A lot of Warmachine/Hordes boils down to trying to destroy the opponent's most threatening models without losing your own. Since both players are always trying it, however, many games work out as a series of trades which leave one player in control of the battle (the ones that don't usually end in an early-ish assassination). In this post I go over how to trade effectively. Generally, when I initiate a trade, I intentionally put one of my own pieces at risk, and hope that when I lose it, my counterattack will more than make up for the value of what I lost. When I put a piece at risk like this, I'm generally thinking about 3 things:
1). Make Them Work
Ideally, your trading pieces will be tough to remove, especially if you have to move into an area the opponent is threatening. The ultimate example of this is Kayazi Assassins with Iron Flesh. They're Def 17 base, Def 19 against melee attacks. And oh yes, there are 11 of them. Most armies have some similar attrition tricks which make a target model or unit very hard to remove.
Skorne have a lot of ways to make opponents work hard to remove our trade pieces. What I've been doing lately with pMorghoul is throwing some combination of Admonition, Diminish, Gnawing Pain, and Paralytic Aura on my Titan Cannoneer depending on what I'm up against. It takes a lot to power through that much defense. I've lost my Cannoneer even protected by all those abilities, but it took a lot out of my opponent to get her. Nearly every Skorne warlock has some spell or ability which makes the opponent work harder to destroy a specific target, and there are a lot of other models in the faction which help out as well.
2). Make Them Worry
A prospective trading piece isn't very useful if it doesn't threaten the enemy. If I've protected my Titan Cannoneer up to the eyeballs, my opponent doesn't have a whole lot of incentive to commit a bunch of resources to killing it. I have to make the consequenses of leaving the Cannoneer alone worse than the consequenses of attacking it. Make sure the model or unit you're putting in jeopardy isn't just expendable chaff. It has to present a real threat in its own right, or the opponent will just try to outmaneuver it rather than commit to engaging it.
Fortunately, most models are useful enough in Warmachine/Hordes that they're all somewhat threatening. As long as the unit you're using can project a credible threat against something within its threat range, it should work. Most opponents would rather try to engage you on their own terms than wait for you to punish them for hesitating.
To continue with the example of the Titan Cannoneer, it projects some threat against almost everything within range of its gun, supported by the Extoller. My opponents often have to close with it to prevent it from grinding down their armies, even though they know it's going to be tough, and they know it's well supported by the rest of my army.
3). Make Them Suffer
Support your models well. Before sacrificing a model to the enemy, make sure that whatever hits it is likely to be destroyed by the backup you have waiting right behind it. This is where making your opponent work hard to take out that first piece pays off. The more they commit to the unit you've left out for them, the more will be in range of your counterattack next turn. The more of your opponent's army you can take out, the better prepared you'll be for their counterattack.
If there are any counterattackers who are especially well equipped to take out your remaining threats, go after them first. If, for example, my opponent had killed off my Cannoneer with their only two heavies, I should try to take both of them out (assuming I have heavies left) before other targets, because then, my opponent's options against my surviving heavies will be very limited.
Skorne used to specialize in Making Them Suffer back in MkI with our so-called "Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don't" playstyle. In honor of the good old days, when Ancestral Guardians were bargain heavies, and Basilisk Kreas could do everything the best, I'll make an old school style list. Here goes:
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Basilisk Krea (4)
10 Praetorian Swordsmen (6)
*Officer and Standard (2)
6 Cataphract Cetrati (11)
Tyrant Commander and Standard (3)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Ancestral Guardian (3)
Ancestral Guardian (3)
Extoller Soulward (2)
Agonizer (2)
Backed up by the Agonizer and Krea, the Titans and Cetrati will be tough enough to make a lot of enemies work hard to finish them. The Swordsmen will go down more easily, but there are a lot of them.
The main units I'll be putting up for trade with this army, the Swordsmen, the Cannoneer, and sometimes the Cetrati, are all threatening to their preferred targets. The Swordsmen and Cetrati can also threaten to jam the opponent's battle lines, which can let other models access the enemy more easily.
So who is the Warlock, you ask? Well, I'm going to switch it up among three old school warlocks who all do attrition well in different ways.
PMakeda is fast, maneuverable, and a champion of making the enemy struggle to score meaningful kills between her feat and Defender's Ward.
Xerxis also makes the enemy work hard by toughening up his army with his feat, Defender's Ward, and Inhospitable Ground. He also makes anything in the army hit like a truck with his Feat and Fury, which makes counterattacks devastating.
Finally, PHexeris adds a special kind of suffering to the Attrition game with Death March, his spectacular feat (against infantry anyway), and sometimes Psychic Vampire to bleed out spellcasters. PHexy also adds extra threat to one of my beasts by channelling spells through his Soul Slave target. I have an extra point in the Hexy list, which I'm tempted to leave open. I may end up swapping out the Krea with a Cyclops of some kind.
