..this news just in folks - Hit Squad is a thing.

..and lo, did our heroes from the Imperishable Dominion blog travel, across the highest snow wreathed mountains, overcome the sandy and barren deserts, through verdant green fields, over the endless sapphire seas, and go to a local tourney hosted by our resident Press Ganger, which included the 'Theme Forces: Tier1 Required' variant. And it was pretty cool.

So initially, I should probably explain, for those uninitiated that are unfamiliar with the variant. The Theme Forces: Tier1 requirement states that all lists for the event must be theme forces taken from either No Quarter or Forces of books, and must be at least Tier1. All non theme lists are illegal. Otherwise, the Steamroller pack is the same, although interestingly, the variant also lifts the usual FA C restriction - something which most people don't realise, myself included.

Although nervous of seeing a lists filled with hordes of Banes led by Bane Lord Tartarus, I've been looking forward to this one as a first tournament testing ground for the Morghoul2 Hit Squad list I've been working on. To pair with it, after much deliberation I chose another experimental list - a Makeda1 Army of the Western Reaches list at Tier3, filled with Scarab Beast Packs. More on the latter later.

At this stage, it would probably be best to discuss list construction and the build a little.

Hit Squad, Tier4

Lord Assassin Morghoul

-Cyclops Brute

-Titan Gladiator

-Titan Gladiator

-Titan Gladiator

Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor

Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor

Agoniser

Paingiver Task Master

Paingiver Task Master

Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and three grunts)

Gatorman Posse (Leader and four grunts)

Gatorman Posse (Leader and four grunts)

So.. I know. There's no Archidon. No Basilisk Krea either, although that's probably less mandatory than having Sprint on a stick. Finally, there are no Paingiver Bloodrunner units. Morghoul2 doesn't do anything much for the Titans either. So what does it do? 

It plays on two fronts for the most part. Early experimentation with maximising the amount of Heavy Warbeasts that I could get out of the Tier3 bonus was a lot of fun, but ultimately a real strain on a Fury 5 Warlock. Most Warbeasts would start the turn with Fury and risk frenzy, especially once the game was into turn three and beyond where careful placement of Beast Handlers or a Bronzeback couldn't keep the rest reigned in. Additionally, due to the small Control Area I could never quite get the most out of some of the higher SPD Warbeasts. An Archidon with Rush, a Shadow Whip move and either Ghost Walk or the Feat for immunity to Free Strikes has a tremendous threat of 15.5" inches which is difficult to defend from, but typically flies straight out of control and cannot then boost or buy any additional attacks. The alternative forces you to push Morghoul too far forward to a vulnerable position, and whilst on occasion it was possible to get a long shot  assassination (the Archidon at MAT6 with one attack base isn't the best for this..) more often this would be for a piece trade, and certainly not worth the risk.

The answer I found was to instead focus on the slower Warbeasts, which were easier for Morghoul to keep control of, and with less of them, to reduce the strain. I overlapped multiple Titan Gladiators to reduce my opponents chances of sniping out Rush from my force, too often the obvious tactic to experienced opponents, and to allow for the beasts to buff each other if needed - removing the need for Morghoul to cast the animus each turn. Plus, three Titan Gladiators is an imposing sight heading down the battle field, and very tanky. With Morghoul and the Paingivers either Stealthed or immune to CRA attacks, the Warbeasts needed to be able to take a hit at reasonable power and keep going.

The second learning curve of this list was that the same small Control Area meant that the list couldn't effectively play into scenarios where the focus wasn't a central zone. Whilst it was easy for Morghoul and his zoo to clear one side of the battlefield, on the other, I'd lose to scenario. Using Bog Trog Ambushers and a unit Gatormen to contest was one approach which worked in some games but often didn't maximise the potential of either, the Bog Trogs suddenly too predictable in where they would ambush and the isolated Gatormen easy to pick off before they could close. Losing the Big Trogs and using the points from the extra Warbeasts allowed to add in a second unit, and back them both up with a Paingiver Task Master to further increase their versatility and survivabilty.

Finally, although initially I didn't include the Agoniser, I felt that the new build with its heavy armour skew could benefit from the inclusion of one to maximise the strengths of the list further - additionally, with no Fury 1 spells or animus, Morghoul often could find the Fury to drop into the solo, keeping it topped up during the game.

 

All the subtlety of the average house brick? Must be one of Sherwin's lists then.

So.. how did it do? I fielded the list in Games One, Two and Four - and won all of them. 

Game One was against the Protectorate of Menoth, and Feora2. I was helped in this game by a central forest on the table, allowing me to run my Titans forward under the cover of the trees and out of line of sight but at the same time able to draw LOS to the inevitable Judicator, which my opponent was forced to either hold away from my battlegroup, or risk the Titans wrath. On the other side of the table, the two Gatorman units were more than enough to initially wipe out the Temple Flameguard and then contest the zone, whilst Morghoul cleared out the friendly zone from enemy models to start scoring. Even so, clever placement from my opponent mean that this one came down to an assassination in the end; with my time on the Deathclock running out, a Task Master was able to use her Mancatcher attack to hold Feora in place so that a Titan could beat her into red paste.

