Lists Galore!

2013: The Year of Mercenaries continues! This weekend is going to be my first 35 point tournament with my Mercenaries and I'm really nervous. I already have my Connie list playtested and ready to go but I'm nervous about my options for my second list. There are a couple of models that I still need to find (look for an asterisk * for models I don't own yet) but I'm confident that I can get what I want for Connie, not so much for my other options for lists. Today I'll share the Connie list that I want to run with a brief justification about some of the changes I've made recently, and then I'll share a couple optional lists in order of likelihood of running. To keep things fairly brief I will include a quick pros and cons of matchups for each list so you can understand my misgivings and why I'm not exactly excited about any particular list. Let's start with Connie:

Constance Blaze (+6)
- Gallant (9)
Press Gangers (full, 6)
Forge Guard (full, 8)
Precursor Knights (full, 8)
- UA (2)
Harlan Versh (2)
Lanyssa Ryssl (2)
Corbeau (2)
*Anastasia di Bray (2) or Rhupert (2)

I decided to drop Aiyanna and Holt and Gorman for some Press Gangers because with Advance Deploy and Tough, the Press Gangers allow me to field some cheap, reliable souls that will serve as a great buffer so that my Forge Guard and Precursors can run upfield unmolested until I'm ready to hit hard with them. Also, the Lass can provide me some valuable shenanigans if I can keep her alive. I love how they worked in my last game with them so I decided to run with them for the tournament. I've also considered switching out Rhupert for Anastasia since she can prevent my opponent from running away or staying too far back and that increases my chances of getting in range to assassinate with Connie. I've found with Connie and her feat that I rarely need to worry about terrain since my opponent will likely come to me (giving me souls) or I'll be in range the following turn anyway, so March isn't needed, Tough can limit my soul collection and the same can be said about +1 DEF (and Terror rarely works when you want it to). I think Anastasia will be a better fit for me and can again, only help my assassination potential.
Pros: Upkeep heavy, 'jack/'beast-heavy, zone scenarios, offensive spell heavy
Cons: Massed Tough (Trolls), Colossals/Gargantuans, rough terrain, high-POW shooting (eLylith), [naturally] high-DEF spam, flag scenarios

Okay let's look at some of the other lists I've been working on.

Option 1: Gorten Grundback (Highborn Covenant)
Gorten (+7)
- *Wroughthammer Rockram (8)
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr (2)
Precursor Knights (full, 8)
- UA (2)
Gun Mages (6)
- Officer (2)
 - Mule (8)
Thor Steinhammer (2)
Dougal MacNaile (2)
Rhupert (2)

Pros: Flag scenarios, domination, high-ARM
Cons: Assassination lists, fast assault, Tough spam, high DEF

While this list can handle Colossals/Gargantuans better with some high POW attacks (P+S 22 Rockram hooo!), it's still not an auto-win. Gorten can handle flag scenarios better than Connie because of his feat, but the list will still struggle against Trolls who make a lot of Tough checks and anything really fast since Gorten is slow and vulnerable to quick assassins (like Molik Karn). Positioning will be key. This list might still struggle against some Cryx because Gorten's feat will be the only way to reliably deal with naturally high-DEF models.

Option 2: Fiona Ranged (Highborn Covenant)
Fiona (+6)
- Mariner (8)
Dougal (2)
eEiryss (3)
Gorman (2)
Press Gangers (full, 6)
Gun Mages (6)
- Officer (2)
 - Mule (8)
Aiyanna and Holt (4)

Pros: Scenarios, high-ARM, low-ARM infantry (blast damage), Colossals/Gargantuans
Cons: high DEF, spell hate, infantry spam, AOE heavy

The biggest problem I have with this list is that an army which brings even 2 or 3 AOEs will consistently blast this apart. Fortunately the factions can bring the most I will just use Connie against (Legion, Minions) or are short-ranged and will likely be affected by Fiona's feat (Zealots). Even still, it's a serious concern. At least this list can deal with Colossals better (between Affliction, Gorman, and eEiryss) and is worth considering on those merits alone. Oh, and I don't have to buy any models, so I guess that's another reason.

Option 3: Fiona Pirates (Highborn Covenant)
Fiona (+6)
- Mariner (8)
Sea Dog Crew (full, 8)
- Mr. Walls (2)
Bosun Grogspar (2)
Lord Rockbottom (2)
First Mate Hawk (2)
Doc Killingsworth (2)
eEiryss (3)
Gorman (2)
Long Gunners (full, 10)

Pros: Scenarios, high-ARM, Colossals/Gargantuans, 'jack/'beast spam
Cons: spell hate, AOE heavy, lightning, Stealth

This list is similar to the previous one with added effectiveness against high-ARM models but with only one heavy warjack and no access to Thunderbolt ammo to push them away or Kiss of Lyliss, I'm a bit vulnerable to 'jack/'beast spam. I do have better tools for dealing with single, high-ARM targets with Affliction, Sea Dogs (two initials) and the Long Gunners. Even without damage spikes, I can deal 40 points of damage to a target. This is still vulnerable to blast damage but at least the Pirate Death Star has 4+ tough and can't be knocked down, and Long Gunners are a bit more difficult to kill with blast damage. I also don't need to buy any models to make this work.

Option 4: Gorten Dorfs
Gorten (+7)
- *Wroughthammer Rockram (8)
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr (2)
Thor (2)
Dougal MacNaile (2)
Rutger Shaw (2)
- Buccaneer (3)
Taryn di la Rovissi (2)
Rhupert (2)
*Hammerfall High Shields (full, 8)
- *UA (3)
Forge Guard (full, 8)


Pros: Scenarios, high-ARM, Colossals/Gargantuans, 'jack/'beast spam, AOE heavy
Cons: SLOW, assassination lists, spell hate, spell heavy, AOE heavy, Stealth

This list is the most difficult to assemble but I do like it. While it's still vulnerable to Stealth forces, it's very slow. There are a lot of heavy hitters in the list though so I can handle 'jack/'beast spam really well, but with no way to speed up the force I'll likely suffer some losses before delivering the punch. I like the Rutger Shaw + Buccaneer + Taryn di la Rovissi combo because Taryn's Shadow Fire shot will give some flexibility to my shooting and the Buccaneer with Rutger's drive can knock down some key heavies (although not Colossals) meaning it'll be easier to hit the targets I want.

So.... I'm not sure which list to bring, although the unavailability of certain models certainly is a factor.