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Hello everyone!

Ive played warhammer for about 14 years so I am definitely not new to war gaming.

The guys at my local gaming store talked me into playing in this journeyman league, they made the game sound pretty cool so I bought the starter box of cryx. I know literally nothing about this game, i dont have a rulebook just the quick start guide and the cards with model stats. and will be relying on my buddies to teach me the game as I go.

What im looking for is some understanding of the base box set, the differences between the "alternative" box set, and what models I should use to progress through the escalating campaign. There is about 15 people participating, so there will be a large variety of lists both horde and warmachine. Im looking for what some might call a "netlist" or a common competitive build as a lot of the players are quite experienced and I want the edge when it comes to list building to make up for that.

Thanks!

Welcome! So the Cryx battle box had three arc nodes (your bone jacks) that allow you to cast spells as long as they are in your warcaster control range. Which is good because pDenny (the battlebox caster) has an awesome spell list but is kinda squishy.

The slayer (heavy helljack) can hit pretty hard and is fast, but can't take a hit.

The alt battlebox uses pGaspy as the caster, with 2 nodes and a slightly more useful heavy (a ranged jack).

The big difference in play styles is that Denny debuffs very heavily, while Gaspy can buff/debuff. Both can spell sling pretty well too.

Building up you need to look at what elements you want. Bane thralls are the quintessential Cryx infantry, but you could use Mcthralls with a neurosurgeon for Denny if you like the recycling undead mechanic. Gaspy can use Satyxis blood witches pretty well, since they hit pretty accurately and he can give a crazy damage swing.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

it does a little, i looked at a brief "tactica" of cryx units, it wasnt a very in depth one though, i dont know what any of those units really do but have a slight idea behind how they work. there were quite a few different thralls, do you mix them or is one unit all one kind? the neurosurgeon seemed like a cool model, i believe it said it brings back 3 thralls per turn?

Ok, for the two I mentioned they work like this (also a good segway into the different things you can do with units):

Bane thralls are a good anti-armor unit (don't let that fool you, they can spot remove almost anything). They're weaknesses are somewhat low DEF and ARM, and average MAT. The stats are mitigated by having stealth, but that doesn't mean they're always safe at range. The two big things they bring are weaponmaster infantry (so 4 damage dice on a charge) and dark shroud, which lowers the ARM of any enemy in melee range (this helps other units hit harder too). Ok, so beyond the basic stuff, they have the option to add an officer and standard attachment (or unit attachment as its called). This gives them tough (like feel no pain) and the ability to stand up without having to give up anything. Plus two more bodies in the unit.

As for the speed and MAT, you have the character solo, Bane Lord Tartarus (aka tartar sauce) who can curse a target and give the banes a bonus to hitting and charge distence. He can also make more banes when he kills living enemy models.

On the other end of the spectrum is mechanithralls. They have terrible stats, but a neat recursion mechanic (and two Attacks). If you keep a neurosurgeon (and stitch thralls) nearby, they can collect bodies as things die. On their activation, they can bring back up to three (with some stipulations). Another cool thing is that they can collect bodies from enemies too, so you can potentially recoup losses on the way in and after fighting a bit too. The mcthralls have a weapon attachment known as a brute thrall. You can add up to three and they are bigger, tougher, and hit harder. It's worth noting that mcthralls and the neurosurgeon are separate units, so they can mingle, but activate at different times.


It's also worth noting that you can usually have a minimum or full sized unit, but it's best to keep to max units at first.

As for mixing, you can't cherry pick models into a unit, but they can intermingle on the field (and there are the attachments like I mentioned).

If you have questions about some of the other units you could check out battle college, the PP faction stickies, or just keep asking.

Thanks for that man, that is exactly what i was looking for! Thanks for taking the time to write that all down and explain it to me.

It sounds like I should go with some bane thralls and attachments, the mc thralls seem like a useful unit as well but the banes sound like the better choice?

Convential wisdom is that a full bane thrall package (banes + UA + Tartarus) is pretty good for most situations. It's something the opponent has to deal with. The downsides are that they can be swarmed (only one attack each) and even with curse can suffer vs high DEF targets. And that full package is a lot of points, which is a consideration in a journeyman since the majority of it is the low point range.

Mcthralls are cheap, so you can fit more, or more of something else.