So that's my Attrition list. Some of you may recognize it from the Skorne Forums (or the tabletop if you're Caleb) as a list I ran back in January. As I experiment around with Mordikaar and eHexeris, I'll be taking some time out to focus on this list, these three warlocks, and my Attrition game. I'll write at least one full report on it.
1). Make Them Work
Ideally, your trading pieces will be tough to remove, especially if you have to move into an area the opponent is threatening. The ultimate example of this is Kayazi Assassins with Iron Flesh. They're Def 17 base, Def 19 against melee attacks. And oh yes, there are 11 of them. Most armies have some similar attrition tricks which make a target model or unit very hard to remove.
Skorne have a lot of ways to make opponents work hard to remove our trade pieces. What I've been doing lately with pMorghoul is throwing some combination of Admonition, Diminish, Gnawing Pain, and Paralytic Aura on my Titan Cannoneer depending on what I'm up against. It takes a lot to power through that much defense. I've lost my Cannoneer even protected by all those abilities, but it took a lot out of my opponent to get her. Nearly every Skorne warlock has some spell or ability which makes the opponent work harder to destroy a specific target, and there are a lot of other models in the faction which help out as well.
2). Make Them Worry
A prospective trading piece isn't very useful if it doesn't threaten the enemy. If I've protected my Titan Cannoneer up to the eyeballs, my opponent doesn't have a whole lot of incentive to commit a bunch of resources to killing it. I have to make the consequenses of leaving the Cannoneer alone worse than the consequenses of attacking it. Make sure the model or unit you're putting in jeopardy isn't just expendable chaff. It has to present a real threat in its own right, or the opponent will just try to outmaneuver it rather than commit to engaging it.
Fortunately, most models are useful enough in Warmachine/Hordes that they're all somewhat threatening. As long as the unit you're using can project a credible threat against something within its threat range, it should work. Most opponents would rather try to engage you on their own terms than wait for you to punish them for hesitating.
To continue with the example of the Titan Cannoneer, it projects some threat against almost everything within range of its gun, supported by the Extoller. My opponents often have to close with it to prevent it from grinding down their armies, even though they know it's going to be tough, and they know it's well supported by the rest of my army.
3). Make Them Suffer
Support your models well. Before sacrificing a model to the enemy, make sure that whatever hits it is likely to be destroyed by the backup you have waiting right behind it. This is where making your opponent work hard to take out that first piece pays off. The more they commit to the unit you've left out for them, the more will be in range of your counterattack next turn. The more of your opponent's army you can take out, the better prepared you'll be for their counterattack.
If there are any counterattackers who are especially well equipped to take out your remaining threats, go after them first. If, for example, my opponent had killed off my Cannoneer with their only two heavies, I should try to take both of them out (assuming I have heavies left) before other targets, because then, my opponent's options against my surviving heavies will be very limited.
Skorne used to specialize in Making Them Suffer back in MkI with our so-called "Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don't" playstyle. In honor of the good old days, when Ancestral Guardians were bargain heavies, and Basilisk Kreas could do everything the best, I'll make an old school style list. Here goes:
*Titan Gladiator (8)
*Titan Cannoneer (9)
*Basilisk Krea (4)
10 Praetorian Swordsmen (6)
*Officer and Standard (2)
6 Cataphract Cetrati (11)
Tyrant Commander and Standard (3)
4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
Ancestral Guardian (3)
Ancestral Guardian (3)
Extoller Soulward (2)
Agonizer (2)
Backed up by the Agonizer and Krea, the Titans and Cetrati will be tough enough to make a lot of enemies work hard to finish them. The Swordsmen will go down more easily, but there are a lot of them.
The main units I'll be putting up for trade with this army, the Swordsmen, the Cannoneer, and sometimes the Cetrati, are all threatening to their preferred targets. The Swordsmen and Cetrati can also threaten to jam the opponent's battle lines, which can let other models access the enemy more easily.
So who is the Warlock, you ask? Well, I'm going to switch it up among three old school warlocks who all do attrition well in different ways.
PMakeda is fast, maneuverable, and a champion of making the enemy struggle to score meaningful kills between her feat and Defender's Ward.
Xerxis also makes the enemy work hard by toughening up his army with his feat, Defender's Ward, and Inhospitable Ground. He also makes anything in the army hit like a truck with his Feat and Fury, which makes counterattacks devastating.
Finally, PHexeris adds a special kind of suffering to the Attrition game with Death March, his spectacular feat (against infantry anyway), and sometimes Psychic Vampire to bleed out spellcasters. PHexy also adds extra threat to one of my beasts by channelling spells through his Soul Slave target. I have an extra point in the Hexy list, which I'm tempted to leave open. I may end up swapping out the Krea with a Cyclops of some kind.
So that's my Attrition list. Some of you may recognize it from the Skorne Forums (or the tabletop if you're Caleb) as a list I ran back in January. As I experiment around with Mordikaar and eHexeris, I'll be taking some time out to focus on this list, these three warlocks, and my Attrition game. I'll write at least one full report on it.
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