Jacob Holo: So which warcaster should I do next?
H.P. Holo: Those ladies with the disco ball.
Jacob Holo: You mean the Coven?
H.P. Holo: Yeah, them. Their disco ball is cool.
Requested by H.P. Holo. Sort of.
Warcasters are the stars of Warmachine, and Cryx has no shortage of powerful and fun-to-play warcasters. Today, I’m taking a look at the Witch Coven of Garlghast!
IN SHORT: The Coven has no less than six ways to help get their army where it needs to be. Six! Just keep them far away from the action. They do not mingle well with others!
STRENGTHS: Focus 9. You read that right. This is a Focus 9 caster. That control area stretches 18” out from the Egregore (the aforementioned disco ball). On top of that, the three witches can enter into a Perfect Conjunction which reduces the COST of all their spells by 1. That’s crazy good! The Coven also has a host of ways to augment mobility and ensure safe delivery of their army to the enemy. Let’s step through them.
For defense, their spell Occultation can give a whole unit Stealth. Always nice to have. Their feat, Nightfall, reduces enemy MAT and RAT by 2 and limits enemy line of sight to 5”. The feat may be purely defensive, but it’s great for that closing-in turn when the Cryx army is most vulnerable.
Infernal Machine gives our already speedy warjacks even more speed in addition to increased MAT and Terror. Ghost Walk let’s a unit ignore free strikes and terrain. They can even walk through walls. Veil of Mists allows the Coven’s army to see through and walk through anything in a 4” AOE. This can create some very surprising charge lanes!
And for the last mobility booster, they have Curse of Shadows. Put an enemy unit at -2 ARM, negate their free strikes, and let the Coven’s army walk right through them.
Let’s recap that, shall we? 2 ways to hinder enemy attacks. 1 speed increase, warjacks only. 3 ways to ignore free strikes. 2 ways to ignore terrain. 2 ways to pass through enemy troops. If you need your army somewhere, the Coven can get them there!
To top it all off, they have Stygian Abyss, a POW 12 attack spell with critical Shadow Bind (pin a model in place and reduce its DEF by 3). With 9 Focus, this magic attack is extremely accurate, and can be a great assassination vector all by itself.
WEAKNESSES: Most warcasters and warlocks operate at peak efficiency until they drop dead. Not so with the Coven where the loss of a single witch can be disastrous. Each dead witch means 3 less Focus, which shrinks their control area and prevents them from achieving a Perfect Conjunction. With a pitiful ARM 12 and only 8 health on each witch, they drop easily.
Keep them safe! At all costs, keep them safe!
SYNERGIES: Since the witches of the Coven are experts at delivering elements of your army where you need them the most, warjacks and infantry that hit like a ton of bricks are ideal, though be careful with infantry that have low MAT scores. The Coven does have a DEF debuff, but it’s a temperamental one that requires a critical hit to a single model.
Banes are a personal favorite of mine, and the Coven can augment both flavors. How about adding Stealth to the Bane Knights or Ghostly to the Bane Thralls? They can even do both at the same time with plenty of focus to spare.
Arc nodes are critical to a Coven army. Pick your favorites. Take at least 2. Don’t look back.
A skarlock is also a worthwhile addition. Have one follow a unit, dispensing Ghost Walk or perhaps helping the Coven bounce Infernal Machine from warjack to warjack.
Finally, the Coven likes a big, beefy warjack to maximize the use of Infernal Machine. Even a humble Slayer is an absolute beast with that spell. SPD 8, MAT 9 and Terror on a 6-point model? Ouch. And don’t be afraid to take multiple heavies. With 9 Focus and Perfect Conjunction, the Coven can keep up just fine and still sling some nasty spells.
JUST FOR FUN: The enemy warcaster is on the other side of the map. They have just emptied their focus casting upkeep spells and powering jacks for running. They’re safe from harm, right?
Wrong!
Keep all 9 focus on the Coven. Use a skarlock to place Infernal Machine on an arc node. Give the arc node a focus with a Warwitch Siren’s Power Boost. Now run that speed demon up 18” and give it line of sight to the enemy warcaster.
With 9 Focus and Perfect Conjunction, the Witch Coven can unload a lot of pain. For best results against most warcasters, fire 3 shots and boost the damage every time you hit.
SUMMARY: The Coven is not a beginner’s warcaster. Their mobility support role takes some getting used to, and mistakes can quickly become fatal. But in the right hands, no terrain, building, or phalanx is going to stop their army from reaching the enemy caster and tearing them to bits!
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Cryx
Warmachine Tactics – Cryx: Skarre
Warcasters are the stars of Warmachine, and Cryx has no shortage of powerful and fun-to-play warcasters. Today, I’m taking a look at Pirate Queen Skarre!
