Lyoss Is Burning...

This is a poll

2012-01-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

Vote.

Teaser: House Vyre Jacks

2011-12-13T11:48:00.000-08:00

Everyone has been chomping at the bit to get these guys on the table, and now PP have released the first pictures of the minis.

They're up in the gallery section of the PP main site. Go check out the 360 rotations.

Spoiler: Wrath spoilers begin...

2011-06-09T19:34:00.001-07:00

I'm not going to keep up with these this time; but there's someone claiming to have got Wrath already and is spoiling some details online.

Only Retribution information so far is:
"Ret is getting 1 light and 5 heavies 2 of which are character jacks. Spell list for Ossyan is Admonition, Arcantrik Bolt, Chronomancer, Quicken and Shatter Storm.

...chrono: battle group gets future sight while in cmd

...Also the myrmidons are getting a new style of head looks kinda like a hammer head shark head."

"RET
Oss
listed his spells earlier
FOC 7

aspis,light
banshee,heavy
daemon,heavy
sphinx,heavy
discordia,heavy,character
hypnos,heavy,character

heavy rifle team,attachment
house shyeel artificer, solo

arcantrik force generator, BE"

"sylas is a caster attachment
arcane assist
arcane secrets
retribution partisan
spiritual conduit
...
a.assist = free 1 upkeep
secrets= extra die for m.att and dam. and discard lowest"

"hypnos has arc node
sacred ward
weapons cause mechanical seizure
and with Oss his ranged has void lock=stops nods and focus allocation"

Subtle reactions on the PP boards seem to indicate it is correct... though I can't guarantee that.

Running Tier Lists

2011-06-03T03:37:00.000-07:00

Tier, or theme, lists have been a great source of debate in gaming circles... are they competitive? Should you ever run one? Isn’t spam great? It all makes for the best times on the forums.

I don’t really want to enter into a debate on the competitive nature of tier lists here. Everyone is well aware that they are designed with both strengths and weaknesses, and in a full on competitive environment any extra weakness is, quite simply, bad. But I do think tier lists get a lot of unnecessary flak, and suffer from being quite misunderstood... and these issues I would like to address here.

So, A Guide To Running Tier Lists...

If you’re considering running a tier list, the first thing you need to realize is that you are very likely, in general terms, handicapping yourself. You are inflicting unnecessary restrictions upon yourself, and to do anything worthwhile you need to ensure these are balanced out by any benefits you make use of.

Unless you’re just running a tier list to spam things to a stupid level...
...then you probably shouldn’t even bother reading this. :-P

Something that goes hand in hand with this, is making sure you have a proper perspective on tier lists, each list has four tiers; while a T4 list sounds like some grand goal it rarely is. A T1 list is as much a tier list as a T2, T3 or T4 list... each gives you restrictions, and benefits, and there is often little reason to jump into the full restrictions, especially if you’re not making full use of all the benefits.

Don’t get too caught up in the dream that T4 lists are the ultimate in theme or fluffy lists. While they are ‘designed’ to have some fluff or story concept to them, few are true to the fluff (that we read) in the strictest sense, and most divert from it considerably. If you want a fluffy and themey list, then consider individualizing your army – convert the characters to be someone else, and army insignia and base them cleverly. Simply, if your going for theme then I would encourage basing armies off the tier lists well over following the tier lists to the letter.

Make Sure You Understand The Tier List

This bit gets a separate heading as I think it’s one of the biggest and most important things in running tier list... and a lot of people get it wrong.

The big part of this, and it goes well with what I said above is don’t get caught up in spam. A lot of tier options give you the opportunity to spam things really well – in MkI you could do pretty well with spam, not with every model, but there were some things you could spam really well, really easily... the way armies could be crippled by careful attacks, the counter found in redundancy, and certain special rules could leave you in some very good positions – but this is not MkI... spam is almost never good here.

So, the big thing is make sure you correctly read the intentions of the tier list. Sure you might be able to take multiple absolutely awesome units with full attachments that are examples of the ultimate brokensauce, but does that mean you should? One powerful 10pt unit is a great addition to your (standard) list, 20pts for two is a huge redundant battlefield hogging hole in your 35pt list.

Instead look at the composite parts of the list, you’ll generally be dealing with some duplicity, so is the strength really strengthen by bringing those in full force, or should they be considered as secondary parts of the force? What is introduced first by the requirements? What does the caster need? If you full out all the requirements how does the force synergize?

A little bit of analysis, and some concentration on the core, early requirements of a tier list can really shed some light on them.

An Example Or Two

What discussion would be complete without a couple of examples.

Legions of the Dawn T2 aka multiple UAs
I think this is a great example for demonstrating the way tier lists can change the nature of units within the faction. Few people would put a UA on a minimum unit: 6 Sentinels+UA is no way near as good as 10 Sentinels+UA, and really the minimum option isn’t worth the points on anywhere near the same level; the UA is almost as much as a maxing out the unit, and the benefits gained from the UA aren’t nearly as useful on a minimum unit.
But 24 Sentinels is a lot, takes up a lot of space, and points. If, instead of thinking of the T2 bonus as giving you a free UA, you consider it making the UA 1pt, adding it too minimum units is pretty great. These take your two little flanking units to rushing killings... small, awesome, cheap and brutal. What’s not to love.
This perspective also stops drawing attention away form the jack-centric nature of Vyros lists, allowing you to instead focus on the dynamic and aggressive force it should be.
Similar things can be said for other tier lists – in Kaelyssa T2 and Ravyn T1 the MHSF can become small units of adaptable and roaming killers, able to activate in appropriate succession with the rest of your army.
Charge of the Battle Mages
House Shyeel Battle Mages are cool, and under Rahn’s feat they’re damned near broken for a turn... why wouldn’t you not take as many as you possibly can? Because outside of feat turn they are terribly limited?
This tier is a great indicator of list intentions, T2 requires jacks and provides you more jack support for free, T3 gives you solos (that get into position quickly) that synergize really well with our jacks (free movement, repositioned/KD targets), and T4 gives you whole units that reposition the enemy army for your benefit.
Sure you can spam Battle Mages; but, at its core, how can this not be about jacks?

So those are my quick thoughts on tier lists... I hope they help someone kick some arse.

But in the end, what ever you do, make sure you’re having fun!
It’s what it’s really all about isn’t it?

falling aside

2011-06-01T00:32:00.000-07:00

So... as is my way, on my break from gaming I seem to have offloaded all my Retribution. :(

It's gone to some pretty good homes, spread out to a couple of Aussies no less; though now without an Retribution of Scyrah army it seems a bit wrong for me to be posting on this blog any more*.
*I'll stick around for a little while, but have nothing much to say

But all is not lost, there's more posters than just me on this blog... and I would really like to slowly pass it over to the community properly - I believe this blog to be a growing and great resource to the community, and the feedback I've received agrees.

So if you can think of someone who would be make a good poster on the blog let me know... it'd be nice to see some more Batreps, painting and keen beginner posts.

In the mean time, I'll be (very) slowly moving over to a new blog.

Vengence: Keeping your Elves Angry

2011-05-17T19:48:00.001-07:00

Introduction- So I was trading PMs when someone asked me a question that upon reflection I hadn't actually given thought to. "What is a 'Vengence' formation?". This is a great question, but formations to take advantage of Vengence aren't discussed that much (In fact I can't recall the last time I saw a thread on it) which is something of a shame since they vary somewhat (or should) from a normal fighting infantry formation. The idea behind a Vengence formation is to take advantage of all of your out of activation movement and attacks by only exposing a limited number of models at a time to enemy attack and using Reach to keep the other models safe.

Bricks are Bad- A good general lesson to learn, but moreso with Vengence. So what do I mean when I say "Brick"? A "Brick" is when you put everything in one place for whatever reason like this:

The problem with this formation is that you're troops are tightly packed, so another unit of charging infantry can get to almost everything in your unit. While bad for normal infantry, it's practically criminal to be in such a tight bunch if you have Vengence. Sentinels weak DEF stat means that in a formation like the one above it's not out of the question to lose almost everything on an enemy charge reducing your Vengence to only a few models (one of which is probably the banner). Then you have other things like AoEs that cause Corrosion, Fire, or AoEs that deal straight damage to everything instead of the normal blast damage and sprays have a field day. In short, just say no. The other major problem is that in this formation your opponent can do to you what you should be doing to him. Look at the below image:

Your formation isn't going anywhere because they can't take free strikes from the enemy Bane Knights, but if you kil them with the Sentinels, the unit is getting Vengence and effectively doubling their attacks at the cost of three models in addition to stopping your forward movement which is often fatal for melee units. You should be doing this to other infantry.

Vengence in General and Sentinels in Particular- Vengence formations in general are usually spread out and you'll also often models turned at wierd angles to make it exceptionally difficult to charge models in ranks further back without getting free-struck. This forces you to fight a handful of models which means almost the entire unit can get Vengence. It's not a bad idea by any stretch of the imagination to play all Reach infantry formations like this to minimize the damage you'll take from charges, but with Vengence it's how you get the most out of the unit. Here's an example of a fairly typical "on the fly" formation someone would have mid-game:

Sentinels add an extra layer to this since Vengence is only a Granted ability. Maybe the officer sleeps with the wives of all his men or something, but they tend to relax a lot when he bites it which is good for their blood pressure, but bad for your battle plan. In a Sentinel Vengence formation, the Front rank should be as far as possible from the officer (he's CMD 10, so you've got some room to work with) with the officer hidden behind some joes and the banner giving the officer the extra ARM for Defensive Line. This ultimately results in more of a fan-shaped formation, but it's the best way to fight with the unit since their volume of attacks in melee will far outstrip most competition and extend their threat range in the process. Using the above trick demonstrated with the Bane Knights sacrificing a few models to stall out movement while the rest of the unit hangs back waiting to get angry is also good, but try to stay spread out as much as possible:

Closing thoughts-All of this is dependent on opponents wanting to fight. Against ranged heavy opponents an all out blitz is usually in order to apply pressure with the officer hanging way back. That being said, even if they just have a counter-attack element maintaining a somewhat loose formaiton always works better. Even on a good day Sentinel armor isn't going to keep them alive vs. charge attacks. Doubling your attacks and getting out of activation movement is worth the sacrifice of a few. One other thing to keep in mind here is that you want to set up situations where you're engaging the enemy as often as possible, that way they either trigger vengence, lose models, or just stand around doing nothing and given those options most opponents will begrudgingly trigger Vengence.

Simple and Effective Bases – Part Two

2011-05-09T22:40:00.000-07:00

Also known as:

“HOW I FINISH MY BASES”

...”because I know everyone wants bases like mine”.
(and I don’t really know how simple they should be said to be.)

So, long story short: a while back I was building bases for my units and figured an article on building bases might be helpful or insightful for you readers. So here it is...

Part Two?

Yes, Part Two. For those not in the know, this is the second of a two part series on “Simple and Effective Bases”, part one can be found here. Where the first part detailed how I base my miniatures – attaching to bases, basing materials, etc; this part is a showcase and explanation of how on can easily achieve a variety of different basing looks.

So what’s the what?

Originally I was going to make this a post on painting bases and little finishing touches. A real step-by-step guide through it all; BUT the more I thought about that, the less I liked that idea. These articles aren’t intended to lock you into one way of doing things, but open your mind to how simple things like this can be done.

So instead I’m going to just show you a bunch of examples with comments so small explanatory comments. YAY!

First up those Ret bases.

So, continuing on from the work in the previous basing article I needed to get some bases painted. I attach all my bases to my minis before painting, so they get a good coat of primer to work from. With this Ret I wanted to do something especially quick and straight forward, so here I’ve just painted them Bastion Grey (P3 colour) and then given them a solid wash with a mix of Brown, Black and Green inks (all mixed together with some water), and where it didn’t come out dark enough, I recoated with some black ink.

Super simple = winning.

I had planned to add a little barbed-wire and snow; but am undecided, and in the mean-time they are perfectly fine.

...but lets se some other ideas...
(done in the order I did them... some of these are years old)

Mud and Rocks

Here instead of using ballast like I have used sand. Using Sand can be a bit tricky – if you don’t have enough glue it sinks into the base and underlying surfaces, if you use too much it just looks like concrete. I used a bit much here, but it still came out pretty good. With two simple colours (with a dry brushed highlight IIRC) to differentiate the surfaces and a wash over the top.

Forgive the gloss finish.

Alpine Rocks

Nothing terribly fancy here, a simple change from thin cork sheets to thicker ones (like that used in flooring) really ramps up the size of the rocks and gives things a much more alpine feel. To emphasize the rockiness these rocks are painted in a simple grey base, black wash, 2 levels of grey highlight. Would look great with a little snow and fine grass... but I got distracted.

Rocky Earth

Here I’ve done pretty much exactly the same as for the RoS, but with slightly less focus on high cork (roughing it up to look more like small rocky outcrops). A simple Battlefield Brown and Thornwood Green dry bushed over a black base allows for any rocks you pick out in grey to really pop.

This is actually a part of my old Khador army (where I ‘honed’ this ‘technique’). Looks pretty good if I say so myself.

Snow

You can add snow to pretty much any base, and it’s reasonably simple to use – though do some test runs first. Here I’ve added snow to the bases of my 15pt Khador demo army (reminants of the army mentioned above).

5th Border Legion – scheme from NQ#10

This was m first (and only) time using snow. It’s pretty easy – apply glue, scatter snow on top. Just be careful not to pool to much glue (or the snow settles in to the glue and it doesn’t look quite right), and to use a clear glue (so it doesn’t look off-colour). The great thing about snow is if you don’t have enough you can just add another layer. WIN!

There are allsorts of little recipes that can be found online for snow – some people mix it up with the glue before applying it to the bases, and add a little gloss varnish in too. This is meant to give fantastic looking “melting snow”.

Dry Ground and Battlefield Wreckage

These bases have been built exactly the same as the RoS ones. But I added in some trimed down Khador pieces to the bases while adding the Ballast. A light brown dry brushed jack bone and (very lightly) washed helps ground look dry and loose... and makes the wreckage pop (IMHO of course).

Fort Falk Reserves – scheme from Escalation

Desert Ruins

For my Menoth demo army I wanted to try something a little different. So I purposely reduced the amount of cork used and tried to position it off centre. I then trimed it down to a (very) rough polygonal shape and on the odd edge I reinforced it with some green stuff – to add some sharp straight edges. I then added a mix of ballast and sand to the bases and they were done.

Interdiction of Judgment – scheme from NQ#22

I can honestly say I have yet to figure out the best way to do deserts, but I’m happy with how they came out, especially the ruins.

Close-up of ruined brick work.

Swamp/Marsh

I decided to paint my Cryx in a swamp/marsh theme so needed some marsh bases to go with them. This is a really easy thing to do. I used cork as per usual, but added a sand+ballast mix very sparingly – heavy on the sand and with limited glue. The only catch is you need to ensure the base holes are very well covered.

Blackrock Reserves – scheme from NQ#24

A simple grey/brown colour scheme and several layers of mixed inks, washes and paint (you want dark, mucky and oily) and you get something that looks pretty right. Then after sealing the minis I added a couple of reeds – it’s really easy grab with tweezers, cut to approximate length, dip in glue and attach to bases, trim later if needs be; and filled the bases with gloss varnish (using a dropper). Done!

Close-up of swamp land.

Cracked Earth

An extra bonus example (these were my wives, not mine; but I really like the overall effect). Here ballast/sand/whatever is pretty much thrown out completely, instead circles of cork have been cut out and glued into the bases completely. From there a sharp pointy thing of some sort is used to gouge out cracks in the cork. Add paint and it looks awesome.

Closing Remarks

So there you have it: Doing reasonable to good bases is actually really easy, there are a lot of inspiring pieces out there, all you really need to do is summon the guts to give it a go.

Eiryss Mage Hunter of Ios

2011-04-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

“That elf right there, she is truly a skilled wonder, she takes meagre pay and does one hell of a job, she has no problems killing but she seems to hunt mages in particular if I were one of those spell casters I’d duck the fight rather than risk her bolts finding me” –Cygnar captain speaking to a Long Gunner Sargent at a mission briefing with Eiryss nearby

Stats

Eiyrss is fast and I mean really fast. While this faction is known for speed she is faster than any of our infantry and all of our jacks. She has an okish mat and one hell of a RAT and this is what you will be taking her for. Her defense is borderline godlike. With her coming in at 16 normal infantry and even elite infantry will not hit her reliably and most jacks even character jacks are still struggling to hit her without boosts. Her armour is very low to the point where blast damage is quite a problem for her so anything that can manage to bypass her defense she needs to avoid.

Weapons

Eiryss carries 3 weapons on her person. Her primary weapon that we take her for is her crossbow with its different shots (will be expanded later). This is her primary weapon and if you are not using her crossbow then you are not getting the most out of her. She carries two melee weapons,. A bayonet and a sabre, but with her average MAT and low p+s on these weapons consider these to be used only as a last resort.

Skills & Abilities

These are what make Eiryss truly one of the most hated and used solos in the game. She comes equipped with advanced deploy so she can start out closer to her target(s), fearless so those guys who have terror and abomination have no effect on her. She also comes fully equipped with pathfinder so she can navigate most of the board with no issue and last but certainly not least she comes equipped with stealth. Stealth combined with her high defense keeps her safe from the vast bulk of attacks that your opponent(s) would attempt to use to get rid of her. She also has camouflage so her already amazing defense goes to pretty much unhittable when she is benefitting from concealment or cover (take that B-13, Gun Mages). She is a partisan for us which means she can benefit from in faction feats and spells (oh Ravyn did she really need your feat to hit things?). Her last ability means nothing to us which is her hatred of other factions warjacks and if she ends her movement near a non-myrmidon warjack her activation ends.

Now on to the real reason why you take Eiryss, she has multiple crossbow attack types. Her first shot is death bolt which deals an automatic 3 points of damage to the model she hits and if it is a warjack she can choose the column. This is great for not only clearing out single wound troopers but is great for weakening a solo or finishing one off as well as softening up a warjack or taking out that last box for a system or taking out those last couple of points on a warbeasts damage spiral. Did I forget to mention that if you fight Protectorate a lot this ability will bypass the Covenant’s “I only take one point rule” and deal the full 3 points? Her 2^nd shot can be just as good if not better than the first albeit a bit more situational. When she hits a model it is disrupted and loses all focus so she can keep that warjack from being allocated focus or she can keep that arc node from tagging your troops. More than that though if she can hit a warcaster it prevents them from replenishing focus the next turn so that means no more army support and it means they should be easy pickings for whatever you send their way. Her 3^rd and final shot is Phantom Seeker. Much like the MHSF this allows her to ignore practically all modifiers to someone’s defense and hit them regardless of where they are so long as they are in range, though this will be at her base pow of 10 which isn’t too great but can be useful for picking off that camouflaged solo or trooper that is causing you problems. Keep in mind though this shot DOES NOT ignore stealth.

Tactics & Synergies

Eiryss does a lot of things from solo hunting, to warcaster and warjack disrupting to being just a general PiTA to everyone. She requires little support from our warcasters which is good since they don’t offer too much support compared to what other factions could offer her. Her main strength is her Death Bolt so you will be auto pinging your opponent’s models for 3 points and Disruptor Bolt when you get that warjack in your way or you get that nice shot of opportunity on their warcaster (do keep in mind this has no effect on warlocks). While Phantom Seeker is nice I find it to be the most situational of her shots but it is not without its uses.

Rahn: He has a few things he can offer Eiryss. Polarity Shield denies your opponents a charge to her which can be important. Force field is a big one since it allows him to choose the direction of an aoe when it misses her so this can go a long way towards keeping her safe and thanks to his large control area it isn’t too hard to keep her in it but just be careful of your opponent rolling that 1 or 2 for distance. Telekinesis can be great for giving her a little bit of extra distance for not only the aiming bonus but if it is used on an enemy model it can be great for giving her the backstrike bonus. Force Hammer is another option which knocks down a target and which means aside from outright dice fail she will hit anything and if she manages to hit a warjack or warcaster while knocked down with her Disruptor Bolt, they cannot use focus to shake off which really limits their options for the next turn (assuming they live).

Vyros: He can offer Eiryss Inviolable Resolve which puts her armour up to the levels of some heavy infantry but it probably wouldn’t be the best use of that spell especially since Eiryss is already fearless and the 2ndary effect of IR gives fearless.

Kaelyssa: She has some interesting options on supporting Eiryss. Sinces he already has stealth, part of her feat won’t be so useful but the ability to prevent her from being charged offers a nice option of her getting close to shoot while preventing most non reach/slower units from being able to retaliate. She also can give her some protection from magic. Banishing ward can prevent her from being targeted outright or you can throw Arcane Reckoning on her and try to bait your opponent into using an AoE spell on her only for it to miss and be thrown right back at them.

Garryth: He can give her Mirage which gives her the extra 2” of place effect every turn. This is quite useful since it can change your facing and potentially give you a chance at backstrike or the place can be just enough to put you in aiming range so you can shoot at an effective Rat 11. Death Sentence offers her some solid utility because if she ever misses (while rare it does happen) she can reroll and more than likely she will hit. A canny player will use Eiryss to bait your opponent into dealing with her and exposing that critical piece or opening up their lines for you to get Garryth in there.

