March 28, 2011

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.

March 23, 2011

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?

March 20, 2011

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.

March 18, 2011

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!)

March 17, 2011

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.