Wolves of Orboros, and a completely different one for their Tharn, using a few greens to tie things together. A Cygnaran army could go completely different routes between its Trenchers and Stormnouns. Cryx can vary between living and undead schemes. Be creative with your variances. You never know when inspiration might strike.

Broadsided: Trying Something Different

I mentioned in my very first post that I like trying new things. Every so often, changing the factions I play isn't enough. Previously I'd borrowed models from another faction once: since I'd painted up a Caine 2009 model, I wanted to run a list with him, so borrowed some 'jacks and gun mages from a friend and did. This past Saturday, I tried borrowing models again. This time, I had a different motive. Once May rolls around, my store's having a huge 150-point tourney. Thinking of combinations, I decided to go with pSorscha, Old Witch, and Bart. The problem? I don't own Bart. I have someone who's willing to loan him, so this isn't so much of a problem as having never used him before. So I borrowed a couple of 'jacks and played a quick 15-point game to get the hang of things.

I ran Bart, a Mule, a Nomad, a Buccaneer, and epic Eiryss against Ravyn, a Chimera, 10 Mage Hunters with the Commander, and Skeryth Issyen. First turn, Eiryss went to harass the Chimera, while the 'jacks ran into position. Hot Shot also went on the Mule. Then the shooting began. Sniped Mage Hunters quickly take out the Cortex on the Buccaneer, making it effectively worthless. Nomad takes a few points, but manages to stay functional. Issyen moves off to the side to flank.

Next turn, I start disrupting the Chimera, ensuring it does nothing for the rest of the game. I get a few good scatters on the Mule's normal shot and the resulting Broadside shot. Ravyn feats and manages to finish off the Buccaneer, do a point to Bart, and take out the Buckler on the Nomad. I get one more turn of shooting while the Nomad dismounts Skeryth, but gets wrecked the next turn. Bart charges a Mage Hunter after taking another Broadside shot, where the Mule's apparently gotten Not Shot upkept on him; the one good drift I get, I roll triple ones on the boosted damage roll, leaving a Mage Hunter alive! I feat after that to ensure I live one more turn, but my hopes were pretty thin from here. Ravyn has enough range to get Bart down to 7 pre-feat, then ran off to prevent the ever-present knockdown threat. I kill a couple of Mage Hunters who managed to flee afterward, and have to throw up Batten Down the Hatches, praying ARM 21 will survive the angry Fane Knight's charge. No such luck.

So I lost. But it was great to play with something new; I've never used a Merc army before, so that was an experience in itself. I'm pretty confident I can get something out of him in the tourney coming up, though. At the very least, I can hope to get a little more effectiveness out of the feat, especially with the larger model count. Typhoon isn't one of the most feared feats in the game for nothing... I'm also going to continue to occasionally try something new every once in a while. After all, I thrive on new experiences. What a better way than to try a completely different army?

Start Your Engines!

Battle engines have been all the talk over at Privateer Press, or at least that's what you'd get by looking at them online. To date, they have previewed two: the Khadoran Gun Carriage in No Quarter 35 and the Retribution Arcantrik Force Generator on Privateer Insider. Funny since Arkanika tends to want to feature Khador and Retribution. Let's take a look at these two monstrosities.

I have mixed feelings on the Gun Carriage. On the one hand, it is fast. Those two horses make the battle engine as fast as a Drakhun, and on top of that it can charge despite not technically having a melee weapon. It does have a mount, though, and the fact that the Gun Carriage is a cavalry model allows it do do something that the other battle engines cannot: make impact attacks. Don't have a specific target in mind? Never fear! You can just trample over any infantry in the way! The trample also grants the Gun Carriage one of the longest threat ranges in the Khadoran arsenal. 22” of threat (10” trample, 12” heavy cannons) are definitely something to be feared, especially with what are essentially Khadoran bombards on each side. In fact, the Gun Carriage can be a cheaper alternative to Behemoth if you plan on using it for artillery support. You lose 2” of basic range, an armor-piercing melee attack, and the ability to boost, but you do get a higher RAT, more speed, and a melee threat that automatically knocks its targets flat, so that even if the Gun Carriage doesn't kill them, you can automatically hit them and finish them off.

