Who's the Boss Wrap

Who's the boss is possibly the greatest thing ever. I took trolls. 35 points (flat, 30 + 5 beast points) meant that I could fit in exactly the core of a troll list and no more. I has Earthborn, Mulg, Pyre, Janissa and full Krielstone with Elder.

Round 1 - Styker1
Stryker1 is pretty good with trolls. Unfortunately my opponent got Lich2 and Eiryss was in his list. SO while I could add 7 to Mulgs ARM he could subtract 8.

Round 2 - Skarre1
This was pretty awesome. Not gonna lie. I only lost one model, unfortunately it was Skarre. Harry was shooting her with mage hunters all game, hit her with Vayl's feat and managed to put 5 or 6 damage on her. I put another 5 with the feat then when she was ARM 22 and DEF 20 (behind a wall) he arced a single boosted Oblit at her (he only had Vayl and a few mage hunters left) managed to roll a 12 and a 13  to kill her exactly. Stupid Eric rolling a 13.

Round 3 - Magnus2
Mobility and Calamity also pretty sweet with Trolls. Janissa used her pull ability to clear a charge lane for Magnus to Lylyth and he finished the job himself.

Other stuff I saw that was pretty sweet. Baldur2 with Khador and Man-o-war. Warders making it to their opponents deployment zone. Ashlynn is a pretty good Legion warlock. There was more but I can't remember right now. The whole thing was awesome. Looking forwards to running one at Gong Con next year March 30.

Invitational lists

Will Pagani won the warmachine invitational with Butcher3 and Vlad1.

Khador
Standard Army
PCs: 50 / 50
44 models

[00] Orsus Zoktavir, the Butcher Unleashed (0 / 4 WJ remaining)
[01]  >> War Dog
[07]  >> Juggernaut
[02] Iron Fang Kovnik
[02] Iron Fang Kovnik
[04] Greylord Ternion
[08] Iron Fang Pikemen (9 grunts)
[02]  >> Black Dragon Officer & Standard
[08] Iron Fang Pikemen (9 grunts)
[02]  >> Black Dragon Officer & Standard
[04] Widowmakers
[04] Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire
[02] Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan
[02] Gorman Di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist
[03] Eiryss, Angel of Retribution
[02] Saxon Orrik
[01] Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator

Khador

Standard Army

PCs: 50 / 50

30 models

[00] Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Prince (0 / 5 WJ remaining)

[13]  >> Behemoth

[10]  >> Spriggan

[02] Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich

[02] Koldun Lord

[02] Iron Fang Kovnik

[05] Assault Kommandos (5 grunts)

[02]  >> Assault Kommandos Flame Thrower (2 Flamers)

[05] Great Bears of Gallowswood

[08] Winter Guard Rifle Corps (9 grunts)

[04] Lady Aiyana & Master Holt

[02]  >> Koldun Kapitan Valachev

A couple of things I want to talk about. That Butcher list looks sweet. I don't think you can do much better than that for him. Silence of death with the ability to pick a column, the Juggernaut trades really well, it's difficult to kill for its points and will kill anything if left standing. The Vlad list is the one I really want to talk about though. It really heavily abuses signs and portents and makes assault kommandos good. Immunity to corrosion means that they are immune to bile thrall purges, you can give them +2 SPD and shield wall and shoot and they hit and do damage with signs and portents. Also the sprays are really good with signs and portents and you can have the Behemoth throw the flamethrower dudes like fire causing grenades. I really like it and I think it's outside the box. It pairs really well with the Butcher list, I think it handles cryx like a boss. Only thing I'm not sure about is how it pairs with anything that isn't Butcher3. 

Upcoming Stuffs

On the 23rd and 24th of November I am going to be pulling a double header. We're breaking in a new press ganger at Parramatta at the games cube and then Ben is running a tournament at Good Games CBD. First tournament is a 35 point tournament. I hate 35 points. Hate it. I'm going to try trolls this time because I have not taken them to a tournament in forever.

Trollbloods
Standard Army
PCs: 35 / 35
36 models

[00] Madrak Ironhide, World Ender (0 / 5 WB)
[02]  >> Trollkin Runebearer
[05]  >> Storm Troll
[05]  >> Troll Impaler
[03] Fell Caller Hero
[02] Stone Scribe Chronicler
[02] Fennblade Kithkar
[04] Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (5 grunts)
[01]  >> Stone Scribe Elder
[06] Pyg Burrowers (9 grunts)
[08] Trollkin Fennblades (9 grunts)
[02]  >> Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer

Trollbloods

Rune's of War (Hoarluk Doomshaper, Shaman of the Gnarls)

(Tier 4) 

PCs: 34 / 35

18 models

[00] Hoarluk Doomshaper, Shaman of the Gnarls (0 / 7 WB)

[12]  >> Mulg the Ancient

[10]  >> Earthborn Dire Troll

[05]  >> Pyre Troll

[03] Janissa Stonetide

[04] Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (5 grunts)

[01]  >> Stone Scribe Elder

[03] Trollkin Runeshapers

[03] Trollkin Runeshapers

The one on the Sunday is a 50 point tournament. I am thinking about busting out the tree. 