Either way, you next have to look at how the caster affects them. With pDenny, she can seriously drop DEF on enemy models, so Mcthralls can actually hit, or banes have a very good shot of hitting, curse or not.

I can't remember off the top of my head, but in conventional journeyman leagues, you will spend the first 3 or 4 weeks with just enough points to add maybe a unit. Banes are a great unit, but Denny can run almost anything well, so it comes to preference and points. You can also progress, add the unit at min or full, then the UA, then BLT, or whatever.

You can look at support units too, like the Warwitch Siren and maybe a machine wraith for filler/hilarity.

Haha, just saw your posts over on the PP site, but I think I'll keep replying over here.

I downloaded a pdf of the cryx cards, i have two different ones. One set has points costs that seem WAY to high and then the other seems way more in line. The stats and other things are slightly different as well. Which rules should I be going with? One set had bane thralls for like 8 points for leader and 9 guys, the other said it was like 80 pts and 12 points per guy to add more..

Also yeah lol I used the same opening post over there, then i realized hell maybe dakka has a section and they did so i posted here too. This forum seems a little more active anyway, plus the guys over there basically said the exact same things you did so it really helps with affirmation that im on the right path.

The 8 point ones are the current mk 2 ones. The crazy high values with different rules were from mk 1.

The boards there are usually pretty active, but sometimes I think they're more focused on a more "experienced" meta. That's great, but it can be hard starting out. Plus a couple of the regulars there post here too, so there's a pretty good exchange overall.

There is also the War room app. The basic stuff is free, and faction decks are only 7 or 8 dollars. It's got all the cards and can track damage for use during play. And you can list dojo a pretty good bit.

Awesome, I was pretty sure the mk2 stuff was what I was going for but wanted to make sure!!! Thanks!

I was going to do min unit of bane thralls + UA + tartarus but that is 12 points and I only have 11 to work with once it gets to 25pts, would you drop tartarus or the UA?

Probably the UA. Tough and free stand up are nice (and the three extra attacks), but BLT has thresher and can make more banes (which will really help on attrition with a min unit).

Cutting out the UA would give me 2 points to spend, any suggestions?

Warwitch siren probably.

I just ordered the bane thralls, ua, tartar, and a siren tonight

I had all the same questions as the op, how does the siren work? She seems like a glass cannon that doesn't actually hit too hard.

The siren does several things. Her stats are (like the banes) somewhat offset by stealth, but there are three really nasty things she's good for (and one situational).

1. Powerboost: you can have her give a node a focus for free in order for it to run, allowing max focus on your caster for spells or whatever else.

2. Sprays: she's got a magic ability spray (so can be used in melee), that can do decent infantry clearing.

3. Shadowbind on her weapon: her MAT is terrible, but vs a heavy that doesnt have reach she can usually hit, and then laugh as the target has no way to retaliate. You can also set her up so if the enemy wants past her melee range, they need to risk a free strike that can cause a charge to fail.

She also has perry, so she can move almost anywhere she wants (immunity to free strikes).

Situationally, she can seduce a living enemy warrior model, either causing decent damage or getting it into an awkward spot.

Ok I think I see now. She is like the skarlock, she boosts my caster. The difference is she messes with movement rather than directly spelling things. The spray bit opens a new question. Damage is done to a model not a unit, yes? Does a heavy jack crushing an infantry unit for high damage just kills one model?

For all the utility the Siren brings, they are usually regarded as one of the most ridiculously undercosted solos you can have.

One other thing I forgot, powerboost also clears disruption, which is great against Cygnar and a few other irritating models.

Yep, to hit and damage are vs models not units. You can only target one attack per model, with exceptions for blasts, sprays, thresher and thresher like effects.

So a Jack vs a unit can melee attack with its initials, then buy additional single strikes with focus. This usually isn't great vs lots of infantry, so here you might want to use a trample power attack, or a good clearing jack like the Harrower (which can thresher, gain souls, then use those souls to buy more attacks).

Awesome, thanks. I have also played warhammer for years and my friends just grabbed Cygnar and Khador starter kits. I picked up the Denny Cryx box and a necrotech to make 15 and try the game out. I like the tightness of the rules, so I can't wait to see how it plays. Looking at expanding the force, I have been using the base Denny theme as a guide, but this thread was great. Really appreciative!