I'm surprised at its lack of melee power, actually, since that's one of Khador's greatest strengths. However, the engine can still find uses with several warcasters. Prime Vlad's Signs and Portents is a great example noted in the pages of No Quarter. Strakhov can, under the right conditions, give one a 26” threat range with the heavy cannons if you charge something in his control area. Either version of Sorscha can freeze potential targets and help the accuracy problem, and the Butcher helps with damage. I'd need to see it in play before I make any final judgments, but it seems like something that could prove very useful if played correctly.

The Arcantrik Force Generator is less in-your-face, and it is more about support. It can fire 3 different attacks depending on the situation: one makes the weapon more powerful and adds a rough-terrain AOE. Another slams a target, which can allow some less accurate models (such as Stormfall Archers) to get some more reliable shots in. It can also forget these abilities entirely and take d3+1 shots with a gun that is no slouch, all coming from a fairly respectable RAT. It's also more readily able to protect itself, as it's not screwed in melee thanks to Gunfighter and cannot be charged due to Polarity Field. Plus, once it's at the point where you can aim, it and ranged myrmidons by it get a slight range boost, keeping your 'jacks back until the point where they're needed in melee. In fact, with Ravyn, the Generator can turn the Hydra into a whopping RNG 21 powerhouse if it has 3 focus, which only gets scarier if Ravyn's using her feat and eliminating your need to boost manually.

Of course, Ravyn isn't the only warcaster that can get a nice kick from the Generator. Vyros and Kaelyssa can both use that Range Booster to support their 'jacks when they don't need line of sight to shoot. Rapid Fire can also help get kills in for Vyros' feat, causing those 'jacks to rain even more boosted death. Rahn and Garryth can use their spells to advance the engine slightly with Telekinesis and Mirage respectively, and still gain the aiming bonus while doing so. It's a pretty hefty points investment (as only Discordia and the Phoenix match its cost), but its abilities and general sturdiness help make up for that. I'd have to say I'm more hyped about the Generator than the Gun Carriage at this point.

But will they have an effect on the game? It's hard to say. The battle engines' point costs make them a liability in smaller games due to their base size and point cost, especially since a single heavy warjack or warbeast can destroy a battle engine in a few hits. They can take a fair amount of damage and can be repaired, but how survivable are they truly? Only experience will tell, and we won't have any of that until the Gun Carriage hits shelves next month. Stay tuned once this time comes around, as I'm sure there'll be at least one battle report involving a battle engine once the time comes.

Skarring Your Opponent... with Metal?

The Pirate Queen Skarre has always been one of the warcasters that makes me consider Cryx from time to time. Finances and sanity actually prevent me from going through with it, but the thought comes up from time to time. Plus, she's just brutal to go against in general: once her feat goes off, I always leave myself thinking, “She just obliterated half of my army. I can't kill hers,” usually followed by that mental expletive. Generally though, when you see her on the field, she's typically pretty troop heavy. Soulhunters, Mechanithralls, and Satyxis are in plentiful supply when she's around because they have multiple attacks and get amazing buffs from Dark Guidance and Blood Magic. But can she run a 'jack heavy list effectively?

Skarre gets a lot of focus unless something has gone horribly wrong. Anywhere between 7 and 12, most commonly 9 or 10. Sure, 4 of these are going to be spent on Dark Guidance. But that leaves you with 3-9 focus to play with. You can camp some for armor. Or you can spell-sling. Or you can hand it to 'jacks. I intend to experiment with the latter one, and she's got quite a few toys to work with in that department. Looking to make a quick 35-point list, I looked at warjacks that don't mind getting that huge melee boost from her feat. Lots of these are bonejacks. Seeing the look on an opponent's face as their massive heavy is maimed or even boxed by a lowly bonejack because of Skarre's feat has to be satisfying. Of course, Cryx has heavies, too. And nothing spells overkill like a helljack on steroids.