IN SHORT: The first version of Skarre is a massive force multiplier. She can make her army hit with pin-point accuracy, and on feat turn, they hit like Khador heavy warjacks! But nothing is for free. Her abilities will burn through her troops and even her own health if you’re not careful.
STRENGTHS: Here’s an interesting Cryx caster. Skarre has no debuffs. Does that make her weak? Heck, no!
First, Skarre has an excellent support spell in Dark Guidance. This gives friendly Cryx models an extra die on melee attack rolls. ALL OF THEM! As long as they’re in Skarre’s control area. It’s a costly spell at 4 focus, but it makes Skarre’s army a terrifyingly accurate one.
Next up is Backlash. Plant this spell on an enemy warjack. Now every time it takes damage, its controller takes a point of damage too. This is a great way to soften up an enemy warcaster!
Skarre may be a 6 Focus caster, but she can operate far beyond that limit. By sacrificing a friendly warrior model, Skarre gets d6 extra focus next turn. Also at the cost of a friendly trooper model, Skarre can auto-hit an enemy with a magic attack called Sacrificial Strike.
Skarre’s feat, Blood Magic, is a devastating combo of offense and defense. Skarre sacrifices up 5 health. For each point of damage she takes, her army gets +1 STR and +1 ARM.
Did I mention her middle name is “sacrifice”?
Defensively, this can help her army weather that scary gun-line’s shooting before she closes for the kill. Or cause her army to hit with terrific force when they do close, AND put a damper on any reprisals. It’s a superb, flexible feat.
On top of all of that, she has a Great Rack.
No, seriously. She has a weapon called a Great Rack. She knocks people down with it. Oh, Privateer Press! You’re so punny!
WEAKNESSES: A lot of Skarre’s abilities come with unconventional costs. Her feat and her sword consume her health. Her special attack and one of her spells eats up friendly models with every use. Skarre can be her own worst enemy if you’re not careful.
She’s also squishy with only 16 health and 15 ARM. Having access to extra Focus from Ritual Sacrifice does help, but keeping her safe is still very important.
Lastly, her lack of an ARM debuff means certain models really need to hit home on her feat turn, or they’re just not going to make a big enough dent.
SYNERGIES: Skarre greatly benefits from having a Skarlock to cast Ritual Sacrifice every turn, supplying her with extra focus for “free”. Cheap infantry to sacrifice is also a must. Mechanithralls or Scrap Thralls are probably the best route, though any cheap infantry can work.
And while we’re taking Mechanithralls, might as well throw in a Necrosurgeon to heal Skarre after her feat.
With Dark Guidance benefitting melee attack rolls and her feat boosting STR, Skarre’s army is happiest close in and personal. And since both of these abilities boost everything in her control area, the more attacks her army puts out, the bigger the benefit. Infantry with multiple attacks like Mechanithralls, Blood Witches, and Satyxis Raiders work superbly with Skarre, and can help get the most out of her abilities.
Skarre can also benefit from some of our formidable melee jacks. The Harrower is particularly impressive. Its high ARM of 18 (high for Cryx, I mean) gets boosted up to 23 with her feat, and its thresher attack will tear enemy infantry limb from bloody limb under Dark Guidance.
JUST FOR FUN: Pick a beefy enemy warjack. The more health the better. Tag it with Backlash. Use Dark Guidance. Feat to boost the STR of your Satyxis Raiders. The P+S of the Raiders should be about 7 or 8 less than the ARM of the warjack, for optimum results.
Now charge the warjack with your Raiders. Each damaging hit will do 2 points of damage to the enemy warcaster. That’s a potential 20 points of damage! If there are enough Raiders to seal the deal, then congratulations! Game over.
SUMMARY: Skarre may not be the lean, mean, debuffing machine a lot of Cryx casters are, but she certainly gets the job done. With ways to boost melee accuracy, melee damage, and armor, she can turn our most humble infantry into absolute superstars.
That is before she vaporizes them to fuel her abilities.
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Warmachine Tactics – Cryx: Blood Witches
Requested by Frank. Thank you for your support!
Infantry may not be the stars of Warmachine, but that doesn’t make them any less important. From screening high priority targets to overwhelming a foe with sheer numbers, infantry plays a critical role, especially in the armies of Cryx. Today, I’m taking a look at the Satyxis Blood Witches.
IN SHORT: These cursed ladies are cheap, fast, and very accurate killers. They can also make people explode into clouds of gory mist, and that’s just cool.
STRENGTHS: With two attacks each and Gang, Blood Witches are capable of handling most high DEF, low ARM infantry out there. A pair of Blood Witches operates at effective MAT 8, with a P+S 12 and a P+S 10 attack each. Two Blood Witches working in tandem have solid odds of hitting anything up to DEF 17, and they make short work of DEF 15 or lower.