Ravyn: Of all our (current) warcasters I think she offers Eiryss the most. She can give her snipe which ups her range to 16 and gives her an effective threat range of 23” on her bow. You can drop Veil of Mists on top of her to keep her behind some infantry so she can shoot and still be screened by front line infantry or give her the option to move through them. Her feat can do a fair amount for her since she gains boosted ranged attack rolls. This mean she will be hitting even people like eMorghoul under his feat or Wind Rushed Sorcha on average or slightly less than average rolls. Use this to your advantage.

Lord Arcanist Ossyan: TBD (so far the only info we have is a little tidbit DC dropped in a podcast that said he did well with the upcoming HG rifle team so presumably the same spell/ability will assist her but consider this speculation until we have his rules.

She is another of our solos who excels versus Warmachine but suffers versus Hordes due to her Disruptor bolt being effective against only warjacks and warcasters. Phantom Seeker can do quite well for her since Hordes models tend to have higher defense but lower armour so this can allow her to tag those problem solos and ones that help with fury management. Death bolt stays useful against both systems and since Hordes models tend to be a bit more fragile than Warmachine models this can potentially be more useful. Also her pair her up with some Ghost Snipers and the forthcoming Rifle Team, and watch enemy heavies go down quickly and potentially put light jacks out in a round.

A Compilation of Retribution Tactics and Units to Counter Stealth

2011-04-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

Preface: Partly due to annoyance at the same question coming up all of the time on the Retribution forums, I put together a compilation of ways to deal with the various flavors of Stealth you'll encounter in WM/H. It's something that comes up a lot with Retribution since the army has a number of ranged attacks, but only one model (Kaelyssa) that specifically ignores Stealth. So to begin, there isn't just one type of stealth and most of them require different responses. For the purposes of this compilations, we'll group Stealth mainly by stats because that's usually the biggest factor in determining an appropriate response.

General Responses to Stealth: These are things that are more universal and will work against any flavor. The biggest is melee. Finding things in Ret that can't fight is actually pretty hard, so even by accident you should have units that can throw down in your list. With CMA and a 9.5" threat range especially if opponents are trying to run to engage them and keep them from shooting, the MHSF can fight suprisingly hard. Things with Reach are also good because they can engage multiple models more easily to keep them from going anywhere while prepping their counter attack. Sprays always ignore Stealth making Discordia invaluable if you're good enough at maneuvering to not have her just get eaten after 1 spray and Dhalia Hallyr and her pet also fall into this category although Skarath has less POW and RAT (and doesn't fight as hard). In general most Ret casters can expand jack threat range and most Stealthed heavies don't have ways to buff threat range, so a simple solution to melee heavies outside of specific cases like Shadowpack where they can threat far is just to have your heavy beat their's face in using Mobility, Locomotion, Telekenesis, Mirage, Whip Snap, etc. Another response is simply walking into stealth range to shoot. SPD 6 units still threat 11" against stealthed targets which is enough that it's going to be rough avoiding this especially if you're carpet bombing or spraying units to death on the way in and by doing so, increasing the importance of them closing fast and not trying to play the threat range juggling game.

High Def, Low Arm Single Wound Infantry: This is probably the easiest and most common type of Stealth you'll have to deal with. It encompases Striders, Kayazy Assassins, Hex Hunters, Bloodrunners, Bloodtrackers and basically everything in the ARM 11-12 category. ARM 13 can be dealt with with similar responses, but can require above average dice rolls. As a note, most things that will deal with this flavor of Stealth easily, can also deal with things like Nyss Hunters, Daughters of the Flame and Gun Mages exceptionally well. The best response here is Stormfalls. When the unit doesn't have to worry about direct hitting, having two units carpet bomb an area with 8 3" AoE's from 16" away tends to kill everything including local wildlife. One Response that's great for any infantry, but especially good agains the high DEF ones is the Phoenix. Without exception, nothing here wants to pick a fight with the big guy because he'll easily have enough health left for a combustion even after they charge, so going back to the afforementioned ways to buff a jacks threat range, run a Phoenix on that flank and dare them to come at you. The worst strategy here is usually "Moar Sentinels" as it was so aptly put because anyone who can read a stat card can see Sentinels are going to have problems agains the DEF numbers these units can put out since they lack any way to buff attack rolls.

High ARM low DEF single wound infantry: These tend to be harder to Respond to, but in this case a good melee unit like Sentinels in a properly spaced formation to take advantage of Vengence is a pretty good Response. As stated previously, the Phoenix works against any and all infantry types, just try not to get him charged by Bane thralls and you're in business. Generally though, low DEF infantry are much easier to respond to because even ranged units like Invictors or the MHSF can tear them up with some very average dice rolls in melee so even if they get to you, some good spacing and use of your resources can make these units little more than a minor annoyance. Another strategy is using Aiyana. If she Harms a unit, Stormfalls are effectively throwing POW 8 blast damage, which is enough to hurt a lot of ARM numbers with only average or slightly above average dice.

Solos: Discordia, Discordia and Discordia. She threats 16" with her spray not counting the myriad of ways Ret has to get her there faster. Give her two focus (one if Ravyn is feating) and that problem solo is not a problem. On average dice she's got good odds of bringing down solos with good ARM like Tartarus (roughly a 50/50). MHAs are also a solid choice, though not neccessarily for the reasons you're thinking. Yes they can certainly roll up on an enemy solo from 14" out and one shot most of them, but they can also run 14" and engage them. Nobody ever takes free strikes from that model. Then Rahn can run an Arc Node up and cast if he's that desperate or Kaelyssa can just shoot them.

Casters: Stealthed casters aren't as much of a problem as people proclaim. It forces you into attrition, but if you're playing Retribution right, attrition isn't a problem because you're units are generally better and will hold their own. While it's annoying you can't end-run the game as easily, it not an auto-lose or even an uphill battle. Just wipe out their army and let them be Stealthy all they like as your caster/jack/unit/solo beats their face in.

Heavies: Sentinels and your heavies are the best responses here. Sentinels have the numbers and Vengence making them hard for heavies to deal with if you just run two models up to engage. Also, back to the beginning, I mentioned Ret threat ranges. They're usually better than enemy heavy threat ranges. The last time I had a Stalker Prowling on the edge of a forest, I locomotioned a 3 focus Discordia at it and she beat the thing senseless. I've also had suprising luck using stormfalls to walk into Stealth range and hit the target with Brutal shots and the MHSF walking up to jacks to unload POW 10 jack hunter shots at the target although this is a good bit more luck based. Skereth Issyen is another solid choice in this category along with MHAs, since both can do massive damage from a long distance away. Incidentally, neither are particularly good at dealing with other flavors of Stealth with the notable exceptions of casters and, in the case of MHA's, solos since they lack the attacks they would need to do serious damage to a unit in the limited time before the enemy kills them and trading a 5pt Dragoon to kill a 2-3pt solo puts you on the bad side of a trade.

Shadow Pack

--The best response to eLylyth is a blitz. Her list is usually light on shots that if you just run forward with an infantry swarm she'll have some tough Decisions. Don't use Shieldwall, Ravagores can cause continous fire and I've done that enough with Stormfalls and Star Strikes to know it's a death sentence for the unit. The MHSF is an oddly good choice because only Lylyth and her battlegroup ignore stealth and the MHSF with CMA fight a lot harder than striders and Deathstalkers. Combine that with AD and Pathfinder and the unit can actually maul striders suprisingly well. Your biggest problem in this matchup is acutally preventing the assassination, but eLylyth doesn't have much to break ARM, so a good camp with Discordia humming in the background can go a long way to shutting her ranged assassinations down. Vyros and Rahn do it best. In general, the strategy here is to engage and stay engaged as early and often as possible with Reach infantry (halberdiers work best because they're cheap) and the MHSF while keeping your caster from assassination.

--eKaya is a different animal. Her beasts threat far and she's got a turn on her feat of being able to pound you without resprisals. Oddly enough though, she ends up being less threatening than eLylyth in many cases because a good Reach screen will stop beasts. Garryth's feat also turns off the return part of eKaya's feat, so if you know what you're doing and go first, it's suprsingly easy to be on top of the army before they know it and if eKaya sends her beasts in, she can't stop them from getting murdered for their efforts. Like Lylyth, the key here is to apply pressure, but because the only threat is melee in nature, it's easier to throw up barriers like a Reach unit with Polarity Shield or Kaelyssa's feat to reduce their threat range to a more managable level.

--In regards to both armies though, they need fury management solos or they're going to have serious problems and the fury management models aren't Stealthed, so the MHSF can make some serious money just hunting down the 2-3 models the army needs to not fall on it's face. Neither matcup is easy and the better the opponent, the less your odds of success, but with a good use of forces, you can at least make it real game.

Army List Triage

2011-04-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

Army List Triage

Big fancy term, but what it really comes down to is what gets picked for the list first. There are three distinct groups that anything in your list falls into. The best analogy is a simile I often use "out like a fat kid in dodgeball". you may be somewhat attached to your chubby friend, but when it's time to pick teams in gym class, your desire to not get your face obliterated by incoming dodgeballs drives your decision-making process. In this example I'll use the Ravyn list since it's already posted on the blog and easy to reference.

Priority One- This is where your win conditions go. There are so many good assassination pieces to be had in this game that there's simply no excuse for the win condition of:

Field Random Crap

Assassination

So what are the win conditions? If you have nothing but Ravyn starting out, what will allow her to take down almost any caster? The big answer is eEiryss. Ravyn fights hard enough to get through a light camp, but if a caster keeps everything it's not happening. Then there are other defensive buffs like Hellbound, Iron Flesh, Excessive Healing etc. that will be a problem to get through. For this reason, eEiryss is usually the first model in every list. Even Garryth is going to have a hell of a time getting to an enemy caster if Hellbound, Admonition or Pursiut are up. Toss in the trio of Stealth, AD and Pathfinder married to a stupid DEF stat making her good for taking scenario points and she's got the double threat going. The MHSF are also firmly in this category. They can bring down a number of casters at range through buffs (and in melee, the MHSF CMA charge is ill-used, but can be pretty threatening), but like eEiryss also have the trio of Stealth, AD and Pathfinder with good DEF for taking objectives. Both of these directly contribute to your end-game, so I always put the highest priority on getting them in a list first. The MHSF seems to have a dramatic performance difference between min and max units, so I've stopped even considering the min unit and basically just put in 13pts for the MHSF and eEriyss every time the list starts out.

Priority Two- Basic necesseties go here. They may not win you games (not that they can't, but they usually don't), but they help the list function until your win conditions can do their things. This is mostly where things complimentary to the win conditions go. Win conditions go in first, so things that shore up areas where the win conditions don't excel or enable the win conditions are in line right behind them. For this list the Stormfalls and Aiyana and Holt are at Priority two. Both are good and can go a long way in a game even enabling assassinations or making them easier, but they aren't strictly speaking as required for the end-game. Usually if you're choosing between these models, your opponent is as well, so it's less a big deal that you're operating with a few nuts and bolts missing since the table is pretty even in that regard.

Priority Three- Luxury goods or things specific to local metas, things it would be nice to have and do useful stuff, but aren't really required to beat the enemy army, keep your win conditions alive, or enable your win conditions. For this particular list, the MHAs and Discordia fall into this category. I really like having them around and they've helped out a lot or won games, but if I can keep something like Aiyana or a unit of Stormfalls in the list, an MHA is a price I'll reluctantly pay. So with that in mind, here's the list at different levels as it decends from higher to lower priority models:

15pts
Ravyn
-Manticore
Full MHSF + UA
eEiryss

20pts
Ravyn
-Manticore
Full MHSF + UA
Stormfalls
eEiryss

25pts
Ravyn
-Manticore
Full MHSF + UA
Stormfalls
Lady A
eEiryss
Arcanist

30pts
Ravyn
-Manticore
Full MHSF + UA
Stormfalls
Stormfalls
Lady A
eEiryss
Arcanist

Ultimately building to the crescendo at 35pts. The list keeps most of it's combat capabilities through the various point levels and always has win conditions that can take objectives or bring down enemy casters.

Ravyn, Eternal Light

2011-04-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

Figured I'd help out Desertspiral since he seems to be going for the completion thing. Ravyn, Eternal Light

Introduction

Base Stats and Abilities

Spells

Feats

Synergies

Ravyn is yet another of the inital rollout casters for the Retribution. She's defined by preferring a ranged list, but many of her abilities are geared towards melee. While her buffs tend to be ranged-centric she also has buffs available for other aspects of the Retribution warmachine. Her stats are pretty solid all around and her spell list is suprisingly versatile for being so small and having such a large number of focus intesive spells for a caster with her average focus stat.

One area that often makes opponents heads spin is Ravyn's card. She has a combination of abilities many casters would sell their soul (or phylactery) to have and the statement "only model in the game" can be made about more than a few combinations of special rules on her card. With Vortex of Destruction up she can deal out a lot of damage, but she can also murder infantry so well even eButcher starts to tear up and begins a slow clap.

Base Stats and Abilities:

Ravyn's stat-line marks her as a fighter pretty quickly. She's got average SPD, but with Reach still has a good threat range. Her MAT and RAT are the same and solid and tied with Virtuoso and Gunfighter giving her two initial attacks and Vortex of Destruction buffing her damage she can put out enough damage to bring down most targets by herself. Combine that with the ease by which she can extend her threat range by simply shooting single wound models and she's a legitimate threat even from suprising distances away.

I'll forego the veiled stats since they simply don't seem that relevent to article as a whole or understanding thereof.

Hellbore: Ranged 12", AOE -, POW 12, Magical, Blaster

Blade: Melee, P+S 13, Magical, Reach, (*Attack) Threasher

Gunfighter: Can make ranged attacks while engaged in melee up to melee range.

Virtuoso: Can make Melee and Ranged attacks in the same activation and makes both initial attacks during combat actions.

Quick Work: When this model destroys enemy models with melee attack during combat action, makes a ranged attack ignoring ROF.

Swift Hunter: When this model destroys enemy models with ranged attack, it can advance up to 2" after the attack is resolved.

I feel like there's an entire article to write solely for Ravyn's abilities. So Ravyn can attack with both weapons, every melee attack generates a ranged attack and every ranged attack generates 2" of movement. More than that though, both of her weapons have ways to hit multiple enemies with a single attack (Threasher and Blaster). Blaster is better againt high DEF, low ARM enemies and Threasher is best against high ARM low DEF enemies. Unfortunately Threasher is a *Attack, so she can only make one in place of her initials. Note that while Threasher will keep her from making the initial ranged attack with her gun, she can still buy the shot back using focus because the weapon hasn't met it's ROF. If Ravyn charges an enemy, then uses her ranged attack and makes it a Blaster, the enemy will be so close that she really can't miss. While a POW 6 blast damage roll may no seem like much Vortex of Destruction can make it lethal for most infantry.One thing to look at is that buying melee attacks will also generate ranged attacks, so Ravyn is basically buying 2 attacks in one which on top of Blaster and Threasher and her ability to move around quickly in a formation thanks to Swift Hunter makes her a terror against most infantry formations. Another fun note is that while Quick Work only works in the combat action, Swift Hunter works at all times including free strikes which Ravyn can make with her ranged attack thanks to Gunfighter. I feel there's about 2 more paragraphs of advanced "Sequence of Destruction" tactics to be had, which I may do later, but for now we'll move on.

Spells:

Snipe: Target Model/Unit gets +4 RNG.

Snipe is amazing for it's simplicity. More threat range is such a simple buff, but so important for a ranged army. Being able to fight from further away than your opponent is a useful feature in any army and with many of the Retribution units naturally good RNG it can often mean attacking without being attacks. A few notes it that it doesn't stack with the Snipe ammuntion from Stormfalls because both abilities have the same name, but it can still enable them to shoot Brutal Shots and Star Strikes out to 16" instead of the usual 12". Snipe does however stack with Extended Fire fromt he Dawnguard Invictors to give the unit an 18" range on the turn they use the ability. The Mage Hunter Strike Force with their Commander still makes the best use of the ability. Phantom Seeker allowing them to ignore Line of Sight combined with a 16" RNG makes it exceptionally difficult for things to hide from the unit. Ravyn's Mage Hunter Strike Force has killed many casters because of this.

Locomotion: Pay up to 3 foucs, move a jack in Ravyn's Battlegroup 1" for each focus spent. A model can only be affected by Locomotion once per turn.

Locomotion is an interesting spell with varied uses. Simply moving a jack forward to get better range is the most obvious and tied to Retribution jacks naturally high SPD Ravyn's heavies can typically get the drop on enemy heavies. One other thing to remember though is that out of activation movement can also be used defensively. Moving Discordia up to take a shot with her spray, then pulling her back with a 3" walk can allow her to get shots in while keeping her safe. You can also use it to adjust formations on the fly or correct Line of Sight issues without having to activate the jack when you don't want to. It usually requries a good bit of focus to get the most out of, but putting a heavy where your opponent didn't anticipate can win games.

Eliminator: RNG 8, POW 13, AOE 3. Immediately after the attack is resolved, this model moves up to 2" for each model killed.

Eliminator costs Ravyn half of her focus to cast even if she doesn't want to boost anything and in many cases is highly lackluster. One intereting interaction to note however is Vortex of Destruction (wow this spell comes up a lot). If Ravyn gets up close to a target she can easily get to a distance where the AOE can't miss much like Blaster and also like Blaster, the blast damage seems pretty low until Vortex buffs the damage which will kill most infantry on average. This can be used in a rather interesting slingshot maneuver where Ravyn charges a group of infantry, getting as close as possible to limit deviation, then before making her attacks, casts Eliminator. Since she has ended her movement within melee range of her target, it's still a successful charge and when Ravyn gets done with her Eliminator movement, she'll still have both initial attacks. She won't get the boost for charging, but since Vortex is up, all attacks are already boosted. This can be used as a suprise assassination, but since you're upkeeping Vortex and Casting Eliminator, you have to be able to get the enemy caster with only 2 focus and 2 initials. Not impossible mind you, but you have to do a bit of math before setting out on this.

Veil of Mists: Place a 4" AOE completely within this models Ctrl area. The AOE is a cloud effect that doesn't block LOS for friendly faction models and friendly faction models gain Pathfinder and can move through other models and obstructions if they have enough movement to move completely past them.

So VoM is commonly used as a simple 4" AOE to block LOS. This isn't a bad idea and LOS control can be very important and can stop assassinations cold. It can also control charges of melee troops or hide key models from ranged units. However, the rest of the spell can still be important. Pathfinder is something the Retribution can't give out to things that don't already have it making Ravyn the only caster that can allow Sentinels or other melee troops charge over linear obstacles. Moving through models can also be useful, but since you still take free strikes, usually it's only useful for a jack. This does deserve a good bit of consideration though, since Retribution jacks have a healthy buffer in their shields before the damage will start to knock out systems. More than a few casters have been suprised by a Retribution jack walking through their army to beat them to a pulp.

Vortex of Destruction: Damage rolls against enemy models in this model's melee range are automatically boosted.

For a spell so simple, this does more than most paragraph-long spells. The most important feature is how broad the spell is. It doesn't matter where the damage roll is coming from or even if Ravyn can see the target, only that it's an enemy model in Ravyn's melee range. The most obvious use is simply having Ravyn beat face with the spell and that's perfectly valid. Her weapons are pretty average POW, but toss on Vortex and she hits hard enough to bring down most targets. The less obvious use is buffing damage rolls opponents usually don't consider. For example, fire damage rolls from the fire continous effect are boostable, but because they occur outside of activation nobody can boost them. Nobody but Ravyn with Vortex up. POW 12 with 3D6 can easily be enough to finish off a damage heavy jack or wipe out infantry. Then it also boosts AoE damage. Ravyn is pretty immune to most blast damage if she's holding some focus or Discordia is using her imprint, but models around her tend to die really fast against boosted blast damage like a unit of Stormfalls putting rounds into the melee or the afforementioned Ravyn's own Blaster and Eliminator. But it also boosts enemy damage rolls. Threashers, AOEs, missing Ravyn and hitting their own model in melee, sprays etc. There are many ways an enemy can hit their own model near Ravyn and not expect the damage to be boosted. Then there's also the possibility of knocking enemies down using Slams or Throws and running Ravyn into melee range, then having her army shoot them. Or against lower defense targets like Jacks or beasts, simply having Ravyn Feat to get boosted hits so the army can shoot through the target in melee penalty. Finally it's important to note that Vortex doesn't require LoS, only melee range. If there are enemy models in base contact in front of a key model of the same base size and Ravyn can get close enough, she can get them in the Vortex wihtout even having to worry about the target in melee penalty. This is more rare than anything else mentioned, but is still important to remember as it can be very useful. This is a great spell, so simple, yet with so many nuances to be exploited by someone who knows how.

Feat

Fire Storm: Friendly Faction models gain boosted ranged attack rolls and Swift Hunter for a turn.

Very Straightfoward as is it's uses. The army gets accurate for a turn and can use that accuracy to mow down the enemy or assassinate the caster. The Swift Hunter part is often forgotten, but using it to continue an advance or move back after shooting can be really useful. There just isn't much to say, everything you need to know about Fire Storm is there. It's both simple and devastating.

Synergies

Yes.

Seriously, she can move a jack out of activation, buff damage, buff ranged to hit rolls, give Pathfinder to melee units, control LOS, add to ranged unit threat ranges and kill heavy jacks or 10 pt units by herself. Finding things she doesn't have buffs for is actually harder.

