Warmachine MK2
This article assumes that you have models from the Cygnar battlebox and suggestions from the Beyond the Cygnar Battlebox article. It assumes that you have a playable force and gives you options to expand your army.
Change the 'Caster, Change the Army
But hopefully, try not to change it too much. Starting with the Battlebox and some other choice elements, you can change things up by swapping out Commander Coleman Stryker for one of these warcasters and adjusting the other elements of your army. Struggling against assault troops? Bring more guns or bring some knights! Feeling the urge to simply shoot at everything in your opponent's force? Bring Allister Caine and watch him hit anything he looks at.
See how differently your army plays with a different warcaster or get them all to get a feel for all of Cygnar's options.
Ranged and Magical Support Warcaster
Take control of both time and lightning as Haley's sorcerous talents slow down your enemy and increase the offensive potential of your army. And when things get tough, Blitz the enemy with everything in your force!
Like Stryker, Captain Haley can cast Arcane Shield to increase the ARM of a Defender or Ironclad to a hefty 21. Together with the Temporal Barrier spell that slows enemy models in her control area and lowers their DEF, her heavy warjacks should have first strike potential against most other heavy models.
Arc nodes increase her threat. Captain Haley makes use of the Lancer to deliver Chain Lightning against troops or Scramble against warjacks. Combine this with Temporal Barrier and Haley only really needs 3s to hit most targets with a re-roll gained from the Squire.
Finally, there is her feat. Blitz gives models in her control area one additional attack. So Long Gunners standing still to aim and gain dual shot shoot three times on their turn instead of two. Stormblades that might otherwise get stuck in combat get to swing their blades and combined melee attack again.
Ranged Assassin Warcaster
Don't let his rank fool you. Lieutenant Allister Caine is a warcaster whose powers manifest themselves more through his gunplay than through his command. Lay down the Maelstrom as he navigates the battlefield.
Lieutenant Caine will be using very few warjacks himself. Of the basic warjacks, an Ironclad is a good choice simply for its cost effectiveness. He gets a heavy warjack that he uses only when necessary.
His main role is to shoot at enemies, and then get out of the way with his Teleport spell. Every now and then he will cast the rare Thunderstrike to effect some board control or assist his troops in stopping heavy targets.
With the models you have so far, Trenchers can provide an effective screen for Caine provided you Dig Them In before he activates. If you plan on using their smoke bomb cloud effect be sure to activate Caine first and leave him open fire lanes.
When it's time to use Maelstrom, the only things left in a 12" area around Caine should be heavily armored targets. These should be left to your Hunter, your Ironclad or Defender, and combined ranged attack volleys from the Trenchers and Long Gunners.
Ranged Support Warcaster
Major Siege Brisbane painted by Bron
Turn guns into exploding ammunition and Breach heavy armor. Layer your army with ranged elements protected by his Foxhhole and fire with ease at incoming enemies.
Start by including your Defender with Siege and start to figure out your warjacks from there. Casting Explosivo on the Defenders turns its anti-armor gun into a troop destroying AOE at long range. Using his feat Breach, the Defender should be able to deal a great deal of damage to an enemy heavy with either its gun or its cortex destroying hammer.
For troops, his Foxhole's AOE is large enough to fit an entire unit of Arcane Tempest Gun Mages. They can use their magical flintlocks to push heavy targets back, or to deal accurate anti-infantry fire and Arcane Storms.
Finally, use Stormblades during the feat turn to Breach all sorts of enemy armor, or use their combined melee attack to deal a great deal of damage to a single model. Either way, something should be dying this turn.
Specialty Ranged Unit
Painted by Jediraptor
These medium ranged specialists add spell effects and ranged magical weapons to your army. Push the enemy back or pick off annoying solos with their spell pistols.
Don't let Incorporeal models run rough shod through your army. Gun Mages can deal with them using their spell pistols and using Snipe to give them range.
Combine their fire using the Arcane Inferno Order to create a small AOE magical attack. As more members participate, the attack and damage rolls go higher to the point where most solos will be dead in its centerpoint.
And use their Thunderstrike to control the board and keep heavy elements pushed back. If you roll well enough, you might even chance upon a knockdown on one of those heavies, making it easier for the rest of your army to deal with it.
Melee Unit
Stormblades are melee infantry that have enough armor to get past area effect fire to deliver swords enhanced by their leader's storm glaive.
You can protect them with Commander Coleman Stryker or Captain Victoria Haley by casting Arcane Shield on them. This offsets their lower DEF and gets their swords into combat where they belong.
They start out by hitting at P+S13, but careful placement should keep the leader near enough to raise the starting damage to P+S 15. Use the guns in your army to soften things up, and the Stormblades hitting power should be more than enough to end them.
