This year, I'm trying to do something a little different.
Specifically, I'm going to focus on practicing just a few Skorne warlocks, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, I don't play very often. I'm lucky to get in a game a week. I do want to be more competitive in local events (and maybe even attend Gencon or WMW this year, who knows), and that means practicing the same handful of warlocks more than, say, 2 times in 3 months.
To that end, I'm working with Makeda 3, Makeda 1, Zaal, and Mordikaar. 4 Warlocks is a good number to ensure I stay pretty focused, keep my options open in terms of playstyle, and don't get bored and abandon the project.
Here are the lists I'm starting with:
Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Makeda 3 is currently my favorite 'lock in Skorne, and I'm really liking the Brute spam build with her. It has a lot of sticking power in the Brutes, and a lot of hitting power in Makeda and the heavies. It's primarily an attrition and scenario list, but Molik and Makeda can both assassinate without much warning if the opponent leaves an opening. On top of that, the list plays very quickly, and is absolutely a blast. Even when I screw up and lose, it's a lot of fun.
Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)
*Mammoth (20pts)
*Cyclops Raider (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
Feralgeist (1pt)
This is Lord Tyrant Watts' pMakeda list from Templecon, and I played it a couple of times at my last local tournament. I like it a lot, and I like pMakeda a lot, so the next phase is just to get used to the list, and see if there's anything I want to change about it. Potentially, I might want to take Marketh (since he's very good with both Defender's Ward and Savagery) or a Tyrant Commander (for more options with the Infantry), but the list is very tight on points, and manages to cover the most matchups in its current form.
Supreme Aptimus Zaal (*5pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Aptimus Marketh (3pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Immortals (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Zaal is a very solid Warlock, and I've played this list enough to like it. I'll probably be changing the beasts up to include a Raider/Shaman or 2 Raiders as I test it. I'd also really like to fit a normal Extoller in the list, but I want to keep all the AG's, Marketh and the Tyrant Commander. If I do drop a 3 point option and switch the BB for a Raider and Krea, I could fit in an Extoller and an Agonizer. That would give me the beast and support loadout that I really want, I'm just not sure which 3pt option has to go.
Void Seer Mordikaar (*5pts)
*Despoiler (10pts)
*Archidon (7pts)
*Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
*Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Bloodrunners (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
I'm pretty excited for Despoiler dropping, and I've had a lot of fun with Mordikaar in the past, so I'm going to give him a try as option 4. It also gives me a Warlock who really likes having Tyrant Vorkesh if he's running Cetrati. I've heard good things about Bloodrunners with him, and Cetrati have never let me down. The fact that Mordikaar doesn't have a great upkeep spell for Cetrati also means I can try out Vorkesh.
That's it for Skorne for now. I'll try to post updates and reports pretty regularly as the year goes on. I am noticing that I'm running Nihilators instead of Swordsmen in all my lists that run infantry. It's a little odd for me, but for now, I think they fit in better. For Makeda 1, a lot of the offense Swordsmen would normally be crucial for is being done by the Mammoth, and Nihilators are a better screen for the Mammoth with Tough and Reach. Zaal gives Nihilators a much bigger boost in damage output than he does Swordsmen, and I don't need the Nihilators to spread out, since I'm also running Immortals. Mordikaar is using Bloodrunners the way he'd normally want to use Swordsmen, and I think they give him more in the role (at 50pts anyway). Interesting. I might end up switching the Swordsmen back into the Makeda 1 list, since she gets good use out of them, and the Mammoth doesn't counter 1-wound high Arm models.
Stay tuned for my State of the Retribution lists post, although I might not be finished with it for a few days.
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