Thinking Out Loud - Highlander

Only one list for highlander (after all there can only be one) and I have a tendency to sit and think about lists when I'm not doing anything so here is what I've been thinking.

First off what should I be afraid of, what nast combos can you still pull with only one of everything:

Winterguard Death Star - Full unit of winterguard, UA, probably one rocketeer too because that's allowed and Kovnic Joe with a caster with iron flesh (half the khador casters). This unit will have DEF 18 in the open and either tough or all boosted attack rolls on their 8" sprays. They can also get +3 strength in melee to bring them to a respectable POW 11 (but then no boosts or tough).

Cataphract Cetrati with defenders ward in front of a Krea - high DEF and high ARM. 8 wounds and solos like Eirys can only take off either the krea's animus or defenders ward as they are on two separate models.

Bane Thralls and Tartarus. Really with anyone although with Skarre1 they'll be ARM20 on feat turn POW 16 weapons masters and they'll always cause an additional -2 ARM to everything they are fighting and she'll give them an additional dice to hit. Stealth and tough, so shooting will need to ignore stealth.

Terminus or Venethrax. Terminus will be ARM 25 (ARM 23 plus some help from Darragh Wrathe) until after he has resolved all his attacks from charging my caster. His ARM will be higher the turn after he feats. Venethrax will be ARM 26 but lacking the feat, flight and the extra damage output of Terminus. Venethrax has a little bit better DEF too.

Trollbloods
PCs: 20

[00] Madrak Ironhide, World Ender (0 / 5 WB)
[09]  >> Dire Troll Mauler
[06]  >> Troll Axer
[08] Trollkin Fennblades (9 grunts)
[02]  >> Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer

• Madrak gives the Fennblades blood fury which makes them weaponmasters. His feat gives them a free thresher attack that only targets enemy models. They have a mini feat which gives them +2 movement on the charge so 13" threat. Really needs a fell caller to give them +2 MAT even for average troops. For anything with DEF 14+ this list won't do anything so no good against winterguard or Cetrati. You can blood fury the Mauler and have Madrak give it +3 strength (for a POW 19 weaponmaster) and it still won't kill Terminus or Venethrax unless it can knock them down which means no charging they have to be within 6".

Cygnar
PCs: 20

[00] Lord Commander Stryker (0 / 6 WJ remaining)
[02]  >> Squire
[10]  >> Stormclad
[06]  >> Hunter
[05] Stormblade Infantry
[03]  >> Stormblade Infantry Officer & Standard

• Stryker is a stone cold assassin, he can kill any one thing that needs to die. He can protect the Stormblades from shooting but does nothing about their crappy threat range. This list will tear apart armour and if the stormblades are near the jack they're MAT 9 so they'll hit anything but that means if I'm up against a high DEF unit that I need to throw both the heavy jack and my infantry at them. Low threat range means that any melee unit will destroy them before they get a shot in. Stryker will kill either Venethrax or Terminus with ease. The Stormclad can probably do it too but you wouldn't try it.

Cygnar
PCs: 20

[00] Lord Commander Stryker (0 / 6 WJ remaining)
[10]  >> Stormclad
[04]  >> Charger
[08] Precursor Knights (9 grunts)
[02]  >> Precursor Knight Officer & Standard
[02] Gorman Di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist

• I've done better in this list. The precursors have blessed so they ignore iron flesh, paralytic aura (only if cast by the warlock not if used by the Krea weirdly) and defenders ward, they have a minifeat that makes them weaponmasters for a turn and they can't be targetted by enemy spells but still benefit from Deflection and positive charge because neither will target the knights themselves. Gorman is more useful than the squire both in adding clouds to give stryker higher DEF and in black oiling whatever stryker was about to charge. I wanted to add in Runewood but if I took him I would not be allowed to take the Stormclad. Would have been alright if character jacks were allowed and I could take Ol Rowdy but instead I would have been stuck with the Centurion. It's a defensive jack and this is a very offensive list. Would not have worked.

Trollbloods
PCs: 20 

[00] Madrak Ironhide, World Ender (0 / 5 WB)
[09]  >> Dire Troll Mauler
[05] Horthol, Long Rider Hero
[11] Long Riders (4 grunts)

•  The Mauler isn't here to actually fight, it's very much a last line of defence. It is there to give Madrak +3 strength (or possibly Horthol) and generate some fury. This list loses Madrak's greatest strength which is his ability to have worthless gumbies die instead of taking damage himself. He'll have to save up fury for transfers but that's all right because all he really needs to do is upkeep blood fury. Long riders are trollbloods answer to high DEF but only because they slam their own models. Here they lack slam targets and may have to slam each other. Other than that this list has no answer for high DEF. Blood Fury on the Long Riders makes them POW 14 + 4 dice on charge + another POW 14 with 3 dice and I can use the Maulers animus on top of that. High ARM is not a problem.

Cygnar
PCs: 18

[00] Captain Allister Caine (0 / 5 WJ remaining)
[02]  >> Squire
[10]  >> Stormclad
[06]  >> Hunter
[05] Rangers

• The hunter and the Stormclad are here as they are the most expensive jacks available. They might do something, no one really cares. This list is designed to wait for Caine to be able to move to have LOS to the opponents caster, have the rangers run to within 5", pull an extra focus off the squire and blast 9 RAT 11 shots of increasing POW into the opposing caster. He can kill Venethrax as he probably isn't going to be affected by Wrathe, Terminus however will pass off ranged attacks that damage him to nearby grunts.

Cygnar
PCs: 20

[00] Major Victoria Haley (0 / 5 WJ remaining)
[02]  >> Squire
[09]  >> Centurion
[06]  >> Lancer
[06] Arcane Tempest Gun Mages
[02]  >> Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer

• Gun mages can deal OK with high DEF, with their own inbuilt snipe feat and deceleration they can normally get a turn of aiming and deadeye (RAT 9 boosted to hit, average roll 19.5 - they'll reliably kill 5 winterguard a turn if they can all aim and 3 if they can't, the winterguard will generally both outlast, outshoot and out melee the gun mages though, and they're cheaper on a per model basis). The centurion is pretty fast with the bond and temporal acceleration. Capable of wrecking whatever doesn't have reach feat turn. I'd still prefer the Stormclad over the Centurion but she desperately needs a lancer and a squire to stay far enough back to keep alive. Centurion can take out Termithrax with temporal acceleration, and the gun mages dropping wrathe and 4 focus. Even then you'd have to either knock him down with the dead eyes gun mages or telekinesis the caster so you're in their back arc. It's a bit of a stretch but it can be done.

Trollbloods
PCs: 20

[00] Hoarluk Doomshaper, Shaman of the Gnarls (0 / 7 WB)
[09]  >> Dire Troll Mauler
[05]  >> Pyre Troll
[03] Fell Caller Hero
[08] Trollkin Fennblades (9 grunts)
[02]  >> Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer

• When it comes to highlander you are limited in the tools you can take so you really want stuff that does a lot of stuff. (eloquence is my strong spot). The first thing I looked at was purification unfortunately both purification casters I have access to are high FURY hordes casters which can be a problem. I can at least make up Doomshaper's FURY. Other than that this list can deal with high DEF and high ARM, it can deal with upkeeps and it has some denial. The biggest problem is that Doomshaper has old man stats and lacks any defensive tricks, he's very easy to kill and there is no real way to screen him in highlander.