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.
I haven't really gone Titan swarm with him. I've also never Karned with him. This is what my most recent eX list looked like:
ReplyDeleteWar Room Army
Skorne - eXerxes
55 / 55 (50+5) Warlock(s) : 1/1 Warbeast(s) : 8 Battle Engines : 0 Solos : 2 Units : 2
Xerxis, Fury of Halaak - WB: +5
- Aptimus Marketh
- Basilisk Drake - PC: 4
- Basilisk Drake - PC: 4
- Basilisk Drake - PC: 4
- Basilisk Drake - PC: 4
- Basilisk Krea - PC: 4
- Archidon - PC: 7
- Archidon - PC: 7
- Bronzeback Titan - PC: 10
Mortitheurge Willbreaker - PC: 2
Mortitheurge Willbreaker - PC: 2
Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 3 Grunts: 2
Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 3 Grunts: 2
---
Fairly heavier on the Drakes and willbreakers. It has worked out fairly well so far. I'm going to try the list Joe posted but subbing in the Feral.
So I played the above list against Osrum double Colossals and support. My take-aways:
ReplyDelete1. The Brutes animus saved MK from getting knocked down and killed vs. the Earthbreaker.
2. A Krea did more damage to the Earthbreaker on the feat turn then MK. They can be a real danger with Flank and mobility. MK, with Drakes to clear a path, is super dangerous with eX's feat on average dice.
3. eX felt super vulnerable to guns. My opponent was focused on MK when his dice failed him, but could have very likely killed eX with the concentrated power of those two colossals. Casting ignite and mobility by himself really puts him at risk.
Been thinking about eXerxes lists today. It's amusing to rabbit hole right down that light beast spam idea. For example:
ReplyDelete"Look at me, I'mma bad Hailey3"
eXerxes
4 - Drakes
2 - Krea (For the three +2/+2 , -2 Bubbles like Hailey)
2 Brutes
Molik Karn
2 Will Breakers
2 Minimum PGBH
2 Feral Geists
ADR:
Shaman
Gladiator
Orin
Agonizer
Marketh
FWIW: I played the above list into a fairly traditional eMak list today. My takeaways:
ReplyDelete1. It is very hard to hide eX from MK but thankfully MK doesn't have a guaranteed kill vs. eX. The list should use Arcane Wonder instead of Bunker so Ignite is easier to get out there.
2. MK isn't as good vs. MK with a longer threat range. He needs to be played far too defensively in that case.
3. A single Krea pretty much killed a BB and on a later turn a Gladiator. Ignite and the Drake's ability to spray then move into flanking position helps all this.
4. The feralgeists were surprisingly good. My opponent has to waste extra attacks killing beasts and they are sometimes their own beasts.
Not sure what to try next with the list or where it needs to go.