Reckoning Review

A review of Reckoning. The follow metric will be used:




5 – Great




One of the strongest models in the game: it’s powerful and always useful. It’s surprising to see a list that doesn’t play this in-faction.




4 – Good




A good model that sees plenty of play. It’s not necessarily the best choice for every list, but you can put it in your list and know that it will do something for you.




3 – Playable




You can’t just throw this model in any list and expect it to do something for you, but it can be good in the right context.




2 – Weak




This model isn’t good enough to be worth playing. The list it fits tightly into are not well suited for competitive play. The stars might align such that it fits into a competitive list, but even then it’s generally worse than a more straightforwardly good card.




1 – Bad




This model sucks.


Cygnar


Hailey 3




DG - 4

Not as strong as the Cygnar top tier but a well designed caster with some real depths. Is a well designed caster in that the best way to spend her focus isn't completely obvious. This is a rarity from the modern PP.





BW - 5


She isn't as overpowered as a Ghotvanah or Bradigus but the sheer variety and versatility of what she can do will make her a powerhouse due to the high skill cap in the right hands. Similar to Haley 2 but with a better long game giving Cygnar players another strong option for attrition





JP - 3


Major Haley is very interesting warcaster unit consisting of her primary present self, and echoes of her past and future selves. This Haley is the first warcaster of that name that looks neither boring as fuck to play, nor a completely and infuriatingly negative play experience for your opponent. She boasts an interesting range of spells that seem to encourage the use of underplayed options from within the faction. Her drawback is her complexity, it looks like it will be easy to get lost in the sauce for novice and journeyman Cygnar players alike and the layered rules interactions for replicate, incorporeal, control area, and arc nodes will require some very solid rules understanding. I expect to see quite a bit of the newest Haley, but at the end of the day she is less powerful in scenario than her epic version.




Dynamo




DG - 4


A strong all around jack. Gun has real potential with either a constant accuracy buff and/or a damage buff. Incredible with Nemo.






BW - 4


Just plane amazing - been out for a while now so not a whole lot to report. The fact that he shows up in non Nemo lists just tells you about his power level. Only thing holding him back is the power level of the casters that want him. Hopefully Nemo 3 will become more of a thing and this guy will be one of the primary reasons for that.






JP - 4


Dynamo is a genuinely good warjack that transforms into a monster when run by Nemo. Performs primarily as a shooting platform, but under Nemo he becomes a switch hitting melee powerhouse. Dynamo is only rated a 4 due to his full potential being locked to 3 warcasters.


Ace






DG - 2


Triumph II: The Triumphing, Hunter Edition.






BW - 3


Interesting - Good with Caine so he will see some play but otherwise an overpriced hunter. Expensive delivery system for anyone other than Caine - might see some casual interest in Stryker 2 or another bully caster but not at highest competitive levels.






JP - 2


A more expensive character warjack that is worse than its regular version… I feel like I’ve seen this before.


It feels like this warjack’s entire purpose in life is to shoot at shifting stones. For 7 points, I think I can find a better answer.


The only reason this doesn’t get a rating of a 1 is the stealth granting ability can allow for some early zone domination by a highly mobile warcaster. It might be worth experimenting for that reason alone.






Trench Buster






DG - 1


3 points is incredibly hard to balance as a solo. Combos with a bad unit type to boot.






BW - 2

His rules work so hes not a 1, but hes overpriced and suffers from a back of the card that is frankly too full similar to all trenchers. Also not a 1 because he provides an out of activation unjammer. But since trenchers are already not popular i dont see him getting much interest or play other than theme forces (Bad seeds Anyone?)






JP - 1


Straight…


Garbage…






In addition to the Skornergy being strong with this one, the Trench Buster does nothing that can’t be replicated elsewhere demonstrably better and/or cheaper.


Hurricane






DG - 3


Not as strong as the Stormwall but will see play in the right list. Getting constantly pushed back by a control caster is going to be aggravating.