That being said, she does like having a ranged army to get the most out of Snipe and Fire Storm and Rettribution has a lot of ranged units to choose from. The Mage Hunter Strike Force with Ravyn is practically a thing of legend with their ability to advance Deploy and shoot through a staggering array of defensive buffs to kill casters. Ravyn can easily remedy the low RAT of Stormfalls by Sniping them allowing them to aim with their Brutal Shots and Star Strikes out to 16" or simply feating for the boost. Invictors with Combined Arms and Fire Storm are pretty much garaunteed to hit whatever they shoot at and can have an 18" RNG if they use Exnteded Fire and Ravyn Snipes them. Houseguard Riflemen can have an 18" RNG all the time and Fire Storm with their mini feat can get you 4D6 for the attack roll or two turns of rolling 3D6 and since they can CRA into melee Vortex of Destruction finds new and fun uses.

Pretty much any heavy jack gets good with Ravyn. Discordia may not be able to use Snipe, but Fire Storm makes that spray devastating and with Swift Hunter she can back off when she's done or move up to engage enemies against a gunline. The Manticore with Snipe and Firestorm has a pretty stupid threat range since each of its 3 shots will generate Swift Hunter movment meaning the thing can move up to 6" total and with Snipe is shooting 16". The Phoenix loves getting an extra 3" walk from Locomotion before using combusiton giving Ravyn's Phoenix the best combustion threat range and Snipe compensates for the comparatively short RNG gun. Then tack on Vortex for any of the above heavies and they'll send enemy heavies sailing into orbit easily enough. Toss in Veil of Mists to block charge lanes to them and Ravyn's heavy is living the good life. You will note though, that do to high focus costs of her spells and her desire to upkeep both Vortex and Snipe, that Ravyn generally only wants one heavy, so she can get the most out of her spells.

There's a good bit more, but it all feels terribly redundant. Things with guns can get awesome, things that fight get free damage and Pathfinder. Then entire army gets a caster that beats face with the best of them and will eat any unit or jack left unattended. Her army wants at least one or two ranged units, usually with a single jack to let her use her spell list, but beyond that, much of it is personal preference.

Garryth, Blade of Retribution

2011-04-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

Garryth, Blade of the Retribution

· Introduction
· Base stats and abilities
· Spells
· Feat
· Synergies

Garryth, Blade of the Retribution is another of the Casters in RET’s initial rollout. He is quite typical of most RET casters in that he has good personal numbers, and a high damage output. Where Garryth differs from the norm, however, is that he has multiple very useful and general buffs. Whilst most of the Retribution casters have a very specific range of helpful spells Garryth’s are somewhat unique in that they apply equally to all elements of the RET war machine. Even Mirage can be used effectively creep a gun line forwards. Death Sentence might not seem like much but effectively “twin linking” all your attacks drastically increase the chance of success.

Even ignoring his very good selection of buffs, Garryth is himself a machine. With Weapon Master and Arcane Assassin there are very few targets that can survive a round in melee with him. If this weren’t enough his dual hand cannons present a very formidable ranged threat. Garryth is very versatile; he can attack from a number of various fronts and ignores all but the most obscure of defensive measures.

Base stats and abilities:

On the surface Garryth has all the tools required for the traditional melee assassination. His High SPD, MAT, and striking power combined with in house methods of threat extension and improving accuracy are all there. If he starts his turn within ten inches of an enemy caster and has a clear charge it’s virtually goodnight. Perhaps the only two casters in the game that could consider themselves mildly safe being Karchev and the butcher thanks to their disproportionately high base numbers. Coupling in Grievous wounds on Garryth’s blades means that even Warlocks should be particularly afraid of him.

Pistols (*2): Ranged 12”, ROF 1, AOE - , POW 12, Magical,

Blades (*2): Melee, POW 5, P+S 11, Magical, Grievous wounds, Weapon Master

Stealth: Attacks that originate from greater than 5” away automatically miss.

Arcane Assassin: This model ignores any bonuses to DEF or ARM that originate from spells. Additionally this model ignores over boosting power fields.

Path finder: Garryth ignores the effects of terrain, and can pass through them without penalty.

From this suite it is very easy to see how Garryth is intended as a kill piece. What might not immediately be obvious however is that at range he is only marginally less effective. Arcane Assassin being his trait rather than a weapon trait means that for all attacks (including spells) he ignores bonuses to defence and armour. This means that even his RAT 6 can go a long way. Two boosted POW 12 attacks that don’t benefit from ARM buffs or over boosting can be very detrimental to a lot of casters health, as the near famous E Haley Charger rush can attest too.

Spells:

Mirage: Target Model/Unit gains apparition. A model with apparition may be placed anywhere completely within 2” of its current location during your Control phase.

Mirage is an absolutely fabulous spell. In a faction that is about threat extension and assassination this is gold. Perhaps the one down side about the spell is that it has to be used pre-emptively as there is no point to casting it for immediate gains. However, in the right plan, and with the right troops it can really be a boon to your force. Be from giving Sentinels an additional 2 inches of threat, or letting any melee trooper blink out of combat with a meat shield. This is especially poignant with Sentinels as their Vengeance occurs in the maintenance phase, but the move from apparition doesn’t occur until the control phase. Whilst at first this might seem all bad as it prevents you taking advantage of a 5” vengeance move there are some good applications to it. Firstly being able to vengeance into a meat shield and then having had your attacks blip past them to get into threat of more important figures is a great move. The other great thing about apparition is that it lets you disengage your range troops without having to suffer free strikes. Unless you are B2B with reach troopers you will be able to disengage from anything. Similar to this strategy, also involving your range troops is the idea of threat extension. By having a free two inch place that is OOA (Out of activation) you effectively get to advance, or adjust your gun line and still aim, or if you need the speed it gives you effectively an extra two inches of range on your shooters.

The spell can be used on jacks, or solos for any or all of the above benefits. Possibly wasted on solos or jacks due to the exponential gains from being on a unit the spell is none the less very powerful. Narn with an additional two inches of threat for instance is never a bad thing, especially since he can use it to jump around the corner of a building or other obstruction that your opponent might have felt safe with.

Psychic Vampire: When an enemy model in this models Control range casts a spell, the enemy model suffers a point of damage and this model heals a point of damage.

On paper it might not look like that useful of a spell especially for a caster Like Garryth, who is more about ending game quickly than grinding down the opponent. This spell whilst not the greatest is becoming a lot more useful in the Meta game. There are a number of very annoying troops and strategies that this will block, and on the flip side, anything that heals your caster can’t be bad!

For instance: Circle, Legion, Cryx, and the mirror all have a strong spell game that isn’t centred on the caster. Whilst one might think Menoth would also fit into this category, fortunately for them most of their ‘spells’ are just actions. For units like Druids, battle mages and hex hunters though – this spell is quite deadly it means that they will only be able to resolve a single shot and then die. For Cryx most of their casting is on solo’s so it’s a wasting sickness, but it does mean that on the oft occasion where you reduce a solo to one wound they have to be very careful. This spell is one of the best controlling ways to deal with spell spam, which would otherwise be able to heavily disrupt you with their myriad effects.

Death Sentence: Whenever an attack misses, against target model/unit; once per attack you may re-roll to hit.

This spell right here, despite everything else that he brings to the field – is the reason to play Garryth! Despite the fact that it might not ‘offer’ any particular buff it is the reliability factor that makes this particular spell so special. In a faction like Retribution that has near limitless amounts of Arcane Assassin available the ability to increase the accuracy of all attacks by a very quantifiable factor is extremely valuable. There isn’t really a lot to write here because as stated the spell simply increases the efficiency of things, as such it should be noted that RET have a lot of incredible infantry and they really benefit by the slight pip to accuracy that this provides. Also of note is the inherent force multiplier, by this I mean you can target one particular entity with it and all of your side gains the benefit when attacking them, something that can be extremely important for hard to kill things, or units that are lodged in strategically important zones.

Gallows: A model hit by gallows may be pulled D6” towards the caster.

A relatively straight forward attack spell Gallows does actually provide some very incredible tactical applications. The only problem it has is essentially the variance in the spells effects. Damage variance is obviously always unpredictable but variance in the motion this spell provides can cause it to be tricky. If you could rely on the distance there are numerous tactical applications from moving the enemy forces out of position to allowing your forces entry. Essentially they are all the same, but the particular nuances are sometimes different. But firefly being able to unclog a charge lane, or provide new line of sight options, as well as disrupting the enemy forces by obstructing their own charge lanes or creating OOA challenges. The other good thing about Gallows is that it can be used to force engagements upon the enemy troops – especially if arced through a phoenix, or even to force them into difficult ground. Some of the other more challenging combinations with the spell are to force knocked down jacks into water features, or the covering fire templates dropped by a friendly Manticore. There are a lot of ways to combo this spell, and it even works well if combined with multiple nodes. A favourable roll from one can give you the right vector to hit it from the other or Garryth himself. Magisters or battle mages can also help here by providing a second layer of motion to the targets.

Feat:

Void Lock: Enemy models in Garryth’s control area cannot spend focus, cast or channel spells or be moved by place effects. Void lock lasts for one round.

Void lock is a really good feat for several reasons, whilst on the surface it might not look as deforming as icy gaze or blitz it is really harsh. Obviously this is a case of a feat that functions much better vs. War Machine factions than hordes but unlike a lot of feats that doesn’t cross pollinate well it does retain several uses vs. hordes factions.

The feat can essentially be broken down into three parts, none of which overlap and all of which are inherently useful themselves. Granted some of these elements are going to be more useful in particular match ups but that is the same with all but the most general of feats.

Firstly the most overt part of the feat. Whilst it might not appear to do anything that boosts offense the fact that it hobbles the opponent is where the power of this feat lies. By crippling the opponent for a round you are essentially reducing them to the lowest common denominator a situation where RET works best against. Taking away the ability to spend focus turns their War Caster into an expensive vulnerable solo, and their jacks into not much better. There are few factions that comfortably operate under this circumstance. This feat is even stronger since in Mkii the field has radically shifted in favour of jacks and larger battle groups. As RET infantry is in most cases superior this feat allows for Garryth to get in and dirty and not have to worry about the retaliation of loaded up casters and battle groups. By virtue of denying focus expenditures this also means that effects cannot be shaken off, further increasing the vulnerability of jacks and casters. The other effect is that in most cases spells cannot be up-kept which further increases the effect of infantry and friendly jacks against their foes. This, coupled with Garryth’s other talents allows for a drastic shift in the momentum of the game allowing the RET forces to push hard and not have to worry about excessive amounts of counter fire. Even the Avatar of Menoth who is in most cases immune to any kind of negative tampering is effected by void Lock when even Divine Might will not shut it down.

The second part of Garryth’s feat and one that is starting to be particularly more effective against hordes given the new influx of casters they have received is the ability to prevent spell casting for a round. At first it might be easy to dismiss this element of the feat as focus is not allowed to be spent anyway. This is not the case though as every faction now has support solo’s or units that are casters. Even sometimes abilities which might not be considered spells, such as Strangeways or the sirens power booster. This is an interesting point to make because the arcanists power booster, for instance is not a spell, But again, even things like battle mages, hex hunters, and numerous war caster attachments are all casters. Denying these spells is icing in this case, as it really shuts down their ability to influence the battle. In the case of Rahn, and Bethayne it even completely turns off their primary mode of assassination.

The channelling restriction is also very important and there are some methods of channelling (again Bethayne, Laris and Hexeris) that don’t require the Arc node advantage so this method of shut down is more reliable than simply using Eiryss’ arcane interference rule, or disruption. It is possible through premature use for the opposing caster to escape the net that Garryth’s feat creates, and in doing so would be able to circumvent the restriction and start blasting again. Hence the no arcing rule becomes very relevant. Especially if you are using Void lock to take out the opposing battle group in two phases, rather than to necessarily just execute the caster. Granted this is less likely to switch off their upkeeps but by piece meal destruction of their forces you can in fact gain quite an advantage. This is probably more important for casters that are more martial than casters, but the subtlety of the feat is that it allows you to gimp either type equally.

The last component of Void lock is that it prohibits placement effects. Again with the restriction on casting and focus use this might seem tertiary and often is. However, it does prevent things like Hell divers or pygmies surfacing and so in that respect can be quite useful. This also stops things like apparition, slip stream (pending confirmation), and other placement effects.

The point of the feat is that it essentially takes away any ability of your opponent to alter the outcome of the battle; it locks the target in place and then punishes them, without reprisal.

Synergies:

Actually i wasn't particularly happy with my synergies section, so i'm taking it down to re-review it.

Thanks

**Removed the 'stat' box, anyone reading this probably has the card.

User Request: "The" Ravyn List Rundown

2011-04-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Preface: So I started Warmachine with Ravyn shortly after the release of MKII and the Retribution faction. The current incarnation of the list holds only a passing resemblence to it's original form. Every model and unit here has had to audition i.e. run through a number of games before earning a permanent slot and at this point I'm happy enough with the list at 35pts that I don't see a pressing need to change anything. The list responds suprisingly well to a variety of situaitons from the fairly common, to the ridiculously corner case. A good bit of that is owed to the caster, but everyone in the list pulls their weight. With no further adeiu...

The List:
Ravyn
-Discordia
Mage Hunter Strike Force Full + UA
Stormfall Archers
Stormfall Archers
Lady Aiyana and Holt
eEiryss
Mage Hunter Assassin
Mage Hunter Assassin

Discordia- Cutting Ravyn's battlegroup to a single heavy was probably the strongest change. Without having to babysit multiple heavies Ravyn started using her spell list more and it became almost like using a different caster. It's easy to miss how solid the combination of Locomotion, Veil of Mist, Vortex and Snipe are when Ravyn is constantly bleeding focus to jacks, but it really is a great toolbox that includes LoS control, Damage Buffing, out of activation movement, threat range buffing and generally all around usefulness. Most importantly, it let her upkeep Vortex at all times with no impact on her ability to run jacks. Vortex is an okay spell if you cast it when you need it, but just having it on at all times expands what not just Ravyn, but the army can do to suprising degrees. More on that later. With the ready damage buffing available, whether it be Vortex or Aiyana's curse, hitting power becomes less important than accuracy and with MAT 7 Discordia fits the bill. Throw on free boosted damage rolls or +2 to damage and she's more than a match for most heavies. On top of that she's got two open fists. I can't count the number of games that have been won by a double handed throw. Then she's got the spray, and a hell of a spray it is. SP10 POW 14 with no damage type and magical on RAT 6 is easily one of the best sprays in the game. Combined with the feat and it basically bores a hole through the enemy army and even better Discordia gets to Swift Hunter afterwards. Then there's the imprint. There's a million and one ways to use immunity to blast damage, but when the MHSF is in the list, the most common way is to say "screw your AoEs". On top of that, the buffed ARM combined with shields makes Discordia herself pretty resilient and able to cross most fields of fire in tact.

Mage Hunter Strike Force Full + UA- If this were MTG, I'd be using the term "win condition" right about now and it's appropriate in spades with this unit. Those pathetic Cygnarans need POW 12s to kill casters, real men (or women in this case) do it with POW 10s. The unit wins games by themselves and not even neccesarily by assassinating casters. There are more than a few lists out there that simply can't respond effectively to this unit. Jack Hunter, gives them a diverse array of targets to hit and the classic Arcane Assassin and Phatom Hunter gets them around more than a few "hard counters" to ranged lists. Combine this with Aiyana for some magical weapons and this unit can get around pretty much anything but stealth. Then again, most of you knew this already. The MHSF being in general good, but with Ravyn awesome is like saying the sun will rise. You might not mention it just because it's so obvious.

Stormfall Archers- This is the single biggest quesiton I get asked about in reference to this list. More accurately, "Why Stormfalls instead of Invictors?" The reason is actually pretty simple when you look at the Stormfalls. You see the Invictors for all they do are still very much in the same vein as the MHSF for what types of targets they like to shoot at. Neither really want to waste the volume of shots against high ARM or can hit stealth. Since the MHSF are a non-negotiable part of the list, it's more important to look for complimentary units rather than units that often fill a similar role. The MHSF has issues with Stealth, high ARM non-jacks, and Shieldwalls. The Stormfalls have AoEs to respond to light ARM infantry with stealth, Brutals for high ARM targets and Star Strikes for shieldwalls. It's like for every box where the MHSF has a problem, the Stormfalls have a solution and vice versa. The Stormfalls don't want to waste shots at a unit with anti-range buffs to high heaven, but the MHSF can deal with them almost trivially. For this the second unit became almost mandatory as 4 shots simply didn't have the impact they needed. 8 AoEs, on the other hand, can take a serious toll on stealthed units (even higher ARM ones start feeling it) and gives you a large number of shots rocking 3D6 for damage against pesky targets that have high ARM and aren't jacks.

Lady Aiyana and Master Holt- Why aren't these two everywhere? Aiyana brings a solid damage buff to the table with the only prerequisite being the ability to hit at Magic Ability 8. +2 may not seem like much, but you'd be suprised what will shrug off the MHSF at POW 10 that quickly becomes concerned when they're shooting POW 12s. Also, MHAs throwing POW 11 damage rolls are just plain mean. Then she can hand out magic weapons, a feature that is mandatory for every serious ranged list if for no other reason than to deal with Menoth. Holt, while certainly not the focus of the unit or reason you take them, is still useful. A pair of gun fighter, RAT 8 hand cannons that can activate outside of other units to get them unegaged or clear out key models, or just throw a pair of shots on whatever Aiyana is cursing is always useful.

Epic Eiryss- So basically the same as she is with everyone else, but she gets faction buffs in Ret including Ravyn's feat and the only thing that might possibly be a disadvantage doesn't affect you. Basically you're paying 3pts for a solo that should be closer to 4. At this point even pretending she isn't the best solo in the game is a joke, and as much as I like to amuse, I'm here to educate today.

Mage Hunter Assassins- Insert second most common question: "Why MHAs instead of Ghost Snipers?". MHAs are almost tailor made for a ranged list. They have better reach than anything in the game, but only during their own activation and at all other times they're courteous enough to not engage anyone with their .5" melee range. This is pretty key because it allows you as the player to see what a melee model is going to do damage wise early and allocate an appropriate number of ranged attacks without also incurring the target in melee penalty. Having an MHA charge that Cryx arc node first and one-shot the little blighter will dramatically change the way you run your turn for the better, now instead of wasting shots and guessing what the melee unit will do, you can just send them in first to see if they do stupid damage or whiff and either way are things you need to know early in a turn sequence.

Major List Features

Synergy- Syngergy gets thrown around a lot, and more often than not it's simply being subtituted for buffs or layered buffs and not neccesarily the more generally accepted definition of things working together to become better than they could be individually. This list does have a great deal of Synergy, more than may be immediately apparent. When Discordia walks up behind the MHSF who's engaged in melee and puts up her imprint, then stormfalls start throwing AoEs into the blast damage immune MHSF to get them unengaged and the MHSF aims and puts down the enemy unit with layered buffs the Stormfalls couldn't get past, that is Synergy. The list tends to be heavily interlocked and no one unit can do it on their own, then again they're rarely alone and when the army is "on" it functions like a well oiled machine. The myriad of situations that you can not simply respond to, but put up a efficient response to is pretty suprising.

Vortex of Doom- Nothing survives a round in the Vortex and everything that's ended its actiavation there has been removed from the table. To put it simply, buffing all damage against a model is really good, but it gets better when combined with other things the list does. As an example, I faced off against a Darius list with two Centurions and the Thunderhead. He feated to repair the damage I had done and ran his jacks to within a very short distance of my army. I had Ravyn feat and walk up to the enemy jacks with Vortex up and Threasher across them,then ended her activation. My opponent was a tad puzzled, then the Stormfalls aimed and started dumping boosted Brutal shots into the trio and the MHSF unloaded boosted jack hunter shots. All three jacks went from full to dead in a single turn. Even then though, Vortex is a solid damage buff and just having it up means that anyone that tries to engage Ravyn is going to die exceptionally quickly. Throwing AoEs at things engaging Ravyn is the most common tactic since POW 6 won't hurt her if Discordia's humming or Ravyn has 2 focus, but POW 6 boosted will kill most infantry with very average dice. I actually had an assassination go from failed to successful because it suddenly dawned on me that pGaspy had been cursed by Aiyana and was in the vortex, so the Stormfalls would be hitting him with POW 8 boosted blast damage and they effortlessly took the last few boxes off of gaspy.

Economy of Force- A term left over from my intel days, it means simply doing more with less. It's one thing to take down a shieldwall, but to have 3 stormfalls set the entire affair on fire is such a trivial usage of army resources that kills most of the unit freeing up the rest of the army to engage other targets. Aiyana and eEiryss play critical roles here as well. Knocking off buffs or buffing your own damage severely reduce the amount of shots needed to kill a target. Discordia also does her part with the feated spray. The army is more built around efficiency than anything because being able to deal with a target by dumping your entire army at it won't get a ragned list very far, but only allocating a handful of models to tear down a unit or locking down heavies with eEiryss until you can spare the shots to deal with them properly makes a big difference.

An Interesting Challenge- This isn't exactly a list anyone could pick up and do well with. Everything you need is there, but I've also games where minor mistakes cost me the game. Even then, very few of the list's losses have been attributed to not having what it needed so much as dice rolls or player error. This is the big reason why I don't reccomend this list to everyone, since it tends to be more nuanced and requires a good knowledge of threat ranges and what you can reasonably expect performance-wise out of all of the units to really get it to the point where it can win consistantly, but anyone who's up for a challenge, by all means.

