Translate

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

List Building: eVayl

It's been a while since I've done ye-olde-fashion list-building, so I figured I'd satisfy the itch today and discuss another warlock that's on my docket after Templecon: Vayl, Consul of Everblight.  Ever since I saw the artwork for her primal form, I was interested in Vayl.  She's such an interesting character for the Legion of Everblight and I seem to gravitate towards the spell-slinging types.  Naturally, Vayl is an interesting character to me, and when she went epic... hooo boy I was sold.  Not only is her model better-proportioned, but she has come to epitomize spell slinging.  Today I will be looking at her tier list, as I think that it is very strong and I believe it gives her access to all of the tools she needs for a brutal alpha-strike.

First, let's look at what her tier gives us:
Tier 1: Non-character solos gain Advance Move.
Tier 2: Have a Spawning Pool?  Add +1 to your starting game roll.
Tier 3: Have 3 or more warbeasts with Flight?  They get +2 SPD during your first turn.
Tier 4: Have 3 or more heavy warbeasts?  They're all 1 point cheaper.

Whoa.  Brutal!  For someone who owns 3 Angels, this tier makes me giddy inside.  So let's break it down.  First, we see that non-character solos gain Advance Move.  This means two things for me.  First, a Sorceress on a Helion will be perfect - especially with all of the flying beasts we'll be getting in Tier 3.  This also means that Spell Martyrs are even more of an auto-include for eVayl.  If you can get the first turn, this means that Vayl can reach incredibly far with her spells which is frightening since her feat means that she can throw out 3 Obliteration spells.  Those Spell Martyrs get to advance move and then run to get really far downfield.  This means that even if Vayl goes second, she still has a good chance of causing damage or might even catch an unweary warcaster off-guard.

Secondly, the Spawning Vessel is an awesome investment for only 3 points for a max unit and it allows you make some use out of dead models of your own, as well as the ability to pop out a Shredder, Stinger, or Harrier on the fly - which is great since some of them are situational.  This is a great take-all-comers unit and gives quite the tangible bonus, giving you a better chance of gaining ground on your opponent and getting into position.  We will probably want a nice defensive unit for Vayl anyway, as she's much more vulnerable to assassination than her primal version.  Legionnaires it is!  Since their UA hasn't been released yet, I will not include him in my list building for now.  The Legionnaires will be great to feed the blood pot and also make great targets for Occultation to make sure that they can effectively gum-up the enemy lines and buy Vayl some time.

Lastly, you should be running at least 2 Angels in every list.  Seriously, these beasts are awesome enough as it is, and now you have an excuse to run more of them.  The bonus SPD makes them scary fast, especially since the Sorceress can keep up (thanks to advance move) and you can get these guys into position to cause some serious pain.  With Vayl's spell Admonition, these guys become even more obnoxious since they have a huge threat range and even if you try to engage them, they can just flutter away to counter-charge next turn with their POW 14 armor piercing tail.  Secondly, I think that you should always take at least one Seraph.  This guy is a bit of an underdog in Mk II.  Still, with Vayl having access to Refuge, and him having Slipstream, I think he will be great for Vayl for even more movement shenanigans, while still being able to shoot the crap out of some heavy infantry or light warjacks/warbeasts.  Plus, since he's a flying heavy, he'll be a steal at 7 points with her tier.

Here is my 35 point list:
Vayl, Consul of Everblight - 35 points
Vayl (+6)
- Angelius (8*)
- Angelius (8*)
- Seraph (7*)
- Shredder (2)
Blighted Legionnaires (full, 6)
Blighted Sorceress & Hellion (4)
Spawning Vessel (full, 3)
Spell Martyrs (3)

I think this is a nice and efficient list for 35 points.  The Angels and Seraph will do a great job with clearing out obnoxious solos and infantry while my Legionnaires engage some of the tougher targets.  Angels can wreck heavies with relative ease when paired up, and combined with Refuge and Admonition, they will be able to make sure that they don't get charged in return.  This is a very offensive list that can play far upfield - which is great for keeping Vayl in the back doing what she does best - sling spells.  You can go for the early assassination, or you can pop your feat to assure spell dominance on the field and wreck any attrition game they might try to play against you.  Stay mobile and stay safe in back.

At 50 points it gets even more silly:

Vayl, Consul of Everblight - 50 points
Vayl (+6)
- Angelius (8*)
- Angelius (8*)
- Angelius (8*)
- Seraph (7*)
- Shredder (2)
- Shredder (2)
Black Frost Shard (5)
Blighted Legionnaires (full, 6)
Blighted Sorceress & Hellion (4)
Spawning Vessel (full, 3)
Spell Martyrs (3)

The addition of Black Frost Shard makes those Angels even more frightening to enemy heavies, and a third Angel to make a pack of them just makes me giddy inside!  The last 2 points go towards another Shredder, because Vayl can always use a late-game fury battery and Tenacity will be nice for her to make her (or her other beasts) harder to kill.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...