List Thoughts

So 35 point tourney coming up, and it may be my last chance to get a bunch of games in before the babies come and I go into dojo machine mode fairly indefinitely .. That being said, I am trying to put my money where my mouth is and continue to think my way through competitive Cygnar...

This list kind of builds itself with the only real though going into where to spend the 10-12 points that aren't in use anywhere else (tier IV requires 28 points to reach). Basically we are playing the I really hope lightning hits a lot of dudes game.... there are all of 12 models in this list. It also lacks some basic buffing (ie arcane sheild) that most of these kinds of list bring. Without further ado:

List 1:

Cygnar - I like Haley 2 Tier IV ~ I like Huge Base Light
40 / 40 (35 5)    Warcaster(s) : 1/1    Warjack(s) : 2    Battle Engines : 2    Solos : 2    Units : 2
Major Victoria Haley - WJ:  5
-    Thorn - PC: 8
-    Centurion - PC: 9
Storm Strider - PC: 9
Storm Strider - PC: 9
Stormsmith Stormcaller - PC: 0
Stormsmith Stormcaller - PC: 1
Stormsmith Storm Tower - Leader & Grunt: 2
Field Mechaniks - Crew Chief & 3 Grunts

Lots of ranged, possibly hosed by stealth (although running storm smiths could help with that, will have to see).  All and all I really just want to see what 2 giant lightning spewing walkers are capable of on the table top :).

List 2 that I am thinking of right now is:


Cygnar - Caine with blades
41 / 41 (35 6)    Warcaster(s) : 1/1    Warjack(s) : 2    Battle Engines : 0    Solos : 3    Units : 2
Lieutenant Allister Caine - WJ:  6
-    Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker
-    Stormclad - PC: 10
-    Ol' Rowdy - PC: 9
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios - PC: 3
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist - PC: 2
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord - PC: 2
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Lady Aiyanna & Master Holt: 4
Stormblade Infantry - Leader & 5 Grunts: 5
-    Stormblade Infantry Officer & Standard - Officer & Standard Bearer 3
-    1 1 Storm Gunner's: 1

First off, this list is playing off of the fact most of the lists I have played over the years have had a hard time dealing with high armor... also two heavies with Caine1? Madness!

There are two "free" focus on the table (Ol' Rowdy being awesome in general, Stormclad stealing batteries from the blades), which should get people where they need to go until I need to give out focus to kill something big, Caine can not be a super solo for a turn I am pretty sure.

Caine1 for my first brawler list in while? Madness!

Logic is as follows:
~ Crowd control, Caine1 makes the pew-pews like few others, 4 shots a turn + a million on his feat turn (which can see squishies behind huge bases), means that he pretty much is this lists ranged game.
~ Board control, THUNDERSTRIKE at 15 inches is pretty awesome (doubly so with roll an extra die and drop the lowest, thanks for nailing my wishes). Also the possibility of punishing the "run your army forward types" is pretty hot.
~ Snipe and dead-eye means I can put shots from the stormblades on targets, and that gorman probably doesn't need to get as close to be magical.Trying to play up assault with some heavy hitters, don't know how well that will work... we will see.
~ Blur on stormblades is OK to get them across the board, don't love it, don't hate it 15/15 is pretty good in my book.

Beyond that trying to stack de-buffs a bit, trying to skew toward making people deal with heavies, and trying something different :).

One of the things I have been going back and forth on has been Runewood vs. Rhupert as the support for the Stormblades, fearless and +2 Mat on the charge, vs some extra defenses leaves me at a bit of a wash. Make take him because he is fairly useful on his own (extra pow 12 handcannon and pow 12 magical weapon master).

Pretty sure things are going to die, and not sure if the extra bit of survive that the piper brings our weighs the extra offence... will probably end up going with Runewood as I don't think I have gotten him on the table yet.

Closing thoughts:
Biggest fears I have currently are Ret, and any of stationary/fire lists as both my casters are pretty squishy. I may also turn to Darth Stryker to be my second list, but then I am playing two of the Cygnar super casters in a friendly tourney, and I also really want to see if I can make assault do something useful, but I am not 100% that the stormblades will get anywhere un-molested...

Rooting for the Underdog

How competitive is competitive? I tend to be a bit frustrated with the forums these days as there are a few very vocal members of the world who instantly and loudly let the opinion be known when someone is playing a "sub-par model" (or over priced or crappy or anything but playable). I started Warmachine in 2008, when my buddy started Skorne. We both chose army's based solely on the way they looked. At the time nothing in Hordes really called out to me, and I started poking around in the magic land of Warmachine. I was quickly drawn to teleporting gunslingers and the trenchers (come on how can you hate anyone who's nick name is the Gravediggers).

Fast forward a couple of years and some fortunate turns of events, and I started expanding into merc's to diversify the scene my LGS a bit. In all that time I continue to be drawn to playing the models I find the coolest more than the most competitive. I will be the first to admit that I may not be the "Man to beat" at the gaming store, but I seldom have trouble finding a game, and at least in my opinion I tend to give as good as I get. That being said, I have gotten millage out of models often overlooked by Cygnar players (most notably Trencher Infantry) and find it tragic that people shut things down so quickly.

To kind of riff of my earlier posts, The Book of Five rings has a couple of ideas that I think can apply to playing with some of these less desirable models.

1. Keep your foe off balance. For all the cry's that half the world has hunter and sprays, I have not met a single list designed to counter dig-in, and unless pigs and trenchers take over the world you are not going to. I also am a big fan of what I think of as the trencher shuffle. They can do so many things well that I often find myself changing gears at random and going in a different direction with them then what my opponent expects.
2. Don't deny yourself a weapon. Musashi was all about having a sword in both hands and using them both to overwhelm one's opponent. Trenchers may not be the sharpest sword for any one thing, but damn are they pretty good at most of them. Assault in and of itself means they make 2 attacks on the charge. Once you add in snipers, grenades, the ability to move dig-in and shoot their abilities (in my bizzaro land of playing under powered units) start to shine. Add it the fact that with a bit of support (from casters and other solo's), the things they used to be pretty good rapidly start becoming really good.
3. Practice with the tools you have. You are not going to get the most out of anything you don't play the hell out of. When you can do 8 different things at the same time, knowing the when and where to do them becomes critical. Trenchers are prime example of this. When I was playing them more often (have switched mainly to Highborn, which doesn't let you take them), on any given turn I might:
1. Push one grenade porter forward to fire an aoe
2. Have a couple of guys pop smoke to block Line of Sight to stuff behind them
3. Have a couple CRA (Combine Ranged Attack) to pick off a model that got to close
4. Dig one or two to clear LoS

I suppose I have rambled about Trenchers enough. The moral of the story is if you like something play with it, figure it out, and use that to put up the best fight you can. I would try to listen to more to the people who try and make the best of things when you ask for help making things work, and less to the people who say it is not worth playing out of hand, and refuse to think out of the "competitive" box.