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Well, I've decided to drop WHFB and start play W&H. After looking over the armies I have decided to play as cryx. Could anyone describe to me their playing style and give this noob some tips on getting started?

I just started playing Cryx and Warmachine, but this is my very initial impression:

Every unit you have, someone has something better on the table for the same cost in terms of ability to do damage, or defensive ability, or something along those lines. Your units, for lack of a better word, all seem to a gimmick of some sort to them instead of these things. When you combine them together and learn to use them effectively, you get to do silly things all over the table that effect the game in a large way.

P.S. Pick up Lich Lord Asphyxious for free wins, lol.

http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?29960-So-you-want-to-serve-the-Dragonfather...what-you-need-to-know-to-be-a-loyal-minion

@ fearspect: not the way I see the faction...

OT: Cryx mainly makes use of undead troopers. they are relatively cheap for what they can do. They hit hard and reasonably fast. They also suffer a bit of a glass jaw. 1 good blow can be able to cripple a lot of stuff (although that is true for most warmachine armies, cryx suffers a bit more.)

The free win also does not exist in warmachine, unless you play against yourself. there are some tricks that make going for the kill a lot easier, but it is never impossible to avoid completely.

IMHO if you want to learn to play cryx a battlebox (denny, 2 rippers and a defiler + some mechanithralls are all you need for 15 points. the thralls are multifunctional and in combination with the debuffs of deneghra wil wreck troops and jacks alike.
l

I agree with LordRavurion, eGaspy is really nice, but he's not a 'win button'...as much as some will describe. It's really all you, as in the player using him.

What is nice about Warmachine/Hordes is that everybody has counters and everybody has awesome combos (for the most part).

And it is true, Cryx is hard to hit, hits hard, but can't really take hits.
It's known as the 'tryx' faction because there are some very obvious things that each of the caster will try to do with respect to the 'win' condition they are going for...which is good and bad.
Bad in that the opponent knows what is coming, Good in that it's generally a really good trick.


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As for battle box, I will second it, but make no mistake, Denny is a bit deeper/harder to get around. She is really fragile and there are some hard counters to her, so like the Cryx, hit hard and fast as there is no time to waste with what will most likely be a fragile list.

I have been running mainly Denny since I started last June. It takes a while to get your head around how she works.

The Battlebox is a great start. The Slayer in the BB wasn't mentioned.
IMO, the best 6pt heavy in the game. Can't take a hit, but dishes out 3 attacks at a good Mat and POW. Two open fist for the doublehand throw.

A lot of Cryx power combos are not obvious. There is a lot of manipulation involved in getting the best results.
Cycling spells between your caster and Skarlock are a big part of it.

I have been told that Asphyxious is a better all-around caster to learn with than Deneghra. Denny really makes the other guys stuff suck, but doesn't really boost her own.

My recommendation is the Cryx Battlebox, a full 10 Mechanithralls, Skarlock, and Bane Thralls. Maybe pick up Asphyxious if you want a smoother learning curve.
Solid core of an army that will let you swap stuff out to try new.

If you find you like heavy jacks, try the Seether. Free run/charge, and Chain attack two handed throw.

The reason why Asphyxious is a an all-round caster is...well, just look at him .

He:
Buffs, De-Buffs.
Attacking spells have an answer for high def or high arm.
He's quick with teleport.
He has a cloud effect he can make.
He is a combat monster.
W/ feat it allows flexibility of focus use.

He can magic assassin or combat assassin, horde control too with parasite + feat.

All in all, he has an answer for many things.
The one issue? The Medium base. That's the biggest hurdle to get over with him.

With a Seether... you have to ask yourself:
ChainAttack and the extra focus or a Slayer and a Warwitch Siren or mixing it up even further with Snapjaw and Wrongeye.

So far I've only used the Slayer + WWS, and it's pretty flexible. Seether is still more focus efficient, while Snapjaw is very decent independant of the rest of the army.

See, I have the WWS and the Seether. But I use the WWS to power bonejacks upfield, and try to use the Heavy as a reserve.

I have found, for me, that I have trouble using a heavy offensively. So I am tending to hold them back, to counter-charge/react.

I would say that the absolute best casters to get into with a lower learning curve as a new player would be either Terminus or Asphyxious Prime (Iron Lich). Both are a lot more straight forwards in terms of win conditions and the kind of army that supports them.

I'm just gonna replace the chick in the battlebox with Lich Lord Venethrax.

I suggest getting a unit for him as he really likes the self sufficient stuff.

Gorgers+Gerlick
or
Bane Knights+Tartarus
Maybe even Saytixis Raiders w/ Sea Witch.

I think Venny is kinda hard at low points and not against Hordes. And then there's the medium base to deal with .

Sweet model, great vs. casters with Lamentaion and pretty beefy when you get the change to use Soul Harvester.

I've decided to get Asphyxious instead of Venny, since I learned Venny isn't very effective with warjacks (Helljacks as they are called for cryx) and I want a few warjacks in my army.

Venny's tier list gets cheaper/faster Seethers. The downside is you have to use Blood Gorgers instead of Bane Knights, though them trolls are right tough in their own right. I plan to build an army for him that has at least two Seethers.