I had quite a few choices, but I was leaning towards things like multiple attacks available and the ability to hit hard. 'Jacks that seemed to fit that bill included Ripjaws, Stalkers, Cankerworm, Slayers, Seethers, Nightmare, and Harrowers. That's a lot to narrow down from. For this list I ultimately decided on 2 Stalkers, a Ripjaw, a Deathripper (for points; could be a third Stalker), and Nightmare. The Stalkers can be the long flank and are deadly once they get back within Skarre's actual 12, buffed to the max and ignoring a lot of buffs. Ripjaw has an armor piercing attack that's a brutal P+S 15 on the feat, plus it's got an arc node. So does the Deathripper, and while sustained hurts the purpose of Dark Guidance a bit, there's nothing like a sustained P+S 18 on [insert target here]. Nightmare on Skarre's feat is just pure overkill. The claws (with Reach) get buffed up to P+S 23 individually (Or a whopping pow 29 combo strike!) with the prey bonus, which will rarely miss with the effective MAT 10 – even high-DEF 'casters like Caine are hit on average dice. These 'jacks, once buffed by her feat, become menaces, and she's going to have focus to spread around.

I threw a few troops into the mix to balance out the list: 10 Mechanithralls, 6 Blood Witches, the obligatory Skarlock, and a Pistol Wraith. The McThralls are cheap, hit hard (especially with Skarre's feat), and are easy fodder for Ritual Sacrifice. The Blood Witches are cheaper than the Raiders, and though they lack reach they can throw around some interesting effects, as well as cloud things up to cover the advance of your troops. The Pistol Wraith is ranged support, as he can pick off some easy targets or slow a bigger one for a turn while you advance.

At some point I'm going to want to try this out. I have a friend who plays Cryx that occasionally says he wants to try Khador... maybe I'll run this one by him. In theory, it could be devastating. In practice? We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

Mohsar Goes Hardcore

Ended up with a 2-2 finish in the four-round hardcore. I managed to get “lucky” and draw the first round bye. (The only problem is that I wanted to play.) So after waiting around for an hour and taking a few pictures, I finally got my first game in against eSkarre.

I'm going against Skarre, Deathjack, a Leviathan, a Nightwretch, a full unit of Satyxis Raiders (with Sea Witch and Captain), a Necrosurgeon and Stitch Thralls, and a Warwitch Siren. I get some Pillars of Salt up early to block the Raiders' and Deathjack's advance, but he goes around. Skarre uses her feat, leaving Mohsar and Megalith useless while making herself, Deathjack, and Leviathan invincible for a turn. I use the Warpwolf Stalker to try to get into position, but I can't hit the Nightwretch to save my life. I get one last shot when Skarre charges the Warpwolf and fails to kill it, but I left her alive by one. Meanwhile, Mohsar was playing with his new friend...

Next round I got paired against one of the two Legion players. This one had Saeryn, a Carnivean, a Raek, 4 Shredders, 2 Scathers, 2 Forsaken, a Shepherd, Gudrun, and Totem Hunter. The Wolf Riders are the MVP's here, as they take out the Totem Hunter, Gudrun, a good chunk of the Carni, and manage to get a blow on Saeryn. This was the only game I had a feat in, and it caused a couple Shredders (those who didn't die to a Crevasse) to frenzy and get in the way of the Carnivean, who was already toying with a Pillar of Salt. Things got a little fishy in the end, but time was called and I had enough of a presence in the Killbox (read: Megalith) to get myself a win.

In the last round I got paired against eStryker packing an Ironclad, Stormclad, 10 Stormguard, Gun Mage Captain, Journeyman with a really annoying Charger, Reinholdt, Rhupert Carvolo, and 3 Stormsmiths. I call the Charger annoying because it took out 2 of the Wolf Riders and a decent chunk of Mohsar before I tied it up with the Woldwatcher. We traded a lot of blows, though. A couple of Crevasses and the Stalker took out most of the Stormguard in one turn, and a missed charge prevented the Stalker from boxing the Ironclad, running back via Lightning Strike, and coming back to work on the Stormclad (who ultimately finished both my heavies). I got Stryker down to about 5 before time was called, only this time I'd lost the attrition battle for the 2-2 finish.

