I didn't get any games in this past weekend, so I'm going a little stir-crazy with Theorymachine. As a result, here's my battlefield teams and jobs rundown for my 35pt Ossyan list. Here's the list:
Lord Arcanist Ossyan (+6)
*Phoenix (10)
*Banshee (10)
10 Dawnguard Invictors (10)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2)
6 Mage Hunter Strike Force (5)
*Strike Force Commander (2)
Arcanist (1)
Arcanist (1)
So, here are the teams I have set up for the list, and their jobs:
Team 1: Mage Hunter Strike Force
Jobs: Eliminate Solos and Support, Area Control, Eliminate Warjacks, Ranged Assassination
The MHSF can get into the opponent early with those crossbows. Since they ignore most defensive tricks, including trying to hide from them, they're great at clearing out support or models which might give my advancing army trouble. Ranged units (without Stealth) will be their main targets early on, but they'll switch to second rank support models quickly against most lists. They can eliminate things like Choir, Paingivers, and Kriel Stone Bearer regardless of where they try to hide. They can also put a decent amount of damage on Warjacks, and become very dangerous with Ossyan's Feat. They can also assassinate Warcasters/Warlocks if the Banshee knocks them down first.
I see them operating on a flank, where they can either continue to go around the enemy or cut toward the center to screen the rest of my army for a turn. I'll be able to see over them just fine, thanks to their Stealth, but they'll block me from charges. I see Quicken and Shatter Storm being especially useful for the MHSF. Quicken brings them to Speed 8, which lets them get around the enemy very fast with Advance Deploy. Shatter Storm means the enemy cannot clump their infantry, even early on.
Team 2: Dawnguard Invictors, Lord Arcanist Ossyan
Jobs: Clear Infantry, Eliminate Warjacks/Warbeasts, Area Control, Screen Ossyan, Ranged Assassination, Slow Enemy Advance
The Invictors will be my main source of firepower, and their guns are good against any target thanks to their high Pow and CRA. They're also my primary melee unit. They have Mat 7, which is quite good, even if they don't have Reach. They can hit hard too with Flank if I can set it up, or just do solid damage with their guns on most turns, and crazy damage on Ossyan's Feat turn. I'm planning to use Extend Fire on turn 2 or so to blunt the enemy's advance, then rely on Rng 10 from turn 3 onward to hopefully make my opponent commit.
Like the MHSF, the Invictors are a good target for either Quicken or Shatter Storm. Quicken helps mitigate their mediocre Spd and Def, while Shatter Storm gives them extra punch against infantry swarms. They'll hold down the center of my army, and present a persistent threat to all kinds of targets with their ranged and melee abilities.
Ossyan himself will stay with (behind) the Invictors. From a central position, he can use his spells to buff them, either of his Warjack teams, or the Mage Hunters if they're near the Phoenix. He'll also debuff any enemies he can get range on with his gun, but staying safe is his top priority. Shooting models near the enemy caster is also a pretty good way to set up an assassination in the late game.
Team 3: Phoenix, Arcanist
Jobs: Clear High-Def infantry, Eliminate Warjacks/Warbeasts, Provide Arc-node support to Team 1, Support Team 2 (Flank)
As a big heavy with Reach, the Phoenix will mostly focus on other heavies once they get into melee range. Since its gun has a small AoE, it can target infantry, solos or warnouns with a chance of decent return. It'll also be my list's best answer to high-Def infantry. The AoE can threaten them at range even when I have little chance of hitting, and I can close with them to make a Combustion special attack, which will clear out most Kayazy and such within its range. Quicken and Admonition will both be good spells for it. It will probably get Admonition, since Quicken is likely to be on an infantry unit, and I need it to be able to arc spells and engage targets of my choosing on critical turns.
The Phoenix will be one of my main line heavies, and will support the Invictors to one side or the other. It will usually go on the side I'm planning to put my MHSF because that way, Ossyan can arc his support spells at them early on. Against hard targets like warjacks, the Phoenix will charge in to one side so as to leave room for as many Invictors as needed to finish the target off. The Arcanist will stick around to support the Phoenix.
Team 4: Banshee, Arcanist
Jobs: Eliminate Warjacks/Warbeasts, Enable Elimination/Assassination, Slow Enemy Advance, Support Team 2 (Flank), Debuff Infantry, Debuff Spellcasters
Like the Phoenix, the Banshee will be used in melee against heavies. Its other abilities, however, give it a different role in the shooting and anti-infantry game. The Impact on its gun will be great for knocking down enemies either to slow them down or for me to finish them later on my turn with shooting and melee. It's a significant threat to casters too, and will probably be a big part of any ranged assassinations I pull off with this list. When the fighting gets close, it will charge in near infantry, especially spellcasters, to limit their options.
It will probably deploy on the opposite side of my Invictors from the Phoenix to give the Invictors better coverage with its abilities, and better options for Flank. It will probably end up wherever it can find the best target to knock down, however, as its gun is a terrifying asset. The Arcanist will stay behind the Banshee to give support.
In terms of overall themes and strategy, I see this list as being a heavy denial/combined arms list that punishes the enemy as it advances. The MHSF are there to take away enemy options early on, and the rest of the list will shoot them at arm's length to draw them into Ossyan's CTRL for the Feat turn while trying to slow them down enough that I don't get jammed up. I'll use Impact on the Banshee, Admonition, and sometimes Ossyan's gun to deny the enemy an alpha strike against me while I hit them with shooting.
After that, I can do melee fairly efficiently with the list, and most opponents are likely to try charge me rather than stick around for more shooting. Hopefully, my opponent's army will be depleted enough that I can beat them in melee even though my troops aren't specialists.
All this is based on exactly 0 games' worth of experience right now, so we'll see how it works out.
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