BW -- 3.5






Well designed Stormwall alternative - Stormwall is bonkers and the fact you consider taking this guy over him with some casters tells you just how good he is. Excited for the synergies and some of the power AOE 4's might offer that haven't really been explored. Only thing holding him back from a 4 is Turbulence. That rule is dumb.






JP - 2


It’s a point cheaper than the Stormwall, yay! There is a bit of give and take on the Hurricane, but I think the ‘Take’ was just a hair too high. The main guns are reduced in POW by 2 (Ouch!), and electro-leap is stripped from the shock fists. The loss of the storm pod is a major blow to the newest colossal for big blue, that and the lack of covering fire templates change his game considerably. For these, you get an Arc Node, Cortex damage on the fists, and the super interesting Storm Emitters. I think the Arc Node is a great idea that just doesn’t work; it’s just too easy to engage Hurricane. The Cortex damaging fists only exist for Colossal on Colossal combat. Those storm Emitters are the saving grace of Hurricane. I think Hurricane will take a backseat to Stormwall with a few exceptions, but I do expect to see him now and again.






Menoth






Anson Durst






DG -3


Very meat and potatoes. Feat has real order of activation issue and is hard to get value with infantry.






BW - 4.5


Menoth Jacks are the best in the game and he delivers them.






Purifier






DG - 2- While it looks fun, this doesn't solve any of the typical problem that light jacks encounter.






BW - - 2


Some Skornergy - but turns out choir polishes anything






Hand of Judgment






DG - 4


A really incredible jack. Getting the ancillary attack off so that it can charge for free is hot. Only not a 5 because not all PoM lists want to play with fire.






BW - 4


He is a 6 with Feora 2, Rat 7 sprays are still legit. Fire immunity and Ravagors shooting at stuff around him keep him from being a 5 overall.






Revelator






DG - 4


Making it easier for PoM to one round heavies at range is what the game really needed. Sometimes PP forgets the choir exists.






BW - - 4


I hate shadow pact (read legion)






Pyrrhus






DG - 3


This is more what a 3 point solo should look like. He is held back slightly by being forced to work with a specific unit.






BW - 3


Harbinger Synergy's - valid mix of solos






Khador






Zerkova






DG - 3.5


Has a solid game plan, if incredibly one dimensional. Better hope your opponent doesn't deny spell casting.






BW - 3


She's a 1 trick caster but its a good trick






Mad Dog






DG - 1


What Khador really needed was a all jack release with two new Berzerkers.


BW 1


Jury Rigged and Unstable Cortex? Pow 14? 5 Points makes this palatable - but i dont see anyone ever taking it except for funsies






Rager






DG - 2


It's a shield guard I guess? If only Ogre Bokurs didn't exist...






BW - 3


Arm 20 Shield guard - thank you






Ruin






DG - 5


Incredible jack. Easily playable outside the Butcher as well. The ability to fuel itself may even let a Khador player play two jacks.






BW - 5


Butchers are good, Ruin with Butcher is incredible. Hes a better beast and a great eEryiss alternative






Viktor






DG - 3


When you need a heavy with reach and pathfinder its at least cheaper than the Konquest? Playing the light the enemy caster on fire game is a thing I guess too.






BW - 2


I don't like the 20 point rat 0 randomness. It will win you games. It wont win you tournaments.






Cryx






Deneghra






DG - 4


I really like the soul collection mini game she can play. Still has issues due to the huge base.






BW - 3.5


She really needs a nuke. The inflictor will make her work, but she still up against a bunch of 4's and 5's.






Barathrum






DG - 3


A weird collection of rules attached to Cryx jack chassis. Continues the Cryx tradition of working best with a different caster.






BW - 2






Sepulcher





DG - 4


A better range platform then the Kraken and it can regen McThralls.







BW - 4




Kraken's are collecting dust






Shrike





DG - 2- Another light jack? Yawn.







