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.
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