They’re fast, and have decent hitting power, but their real trick is Bloodletting. This ability triggers when they take out a living model, and can be used in two ways. Blood Mist turns enemies into cloud effects, which you can use to protect your Blood Witches from reprisals or screen the slower portions of your army.
Death Strike takes the STR of the model killed and shoots it at another model within 4”. There is no roll to hit. Just pick a target and roll for damage. The POW is going to be low (normally around 5 or 6), but if high DEF low ARM enemies are nearby, this is one more way to deal with them.
As the cherry on top, their blood razors are Magical Weapons, which is always a nice tool to have in an army list.
WEAKNESSES: Blood Witches are weedy. With DEF 13 and ARM 13, they’re not going to stick around very long. To make matters worse, they have CMD 8, which gives them a good chance of running away once they take enough casualties.
Deploying Blood Witches in pairs is critical to success. Without the benefits of Gang, their accuracy is average and hitting power is quite low.
And while Gang works on all enemies, Bloodletting needs living models. However, this just comes with playing Cryx. Lack of living enemies shuts down a lot of our cool abilities. Bloodletting is just one of them.
SYNERGIES: Blood Witches already have excellent accuracy. What they lack is raw hitting power. Warcasters that have ARM debuffs or STR buffs can get a lot of mileage from Blood Witches. Fortunately, Cryx has plenty of those.
The Blood Hag, a 2 point unit attachment, is a superb addition to a team of Blood Witches. Her Blood Shadow, which turns the entire unit Incorporeal for a round, has many defensive and offensive possibilities. If you’re tired of your Blood Witches getting shot to pieces before they can close, try a Blood Hag.
In addition, she can prevent enemy Tough rolls, stop enemy healing, and Dispel enemy upkeep spells with a hit. She also gives them an extra point of CMD, which can help prevent them from running away at the worst possible moment.
If you like Blood Witches, then for 2 points, you’ve got to try the Blood Hag. She’s just that good.
JUST FOR FUN: Note that the rule on Bloodletting says “living model”. It does not say “living enemy model”. Does that mean what I think it means?
Yes! You can exsplode your own Blood Witches to provide cloud effects for the rest of your army! For that matter, you can even sacrifice your own Blood Witches to make Death Strike attacks.
Heck, you’re playing Cryx! You can even have a Necrosurgeon recycle them as Mechanithralls. Just remember that Blood Mist removes the model from play, and that Gang only works on enemy models.
SUMMARY: Blood Witches may be on the lower end of powerful Cryx infantry, but they come at a bargain price and have a nifty set of tools. Smart use of their abilities can screen the rest of your army and take out high DEF targets. Plus the whole bloody explosion imagery is just so cool.
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Warmachine Tactics – Cryx: Goreshade
Warcasters are the stars of Warmachine, and Cryx has no shortage of powerful and fun-to-play warcasters. Up next is the Goreshade the Bastard!
IN SHORT: Do you want to try a caster that plays like no other in Cryx? Feel like leaving all the arc nodes at home? Want to stomp around with some extra warjacks? Tired of your opponent’s feat getting you down? Well, search no further! Version 1 of Goreshade has you covered!
STRENGTHS: Goreshade the Bastard has a very powerful spell list. He comes with two great spells for supporting his battlegroup, a spell for removing enemy upkeeps and animi, and he can SHUT DOWN ENEMY FEATS! Wow, just wow. He has two powerful ways to debuff enemies, and he doesn’t need arc nodes the way other Cryx casters depend on them.
Shadowmancer gives Goreshade’s entire battlegroup Stealth and Dark Shroud. This includes him and his companion solo, Deathwalker. With this, it’s possible to have an entire army benefit from Stealth. Many factions have ways to neutralize Stealth, but not a whole army at once! On top of that, anything engaged by the battlegroup is going to be at -2 ARM. Nice! No need to hit the enemy with a debuff spell!
And speaking of easy debuffs, Deathwalker has big debuff aura. Any living enemies within 5” of her are at -2 DEF and -2 STR. Just run Deathwalker up. It’s debuffed! And if she dies, Goreshade can make a new one by killing a living enemy model.
Soul Gate gives Goreshade a powerful tool for relocating warjacks. At the expense of a trooper model in his control area, Goreshade can move a warjack to that location. The warjack cannot activate afterwards, so here’s what I like to do. Hit the enemy hard with the warjack, then teleport it away to safety. Yoink! The enemy has no chance to counterattack.
To compliment his already formidable arsenal, Goreshade has Hex Blast. This POW 13 AOE spell not only causes decent damage, but can clear enemy buffs on a direct hit. It can even clear debuffs inflicting your own troops, just as long as you’re cool with vaporizing a few of them.
