List Building Advice: Harkevich 50 points

I understand that I'm not the best player out there for Warmachine/Hordes but I do love building lists and working on theory.  Recently a follower of the blog asked me for some feedback on a couple of lists and I was more than happy to oblige!  Today I'll look at the first of the lists presented and give some feedback.  I'll share the other list next week.

If anyone wants some feedback on lists just feel free to head over to the Steam-Powered Gamer facebook page and send me a message and I'll be glad to take a look at it.  Since most of us have our own limitations on building lists, I do take into consideration issues like the size of a collection or the amount of money you can spend on tweaking a list, so don't be afraid to ask for advice.  Also, I have one hard and fast rule and that is that I will not tell you which warcaster/warlock to play (unless that's the feedback you want).  I think it's rude when someone says "well your first mistake is that you're not playing X warcaster/warlock."  We all have our reasons for choosing particular models to play and I like giving feedback that meets your own criteria.  If you want to make a particular model work, I'm glad to toss around ideas with you to see what we can do!

Without further ado, I'll share the original list that requested feedback and then I'll share my feedback for Harkevich.

Thinking Cap: In Defense of the Conquest

There’s been a lot of hate out there for the Khadorian Colossal.  There are many who feel like it is the least useful of the Colossals and many will argue that the Stormwall is hands-down the best Colossal out there.  While I will not disagree that the Stormwall is fantastic, I think it’s power is perhaps exaggerated by the fact that Cygnar previously lacked something that had both raw offensive output and damage resiliency.  Indeed, one of the Stormwall’s greatest attributes is that it will be effective in the hands of nearly all of the Cygnarian warcasters since it has both raw melee potential and some effective shooting.  Why then, is the Conquest viewed by Khadorian players with such disappointment?  Let me share some insights I’ve had about the Conquest and why I think it will be equally – if not more welcome – than the other warjacks that Khador can bring.

Warmachine: Colossals Consolidated Spoilers! [UPDATED 6-3-12]

Today I have something special for you all.  With Lock n' Load starting yesterday, I managed to scour the interwebs for everything that I could find on this event (since I couldn't make it myself).  Not only do I have pictures for you but some awesome spoilers on some of the new models coming out!  If you were following the Facebook page yesterday then some of this will be old news for you (lesson: like us on Facebook!) but there will be some new stuff that I've compiled from the Privateer Press forums for you all.  Let's start with some pictures and then I'll head right into rules!

[UPDATE 6-3-12] - We also have one of the spoiled cards for the Trollbloods Mountain King!  This answers a lot of questions that I had about how these Gargantuan warbeasts would function.

List Building: Zerkova 35 points

I only just realized today that I don't actually have any list building articles posted for Khador.  I knew that I wrote one up for 3++ but I never actually posted it here.  So, I apologize, but today I will be officially posting the article I wrote on building a 35 point list with Zerkova.  Zerkova has a special place in my heart and I think she's pretty fantastic and cool, offering a unique playstyle to Khador.  Unfortunately, she struggles to come up with easy answers to some common problems, so she's often left behind in favor of the flashier warcasters like Sorscha or Butcher.  That said, I think that she will be a satisfying warcaster in the hands of a dedicated general.  Let's start - as usual - with looking at her feat.

Mercenary Unit Attachments: The Lists

In the first two parts of my series on Mercenary Unit Attachments we looked at what each unit attachment offered their charges and then we looked at all of the warcasters for each relevant faction and their feats, spells, and abilities which would affect these Mercenary units once they were considered faction models.  For today, I created three lists that feature these mercenary units and their attachments and I will focus on how each mercenary unit and MUA features in each list.  Again, I make no claims on the power of each individual list, but merely am focusing on how a mercenary unit will offer something unique to the particular warcaster that normal faction models might not.  Let's start with Cygnar.

Mercenary Unit Attachments: The Warcasters

Yesterday I wrote about the ever-rare Mercenary Unit Attachments, a recent addition to the game introduced in Warmachine: Wrath.  These attachments allow an attached mercenary unit to count as friendly faction models, as well as giving them some other abilities which I discussed.  While there are only three of these MUAs available, they are not seen often on the tables from what I've seen, and I wanted to discuss their merits.  For today, I will be looking at the various warcasters which could make the most use of these MUAs and their charges - often because they'll have a feat or spells that only affect friendly faction models.  This is a long post, so I'll wait until next week to look at some sample lists which feature Mercenary units and their MUAs.  Let's look at how each warcaster in each faction could take most advantage of having new friendly faction models.

Homebrew: Nikolai, the Saint of Khador

I figured that you all might be starting to get of all of the showcases, so I figured I'd give you all a break before the last showcase.  So, in the true holiday spirit, I decided to once again make some homebrew rules for a character!  This time I present you with [what I think is] the Iron Kingdoms version of Jolly Ol' St. Nick!

Plastic Warbeast Kits are here!...

Zoidberg...?

...sorta.  It looks like Privateer Press finally unveiled their first of the plastic warbeast kits, and it's no surprise that it's the Legion heavies.  Anyone who has put the metal models together already knows that these kits were nearly the same anyway, so they were the easiest to transition to plastic (compared to the Troll and Circle beasts, who will need more drastic resculpts).  I am guessing that Skorne might be next, as the Gladiator, Sentry, and Cannoneer kits are already pretty similar as well.  We also get our character warbeast kit, compatible with the plastic kits: Proteus!  Looks like Privateer Press is really pushing the Cthulhu theme with Legion now...

Showcase: Two Player Box

I received the Two Player Box for a couple days now but I've been waiting until I got home to open it up and see what's inside.  I am not disappointed!  There is TONS of stuff in this box, and certainly well worth the $100 retail pricetag.  Even though other starter boxes or other games (like the Isle of Blood or Battle for Black Reach) have more models, Privateer Press made sure that this box provides everything you need to get into the whole hobby, and not just the game.  Anyway, instead of writing 15,000 words, I'll just give you 15 pictures (that's what they're worth, right?):