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Want. 

Meta Benders - Haley2

The meta to give a simple definition is the state of the game. At Guild Gaming and in Wollongong in general there is a very casual meta, the one in Canberra is more competitive. The competitive meta is formed at tournaments, generally ones more competitive than the one I'm attending this weekend (and no one else from the guild is because you all suck). A lot of things shape the Meta, colossals in particular have forced lists to include more options to crack ARM. Iron flesh in early MKII forced people to make sure they could deal with high DEF. Recursion mechanics are also beginning to have an impact on the game and the easily contestable nature of the steamroller package last year made the gunline particularly dominant. More than that though there are particular lists and combinations that shape the competitive meta and I'm going to go through the worst of them and give some basic general advice on how to deal with them.

Lets start with Haley2.

What's The Problem?

• Two Stormwalls, arcane shield and Deceleration - there are a lot of damage boxes and they are protected stacked ARM buffs
• The feat - nothing that needs activation order or melee attacks is going to work for a turn
• Temporal acceleration and the bond - Her bonded stormwall can get to SPD 9 with 3 initial attacks (from the big guns or the fists) it can also get 4 focus. The other one can go to SPD 7 with the same initials and 3 focus which is still insane. 
• Covering Fire and Mage Storm. Each stormwall will put down two covering fire templates spaced about an inch apart and then one stormwall will drop a pod on the end. Ryan will then mage storm this pod. With decent spacing you are looking at approximately 20" of the table that you can't enter without taking a POW 12
• Gun mages with deadeye and they also benefit from Deceleration so if you shoot at them they are DEF 17. 

She also has some situationally awesome abilities. Set defence makes her DEF 18 on the charge, replication will let her recast offensive spells your opponent casts if they are within her control area (so 18") which occasionally means that she has crippling grasp. She also has domination, telekinesis and time bomb which are spells that are almost broken good and she doesn't need to ever cast them but can in a pinch. 

How to Deal

First and most importantly you have to get her to feat early. She needs to use that feat to protect her stuff. If she's able to hold off the feat until she gets the absolute most out of it then you are boned. So get stuff up in her face. Spread out. Don't be afraid to come in waves and make sure your key pieces are protected.

Next you need to be able to crack armour. Seriously crack armour. You also have to be careful about using infantry to do it. POW 12s mean you need to get their ARM up to 19ish before you can start seriously thinking about running a unit through those templates. Multi wound units are slightly less scared. 

You need to be able to absorb a stormwall. By that I mean it can't just be able to scalpel out the most important pieces of your army (whether through the big guns or it's stupidly long charge range). You also need to be able to deal with gun mages who don't care about high DEF or stealth. 

Caster Recommendations

Cygnar - Caine2 with all the ARM debuffs. It's an infantry heavy list but Caine can remove a Stormwall with his feat, you have no problem killing Ryan and then you can envelop the last colossal. There won't be enough covering fire for all your dudes. You can also arcane shield forge guard and charge them through the covering fire templates. You expose the weakness of this list which is that the concentration of force in two colossals leaves you bereft of the ability to kill swarms of infantry, your rely on the covering fire templates and squishy gun mages. Nemo1 and Nemo2 are options too, Nemo1 can with with a little bit of support scrap a 19 point Stormclad with a 7 point Ironclad which is hilarious to me. Nemo2 is also very fast with his jacks and has one turn of utter devastation that should be able to end a Stormclad.

Legion - It's Lylyth all the way. She's always been my go to girl for Cygnar and she still is. She'll kill the first colossal and half the gun mages before they have fired a shot and then take the second without much difficulty. The Stormwalls cannot shoot back and the gun mages struggle to hurt her beasts. Also Lylyth is really good at killing them. The match up is a nightmare for Haley. Vayl2 is another suggestion. She purifies off arcane shield and her super long range spell assassination will kill Haley dead. 