Circle Orboros

Standard Army

PCs: 50 / 50

50 models

[00] Cassius the Oathkeeper (0 / 6 WB)

[00]  >> Wurmwood, Tree of Fate (Companion)

[10]  >> Warpwolf Stalker

[04]  >> Gorax

[01] Gallows Grove

[01] Gallows Grove

[07] Druids of Orboros

[02]  >> Druid of Orboros Overseer

[02] Shifting Stones

[01]  >> Stone Keeper

[02] Shifting Stones

[03] Farrow Bone Grinders (5 grunts)

[06] Farrow Slaughterhousers

[06] Farrow Slaughterhousers

[10] Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters (9 grunts)

[01] Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew

This list is possibly stupid. I have been advised by much better circle players to avoid druids and slaughterhousers so I'm throwing them both in. It will be the tree and my Morvahna2 list which is currently

Circle Orboros

Standard Army

PCs: 50 / 50

32 models

[00] Morvahna the Dawnshadow (0 / 5 WB)

[10]  >> Warpwolf Stalker

[04]  >> Gorax

[01] Gallows Grove

[01] Gallows Grove

[02] Shifting Stones

[01]  >> Stone Keeper

[02] Shifting Stones

[10] Tharn Blood Pack (5 grunts)

[09] Tharn Ravagers (5 grunts)

[02]  >> Tharn Ravager Chieftain

[08] Warpborn Skinwalkers (4 grunts)

[03]  >> Warpborn Alpha

[02] Viktor Pendrake

Tournament Report

I've been a bit neglectful of this page. Something I put down to having to do actual work rather than goofing off during my work hours recently. However I will endeavour to post more stupid lists and keep up to date with tournament happenings. First off I ran a tournament in the gong. 

14 people turned up and I had managed to borrow 7 chess clocks off the local chess club (well Theo technically did that but I asked him to so I'm taking credit). We had plans to stretch it out to 10 if we needed to but they weren't excellent plans. I like to think I just hyped the event to exactly the right amount. 5 guys came up from Canberra and four guys came down from Sydney. You guys were legends and we had a really excellent laid back tournament. 

Round one (supply and demand):

Aaron (W) v Uli
Graham v Jeff Traish (W)
Chibi v Jeff Galea (W)
James (W) v Ed
Ben (W) v Adam
Llyod (W) v Theo
Harry v Marty (W)

So Wollongong were 0-5 and showing the consistency we are famous for. Notable things- Lloyd feedbacking Nemo to death without a single model having died. Ed keeping up with the clock against James and playing a decent game though he forgot to feat. Graham dropped the only Skorne list in the world without ARM cracking against Traishy with double warders. 

Round two (ammunition run):

Graham (W) v Ed
Harry v Chibi (W)
Theo v Adam (W)
Ben (W) v Uli
James (W) v Aaron
Marty v Jeff T (W)
Lloyd (W) v Jeff G

Wollongong won a game (WOOO!) it was a Wollongong against Wollongong match but still Graham and Ed threatened to pause the deathclock so they would time out and both lose. Notable Moments - Ed forgot to feat again. Three turns I walked past and asked him if he had feated yet and got a no. Also Vociferon didn't activate for 3 turns. A MAT 14 Griffon (Vyros2 + Synergy) charged Caine in the Theo v Adam game. Jeff had a legitimate assassination attempt against Marty but made a few mistakes typical of someone playing Legion for only the second game. He also failed to roll a 6 to kill Skarre with the fire damage roll. Wollongong 1-9

Round 3 (process of elimination):

Theo v Ed (W)
Uli v Harry (W)
Aaron v Jeff G (W)
Chibi (W) v Marty
Adam (W) v Graham
James v Jeff T (W)
Lloyd v Ben (W)

Final round. Graham got introduced to Rahn for the first time when Hexy2 was dragged out from behind a Sentry and a full unit of Arcuarii knocked down and battle maged to death. Ending more than a foot from where he had started on the bottom of turn 2. Harbinger won on Scenario (Ben, I was shocked, shocked that Harbinger would win in such a manner). James had an excellent assassination run on Madrak except that the Woldwrath was a few millimeters out and grim salvation had killed the model James had hit with Hunters Mark. Instead Morvahna ended up locked in combat with Madrak with no fury remaining and 6 health with no more attacks incoming. He decided to hope Traishy missed the freestrike and he did not. Theo left an inch between his two Stormwalls allowing both Krakkens to gain line of sight to Nemo ending the exciting double colossal fight before it had begun. This also meant Ed went the whole tournament without feating. So well done I guess? Chibi put a primalled, carnivored Stalker into Skarre1 who's feat was not quite enough to withstand that.