Game Two played into a Sorcha1 Khador list, and was Recon. Going second and having seen my opponents deployment, from the first turn, I gambled that Morghoul could capture the flag on the far left, whilst the rest of my army denied my opponent the same in the middle and on the far right flank. My opponent suffered from trying to advance in a more linear manner, unable to capture the other two zones, I managed to walk away with a scenario victory from this often awkward scenario.

Game Four pitted my list against Siege Brisbane in Destruction, and this was a far more conventional Morghoul2 game, pushing aggressively up the table on the first turn, and then finding a janky assassination in the second turn after extending my threat via Apparition and Shadow Whip. 

..I came second in the event, my only loss to Dan and his Trollbloods in Game Three, Dan being the guy that won the event. This was my only non-Morghoul game, and where sadly my second experimental list failed utterly, in a very rough Runes of War Matchup. I'll keep pushing with that one, especially once the Aradius Soldier arrives, which I think is exactly what it needs to give it more punch. More on that in weeks to come.

Overall, I'm delighted with the list. It plays very well into scenario play, which is both unusual for an assassination Warlock, and not necessarily something which Skorne armies are best suited to. It can both take attrition from the opponents forces, as well as deal out significant damage, but at the same time is interestingly mobile. I might keep playing around with it and fine tuning, but in truth will probably keep it this way for some time, until I come up against a wall. 

Until next time fellow Tyrants. 

Realistic aims in Warmachine/Hordes: Faction collecting.

Evening all,

Here is my first article and some musings I have for the benifit of newer players to the game. Realistic aims in this case faction collecting going to main and minor factions.

Steamroller 2015 has put down that all events (Aside from Iron Guanlet, played in it, recommend it) state now that they are at most 2 list events. So the critical cynic would say that collecting anything beyond 2 lists is a waste of money as its not necessary. Well no decent kleptomaniac hobbist is going to stop at 2 lists but I would say that before you spend all of your dollar you consider what you are aiming to do. I will use myself as the example.

My main faction is Cygnar. In our group no one was playing them originally and there are the good guys. Since I invented the colour blue it was a natural choice for me. It also plays to my mentality. Melee combat is messy, unsophisticated why would I want to do that and risk my precious neck when I could shot the enemy from afar and not get by lovely boots dirty? Of course I would not I hear you say. So I have the whole range of Cygnar. Everything by that merc in disguise Constance Blaize. Bonus lesson. Never play her in Cygnar. Its with my main faction I can do such things as ADR (Which is a great format and a future article). But you can't play the game seriously and never try using the other stuff, if for nothing better then to learn how to shoot it more efficiently. Most events I play in will be Cygnar either in cool Tiers or more recently non tier.

So to the other stuff what am I aiming for with it? Do I want to use the same boring power stuff other people use? No I don't. Perhaps a controversial statement but I am not a fan of people playing a new faction and doing the same warcasters/warlocks that are always used because they are considered the best. Epic Haley being the main culprit of this. I have never read the 'forums' it doesn't feature in my mind to use someone else's list. I want to use my own. Make my own mistakes and play what I think is good. Equally how far am I taking playing out of my main faction? I can't go to far without it becoming my new main faction, and I like my current one.

So recently I have gotten some Khador and very recently some Legion. I am a big fan of being that special snowflake, no one wants to play the same thing 3 times in and event. I will use Khador for my example. I did a poll to my friends of the warcasters that are never seen on the table, chose 4 of them, which I have tried and sold off down to 2, got good 50 points forces for them and stopped. That's it, its my minor faction. I won't buy more. The 2 I have is Zerkova and Prime Sorcha to play Crix. If I want something more I will seriously consider selling one of these. Epic Zerkova looks great, I will look at this new release and consider selling Prime Sorcha to buy her. Unless Epic Zerkova has no game against the Crix dude spam when I guess I am forced to have 3 lists. The Khador were gotten in 2014, when you could use 3 lists, the legion I have gotten has gone firm at 2 lists.

My next event will be Dave's Tier event at 4TK July 11th, early on I identified the aim to play Khador for it, and am painting up my forces for it.

Anyway I encourage new players to recognize the concept of 'main' and 'minor' collections idea, to take identity from it and save money. Or is you got too much sell it on! I have sold everything I have wanted to so far.

Hit Squad - Tyrant Mantooth's Musings

..so, lets talk Morghoul2's new tier list, Hit Squad. 

Hit Squad was spoiled this weekend just been at Lock and Load, the day that the internets exploded with talk about an invincible Menite, a Retribution guy that didn't get the memo about wearing white, and a time traveling version of everyones favourite negative play experience.

But for me, the real news was Privateer's latest attempt to fix an old, much maligned veteran.

