Domination Review

Everyone is reviewing Gargantuans and I gave some quick thoughts on it. One thing I want to do though is go back and have a look at the last hordes release Domination and have a look at the long term impact of the stuff from that book now that it has actually had time to settle into the meta. Try and compare that to my initial thoughts and the thoughts of the community.

Trolls
Jarl - While not top tier Jarl has proven to be good, better than I initially gave him credit for and is a legitimate part of a competitive list pairing. He was also not well liked by the community to begin with.

Grissel2 - I always thought she would be solid just because of her massive ranged output but the forums did not like her. Not as good as Jarl she is a solid caster and tournament worthy.

Storm Troll - Has not seen much play, it's good but it's a support light and as such is competing against a very strong field of support lights. He has not proved to be as good as originally thought.

ScattergunnerUA - The best of the troll releases, it brought scattergunners into competitive, tournament level lists.

Rok - Not as good as I thought he would be, playtesting has shown that primal on trolls isn't quite as good as it is in circle where you can engineer a lot more angles and shenanigans. Trolls tend to rely on their beasts surviving and Rok himself struggles because of lack of reach.

Sons Of Bragg - Break into some competitive lists but not enough for the fact that they are characters to matter.

War Wagon - One of the better battle engines, solid if unspectacular. It makes some lists.

As a whole - nothing really changed the way trolls play, just more options for stuff trolls could already do. Primal was probably the big let down, I think a lot of people were full of ideas for Primal and it's just not as good as in circle. I think it also doesn't help that it's on an 11 point heavy without reach.

Circle
Grayle - Has not broken into competitive play. He is simply below the power curve, there are better options for whatever you want to do in circle. While first impressions on the caster were not great they were still probably better than he turned out to be.

Baldur2 - Has broken into competitive play but not circle's top tier. His armour stacking ability is good and his ability to do work himself gives him a strong mid to late game. I liked him from the start but there were mixed reviews from circle people in general.

Skarsfell Griffon - Another release that has proven to be not worth it.

Winter Argus - After being thoroughly crapped on early in the release cycle (including by me, I didn't give it a lot of credit) circle players have found a fair amount of use for this guy because he is so hard to kill. He requires a lot more resources to remove than most people want to spend on a 5 point model.

Ghettorix  - Has proven to be amazing, he tanks really well and deals out a lot of damage, reach really helps. You are pretty much guaranteed to see him in one of the two lists any circle player brings to a tournament. He has proven to be a lot better than early opinion had him to be.

Gallows Groves - Changed the game for circle and continue to be auto includes for their new caster in Gargantuans. They were considered amazing from the start and are amazing.

Celestial Fulcrum - One of the best of the Battle Engines, it's ability to remove infantry makes it a terrifying prospect but it is hampered by predeployment rules and the rise of colossals. Still it makes lists.

As a whole - Circle really stepped up it's game, as a faction it gets a lot more out of offensive spells and really improved it's ability to be able to take a hit. Circle did really well out of Domination.

Skorne
Naaresh - A solid caster, iron flesh is a very powerful spell and does do a lot for Skorne.

Hexeris2 - A top tier caster for sure and he continues to be helped out by new releases. You will see him in almost all Skorne list pairings because of his ability to deal with problem match ups for the rest of the faction.

Raider - A light with a utility animus, you didn't see it much initially but it's come roaring into lists along with proxy Mammoths. It will see top level play.

Slingers - Giving skorne a cheap ranged option has really helped the faction, as a utility unit you don't see them everywhere but they do pop up.

Archidon - Sprint in skorne is fantastic, it allows Molik Karn to do his thing without using his own fury on fate walker. Thanks to how great the first two Makedas are with him this beast has seen a lot of play. It can do some work itself, 4 fury and crit pitch are decent for 7 points.

Tiberion - Fantastic and in very list pairing. He's almost a colossal himself (and rumour is was used to get a feel for how good/bad colossal rules would be).

Siege Animantarax - Despite a lot of people trying to champion this terrible model it remains terrible.

As a Whole - Skorne got a lot of help dealing with their problem match ups and began the transition (completed in Gargantuans) to a combined arms faction.

Legion
Kallus - A strong option and gave Legion a good caster for infantry however he struggles to see tournament time due to the strength of Legion's top tier.

Vayl2 - The best model in the book Vayl2 has proven to be one of the better casters in the game. Her theme force in particular is amazing.

Naga - Giving legion blessed instantly fixed legions problem with ARM and particularly with Menoth. Haley2 now needs to fear the legion match up. The Naga has been massive for Legion.

Succubus - Another boon for legion, the faction can now juggle buffs and spam animuses. It really improved Lylyth2.

Proteus - I'm not sure any model in this book received more playtesting without a worthwhile result. It's the mountain king of Domination. Maybe worse.

Farrilor - Actually a really good model but Legionnaires are used because they are cheap, he's the same cost as half a full unit. Makes it hard to take him especially when a lot of the times when I take Legionnaires I kill a few myself in order to make a shredder.

Throne of Everblight - My throne has seen a lot of game time though I have not taken it to a tournament. It's great on both Thagroshes and gives Legion some help clearing infantry.

As a Whole - In hindsight Legion won the book. Blessed and the ability to spam it, one of the best casters in the game and some solid options that really add to a lot of lists really helped out Legion. Skorne I think could be counted as winning if you also took into account how these releases help gargantuans but I think in the end you count that towards that book.