21 games, one loss on death clock and that was mostly due to excessive stuffing around. Ed might have been a bit quicker if I hadn't spent so much time trolling him. Or you know feating might have helped. Mostly the chess clocks allowed a more relaxed atmosphere and let players with janky assassinations or complicated feats take a bit of extra time. I was super organised forgetting only my computer with tournament software, all the list sheets and the scenario sheets I had printed out. 

Fallen Angels at 35 points

In my continued quest to play weird shit I have been testing out the Saeryn theme force at 35 points, there is a 35 point tournament coming up which I may end up being unable to attend due to work. Here is the list I have been mucking with:

Legion of Everblight
Fallen Angels (Saeryn, Omen of Everblight)
(Tier 4)
PCs: 35 / 35
10 models

[00] Saeryn, Omen of Everblight (0 / 5 WB)
[09]  >> Angelius
[09]  >> Angelius
[06]  >> Nephilim Bolt Thrower
[00]  >> Nephilim Bolt Thrower (Free (6 pc) & FA)
[05]  >> Nephilim Protector
[05]  >> Nephilim Soldier
[01] Blighted Nyss Shepherd
[01] Blighted Nyss Shepherd
[04] Blighted Nyss Sorceress & Hellion

A shredder, my kingdom for a shredder. Also I can't fit in any spell martyrs which means that Saeryn is playing way too far forwards for me to be happy. She does have a Protector to hide behind though. I've played this list a few times now against different opponents and I have no idea whether it is any good. None at all. It's winning games but a lot of that is Saeryn's massive scenario strength. 

Pros - Free bolt thrower, 6 points free in a 35 point list is not bad. Extended deployment and plus one to go first with the speed of this army make it an absolute scenario monster. Then add in repulsion, breathe stealer, the pushes from the bolt throwers.

Cons - no shredders, no spell martyrs really hurt. The list is also incredibly pillow fisted. You have to tag team a heavy with both angels to maybe kill it. The Soldier does little to nothing and will be replaced with a bloodseer should I continue to play this list. Best use I have found so far is throwing its animus on an Angelius so it can dig in further and get a better repulsion. Also fury management is a problem. Due to the pillow-fistedness of the list two two Angels almost always have to max out (if for example you want to kill a single heavy) and because it's Saeryn they don't die. The Sorceress helps as you can try to leave them on 3 fury each but you do risk leaving they heavy they went after still standing and glaring angrily at them. 

More Earthbreaker

I'm going to start with something I'm adding to my wishlist. An army builder that lets you build three lists in parallel and checks for character overlap as well as normal list validation. War Room is never going to be able to do it as long as Tinkerhouse Games is running the show (they still haven't updated War Room with the new NQ theme forces or the earthbreaker either). Must be because they are spending all their time trying to bring the same list validation every single other army builder has had since day 1. God they suck. Anyway:

After listening to the latest Muse on Minis I am considering pairing the Durgen/Pirates with Damiano/Four Star. My thought process is that I would rather not have two lists with colossals and Damiano is the only Merc caster I think is better without a colossal. So right now one of these two casters is going into Four Star and one is going into Highborn with pirates but I'm not sure which. My list (different from the muse one) is:

Mercenaries

Four Star Syndicate

PCs: 50 / 50

50 models

[00] Captain Damiano (0 / 6 WJ remaining)

[02]  >> Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker

[09]  >> Rocinante

[02] Gorman Di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist

[03] Eiryss, Angel of Retribution

[05] Alexia Ciannor & the Risen (9)

[10] Croe's Cutthroats (9 grunts)

[08] Kayazy Assassins (9 grunts)

[02]  >> Kayazy Assassin Underboss

[03] Kayazy Eliminators

[03] Kayazy Eliminators

[09] Steelhead Riflemen (9 grunts)

Possibly dropping the Riflemen down to min with Kell Bailoch and Rhupert. Both lists really want him. 

Damiano

Highborn - Gun Mages with Deadeye are probably better than Croes with Deadeye. Pirates also really enjoy deadeye. 

Four Star - Kayazy with sure foot are pretty ridiculous. Everything is better with primed than Death March but Kayazy need the speed increase more than the pirates and the pirates have more attacks to abuse primed with. Kayazy also hit a lot harder with the feat. 

Durgen

Highborn - Pirates have an absolute crapton of attacks with primed, don't care about the ARM debuff and also add to his ability to shoot really well. Taryn really improves his assassination

Four Star - Kayazy murder things with primed like no ones business. They kill high DEF and they kill heavies or multi wound infantry (although ARM stacking is an issue for them). Their higher POW means he has more ability to kill heavies than the pirates (but the extra attack with the pirates might even it out). 

Now that I've gone through it I think I'll at least start with Durgen pirates. I think Durgen is weaker in four star. Damiano might be as well but if he is I doubt the difference will be as big. 

Merc Dojo

Two things I've been working on at the moment (well 3 things if you count Morvahna1) are 35 point Merc lists for MOAB and Earthbreaker dojo.

