My Cygnar Battle Force - 400 Points
Battle Force Overview
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Battle Force Composition.
| Unit Name | Models in Unit | Point Value |
|---|---|---|
| Captain Haley - Warcaster | 1 | -5 |
| Warcaster with 5 Warjack Points | ||
| Field Mechanics | 3 | 1 |
| Repairs Warjacks | ||
| Hunter | 1 | 6 |
| Light Warjack - Powerful Gun with Armor Piercing. | ||
| IronClad | 1 | 7 |
| Heavy Warjack - Brings the Beat Down | ||
| Journeyman Warcaster | 1 | 3 |
| Solo - Mobile Arcane Shield | ||
| Lancer | 1 | 6 |
| Light Warjack with Arc Node | ||
| Long Gunners + Attachment | 8 | 8 |
| Powerful Ranged Infantry | ||
| Sword Knights | 6 | 4 |
| Decent Close Combat Units - Great for jack dismantling. | ||
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I started with the Cygnar Battlebox, but I didn't stay with it for too long. Under the MKI rules the Charger was a little too costly for his abilities. Also, I found that Haley was much more effective against Menoth then Styker. The Defender was fun to play with in small games, but the Hunter is just as effective but for a lot less cost. With MKII, the Sword Knights have been nerfed a bit, but they also received a huge drop in cost, so I am going keep using them. I needed some more range support, so I chose to pick up the Long Gunners and I have been more then pleased with their capabilities.
As for expanding my army in the future, Trenchers are always solid choice, but I'm going to look into getting a few of the unit attachments to improve my existing squads. In some box somewhere, I have a squad of mechanics. Under MKII, I will be deploying those for a cost of 1 point.
Active Forces
Captain Haley - Warcaster
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I have not actually picked up her figure yet, but in several test games I have found her more offensive abilities more in line with my style of game play.
Her Chain Lightning spell can ruin a person's day, especially if that person is fielding Knights Exemplar. I have been told her Temporal Barrier is absolutely devastating, but I have been also told that I cannot rely on this spell to win, so I have not used it yet. The last spell that can work well in theory is her scramble spell. The idea is to break up the opponent's warjack line and take them apart with my sword knights one jack at a time.
Cygnar Sword Knights
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The first squad of infantry I am adding are the Sword Knights. These guys work great with warjacks because of their flank ability. Several of these matched with a Lancer can be expected to dismantle most warjacks on a successful charge,
Lancer Light Warjack
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I am still figuring out exactly how to work with this warjack. But I know the first time out I certainly did not take advantage of his best ability - His Arc Node. I thinking the Lancer should hold the center of my formation. Coleman Styker could channel his Earthquake through the Lancer and allow the Charger and Iron Clad to do their jobs.
Also, just about everyone says you need at least one Lancer in your army.
Storm Smiths - Solo
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I have three of these laying around. I'm going to give 3 of these a try out to see how well they work. When fighting Menoth, I am supposed to bring a lot of range weapons. Also, having a few of these running around will help break up the enemy force.
These guys are just too much fun.
Against a melee heavy enemy, these units can run around without too much worry and really cause trouble for the enemy. On several occasions, these guys have been the ones to eliminate the priest of a Menoth Choir.
Journeyman Warcaster
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The Journeyman Warcaster is a staple of Cygnaran Armies. In variants of a 400 point army, I have used this character with some nice success. As my army begins its expansion to 500 points, expect to see this figure appear frequently.
In terms of tactics, I stuck with the standard mobile arcane shield tactic. She upkeeps this spell on my sword knights allowing them to survive long enough to pull off their flank attack. When necessary, her hand cannon and provide a powerful attack.
Hunter Light Warjack
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I picked this unit up just prior to the release of MKII Field Test rules. Too bad he lost his pressurized reserve tank under MKII, but that was a pretty powerful ability.
Even without that ability, the Hunter is still terrifying to enemy Warjacks. Combined with Haley's Feat, I obliterated a Revenger in one turn.[I rolled a 17 on my first damage roll and an 18 on my second one. I guess I shouldn't count on those kind of roles too often.]
I like to run this unit up into the woods or on a hill and keep a journeyman warcaster nearby for upkeeping an Arcane Shield. Granted, he is not as good against Infantry as the Defender, but If you are attacking Infantry with the Defender, you have other problems.
Long Gunners
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Why I just bought these guys now is beyond me. They are an absolute must when fighting Menoth. Menoth can easily deny damage from one attack, but having a whole rank of these guys firing will really mess with their defensive line.[Chain Lighting is good too...]
Eventually, the battle will reach your lines once the Menoth player is forced to go on the offensive. Once this happens, use the poor long gunners a meat shields so that they get charged. In the following turn, launch a counter charge and push the attack back.
Ironclad Heavy Warjack
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The Ironclad has one place to be - engaged with the enemy. If possible, charge the Ironclad into a knocked down enemy. Though, since the power of the Quake Hammer is so high, his focus can be spent on hitting the enemy. And if the Ironclad finds itself surrounded by enemies, the Tremor special attack can help get him out of a difficult situation.
I pulled the Ironclad out for one MK II game. I really can't say how well he performed since I just kept him back the whole time. I won't make that mistake again. The problem here is that Charging the Menoth Blob with the Iron Clad just seems suicidal...
