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Curious of peoples thoughts on this subject.

If you just want bodies to clog up the field, Sword Knights do a pretty good job. If you're looking for something with a bit more oomph and staying power, I'm personally a fan of Precursors.

What about Boomhowler?
Medium bases stop tramples, 4+ tough, Cygnar buffs are not always faction specific like Blur or Arcane shield.

Then they are flexible enough with axe and gun.

There is no best, its all situational, and also heavily dependent on what erlse is in your list.

Best we can hope for is a shortlist.

1. Long gunners. Cheap numerous and useful. ideally you want your screen to dom more thanjust abosorb damage, Long Gunners work bercause the fact you have a warcaster behind them safe from fire is irelevant to their own role. Sometimes this is what you want to hang behind, at range. Requires a Lancer or two to re-establish your own threat range.

2. Centurion. Very survivable and good at stopping cold most attacks. Now a very narrow screen frontage though.

3. Battle mechanics. sometimes your shield doesnt need to be good, it just needs to be there. The gobbers are as cheap as you they get (almost, see below) they also have high def. Combinwe this wirth a jack or two for decent coverage and survivabiliy.

4. Two Sentinels. Good ranged power, plus shields. Workable without focus.

5. Alexia Ciannor and risen. The undead she brings make a wonderful screen, cheap there and recoverable. Requires your screen to be closer to the battle than some options above.

6. Stormnouns. Various somethings with survivability and shock value (sic), and generally not heavily priced either.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and options can and should be combined for a better defence.

I'd like to put forth a vote for Steelhead Halberdiers. SPD6 +reach on dirt cheap bodies. They aren't great, but are an ok alternative to sword knights.

My cygnar buddy loves precurser knights with their UA because they block LOS to the long gunners behind them, but they dont block the long gunner's LOS. They can also heal, have decent stats, and have blessed weapons. Sword knights are his other choice, they are very cheap, very good stats for how cheap they are, and they can deal great damage with flank.

Thanks for the feedback. The precursors sound pretty good. I liked the boomhowler idea, but seems like a high cost investment.

SlickBastard wrote:Thanks for the feedback. The precursors sound pretty good. I liked the boomhowler idea, but seems like a high cost investment.

Trolls are a high cost investment in general.

No body mentioned one of my favorites, forge guard. Dec price, reach and weaponmaster and if you use jr a sick armor value with arcaine shield.

Trouble with Forge Guard is they are slow as molasses. If you're using them, why not
use Storm guard? You're losing out on Weapon Master but gaining auto hitting extras.

I would definitely go for Stormguard.
With their reach and the lightning, they do the job well.

When you need bodies, I think they are where you want to go.

Do they have lightning immunity?

Yes, yes they do.

Also, they have Set Defense, which increases their survivability.

Something I hadnt noticed about precursers, they are spell immune, can gain an additional damage die on attacks once per game, and have 18ARM under shield wall, or 21 with arcane shield. They dont put out as much damage as the storm guard, but they cost a little less and are more difficult to kill.

Stormguard have better offense however.

They are spell immune. If I understand this right, that means no arcane shield for you!

Ahahaha good point.

You are correct sir.

But they still be affected by spells that don't directly target them... like Deceleration or those Aura/Pulse spells.

True, but the cygnaran test of meatshieldiness is:

Can I cast Arcane Shield on them?

I would say "Not every Cygnar Caster has Arcane Shield", but then you just take the Journeyman and call it a day.

True, however, what if you are playing a small list, say 15pts? you could spend 1 less point for the precurser knights and not take jr and get a unit that is slightly more difficult to kill (precursers have 1 more DEF with the same ARM as stormguard+arcane shield). This would free up 4 points, which is alot in a small list. The stormguards again, have better offense however, making them a more versatile unit.

malfred wrote:Trouble with Forge Guard is they are slow as molasses. If you're using them, why not
use Storm guard? You're losing out on Weapon Master but gaining auto hitting extras.

See I don't get this really, forge guard can run every turn and still gain all their armor bonus, makes them faster than they seem on paper. They are also arm 21 with arcane shield which makes them a real nightmare to get rid of.

And depending on the Cygnar list you field, why would you be trying to advance into the enemy?

So that you don't lose in some scenarios?
I thought that was the balancer to things shooty heavy...

He may not be trying to advance either and may not have a choice. Even if you have a shooty list, you need something to hold up fast movers. Turn 1 / 2 chargers is something you need to deal with.

SK's were/are my goto guys for that. Cheap, expendable, and can hit pretty hard with a supporting jack.

Hey, you might be getting a Cygnar UA that turns a merc unit into a Cygnar Unit, like the Khador guy previewed on the PP page.

That's the speculation on his abilities anyway.

If the previous post is true, I would consider the Boomhowlers a little more.

whitekong wrote:

malfred wrote:Trouble with Forge Guard is they are slow as molasses. If you're using them, why not
use Storm guard? You're losing out on Weapon Master but gaining auto hitting extras.

See I don't get this really, forge guard can run every turn and still gain all their armor bonus, makes them faster than they seem on paper. They are also arm 21 with arcane shield which makes them a real nightmare to get rid of.

True, but Storm Guard will get into position faster and have the same benefit, with
the added benefit of debuffing charges against them.

I love you PP send me a full unit o Boomhowler.

Depends on caster and list makeup, IMO. If you have plans to make a serious meat shield that will bear the brunt of your opponent's attack, you will probably want to consider adding the Piper and a Journeyman.

Generally speaking:

I like Stormguard supported with the Piper and Blur when my lists have ranged elements. Def 16 against ranged and charge attacks, and a high enough ARM that they don't die to blast damage. Ranked attack lets the friendlies shoot through them, and reach + cma gives them excellent flexibility.

If I have deceleration or deflection in my list, I like precursors. I like them even more if I can buff their mat or lower my opponent's def. I'm thinking eHaley, Nemo, & eStryker.

Nyss Hunters are a good, though expensive, front line that offers a decently hard hitting melee attack with some CRA options. IMO works best when you drop Arcane Shield on the unit to prevent blast damage from trashing the unit.

If you want something cheap, Sword Knights or Steelheads are tough to beat. Blur on Swork Knights and Arcane Sheild on Steelheads will make for durable front lines that don't cost much, but also don't end up having a ton of effect during the game either.

I really don't want to invest 5 points in solos to support more "support". I want a unit that can take a heavy hit and give it back the next turn if need be. My commandos take it then the casters next.

Just want to find the perfect cheap meat shield that can take down a light without too much investment in solos. 10 pow 12 sprays, decent charge, arm 16, combined melee and super tough sounds good to me.

Boomhowler are on their way, with no march order.