Mercs - Bart Galleon can take a charging Storwall and can fight back pretty strongly and is probably the best match up. MacBain can countermeasures their colossals to stop the covering fire templates but that is difficult. Magnus2 has the feat/counterfeat thing going and can arc Calamity so is an option. It's a hard one for Mercs.

Trollbloods - Doomshaper, either one. With good positioning of the wall from Janissa and use of the feats it's not a huge issue for either caster. Madrak1 can do it too (with the beast brick), Madrak2 struggles unless you have brought long riders with him. 

Minions - Poor Barnabas. Long the gator's answer to Cygnar because of his wonderful swamp pits. Unfortunately he can't crack a stormwall to save his life so until colossals stop being so prevalent or Gators get upkeep removal, a damage buff or P+S higher than 17 he's lose a lot of his previous competitiveness. Rask on the other hand is made for this kind of match up. Carver can do it, especially if you take a bunch of warhogs and even Arcadius isn't out of it, his theme force with 7 point warhogs + forced evolution (+ crippling grasp if you are desperate) is pretty nice. The threat ranges are an issue but you probably don't care if you have 7 warhogs (note: my 50 point Arcadius list has 7 warhogs). 

I'm too new to Menoth to offer up a discerning opinion but it doesn't seem like a huge problem. You have choir, purification, Eiryss, enliven, Bastions and Vengers, and some really hard hitting jacks. As a cygnar player like the Haley2/Caine2 pairing and playing that Caine2 is my menoth match up.

For the factions I don't play Ret have Ossyan and Vyros2 (with all the light jacks). Skorne have whichever list has the most bronzebacks, Xerxis and Morghoul1 probably preferred but meh. Circle I think are pushing strongly towards Kaya2 with a pureblood being particularly important and it is a great match up if you have Kaya2. Khador do not particularly like this match up, Karchev, Harkevich, Irusk and Vlad3 might have a game, it does depend a lot on a pending infernal ruling concerning crit devastation (which I'm sure will be ruled in Khador's favour or quickly errata'ed). Cryx do not have a good answer. Asphixious2 has some game, his feat allows him to get past the covering fire templates and if he get stuff into melee with a stormwall it disintegrates, he can generally only kill one though and the second one will be a problem. You can play Skarre2 and trade feats but she doesn't have a damage buff and cryx jacks don't hit hard enough. You can probably make a Denny1 list specifically to kill Stormwalls as well.

Even the factions that have a particularly bad time of Haley2 (Cryx, Mercs, Khador, Trollbloods) can beat the match up but you probably have to tech out a list specifically to play against her. 

Podcast Recommendations

So I have quite a few podcasts that I regularly listen to that are warmachine related and I thought I'd put them up here for anyone that is interested. I do a lot of driving for work and I also like to listen to podcasts while I paint so I'm always on the lookout for good podcasts but I do have to gel with the hosts. The following are highly recommended for anyone who likes to listen to people crap on while they are doing something.

Chain Attack.
Chain attack is probably the best warmachine and hordes podcast around. Lots of information, great production values and they have a very informative format. They also crack me up. In particular I have a giant man-crush on Jay. As a warning there is a lot of Cygnar hate on this podcast from the other two hosts Scott and Trevor.

Muse on Minis
Muse hosts the next two podcasts I am going to talk about as well. Keith in particular has a very similar playstyle to me and his advice has been a huge help in me moving from an assassination focussed playstyle to a more attrition based one. This podcast is maybe 50% warmachine content and 50% trolling the other muse podcasts and the PP forums and the other hosts on this podcast.

Crippled System
Sometimes the hosts on crippled system actually talk about warmachine. This one is definitely the bluest of the podcasts I am recommending and definitely one of my favourites. I love these guys (and Katie). It's a very enjoyable listen and pretty funny just don't expect on topic discussion.

