My post earlier this week on Gorten got me to realize that I've always wondered how my Fiona list would do in a tournament setting. She's a fun warcaster and she brings some interesting tricks to the table that most people wouldn't be used to seeing all in one package. I like the list I have for her but there are a lot of specific synergies and I worry that any other 'competitive' Mercenary build would miss out on some of the elements I include in her list - most notably characters that I'd like to take with Broadsides Bart. Bart was never really a strong list for me anyway, and seeing as they're really the only two mercenary warcasters I owned, I didn't give tournament dreams much of a thought (Fiona is too time-consuming for Hardcore). Now, with Gorten, I can build two lists that I like but without the usual concerns about character restriction which will undoubtedly be in SR2013. So let's say I'm going to attend a SR2013 tournament, at 35 points. What lists would I actually bring?
List 1 - Highborn Covenant - 35 points
Fiona the Black (+6)- Freebooter (6)
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr (2)
Gun Mages (6)
- Officer (2)
- Mule (8)
Press Gangers (full, 6)
Doc Killingsworth (2)
Dougal MacNaile (2)
Rutger Shaw (2)
- Buccaneer (3)
Taryn di la Rovissi (2)
This is very similar to lists that I've been running already with the addition of Sylys (who is just great for Fiona). Again, it's a fairly shooty list and Fiona's feat will keep much of my list alive for an extra turn as it benefits mediocre DEF stats fairly well. It'll be a great list to go up against Cryx who will probably have a tougher time dealing with my ranged elements and I'll be able to absorb the charge fairly well with my feat up. I've switched out the Mariner for the Mule after some convincing but I think I'll keep the Freebooter. It's a highly efficient warjack when there are models around to knock stuff down and if I see a potential Colossal/Gargantuan, I'll play with my second list anyway. This list is designed to deal with infantry swarms fairly well and is designed to basically get to and kill the enemy warcaster. Not much of a scenario win condition here, but the feat will hopefully let me out-attrition my opponent on objectives and the like.
It doesn't seem like much of a list, but Fiona has all of the tools available to make all of the elements of this list shine. First, Roth's Mercy will turn the Press Gangers into stupidly annoying models that will stay on the objective to the last man (while having 4+ tough from a nearby Doc Killingsworth). As Cultists for Fiona they'll also be Fearless, so I don't have to worry about those random and annoying morale checks. Telgesh Mark could be thrown on a lot of different models but allows me the option of going the spell-slinging route if I really wanted to. If my opponent happens to bring some powerful infantry, I can take advantage of Influence (looking at you, Caber Throwers!) or I can spam Soulfire to wipe out some solos or clear out a charge lane/fire lane for those who might need it. Nonokrion Brand can go on either the Gun Mages or the Mule, depending on how tightly my opponent packs his forces (it's good that the Mule has Arcing Fire) and I could also toss it onto the Press Gangers if I find myself up against an all-Incorporeal force.
There's not a lot of love out there for Rutger Shaw but I absolutely love him with the Buccaneer and Taryn di la Rovissi. It's a 7 point investment but holy balls they are awesome. With Reach on a cheap warjack like the Buccaneer, I'm more likely going to be able to take advantage of Rutger's Flank which makes him quite potent - and don't forget that his sword is magical. Alternatively, Rutger's Drive is pretty awesome with the Buccaneer. Since you don't need to use the 'jack marshall boost for damage, you can boost to hit with his net and get the benefit of the reroll should you fail. It's pretty powerful against high-DEF models and you can really push your effectiveness with him that way. While Shaw's defensive stats are mediocre, DEF 13 ARM 14 is suddenly quite annoying when you're rolling one fewer attack and damage die, and if you miss your attack roll he gets to move away from you, and he's also Tough. He's far more annoying to remove than he looks on paper and since he grants both Dodge and Tough to Taryn, she becomes similarly annoying to remove and she's the only model outside of Jarl and Caine to sport two magical pistols and she has some pretty unique effects she can grant to her shots. Taryn is a huge boon for the list, being able to Black Penny Press Gangers or Gun Mages out of melee, shooting a warjack and doing automatically d3 points of damage is always fun, and Shadow Fire continues the theme of the list that you can't hide behind your own models because I'll see you and shoot you anyway. Knowing what I do about SR2013, I'm going to be quite pleased with this strategy, methinks.
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| I also love Taryn's model! |
My second list, of course, will be the Gorten list I presented earlier this week, although I've been considering some changes before I even start playtesting it. I'll discuss those at the end.
List 2 - Highborn Covenant - 35 points
Gorten (+7)
- Basher (7)
Alexia and Risen (5)
Forge Guard (full, 8)
Gun Mages (6)
- Officer (2)
- Mule (8)
Gorman (2)
Ragman (2)
Rhupert (2)
This is the list I posted earlier so I won't go into too much discussion here. Let me instead present some of the options I'm considering tweaking. While some have suggested Thor, I don't currently own the model and if I find him, I suppose I could switch him out for Ragman. I do like Ragman because he suddenly allows the Forge Guard to carry well beyond their own weight against heavies, and they'll a solid feature of this list. Thor would make the Basher more efficient, I guess, but it's already a fairly efficient warjack and I don't plan on throwing much focus onto the Basher anyway, so the boosted attacks will be wasted when I won't be buying more of them. Similarly, I always feel like I'm wasting a solo's potential if they have a Drive ability and I don't give them a warjack. You're essentially paying points for an ability you won't use. I love Thor, but I'm weary about using him if I'm not giving him his own warjack (which I would at 50 points).
Anyway, here's an alternative list that I was considering:
Gorten (+7)
- Rockram (8)
Alexia and Risen (5)
Forge Guard (full, 8)
Gun Mages (6)
- Officer (2)
- Mule (8)
Thor (2)
eEiryss (3)
I don't currently own a Rockram but it's on my list of future purchases. The Rockram is quite an awesome 'jack, especially considering it's only a point more than a Basher. What it offers me is a solid heavy hitter where the Basher was more useful for moving stuff out of the way and exploding (very efficiently, mind you). The Rockram will require more focus from Gorten but with Strength of Granite the thing is rocking P+S 22 - as hard-hitting as you can hope to get from any heavy! If I take the Rockram I can justify taking Thor a little more because I could give the Rockram boosted attack rolls to hopefully trigger it's awesome critical effects more often. The Rockram can also contribute some shooting along with the rest of the list and although it's slow, Assault helps a bunch. It also has more damage boxes and a higher ARM than the Basher, so it'll stay running for a bit longer and since I'd be taking Thor in this list, I could at least repair it. The Rockram needs more focus than the Basher, however, and so I lose out on a lot of flexibility in that department and I'd better hope that I don't see Lamentation or Purification across the field.
Even still, I'd feel comfortable trying this list out just like the original list, but playtesting is required regardless. I also don't own Thor or Rockram models whereas I own the models for the other Gorten list, so that's a consideration as well. I still think the lists have tournament potential and I'll be curious to play around with Gorten more because I would love to take Fiona to a tournament and win with her, just to show everyone on the internet how wrong they are about her.