And then there is his spell Mage Blight. In Goreshade’s control area, living enemy models cannot cast spells or use feats. Period!
WEAKNESSES: Goreshade can cast a lot of very powerful spells. He just can’t do it all at the same time. Mage Blight costs a massive 5 Focus! Shadowmancer, Soul Gate, and Hex Blast all cost 3 Focus. Even as a 7 Focus caster, there’s only so much he’s going to be able to do in one turn. Picking the right spells for the right situation is key. To top this off, he has no upkeep spells and cannot collect soul tokens. With Goreshade, every Focus counts.
Goreshade is on a medium base, with all the disadvantages that brings. He has access to Stealth through Shadowmancer, but watch out for enemy models that can bypass that defense!
Goreshade’s Feat, Dark Summons, allows him to bring 6 new Bane Thralls into play within 3” of him. These Bane Thralls can then activate freely. This certainly has punch in the right places. However, the feat does not scale with larger games. In smaller games, the added weight of a whole new unit can be devastating. But in larger games, it can easily fall flat.
SYNERGIES: Goreshade works well with a solid combination of powerful warjacks and infantry. Those warjacks are going to need some Focus, but Goreshade needs to be pumping out high-powered spells. Focus efficiency is absolutely essential. Warwitch sirens are excellent additions to help power the warjacks. As an added bonus, they have built in Stealth.
For warjacks, the always-efficient Seether can help with Goreshade’s Focus woes. Warjacks with Reach are also powerful, allowing you to maximize the effects of Dark Shroud. The Desecrator is also a good addition, since it can Accumulate from nearby Bane models, such as those from Goreshade’s feat.
To support Soul Gate, I recommend taking a group of cheap infantry like Mechanithralls. When the time is right, run one to whatever location you want to Soul Gate a jack to.
And speaking of Banes, any of them work well with Goreshade. There are going to be Banes in the army no matter what, so why not take some more? More Bane Thralls are my first choice. They follow the Stealth theme and bring their own Dark Shrouds. This can relieve some of the spell-casting pressure from Goreshade once the two armies lock in melee. On top of that, Bane Lord Tartarus can help any of the Banes kick more butt.
Alternatively, just about any infantry unit in Cryx can benefit from the battlegroup’s Dark Shroud or from Deathwalker running into the midst of their next target.
JUST FOR FUN: Got to bring some pain to the enemy, but can’t reach him? No problem! First, run a model forward in roughly the direction you need to go, somewhere between 9” and 11” from Goreshade. Activate Goreshade and charge your own model. Now feat, and place those Banes 3” further towards the target. For added silliness, have Bane Lord Tartarus Curse the target.
Now charge in with those 6 new Banes. They can reach a target roughly 23” away from Goreshade’s original location! And let’s face it, 6 weapon masters hitting with effective MAT 8 POW 13 charge attacks is scary, scary, scary!
For even more hilarity, run the Deathwalker over to the target. Now they’re effective MAT 10!
SUMMARY: Goreshade the Bastard is a fun warcaster within Cryx. He has a very unique spell list, can support jacks better than most of our casters, and has two effective ways to deliver debuffs. Besides, the guy can teleport jacks around and shut down enemy feats! There’s a reason he’s called the Bastard!
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Warmachine Tactics – Cryx: Asphyxious
Warcasters are the stars of Warmachine, and Cryx has no shortage of powerful and fun-to-play warcasters. Up next is the infamous Iron Lich Asphyxious, Version 1.
IN SHORT: If you’re looking for a Cryx warcaster that can put out massive amounts of damage, look no further! Iron Lich Asphyxious has you covered. Fairly tough and surprisingly agile, Version 1 of Asphyxious is a powerful, well-rounded warcaster.
STRENGTHS: Asphyxious is all about doing damage, either in person or through his army. With the best ARM debuff in the game, a potent melee damage buff, a truly terrifying melee attack, and a versatile feat, Asphyxious can bring the pain to your foes in any number of flavors. Let’s step through them, shall we?
Parasite is a massive -3 ARM debuff that can be applied to single models or whole units. When it’s in play, it also give Asphyxious +1 ARM, making him a little tougher. Put this on something you want to die and then smash it to bits!
Scything Touch is a +2 melee damage buff to either single models or units. Yes, a buff spell in Cryx! And a nice one at that! This spell definitely encourages plenty of infantry, especially when you consider Asphyxious and a Skarlock can apply this spell to three whole units!
Like so …
Asphyxious upkeeps Scything Touch on Unit A. Unit A activates. Asphyxious activates and casts Scything Touch on Unit B. Unit B activates. Skarlock activates and casts Scything Touch on Unit C. Unit C activates. That’s a whole lot of models with +2 melee damage!