I thought the list worked well though. Mohsar did get caught in melee twice (though it survived the assault from the Raek), but all of my games were close. The list performed well, just fell a little bit short a couple times. It's looking like my next major tournament is going to be at the end of next month, and probably a 150-point monstrosity. I'm starting to get a few ideas, but more on that at a later date.

Preliminary: East Lansing Hardcore

Tomorrow I'm going to a Hardcore tournament up in East Lansing. I'll report on it on Sunday in full, I'm just going to do a quick once-over over my list and a loose plan for it. For starters, the 35-point list is:

• Mohsar the Desertwalker
• Megalith
• Warpwolf Stalker
• Woldwatcher
• Woldwyrd
• Shifting Stones
• Stone Keeper
• Tharn Wolf Riders (3)

There's not a lot to get in the way, so I want the Watcher to stay close to Mohsar to prevent a ranged assassination. Knowing there's a pretty good Retribution player up there, I'm going to want to protect some fury for transfers in case of Kaelyssa. The lack of models also means that placement of Pillars of Salt is crucial, but I wanted to keep model count down because it's Hardcore and time is an issue. The two heavies are my primary damage output, and the Wolf Riders provide a good flank that can come in for an assassination (especially if I can get Curse of Shadows on their prey target). The Wyrd can pick off targets depending on upkeeps (and in a practice game I played did a good chunk of damage to Calandra with Bullet Dodger up), and the Stones can give me better positioning, or they can heal when necessary.

My main problems during the little testing I did revolved around dice (as in another game I was having trouble hitting an unbuffed Scythean of all things), so I'm pretty confident the list can do something. I'll be posting updates throughout the day on Twitter (@arkanikawmh), so stay tuned to that, as well as the full report here. (Hopefully with pictures!)

Bear-ly Getting Started: A Look at the Khadoran Kodiak

Glancing at the front of the model's card, the Kodiak looks a lot like your basic Khadoran 'jack. It has what I refer to as the “standard Khador 'jack stat line,” in that it shares the same Speed, Strength, MAT, RAT, Defense, and Armor as others in the faction. (Only Berserker chassis, Devastator chassis, and character warjacks differ from this mold, and in most cases only slightly.) Nonetheless, the Kodiak tends to shine in its own light. Its fists are more powerful than a standard Juggernaut's, and it has a very versatile chain attack. It can also cover its own advance surprisingly well with Vent Steam and proper spell support. The chain attack and its heavy boiler also make it very focus-efficient, making it a prime choice for some of Khador's “focus-whore” warcasters. It's also easy to marshal because of this. And at only 8 points, it's fairly cheap to field. (The only warjacks that are cheaper are Berserkers, Juggernauts, and Marauders.) And while it doesn't boast a high-POW attack such as the Juggernaut, there are plenty of good reasons to use it.

I typically divide Khadoran 'jacks into two categories: focus-hungry 'jacks and focus-efficient 'jacks. The former typically have more powerful individual weapons and fewer abilities to do a lot without focus, and I typically stay away from them if I'm using a focus-hungry 'caster such as the Butcher. It's not that they can't be used, but typically these 'jacks need more focus to be effective and the focus on these 'casters is better used on themselves. The Kodiak falls in the latter field though, especially because it generates a third attack as long as it hits. And Khador has enough attack buffs that they can make this happen pretty easily.

Let's look at some of the controllers that are more suited to Kodiak use:

• Forward Kommander Sorscha – While I like doling out eSorscha's focus to high-POW 'jacks such as Juggernauts, Beast-09, and Decimators to take advantage of her feat, the Kodiak doesn't necessarily mind having extra focus, and under her theme force they only cost 7 points, which makes them worth considering.