Road to War
A podcast by the Texas Renegades. Much more on topic and warmachine related than Crippled System or Muse on Minis. Will Pagani is another player I find I can just put one of his lists on the table and play it. I had been hoping to see more Legion lists from him but it looks like he is going back to circle.

Other recomendations:
I still enjoy Boosted Damage but their release schedule is pretty erratic, they have not put out a podcast since Christmas. They are or at least have been more painting focussed of late. There is also Epic Flail (or Epic FM I'm not sure which one they prefer) they are pretty new. They are also hosted on Muse On Minis but do not have a dedicated podcast page in what I am pretty sure is a deliberate act of trolling. UPDATE: They have one now, link updated.

Grim's Feat

Feat: On My Mark

While in Grimʼs control area, friendly Faction models gain Mark Target and friendly Faction modelsʼ ranged weapons gain Snipe. On My Mark lasts for one turn. (Other friendly Faction models gain +2 to ranged attack rolls against enemy models within 5 ̋ of a model with Mark Target that are in its LOS.) (Ranged weapons with Snipe gain +4 RNG).

You might already be aware of this one. It was spoiled on the forums but not having an official source (and not being particularly exciting) I didn't put it up here. The feat has a little bit of skornegy, snipe gives you extra range but mark the target requires you to be close to your opponent. In general it's not going to be a problem, you take Burrowers or Fennblades and you have a unit that it going to be way ahead of the rest of your army anyway. The other issue is that trolls already pay a snipe tax, The Impaler, Swamp, Slag, Pyre and Bomber are all range 8. The troll ranged units generally kind of suck. The Scattergunners and Scouts are at least solid units and the Scattergunners might get the most out of this feat with clear and sprays the RAT 7 is pretty huge. The scouts too will be able to take advantage of this when assaulting and again ignore the target in melee penalty so they can shoot from behind a faster unit. It's a useful feat but not a particularly fantastic one which means that Grim will be carried by his spells and abilities. 

Tournament List

Here is my single list 35 point tournament list.

Legion of Everblight
Machinations of Shadow (Vayl, Consul of Everblight)
(Tier 4)
PCs: 35 / 35
25 models

[00] Vayl, Consul of Everblight (0 / 6 WB)
[08]  >> Scythean
[08]  >> Angelius
[08]  >> Angelius
[02]  >> Harrier
[01] Blighted Nyss Shepherd
[01] Blighted Nyss Shepherd
[04] Blighted Nyss Sorceress & Hellion
[06] Blighted Nyss Legionnaires (9 grunts)
[03] Spawning Vessel (6 grunts)

Why this list?

So I have a lot of choices when it comes to making a single list for a tournament but in the end it came down to three choices. The other two for curiosities sake were:

Mercenaries

Four Star Syndicate

PCs: 35 / 35

10 models

[00] Captain Bartolo Montador (0 / 5 WJ remaining)

[02]  >> Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker

[18]  >> Galleon

[02] Ragman

[02] Master Gunner Dougal Macnaile

[09] Wrong Eye

[00]  >> Snapjaw (Companion)

[03]  >> Bull Snapper

[04] Lady Aiyana & Master Holt

Cygnar

Standard Army

PCs: 35 / 35

14 models

[00] Major Victoria Haley (0 / 5 WJ remaining)

[02]  >> Squire

[19]  >> Stormwall

[03] Journeyman Warcaster

[06] Arcane Tempest Gun Mages

[02]  >> Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer

[02] Gorman Di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist

[03] Eiryss, Angel of Retribution

[03] Ogrun Bokur

If you think that Haley2 list is odd you are correct. Rather than the standard Haley2 list I teched one to give me an advantage in the mirror match. 

I rate myself as a half decent player, If I can give myself a fighting chance at the start of the game then I will back myself to win it. If you try and build a list that gives you too much of an advantage against some builds (for example you could take a Lylyth2 build with 3 ravagores) then you find yourself with some very bad matchups with you fighting heavily uphill. Even in a two list format the Bart Galleon player has another list. Whereas a more balanced list will still be strong against the good matchups but it still gives you a fighting chance in the not so good match ups (going back to Lylyth2 this would probably include Typhon instead of a third ravagore and the BFS as well and suddenly your list is good in melee). 