PP Judge Document

As a forum attachment: http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?177332-Privateer-Press-tournament-policies

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8ZXkeGw8GbOaWhQQVdrcFU4djQ/edit

Lets start with the good things about that document. It is mostly pretty good. It's what I would expect from a document that is- you can't sort these things out between yourselves so you've called a judge over this is what we are going to rule. Things like what judges will rewind and what they will not. How they will handle illegal charges (declaring a charge that will not bring your target into melee range with infinite movement and ignoring all other models and terrain), not declaring a weapon, proxy bases (you put down a proxy base and that is where you are going) etc. It's harsh in a lot of areas, for example if you deploy any amount of extra models then a judge will rule the game a loss, however that is only if a judge is called over. If you notice for example you have deployed a full unit when you only payed for a min and your opponent agrees to just let you take off the extra models then the judges will stand by that as well.

And the bad thing.

Indirect or abstract questions about models or model capabilities should be answered by showing the inquiring player all stat cards of the army...

Example:

“What’s the threat range on that warjack?”

“Here are the stat cards for my army. I have a variety of abilities that could affect your models, and mine, as well as basic power attacks that make this question difficult to answer. I don’t want to tell you 12 inches but then remember that I could power attack push it and get 13.”

I hate this. At the least the example should involve the player helping their opponent to understand their army. If I ask if you have any continuous effects in your army I'd want you to at least point out the models with continuous effects and I can ask to see their cards if I want. Same if I ask if you have any AOEs or any of the other indirect questions. If you hand me all the cards in your army you can go fuck yourself. I got embroiled in lets call them two discussions about this in separate forums, I got two different types of answers: 1. No one is actually going to do that, it's just the base line minimum. 2. I am going to do exactly that because it's the best thing to do.

I'm left with a few thoughts about this.

1. Any time you write guidelines, especially guidelines your judges are going to abide by people are going to follow the directions. The judge document endorses poor sportsmanship and will result in some players doing exactly what the document tells them to do and no more.
2. This is a social game and there are social penalties for acting like a jackass, I can only hope these will stop people from following the guidelines to the letter.
3. It would have been incredibly easy to write the example interaction so that the player involved wasn't acting like a jackass. All you would have needed to say was that handing over your cards is the absolute minimum but that you should help your opponent sort through your army to find the answer to their question.

New Theme Forces

There are two new theme forces in the new No Quarter and for once it's actually easy for me to talk about them in a timely manner without having to rely on the accuracy of Internet threads (thankyou PP digital). Lets start with Siege:

(you can click to embiggenate it)

This one will require some additional thought. There are two clear stopping points in this theme force, you are either going to go for tier 2 or tier 4. The questionable inclusion is Triumph (a tier 3 requirement), he's not as bad as people will claim he is but I don't believe Siege has the focus to fuel him and a Stormwall and still be effective by himself so it's really a question of whether you want Siege to have a Stormwall or not. One of the great things about this theme force is it contains Allison Jakes so you can put the Stormwall on her if you don't want Siege to have it but that does limit the effectiveness of Side Kick.

The big positive here is that you can take two or more arcane shields in the list. Even if you just start off with Siege and a Stormwall which is pretty standard now both of them can have arcane shield. You can take Double Stormwall (one on Jakes), the first things I threw together (with little to no thought) were Siege, Jakes, double Stormwall, double Journeyman, Squire and that's 44 points (probably a sentinal and Strangeways to finish off the list). I'm not sure Double Stormwall is the way to go, it might be single stormwall or even just general jack spam. If you are taking no Stormwalls then you want to take Triumph and go for tier 4. Cygnar has some excellent lights, 3 point Sentinals are no joke. Triumph goes to ARM 23, 8 point Centurions. It's an interesting list because you really need to put effort into protecting your journeymen but I think 3 point Sentinals can do a lot of that for you.

The big negatives are no Reinholdt (Siege can't shoot twice), no rangers (Siege is limited to RAT 6) and no Eiryss2 and that adds up to really hurts Sieges ability to assassinate. That said having a spare Arcane Shield for Siege to allow him to get aggressive and a lot of boostable defender cannons (including the one on Triumph) still give him something fairly decent. 3 point Sentinals probably gives him cover as well. You can take ranged units but the only things you have to screen them with are jacks and if you are taking double Stormwall (or even single Stormwall) you can't take the Black 13th to shoot the pod (and again to help with the assassination).

In conclusion I just wrote a lot for someone who still doesn't have a firm opinion on this theme force. Maybe.

Thagrosh1:

This one I have a firmer opinion on. I don't like it.

