Convergence: A Love Story

5 Minute Read

Jul 25 2013

“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

I’ll admit I rolled my eyes when I heard Privateer was discussing a new faction in the keynote speech at Templecon 2013. Given my skepticism I can’t fully explain why, but I woke up that morning in February and streamed the video on my phone. Will Shick and Ed Bourelle had already begun, and despite the fact that I could barely see anything in detail, what I witnessed for the next few minutes was pure bliss.

I’d been faction swapping for a while (Minions to Cryx, Skorne, Cygnar, Legion, then Trolls), and I’d never read the Witchfire Trilogy that introduced the Cult of Cyriss, but when I saw the concept art, the models, and the gameplay videos, I knew my heart belonged to the Maiden of Gears.

I know there’s been some controversy about spindly Vector legs and such. Like anything else, some people love them, and some people hate them. I’m just a humble toy soldier painter, but below, I’ll do my best to delineate my thoughts on the matter.

So without further ado, I present to you: 5 reasons why I’m picking up the Convergence of Cyriss, and you should, too.

1: In a game of Robots, Cyriss delivers a whole faction of Robots.

I don’t know how much needs to be said here. I, for one, got into this game to play with bigass, killer robots, murdering other bigass, killer robots. Sure, Protectorate might play 3-4 ‘jacks, but with Cyriss, the grass is greener, my friends. With the exception of a few select models, the whole faction is made of robots! And if little infantry-bots aren’t your speed, the way the induction system works, focus is more efficient than ever, allowing a Warcaster to fuel more of those juicy, juicy Vectors!

2: Cyriss is a totally new aesthetic in Warmachine.

The four Prime factions, although they have their own distinct design concepts, all operate on a roughly equivalent level of technology. Retribution of Scyrah introduced a whole new look, sort of a Sci-Fi one that transcended Warmachine’s otherwise Steampunk/Full Metal Fantasy tech. With the release of Cyriss, we have yet another “Post-Steampunk” faction that breaks the mold, but instead of casting Steam-Tech aside entirely, they’ve perfected it. I don’t necessarily think they’re as “art deco” as the release video made them sound, I think they’re the Science Fiction that people in a Steampunk universe would write about, and it is glorious.

I mean, c’mon! Just look at the names! Vectors are armed with things called Macropummelers and Dissevering Microswarms, the Battle Engine is called the Transfinite Emergence Projector! I don’t know what most of it means, but it sounds like something a scary robot faction would say.

3: Cyriss starts with a pretty robust lineup.

The pre-release spread from Lock ‘n’ Load 2013

Right off the bat, we’re getting:

A Strong Battlebox.
5 Warcasters (all of whom look pretty viable and exciting)
The Prime Axiom, an awesome Colossal, (sort of a lovechild between the Stormwall and Galleon)
6 Heavy Vectors (only 3 with models so far)
4 Light Vectors (Including the Corollary)
3 Heavy Infantry Units.
2 Light Infantry Units.
A Light Infantry unit with Flight.
A Choir-style synergy unit
A pretty solid generic unit attachment who can accompany any of the Cyriss units (much like Retribution’s Souless Escort).
4 types of Servitors (really nice utility solos fielded in 3’s that perform a variety of functions)
A Shieldguard solo
An Optifex Solo who can be channelled through
A solo that can return small and medium-based infantry to play
A really interesting Battle Engine

And while that’s plenty, I find some comfort in the limitations… It feels somewhat stressful choosing from Cygnar’s vast number of options.

4: Convergence is unlike anything else in the game of Warmachine.

Let me preface this section by saying that I’m far from a competent competitive player, and that this isn’t meant as any sort of tactical treatise on the merits of the Convergence of Cyriss, but rather my opinions on what looks generally fun to play with.

Focus induction as a mechanic allows unprecedented flexibility in the use of focus, and I think that it completely revitalizes Warmachine. It allows a type of synergy that reinvents the warjack, and makes Vectors extremely viable.

Cyriss Warcasters also determine the MAT and RAT of their battlegroup, and hand out a unique Field Marshall ability. So far, we have Countercharge, Shield Guard, Arc Node, Auto-Repair, and Apparition. A whole battlegroup with Arc Node or Countercharge? That’s synergy before they even hit the table, now we’re talking.

Convergence also brings with it an array of Synergy pieces like the Corollary, which I’d argue is better than Cygnar’s Squire. We also have the Optifexes–a solo that can act as an arc node, a choir-like unit that hands out Pathfinder and Magical Weapons, and a solid generic unit attachment. Additionally, there are already a few things with the Repair or Bodge abilities, and pretty much everything in the faction is repairable (even Warcasters!)

I think that with its starting lineup, Convergence has a pretty unique synergy style, and it’s one I’m very excited to play around with.

5: The Convergence of Cyriss are Privateer’s most hobby-accessible faction.

Convergence models have a lot of really interesting hobby potential similar to 40k’s Necrons; they can be drybrushed and washed for quick, tabletop-quality paintjobs, or they can be approached methodically for competition-quality metallics and glow-effects. This could be said for any faction, though metallics hold a unique spot in the painting world where there are low-and high-tech ways to accomplish a solid final product. While the glow effects can be difficult, I think they provide a great opportunity to practice Object Source Lighting, and give the faction a really distinct look.

I’ve been painting my test model for a few days. I’m still trying to figure out how I want to do everything, but I think it’s coming along. It’s not 100% finished, but I think you guys get the idea:

Pretty soon here I’ll be writing an article on how I go about painting these guys! And hopefully I’ll decide by then how I’ll be doing their bases, but if I decide to up the ante on those, that will probably be a separate topic.

So those are a few things I love about the Convergence of Cyriss! Below is an Epic Vyros model I painted for my friend who picked the models up for me at Lock N Load. Treat your Ninja Shoppers well, folks! Until next time, what do you all think of the Cyriss plastics? Are you going to be picking them up when they release on the 10th?

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Author: PeanutButterConspiracy

Convergence Editorials Warmachine-Hordes