Today I will be discussing a couple lists that I have been considering bringing to Templecon 2012 this year, to play in the team tournament (also mentioned in my last Road to Templecon article here). I have four lists on the chopping block, and I'm only allowed to bring two. I already have a good idea of which ones I want to bring, but I won't tell you, so that I can keep the surprise ;-)
#1 Epic Baldur - Tier 4
eBaldur (+5)
- Megalith (11)
- Woldguardian (9)
- Woldwarden (9)
- Woldwatcher (4*)
- Woldwyrd (4*)
Druids of Orboros (7)
- Overseer (2)
Shifting Stones (2)
Shifting Stones (2)
- Stone Keeper (1)
Lord of the Feast (4)
The eBaldur list plays like a really solid brick. It does not move and offers lots of opportunities for geomancy - either using Roots or Crevasse - I prefer using the latter during feat turn to clear out some infantry. I've played this list and it has both anti-infantry with Crevasse but also the Lord of the Feast can clear out infantry pretty well if you need him to. This list handles heavies reasonably well, but is more likely to cripple than kill, so it will be more suited to playing against Warmachine armies than Hordes armies (which can usually heal damaged aspects). You're best buying your time, keeping Baldur safe, until he can run in there and do the dirty deed himself.
#2 Primal Baldur - Tier 4
pBaldur (+6)
- Megalith (10*)
- Woldwarden (8*)
- Woldguardian (8*)
- Woldwyrd (5)
Druids of Orboros (7)
Sentry Stone and Manikins (3)
Shifting Stones (2)
Shifting Stones (2)
- Stone Keeper (1)
Druid Stoneward and Woldstalkers (5)
Druid Stoneward and Woldstalkers (5)
Despite the similarities in list, pBaldur plays differently than eBaldur. This is actually my first list that I've ever really played of Warmachine/Hordes, and so I have a lot of experience with this. While most people think that pBaldur is an assassin, I actually prefer him for a denial warlock. He is capable of assassination, yes, but it will often involve him spending 2-4 fury points between getting to his target, and while Weight of Stone will help to hit, you'll likely need to boost that first swing with MAT 7. I prefer him for his feat of "you can't get me na-nana-na-na-na" as well as being able to get his constructs to hit much harder than they might otherwise. The addition of the Woldstalkers in this list provides some great options for pinging warcasters or even doing some damage to enemy heavies with concentrate fire. Also, pretty much the entire army is constructs, so this shuts down a lot of abilities/effects that only affect living models, as well as everything having magical attacks, so no incorporeal surprises for me!
#3 Epic Kaya - Tier 4
eKaya + Laris (+3)
- Feral Warpwolf (8*)
- Pureblood Warpwolf (8*)
- Warpwolf Stalker (9*)
- Gorax (4)
- Druid Wilder (2)
Druids of Orboros (7)
- Overseer (2)
Warpborn Skinwalkers (full, 8)
Shifting Stones (2)
Shifting Stones (2)
- Stone Keeper (1)
The third list is my stock eKaya list. I like her Tier 4 list as it offers some really solid benefits. There's not much to mention here as this list will be great against enemy heavies. It will struggle a bit with infantry lists, but the spray from the Pureblood and a berserk Stalker will usually buy enough time or create a wide enough hole for that great assassination - either with beasts or Kaya herself. This list does struggle a bit against all-incorporeal feats and the like, and all of your beasts rely a bit much on your upkeeps, but you have some solid threat saturation. This is also a list that could be candidate for fastest caster kill if your opponent isn't savvy enough.
pKrueger (+5)
- Woldwarden (9)
- Woldwarden (9)
- Feral Warpwolf (9)
- Gnarlhorn Satyr (8)
- Gorax (4)
Druids of Orboros (7)
- Overseer (2)
Shifting Stones (2)
Shifting Stones (2)
- Stone Keeper (1)
Blackclad Wayfarer (2)
Lastly, is the pKrueger list. Most people prefer his epic form, but I think throwing around lightning is lots of fun (and why I like Cygnar!). This list is pretty balanced, but is mostly intended for absolutely destroying infantry. This list really struggles against high ARM lists though, as you're relying on throwing out lots of POW 10s, between Krueger and his Woldwardens geomancy-ing Chain Lightning. The Feral and Gnarlhorn are present to deal with enemy heavies, with the Gnarlhorn animus giving some added threat range if needed (and Primal is available if I don't need the extra threat range). Between Bounding, the Hunter's Mark from the Blackclad, and Lightning Tendrils from Krueger (or a Woldwarden), that Feral has a 15" threat range with electro-leap and MAT 9 on the charge attack! Granted, this list will still struggle against lots of heavies, but that Feral is there to wreck a heavy (or hopefully two) while Krueger and the Wardens wipe the infantry off the board, and hopefully clear a lane to finish off the enemy warcaster/warlock.
I encourage you to look at each list and see how it fares according to my own system. I enjoy the diversity of playstyles represented here, despite overly similar elements (there were some units I really could just copy and paste). Above all, the biggest reason there are so many similarities in the lists is so that I don't have to paint as much ;-)