What I want, especially in a one list environment is a list that has at least some fight against everything in the game. I want some answers for high ARM, I want some answers for high DEF, I want to be able to kill a colossal, I want to be able to kill a swarm of infantry. The list can't be shut down by Stormwall (the spell), or by Bestial or by covering fire templates (or Stormwall, not the spell), countermeasures, shadow pack, the choir, swamp pits, Janissa and the krielstone, crippling grasp, cloud or forest spam, inhospitable ground or mage hunter strike force. 

Straight up purification answers more than half of those problems. High DEF and high ARM are almost always upkeeps and animi and a lot of those other effects are spells. Legion handles a lot of the rest, pathfinder and eyeless sight are huge. I have talked before about attrition vs scenario vs assassination. Vayl2 does all 3 and does them wonderfully. Double angels can repluse to clear zones/flags, she has 25" on the double obliteration assassinations. With refuge pulling the Angels to safety and admonition keeping the Scythean alive, and occultation and the pot making new lessers she attritions really well. It's quite hard to get to her beasts and her infantry turns into shredders (and on rare occasions stingers and harriers). It is straight up good. Even against Bart Galleon it has some answers, purification drops hot shot and all the animuses (including submerge on Wrong Eye). With a Naga I could assassinate Bart quite easily without one I can still get to the support staff. If I set Bart on fire then the assassanation is on the table. Against Haley2 who I think you always have to make sure you have a fighting game against, the assassination is greater than 80% on her feat turn. I don't care if I go 1-4 with this list if that one win is killing Haley2 on her feat turn. 

Morvahna's Feat

Feat: Blood Sacrifice - Morvahna immediately suffers 1 or more damage points. This damage cannot be transferred. For each damage point she suffers, return one destroyed non-character living friendly Faction warrior model to play completely within Morvahnaʼs control area. Units cannot exceed the number of models that they had at the start of the game as a result of Blood Sacrifice. Place returned trooper models in formation with their original units. Returned models forfeit their actions the turn they return to play.

This is from Bell of Lost Souls and they also have Grim's feat which I assume they will spoil tomorrow.  As for Morvhana if she still has Restoration she is going to be amazing with Skinwalkers and they are some particularly beautiful models. She has Sac Pawn [faction warrior] in her primal form and I see no reason to take that away in her epic form so you'll probably still see Wolves of Orboros with her (though now I'm getting pretty deep into speculation). 

I'm still excited about there being a light cav warlock. She is going to have a lot of movement, hopefully she has a few good offensive spells to really abuse that light cav move, or the ability to place clouds or forests. Getting a bit ahead of myself here, it's a bit sad how much more excited I am for this model than any of the warlocks from factions I actually play. 

Also this:

First thought was Gobber mechanic but that looks like a dodgy arcane turbine on his back (like the generators warcasters use to control warjacks). A gobber warcaster I think is too much to hope for (plus I think then he'd have someone else carry his wagon) but I think it might be a Gobber Journeyman. That would be incredible. Regardless there is a lot I like about this model.

Makeda3's Feat

Has been spoiled (this one like the Lylyth3 one has been confirmed)

Feat: Dance of Death - When a model in Makeda’s battlegroup destroys one or more enemy models in her control area with an attack, either Makeda can gain 1 fury point or 1 fury point can be removed from a model in her battlegroup in her control area. Dance of Death lasts for one turn.

That means that you can buy an attack and if you kill something remove the fury you just used to attack with. Put the bronzeback animus (beat back) on anything with reach and it will kill all the things, you can also do it with ranged attacks and the Mammoth has ROF 3. No word yet on her other abilities.