No Real Easy Mode- Players experiencing this list for the first time have a hard time getting their heads around it. All they see is picking up models without getting a chance to do much as opposed to the juggling act I'm usually doing on the other side of table to single out key threats, getting the right units into positon and making the best of buffs and debuffs. In this regard, the list tends to frustrate opposing players, but it doesn't have a softball approach, the list is either "on" or it isn't. With this in mind, I usually run other casters or break out Ravyn and give them a chance to look at the list before giving her another shot and walk them through the games afterwards to explain all the mental gymnastics I have to do on the other side of the table for it to work.

A New Contributor

2011-04-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

My name is Blais, I go by Mastershake on most forums, and Haydn has invited me to post on this blog. Unfortunately I've never blogged before, so good times should be had by all as I fumble around. I'm from the good ol USA, more specifically the home city of Wyrd Miniatures and Cool Mini or Not. I've been playing the angry elves since shortly after the faction's release and have run all of the casters (and taken all of them to events) and most of the models in the range. As an introductory post I'd like to start with something near and dear to my heart, the Ravyn list. I've been asked about it in a number of threads and PMs, so many that I did a centralized post on the PP forums, but I'd like to repost it here. It's one thing to simply throw out a list, but this gives a complete rundown of everything in the list and why it's there. I've taken it to a number of events from Warmachine Weekend to local tournaments and done respectably at all of them. More than that though, the list is just fun to play. Balancing the ranged units and maximizing their capabilites is an interesting challenge, much more so than simply throwing weapon masters at something until it dies and even in defeat Ravyn can be a fun caster to play if you just let her go nuts on the enemy army. As a fun anecdote, some friends from my local gaming group went to adepticon this year (I was unable to attend due to work) and they were describing their experiences against the Retribution. When a fellow gamer asked them about the army, they described it and he responded "Oh, the Mastershake list".

Greetings and salutations

2011-04-06T06:25:00.003-07:00

Hello everyone,

I am Tobias (Desertspiral), and recently Haydn, asked me if i would like to be a fellow contributer on his blog. I felt quite honoured by the invitation and am looking forward to doing just that. Unfortunately for me this bloggind stuff is crazy town and i have no idea how to sub group everything into the right sections so i can only hope that Haydnn is on the ball there :p!

Anyway i am stuck in New Guinea at the moment for work so most of what i have to offer, is my experience and tactical ideas, not to mention some list stuff etc. When i get back though i will probably supplement that with battle reports etc. I love to play, and love the system, and i don't mind writing about the results!!

Cheers all, and i hope you enjoy my particular flair for the dramatic.

Tobias

The Dawn Lord

2011-04-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

Dawnlord Vyros

Intorduction

Base Stats and Abilities

Spells

Feat

Synergies

Introduction

Dawnlord Vyros is one of the Retribution of Scyrah’s premiere War casters. By this I mean simply that he was included in the initial roll out, rather than any assumptions about his power. As far as Retribution casters from the same release go Vyros is typically the man apart. Along with Rahn, Vyros is the slowest caster at speed five and they are also the only two that lack innate ranged weapons. But whereas Rahn is very comfortable behind the front lines as a manipulator, Vyros is (on paper at least) a lot more hands on.

The reason for this very common perception is that he is very capable in melee. At POW 14, with flank [Faction Warjack], MAT 8 and reach Vyros has a very high potential dps (Damage per Strike) output in melee. Coupled with his spell list and passive aura it is very easy for him to be in the right location to deliver that payload as well. This, however, is for the most part the biggest trap associated with Vyros. Often times he is committed far too early and despite his superior base defensive stats (The addition of DEF and ARM where the base line is 29-30, Vyros being on the top end at 32), if he is burning focus to attack he becomes very easy to assassinate.

Once a player has more games and experience with Vyros, or indeed the game in general they become better able to determine when to apply that force and when to keep it in reserve. For the most part, despite his imposing stat line Vyros is better disposed at enabling his force. That is to say, even though his tweaks might appear minor they are in fact in most cases the tipping point that will allow his forces to go from good to exceptional. This includes everything from the provision of Bird’s eye, to well-placed use of hallowed avenger.

Base Stats and abilities

Dawnlord Vyros has a superior base stat line to most casters. His defensive stats are better than Cryx and on par with Epic Makeda and Epic Feora. Whilst he has no ranged ability in melee even without flank he exceeds Epic Stryker, and with it he eclipses the Butcher which is a feat few other casters can match. His focus stat is expected for the rest of his package, and allows him to run sufficient jacks to capitalise on the rest of his goodies. His command of ten is also something that’s reassuring in RET as the lack of fearless can at times be very difficult.

Weapons:

Justicar: Melee, POW 7, P+S 14, Reach, Magical

Abilities:

Flank [Faction Warjack]:

This ability along with his passive aura and battle group spell (Mobility) are all part of what sometimes incorrectly pigeon holes Vyros as a jack caster. An excellent ability to have, it is sometimes seen as the bastard cousin of Weapon Master and in most respects that is correct. The one exception to this is that granted, the ability is only on in certain circumstances but it also offers the bonus two MAT which in the right instance can mean the difference between victory and defeat. As a faction RET has only a single spell that directly increases the chances of a model to hit its target (Garryth’s Death Sentence), the other three ways are all extremely conditional two of them being feats and the last a drive on the Scyir. So any ability that increases the chance of a model to hit its target has to be taken at greater than face value due to the lack of it in faction. Admittedly Vyros usually will not have problems hitting in melee with his base MAT of 8, but against anything with a defence of fourteen or higher the bonus from flank will make all the difference, as a missed attack in cases where you are risking your caster can often be fatal.

Bird’s eye: Models In Dawnlord Vyros’ battle group, and in his control area have their front arcs extend 360 degrees, and ignore forests, cloud effects and other models for the purposes of drawing LOS.

The first thing to clarify about this ability is that it does not ignore the defensive bonuses of models in those features. It only allows you to see, and more importantly target them. The second is that a canny opponent can and will manipulate this to manoeuvre more easily through your lines as they will be less prone to free strikes. This in particular affects the phoenix and griffons as they have reach. Now that the ‘negative aspects’ of Bird’s eye have been covered on to the positives.

The first and most obvious plus of Bird’s eye is that it allows you to see pretty much anything, anywhere. About the only thing that will deny you LOS are obstructions and they are generally small enough that they can be navigated away from. The tactical applications of this are huge. Firstly it lets you shoot through trees or screening models, something that is particularly apt now that all the Menoth players are salivating about being able to hide the harbinger behind their battle engine. This doesn’t stop at shooting though; it works in melee giving your battle group a superior version of tall in the saddle. And it prevents models from ignoring free strikes via LOS prevention.

In melee this ability can really shine too. By having both a 360° arc and being able to ignore intervening models for LOS this can allow you a huge degree of flexibility when charging, something that is particularly relevant in a faction that can move possibly further, easier than anyone else in the game with the exception of certain Cryx casters and Molik Karn. For instance:

The above diagram aptly demonstrates something Vyros and only a handful of other models can do (none of which typically have reach or the threat of Vyros). In the diagram, Vyros is eight inches away from the trooper, and their caster is three inches behind it. With mobility up, Vyros has a charge range of ten inches, and where this comes even greater into play is with the addition of models such as Lynyssa Ryssyl who can ramp his threat vs. a unit, to get to the juicy centre behind it. The thrust of this scenario is that even though Vyros can see the caster via Bird’s eye and they are an eligible charge target. So Vyros can charge across the axis to get at his chosen prey.

Where the real elegance of this situation comes into play is if the ranges are extended even further. If say for instance the caster was greater than the current 12 inches away or if they are protected by polarity shield then Vyros can bounce off of the unit to subsequently attack the caster behind. The reason why this works is because normally you cannot charge such that your target leaves your front arc, however, as Vyros has a 360 front arc this is never the case and so by sling shotting off of targets he can use the range extension to attack his chosen prey. Lynyssa Ryssyl’s hunters mark is particularly effective here as it allows for two inches of extra threat, but since casters are typically hard for her Magical 7 to hit a unit, or jack is a much easier solution.

The last key thing about Bird’s eye is that it means that jacks with shields are always going to get the benefit of their shield, as well as never being subject to Magnus’ back strikes. Whilst this might appear obvious, the thing that players might not realise it that it also means a griffon can glide through the enemy lines and any free strike is going to be against the full ARM 18. For Vyros, this means that with a griffon he can more easily get that all important flank bonus.

Spells:

As a focus 6 caster Vyros has a typical spell suite that consists of 5 different spells. The scope is very balanced including two attack spells, two buff spells, and one counter point.

Inviolable Resolve:

This is a very straight forward buff spell. Probably the weakest of the defensive buffs, it still holds a very important part in the RET arsenal being the only flat armour buff available in faction. Whilst not as effective as defenders ward, or iron flesh the fearless aspect of inviolable resolve is particularly important for a faction whose only fearless models are unique solos. Generally RET’s command is quite high, and particularly Vyros’ but being sure that a command check will be passed is at time invaluable.

Mobility:

Vyros’ second buff is the battle group spell mobility. Possibly one of the best spells for getting what you want where you want as is provides path finder and plus two speed. The big point is that since it gives speed rather than movement you get to double dip on runs. Allowing a Griffon to run 18” if it uses its fleet. One of the other biggest things about mobility is that it is essentially hidden threat. That is it’s off board bonuses which whilst yes they are in plain sight, sometimes they will not be mentally accounted for and that in itself can be an asset. Whilst I’m not sanctioning duplicity, I am more suggesting that an opponent can fail in their mental assessment of your capabilities. Lastly an in built method to give a melee caster two additional inches of threat as well as path finder, especially considering he can see through forests is always an asset.

Hallowed avenger:

Hallowed avenger is a tricky spell to use, but in a very select set of circumstances can be quite useful. Whilst I have never personally used it for profit, theoretically it is possible to get some use from it. The two main down sides are that it only affects battle group jacks and that the trigger has to occur within five inches. The main problem with this last point is that generally if your jacks are in a position to have the trigger it means that they are likely going to be gummed up by your other troops and unable to capitalise off the spell. Also since mobility only lasts for the turn they won’t have access to path finder. I find that theoretically this spell is best used on lights as they will have the manoeuvrability to get through your lines for a meaningful charge, or to in turn gum up the enemy lines. A heavy can get out there and do a big hit, but is likely only going to get itself killed by a canny opponent. A Gorgon on the other hand can force your opponent into choices by locking down key pieces; even if it fails on the charge it can still prevent them moving.

Stranglehold:

Stranglehold is perhaps the best non-specific magic missile in the game. Range 10, POW 11 and only costing 2 focus it has ok numbers to begin with, but couple in that the damage trigger is forced forfeit and it quickly becomes very good. Coupled with KD (Very accessible within faction) it can quickly become a controlling factor. Having to forfeit is also one of the things that can’t be shook off so it is a somewhat reliable de-buff – even more so vs. melee jacks.

Eliminator:

Eliminator might look like it is too great an investment for Vyros’ focus of six – but upon taking a closer look it is actually a very effective AOE. Only costing three and POW 13 are good numbers as it means that all the blast damage hits at POW 7. This is a key point, as it means that ARM 13 will likely be killed by the blast. ARM 13 of course being significant as this covers everything but shield bearing SWI, or medium infantry. On top of this though for every model killed in the attack Vyros gets to move two inches. Granted it is an expensive spell at 3 costing half of Vyros’ focus, but if it kills one person it’s as efficient as mobility as if two are killed it can drastically improve Vyros’ threat range, three becomes ridiculous giving him an effective 16” threat range. Again the good thing about this spell is that it is often over looked and most opponents will not necessarily expect it to be used. Given its high bas range as well as number of arc nodes in faction it can be easy to find a suitable target for the spell. Another tactic that can be used with eliminator is to charge something and then at the point between the end of motion and the charge attack eliminator cast well can shunt Vyros into a much more suitable target. If he has flank triggered two strikes should end most casters.

Feat:

Perfect Execution:

When a friendly faction model in Vyros’ control area destroys an enemy model, you may allocate 1 focus to a jack in Vyros’ battle group. Perfect execution lasts for one turn.

So right away, just by looking at it on face value Vyros’ feat is definitely the weakest point about this caster. It is very easy in fact to overlook the feat as it is at its simplest a particularly weak ‘win more’ feat. By killing enemy models your jacks are juiced up enabling you to kill more enemy models.

That is of course the simplest explanation of the feat. By looking more closely at it though there are some very subtle points which make this feat a lot more useful than it might at first appear.

Firstly it is always of benefit to have more focus, and a feat that allows you to have more focus has to have some merits. For instance, Prime Asphyxious’ feat allows gives him seven more focus and a very weak AOE pulse. In the case of Asphyxious though, no one doubts the utility or power of his feat. Kromac also has a very similar feat although it is much more limited than Asphyxious or Vyros’s.

There are three particular uses for Vyros’ feat and they are all quite different in their application.

The first is that it allows him for a turn to be greedy and still effectively power all of his jacks. This is always an asset as it allows him to play a lot further forward than you might otherwise by being able to camp all the extra armour that you might otherwise have needed to spend gaining that board position. Having a push that inevitably whittles your opponent’s forces but still allows you to present your caster as something of a decoy is good. Whilst it might be somewhat risky, a good threat assessment will let you know if you can pull it off within expectations or not. In this case you might have to play the odds a little but a cool head should see you through to profitable returns.

The second useful application of Vyros’ feat is that it effectively gives his battle group berserk. Berserk is a great skill to have, and when it’s completely voluntary it’s even better. The other thing that is really good with this aspect of the feat is that it provides a great amount of crowd control especially for the reach jacks, and as every RET jack has a non-combat way to spend focus be it shield regeneration or one of their field dependant abilities even if the jacks find themselves without foes to kill there is something to do with overflow of focus. This is really the win more element of the feat because if you get a griffon or a phoenix into their lines and start firing away then you have really good odds at being able to inflict massive casualties when you otherwise might not.

One of my favourite things to do with a Phoenix under Vyros’ feat is to have a Phoenix Trample up the field. As the following illustration shows, this can allow a phoenix in particular to cause a tremendous level of attrition.

In the above illustration a Phoenix is able to trample, reap any focus from trample damage and then keep going against the models within its melee reach, each fresh kill generating more focus.

The blue models are hit by the initial trample, the red are targetable by the post trample reach. If the Phoenix has three focus to begin, then it spends one for the trample leaving it with two. As the trample attacks are simultaneous, any focus generated will come at the end. This might seem bad but it is actually good as it allows the phoenix to blow its whole tank on the trample targets. After the first three targets have resolved spending focus to hit the last two is good as that will almost assure the focus is replenished. By the time the phoenix is done it should have a full tank again (unless the targets are very high DEF in which case you’d combust). Then you have three focus to attack the models in red at your leisure. In this example you can effectively target ten models, rather than the six from the straight trample or the five from just attacking with its three focus.

The last thing that Vyros’ feat is good for is damage control. By this I don’t mean as I did in the first instance by allowing him to survive. In this I mean that it allows you to overcome obstacles like P Severius feat. His feat prohibits focus regeneration and spell casting, this would normally have you at a disadvantage. With Vyros’ feat though it lets you mitigate it by still giving your jacks the opportunity for focus. Also in this case if your jacks are disrupted they can still function. An arcanist can remove the disruption effect and allocate a focus, but under Vyros’ feat if you really just need that one jack to be able to attack properly then that is a worthwhile application of a feat. With PE, and an arcanist you can fully load a jack that would otherwise have been unable to act properly for the turn. This can often be the breaking point in a gam if used correctly as an opponent thinking that a jack is disrupted and unable to act is likely to leave it otherwise alone. Since Vyros has the tools to manoeuvre jacks as well as let them acquire their targets, coupled with the feat it allows for a layer of reliability against the opponent interfering or countering your plans.

Synergies:

Even though he is not strictly a jack caster Vyros works particularly well with an abundance of jacks. This of course has to be balanced against the fact that Vyros does only have 6 focus, and all of his jack related abilities are also tied to his battle group.

Over experience I have found that the tipping point seems to be either two heavies or a heavy and two lights, my particular favourites being a Phoenix and two griffons, or a Phoenix and Discordia. The reasons that i favour these matches are as follows:

In the first all of the jacks have reach and that lets them take advantage of the feat more easily that non reach jacks. The griffons are also robust and because they don’t suffer as much from free strikes can manoeuvre with their great speed into a position (preferably the enemy caster) that allows Vyros to deliver a coup de’ grace. The phoenix in this case just does everything extremely well and as Vyros is such a tactically flexible caster that works to his advantage.

The second load out of Phoenix and Discordia is one that I have been using a lot recently. I’m finding that whereas the previous choice was geared towards a melee stance by where Vyros could get in and mix it up this is a lot more fire friendly. Discordia is just an exceptional jack and able to mix it up under a lot of circumstances. Add in the defensive field and she really caters to Vyros quite well. Also in this list, especially at fifty points a marshalled jack can get in there and trigger flank for Vyros. This lets the two heavies concentrate on manoeuvring until a ranged option presents itself on the enemy caster. With Birds eye and mobility this is quite easy to do, and mostly a matter of patience with cat and mouse tactics.

Another Jack load out for Vyros, and one that I am not particularly enamoured with (due to low success rates) includes using the Hydra. This strategy can be particularly effective out of the NQ35 tier for Vyros due to the advantages it brings to the strategy. A pair of Hydras with two 15/15 cannons can put the scare onto a lot of casters even if they don’t do it over one turn it is likely to make the opposing caster wary about sticking their head out. The only really thing holding this strategy back is that the Hydra’s have a relatively low RAT of 5 which means that any high DEF caster 16+ will be relatively safe from the attacks. Especially since Bird’s eye doesn’t ignore concealment or cover.

One last strategy that I have heard of is using Vyros with 5 Griffons. Personally I do not put much stock in this as I feel it relies too heavily on a feat that cannot provide the Griffons with any method to reliably hit mass infantry.

Having covered Jacks, there is a variety of infantry that work very well with Vyros. In particular Sentinels and Invictors are fitting as they are both heavily armoured and benefit well from IR. The Invictors are particularly good as they allow a degree of versatility on the feat turn as well as the ranged threat they provide. This projection of force is quite good for a force that otherwise is very melee centric.

The house guard units don’t particularly play to Vyros’ strength, however, the Halberdiers can be extremely effective given their reform ability. Being able to charge the opponents first line and then reform out of the way allowing sentinels or any second wave to move up and deal with the opponent’s next line is quite effective.

Of the other units in RET’s arsenal, the Storm fall archers can be quite good for the same reason as the Invictors. Firstly they provide a ranged punch that with brutal shot can even do respectable damage to jack and other heavy targets, but has a degree of tactical flexibility with the snipe or star strike options. MHSF aren’t necessarily as good a choice for Vyros because he does nothing to support them and outside of being themselves they don’t conform to his strengths. Also they are likely to be far enough ahead that they won’t be able to trigger the feat.

Solos in RET are mostly down to personal choice as they are all good and have corresponding advantages. Given the points though my first pick is most always arcanists for the obvious benefits they bring followed by Epic Eiryss. Next on my list are usually Magisters for the flexibility and control options they bring to the table. Mage hunter assassins are always good, but in a list that generally has a lot of heavy hitting melee already they aren’t as crucial. When picking solo’s I tend to look for ones that will change the flow of battle rather than just providing another high powered strike. For the same reasons the Scyir’s don’t generally find a place with Vyros for me. Although they do have a very good drive and are one of the better ways to field a hydra in a RET force. In general though for marshalling the Sentinels Pronto is more effective than re-roll from the Scyir.

**Removed the 'stat' box, anyone reading this probably has the card.

Hello all

2011-04-04T12:01:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone Demeritus here, looking forward to helping elf players old and new and I will be uploading my tacticas here and on the forums from now on, which reminds me I need to finish both Eiryss'

ARMY FOR SALE

2011-04-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

You know the one, you know what it looks like, you know what it is.

You know you want it.
Make me an offer.

My Discordia - building and painting

2011-03-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

Discordia is our first character jack, and a pretty nice one at that; prior to deciding to go the ‘quick’ route with the building and painting of my Retribution I had been planning on trying some nifty conversion work on it.

But those days are passed; and while some things might change, what hasn’t changed is that Discordia is a still a stand out jack amongst Heavy Myrmidon options, and on I don’t care at all to magnetize (though I have considered it).

So, since I’ve been getting the odd question on how I paint my jacks, and my other jack assembly thread is geared to a specific (magnetising) audience, I thought I’d take you through a quick tour of how I’ve done my Discordia.

Parts

First up, it’s worth noting that to build Discordia you need two separate kits:

The Retribution of Scyrah Heavy Myrmidon (Plastic) Kit; and
The Retribution of Scyrah Discordia Character Jack Upgrade Kit.

I’m also going to use a Large Metal base (available form the online shop), as I think this jack deserves a metal feel.

All the parts we will need.

So this is just the standard kit with an different head, some nifty arm blades and an extra chest piece. Though I feel I would be remiss not to add a comment on how going back to this plastic kit almost killed my will to live.

What is with these holes lines and flash?!

Assembly

Anyways, on to building the thing. So, looking at the mini, and it’s stats, I’ve decided the standard pose doesn’t quite cut it. A jack with a big fricken spray should look like it’s prepared to fire it... so I think I’ll go for something a little more like this:

Which means this guy is going to need to stand up a lot straighter than usual hunchback pose - those legs are going to need changing.

Though given the way the legs are normally positioned, I think I’ll get around any huge changes by having Discordia stepping one a rock (with it’s forward/right leg).