BW - 1










Soul Trapper





DG - 4


Has a turn delay and you need to be able to collect souls. Still an incredible release that will see play with plenty of Cryx casters. 2-3 extra focus make a huge deal for spell assasinations. .5 points each too.







BW - 3

He is one point and he'll get played






Ret






Tyrone





DG - 2


Doesn't provide any dependable support except for two expensive single target buffs. Another ret caster who is defined by winning or losing on the feat.







BW - 4






Moros





DG - 3 -

Likely the best of the lights this book and may find a place with eVyros. Doesn't do anything for Gary.




BW - 3






Helios





DG - 4

A weird release but one that has grown on me. Immunity to fire can be really potent. Works great with Griffondor.







BW - 4


Electromancers





DG - 3 - Another solid techy Ret shooting option.







BW - 2






Voidtracer





DG - 3 - A great one point solo. Needs the right matchup to be effective but at a point I can't complain too much.







BW - 3.5






Mercs






The Devil's Shadow Mutineers





DG - 3. Cryx needed a second character unit. Will see play with Pirates too.







BW - 3. Good Cryx Guns.






Siege Crawler





DG - 2. Battle engines are bad, and PP should feel bad.







BW - 2 (2.5 with earth breaker)






Cephalyx





DG - ??? No one cares about Cephalyx






BW - I'm not reviewing Cephalyx






River Raiders

DG - 2 - Cool abilities but they are going to have a hell of a time triggering them. Maybe worthwhile as bodies to contest with?






BW - 0






JM - None of these models will work for Skorne.

Modern eHexy

I've always liked eHexy, but as PP decided to see how easy they could make killing infantry he kinda lost his purpose.  Still there are some interesting upcoming releases that make me want to break him out again.

Mostly this is the spitter and the new croak hunter unit.  The spitter makes an excellent arcnode for eH.  It also works rather well with Black Spot.  It should be able to get more work done while staying far safer than the Sentry taken as the more traditional choice.

The croak hunter unit buffs fire damage and is AD in Skorne.  They should combo well with Ashen Veil and the tough/no knockdown PGTM buff.  Randomly Ashes to Ashes is also fire damage and is buffed by their abilities(as are the Incindiarii.)

What I'm currently thinking(broken into handy modules):

eHexeris
->Krea
->BronzeBack
->Gladiator
->Spitter

Fire Frogs
Paingiver Task Master
Incindiarii

Paingiver Beast Handlers
Extoller
Willbreaker
Agonizer

The real secret to this list is being a point over.  It feels very paint by numbers, all very obvious choices above.  The beast section also feels clunky and far too traditionally Skorne, but is the only thing that can handle armor really well.

It also scores a 0 on the Drake scale, insuring it is a bad list. :(

Xerxis 2 ADR

Don and I are going to do some list development for Xerxis 2 and we figured we might as well do it here.  Maybe we'll come up with something new, or at least playable.

Overview
I've played this guy for most of the last year so I'm pretty familiar with him.  Mobility is quite good in Skorne, giving you real board presence and threat range.  It also frees you from the tyranny of the Gladiator, as good as that guys is. Ignite gives you additional board power . The feat is obviously good.  All reasons to play him.

On the other hand Xerxis has some real problems.  Most of the stem from his huge base.  He is always visible, making him an easy target for stray spells/shots/charges.  More importantly the Rhino is quite difficult to position.  Terrain is a real issue.  Even simple things like walls dictate where you can put must put your warlock and hence your army.  X2 can't easily dominate and I generally win by attrition leading to assassination.

X2 generally doesn't see combat.  He doesn't really have the hitting power to kill most heavies and delivering him is somewhat tricky.  I occasionally use him to un-jam my army.  I cast stranglehold once and it was quite good, but in general fury 5 makes it unfeasible.

Builds
I've seen a few builds for X2.

1. Drakes spam.  This build uses 6-8 Drakes, 2 Kreas and gator posse/nihilators.  This build has theoretically good infantry clearing (I haven't played it) and is generally considered a cryx drop.  I feel like this sort of thing is generally one-note and I'm not interested in buying the entire drake farm.