Asphyxious’ staff Soul Splitter is a P+S 15 magical reach weapon with Sustained Attack. Yikes! Give that a moment to sink in. Once Asphyxious hits his target, every follow-up attack to the same target that turn is an auto-hit. And these aren’t little piddly hits either. These are beefy P+S 15 hits that can be further enhanced by Scything Touch and/or Parasite.
Did I mention this goes well with the Focus refill his feat, Consuming Blight, provides? Want more spells this turn? Check. Want to power up your jacks and keep your Power Field full? Check. Want to wail on a single target with Soul Splitter until your opponent cries? Check and double check. The low POW damage caused by the feat isn’t anything special, but every enemy it takes out is a nice freebie.
On top of all of this, Asphyxious can even Teleport out of trouble. If you’ve committed Asphyxious to an attack that just went south, spend 2 Focus at the end and teleport him behind something solid to avoid the inevitable counterattack. Lastly, he comes stocked with two excellent attack spells, Hellfire and Breath of Corruption.
WEAKNESSES: Asphyxious may be reasonably tough, but he’s a medium base. That means he’s difficult to hide from enemy attacks. Cryx has a lot of great infantry, but most of it is mounted on small bases. His medium base also makes him vulnerable to Armor Piercing weapons. Watch out!
Asphyxious also has no means to lower an opponent’s DEF. Models with high MAT scores and units that are self-sufficient do better with him than those that rely on their warcaster for accuracy. Abilities like the Blood Witches’ Gang or the Raider’s Combined Melee help these units benefit from the extra damage while retaining decent accuracy. That said, I still like taking Mechanithralls with Asphyxious, just for the insane damage potential his spell list grants them.
SYNERGIES: First, take an arc node or two with him. His medium base makes him a tempting target. If you’re slinging spells at the enemy, fire them through the arc nodes and keep Asphyxious safe to the rear.
Any unit can reap the benefits of Parasite and Scything Touch, but those with a lot of attack are even better. The more attacks, the greater the impact of the buff or debuff.
Models that assist with Focus efficiency are always a plus. Warwitch Sirens can help fuel the jacks while Asphyxious pounds the enemy with spells, and the Skarlock is a must-have with this caster.
Try taking the Cankerworm with him. Between Asphyxious’ Teleport spell and the Cankerworm’s affinity with him, the two can ping-pong in an out of combat, inflicting damage while denying the enemy a counterattack target.
JUST FOR FUN: Let’s say an enemy Colossal stands between you and victory. Let’s call it a full-health Khador Conquest. That’s 62 hit boxes and ARM 20. It’s just Asphyxious and the Conquest.
Asphyxious powers up with Scything Touch. He casts Parasite on the Colossal, charges in, and hits. Every hit after that is automatic thanks to Sustained Attack. He pours on the extra attacks, feats to refill his Focus, then keeps wailing on the thing.
On average, Asphyxious will do over 70 points of damage, easily bringing the Conquest down. Yes, that’s right. This guy can take down a Colossal or Gargantuan BY HIMSELF in ONE TURN! I love this guy!
SUMMARY: Don’t let the fact that this is Version 1 of Asphyxious fool you. Iron Lich Asphyxious is powerful, flexible, and fun to play. He’s a worthy addition to any Cryx player’s collection.
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Warmachine Tactics – Cryx: Mechanithralls
Requested by Frank. Thank you for your support!
Infantry may not be the stars of Warmachine, but that doesn’t make them any less important. From screening high priority targets to overwhelming a foe with sheer numbers, infantry plays a critical role, especially in the armies of Cryx. Today, I’m taking a look at the Mechanithralls.
IN SHORT: Cheap, plentiful, hard-hitting, and a little cross-eyed, the humble Mechanithrall is a mainstay of Cryx infantry.
STRENGTHS: Mechanithralls are dirt cheap. At 3 points for 6 or 5 points for 10, they can outnumber almost anything of equivalent cost. They also hit surprisingly hard. Each Mechanithrall is capable of 2 P+S 11 attacks or performing a single combo strike at P+S 15. That’s pretty amazing, and makes them very flexible.
Like all undead units, they don’t care about causalities. Command checks? Pffft! Those are for the living! Mechanithralls will march blindly into whatever gun-line or meat grinder you send them into.
And while an individual Mechanithrall goes down easily, they have weight in numbers that adds its own degree of resilience. Sure, something like a full unit of 5 Menoth Exemplar Bastions are tough to put down, but for the same cost Cryx can have 16 Mechanithralls!
WEAKNESSES: Mechanithralls die easily. Shoot them, they die. Hack at them, they die. Sneeze on them, they die. Just get used to it. Mechanithralls have low ARM and okay DEF. It’s nothing spectacular.