And a quick test shows that just elevating the front foot makes leaves the hips lopsided (something I want to avoid).

So I set about cutting up the legs

I figure all I really need to do is:

put a slight twist in the right ‘knee’;
extend the left knee; and
twist the hips slightly.

So, I chuck some loose pins (thing steel rod) in all the joins and give it a look.

...I think that looks pretty cool.

So, I set about assembling everything above the knees. The idea is that I will be pinning the jack to it’s base, and the left foot is inclined (stepping up on it’s toes), so I have a little bit of give in the final knee and foot positions, but the rest of the body is rigid... so by doing the body first I can get all the basic positioning done first (and being mostly plastic, it’s all pretty light).

I also decide that the usual head position is too low, and raise it up a little.

And the rest is simple... bang on the shoulders, glue everything in place... and it’s almost done.

I just need to tidy up everything around the knees (green stuff it all to make it look proper/normal)... which I forgot to take photos of :(

But after finishing off the base I’m left with this:

Painting

It’s then a simple job to prime the jack white.

...though I also airbrushed this guy with Morrow White to make sure I got everywhere (I don’t usually do this, but didn’t like the coverage the primer gave me on this outing).

It’s then a simple job to put some Cold Steel down on the right parts, followed by some Beaten Purple in all the runes.

It’s then a simple matter of touching up the white (where necessary), and adding some Cold Steel over the “rune orbs” (what would you call them?)

And we’re done!

All that’s left is dipping; and that process is already explained in other posts (check the sidebar).

Ain’t that so easy?

So that was a pretty quick run through. I had originally planned to be much more detailed, but I missed a couple of important photos, and in the end couldn’t be all that bother writing something in horrible depth.

I do think the final pose is perhaps slightly off, but I’m happy with it... there’s meant to be a gigantic wave of energy coming out of the chest piece (spray), and without that being visible, things would look off (like any non-standard action pose) anyway.

All up, I think it looks pretty great... it stands out as different to all the other Myrmidons, stands nice and tall (on a semi scenic base) and looks the part.

...I kept telling you guys that my the white in my paint scheme is super easy! :p

PP Spoiler: Arcantrik Force Generator - complete

2011-03-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Taken from recent "PP insiders":

Roll-Call

2011-03-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

When I first started this blog I said I had every intention of adding some other posters. Time went by, and I enjoyed doing things on my own; but recently I’ve started to add more me-specific (and less RoS-specific) stuff to the blog, and we can’t have that.

So I need more people, to make this the great centre of community information, strategy and support that it can be.

And that’s what I will be adding.
My intention is to take this personal blog (made of awesome), and turn it into a community blog (made of pure win); ‘cause honestly, I don’t know how long I’ll be around for... and we need to keep kicking arse and taking names for as long as long is.

The intention is to make the blog somewhat like Trollblood scrum.
(but better of course.)

This isn’t a request for people to sign up their interest, just an announcement of intent... if there is someone you think would be great in such a blog you’re welcome (and perhaps even encouraged) to suggest them; but don’t be disappointed if I don’t jump up and add them. ;)

The Power Of Matt Varnish And The Vindication Of Dipping

2011-03-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows I’ve been dipping my models, it’s been an interesting method of painting, that let me with terribly shiny minis.

So terribly shiny I have been somewhat ashamed of them.

BUT NO MORE!

Yesterday I finally got around to breaking out some Matt spray, Testors Dullcoat to be specific, and went to town on a couple of models...

...And I was impressed.

I don’t know how good these photos will look across the span of the interwebz, but the way the minis have come out (especially the Jacks) amazes me. Score one for the dip!

I had been planning on holding off on posting pictures until I had added some finished touches (snow) to the bases, but I just couldn’t help myself.

Quake Dice

2011-03-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

I know Japan has recently been hit by a terrible, terrible earthquake and I don't want to downplay that tragedy; but Christchurch (New Zealand) was also hit by an Earthquake, and PG_Izza is working to get the city and gaming clubs there some support, So:

QUAKE DICE!

PG_Izza is running a fund-raising effort for the city and the clubs, selling sets of dice (internationally), with all profits going to charity. They're pretty cool and more details can be found HERE.

ORDER YOURS TODAY

NQ Spoiler: RoS Stuffs

2011-03-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

No Quarter Magazine, issue#35 is out!
Why is this important? Well this is the first of the Battle Engine issues! Now I don’t think anything specific is given – no full on model stats or anything – but there is a batrep, and things can be extracted from that.

So I don’t know what the actual details are, I don’t know if anything is definite, and as always anything in NQM is subject to last minute stages; but the spoilers people are mentioning are:

Battle Engines:
Are base size "huge"; must be deployed first; cannot gain concealment, cover, or elevation and forest and clouds don't block LoS to them; they cannot be slammed, pushed, thrown, kd or made stationary; they have pathfinder; and they can be repaired.
Arcantrik Field Generator:
Range booster grants 2" if you aim; One of the ammo types is Rapid Fire (1d3+1 initial shots) and another is Blasted Earth (POW 16 AOE 4).
Heavy Rifle Team:
Light artillery, RNG 14, POW 7 Armor Piercing attack. 2 points.
House Shyeel Artificer:
SPD 5, MAT 7, Magic 6, DEF 12, ARM 16, FA 2, PC 3, 8 wounds, Beat Back, Force Barrier, Pathfinder. 3 spells: Range 10 pow 13 and if it hits models within 1" are pushed; Grants force barrier to models within 3"; and Polarity field on himself.
New Vyros Tier List:
Warjacks with “field dependant”, Small based Dawnguard units and Houseguard units. Arcanist, Dawnguard and Houseguard solos.
Tier 1: FA of non character dawnguard unot/solos increase by 1.
Tier 2: For two heavies in the Battlegroup, the -1 cost on heavy jacks in the group.
Tier 3: Two+ units. Jacks in Battlegroup gets advance move.
Tier 4: Four+ jacks. Those on the Battlegroup start with 1 focus.

Note: this is a spoiler, I have not seen NQM35 and have taken all the details from elsewhere. I don't know if any of this is true. If anyone has a problem with this post email me.

Going Slow

2011-03-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

I just realized it’s almost halfway through the month... painting month... and I haven’t posted anything on painting; which is a bit of a fail.

But I have been painting...

Soldiering through the Houseguard.

...though it is admittedly going much slower than usual – the rush is getting a bit tiring.

Halberdiers, Riflemen and Stormfall

But these guys are almost done. All that’s left is a retouch of the white, and some purple ‘glow’; then I can get them and Discordia dipped, and start looking at my MHSFs!

I dunno, I think the pictures look pretty shocking; in fact the painting itself looks shocking until the dip gets a hold of it. But that’s what this scheme is about... quick, effective and nasty.

...this quick paint job mentality is slowly doing me in, once I’m done I think I’ll need to find something to paint to a super high level

Teaser: House Shyeel Artificer

2011-03-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

We've known this guys has been coming for a while, and we've had a little text description; but now we have the mini and concept art.... Woo!

I'm not sure it's quite what any of us imagined, but I am definitely not disappointed.

PP Spoiler: Arcantrik Field Generator

2011-03-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

PP have given us our first proper look at the stats of our Battle Engine:

We don't know any of the special rules on the back of the card, but there is mention of:

"three different Ammo Types for the Teleforce Cannon"
"a nifty ability called Range Booster"

and more are implied.

From the PP insider

Looking Forward

2011-03-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s not long now until wrath is upon us, and we’re just beginning to see the first spoilers coming through. Fun Times.

I don’t usually buy into “theoretical mini”-machine or homebrew stuff, but since reading the RoS War Engine and Wrath Caster threads a little while back my thoughts on where I’d personally like to see the faction head have slowly taken over my mind.

So I thought I would subject you all to my ramblings.

Wrath

We already know Wrath is coming, and we have a vague idea of what we’re getting. Right now the product codes look something like this:

And we shouldn't forget Ozzy (the new caster)

And we know that we’re getting another character jack (upgrade kit); and we can probably also expect a solo unit attachment or equivalent. That leaves a couple of spaces, and I guess it would be foolish to not expect them to be filled by a solo (possibly a Warcaster Attachment), unit and something random.

Theme and Fantasy

So, RoS is still a very new faction. We are one book in and that book was quite the eye opener on Ios and the Retribution Cult. At this point we cannot really tell where we may really be heading.

But one of the biggest things I would like to see is our weakness vs Stealth to remain in the army; IMHO it is quite unique how our army fails to deal with it, and in a force of straight shooting elves it seem fair enough. That’s not to say I wouldn’t like us (as a faction) to have good ways of dealing with Stealth models (we already have some decent ones), but I would like them to keep away from allowing us units full of Sprays, True Sighted models or access to cheap, giant AoEs.

I also reckon it would be cool if we saw much more depth in the auras available to use – like that present on Discordia (and presumeably on the Arcantrik Field Generator). Some slightly more limited Troll like auras... I would kill for something that makes our fragile elves’ bones a little less flammable. I reckon that a set of such auras throughout our forces could make for us being an interesting tanking take on Elves; and such auras IMO would complement the place and movement denial magic we have.

Arcantrik Field Generator – I have no idea what the Battle Engines really will be; but I’ve long believed the (Talion) Commodore Cannon to be indicative of what we can expect. I’m hoping that ours will be armed with a big singular AOE attack, so we do get one such attack in the army; with a series of special actions giving us Auras.I know we’ve seen the stats and some spoilers, but I still think it’s possible.

It’s not something that could really be taken as a trait yet, but I’d also like to see a continuation of our inability to create/adapt terrain on the battlefield (Dig In, Foxhole, Rift), while keeping our obvious abilities to ignore it completely (Phantom Hunter, Pathfinder, Bird’s Eye). All up just enforcing an attitude of awesome tech and tactics over grunt field work.

Character

I think there’d be little argument that compared to the other factions (mercs and minions don’t count) we have a comparatively high number of Character models. Given the experienced, elite and individual nature of the core Retribution Mage Hunter forces; and the political motivation behind the armed reinforcements joining openly in Ios, I think this would be a very cool thing to have continue. It’s not like every character needs to be super powerful (look at Nayl), but any extra character is always good.

This would be a great way to keep the original cult (Mage Hunter) emphasis strong within the faction as more standard Iosan options become available to us. Similarly I think the Mage Hunter forces should themselves become quite limited – current options, plus some more solos and a character unit :D

In fact given the stats of the MHSF (especially compared to the more elite solos), and the nature of the army, I think PP have a pretty unique opportunity to make the MHSF the first unit with two UAs (one could always be a character one). Simply, the strength of the MHSF as a ranged unit is ignoring LoS (etc), exchange that for some decent melee centric rules and you have a very capable melee unit. AWESOME!

MH skirmish leader (Homebrew idea) – MHSF UA, give the unit reach on the charge, and Ambush or Advanced Move + Advanced Deploy. That’d make for an interesting, simple and capable alternative.

That said, I don’t want or expect our other unit types to be disregarded, the character reinforcement is just a way of expanding the cult aspect of the faction without having to truly expand upon it. Which is fair given the indication in the fluff that the fringe assassin sect is being filled with the normal army. So I imagine we can expect more Ios specific units.

A great way of reinforcing the Dawnguards take over of the Retribution it would also be cool to see some more Dawnguard commanding models – but that might just be my want for an Elvin Tyrant Commander. ;)

And what we’ve got already

And then there are the things we’ve already seen/heard a little of ... and know are coming.

First among these, is jacks.
Everyone seems to go crazy with hope and expectation at the slightest mention of House Vyre Myrmidons (“Perhaps one will be our second Wrath character jack?”...). I can’t say I’m overly crazy about them, it will be interesting when we get them, but I don’t see PP releasing us a new brand of jacks until they’re prepared to do some more plastics... and I expect that will be in the book after wrath – another jack on each factions alt chassis; in another multi-jack plastic kit. Nothing else seems sensible. I would however really like to see some jacks with a dedicated focus (and weaponary), which I suspect is only likely in House Vyre... you know, a Myrmidon with a great big cannon for a left arm... or something.

Fane models are another great hidden thing that we could see coming through; we’ve got Ravyn and the Pain Knight, so we can expect to see more. I could envision us getting a small unit akin to one of the Protectorates exemplar units; though I think, based on the fluff, it would be cool and workable to see a Fane Warcaster Attachment – a representative of the Fane of Scryah, sent to observe the progress of the Retribution. Given the Fane's reluctance to join the fight, and views on the Retribution this would seem a good way to bring more of them in to the army without having drastic fluff happenings... or weakening the forces defending Scyrah herself. A similar idea would be to have Thane solos, though I think that would over play their part in battles (over observer and assistant)... and if we got some more Seekers I imagine they play a similar role as solos.

Nyss... I don’t think we need them. Honestly they’re a bunch of refugees, any that are keen to fight are surely doing so already; and all of those that we’ve already seen are Mercs/Minions, which is cool by me. It might be nice to see the fluff move to include them, but I don’t see that being necessary for a loooonnngggg while.

And lastly, Soulless.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I was let down by the fluff to rules translation that I saw in the FoW book. Overall, that all I have on them... but I don’t really want to see much (or any) more of them – they’re Soulless, they’re pretty much automatons... they shouldn’t be forming units or anything fancy. Though I do think it would be cool (and different) if there was another Soulless Character solo...

Soulless Character solo (Homebrew idea) - Solo model unit leader with the ability to take up to two Soulless Escorts; gives them something like an anti-magic aura or an ability to sacrifice themselves for an Arcane Vortex effect. That’d fit the fluff... and be awesome!

So that’s sort of where I’d like to see us going...
A hard force of straight direct damage shooting, with inter-unit orders and limited auras that buff (all reinforcing a brick like style of play); flanking with limited, but characterful Mage Hunters; all interspersed with magic denial and resistance; and sprinkled with movement control.

I’d play that.
Though I’d also play whatever else we’re given.

Revenge!

2011-03-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

It’s been a couple of weeks, but I finally got in another game! I had expected to get in a couple of games last week, but it wasn’t to be... as part of the prep for that though, I appealed to the RoS forums to give me a (Garryth) list, and this is what I got:

Garryth, Blade of Retribution
- Manticore
- Phoenix
Dawnguard Invictors (Leader and 9 Grunts)
- Dawnguard Invictor Officer & Standard
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts)
- Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt
Arcanist
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution
House Shyeel Magister
Mage Hunter Assassin
Mage Hunter Assassin

Which is great; I wanted to give Garryth a go again, and this list is full of stuff I don’t really use that often (I know my last few Batreps have had Dawnguard, but they’re rarely straight out of my bag).

My opponent was also keen to try something different to usual:

Koldun Kommander Aleksandra Zerkova
- Decimator
- Marauder
- Spriggan
- War dog
Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Greylord Ternion (Leader and 2 Grunts)
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 9 Grunts)
- Iron Fang Pikemen Officer & Standard
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist
Koldun Lord
Man-o-war Drakhun (with dismount)

Time to get some vengeance on that she-witch.

Deployment

Playing Zerkova my opponent demanded we play a proper scenario, so we roll on the SR2011 sheets and got Gauntlet... which didn’t factor into the game at all.

My opponent set up, centered around an IFP block, flanked by his jacks and heavies. I split my Dawnguard on opposite sides of Garryth in the center, jacks on the wings and Mage Hunters ADed in the center – trying to keep things symmetric about the center to not over expose the fact I plan on taking the central wall with Invictors, and the left side of the table with everything else.

Turn One

My opponent advanced, and set up a Shield Wall + Blizzard brick, flanked by jacks. Zerkova sitting opposite my left flank with Watcher up.

I set up Mirage on the Sentinels and Psychic Vampire on Garryth. Everything else runs, with a focus around the left flank and center – wanting to use the open ground as the battlefield.

Turn Two

My opponent ran the Drakhun in to engage the Invictors over the wall. His brick then moved up, and Zerkova popped her feat and charged up behind them – effecting most of my Sentinels, half the Invictors, a MHA, the Phoenix and Garryth. The Decimator then killed two Sentinels.

One Sentinel was in range to Vengeance on the Drakhun, and the unit then used Mirage to close on both the Spriggan and Drakhun. A&H moved up Harming the Spriggan; Sentinels then taking out half of the hull and it’s shield, and dismounting the MoW. Garryth advanced on the dismounted Drakhun and finished him off before popping his feat. The Invictors then advanced to cover his position and popped a few IFP. Manticore blocked the IFP charge with Covering Fire and the Magister failed to crit knockdown the Marauder with a Force Bolt. On the other flank the MHA were largely ineffectual on the Spriggan and Eiyrss killed a Mechanik.

Turn Three

My opponent moved up his forces, most of the IFP walking around the Covering Fire to ineffectually stab at my Dawnguard, while two CMAed to kill the Magister. His jacks did similarly little, failing to hit my models aside from the Aiming decimator taking 5 boxes off the Phoenix’s field. Zerkova then pulled back and camped her focus while Gorman killed an MHA (and Mechanik) with an Acid Bomb.

I used Vengeance to clear out the last of the IFP, and (combined with the Sentinel activation) to kill the Spriggan. The Arcanist then allocated a focus to the Phoenix who run up the field, allowing Garryth to arc a boosted Death Sentence at the enemy Warcaster. He followed up with a killing shot on the Wardog, and chipping a little damage off Zerkova. A&H moved up, harming her and Holt doing a little more damage. Eiryss hit her with a sniper shot and the last MHA charged through, leaving her on 3 boxes. The Invictors then lined up popped their mini feat, cleared out a few more models, and the last three CRAed to kill the enemy Warcaster.

WIN!

That was a fun game... we each had a turn of terrible dice rolls; though I came out the better over all.

That assassination was also much tighter than it probably sounds – I completely stuffed up (or failed to consider) my order of operations – Eiryss, then A&H should have hit Zerkova before anything else (they don’t benefit from Death Sentence anyways)... then Holt might even have managed to kill her himself; and in the order I mistakenly went with, Eiryss really should have rolled damage. As it was I was down to just the Invictors... though I think I had positioned things so he at least wasn’t guaranteed an automatic victory.

This list was quite fun, for what he is I enjoy playing Garryth; though I don’t think I’ve yet played a list that truly plays to his strengths (at least as far as my playstyle is concerned). But I think I really do prefer to play with more jacks (and less units).

I hope to get in some more games in the not-too-distant future, while this is painting month, my long term focus is still on building up to a better level of competitive play... and that requires games. I tried to time this game and easily managed to stay in standard SR times, which is a good sign for the future (hoping to get down to super hardcore turns).

Simple and Effective Bases – Part One

2011-03-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

Also known as:

“HOW I DO MY BASES”

Because I know everyone wants bases like mine.
(And I don’t really know how simple they should be said to be.)

So, I was building all the bases for my Mage Hunter units*, and I thought I’d make an article out of it... I know I got a lot of help out of the old Brushthralls** tutorials, so it’s only fair I stand up and try make my own helpful contribution.
* Yes, this post has taken a while to get through to posting.
** I don’t know how many people nowadays know of the Brushthralls, but they were awesome.

Part One?

This post has been a long time in the waiting, while wanting to keep things concise and simple, there is also a lot I want to show... and to do that I need to do a lot of things. After a month, or two, of deliberation I have decided to split this post in two. This first part will cover the making of bases; the second part* will cover how I paint my bases, and demonstrate an array of finishing touches and final looks.
* Coming some time in the hopefully not-to-distant future.
The second post is delayed mostly as I want to showcase a variety of slight but effective variations, some of which will be demonstrated on my Hordes Bboxes, and finishing them has conflicted with painting my RoS (and getting Discordia on the battlefield).

So here’s what you need

I base my miniatures using both cork and ballast. I know there are cheaper products out there but I like this stuff. I buy it in bulk and it lasts me an ungodly long time.

Specifically I use:

A basic sheet of cork I picked up from a local craft supply shop (Spotlight, in NZ);
Three kinds of Woodland Scenic’s Buff Ballast, mixed;
Wood glue/PVA; and
Super Glue

Now this might seem like a lot of stuff or $$$ especially for something as simple as basing models, but personally, I think my bases are pretty cool. And these supplies last freakin’ ages. I’ve based several hundred models with this stuff already and the only thing I’ve needed to restock was the cork; and that’s cheap as chips; just look how much ballast I’ve got left:

You’ll probably also want some small containers, and an old paint brush, etc... but I don’t think those really count as supplies.

Bases with holes in them?

PP bases come mostly come with holes in them, for slotting the models foot tabs into. Personally, I don’t like this – I find pinning models to their bases easier for positioning, and much less prone to failure/disaster (watching bases disintegrate as the tabs come loose is cringe worthy).

So the first thing I set about doing is filling in the holes... and I use wooden skewers or tooth picks.

Note: If you do use the tabs, I highly suggest you bend them slightly (where possible) to sit tightly in the gap, glue them in and use Green Stuff (modeling putty) to fill in the gaps and make the bond firmer. Any remain gaps left in the slot can still be filled in with other things (like below).

Before you start anything it is a very good idea to scour the top surface of each of the bases. This will help both the skewer+glue and the actual basing materials bond to the base. Why skewers? Simply because they are cheap, easy to find and fit well – they just need to be cut to length.

This is also quite a no-fuss method of filling the gaps. You just cut all the lengths you need, put them into the bases and glue them into position – It’s great being able to do a ton of bases at a time.

I put some paper under the bases and glue them in upside down. The idea here is that the toothpick will sit more inline with the top of the base, and the glue will fill in the gap better, rather than just gluing the bottom of the bases to the paper.

