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ok so i am a 40k player by heart but decided to change it up, so far i have very few models, even by warmachine standards but some help on a good beginners list would be awesome. so far i have:

Epic Caine
Coleman Stryker(on order from battlebox)
FireFly Warjack
Sentinel Warjack
Charger Warjack (on order from battlebox)
Ironclad Warjack (on order from battlebox)
Lancer Warjack (on order from battlebox)

and i am thinking about getting the Stormguard, i just really like the pikes they have. any ideas on which models i should use and any future investments?

I would focus on Solos and Infantry at this point. eCaine really likes his own foucs and Stryker will have very little if he is upkeeping his spells. That being said you have a good assortment of jacks to begin with.

The next purchase really should be a Jr. Warcaster she can have a jack to herself, and can give it up to 3 focus and cast spells (like arcane shield). Arlan Strangeways and the Squire area also typical early buys for Cygnar solos.

Stormguard aren't a bad unit so you should pick them up.

A 25 point list could be

pStryker*6
*Ironclad 7
*Lancer 6
*Squire 2
Jr 3
*Charger 4
Max Stormguard 9

ok now i am slightly confused, i have not see anything for a Junior warcaster, also what does the p infront of stryker mean? i am very very new and i need the noob version of this stuff, i am quite thankful for your input tho. also i am going to assume that the jr and stryker take points off for the warjacks?


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oh so i was looking around and it looks like your talking about the journeyman? also is there some tactics you could spare on these guys?

Sorry, I'll clarify.

P is for Prime (the first incarnation of the caster) it also means its not the epic version. E is for epic, the later version of the character (usually also has a title change Coleman Striker goes to Lord Commander Striker for example). They typically have different stats, spells, and feats.

pStyker like eCaine has warjack points that are spent on his battlegroup (the jacks directly under his control). Stryker has 6 "free" points to spend on warjacks (helping reduce their cost so the lancer is basically a free jack).

Jr Warcaster is a solo and can be found on page 113 in the factions of book or here http://privateerpress.com/warmachine/gallery/cygnar/solos/journeyman-warcaster or if you want the alternate sculpt http://privateerpress.com/warmachine/gallery/cygnar/solos/journeyman-warcaster-variant

Unlike your caster the Jr. does not have Warjack points but can control jacks like a warcaster with 3 focus. Jr also can cast Arcane Bolt and Arcane Shield spells using thier own focus.


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GreyTauKnight wrote:
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oh so i was looking around and it looks like your talking about the journeyman? also is there some tactics you could spare on these guys?

Jr's typically like focus efficient jacks or lights. If I take a jack with Jr it usually is either a hunter or charger. I often take a Jr without jacks just to have Arcane Shield (which is a great upkeep for Cygnar).

That being said I have seen people trying to run Jr with a Defender or Stormclad with very limited success (more success with the Stomrclad) but I just don't like putting expensive jacks with a 3 point solo that dies easily.


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I hate shameless advocacy, but there are several bat reps on my friends you tube channel with my Cygnar in them if you want to see a few games (see link in sig).

got it, i understand a little better now, now my next question would be, how effective is a list like this in general or competative play? should i try for different models or is this good enough?

GreyTauKnight wrote:got it, i understand a little better now, now my next question would be, how effective is a list like this in general or competative play? should i try for different models or is this good enough?

There is no "good enough" in Warmahordes, honestly: each game uses fewer models, but I've found that just means that people buy larger collections to try out different things. Also, since most tournaments require anywhere from 2 to 3 different lists and have varying requirements of how many of those lists you need to play, it usually behooves you to learn as many play styles as possible.

GreyTauKnight wrote:got it, i understand a little better now, now my next question would be, how effective is a list like this in general or competative play? should i try for different models or is this good enough?

The models are good enough. There are were few models, which are completely crap in WM/ Hordes. But to make the models shine you have to use them together with other models to make them stronger. Like the stormguard you have listed, they have ARMor 15, which is good enough that they don't get killed by blast damage. If you combine that with Arcane shield spell, which can be cast on them by either pStryker or Junior warcaster, you have ARM 18 grunts. That is high enough the normal infantry ranged attacks have to roll higher than average to kill one. The whole army building in this game relies on finding combos like this simple one to push models past certain line values or to otherwise getting them to out perform the opposition. The is based on getting the combos going on the table and knowing your list inside and out.

Of the models you have listed firefly and sentinel are models that have limited synergy with other models, firefly especially requires stormsmiths to be worth 5 points in a list. Other figs are basic building blocks of Cygnar lists.

Even though most people talk about Menoth as the synergy faction, it plays an important roll in all factions. Just look at the Winter guard deathstar:

10 WG infantry
3 rocketeers
officer and standard bearer
kovnic joe

Often used under epic sorscha,

That is 13 points of models for khador that are almost always run in exactly that combination, why? Because each model there buffs the others a lot, the infantry are pretty terrible on there own, but with officer and standard they all get shotguns and a nice order that boosts their def, which makes them good for killing lots of infantry. With the rocketeers they gain some weapons capable of hurting warjacks, and also giving them longer range, and the rockets do not die easily. Joe gives them several abilities that can once per turn make them harder to kill or rout, brutal melee monsters, or very accurate snipers. When used under epic sorscha they gain a boost to movement and accuracy. So now these seemingly subpar infantry are looking much more threatening.

Not all synergy will be as strait forward as this but just think of how you can make the units you bring to the table better. Assault kommandos seem like a bad unit to many because they have such low attack values and will struggle to kill anything with an armor value higher than 14, however if you run them with the mercenary units Gorman di wulfe, aiyana and master holt, and ragman then suddenly khador jacks have an armor value of 14 from all the debuffs, and the tons of attacks that assault kommandos can output will go a lot further.

Try looking at some the the support cygnar units have, stormblades and trenchers particularly have a lot of models that synergize really well with them.