IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Cygnar models.
LORD GENERAL COLEMAN STRYKER: Stryker got himself a horse, and now he’s all about the alpha strike. He gives Storm Lances Reform (a 3” move after their actions), and his feat, Lightning Charge, basically begs for some horses in his army. When activated, all charge attacks and mount attacks automatically hit and gain an additional die for damage rolls. Ouch! Stryker’s horse also comes with Thunderous Impact, which zaps d3 nearby models when an impact attack lands. Nasty!
Warjacks can tag along too. With Escort, he gives them +2” movement to help them keep up. Throw in Field Marshal [Assault], and those warjacks are still shooting when they charge in. And when all of these models come crashing into the enemy’s lines, Fury gives a select model or unit +3 to their melee damage rolls.
Now do note that Stryker is a large base. This makes him a large target, but he won’t go down easily. With Escort up and a warjack nearby, he can camp at ARM 25. Add in DEF 15 and 18 hit points, and he’s no pushover. He also zaps anyone who hits him in melee.
With Stryker, hit first and hit hard. He certainly has the rules and stats to get the job done.
RELIANT: Here’s another electricity themed heavy warjack. It can fire an electrical 3” AOE that stays in play for a round, allowing it to help out with area denial tactics. It comes with a P+S 17 melee attack with Critical Thunderclap. On a critical hit, place a 4” AOE over the target. Models hit, friend or foe without Immunity: Electricity, become Stationary. And yes, bear in mind that is both friend and foe. Fortunately, Cygnar has a wide selection of models with the necessary immunity.
All this for only 8 points? Not too bad. Critical abilities are always a bit of a gamble, but area effect Stationary is nothing to scoff at.
TEMPEST BLAZERS: A lot of Warmachine involves using the right tool or trick in the right place. The Tempest Blazers (basically gun mages on horseback) bring three attack types to the table, Brutal Damage to hitting harder, Blessed for bypassing defensive buffs, and Electro Leap for taking out fodder.
With SPD 9 and light cavalry rules, they are highly mobile gun platforms, and their DEF 15 is no joke. Solid ranged support cavalry.
STORMBLADE CAPTAIN: What’s better than Storm Knights? Storm Knights with Relentless Charge, that’s what! The Stormblade Captain is worth 2 points for that ability alone. Stormblades in particular are only SPD 5 and don’t have Reach on their weapons. Getting stuck in a rough terrain quagmire or traipsing around it can be a real pain. He also comes with a P+S 13 Weapon Master melee attack with Reach, and thanks to Quick Work, can fire off a shot if he kills anything.
Oh, and he’s a ‘Jack Marshal too, and gives Storm Knights Tactician so they can ignore each other for LOS purposes. This solo is definitely worth the cost when supporting Storm Knight units.
LIEUTENANT ALLISON JAKES: And now let’s take a look at Cygnar’s new journeyman warcaster. 3 points gets you a 4 Focus mini-warcaster. That alone is a very exciting deal.
With only 5 hit boxes and ARM 13, Jakes can’t take much of a beating. And you should expect some hurt to come her way, especially if she has a warjack her battlegroup. Fortunately, she comes with some rules to help keep her safe. DEF 15 can be increased to DEF 17 with Sidekick and a nearby battlegroup warjack. This also grants her immunity to knock down, among other effects. Power Field let’s her camp Focus for ARM 17. Parry gives her immunity to free strikes, and Sprint lets her dash away from the front lines if she destroys something in melee.
Jakes can also give her battlegroup (including herself) a bit of extra speed with Energizer. All of this leads me to view her as a harassing model that nips at the enemy’s flanks, moving in and out to take out high value targets. Squishy, but mobile and hard to pin down.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Leave a Reply