Mechanithralls also have a low MAT score of 5. Fortunately, this isn’t nearly as bad as most people think. Let’s compare a unit of 10 Mechanithralls to a unit of 6 Bane Thralls (same point cost). Sure, the Bane Thralls have a higher MAT, but the Mechanithralls will have 20 attacks to their 6! Under most conditions, the Mechanithralls will kill more enemy infantry due to their higher number of attacks.
With that said, Mechanithralls do have a low MAT, and do enjoy some debuff love to operate at peak efficiency.
SYNERGIES: Mechanithralls work superbly well with a Necrosurgeon and some Stitch Thralls on the field. For an additional 2 points, the Necrosurgeon can collect the corpses of fallen Mechanithralls or living models (your or the enemy’s) and bring back 3 Mechanithralls … per TURN! Wow! Just remember, this only works if a unit of Mechanithralls is still on the table. If you’re opponent wipes them all out, then that’s it! No new Mechanithralls for you!
Mechanithralls also benefit greatly from DEF debuffs. Fortunately, this is Cryx. We’re spoiled for awesome debuffs in this zombie’s army! Just be aware of warcasters that cannot debuff DEF or buff the Mechanithralls’ MAT. I’m not saying don’t take them, just to be aware of the limitations. It can be a little tricky getting the most out of your Mechanithralls if they keep whiffing against high DEF infantry.
Mechanithralls also like a good ARM debuff. Again, we’re in Cryx. This is not a problem! The high number of attacks Mechanithralls put out helps maximize the use of debuffs. Remember, if you reduce an opponent’s ARM by 2 and hit him with one big attack, that’s 2 extra points of damage. Hit him with 10 smaller attacks, and you’ve done 20 extra points of damage. Ouch!
Finally, take Mechanithralls when fielding Lich Lord Terminus. Mechanithralls go with him like peanut butter and chocolate thanks to his Shadow of Death rule. Mechanithralls with Tough? Yes, please!
JUST FOR FUN: Got a unit of Mechanithralls taking ranged hits? Got a Necrosurgeon flush with corpse tokens? Not quite, but almost in charge range this turn? Try this trick out. Activate the Necrosurgeon first, move her ahead of the Mechanithralls, towards your intended target, and deploy the 3 new Mechanithralls HERE. Remember the Mechanithralls must be within 3” of the Necrosurgeon and inside the unit’s command range. Now activate the Mechanithralls.
Congratulations! You’ve just taken some of your casualties, reanimated them, and deployed them closer to their target. You are now in charge range. Now go smash something!
SUMMARY: Mechanithralls are an excellent addition to almost any Cryx force. Their raw stats may not be spectacular, but don’t let that fool you. With plentiful attacks and the right support, they can drown your enemies in a wave of bodies and devastate their most powerful models. Bring on the undead!
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Warmachine Tactics – Cryx: Deneghra
Warcasters are the stars of Warmachine, and Cryx has no shortage of powerful and fun-to-play warcasters. So let’s start with Deneghra, the warwitch in the Cryx Battlegroup box set and the most likely caster a new player will use.
IN SHORT: Warwitch Deneghra is the best debuff caster in the whole game of Warmachine. Watch out, though! This Goth chick may be nimble, but she isn’t well armored.
STRENGTHS: Deneghra has no less than 4 ways to reduce enemy stats, 2 spells (Crippling Grasp and Parasite), her feat (The Withering), and her melee attack. In conjunction with other debuffs (such as Bane Thrall Dark Shrouds) her debuffing can reach ridiculous levels. Let’s step through them.
Crippling Grasp is an absolute terror of a spell, reducing SPD, STR, DEF, and ARMof a single model or even whole units. It also prevents running, charging, special attacks, and power attacks. Yikes! Use an arc node to plant this on a big threat, and watch it crawl towards you a few inches at a time for the rest of the game.
The Parasite spell strips 3 ARM from an enemy model or unit and adds 1 ARM to Deneghra. Both are nice. Use this spell to increase your army’s damage output on any target you choose.
Deneghra’s feat, The Withering, is one of my favorites in the game. Every enemy in Deneghra’s control area suffers a supped up version of Crippling Grasp! It can also be stacked with Crippling Grasp for even greater effect! This can be deployed offensively, to add massive damage to your attacks, or defensively, to stop an enemy’s advance and toughen up your own forces. It’s just sick! And versatile!
Deneghra’s spear Sliver inflicts Shadow Bind, reducing an enemy’s DEF by 3 and basically locking them in place. Letting the enemy get that close to Deneghra is not a good thing, but sometimes it can’t be helped. Her low MAT score can make hitting difficult, making her spells much more reliable ways to debilitate her enemies.
On top of all that, Deneghra ignores free strikes (thanks to Parry) and is protected by Stealth. Her other spells can allow friendly units to walk through walls (Ghost Walk), take over enemy models (Influence), knock them on their asses (Scourge), and melt their faces off (Venom).