There are several things you have to be wary of though. You don’t want to use too much glue, or it’ll glue the top of the base to the paper, and you want the toothpick lengths to be well fitting so they don’t fall out the top of the base.

If either of these things happen you can just trim back the toothpick and glue with your modeling knife... of build up the base around it. The way the skewers are made really makes this trimming easy, as you can just shave off a layer of the skewer.

Easy Peasy

Note: If you are wanting to use the tab on the model, but still have the model standing high on rocks, then using a skewer that has been split in two, to half full the slot, is a perfect way to elevate the models position – you can then build rocks up around the model.

Terrain on your Bases

Now the fun bit.
I base my models with an aim towards a mix of rock (cork) and turf/gravel (ballast); so I think I’ll talk about each separately...

...but before you start laying stuff down, make sure you scour the top side of the base so glue can grip the surface – I cross hatch with a knife...

Rocks

I use cork to make rocks on my bases. Cork sheeting is pretty easy to get (tile underlay at the hardware store) but comes in a variety of thicknesses, so you need to consider what you need. I generally use what I consider to be a thinner sheet of cork; simply because the thinner it is (and finer the cork grain), the easier it is to cut and work with. Specifically I tend towards cork-board cork over tile underlay cork.

Now, using cork is really easy... like really, really easy. All you really need to do is rip up some and put it on your base, then you have rocks.

But there are several things to keep in mind.

Firstly, keep all your cork scraps – they’ll be useable on other bases, and can make great additions to ‘turf’ (below), or are useful (for filling gaps) when making custom bases.

Second, check the pieces of cork fit the actual base before squirting glue on them and chucking them down. As is probably already obvious, I tend to work in a massive production line, so I rip up all the cork for the various bases I’m working on, check they all fit in their bases, and then glue things in. Standard super glue works in this situation; but cork tends to have sides – one sealed (smoother, slightly glossy), and one rough – I suggest scouring the sealed side with a knife (for a better bond; as above, the base should be scoured too) and gluing that side down, so the rougher side is the visible side.

But you can go further than just basic single ripped pieces of cork. If you want more variation, or something specific, then you can also build up levels of cork.
I tend to go with a 1:2:1 split across my bases of sparse/no rocks : medium rocks : heavy or double level rocks. (As can be somewhat seen in a picture above.)

In doing multiple levels, just glue pieces that roughly line up on top of one another (glued as above). If you’re going to do this, then make sure you use an appropriate amount of glue – cork is porous and will suck in the glue... if there isn’t enough the bond may be left very weak.

If it’s what you’re after, then you can even put in more effort and specifically cut the cork to fit over the entire base. I do this when I have a specific model/pose/base in mind. You can get quite in depth custom cutting the individual pieces to fit on the base in specific ways. But IMHO it all gets a bit much and silly as...

...once the glue has dried (and is properly stuck to the base) you can then trim away any extra bits – if necessary roughing up cork so it looks like actual rock instead of slabs of cork (concrete?), and getting rid of any edges that aren’t properly glued down. If you’re working on a base for a specific model, then at this point you can custom trim the cork to make specific shaped rocks (as I have done for Skarrath, above). It might be helpful to use a pen to mark out the places where the model touches, or is intended to touch, the base (as I’ve done for a Carnivean below).

See, that’s all quite easy. If you need to you can always trim the cork (or even add extra) later; but I rarely need to.

NOTE: The one important thing that should be done IMO though is sealing the cork. I generally leave this until after I’ve applied the ‘turf’ (so it’s covered below); but it is important to note. Simply, you want your cork rocks to be and look good, and last the distance... that’s the reason you need to ensure the cork is glued well to the base. But there’s little point in gluing it well to the base if the top layer chips of the base without too much difficulty; and porous cork can be hard to paint properly. So I give all the cork on my bases a quick coat of watered down wood glue – the cork sucks it in, hardening the outside of the cork, and filling all the little surface cracks... so it’s both better lasting, and easier to paint.

Now, all this works brilliantly when basing minis with tabs removed (pinned to bases); however in other (tabbed, or similar) situations, well the situation isn’t that different.

The only thing is that if you are using the tab, then you are probably making the base with the model already attached, so if you want the model elevated on rocks it take a bit of preplanning (ensuring it’s glued into the base with space under the feet. Whether or not you do this it is easy to build up some (appropriately trimmed cork) under the models feet. If you want the model standing really high on rocks, then you might prefer to consider building up a rock base, then cutting a hole into the cork for the tab to slot into... it’s really that straight forward, just make sure you glue it in well and cover use Greenstuff to fix any gaps in the rock.

Turf

As mentioned above, I use scenic ballast for my turf. There are a lot of other things out there that people use, but IMHO this stuff rocks!* It comes for cheap enough, and while I’m sure that internationally there are cheaper options for the same sort of thing, I can’t think of any locally. Sand is another commonly enough used and a truly super cheap option, but I don’t generally like the effect of sand on bases (I use it for some things) – I find it lacks in having it’s own texture and shows underlying shapes to clearly.
*yes that was a pun.

I also find that a single type of ballast (fine, medium or coarse) looks far too flat on a base. So I mix three types:

a good amount of “Medium” gives solid texture to the base;
a little “Coarse” adds some diversity; and
a reasonable to large amount of “Fine” gives it a smoother and more cohesive look.

But it’s all very much mixed to taste.

Getting this stuff stuck to the base is among the most simple things here. First make sure you scratch up the base where you want the ballast (important if super glue from cork has coated a previously scoured base). Then just squirt some wood glue (PVA works well too) onto the base; I use a tooth pick, skewer or old brush to make sure it spreads well across the whole base. Make sure to get a decent coat.

Note: A good amount of glue is important to stop the ballast flaking away later, and a scratched base ensures this whole thing won’t just peel of the base. Both of these are things you don’t really want happening to your bases/mini at a later date.

If you get a little glue on the base trim it’s a good idea to wipe it off at this point (just for niceness); and since the glue doesn’t dry terribly fast, you can get several bases glued at once – I can’t really confirm it, but experience as lead me to think a few minutes wait between the next steps makes things easier.

Then apply ballast to the base.

I keep my ballast mix in a small jar, so I generally place a base in the lid and use a spoon to heap the mixture on. However, if I have a mini attached it’s often quicker and easier to just dip it in the jar and pat the ballast down on top of the base. In either case, where there’s glue you now want ballast... and where you want ballast you want it good, so pat it down a little.

Note: I advise against slowly pouring, or scattering, the mixture onto the bases. It’s fine if you’re not using a mixture; but if you are this can encourage the mixture to separate, and you’ll end up with bases covered with fine ballast.

Now the bases are pretty much done. The Ballast should glue nicely to the base, but there will more than likely be a rough border where the glue stops and the base trim starts. To get rid of this just pat around the trim lightly with your finger and the ballast should just rearrange to sit nicely within the trim. And if there’s any stuck in places you don’t want (under models feet, etc) you can just flick it out with a tooth pick/skewer or some such.

And that’s the Turf done.
It’s a good idea to let the bases sit for a day and dry completely before trying to do anything else with them. I also find the Ballast leaves a it of ‘dust’ and the odd bit of loose debris, so it’s nice to give the bases a quick brush over with your hand.

Finished?

At this point we’ve got bases. But it’s worthwhile finishing the job. It’s worthwhile checking over the rocky bases to ensure they all look right, especially the multi leveled rocks. (You can still trim back the rock with a knife.) Similarly it’s good to check the Turf covers everywhere it should.

As noted above, the one important thing I feel that needs to be done in completing the bases (assembly) is sealing the rocks. I do this by coating any expose cork with glue – you can use any type of flowing glue, but beware of fumes ;)

This will harden the outer layer of the cork and make it a less absorbent surface to try and paint; and the cork on the base won’t peel apart at the slightest scratch – something that really sucks.

Dried and finished bases.

Extra touches

That’s the basic procedure I use for building pretty much all my bases; but don’t feel you can’t personalize it or add little extras.

I don’t have pictures for the assembly of these, but here’s a list of sample ideas I’ve used in the past:

Use sand in the turf mixture – this is good for desert/sand, marsh or asphalt finishes.
Use cork in the turf mixture – this is good for simple rocky ground.
Use thicker/coarser cork – for bigger rocks (great on LoE minis).
Use spare parts glued cut to fit and glued into the bases – for battle wreckage, etc.
Use green stuff to add extra bumps under the turf.
Use green stuff on the cork to add sharper edges, etc – for broken walls, masonry, etc.

...there’s a lot of neat and simple things you can do out there.

Attaching to bases

Attaching the minis to the bases should be anything difficult. As I’ve said previously, I work in lots, so I just grab a bunch of bases and a bunch of models, then allocate each a base it fits on reasonably well.

Once I know which mini is going on which base I simply put a pin in the most sturdy leg, and pin it to the base. I just judge it all by eye, though there are many more accurate ways of positioning the minis, if you want to be a perfectionist; I generally also try to pin the most elevated leg (the one going through the most cork, which is a nice material for creating guide holes through, etc.

When gluing minis to the base though, I always take care to ensure the bonding surfaces are scratched up a bit (especially the bottom of the models feet), and I use a mix of Green Stuff and super glue to ensure a tighter, better fitting bond.

Easy.

Closing Remarks

Doing reasonable to good bases is actually really easy, there are a lot of inspiring pieces out there, all you really need to do is summon the guts to give it a go.

That’s all I’ve got on building bases, I hope to have the second part of this up in not too long – with pictures of finished bases .

Painting Queue, MkII

2011-03-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

Old Shots

I thought the best way to kick of “Painting Month” would be with a recap: Back in September this was my painting queue – large and obnoxious.

Since then I’ve changed my painting method, redone what was started, chewed through a chunk of it and added a couple more models.

New Shots

Now things look quite different, and I separate the queue into three parts: unassembled, unpainted, and pretty much done/awaiting dipping.

After that it’s a little base work and they’re fully painted, and that pile is currently looking like this.

Kicking Into Gear

2011-02-27T16:04:00.001-08:00

Well, things are coming to a close on my first ‘theme’ month: Beginners Month; and the blog is suddenly looking down 100 posts*... I think things are going pretty well, and the blog is starting to look decent. Don’t you?
*I know I cheated a little :P

There’s still a lot to be done, but with 27 followers and near 20000 views I figure I’ve got to be doing something right.

Anyways...

This month is almost over, what’s next?
Well firstly, some of you may have noticed I’m incorporating a little of my Press Ganger stuff on here; that’s going to continue, but I promise it won’t take over the blog or anything... RoS is still, and will always be the focus of the blog.

With Wrath and other RoS goodies due out in the next months, I though now would also be a good time to focus on painting – I’ve been chewing through the models, but there is still a fair bit left to be done. So, given all that, I thought it’d be good to make March Painting Month. I’ve got a lot of real life stuff to do, but I figure a good target of everything fully painted is at least almost achievable. And if I don’t quite make it, then I guess it can roll into April too.

This means there should be a fair few more pics of my minis appearing (it'll be about time I got some decent ones up), and I’ll even get my long awaited Basing article up. I’ll also do a jack walk through, so peoples can see how easy this all is... cuz it really is easy.

After fully painted, getting in some good games, reports and tactics is the big goal.

In all honesty, the painting is just something that needs to be done to get things on the table; once it’s done the plan is to forgo some of the more laidback and fun lists and focus on proper competitive play. Because in two months I’m planning on being at Auscon, and I’d really like to not get completely rolled.

Shake Rattle and Roll

In other news, I suspect everyone knows about the earthquake in Christchurch recently (a week ago).

I live in a completely different part of the country to Christchurch; but I know quite a number of the gamers down there. They’re an awesome group and as far as I’ve been able to ascertain they’re all fine; but the city is absolutely devastated.

Prayers be with them, the city could use any help or support you can spare.

FAQ#21: Camouflage, Prowl and Ignoring Concealment or Cover

2011-02-25T18:28:00.001-08:00

Question: Do things benefit from Camouflage or Prowl if an attack model ignores Concealment or Cover?

Answer: Camouflage – No. if you ignore Concealment/Cover, then the model does not benefit from it (to trigger Camouflage).

Prowl – Yes. Prowl triggers on being in terrain that gives Concealment (among other things), not on benefiting from Concealment.

FAQ#20: Theme Forces

2011-02-25T18:27:00.006-08:00

Question: How do Theme Forces work? When can they be used?

Answer: Theme Forces, commonly referred to as Tiered lists/armies are a themed list option. Each Theme list has a list of four tiers with progressively more detailed requirements and some corresponding benefits; these are cumulative requirements and benefits, meaning a T3 (tier 3) list must satisfy the requirements of tiers one, two and three, but also gains all the benefits associated with tiers one, two and three.

Theme Forces are perfectly legal and can be used at anytime without player consents. The only exception is special events where the EO has for some reason denied tier lists.

If playing a Themed Force you should always inform your opponent of the fact before the game – specifically to make them aware of any in game benefits your list gets.

FAQ#19: Rahn’s Feat and Magical Attacks

2011-02-25T18:27:00.005-08:00

Question: Does Arcane Alignment (Rahn’s feat) affect magical attacks?

Answer: No. It only affects Magic attacks, not Magical Ranged attacks or Magical Melee attacks; there is a difference.

FAQ#18: Telekinesis into Melee

2011-02-25T18:27:00.003-08:00

Question: If I cast Telekinesis(Rahn) at an enemy model in melee, miss, and one of my models becomes the new target, do I need to roll to hit?

Answer: No. Telekinesis is a non-offensive spell (by default), and only requires a to-hit-roll when targeting an enemy model.

FAQ#17: Soulless Escorts in Theme Lists

2011-02-25T18:27:00.001-08:00

Question: Can you take a Soulless Escort in a theme list?

Answer: Yes. A theme list can include any attachments for allowed units and a Soulless Escort can be taken with any unit.

FAQ#16: Mage Hunters in Theme Forces

2011-02-25T18:26:00.002-08:00

Question: Kaelyssa's (and Ravyn's) Theme Forces say you can take Mage Hunters, does this include Eiryss, Narn, Nayl, etc?

Answer: Yes, all the above mentioned options are Mage Hunters, so may be included in the relevant Theme Forces.

Compare this to Garryth’s Theme list which specifies Mage Hunter Assassins, which none of the above are (so they can’t be taken in his theme list).

FAQ#15: Retribution Starter Set

2011-02-25T18:26:00.001-08:00

Question: Does the Retribution of Scyrah have a Starter Set, Battlebox or anything else?

Answer: Yes and No. They don’t have one purchasable as a single box/set; but they do have an accepted equivalent army, which is: Kaelyssa, a Manticore, a Chimera and a Griffon.

More details on this force can be found HERE.

FAQ#14: Myrmidons and Water

2011-02-25T18:25:00.003-08:00

Question: If a Myrmidon is Knocked Down in Shallow Water does its furnace go out?

Answer: Yes. This is one of those cases of “Fluff =/= Rules”.

FAQ#13: Arcantrik Fields and Column Selection

2011-02-25T18:25:00.001-08:00

Question: How does an attack which automatically selects a column to damage (like Sniper) react with Arcantrik Fields?

Answer: Attacks like this do not get around the Fields, and damage is still first marked to them. Damage only gets around the field if it specifies a system (not columns)

FAQ#12: Pre-Measuring Control Ranges

2011-02-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

Question: When can you measure your control range?

Answer: At any time!

This question seems to come up a lot, a Warcasters control range can be measured at any time during the game, ANY TIME. This means you can do it while moving, you can do it to check weapon ranges, and you can use it to size up threat ranges.

This is not anti-competitive or cheating; it’s part of the game.

Note that you can only measure directly between your caster and other models, not between general models within your control range.

FAQ#11: Destor Thane, Virtuoso, Charging and Multi-Fire

2011-02-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

Question: Given the Destor Thane has Virtuoso, can it use Multi-Fire on a charge?

Answer: No. After making a successful charge, a model must make a melee attack. This may be a melee Special Attack, as those are still melee attacks; but unless there is a specific special rule coming into play that is all you can do.

As Multi-Fire is not a melee Special Attack, the Destor Thane can not make it on a charge. After it’s charge attack it can however still make its initial ranged attack.

FAQ#10: Discordia Bonded to Rahn

2011-02-25T18:18:00.000-08:00

Question: Is Discordia automatically bonded to Rahn?

Answer: No. Discordia may be bonded to Rahn, but Rahn doesn’t have an (automatic) jack bond special rule, so a bond has to be forged (league games).

FAQ#09: Covering Fire and Weapon Range

2011-02-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

Question: Can you make Covering Fire damage rolls when the ‘covering’ model is more than the weapon’s RNG away?

Answer: Yes. The Covering Fire special action places a damaging effect on the table, once the effect has been placed, the actual position of the model is irrelevant.

FAQ#08: Charging Phoenix and Combustion

2011-02-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

Question: Can the Phoenix Combust after charging?

Answer: No. After Charging a model must make a melee attack (unless it has a special rule that specifically gives it another option); Combustion is not a melee attack.

FAQ#07: Ravyn, Gunfighter and Reach

2011-02-25T18:15:00.003-08:00

Question: Can Ravyn make Gunfighter ranged attacks within her reach melee range?

Answer: Yes. There has been some confusion here, the rules for gunfighter give a model a 0.5 inch melee range, and allow it to make attacks within that range – which would leave a 0.5-2 inch dead spot.

However, it has been ruled that if the model has reach they can in fact use gunfighter over the whole 2inch reach range.

FAQ#06: How Arcantrik Fields Work

2011-02-25T18:14:00.002-08:00

Question: How do Arcantrik Fields work?

Answer: Arcantrik Fields are unique to Myrmidons, and represented by an additional set of damage boxes – 10 for heavies, 6 for lights. These boxes are represented on the stat card to the right of the standard damage grid.

When a Myrmidon is damage you full in the Field before the standard damage grid; the only exception are attacks that damage specific systems (not columns).

During it’s activation, a Myrmidon can spend a focus to repair the shield (if it has any generator, G, boxes left).

FAQ#05: Houseguard Halberdier UA Reform

2011-02-25T18:13:00.001-08:00

Question: Can a model Reform if

It ran; or
It didn’t perform an action.

Answer: One at a time:

After running – No. After a model runs its activation ends immediately.
After not making an action – Yes. You don’t need to make an action to “complete your action (phase)”

FAQ#04: Pushing Knocked Down Models

2011-02-25T18:12:00.000-08:00

Question: Can you pushed Knocked Down models?

Answer: Yes!

Rules as written, the rulebook doesn’t allow this, but that has been ruled to be an oversight, most likely arising from a duplicitous use of term “move” (or some such).

The Infernal ruling can be found HERE.

FAQ#02: The Hydra and Focus

2011-02-25T18:11:00.001-08:00

Question: How do Focus Battery and Kinetic Capacitor Work?

Answer: Focus Battery allows the Hydra to hold any focus it has on it, over multiple turns; any focus on it carries over, so if it has 5 focus at the end of your opponents turn, it will have 5 focus when you start activating models.

Kinetic Capacitor allows the Hydra to gain focus from enemy attacks. An important thing to note on this special rule is that the Hydra gains the focus (not allocation), allowing it to get around and above the focus allocation limit of 3.

Note that when it comes to allocating focus in your control phase, these rules do not allow you to allocate focus to the Hydra in a way that would give it more than 3 focus, however the focus may have been obtained.

FAQ#03: Soulless Escort and Weapon Attachment FA

2011-02-25T18:11:00.000-08:00

Question: How many Soulless Escorts can you take?

Answer: For each Warcaster in your army you may take up to three Soulless Escorts, each attached to a separate unit; and each Soulless Escort may contain up to three Escorts.

So in total you can have up to 9 Escorts per warcaster.

FAQ#01: True Sight, Phantom Hunter, Arcnodes and Line of Sight

2011-02-25T18:04:00.000-08:00

Question: How do True Sight and Phantom Hunter interact with Arcnodes?

Answer: A quick explanation on Arcnoding – when a Warcaster uses an Arcnode, the Arcnodes LoS and position is used, but the Warcaster is still the attacking model

So, one at a time:

True Sight allows a model to ignore Concealment, Cover and Stealth.
When using an Arcnode, True Sight comes in to effect if, and only if, the Warcaster has the ability.
Phantom Hunter allows a model to ignore LoS when making attacks.
When using an Arcnode, this ability never comes in to effect – when the caster has it, you’re still using the Arcnodes LoS; when the Arcnode has it, the Warcaster (not the node) is making the attack.

Frequently Asked Questions

2011-02-24T16:54:00.000-08:00

I’ve decided that it would be worthwhile having something here on all the frequently asked questions, and clarifications, relevant to the Retribution of Scyrah.

After a bit of thinking I’ve concluded upkeeping a single page or post on them sounds far too easy to forget, so instead I’m going to post each separately... all done with an FAQ label. That way when looking for a RoS FAQ you can bring them all up with the easy click of one button.

...this: BUTTON

So, as it’s beginners month, I thought this would be a good way time to quick things off...
This post is a warning: in the next two days there will be a bunch of FAQs being posted.

If I miss any clarifications, FAQs, or you just plain have a question, please just ask it in a comment on this post.

An Introduction To Starting The Retribution Of Scyrah

2011-02-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

A Guide For Beginners

This article is intended to be a guide for new players looking into playing the Retribution of Scryah faction in Warmachine.