The spawning vessel is one of the most broken models in the game but when you can't take any units you can't abuse it as much as I prefer to do. That said it still has a place you just need to get super aggressive with it and collect enemy corpses. That said I think the intention of the theme forces is to collect lesser warbeast corpses but I don't think lesser warbeast spam is a real option with Thagrosh1 so I don't think this is a good option. Here is the crux of why I don't like this list - Thagrosh wants to spam out Spiny Growths on his battle group and the list is letting you bring as many tenacity bots as you want. It'd be fine if you could take Warspears and just tenacity two whole units but you are stuck with Legion heavies and with Thagrosh they almost all want Spiny Growth. The hope I see for the list (and why I bothered discussing it) is in Angelius spam. 3-4 Angels, 2-4 Beast Mistresses with a shredder or two each (or shredder, harrier), Sorceress and Hellion and I think you have a decent scenario list. I still think he's better outside of his theme force and anyone going to tier 4 and bringing Stingers and/or Teraphs should be slapped. Always go to tier 3 or don't bother with this theme force.

Morvahna2 Update

Bobliness (Colin Hill) won recruits with Morvahna2 His list:

eMorvhana -5
Warpwolf Stalker 10
Gorax 4
Tharn Bloodpack 10
Tharn Bloodtrackers 8
Warpborn Skinwalkers 8
Warpborn Alpha 3
Gatorman Witchdoctor 3
Shifting stones + UA 3
Viktor Pendrake 2
Blackclad Wayfarer 2
Gallows Grove x 2 2

Is very similar to my list, especially with the most recent change I made dropping the wilder for Pendrake (holy crap Pendrake is a boss with Morvahna2). The only difference between our lists is that I have Ravagers instead of Bloodtrackers and a Witch Doc Croc (something I have considered) and a Blackclad Wayfarer instead of a second unit of stones. The Bloodtrackers are advanced deploy just like the ravagers and would fulfil the same roll except being SPD 7 instead of 6 get way up the table. The witch doc croc ensures that you keep the entire army fearless and gives you tough rolls which screw even more with your survivability. Pendrake is amazing with just blood pack, with Bloodtrackers as well he would be even more amazing. I still think I like Ravagers more, I like being able to bring back more 8 wound models with the feat but I will definitely try the bloodtrackers though. Not the blackclad though. If the stones do nothing but heal Morvahna a bit more they are still worth their weight in gold.

He also had a Kruger2 list which was the actual list he played in the final

eKrueger -5
Ghetorix 11
Megalith 11
Warpwolf Stalker 10
Gorax 4
Tharn Bloodtrackers 8
Nuala the Huntress 2
Shifting stones + UA 3
Shifting stones 2
Gallows Grove 1
Swamp Gobbers 1
Druid Wilder 2

Looks fine. I'm having too much fun with Happy Tree Friends. If I wrote a competitive Kruger2 list is would probably look something like this. No desire to do so at the moment though.

High Command pt 2 Cryx and Khador

Cryx:

The deck that stands out for Cryx is the orange deck. It is by far the worst deck resource wise in the game, averaging at less that 1 resource per card. However I still don't think it is terrible. If you take Orange and Blue you get all the combo strike cards and discarding a Mechthrall for +2P is not at all terrible. Taking Yellow also lets you max out your Necromancy cards so you can bring back a necrosurgeon from your discard pile.

Red/Blue/Purple is another interesting combination. It gives you a high resource, high victory point deck as well as all the bane thralls. However you lose a lot of synergy when deploying stuff. I found playing this that you were often itching for a second combo strike card that never came. For more combat synergy you can start with Red and Yellow to give you all the Necotechs and Scrap thralls. You still have a good resource count, and a decent number of victory points. I would combo that with Purple for all the corrosion cards and to up the victory points in your deck. Red/Yellow/Purple is currently my favourite Cryx deck.

Not mentioned so far is the Green deck. What it lacks in synergy with the other decks it makes up for in awesomeness. It's possibly the best stand alone deck. Pistol Wraiths are incredible and the green deck as a whole rushes incredibly well and deals a good amount of damage. Red/Yellow/Green is great as is Green/Purple/Red.

Khador:

Khador red is incredible. Much like Cygnar blue I am going to recommend never building a Khador deck without it. Khador red might be even better than Cygnar Blue but it's a close run thing. It has the most resources and the most victory points in the game. The cards may be expensive but once you start buying Khador red cards the massive resources they give you will help you buy the rest of the cards in the deck. The deck averages over 2.4 resources per card (counting only the highest resource on each card). From there you can go a lot of different directions. Red is a warjack heavy deck so you can take other decks heavy in war resources. That would be orange and yellow. That also gives you all the winterguard which is a superb rush option for Khador. That combination also gives you the most victory points. Blue is also a decent stand alone deck although it tends towards warriors. If you want a balanced deck Red/Blue is a great start.

High Command Menoth and Cygnar

Warmachine First:

I've been playing happy tree friends a bit and getting back into trolls. I gave the Family Reunion and Runes of War theme forces a run today. I knew runes of war was amazing and now I'm coming to view Family Reunion in a similar light. The Happy Tree Friends list is fun and I think it is competitive, I don't know how I'm going to justify taking the bear over the riphorn satyr when that comes out but for now I feel happy playing the bear. I think the riphorn pushes the list into really competitive territory, adding bulldoze to the list really seems like it will help with the small model count and the riphorn is a much more reliable beater than the bear which has issues. 