Sounds unbeatable, right?
Well …
WEAKNESSES: Deneghra is not a tough combatant. Her DEF is good, but her ARM is very low. Stealth can help protect her at range, but always watch out for blasts, sprays, and enemy models that can neutralize Stealth.
Deneghra also relies heavily on her spell list, particularly Crippling Grasp and Parasite. While both are great, they first have to hit the target, and that will often mean boosting. Even then, sometimes you will just roll bad and miss. Plan accordingly.
Also, Deneghra’s debuffs do not hinder shooting very much. Her feat does reduce the RAT scores of enemy models, but that’s it. Gun lines are going to be a problem because they still hit just as hard, if a little cross-eyed. Plan your approaches accordingly. Smart use of terrain and her Ghost Walk spell can go a long way.
SYNERGIES: Everything.
No, seriously. Everything in the Cryx book can be used with her. She can make any model hit harder and more readily, so feel free to experiment. That’s what makes her such a fantastic starting caster. However, I will offer the following advice.
Arc nodes are a must. They extend Deneghra’s threat range with her spells and keep her safe. Take two. Try to keep at least one safe for the late game.
Speaking of spells, the more Deneghra can fire off, the better. That means fewer jacks and more models that enhance Focus efficiency. Models like Warwitch Sirens and a Skarlock Thrall are excellent additions, as are focus efficient jacks like the Seether.
Finally, a little bit of math. If you reduce an opponent’s ARM by 2 and hit him with one big attack, that’s 2 points of extra damage. Hit him with 10 smaller attacks, and you’ve done 20 extra points of damage. The moral of the story?
Take plenty of infantry, and feel free to choose your favorite flavor. It’s supposed to be a game, after all, right?
JUST FOR FUN: Target a Khador heavy warjack. Let’s say, a Juggernaut (ARM 20). Debuff it with The Withering, Crippling Grasp, Gorman Di Wulfe’s Rust attack, and a Bane Thrall’s Dark Shroud. Now hit it with the Ripjaw’s Armor Piercing attack. What’s the target’s effective ARM value? It’s a measly 1!
SUMMARY: Warwitch Deneghra is a fantastic caster. She’s easy to learn and fun to play. Her greatest strength is her wide range of synergies, which allow for a wide variety of effective play lists.
I hope you enjoyed the article. Stay tuned for more Cryx tactics!
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Warmachine Tactics – Cryx: Getting Your Undead Groove On!
So you’ve decided, it’s time to start collecting a Cryx army. But where to begin?
Have no fear! I’m here to help.
NOTICE! These guides are intended for beginner to intermediate players.
STEP ONE! Buy the Cryx Battlegroup. This gives you Warwitch Deneghra, 2 Deathrippers, 1 Defiler, and 1 Slayer. All are excellent models. I’ll go through each briefly.
WARWITCH DENEGHRA: Privateer Press chose her for the Battlegroup for a reason. She is a caster that will work well in very diverse army lists, giving you a solid foundation to expand your collection. Basically, it doesn’t matter which models you take with her. She will make them better. Deneghra isn’t just the best debuff caster in Cryx, she’s the best debuff caster IN THE WHOLE GAME!
2 DEATHRIPPERS: Cheap, 4 point arc nodes. Do not underestimate the humble Deathripper. As with any arc node, these will help keep your caster safe, but the Deathrippers also have some impressive bite. With ridiculous speed and good hitting power, charging a Deathripper or two into combat at the right moment can definitely turn the tide in your favor.
DEFILER: A somewhat pricey arc node with a nice gun. While not a faction specialty, this will help you get use to the shooting rule. Find a clump of infantry, hit them with a debuff spell, and spray away. Watch the enemy wilt under a torrent of acid. Nice!
SLAYER: A cheap, heavy warjack (or helljack, if you prefer our faction term). This guy is a straight forward beat stick. The Slayer can dish out a ton of pain. Just don’t expect him to take many hits. Learn him, use him, love him. If in doubt, put the Slayer in your list. It’s always nice to have a cheap heavy warjack ready to pound face.
With the initial purchase of the Battlegroup of out the way, I recommend a few small games to get the feel for Warmachine’s rules and the flow of the game. The Battlegroup gives you a nice cross section of the Cryx style, including debuffing, melee, ubiquitous arc nodes, and a taste of decent shooting.
From here, it’s time to get a UNIT, a SOLO, and a warcaster ATTACHMENT. I recommend a minimum unit of 6 Bane Thralls, a Warwitch Siren, and a Skarlock Thrall. Let’s take them one at a time.
