Warmachine-Hordes: Rasheth 101, Part 2
Continuing on from my previous article discussing Skorne’s gelatinous mass with limbs, now it’s time to talk general tips regarding how to use Rasheth.
Keeping Rasheth Alive
One of the first big concerns for fatty is survivability. Being a large base warlock makes him a, heh, big target. Impervious Flesh helps a bit with ranged survivability, but his DEF 10/ARM 14 stats are still abysmal. Basilisk Kreas are an obvious defensive option, and they already appear in many Skorne lists anyway. Luckily, basilisks are allowed in Rasheth’s excellent Chain Gang theme force, as are the Swamp Gobbers and their smoke cloud. Unfortunately, Cyclops Brutes aren’t part of the theme force, but they are always a solid option when playing Rasheth out of theme. If you can park him behind a wall or somewhere else that provides cover, combined with a Krea to up his DEF/ARM vs guns and a Swamp Gobber cloud to block line of sight, you shouldn’t need to worry too much about Rasheth getting shot off the table. Unless you’re fighting Legion, because they are dirty cheaters.
Dark Rituals
Rasheth’s signature ability is Dark Rituals, which allows him to arc a spell through a friendly warrior model in his control area once per turn. This allows him to sit safely behind your army while still contributing to the fight with an offensive spell each turn. However, there are two caveats that dictate how best to utilize Dark Rituals: The model you arc through suffers d3 damage afterwards and you can only do it once per turn.
Regarding the first, its best to bring multiwound heavy infantry when playing Rasheth. Both in and out of theme, Gatormen are my go-to unit. They are a prime contender for the title of best heavy infantry unit in the game, and adding in a Task Master, Carnivore, and Rasheth’s feat makes a great unit even better. Plus, you can safely arc spells through them via Dark Rituals without losing a model. Agonizers are great for this purpose too, as you can have several of them in Chain Gang and you already want them relatively close to the action for their agonies anyway. By far the best target for Dark Rituals though is the Feralgeist. They are only 1 point and because of incorporeal they won’t suffer any damage, but sadly aren’t allowed in Chain Gang.
The other thing to consider with Dark Rituals is that it can only be used once per turn, so you’ll need to really think about what spell will give you the best results. I find that I’m usually arcing Breath of Corruption or Blood Mark, maybe a fully boosted Sunder Spirit. While Influence isn’t a bad spell, it isn’t something I’d waste my one Dark Rituals per turn on unless I can cause some real havoc with it. Potentially smacking an enemy caster with their own weapon master sounds cool in theory, but requires an extra dice roll over something like Sunder Spirit.
Odds & Ends
While Dark Rituals is a huge part of Rasheth’s playstyle, there certainly are more aggressive ways to play him to get more out of his offensive magic. Bone Grinders are a very cheap way to extend his spell range, and can be brought in Chain Gang to boot. Outside of theme, there is also the slightly more expensive Cyclops Shaman, which extends his spell threat range while also bringing some upkeep removal. Since you are out of Chain Gang to bring a Shaman anyway, consider Molik Karn as well. Molik is scary warbeast on his own, but his animus allows you to play a more aggressive Rasheth, advancing forward to cast spells before retreating back to safety at the end of the turn. Throw in a Tyrant Commander and Rasheth’s offensive spells are threatening models 16-18 inches away while still allowing him to retreat 6 inches back afterwards.
Speaking of spells, Breath of Corruption has many uses besides just those initial POW 12s. Obviously there is the fact that the AoE stays in play, causing a point of corrosion to anything entering it for one round, but there are other little tricks to the spell. For one, don’t forget it’s a cloud, and thus can block line of sight or provide concealment for important models will multiple wounds. Likewise, casting it on your own warbeast can prevent charges from dangerous single wound infantry without reach, as they will need to end their movement slightly inside the effect to be able to smack their target. Blood Mark is another interesting spell with multiple effects. While being able to transfer to an enemy model affected by Blood Mark is cute, I find that my main use for it is the -2 ARM. That said, successfully hitting an enemy caster with it is hilarious and can make your opponent reconsider potential assassination runs.
Next time we’ll look at some lists I’ve had success with.
Anyone else around here play Rasheth? What are your tips and tricks for the big guy?