High Command:

I made a thing:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjsN5VV3K7CudEZvQTI4aUFkazFBNV9LWXluWnFzSXc&usp=sharing

I've been going over combinations for factions and have some thoughts. 

Menoth:

Red is terrible. lowest resources of any of the detachments, 3 cards that are 1-0 resources, no 4-4 cards and only two cards giving more than 1 resource and they are both the 1-3 resource cards. Yellow and Green have the highest amount of resources and Green also has a high number of VPs. Blue and Purple are not far behind and Blue again has a high number of VPs. I would suggest making a deck out of those 4 detachments. Orange is not as terrible as Red but I'd still be hesitant to take it. If you are going to take orange, take blue and green. They match best with that detachment.

Cygnar:

Blue is amazing. I don't think you should take Cygnar without a blue detachment. From there Yellow and Purple give you all the battle-hardened (which is a great card) and all the Cyclones (the Cyclone being the best card in Cygnar) but also include a lot of crap. If you want a more balanced deck take Red and Green. Orange is not terrible but nor is it particularly good. Blue-Red-Orange will give you a warjack heavy deck. 

WTC database

I would have posted this sooner but I've been wasting all my spare time screwing with it and forgot.

http://www.maudlin.be/wtc/query.php

It's an SQL database. I can't assume you are all familiar with SQL since I know Uli occasionally reads this and he can only barely turn on the computer. So some quick and dirty searches you can modify to suit yourselves:

SELECT * FROM wtc WHERE country LIKE "germany" ORDER BY player- will give you all the germans (change Germany to whatever country you want).

SELECT * FROM wtc WHERE faction LIKE "Cryx" ORDER BY player - will give you all the cryx

SELECT * FROM wtc WHERE leader LIKE "Lylyth2" - will give you all the Lylyth2 lists.

SELECT * FROM wtc WHERE list LIKE "%Dougal%" - will give you all the lists with Dougal in them. The % symbols are wildcards, it tells the query to pick any list that has the letters Dougal in it at any point in the list.

WTC Faction Stats 2013

New thing on End Game Gaming, MattieK has gone through and pulled out the data for individual jacks/units. This I think is a great tool for new players. The first question people ask when starting a faction is usually what do I get and this I think is a good rough guide to that. The things that have high numbers are generally the things you will get a lot of use out of and generally are useful for multiple casters or builds. The things with lower numbers are not necessarily awful but you should think carefully about whether there are better options. Popular theme forces make a difference here so I will note them where applicable and you have to remember that character restrictions matter too so while only 8/24 khador lists have Kovnik Joe he is a character that's really 8/12 players taking him. Also there are no statistics for Mercs or Minions, whether they are taken as their own factions or added to the factions other factions. I assume this is due to the data extraction method MattieK used. So what I'm going to do is copy the lists here and annotate them so that new players can get an idea of what models are particularly popular. It may work, it may not. Here are links to all the individual posts:

Cygnar
Khador
Protectorate of Menoth
Cryx
Retribution of Scyrah

Trollbloods
Circle Orboros
Skorne
Legion of Everblight

Trollblood Stats for New Players

NOTE: Every player has two lists but may only take one of each character across both lists so give extra weight to anything marked as a character. 

(From WTC 2013)

Warlock Attachment	Count	Percent
Trollkin Runebearer	12	54.55%
Warbeasts
Dire Troll Blitzer	1	4.55%
Dire Troll Bomber	9	40.91%
Dire Troll Mauler	9	40.91%
Earthborn Dire Troll	9	40.91%
Mountain King	0	0.00%
Mulg the Ancient	7	31.82%	Character
Night Troll	0	0.00%
Pyre Troll	7	31.82%
Rok	0	0.00%	Character
Slag Troll	4	18.18%
Storm Troll	4	18.18%
Swamp Troll	3	13.64%
Troll Axer	8	36.36%
Troll Bouncer	0	0.00%
Troll Impaler	8	36.36%
Winter Troll	0	0.00%
Battle Engines
Trollkin War Wagon	0	0.00%
Solos
Fell Caller Hero	14	63.64%
Fennblade Kithkar	0	0.00%
Horthol, Long Rider Hero	0	0.00%	Character
Janissa Stonetide	8	36.36%	Character
Stone Scribe Chronicler	5	22.73%
Troll Whelps	7	31.82%
Trollkin Champion Hero	6	27.27%
Trollkin Skinner	0	0.00%
Trollkin Sorcerer	0	0.00%
Units
Kriel Warriors	7	31.82%
Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower	15	68.18%	taken in groups of up to 3 with the kriel warriors above
Kriel Warrior Standard Bearer and Piper	4	18.18%
Krielstone Bearer and Stone Scribes	19	86.36%
Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder	18	81.82%
Long Riders	0	0.00%
Pyg Burrowers	12	54.55%
Pyg Bushwhackers	0	0.00%
Scattergunners	0	0.00%
Scattergunner Officer and Standard	0	0.00%
Sons of Bragg	2	9.09%	Character
Thumper Crew	0	0.00%
Trollkin Champions	6	27.27%
Skaldi Bonehammer	2	9.09%	Character
Trollkin Fennblades	6	27.27%
Fennblade Officer and Drummer	2	9.09%
Trollkin Runeshapers	15	68.18%	The majority of these are in Doomshaper1 Runes of War theme forces
Trollkin Scouts	1	4.55%
Trollkin Sluggers	0	0.00%
Trollkin Warders	5	22.73%

Skorne Stats for New Players

NOTE: Every player has two lists but may only take one of each character across both lists so give extra weight to anything marked as a character. 