This faction is the Warmachine Iosan (elf) faction. The culmination of an outlaw cult that has finally gained political traction within Ios (elf country); they are a group hell-bent on the destruction of human mages, mages who are (in their mind) to blame for the destruction wrought upon their Gods.

From the PP forums:
“Ios, a nation of elves, has long isolated itself from the rest of the Iron Kingdoms; hiding from the world as their Gods disappeared and died due to some unknown reasons. The Retribution of Scyrah were an outlaw terrorist cell in IoS, who - believing human magic is the cause of their gods ills - have been working throughout the Iron Kingdoms to kill as many human mages as possible, hoping to save, or stave off the death of their last goddess Scyrah. With the rediscovery of Nyssor, in the hands of the Khadoran Greylords, along with Goreshade’s goals to kill the remaining gods, the Retribution of Scyrah has gained political traction, with several great houses openly joining their cause... allowing the Retribution to openly go to war against the human nations.

The Retribution of Scyrah is skilled in assassination and guerrilla warfare, and this is still the case; but the joining of several houses has brought many powerful soldiers and Warjacks. As a Faction retribution boast the most highly developed weapons and Warjacks seen on the battlefields of the Iron Kingdoms, working alongside stealthy assassin models. They lack the numbers of other nations, but make up for it with elite specialised soldiers carrying the best weapons.”

Note on Abbreviations:
There are a couple of abbreviated or alternate terms useful to know when talking about the Retribution of Scyrah. The Retribution of Scyrah is often abbreviated to Retribution, Ret, RoS or even the Trib. A “Myrmidon” is what a RoS Warjack (or jack) is called, when talking about Ret the terms are (mostly) interchangeable.

New In MkII

At the time of writing, Retribution is the newest Warmachine faction, and the only additional one to come out since the original release of the game (discounting Mercenaries taking a Faction-like status).

This is great, meaning there is no left over nonsense from earlier editions of the game; Retribution was built for this edition and has a growing, dedicated and positive community full of new keen players.

This newness does mean there is a slight lack of online resources (compared to some of the other factions); but there are still some good resources out there:

Privateer Press Retribution of Scyrah Faction Discussion forum. This is where the players hang out, it has a lot of helpful discussion and a growing number of detailed tacticas. Shyvash Stronghold, and Council of Nine Voices are a great place to start.
DakkaDakka Articles. This is a great reference for a brief overview of faction models.
Battlecollege. This is a popular site for information on all Warmachine models; and can be quite helpful in getting a perspective on things. It is however open for anyone to edit, so you need to be careful... some of the information is just plain wrong.
Forward Kommander. This is a great and simple online army builder. It is run by a PP forumite, so you do need to be careful of the odd error; but it’s good and handy.
Blogs. There are a growing number of RoS blogs popping up on the interwebs. This should be obvious, you are reading the best one. ;P

A stand out first stop resource is the PP forums New Members Area; it’s a great place to introduce yourself as a player, and gain helpful and friendly advice on starting. They’re a much friendlier (than most) lot over there and will be more than happy to help you deal with any faction or game insecurities that you may have. They’ve also got a pretty good set of faction descriptions over there. Introduce yourself and collect your faction plushy.

Starting An Army

A wise purchase when starting any faction is a Warmachine Battlegroup Starter Box. These are great as they are small preset lists that give you a taste of the faction. However, unlike the other Warmachine factions, the Retribution (being a MkII faction) don’t have a proper one.

They do still have one it’s just not purchasable in a single box:

Kaelyssa, Nights Whisper
- Griffon Light Myrmidon
- Chimera Light Myrmidon
- Manticore Heavy Myrmidon

For a detailed discussion on this Battlebox, click HERE.

This is still a great force to start the faction with; but as it doesn’t come in a single box all together, there’s no bonus discount and it doesn’t come with a set of Quickstart rules... though you can download those for free.

Without these incentives it is perhaps better to consider exactly what you want.

A Better Battlebox
First though, don’t discount the Battlebox just because it’s a battlebox. It’s a force made of good and very useable models. If you are up to it, I strongly suggest Magnetising the jack* (make a Hydra-core; details HERE), it’s really easy. *The Manticore comes a heavy Myrmidon kit, which builds one of three Warjack options.

Something Different
If you want to go with something different, and diverge from the Battlebox then I still strongly advise sticking to a jack and Warcaster only force (to begin with). You can build a simple, cheap and capable army with a Warcaster and two Heavy Myrmidon (Warjack) kits.

If you do this, then I suggest building your two kits into a Phoenix and Hydra-core (Magnetised Hydra/Manticore) as this doesn’t duplicate any models, these options are good with any of our casters, and they will continue to be well used in the future. And while it’s not one, a Warcaster+Phoenix+Manticore is roughly the same points as a battlebox.

Warcasters
All our Warcasters are great Warcasters, and you can really start with any of them. In my opinion the best to start off with are Ravyn or Kaelyssa, simply as they buff the faction in a generic way – Ravyn offensively and Kaelyssa defensively. Rahn is also a great caster with some great control abilities the faction feeds off; however he only properly synergises with a limited set of models. Garryth and Vyros are unfortunately a little more difficult to get the best from, but are great casters with some solid and popular fluff/themes.

A good quick run down of each caster can be found HERE.

Bang For Your Buck
Whatever you do when starting out, make sure to try and get the most bang for your buck! Try not to buy multiples of models, especially units – while a full Mage Hunter army may sound flash now, a month down the track you might not be so impressed; stick with one and stay away from multiples (even with solos) until you’ve got some decent play experience of your own. There are two big things worth noting in relation to this:

Magnets! Magnetizing our heavy kit is really quite easy, and if you’re open to it, then it is well worth the little extra time it requires. Don’t try anything too flash, but a simple Hydra/Manticore is great – use of the jacks is play style dependant, and it’s very rare that they’re played together; the magnet option simply saves you the cost of a whole jack kit.
Theme or Tier lists! These are found in the “Forces of Warmachine” rulebooks, and can be quite enticing to new (and some not-so-new) players. While they offer something fun, new, interesting and themey to the game, a lot of them focus on multiples (or even spamming) of units. I would suggest you be wary of them when starting out. If you like one then get a couple of key things, but give it a damned good play before even dreaming of buying multiples.

Keeping It Manageable
Take your time! Honestly, you only start the game or faction once, enjoy it! Take your time to smell the roses.

Try not to rush off and buy a whole giant army or anything: buy something small and manageable; give it a go; pick models you love the idea/look or rules for; play with things; proxy different options; add new additions as you see fit.

This method will leave you with a great army that works for you, not some state army that works for someone else. Like it or not, wargaming is pricy; make your investment something personal and worthwhile.

Note: This game isn’t 40k or Fantasy or whatever, it’s playable at all levels.

Purchase Scheme
So once you’ve figured out how you want to start, go for it.

This link on Warmachine HERE discusses costs and methods on beginning the game.
This link on Battleboxes HERE also provides a suggested purchase guide on building a sensible army.

Now go retribute the hell out of someones ass

Warmachine?

2011-02-21T14:09:00.001-08:00

What is Warmachine? How did I get here? What’s going on?

What is this game?

Warmachine is a table top wargame brought out by Privateer Press. It’s becoming increasingly popular quite simply because it is pretty awesome; or, more correctly, because Privateer Press is awesome.

The game features giant smoke belching engines of destruction called Warjacks, semi-autonomous steam powered robots, led into battle by powerful mages known as Warcasters; set in a fantasy Medieval mixed with WWI setting it is often called a steampunk game.

The hallmark of the game is the Focus mechanic used by Warcasters and Warjacks. This is a resource allocation system, where each Warcaster has a certain amount of focus that one can distribute each turn. This Focus allows the Warcasters and Warjacks to make powerful attacks, but is also needed for the Warcaster to cast important battle spells. Proper management of this resource is needed to win the game.

Size-wise the game sits in a nice, but uncommon, position where it requires a few more models than those needed for a skirmish(ing) game, and generally less models than needed for a full on “war” game.

Smaller games can easily run with lists of under 5 models, and larger games can easily play with over 50. Though those numbers can be a bit disingenuous, you can play a ‘standard’ size game with anywhere between 5 and 50 models depending on your faction, army and playstyle. These models being a mix of Battlegroup (Warcaster and Warjacks, usually 3-5 models), and supporting/supported warriors.

The Company and Game Support.
This is a game brought out by Privateer Press; who are a great company for supporting their games. They actively communicate with the players of their games; both directly and through a large network of volunteers (The Press Gang) who demonstrate and support the game at a grassroots level.

Supporting local, national and international gaming; they run regular global leagues, support conventions and have a great, official, tournament structure designed so that any competition you attend anywhere will be of a similar and easy to understand nature.

Keeping careful track of their game, they run an official online community with direct company interaction (and a great section for rules questions). Offering official errata when needed; and have a great replacement parts service.

They also have a continuous release schedule, where factions are slowly released new models, and each rulebook release (roughly yearly) includes approximately equal numbers of new models for each faction. This means no faction is ever left behind, and the new models develop along with the timeline of the setting.

The other, very unique, thing they do is focus on supporting Local Gaming Stores! They refuse to sell general models through their online store (instead focusing on extra parts, artwork and limited edition scupts); instead players are directed to their local stores, supporting their community and keeping LGS wargaming alive.

Game play?

Like many other games it uses a D6 (dice) system, where each attack requires a roll two hit and a roll to damage. Generally each roll using two dice with a standard “ability + dice result >= target defenses” being a hit. The powerful warcasters are capable of sustaining considerable damage, and Warjacks track their damage with a simple damage grid where damage can effect the vital systems of the jack.

The hallmark of the game is in being “powerful but simple”; at their core level rules and interactions are simple, and tracked on stat cards (that come with every model). These cars also contain all the rules for the model, which are considered open information to all players during the game.

The power of the game is found both in simple model abilities, and synergies that run between models. This is also enhanced with the standard “I go, you go” turn system, where players can use their turn to tactically out position their opponent, or unite all their forces in a gigantic push to capitalize on their enemies mistakes.

This nature of the game leads to a brutal and daring style of play, caught in the “play like you have a pair” catch phrase of Privateer Press; and tends to encourage players into comparing it with chess with it’s strategic planning and simple victory conditions.

List Construction
As could be assumed from the above, list construction is an important part of the game; however it is a common ethos among players that any list can win. This is a game about finding what works for you, and rocking it like a mother.

That said there are always obvious considerations that should be made in list construction. For instance, as with any other game, you don’t haphazardly put something designed to purely support ranged forces in a melee army. Most importantly though, subtle changes to a list can produce subtle changes in how it plays best, allowing players to find a list that suits them personally. These subtle alterations and considerations for synergy leave the game free of the repetitive cookie-cutter style lists that can plague other systems.

Indeed, a big part of the game is in playing what you like and what works for you. This goes for game sizes to. A great part of the game is that it is still meaningful at a variety of sizes, and any and all players* should be happy to play you at any reasonable game size (those that are unreasonable are just those prohibitively large).
*anyone that won’t and doesn’t have a very, very good excuse, is not looked upon in kind light at all.

This all means you can start the game small, playing what you like; and are guaranteed to be able to find a game with anyone; getting experience in your chosen force; adding to it at your leisure; and not being distinctly disadvantaged in your games.

How to start?

This is a common concern for people looking to start a new game. So how do you start the game? There are several paths you can take.

If you want to get straight in to gaming, then the best way is to just pick up a Battlegroup Starter set (or Battlebox); one of these (and some dice, etc) is all you need to start playing. Note: The Retribution of Scyrah Battlebox.
If you want to take a more measured approach, you could just purchase the Prime rulebook (it’s cheap enough), have a good read through it, proxy the different factions, see what you like most... then look at models (a Battlebox is still the best start).
Though some people prefer, and a lot of people advise, to jump straight in with a copy of Prime, a battlebox, a Faction card deck, and “Force of Warmachine” faction book.

In my honest opinion this last option is a bit over the top. It’s a lot of books for a first purchase, the cards were designed for updating models over the MkII release*, so are only useful for proxying – they come with each mini as you buy them, and the information is already available in the books. *Note: For this reason The Retribution of Scyrah don’t have a card deck.

The most sensible thing to do is buy some books if you want, buy a couple of models (or proxy) and give it all a go. The two big bits of advice to follow though are: Ask lots of questions (the PP forums are great); and take your time (you only start once).

How Much?
This is a common question; and to be honest, it is completely dependant on what road you want to take. I’ve known people who have gone right out and bought whole factions, or a large forum-given tournament ready lists (something I definitely don’t advise); and I’ve known others who have done extremely well with just a Battlebox and an extra purchase or two (if you’re on to it you can easily survive without any and all rulebooks)

Price-wise this is what you’re looking at:

Battlebox $50US
Prime MkII Rule Book $30US
Force of Warmachine Faction book $35US
Second Warcaster, extra warrior solos to play with: ~$8-20US each

These are all rough RRP prices, so you should be able to find cheaper.

My simple advice, for those starting, is start small and don’t get carried away; keep an eye out for good discounts, but don’t get caught up in them.

I won’t be writing an equivalent post for Hordes, as RoS is a Warmachine faction; but if you’re curious about it then know it’s exactly the same game with a slightly different flavour.

Event: EQUINOX 2011

2011-02-20T17:42:00.000-08:00

EQUINOX 2011

19th and 20th March, Auckland Cityguard

Equinox is an annual wargaming event held at the Auckland Citygaurd Wargaming Club. Multiple systems are played and as in the past, Warmachine will be there in full force.

Saturday the 19th – MIGHTY FOES!

What: A 50pt variant steamroller tournament.
Details: Each player brings a single list, with two Warcasters/Warlocks (that means double FA options); random scenarios; timed turns.
Cost: $20, limited to 8 players. Paid pre-registrations required to confirm your place.

Bring your best list and proceed to
CRUSH ALL THAT STAND BEFORE YOU

Sunday the 20th – SCAVENGERS OF THE LINE

What: A 25pt achievement based event.
Details: Each player brings TWO 25pt lists (same faction), FA:C minis can only be used in one list each; games will use the Revelation scenario; game winners stay on the table with their list, losers move to another table and use their alternate list.

- An alternate scoring system will be revealed on the day. -

Cost: $20*, Numbers limited only by how many people we can fit; so just turn up and play. *$35 for both days.

Spit the blood out of your mouth and
PLAY LIKE YOU HAVE A PAIR

EVENT: NZ MASTERS

2011-02-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

Battlecry 2011

Battlecry is a yearly wargaming convention ran in Auckland New Zealand (every February for about the last ~25 years). For the last few years I’ve taken active part in running this event, and this year we ran our first, official New Zealand Warmachine Masters event!

Note: First I have to admit is wasn’t run in the new Masters format, seeing as that was released a month out from the event.

So this year I was in charge of the event; and after comments from previous years, and open discussion with all other NZ PGs, I arranged a full on weekend. Aiming at 32 players, based around a standard 35pt steamroller, Day One was a 5 round fight to reach the top 16; the following Day Two was a full on 16 player SR event where the top 4 being pulled out at the last round for a series of death matches for NZ Master!

Meaning top dog had to prove his metal and soldier through a nice 10 solid games!

So much Warmachine in fact that people who commented on a lack of games last year, were left crying this year. ;P

Naturally, as with any event I run, I also did my best to run a demo table to capture interested gamers. Which did pretty well, almost clearing me out of my hefty supply of Quick Start rulesets!

But while others watched, the battle raged on...

...for serious spoils...

After nine rounds of gaming, we ended the tenth with:

The infamous IAN HART beating Dizzy for third place

And

Dicegod beating DirtyJon for first!

That’s Dicegod, the Kiwi who took the last Aussie Masters; back and successfully protecting his title! All up it was one epic, gaming filled weekend.

Final Rankings
Note: First four players made the masters, bottom 6 were in the alternate 2nd day event.

James (Dicegod) – Australia/Auckland
Jon (DirtyJon) - Auckland
IAN HART - Auckland
Chris B (Dizzy) - Auckland
Andrew (Underwood) - Auckland
Adam (PG_Deathraven) - Christchurch
JS (Yertle4) - Auckland
Scott (PG_Avo) - Hamilton
Gary - Wellington >>note: Gary chose to forfeit his final four placing.
Glenn - Auckland
Piers (piers) - Auckland
New Chris (Cyryst) - Auckland
Marc B - Hamilton
Marc D - Auckland
AJ - Christchurch
Shaun (chaun) - Auckland
Tony (Javelin) - Christchurch
Chris O (pelarel) - Wellington
Mitchell (mitchjames50) - Auckland
Josh - Auckland
Daniel - Hamilton
Chris R - Wellington

Thanks to everyone who attended, it was an awesome (if tiring) event to run; special thanks to those who traveled for the event; and extra special thanks to Damon (Prime) for assisting me in running the event.

I Hate My Camera

2011-02-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

So, a Battle report and yes it does have pictures... but damn to I hate my Camera, I took over 30 shots as they kept coming out shaky. Terrible!
Though on a positive note, after some experimentation I think it might be due to light levels more than anything else.

But I still hate my camera.
I also hate being out of practice; I hate infantry lists, probably due to being out of practice; and I hate Hordes... but that’s not really relevant here.

So back on topic...

BATTLE REPORT!

So I stopped by one of my fantastic gaming clubs last night; and while the usual crowd were a bit unenthusiastic, I got myself a game against an old opponent. The fantastic Yertle4 had turned up to test his second list for an upcoming tournament, and was running:

Karchev the Terrible
- Behemoth
- Destroyer
- Spriggan
War dog
Koldun Lord
Man-o-war Drakhun (with dismount)

Were as I, as said somewhere previously, am running this list:

Dawnlord Vyros
- Griffon
- Hydra
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts)
- Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard
- Soulless Escort
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts)
- Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard
- Soulless Escort
Arcanist
Arcanist
Dawnguard Scyir
Dawnguard Scyir

So, two very specific lists, playing “Assassins”... this should be fun.
And Yertle4 rolled a mystic dice which told us the game would likely be over on round 4.

I got first turn, deploy in a large line (aiming to envelop the opposing army); my opponent took a central brick.

This made it quite clear how disproportionately sized our forces were.

Round One

Vyros put Inviolable resolve on the Hydra, cast Mobility and walked forward, the two jacks ran forward to take offensive positions; and the Dawnguard ran also. I had a momentary debate with myself over using defensive line or not – do I want the higher ARM, or to spread out against the AOEs. I chose to take the ARM.

My opponent cast tow, kept his brick and broke slightly to my right, trying to use the terrain to his advantage. His three Bombard then took out 4 of my Sentinels.

Round Two

My opponent was clearly going to make a break for the flank, using the forest and other terrain to cover himself. So I decided to try force the point (in spite of Tow). Each jack took three focus: the Hydra taking a shot at the Behemoth; and a Charging, Concentrated, Fleeting Griffon hit it with two halberd attack; taking out one and a half of the jacks arms.

Nothing else is close enough to attack, so the Dawnguard ran up as close as possible (trying to block and engage). I discarded Defensive line as it didn’t look like it would help against the Bombards and other template weapons I would be up against. Vyros took shelter in the forest.

My opponent took the grind, using tow to reposition his jacks; moving the Behemoth back and bringing the Spriggan forward. Sprays, Bombards and warjack melee attacks then thinned out my front ranks. The Drakhun then got a reasonable hit on my Griffon (no more generator or cortex).

Round Three

I decided to push the offensive and trawl through his jacks. Throwing everything in, a series of bad rolls leave everything standing and a couple of jacks with some scratches to their arms. Vyros moves into the forest (staying out of LoS, where he could use Bird’s Eye and Mobility to still strike).

My opponent pulled Karchev out to the side of the forest, distancing himself from the Dawnguard onslaught; and pulling the Spriggan and Behemoth with him. The Destroyer trampled through the Dawnguard ranks, thinning them down a little but dying to free strikes in the process. Everything else joined in a barrage against my remaining forces, bad rolls limiting the damage.

Round Four

Vengeance allowed the Sentinels to dismount the Drakhun, leaving a Scyir to finished him off. The Griffon failed in killing the Koldun Lord. Vyros charged the Spriggan and spent all his focus on attacking it, leaving it on one box (the last boosted attack did only one point of damage). A Dawnguard got a charge on the Behemoth, taking out its last arm, and everything else ran to engage or failed to do anything.

The Koldun lord sprayed across my Dawnguard, killing one of four. The Behemoth stepped back sniping a Dawnguard or two, and the Spriggan stepped to the side and failed to hit Vyros. Karchev the cast unearthly rage, charged his Spriggan (killing it), then spent all his focus putting 20 damage on Vyros.

LOSS

Afterthoughts

That was one horribly messy game. Neither me or my opponent had played in a while, and we were both running new lists. We both positioned badly, and forgot important rules. I also think my opponent had a few potentially worthwhile assassination run options that he overlooked, but then he’s not a risk taker.

I on the other hand screwed up, spreading to thin and letting myself get to cut off; with some bad dice rolls things were going nowhere fast. And when it became a two wave attack I really should have had Inviolable Resolve up on my leading Sentinels. But you live and you learn

As for the list... In this case I think it would be much stronger with a unit of Invictors over the second Sentinels. Naturally, it’s to be expected, but unless you can really get to grips with the enemy, a full melee force just doesn’t have the stuff to win the game. A solid ranged unit would have given me the opportunity to press the enemy while moving the Sentinels engage.

