Warmachine: List Building Essentials
Mr. Black here, and let’s take a moment to discuss some essential things you should be adding to your Warmachine lists. Hell, you may even be adding them without even thinking about it! Let’s dive right in…
Well let’s jump right in after I mention that, being a Cryx player, the actual list I will be making will be from said faction. But that does not mean the actual lessons are specific only to them!
So, you have your fancy new warcaster all picked, painted, and polished and now you need a posse for him/her to hit the field with! For myself there can only be one choice here, and that’s my own leading lady herself Skarre, Great Rack-Wielder and Pirate Queen!
Is there a unit that has immediate synergy?
This can be the most “opinionated” choice of our topics, as each player will have their own tactics and choices that they feel work best for their own play-style. But sometimes a choice will just present itself- whether it be an Elite Cadre or just some nasty trick a unit allows with your given warcaster. I have a mixed opinion of said units because they end up appearing in every single list that includes that caster. Whether that’s a limitation or just what happens when you have “characters” is open for debate, but the point is still there, some casters just have units they demand!
For Skarre the choices that jump out to be are Mechanithralls, due to her Sacrifical Strike, Satyxis Raiders due to Feedback/Backlash, and Bane Thralls for the Skarre Bomb. But are any of those “must-take“ options? No, not especially, so we cam leave them out of the “mandatory” catagory. Though, if I had to choose one of those units which I constantly take, game after game, with her, I’d have to say it was a unit of max Mechanithralls along with a Necrosurgeon. This gives me a nice base to work from, as well as a cheap, but deadly, infantry unit.
How will I handle massed infantry?
This can be a tough one for some armies, but something that you should always consider- Just what will you do when you sit across from a horde of thirty+ Mechanithralls or a Farrows Meat-grinder? One solution, if you run ‘jack heavy, is to make liberal use of the Trample power, but I find that a dedicated unit or two of anti-troop killers is key. These would be infantry of your own with multiple-attacks, AoE’s, and just general means of dealing with outnumbering forces. Do not confuse this with a unit that can kill elite infantry, that’s another section all together. No, I’m talking about raw attacks, perhaps not the highest damage output, but enough to clean-up a ten-for-five/six unit choice.
I would say Mechanithralls here, which are not a bad option, but I find more and more I’m becoming a fan of Bloodgorgers with Gerlak leading them. Not only can Gerlak himself dispose of any group of tightly-clustered infantry, but given the Overtake ability he grants to the Bloodgorgers you have a highly mobile anti-infantry capable of hitting the stragglers in the back. Combine this with the Gang ability, thus boosting their MAT and P+S to dangerous levels and you have a sure winner. Again, not for everyone, but I love them!
How will I kill his elite units?
You know the ones: that buffed Trollkin Champion unit, that Knights Exemplar wall, the Bane Thrall + UA pain-in-the-ass, whatever it may be, it’s that unit that you’re either going to have to avoid altogether or hit hard enough to avoid a counter-assault. Often these are the most deadly of infantry an opponent will field, and you sure as hell don’t want them reaching your lines! So what do you do about them? Well sadly this section is also the one that’s going to be the most army reliant. Usually I would say, if you can afford it, send in a cheap unit to tie them up while a heavy-hitting unit of your own lines up for a charge, or, failing that, send the biggest meanest ‘jack you have against them and hope they’re not that hard-hitting… Which they probably will be… Sadly… Again, this section will rely mostly on the faction you’re playing and their own, individual means, of dealing with the threat, so just find what works and test it out… Or resort to the old fail-safe of just throwing bodies at them until they fall over.
For my Skarre list this is actually handled by either Bane Thralls, Tartarus, or, once again, the Bloodgorgers. Given my play-style it’s usually going to be a “send Mechanithralls to tie them up while Bane’s prepare a charge” style plan. In the end I’m hoping that my Tough Thralls and Tartarus can wipe them out after they have probably killed my sacrifical Mechanithralls!
Those are just some general things to consider when building a list. Now let’s look at my actual list and run-down why each choice is present:
Pirate Queen Skarre
–Skarlock Thrall
–Reaper
–Stalker
Mechanithrall Unit (Max)
Necrosurgeon and Stitch Thralls
Bane Thralls (Min) with Officer/Standard Bearer
Bloodgorgers (Min)
General Gerlak Slaughterborn
Bane Lord Tartarus
Necrotech and Scrap Thrall
35/35
Skarre works best, in my opinion, with two focus-hogging jacks, as she will have a bountiful extra with Sacrificial Strike. I know most will instantly go for the Deathjack with her, and it’s not a bad choice, I just love the Reaper and have had great success on many a’ whalin’ trips with it. Basically the inclusion of the Reaper allows me to harpoon some unfortunate jack up close for the Mechanithralls or Bane Thralls to grind up. Basic Separation and Kill tactics there. Meanwhile the Stalker allows me to have some flank control, as the rest of the army will usually be hording it’s way across the field. Not only this, but it assist in dealing with those pesky Hordes’ Warlocks and their transfer shenanigans.
Mechanithralls? Cheap tarpit that can really mess a ‘jack up on my feat turn, as well as hit moderately well given the inclusion of Dark Guidance into the equation. Necrosurgeon? Come on now, we’re in MKII, you aren’t taking Mechanithralls without at least one doctor.
My only real issue with the above list is that, well, the units are rather small. I constantly shift between this and removing one of the units (usually the Bane Thralls) in favor of Satyxis Raiders’ plus a Sea Witch. Combine that with the removal of Tartarus and I usually net enough points to include another unit of Mechanithalls or whatever solos I feel like fielding that day. Of the two options which is better? Well I like both, and that’s the beauty of the game, you get to customize your choices fairly easily should one style go stagnant.
~So that brings us to our discussion topic, dear readers, give the above criteria, what are some of your own favorite choices from your respective armies? In what areas does your potential list suffer from?