(From WTC 2013)

Warlock Attachment	Count	Percent
Aptimus Marketh	3	13.64%	Character
Warbeasts
Archidon	5	22.73%
Basilisk Drake	6	27.27%
Basilisk Krea	13	59.09%
Bronzeback Titan	12	54.55%
Cyclops Brute	3	13.64%
Cyclops Raider	7	31.82%
Cyclops Savage	0	0.00%
Cyclops Shaman	4	18.18%
Despoiler	0	0.00%
Mammoth	6	27.27%
Molik Karn	4	18.18%	Character
Razor Worm	0	0.00%
Reptile Hound	1	4.55%
Rhinodon	0	0.00%
Tiberion	3	13.64%	Character
Titan Cannoneer	2	9.09%
Titan Gladiator	16	72.73%
Titan Sentry	4	18.18%
Battle Engines
Siege Animantarax	0	0.00%
Solos
Agonizer	17	77.27%
Ancestral Guardian	7	31.82%
Extoller Soulward	13	59.09%
Hakaar the Destroyer	2	9.09%	Character
Mortitheurge Willbreaker	9	40.91%
Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor	0	0.00%
Paingiver Task Master	6	27.27%
Tyrant Rhadeim	1	4.55%	Character
Void Spirit	3	13.64%
Units
Cataphract Arcuarii	7	31.82%
Cataphract Cetrati	3	13.64%
Tyrant Vorkesh	2	9.09%	Character
Cataphract Incindiarii	2	9.09%
Immortals	2	9.09%
Nihilators	6	27.27%
Paingiver Beast Handlers	22	100.00%
Paingiver Bloodrunners	0	0.00%
Praetorian Ferox	0	0.00%
Praetorian Karax	2	9.09%
Praetorian Swordsmen	6	27.27%
Praetorian Swordsman Officer and Standard	0	0.00%
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer	7	31.82%
Venator Catapult Crew	0	0.00%
Venator Flayer Cannon Crew	0	0.00%
Venator Reivers	0	0.00%
Venator Reiver Officer and Standard	0	0.00%
Venator Slingers	3	13.64%

Legion Stats for New Players

NOTE: Every player has two lists but may only take one of each character across both lists so give extra weight to anything marked as a character.

(From WTC 2013)

Warlock Attachments	Count	Percent
Succubus	12	25.00%
Warbeasts
Afflictor	7	14.58%
Angelius	70	145.83%
Archangel	1	2.08%
Carnivean	6	12.50%
Harrier	7	14.58%
Naga Nightlurker	9	18.75%
Nephilim Bloodseer	0	0.00%
Nephilim Bolt Thrower	3	6.25%
Nephilim Protector	0	0.00%
Nephilim Soldier	0	0.00%
Proteus	0	0.00%	Character
Raek	11	22.92%	Saeryn + Raek was very popular, rare in other lists.
Ravagore	61	127.08%
Scythean	27	56.25%
Seraph	9	18.75%
Shredder	27	56.25%
Stinger	0	0.00%
Teraph	2	4.17%
Typhon	10	20.83%	Character
Battle Engines	Count	Percent
Throne of Everblight	2	4.17%
Solos
Annyssa Ryvaal	6	12.50%	Character
Beast Mistress	0	0.00%
Blighted Nyss Shepherd	64	133.33%
Blighted Nyss Sorceress and Hellion	0	0.00%
Incubus	1	2.08%
Spell Martyr	38	79.17%
Strider Deathstalker	39	81.25%
The Forsaken	40	83.33%
Warmonger War Chief	0	0.00%
Units
Blackfrost Shard	5	10.42%	Character
Blighted Nyss Archers	0	0.00%
Blighted Nyss Archer Officer and Ammo Porter	0	0.00%
Blighted Nyss Grotesques	0	0.00%
Blighted Nyss Hex Hunters	8	16.67%
Bayal, Hound of Everblight	2	4.17%	Character
Blighted Nyss Legionnaires	11	22.92%
Captain Farilor and Standard	2	4.17%
Blighted Nyss Raptors	4	8.33%
Blighted Nyss Scather Crew	0	0.00%
Blighted Nyss Striders	5	10.42%
Blighted Nyss Striders Officer and Musician	5	10.42%
Blighted Nyss Swordsmen	2	4.17%
Blighted Nyss Swordsman Abbot and Champion	0	0.00%
Blighted Ogrun Warmongers	0	0.00%
Blighted Ogrun Warspears	3	6.25%
Warspear Chieftan	2	4.17%
Spawning Vessel	23	47.92%	16 of these are from the 16 iterations of Vayl2's theme force

Circle Stats for New Players

NOTE: Every player has two lists but may only take one of each character across both lists so give extra weight to anything marked as a character.