Battle History
| Name | Wins | Losses | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casual Battle Force Games - MK I Rules | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 400 Point Single Kill Assassins vs Menoth and Khador | Win | ||
| 400 Point Duel against Menoth | Loss | ||
| 400 Point Duel against Menoth | Win | ||
| 310 Pt skirmish against Khador and Menoth | Win | ||
| Name | Wins | Losses | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|
| MK II Field Test Battles | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 30 Pt Battle Against Menoth | Draw | ||
| 20 Pt Battle vs Menoth (3 to 0) | Win | ||
| 20 pt Battle vs Menoth ( 0 to 0) | Draw | ||
| 25Pt Battle against Menoth Blob(0 to 0) | Draw | ||
| 25 Pt Battle against Menoth Blob(0 to 5) | Loss | ||
| Name | Wins | Losses | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battlebox Record | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| vs Cyrx(Kyle) | Win | ||
| vs Cyrx(Kyle) | Loss | ||
| vs Cyrx(Ryan) | Win | ||
| vs Cyrx(Kyle) | Loss | ||
| vs Cyrx(Ryan) and Menoth(Kyle) - Free for All | Loss | ||
Adding the Journeyman Warcaster ) I have been trying out some different army builds recently. As with many other players, I have added a Journeyman Warcaster to the army. I chose the alternate female figure sculpt because I looked her action pose better then the traditional one.
Menoth Rematch Today I took on Kyle in a Rematch against his Menoth Army. This time I swapped out Styker and a Storm Smith for Haley and the Journeyman Warcaster.
One Critical Mistake.... WARMACHINE can certainly be an unforgiving game. In my latest battle everything was going very well in my favor until one critical mistake. I moved one of my Storm Smiths and blocked a charge with my Defender to the enemy's heavily damaged Repenter. At the time, the remains of my Sword Knights were locked in combat with the Repenter and this Charge would have destroyed the Warjack and opened at attack up against his Warcaster.
400 Point One Kill Assassins Game I took on Kyle and Ryan tonight with the 400 point army I had on this page. This was the first time Kyle had brought out his entire Menoth Army while Ryan tried out a proxy version of his future Khador Army. All and all it went for me probably because I was the only one not using an army for the first time.
More Army Changes...I Think So I have been reading that Nemo is not the best Warcaster to be starting out with. Since I only have him and Coleman Stryker, I think I might be going back to Stryker since I do have some combat experience with him. I'll probably be posting a new list in the next few days.... Creating a 400 Point Army After playing a few games with Coleman Stryker, I am going to set him aside and use Nemo for awhile. I am liking Neno's more offensive style of game play. | RSS
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Reserve Forces
Defender Heavy Warjack
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I have been considering running a 400 point force with both of the Cygnar Heavy Warjacks. Therefore, I am deciding how exactly to fit the Defender into my force.
After a game, I may not want to keep this unit in my Army. The Long Range is nice, but his gun is not a substitute for the Hammer of the IronClad....
Another thing I need to think about is not just using the Defender as a turret. He needs to be mobile in order to get the shot and to keep himself safe. Leaving the Defender off by himself makes him a easy target for many types of infantry.
Coleman Stryker - Warcaster
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Coleman Stryker has several strong features from what I can tell. One is his combination of disruption weapons. Warjacks who attempt to take on Stryker will have a tough time once the can no longer hold focus points.
Second is Earthquake spell. Unleashing this at the right time can be a good one-two-three punch. Cast the spell, have the charger then soften up the target, and follow the attack up with a charge by an Ironclad.
The last awesome feature is his feat. When used at the start of an attack, it can mean two pain inflicting turns before the enemy can effectively retaliate.
Adapt Nemo - Warcaster
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He is my second Cygnar Warcaster. My style of play tends to be on the more aggressive side. As a result I have decided to use Nemo as my primary caster because he has more offensive abilities then Stryker.
Charger Light Warjack
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Some have criticized the Charger Light Warjack, and maybe in the future I will join them. For now, I am giving it a try out. It seems that the Charger could be a nice match for Coleman Stryker. Since it has two some what weak weapons, its boost rolls should be made on the damage rolls. Stryker can use his Earth Quake to knock enemies down and the charger can take advantage of their weak defense to inflict solid damage. Therefore, the Charger's three focus points can be used to
1) Boost damage on first cannon shot.
2) Use Focus To Attack a Second Time
3) Boost damage on second cannon shot.
Storn Guard
I also have a squad of Storm Guard sitting around. I never really thought about using them in my standard army.
MK I 400 Point List
| Unit Name | Models in Unit | Point Value |
|---|---|---|
| Captain Haley - Warcaster | 1 | 58 |
| Defender | 1 | 122 |
| Heavy Warjack w Heavy Barrel and Shock Hammer | ||
| Journeyman Warcaster | 1 | 25 |
| A Solo which can act as a basic Warcaster | ||
| Lancer | 1 | 76 |
| Light Warjack with Arc Node | ||
| Storm Smiths | 2 | 24 |
| Each one is a Solo. Calls down lightning | ||
| Sword Knights | 8 | 94 |
| Base Squad + 2 Extra Troops | ||
Generate Army List Sheet
