Rounds one and two are at the 15 point level. I decided to start with Blaze because I've been most excited about her since she was announced back at Templecon 2011. A heavily-armored chick with a spear and shield? Yes please! Unfortunately, her ARM is a little lackluster considering she has a shield, but I digress. Here's my first list with her at 15 points:
- Gallant (9)
Precursor Knights (full, 8)
- Officer and Standard (2)
Harlan Versh (2)
The tactics of this list have been discussed before, but I basically move the Precursors up the field in B2B to block LOS to Versh or Connie along my back line. As the enemy engages me, Gallant and Blaze can swing over the heads of the Precursors thanks to Tactics: Ranked Attacks and Connie can benefit from Flank [Morrowan] and Flashing Blade to rip apart most targets with ease. Versh can also be quite hilarious with Purgation, Witch Hunter, and his gun Malleus which can potentially fire 4 shots at 4 different targets! At 25 points...
- Gallant (9)
Precursor Knights (full, 8)
- Officer and Standard (free!)
Precursor Knights (min, 5)
Harlan Versh (2)
Alain Runewood (3)
- Sentinel (4)
... I suddenly jump up to Tier 4, allowing all of the fun little benefits that come with it! I have a few more bodies on the field so I can have a flank of Precursor Knights while the main brick lumbers forward, shooting at all of my foes with Versh and the Sentinel while I do so. With the Sentinel and Runewood around my main brick, suddenly Connie is much more resilient to distant assaults thanks to two models with Shield Guard. Runewood is also resilient since he already has Sacrificial Pawn [Faction Warjack] anyway. I thought about taking a min unit of Sword Knights instead, but I think the ranged attacks through my own line of troops will be more advantageous than crowding up the field with even more infantry, especially since the Sword Knights would rarely get to take advantage of their Flank ability with Gallant being the only warjack on the field. At 35 points...
- Gallant (9)
- Centurion (9)
Precursor Knights (full, 8)
- Officer and Standard (free!)
Precursor Knights (min, 5)
- Officer and Standard (2)
Harlan Versh (2)
Alain Runewood (3)
Journeyman Warcaster (3)
...I can suddenly have two self-sufficient flanks to work with! I have my normal brick and then I have a mini brick with the min unit of Precursor Knights, a Journeyman, Runewood, and the Centurion. With the Centurion lumbering forward at ARM 24 and his Polarity Shield, I can create a nice flank that can reliably get to the edge of my opponent while the main brick lumbers forwards as usual. Having a second heavy warjack on the field will be quite nice - especially one which rocks such a high ARM! The Journeyman can even make the occasional pot-shots with his hand cannon from the safety of behind the Precursor line (I LOVE Ranked Attacks!).
Now for Kraye, I'm thinking that I will use him for pure warcaster/warlock aggression. I intend on applying lots of pressure and showing my opponent how quickly I can get into position to threaten his most valuable targets (especially their warcaster/warlock!). Here's what I'm bringing at 15 points:
- Ironclad (7)
- Minuteman (5)
- Minuteman (5)
- Sentinel (4)
I wrote about this list a couple of days ago but I think it's aggressive style will be fun and suitable. The Ironclad can be both a finesse piece - quick, able to knock stuff down - and a missile that can potentially threaten 15.5" away (or knock something down 17" away). The Minutemen are going to be really fun, as they can threaten my opponent from 15" away with 4 POW 14 ranged attacks. While it will only dent some warcasters/warlocks, it's enough to apply a lot of pressure and this list will certainly bully my opponent around. I already managed to play a game with this against my Menoth nemesis Sean, and while I lost, I was able to keep him on his toes with being able to apply pressure early and maintain it with the threat of fast-moving warjacks. It'll take some practice to work out appropriate timing for when to pounce, but I'm looking forward to it. At 25 points...
- Ironclad (7)
- Hammersmith (8)
- Minuteman (5)
- Minuteman (5)
- Sentinel (4)
- Squire (2)
... the addition of a Squire will help Kraye manage the focus load a little bit better as well as well as allow me to run a little further out on the flanks with an extended control area. While I initially thought that Strangeways would be a better choice, I think that the Squire will be important for allowing me to keep Kraye further back while throwing my warjacks out there and feeling comfortable about it. I also have the potential in this list to cycle around Full Tilt between the Ironclad and the Hammersmith to get the most out of the spell, and they both will serve the function of messing with my opponent's positioning of models and clearing lanes for either my other heavy or the Minutemen to get into the soft squishy bits. While the Hammersmith won't be able to threaten as far back as the Ironclad, he can still apply lots of pressure with the hilarious combination that Ride-by-Attacks and his own Beat Back provide! At 35 points...
- Hammersmith (8)
- Centurion (9)
- Ironclad (7)
- Minuteman (5)
- Minuteman (5)
- Sentinel (4)
Journeyman Warcaster (3)
...I decide that the Squire should give Jr. a chance to shine. While Jr. might not be doing much, giving the newly-added Centurion Arcane Shield is always a good time. The Centurion will fit right in with the other heavies, and suddenly a list which looked like it was geared up for a ranged assassination now has a strong melee vector for killing the enemy warcaster and doing some line-breaking. Now I have the flexibility to either clear charge lanes or fire lanes. While Kraye might not be the most focus-efficient with his warjacks, making them all some form of Cavalry gives an immense amount of flexibility that should not be underestimated. His feat turn is certainly brutal with melee warjacks and every other turn he has some serious threats in the ranged warjacks. After some playing a few games I might decide that the Hunter is worth taking if I can find the points, but I really like what I'm bringing right now and I don't find myself really wishing I had the long-range shot. Yes, Armor Piercing is great, but at POW 6, color me unimpressed. It's not that I'm opposed to it, I just want to try other things first.