2.  Gunline with Sentinels.  More of a theoretical build as these guys haven't come out yet.  X2 makes sentinels fast and Ignite gives them hitting power, solving two of their weaknesses. He can bond to a raider, giving him a manageable fury plan.  One big appeals of the Sentinel plan is that X2 doesn't have to go forward to extend his control area.

3.  Pachyderm spam.  Really fast titans.  I don't know too much about this so I'll let Don speak to it.

4. Karn + Archidon.  This is what I've been playing for the last few months.  Probably the most satisfying Karn yo-yo in the faction.  Karn easily kills heavies and sprints 8 inches away.  My problems have been two-fold.  The first is keeping Karn in my control area.  The second is figuring out to do with the rest of the list.

Goals
I'd like to build an X2 ADR list that has some game against cryx.  Not a lot mind you, but something that is playable.  I'm probably going to keep playing the Karn yo-yo.

List
This is what I've settled down on lately.

X2
Molik Karn
Archidon (bond)
Drake
Drake
Drake
Krea
Brute
Brute

Incindiarii (min)
Beast Handlers
Beast Handlers
Swamp Gobbers

ADR:
Gladiator
Shaman
Extoller
Mortitheurge
Orin Midwinter
Feralgeist

The plan is pretty basic.  Karn, the Archidon, the swamp gobbers and the beast-handlers control one side of the board with Karn shaving the opponents army piece by piece.  Everyone else is dedicated to clearing infantry and providing a distraction.

Next time I post I'll talk about what matchups I'd play this into along with my ADR plans.

Faction and Caster Rankings

http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?231691-Astra-Presents-LIST-CASTER-POWER-RANKINGS

http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?231690-Astra-Presents-FACTION-POWER-RANKINGS

Thoughts?

Croak Raiders! Moar SKRON Ranged Game

Croak Raiders (spoiler posted here) are going to be a solid release for Skorne.  I'll talk about how they fit into the Skorne faction and discuss a couple of lists where they might be useful.  Pretty stock-standard introduction.

Why They Don't Suck
Croak Raiders fill a couple gaps in Skorne and provide a few opportunities.  A 10-man advanced deploy unit is unique in the faction; providing us the mobility and board presence necessary to get work done (and not lose on Incursion).  That alone makes them worth considering.  Ranged attacks, with some possibility for aiming are invaluable in Skorne and will hopefully force the engagement with typically slow Skorne armies.  Croak Raiders deliver the hard hitting shots are at a premium in the medium-based meta-game.

Anti-Skornergy
There are some really cute interactions in the faction that are worth pointing out.


1) Taskmaster. This is an obvious one, but giving Croak Raiders tough means that vitriol might actually come into play.  I'm not sure that this is worth the two points, but I think it's worth mentioning.  In lists where you can double dip on the task-master this will be a really nice synergy.

2) Krea.  I think this is the biggest one.  A Krea with Mortitheurge has a strong chance of paralyzing  a warbeast (or Warcaster/Warlock) and then the Croak Hunters can deal huge damage to it.  I think this is a real threat to Legion and is a play that will be available as soon as the bottom of 1.

3) Incindiarii.  Alchemical Accelarant really turns on Incindiarii blast damage and allows them to threaten medium based infantry.  It also allows them to threaten heavies.  Croak Raiders and Incindiarii complement each other well; together they threaten most types of infantry and some heavies.

4) Gatorman Bokur. This guy needs bodies, and the Raiders are perfectly positioned to provide corpses.  Both units want the Taskmaster and Krea, so you get to double dip on the support pieces that make these units really shine.