6 BANE THRALLS: Well-priced death machines. Bane Thralls are absolute terrors to face. They have Stealth, which makes it harder for enemies to shoot them down. They’re Weapon Masters, which gives them an additional die when rolling for damage. And they have Dark Shroud! What is Dark Shroud, you ask? Any enemy model in a Bane Thrall’s melee range has its armor reduced by 2! They’re walking debuffs! How awesome is that? Used smartly, Bane Thralls can make anything else in the Cryx arsenal hit harder. For this reason alone, they are my favorite unit.
WARWITCH SIREN: A versatile, 2-point solo, the Warwitch is a fine addition to any Cryx army. Where the Bane Thralls are all about raw power, the Warwitch gives you access to a host of powerful abilities. This gal can give a Cryx warjack some extra juice, stop an enemy warjack dead in its tracks, melt the faces off an entire formation of enemy infantry, and take over a living enemy model. Not bad for 2 points! The Warwitch finds a place in the majority of lists I play.
SKARLOCK THRALL: And last, but certainly not least, the Skarlock gives Cryx warcasters basically a free spell a turn. A free friggin’ spell (up to 3 Focus in cost)! Warmachine is a game of resource management, namely the Focus your caster generates, and the Skarlock brings some excellent efficiency to the table. I use the Skarlock in almost every Cryx list I play.
Here’s a sample 15-point list, which is the point level I recommend when starting out a new faction or learning the game from scratch.
Warwitch Deneghra (+5 warjack points)
Slayer Helljack – 6
Defiler Bonejack – 5
(6) Bane Thralls – 5
Warwitch Siren – 2
Skarlock Thrall – 2
With these models, you will have a healthy cross-section of the abilities Cryx brings to the table. Is this the be-all end-all of 15-point army lists? No, but it’s not meant to be. What this list does is give you is a taste of the Cryx play style and of Warmachine as a whole. It has a powerful caster, a heavy jack, a light jack, a unit of infantry, a solo, and a warcaster attachment. And it is wholly made from models that are cheap to obtain (i.e. the Battlegroup) or are models I use again, and again, and again.
I hope you found this article helpful. Please look forward to more Cryx Tactics!
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Warmachine Tactics – Cryx: Are the Undead Right for Me?
So are you thinking about jumping into the rough and tumble game of Warmachine? Have the undead legions of Cryx caught your eye? Do you like the idea of zombie pirates, Goth chicks, and necro-mechanical horrors all in the same army? Not sure where to start?
Maybe you already play Warmachine or Hordes and you’re sick of Cryx crippling your army and raising your casualties to fight against you? Want to taste what it’s like on the other side of the table? Turnabout is fair play, right?
Well, search no further! I’m here to help.
NOTICE! These guides are intended for beginner to intermediate players.
So what can you expect when playing Cryx?
SPEED: Cryx is a fast faction. A Cryx player can often choose when and where the engagement takes place. The ability to strike first and strike hardest should never be underestimated, and in this regard Cryx is only surpassed by one faction, the Legion of Everblight.
DEBUFF MAGIC: Cryx is second to none in the ability to cripple an opponent with magic. Cryx warcasters can strip armor, cripple defenses, sap strength, reduce aim, slow movement, shut down special abilities, deny free attacks, and even pass right through the enemy as if they weren’t there.
MELEE: Cryx is all about getting in close and personal. While the faction does have some decent shooting, the real business end of our game is done man-to-zombie.
ARC NODES: Cryx has access to a diverse selection of cheap arc nodes, the best in the game! This allows our warcasters to project their range of influence far beyond other armies, crippling foes that thought they were out of range while keeping our warcasters safe from harm.
RECYCLING: Cryx is the best faction for taking enemy casualties (already a bad thing) and making it even worse. Everything from creating new soldiers to unleashing additional spells is powered by the faction’s insatiable hunger for soul and corpse tokens dropped by living models. For Cryx, the battle field is also a buffet.
So what are the DOWNSIDES to playing Cryx?
DURABILITY: Cryx models tend to have decent defense and poor armor. In a fair fight, Cryx loses. But that’s why you don’t fight fair. Fortunately, many units have unconventional abilities that make them tougher than their plain stats would have you believe. It may be easy to put a Cryx model down. Getting it to stay down? Well, that’s a different story.
SHOOTING: If a classic gun-line is what you like to play, give Cryx a pass. Cryx has access to some decent guns, but that’s not where the faction shines.
WARJACKS: Don’t get me wrong. Cryx has excellent warjacks, and you will be using them. But as a faction, Cryx focuses more on infantry swarms than on lots of big, mean robots.
CHEAP: Expect to buy more models than other players when fielding a Cryx army. The difference isn’t too huge, but a Cryx army will probably cost a little more money than the offerings of other factions.
Still with me? Still ready to give Cryx a try? All right, then!
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.