(From WTC 2013)

Warlock Attachment	Count	Percent
Druid Wilder	11	27.50%
Warbeasts
Argus	0	0.00%
Feral Warpwolf	13	32.50%
Ghetorix	14	35.00%	Character
Gnarlhorn Satyr	1	2.50%
Gorax	28	70.00%
Megalith	12	30.00%	Character
Pureblood Warpwolf	3	7.50%
Razorwing Griffon	0	0.00%
Riphorn Satyr	0	0.00%
Scarsfell Griffon	0	0.00%
Shadowhorn Satyr	1	2.50%
Warpwolf Stalker	38	95.00%
Winter Argus	0	0.00%
Wold Guardian	0	0.00%
Woldwarden	1	2.50%
Woldwatcher	13	32.50%	Baldur 2 theme forces  feature multiple Wold  Watchers (inflating this  number)
Woldwrath	5	12.50%
Woldwyrd	4	10.00%
Battle Engines
Celestial Fulcrum	0	0.00%
Solos
Blackclad Wayfarer	13	32.50%
Gallows Grove	60	150.00%
Lord of the Feast	1	2.50%	Character
Reeve Hunter	5	12.50%
Tharn Ravager White Mane	3	7.50%
War Wolf	21	52.50%	Morvahna 2 lists often take 3 of these. Rare in other lists.
Wolf Lord Morraig	0	0.00%	Character
Units
Druid Stoneward and Woldstalkers	14	35.00%
Druids of Orboros	13	32.50%
Druid of Orboros Overseer	11	27.50%
Reeves of Orboros	5	12.50%
Reeve of Orboros Chieftain and Standard	0	0.00%
Sentry Stone and Mannikins	0	0.00%
Shifting Stones	72	180.00%
Stone Keeper	33	82.50%
Tharn Blood Pack	1	2.50%
Tharn Bloodtrackers	10	25.00%
Nuala the Huntress	8	20.00%	Character
Tharn Bloodweavers	3	7.50%
Tharn Ravagers	1	2.50%
Tharn Ravager Chieftain	1	2.50%
Tharn Ravager Shaman	0	0.00%
Tharn Wolf Riders	1	2.50%
Warpborn Skinwalkers	15	37.50%
Warpborn Alpha	15	37.50%
Wolves of Orboros	5	12.50%
Wolves of Orboros Chieftain and Standard	1	2.50%

Retribution Stats for New Players

NOTE: Every player has two lists but may only take one of each character across both lists so give extra weight to anything marked as a character. 

(From WTC 2013)

Warjacks	Count	Percent
Aspis	3	13.64%
Banshee	7	31.82%
Chimera	3	13.64%
Daemon	2	9.09%
Discordia	4	18.18%	Character
Gorgon	0	0.00%
Griffon	11	50.00%	Vyross2 (Incissir of the Dawnguard) lists  feature high numbers of Griffons for Synergy
Hydra	0	0.00%
Hyperion	5	22.73%
Hypnos	1	4.55%	Character
Manticore	0	0.00%
Phoenix	12	54.55%
Sphinx	1	4.55%
Battle Engines
Arcantrik Force Generator	3	13.64%
Solos
Arcanist	28	127.27%
Dawnguard Scyir	0	0.00%
Destor Thane	1	4.55%
Fane Knight Skeryth Issyen	2	9.09%	Character
Ghost Sniper	0	0.00%
House Shyeel Artificer	3	13.64%
House Shyeel Magister	7	31.82%
Mage Hunter Assassin	18	81.82%
Narn	1	4.55%	Character
Nayl	0	0.00%	Character
Units
Dawnguard Destors	0	0.00%
Dawnguard Invictors	3	13.64%
Dawnguard Invictor Officer and Standard	3	13.64%
Dawnguard Sentinels	11	50.00%
Dawnguard Sentinel Officer and Standard	10	45.45%
Heavy Rifle Team	0	0.00%
House Shyeel Battle Mages	10	45.45%	Rahn was very popular and multiple battle mages feature in Rahn lists
Houseguard Halberdiers	6	27.27%
Houseguard Halberdiers Officer and Standard	5	22.73%
Houseguard Riflemen	0	0.00%
Houseguard Rifleman Officer and Standard	0	0.00%
Mage Hunter Infiltrators	4	18.18%
Mage Hunter Strike Force	19	86.36%
Strike Force Commander	19	86.36%
Stormfall Archers	21	95.45%
Soulless Escort	9	40.91%