ADR
Is huge for these guys.  There will definitely be times when you don't want them and times when they are amazing.  Being able to swap them out with Posse or a Heavy is going to be a really strong play. They don't love fighting warmachine, particularly high-defense infantry, and being to bring in better tools will be quite nice.  Here are two lists:

pMorghoul
I've been thinking about pMorghoul ADR for a while now.  I think he is one of the better Sentinel casters, as he can protect them and make them threats in melee.  This list is tuned to fight Trolls/Menoth/Circle/Legion and has some tools to fight other lists.


pMorghoul
Aradus Sentinel
Aradus Sentinel
Aradus Soldier
Basilisk Krea
Cyclops Raider

Beast Handlers
Croak Raiders
Incindiarii (min)

Mortitheurge
Mortitheurge
Extoller
Swamp Gobbers

ADR:
Gatorman Posse
Paingiver Taskmaster
Agonizer
Extoller Soulward
Cyclops Brute

This list shoots really hard and is quite capable of closing in melee.  The Krea threats 31 inches on the bottom of 1, setting you up to steal an early Angel.  pMorg has some really nice control elements and mostly focuses on hiding behind the Aradus and not dying.

The solos can be optimized as needed.  Croak Raiders + Gobbers + Mortithuerge can be swapped for Posse against Warmachine, and Incindiarii + Gobbers can swap for Brute + Agonizer against legion.  This list has a mean assassination against any living Caster/Lock (via Morghouls feat).

I'm really looking forward to playing this and I think it will be very viable.  There's a lot of stuff that's not obvious and should be surprising to opponents.  It might even be able to play three flags! 

Rasheth ADR
I've thought less about this but I think it is worth including.  Here's a rough template.

Rasheth (Chain Gang Tier 4)
Bronzeback Titan
Titan Sentry
Titan Gladiator
Basilisk Krea
Basilisk Drake

Croak Raiders
Bokur and Shamblers
Beast Handlers
Swamp Gobbers

Paingiver Taskmaster
Agonizer
Agonizer

ADR:
Gatorman Posse
Titan Sentry (Or Bronzeback...)
Beast Handlers?

I'm still not entirely sure how to construct this one.  The idea is you get one list that has an infantry bend while having the option of removing the infantry and skewing hard armour for center scenarios/favorable matchups.  You've also got a credible range game against warbeasts with Blood Mark/Krea/Croak Raiders.  I used to bring Venator Reivers specifically for their ranged abilities and Croak Raiders fill most of that role with some additional functionality.

 The +2 SPD is a really nice benefit here.  It helps the shamblers get into position early to soak corpses.  You've also got the option of going deep turn 1, running all the way to 31" mark on top of 1 for the deep flank.  Thanks totally new to Skorne and something worth trying out.

I'm not as excitied for this but at least its a new spin on an old list.

I'm Gonna Buy These Fuckers
And I hope they are fun to paint.  I've also got some ideas for including them with eHexeris, but I've already written too much.

Reckoning First Impressions

So Reckoning was a book I was rather looking forward to.  The artistic design of everything spoiled was incredible as were the pre-released models.  It looked to be an excellent book.

Sadly, this didn't hold up.  As far as WM releases this is likely the most disappointing in living memory.  Far too many Jacks, in an era where Jacks are back down to minimum numbers.  Really disappointing casters(for the factions I care about at least), especially after the last batch of casters.  This doesn't seem like it has really sunk in yet on the various faction forums, but I'm honestly surprised that a faction receiving two MAT 5 warjacks is taking it as well as it is.

If you somehow haven't seen any Reckoning spoilers they can be found here.

Cygnar
I'm not sure what to think yet of Hailey3.  Temporal Flux is a solid spell, as is repudiate.  She is incredibly focus starved, even with 12 focus.  Revive is likely only going to happen once a turn due to this.  I'm also unsure where Tactical Supremacy will gain some good effect(people say Trenchers but then you've spent points on Trenchers).

Beyond that I don't think you will see much of Ace and even less of the Trencher Buster.  The loss of the storm pod on the Hurricane is huge.  It seems alright for focusing a target down or controlling a single target.  I expect to see the Stormwall more still.