I think good use of this list will also require good use of Vyros’ spell list. I made little use of them in this game, and I definitely felt the lack of synergy. Some of them (including my feat) were useless, but Inviolable Resolve would have been handy on the Sentinels, and if I had held back a little more I’m sure Hallowed Avenger could have been handy.

It is probably inexperience with the list talking, but I am really finding that when I run duplicate units, that I prefer to run them at minimum size. Doing so here I could have got a second Griffon and a third Scyir, a solo which in this situation, being able to move and attack through the Dawnguard, is very handy.

Warcasters in Brief

2011-02-14T13:17:00.000-08:00

In this post I thought I would briefly describe the original five Warcasters given in Forces of Warmachine: Retribution of Scyrah.

Garryth, The Blade of Retribution

One of the better liked, but least confidently run casters; Garryth is our “Mage Hunter Assassin” Warcaster. If he can get to grips with the enemy Warcaster he can usually end the game right there. Given this he offers little in the way of unit support, and likes to run light on Warjacks; but with a little practice he has the denial and speed to scare any opponent.

Strength: Denying enemy magic and magical defenses; Threatening the enemy Warlock/Warcaster (one-on-one assassination).
Classic Move: Combine Gallows, Mirage and other ‘speed/position’ enhancers (Warjack’s Push; Magister’s Whip Snap; Madelyn’s Intrigue; Lanyssa’s Hunters Mark) to get Garryth 12 (+1+3+3+2) +D6 closer to the enemy Warcaster. Kill caster or pop feat and watch your opponent Squirm.

Kaelyssa, Night’s Whisper

Our Battlebox caster, Kaelyssa is a nice Warcaster to start with. She boasts a great array of defensive abilities, along with some other great abilities. While a mage hunter, she focuses less on the assassination, and more on attacking from the shadows and protecting her army; this makes her great at supporting our already strong units without losing any potential alternative synergies.

Strength: Denying enemy magic, playing with the enemies Fury (Hordes), protecting your assassination set up, and attacking the enemy Warcaster wherever they are hiding.
Classic Moves: Arcantrik Bolt and Backlash enemy Warjack, hurt jack and hurt enemy Warcaster. Cast Phantom Hunter on Hydra, load Hydra with focus, shoot enemy Warcaster/Warlock. Hide Dawnguard Sentinels within her feat.

Adeptis Rahn

Our magic and control caster. Rahn allows you to control the battlefield, denying your opponents charges while setting up your own potent assassination runs. While he has obvious synergies with Battlemages and finds Arcnodes very handy, there is nothing Rahn absolutely needs in an army – with his focus and unique set of spells he is capable of assisting any force you put together and can run anything well.

Strength: Position control (Telekinesis and Force Blast) and Assassination (Telekinesis and Force Hammer) set up. Rahn armies are generally very strong in scenario play.
Classic Move: Feat, use Force Hammer to knock down enemy Warcaster, Telekinesis to set up assassination, Battlemages to drag target in across the table – Warning: enemy Warcaster may die in transit.

Ravyn, Eternal Light

The Fane Knight, lover of ranged armies. Ravyn is a potent and very capable caster. While lacking much in the way of defensive abilities, she is an offensive powerhouse capable of laying low whole units herself as well as sporting spells and a feat which makes our ranged units something your opponents will fear forever.

Strength: Supporting a ranged army. With our ranged options she can support a strong assassination game.
Classic Move: Cast Snipe on MHSF+UA, pop feat, hit enemy with 11 RNG 16 POW 10s that ignore pretty much all defensive bonuses. Follow up with other Range units; Kill enemy Warcaster.

Dawnlord Vyros

Our melee beatstick caster. Vyros is often considered our jack caster, but this is a questionable thing to call him. He has the ability to run our jacks fabulously well, but can easily end up focus strapped. His feat is also notoriously hard to get the best out of. Discounting these issues, with some Dawnguard and a couple of jacks he can run one pretty fearsome, and hard to discount, force.

Strength: Steamrolling the enemy (fast jacks, hard army).
Classic Move: Use two Hydras (under Bird’s Eye) to constantly shoot RNG 15 POW 15 shots into the enemy, wherever they are. Use the Phoenix on feat turn – Combust for focus, melee attacks for pseudo berserk.

PUBLIC OPINION

With five casters we have a more limited selection than other factions; however, this makes caster choices easy, and while small the selection is quite diverse (as should be apparent from the above).

While this does lead to distinct individual preferences, the overall consensus on something is very clear. After a recent poll:

Peoples Favourite Warcaster to Play: Rahn.
Peoples Favourite Warcaster in the Fluff: Garryth and Vyros (pretty close tie).
Peoples Best Warcaster to start with: Kaelyssa.

Since this is a brief overview directed toward beginners, I feel I should note that while Kaelyssa had a distinct lead in the last category, she was followed reasonably by Rahn, and then by Ravyn.

In my personal opinion the two best casters to start with are Kaelyssa and Ravyn. All the others are quite distinct in their specialization; whereas these two offer the most generic, and powerful support, to our armies – Kaelyssa on the defensive, Ravyn on the offensive.

Pointy Sticks

2011-02-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

It’s been at least a month, but tomorrow night I’m finally going to get in another game!

And seeing as this coming weekend I am TOing an event, that might see me having to take the bye... I thought I’d roll with the list I plan on using in that situation.

Pointed

I’ve chosen this list for several reasons. Firstly, being a list for a potential bye, I wanted it to be something distinct (new and different), unbalanced and potentially fun to play against. I also wanted it to be fully painted, themey, and to have basic core strategies (like run straight at the opponent).

The hope being that while powerful in one way, it’ll offer opponents a fun game of smash’em, without being full of debilitating tricks and other time wasters.

So, I figured the only thing I could really take is:
Dawnlord Vyros
- Griffon
- Hydra
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts)
- Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard
- Soulless Escort
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts)
- Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard
- Soulless Escort
Arcanist
Arcanist
Dawnguard Scyir
Dawnguard Scyir

Actually, I had initially hoped to swap the Hydra for a Gorgon and another Griffon, but my second Griffon is still being built... so that won’t be happening.

Themed

I’m figuring the list is also good for keeping with the theme of the month; and while I (like many others) have found this sort of list appealing, I have never felt it would be particularly good or effective – it’s just too unbalanced, and lacking in tricks beyond swords (I don’t think T4 Vyros comes into its own until about 75pts).

So it will be nice to give it a bit of a try, throw up some battle reports; and help shed some light on this sort of list, which seems to be a popular idea among many new players.

Painted

It’s been a while since I put up a painted shot.

Slacking Off

2011-02-09T14:37:00.000-08:00

With this recent ‘hiatus’, or slowing of posts, I wouldn’t want you guys to think I’ve forgot about finishing my actual army. I’m definitely not slacking off on the model front.

Currently I’m chewing through painting all my Houseguard and the bases for everything else; and waiting for a fine day so I can crack out some matt varnish. Along with trying to find some time to build some extra jacks and the Nyss Hunters. ...and an Uncharted Seas fleet.

It’s still beginners month, so I won’t linger on the subject; but I think I might make next month “Fully Painted Month”, with some proper pictures of my painted minis (like I’ve got some requests for), and a push to get everything completely done and in my gaming case – there’s some events coming up in the next few months I’d like to be fully painted for.

Vs. The Hordes Battleboxes

2011-02-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

In this post we will briefly cover running the RoS Bbox against the Hordes Bboxes.

The Retribution of Scyrah Bbox

I’ve already covered the Retribution of Scyrah Bbox on the Warmachine Bboxes, and while similar, the situation against Hordes is different; perhaps even a little more balanced.

Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper
- Chimera
- Griffon
- Manticore

While the Retribution Bbox lacks a big hitter on par with a Feral Warpwolf or Carnivean, it does sit more comfortably in the “many medium attacks” nature of Hordes, over the “one big hit” of Warmachine.

Being a Mage (Warcaster) Hunter, Kaelyssa does lose a bit playing against Hordes Bboxes: Witchhunter and Banishing Ward become reasonably meaningless; Stealth doesn’t mean so much against most of the Hordes Bboxes; and at least Circle has an easy way to get around charge denial. However her offensive abilities become stronger, and the variety of our Warjacks attacks become much more meaningful.

Synergies and Strategies:

While not necessarily as good as against Warmachine, this feat is still very powerful for stopping a lot of enemy offensives, use it well.
Use your Arcnode, large control range, and Warcaster abilities to “out range” your opponents – their Warbeasts need to remain with their narrow control ranges to mount a proper offensive.
Use your Power Attacks wisely – the strength of Hordes is in being able to overload (force) their beasts, having to shake effects dampens this; and it is easier to throw beasts outside of Hordes control ranges.
Remember Force Generator not only increases the P+S of the Melee attacks on the Manticore, but also increases it’s ability to perform throws, and the distance it can throw them.
Use Phantom Hunter on the Manticore, to take a defensive position and unleash 3 RNG 12 POW 12 attacks each turn. Pair this with Kaelyssa’s RoF 3 and Energy Siphon and you can easily throw out 6 attacks at one Warbeast per turn, without having to close.
Use Energy Siphon and Phantom Hunter to take it straight to the enemy Warlock. RoF 3, Energy Siphon and the ability to ignore all ranged defenses... that sort of thing can put some real hurt on a Warlock.

I was going to give a discussion on strategies to deal with each Bbox. But I think it’s important to learn to play the game yourself. So instead I’ve tried to give an insight on what to expect from each of the other Bboxes, in the hopes it will help you to be better prepared against your opponent as you develop your own playstyle.

Vs. TROLLBLOODS

Chief Madrak Ironhide
- Troll Axer
- Troll Impaler
- Troll Impaler
10

Core Strategy: Grind out the opponent at range with Far Striked weapons, crit slamming the enemy back, when the enemy finally closes feat and attack full on in melee.
Things to look out for:

Defensive positioning! Surefoot is a great defensive spell allowing the whole Battlegroup to sit there in DEF 14+ and being immune to knockdown. On average dice, you miss that without boosting. Throwing in terrain they can be a nightmare to engage.
Rushed Carnage! With access to four ranged attack a turn, don’t under estimate the melee prowess of this army. With Carnage, Rush and Reach the whole force can jump you in melee with little chance of missing.

Remember: Madrak’s Scroll, and Tough will always get in the way of an clean victory. This force is at its best clumped together, and is all lights (the force lacks a heavy).

Vs. CIRCLE ORBOROS

Kaya the Wildborne
- Argus
- Argus
- Feral Warpwolf
11

Core Strategy: Run an Argus next to your caster, Spirit Door Kaya into melee with your caster, attack, feat, attack (for knock down); Spirit Door in Warpwolf if needed.
Things to look out for:

Feral Warpwolf! This guys is a beast. Never under estimate a Warpwolf. With 4 fury and high MAT and decent P+S (with boostable STR or SPD), this guy will tear apart anything you place close to him.
Stall! While not the most powerful way to play the Battlebox, don’t forget Splinter (crit knockdown), Spirit Fang and Paralysis can all stall your army horribly; added to the hit and run expertise afforded by Spirit Door and Tracker it can really ruin a game plan.

Remember: Those beasts will be scarily accurate. Spirit Door is limited by control area and is expensive; similarly her feat limits the effective assassination range and is also limited by the number of beasts remaining.

Vs. SKORNE

Master Tormentor Morghoul
- Cyclopse Savage
- Cyclopse Savage
- Titan Gladiator
11

Core Strategy: Out position the enemy, keeping safe with admonition and Morghoul’s feat, then hit hard with a Savage missile on Abuse and Rush (15inch threat) assassinating the enemy Warcaster.
Things to look out for:

Morghoul! With Perfect Balance (immune to free strikes), Pathfinder, high DEF and SPD 7, Morghoul can be one slippery character. If you position badly he is perfectly capable of just strolling up to your Warcaster – unless you’re camping focus he can kill her, and his feat can keep him relatively safe for a turn.
Slams! The Titan slams. It slams for free, it slams hard, it slams far and it follows up.
Admonition! Is a pain, a huge pain... make sure you know if and where it is up.

Remember: This army is a melee one, you don’t need to just wander up and engage it. Morghoul doesn’t have high DEF if he’s knocked down.

Vs. LEGION OF EVERBLIGHT

Lylyth, Herald of Everblight
- Shredder
- Shredder
- Shredder
- Shredder
- Carnivean
13

Core Strategy: Distract the enemy with Shredders until you can hit the opponent Warcaster (under Parasite and Blood Lure) with a feated Carnivean.
Things to look out for:

Ranged Assault! Don’t be tricked by the look of the Carnivean, or the presence Shredders; with a feat, two Hellsinger bow shots, Eruption of Spines, and an assaulting Carnivean (SP 10, POW 14), you can suddenly find yourself on the receiving end of a lot of damage, at a distance.
Eyeless Sight! This whole army ignores cloud effects, forests, and concealment... don’t try hide behind it. (This rule is only in the full, not quickstart, rules.)
Shredders! While you should remember they’re just distracting you from the Carnivean, don’t forget they can still pack a punch on their own. With Rabid they will chew through anything not super heavy.

Remember: The Carnivean will kill anything you put in front of it. Tenacity is annoying. While Shredders may act as a distraction they are important damage transfer targets and fury batteries (keeping the Carnivean clean); they are squishy and their death will impact your enemy (who might be tricked into throwing them away).

Vs. The Warmachine Battleboxes

2011-02-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

In this post we will briefly cover running the RoS Bbox against the other Warmachine Bboxes.

The Retribution of Scyrah Bbox

The Retribution of Scyrah Bbox is armed with a vast array of abilities for dominating the Warmachine Bbox scene.

Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper
- Chimera
- Griffon
- Manticore

While defensively geared, Kaelyssa is armed for countering all the other factions offensive options; meanwhile the Griffon has the longest threat range of all Bbox jacks; the Chimera is at least as fast as the speedy Cryxian Arcnodes; and the Manticore is able to chip away at the enemy from a distance, or cripple them up close.

Synergies and Strategies:

Use the feat to either prevent the enemy’s feat, or prevent a pre-feat rush. Kaelyssa’s feat, providing Stealth to all models and denying all Charges, denies the power of the Khador, PoM and Cryx feats – preventing the enemy from capitalizing on your weakened position.
Use the Apparition ability of the Chimera to move get a best position for arcing your spells: Rift slows down every other faction, to further deny their offensive; and Arcantrik Bolt freezes enemy jacks, priming them for yours; Backlash will leave your opponent uneasy.
Power Attack Throw (or even slam) stationary (Arcantrik Bolt) enemy jacks to take them out of the game for a turn – they’ll need 2 focus to completely shake effects.
Keep Banishing Ward up on your caster to deny enemy offensive spells used in assassination runs. These can cripple the enemy ability to win the game.
Use Phantom Hunter on the Manticore, to take a defensive position and unleash 3 RNG 12 POW 12 attacks each turn. This will whittle down the enemy lights, while staying protected from the Heavies.
Remember Force Generator not only increases the P+S of the Melee attacks on the Manticore, but also increases it’s ability to perform throws, and the distance it can throw them.
Use Backlash to double dip on damage – slowly whittling down the enemy Warcaster while destroying his battlegroup.
Use Energy Siphon (+ Phantom Hunter) to use any focus the enemy Warcaster is camping against them.

I was going to give a discussion on strategies to deal with each Bbox. But I think it’s important to learn to play the game yourself. So instead I’ve tried to give an insight on what to expect from each of the other Bboxes, in the hopes it will help you to be better prepared against your opponent as you develop your own playstyle.

Vs. CYGNAR

Commander Coleman Stryker
- Charger
- Lancer
- Ironclad
11pts

CORE STRATEGY: Knock your caster down with Earthquake (Arced through Lancer) and shoot you (or melee you) for the Assassination.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

Invincibility! The Battlebox can also make itself surprisingly hard. Strykers Feat, Arcane Shield and Blur combined can all make a force that is very hard to deal with; combined with knock down effects they can deliver a hard armoured rush.
Disruption! Cygnar are also the masters of cortex disruption, and if you’re not careful you could easily find yourself unable to allocate focus to any of your jacks.

REMEMBER: Earthquake benefits from your forces clumping, you cannot break the ARM on feat turn, and you have superior shooting. Don’t engage or expose yourself unless you have to.

Vs. THE PROTECTORATE OF MENOTH

High Exemplar Kreoss
- Repenter
- Revenger
- Crusader
11

CORE STRATEGY: Knock you down with the feat and hit you with something (spells, melee, ranged or all three) for the assassination.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

Fire! There a number of ways this force can set the enemy on fire, and while it might not do terribly much too much to the jacks, it can seriously, seriously hurt Kaelyssa.
Magic denial! A large part of the strength in the Retribution boxset is an ability unseen and deny parts of your opponents forces. Purification and Lamentation go directly against this, making preparation count for naught and making it much harder to efficiently run your force.

REMEMBER: Kreoss has a large control range and can wipe everything defensive but your feat with you just a fraction in. However his spells are limited in scope, and our jacks out perform everything in his force. Keep Kaelyssa safe, pull the army apart.

Vs. KHADOR

Kommander Sorscha
- Destroyer
- Juggernaut
11

CORE STRATEGY: Windrush into position, freeze you with the feat, attack you with the Sorscha and follow up with the Destroyers Bombard.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

Threat Range! Don’t be deceived by SPD 4 Warjacks, with Boundless charge they get pathfinder and charge like SPD 6 jacks. And they have the armour to survive running in to just engage your force. Don’t underestimate Bombards either, a POW 14 attack that ignores all intervening models is something to be wary of, purely for being unable to hide from it.
Attrition! This army already out armours everyone, with a little terrain they can easily take a good defensive position that they will be very hard to shift from (even if just upkeeping Fog Of War). But they also don’t have to go straight for the kill: a wind rushed Sorscha is very hard to put down, and can flit about freezing or knocking down your forces, giving the Khador jacks an advantage and making your higher SPD meaningless.

REMEMBER: Deviating bombards can still hurt Kaelyssa; if you’re close to the enemy and you haven’t won, then your feat should be up. Sorscha is generally straped for focus; and if Sorscha doesn’t have Windrush up, then she should be dead.

Vs. CRYX

Warwitch Deneghra
- Deathripper
- Deathripper
- Defiler
- Slayer
14pts

CORE STRATEGY: Get Crippling Grasp or Parasite on your caster, pop feat, arc spells or melee your caster for the assassination.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

Jacks! While her spells are perfect for taking down an enemy caster, with Parasite up on the target, 3 Focus on a Deathripper will make a big mess of one of your jacks (and then there’s what the Slayer can do).
Removed From Play! Crippling Grasp is a horrible spell, and set up early in the game can cripple a models ability to play in the game (if it’s lacks magic or ranged attacks it’s almost removed completely); that’s pretty bad, but Shadow Bind will allow Deneghra permanently engage one of your Warjacks, free of retaliation. That’s two of your jacks out of play, leaving you at a huge disadvantage!

REMEMBER: Truesight + Phantom Hunter + 6 Focus = Dead Deneghra.

...While they’re no longer in production, these next two are still generally accepted Bboxes...

Vs. MERCENARIES (Gorten)

Gorten Grundback
- Grundback Gunner
- Grundback Gunner
- Grundback Gunner
- Ghordson Driller
8pts

CORE STRATEGY: Catch your warcaster in Gorten’s feat, shoot with Both Barrels, and let loose with boosted Gunner Shots (or attack in melee with Gorten and the Driller).
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

Hard! Don’t let the 8pt total fool you, everything in this army is hard and take a lot to put down. Everything is ARM 18 or higher, with plenty of damage boxes; and Rock Wall and Gorten’s feat can easily steal all the initiative from you. Don’t be fooled into attacking things that won’t/can’t hurt you, and don’t stop until the job is done.
Jack Killers! Don’t get overly distracted by an impending enemy assassination move. This army is perfectly capable of using the feat to pull your jacks in, killing them all (the damage output on some of these things is amazing), and spitting it back out for you. You don’t want to be left with just Kaelyssa vs 3 Gunbunnnies – they will kill her.

REMEMBER: Gorten is only Focus 5. You can out maneuver the entire force, and Backlash still kills casters.

Vs. MERCENARIES (Magnus)

Magnus the Traitor
- Renegade
- Talon
- Mangler
11pts

CORE STRATEGY: Renegade Obliterator Rocket to the head (sniped, aimed and fully boosted, it has the ability to one-shot Kaelyssa), followed up with melee or spells for the assassination, or a game of ‘mix it up’ until an opportunity arises for sealing the deal.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

Stalled! With Arcantrik Bolt, Knockdown and Stall, this force has a lot of way to freeze up your army. If you’re not to careful they can rush in and leave you spluttering while they prep for the assassination.
Efficiency! Everything in this force has something that makes it work better than it looks. The Mangler has a P+S 17 Reach Thresher Attack, the Talon has Powerful Charge, the Renegade has Sustained Attack and crit Shred. But don’t forget Magnus, he has a set of awesome spells for this Battlegroup and never has to pay for upkeeps.
Hit And Run Rush! His feat is great for staying attacking and then retreating, to attack again... this is quite obvious. But he can also use it to close with the enemy at an oppressive speed – the forces can cover up to roughly 20 inches in one turn. With this the Battlegroup can swarm and pick off lone elements of your army, or engage your force on masse. If this happens don’t forget Stall (Talon) and Knock Down (Magnus) trigger off free strikes too.

REMEMBER: Nothing in the army has access to Pathfinder or movement buffs; and outside of the one shot Renegade and Magnus’ Spray nothing has ranged attacks. This force will beat you in a straight fight.