Poor Morghoul2 took a real bump all things considered, coming over from Mk.I to Mk.II. Probably the most galling is the feat, or more precisely what the feat was before it went away. All enemy models suffer Blind? I have no idea what crack someone was smoking when they came up with that one, but pass from the left hand side please.

But I digress.

Sadly, the new Theme Force does that same thing (that I can't quite get behind) which we saw in Conquest and Victor. Its the old list, but better, because the old one wasn't working. Sure, Imperial Assassins is fun, but it doesn't exactly do much to help out Morghoul2's plight really.

I guess we should just be happy its not another attempt to fix the Siege Animantarax, which has been the bane of the last three Theme Forces.

You know that using the Tier System to fix models is flawed, Privateer Press

So what does Hit Squad have to offer? Well, to start with you can take the same suspects as usual (Paingiver units, Paingiver Solos), with a little more freedom on Warbeast selection (all non-character Skorne Warbeasts), and a nice little bonus or two - namely, the Agoniser, and Minion units that can be subjugated by the Skorne.

For your pains, you get four levels which are extremely easy to achieve, and offer some solid advantages, along with one big change. The big change is what comes first, and has only the requirement that you don't break Tier. Namely, this is the upgrade to your Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentors, whom gain Shadow Whip on their melee attacks.

Shadow Whip is  a new rule (I believe) which allows you to immediately advance a friendly faction model in their command 3" if the Master Tormentor hits one or enemy models with an attack. Its basically Warpath, but limited to the two models that just became mandatory in your list. Interesting? Certainly. By my estimation, any one thing in the army just extended its threat range; Morghoul himself now boasts a non-linear 15 and a half inch threat in any one turn, but don't stop there - your Archidon can now enjoy the same with Rush (now included past Tier Two, unlike Imperial Assassins), and your other heavies a staggered increased threat. The interesting part here will be keeping the Master Tormentors alive, to keep the ability in play. More on that later.

The second  level is really for the trolls out there (not to be mistaken for the Trollbloods) - the enemy army loses all trace of Advance Deployment (with added confirmation from Infernals that it cancels out any AD gained by any means). Fairly situational, some armies won't care at all, others will loathe this. The most immediate advantages will be the enemy having to clump up to begin with in most cases, and losing those valuable AD ranged units, with an added aside that you should have a greater control to see where the enemy is placing their models before you place your own AD models. This should help maximise the fun that your BloodRunners will have at least.

Tier 3 is pretty legit - all heavy warbeasts are one point cheaper. To get there, you have to include three in your Battlegroup, but if you're looking to reach this level, then you're clearly trying to push as many bonus points into your list as you can, so I doubt you'll struggle. Archidon's are an obvious choice, but the lift of Imperial Assassins SPD restriction really opens up the field to include Titans and pack a little punch to your force that might have been missing before. And don't forget my favourite, the noble Rhinodon. A six point enraged Rhino with Grevious Wounds, Reach, Amuck, and a threat of 15" on a thresher attack is the bane of Trollkin Warders and Bane Thralls alike.

Finally, the last Tier is Fury management for the Agoniser, with almost laughably easy to achieve goals. Include an Agoniser? Well, considering the tier benefit directly affects the model, that much is obvious. Include a unit of Beast Handlers with a Fury 5 Warlock? Go home PP, you're drunk. In all seriousness, this isn't quite the game changer that Tiers 1-3 offer, but it does give our Fury starved Lord Assassin a preloaded Agoniser, by starting the baby elephant with a token per Paingiver unit.

So, how to run it? Good question. I'm going to enjoy playtesting it, especially with a Tier Only tournament on my horizon next month. The most obvious requirements I can see will be two Master Tormentors, which interestingly will need a little tech to keep them in play. Stealth will help with most things for obvious reasons, as will Sprint, but actually might encourage the use of the little known Razor Worm, who can give out Girded as usual (immunity to blast damage).

I trust you guys can see how serious I am here about this list by now. Morghoul2, Rhinodons, Razor Worms? Bringing my A Game to a table near you..

Otherwise, a Cyclops Brute is typically a must have with Morghoul, as will be Beast Handlers, and an Archidon for Sprint. If you want to hit Tier 4 (I'm not sure that I do, we'll see), then that's another two points. Otherwise though, you're left with a huge selection. Personally, I'm tempted with two min units of Bog Trog Ambushers, to really pressure my opponent away from the edges and into the middle of the table, where Morghoul can have some fun. I don't buy the Gators I don't think, especially at the 11pt price tag with the Paingiver Task Master.

I'm pretty sure that at least one Titan Gladiator is the usual must, if nothing else for Rush, meaning that a Cyclops Shaman becomes even more viable for then casting either that, Safeguard or Lightning Strike as a utility beast. The other choices would be Aradius, but we'll have to wait for that one..

More another time, once I have some games under by belt. Until then, Sherwin signing off.

Forces of Distinction is available for general release next week.