Khador
eZorkova has an incredibly simple battleplan -> run greylords at enemy pop feat, win.  She is another case of a caster where they gave her a spell to create an arcnode but then forgot to give her some options in what she really wanted to arc.  I was expecting significantly more here.

As a faction that hates taking multiple Warjacks, the only other releases Khador received this book were Warjacks.  Two of them being on the berserker chassis and stuck at MAT 5 was just the icing on the cake.  Viktor is better than Konquest, partially due to being cheaper but also having a more reliable impact on the game with its guns.  Lighting enemy casters on fire should at least be fun.

Mercs
It was good to see a second Cephalyx caster.  He looks solid, with a workmanlike feat and a good selection of spells.  From a first pass he is also the only caster with a tier list that looks worth a damn.
Eh, on the battle engine.  I'm sure it will be adopted as  much as any other battle engine without a focus effect.  The Swamp gobbers suffer from incredibly bad stats, but are at least AD solos for Skorne.

Cryx
Denny3 is my favorite caster from this book so far.  She will be heavily taxed by that huge base but her abilities with souls is incredibly potent.  Gravewind will be obnoxious on the DeathJack and herself and Mostality is an incredible spell.

The soul collection solo is an excellent addition.  Too many Cryx casters had soul cages that were never relevant, even if it will still take a round for the souls to turn into focus.  It works with more than just the casters too.  I'm not sure why Barathrum is supposed to be Terminus's jack but I'm sure he will be used as often as the other random collection of rules Cryx character jacks.  Same goes with the trampling light.  The Sepulcher looks to be a solid upgrade over the Kraken, especially with RoF 2 Spiker guns.

Menoth
I'm not sure Durst is bad, mostly boring.  I'm also unsure of a battle plan that will want him marching close to his jacks on the front line as he goes up the field.

This is more than made up for with the Menoth releases this book.  A jack with a fully boosted to hit spray, that increases fire damage, has spd 5 and reach?  Sure, why not.  The Impenetrable Shield TFG seems solid too.  I'm not super sold on the light(its a light) or the Colossal(lack of range) but they aren't bad either.

Retribution
Retribution was really looks for an answer to Grayle I guess.  Thyron has a solid feat, solid stats, I like cleave on his battlegroup but his spell list is lackluster.  I just don't see much of a battleplan here outside of trying to feat to win the game.  Both Onslaught and SpellPiercer are more situationally good than consistently bringing value sadly.

The new soulless and electromancers are both solid releases.  Helios has been growing on me:  cheaper, virtuosos and a fun little selection of buffs

Bonus
Saeryn and Rhyas seem to take it in the pants with a worse spell list, worse feat and having to be tied to each other as a character unit.  I expect Rhyas to act as a super arcnode for a good chunk of the game.

Kromac, to use a term already used in this article, is workman like.  Stat buff feat, stat buff spell to use early game(with maybe a primal shock or two thrown in) and then a finish based on his own pure stats plus primal howl.  Letting him sprint to collect hearts for primal shocks seems fun to attempt to do some snipping.

Croak Raiders are really solid for Skorne.  They've tried really hard to not give Skorne any AD worth a damn, but they have solid stats and combo well with the pain giver task master.  They also combo well with Incinderaii.

eMorghoul Tier list:  Still doesn't overcome the base issues with playing eMorghoul but does make him significantly better.  Probably worth a play or two but it wasn't enough to overcome the base mistakes they made with eMorghoul.

Overall
I've been enjoying Ret and was eyeing Khador again.  While Ret received some good new releases the casters for both those faction aren't currently impressing me.  I will have to see how my impressions change after some play time.  I'm curious if I can buy the parts to magnetize the Colossals I have instead of sinking more money into models that don't ever justify their price.

Menoth and Cryx seem to have come out of this mess the best with Mercs/Cygnar in second tier.  While Menoth has been waning, Cryx and Cygnar didn't deserve the best releases this cycle.

It's still hilarious that CoC received nothing in the warjack book.  Especially after PP teased them that they were getting something.

New Skorne Unit

Can't wait to try them out!