• The Butcher of Khardov – Full Throttle means you'll almost always get Grab and Smash on your target, and the Kodiak is a perfect target for Fury, effectively giving it two P+S 19 fists, only made even better by his feat. Plus, a Kodiak in his tier 4 Heart of Darkness theme force has Advanced Deployment, meaning that threat is that much closer to your opponent's army. Almost an auto-include.

• Vladimir the Dark Prince – Signs and Portents help out a lot in the categories the Kodiak needs: hitting to enable the chain attack and damage output. His feat gets them into the fray quickly as well, ensuring that your Kodiaks get the first strike. Another solid choice.

• Kommandant Irusk, Kommander Strakhov, Supreme Kommandant Irusk – The first two of these warcasters possess Superiority, letting the Kodiak get a boost to MAT, SPD, and DEF before letting it do its own thing. Superiority boosts its DEF to a respectable 14 against ranged if you use Vent Steam (higher if you have a terrain advantage), which is tough for many models to hit without boosting, increasing its survivability. Irusk's epic form has the warjack bond, which while only giving the defense buff can provide the same kind of covering effect, while Energizer helps boost its threat range.

• Karchev the Terrible – Karchev is almost always spending all his focus upkeeping either Tow or Sidearms and casting Unearthly Rage, so the efficiency a Kodiak provides really helps. Unearthly Rage also has the benefit of boosting everything the Kodiak does besides Vent Steam – a useful side-effect.

• Man-O-War Kovnik – Marshaling a Kodiak to a Kovnik never hurts either. It gets free boosts from the drive, and it can still benefit from effects like Signs and Portents (though it doesn't get the speed boost from Vlad's feat). If you're running too many 'jacks for your warcaster to handle, marshaling this bad boy is never a bad option.

The Kodiak has a lot of uses with several different controllers, making it a very reliable warjack. It does require some support, since it's a bit less than stellar on its own, but while other 'jacks can do well with only focus, the Kodiak doesn't need it. It can get up the field surprisingly quickly and trash opposing warjacks or warbeasts, or throw models out of control zones in scenario play. It's almost always worth at least looking at a Kodiak for this purpose.

The "Purpose of This Blog" Post

I decided to start up a new blog. I play a lot of Warmachine and Hordes. I own four armies. (For those curious, I play Khador, Retribution, Circle, and Trollbloods.) I tend to think about these games a lot. Not just the games I play or the lists I make. I tend to think a lot more generally. I'll take something and plan out everything I can do with it. This happens a lot when new models come out, when I start "theorymachining" (thinking up tactics to use before even laying the model on the table) and building lists based around those models. As it is, I don't take the approach some take where they make a list (or lists) for the next tournament and play the hell out of it until the tourney. My play style is a lot more varied than that. There's a reason I play four armies. I get bored playing the same thing over and over again. So whether it's something new or a new spin on something old, I can't play the same thing forever.

So thus, my brain races with lots of new tactics, and I've decided to use this blog to let some of them out. I have a few different things I'm going to go over, and with any luck regularly update:

• Model Tactica (Not just warcasters or warlocks either. In fact, my first post will be one of the warjacks in the banner, none other than the Khadoran Kodiak. This won't be entirely limited to my 4 factions either. I will occasionally work on my theories with models from other factions too.)
• New/Interesting tactics and follow-up reports discussing how they work (or don't) on the battlefield.
• Tournament Reports (This Sunday I plan to report on a Hardcore tournament I'm attending in East Lansing on Saturday.)
• Painting (Mostly in terms of my own progress. These will be sparse, but I have this insane dream of taking my Retribution army to GenCon this year and fielding every model released up to that point fully painted. So expect me to start and blog on that progress at some point.)

As for the name? Arkanika has meaning for two of my factions. Naturally Retribution comes to mind, as their myrmidons run entirely on arcanica. Add in Khador's tendency to replace their C's with K's (Kapitan, Kommander, High Kommand, etc.), and you've got a winner. Don't worry; I'll be working on the other factions as well.

I will be creating a Facebook page and a Twitter feed for Arkanika as well. (Links forthcoming.) For now, I'm going to start working on that Kodiak post.