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Hello,

I am just starting out in war machines and have decided to go with cryxs. I was hoping for some advice to how to build my army. What units work well together. Also any advice on tactics or how to play the army? I was thinking of going with goreshade nd maybe themeing the army to get one of the bonuses. Any advice would be greatly apprictated.

Thanks.

Welcome to Cryx.

From the way you speak about units working together I'm guessing you're coming across from 40k? If so, forget the idea that there is one way to play Cryx. You can have shooting Cryx, melee Cryx, undead Cryx, living Cryx, fast Cryx, slow Cryx, warjack Cryx, Infantry Cryx and most varieties inbetween.

So you're thinking of starting with Goreshade, not a bad choice. First off, is it Goreshade the Bastard (Goreshade1) or Goreshade the Cursed (Goreshade2) that has taken your interest? Which ever one it is you'll need to get a unit of Bane Thralls. After that I need to know which Goreshade to give out better advice.

Some generic thoughts though. Start small. Warmachine has battleboxes for good reasons. Firstly get people hooked cheaply but also to learn the basics of how Warcasters and Warjacks interact. Also the theme lists are good but I'd never recommend following them as a new player. I feel that they restrict choices too much. But I totally understand following them as they can give out good bonuses.

Exactly right about 40k lol. I havent decided between the bastard and the cursed. I was going to theme the army to either get advance movement or an extra unit (either the bone jack or the thralls depending on the tier. I already have the starting box set and im looking what to expand it with.

So I've just reminded myself of the two theme lists for the Goreshades and I really don't recommend following them. For Goreshade1 you'll need at least 3 min units of Bane Thralls (2 for theme and 1 for feat). Goreshade2 is in a similar position with needing two units but at least his theme list allows for Bane Knights as well.

I feel Goreshade2 would be a better choice for the battlebox jacks but I think Goreshade1 is better to start with as his abilities are simpler.

If I wanted to use either Goreshade at a battlebox level then I would be looking at a leviathan and a reaper for jacks to start with. Then add in a solo or two for the 15 point level. Then at 25pts have a unit of Bane Thralls with their UA. Play a few games at that level and possibly try out Deneghra1 (comes with the battlebox) as well to see how you like her. After that you can either expand into the wider faction or close down to a theme list.

I highly suggest the following for buying initial "models" if you are worried about usefulness/monetary issues, shoot for 25 pts total using the below.

This will give you a very good idea of how Cryx works and the units above can go in almost all lists. I highly suggest you choose 1 of the casters on this list as the rest are very niche or unique in some way compared to the rest of cryx.

Caster: Choose 1 of the following: Asphyxious 1 or 2, Deneghra 1 or 2, Skarre 1

Jack 1: A pack of nightwretches(you get 2 in a pack)

Jack 2: Choose 1 of the following(I suggest seether): Deathjack, Nightmare, Seether, or NONE(yes cryx commonly uses none).

Infantry 1: Choose 1 of the following(or 2 if you said none for Jack 2) full units + UA: Bane Thralls, Mechnithralls, Satyxis Raiders, or Blood Witches

Solos/Support 1: If you chose Mechanithralls: Necrosurgeon, if you chose raiders: Raider Captain, if you chose Bane Thralls: Tartarus

Solos/Support 2: Warwitch Siren

Solos/Support 3: Fill out remaining points with the following: Bile Thralls, Pistol Wraith, Skarlock, Warwitch siren(yes a 2nd one), machine wraith(only if you have 1 pt left).

i Would love to head more about undead cryx. Are there units that just summon undead over and over every turn? This sounds like a game i need to get into.

Yes, but not in the way you've phrased it. You don't get a guy at the back casting a spell that creates another load of undead for free, you have to work for it.

Mechanithralls are easy to kill and very cheap models. Take the necrosurgeon unit with them and when a living model dies (within 5") or a mechanithrall itself the necrotech can create another mechanithrall. A traditional shambling horde happens.

Banes are harder to kill and thus harder to replenish. Bane Lord Tartarus needs to get into combat and kill models himself to create new banes.

Those are the two main mechanithralls of bringing back the undead. There is also a couple of casters with the spell "excarnate" which can be used to create new undead models but only as it destroys enemy models.