All the Exigence Warlocks were spoiled at GenCon, and for once, I'm not seeing any real duds among them. Of course, being a Skorne player, I'm most interested in eXerxis. I'm not going to go into all the stats, but photos of the cards can be found at Muse on Minis and other places.
Without actually putting him on the table, I like him. I like him a lot better than either of the other Battle Engine 'casters so far, at least in terms of defense against shooting. His defensive lineup is 13/19, which goes to 15/21 with Paralytic Aura, and he'll have a couple of transfers and 19 health. Not too shabby. It won't hold up against a serious ranged assassination like some Retribution, Cygnar, and Legion 'casters can throw down, but it's enough to keep him relatively safe against the moderate amount of shooting you see in most lists.
His other abilities are solid as well. His spells will make his battlegroup very fast, and give one or two models/units per turn a respectable damage boost. His Feat is a straightforward dice fixer almost identical to Issyria's, and it buffs everyone's attack and damage rolls, melee or ranged. He has good offensive stats, with Mat 8, two Reach weapons, and a Pow 14 mount with Knockdown who can either make Impact Attacks, or attack once with Combat Rider. He can also forgo initial attacks to Pitch with his mount if he wants. Finally, eXerxis has a beast bond: he can cast the bonded beast's Animus once per turn as a spell without spending Fury.
In terms of playstyle, he looks like a mobility and control 'caster. With Mobility (the spell), he and his battlegroup are fast. He goes up to Spd 9, which means he can charge 12" (14" threat range with his weapons), and the basic Titan goes up to Spd 6, so his beasts will already be faster and more maneuverable than most Skorne lists can run. He's also got plenty additional movement shenanigans he can pull thanks to Skorne Animi. If he bonds an Archidon, he can give himself Sprint for free every turn, cast Mobility, and advance and retreat 9" every turn.
Control comes from the KD and *Attack Pitch on his mount. I feel that getting a few good attacks in, and disrupting enemy lines with knockdown and throws will be his job every turn (well, that and casting Mobility and upkeeping Ignite). If his army can help him do this, so much the better. His Feat helps get a hard alpha strike in, and with some throws and slams from the Warbeast lineup, he should be able to sow enough disruption that the opponent's counterattack isn't strong enough to stop his beasts. He needs to be able to disengage though, since he's actually pretty squishy in melee thanks to his huge base size and not camping a lot of Fury.
List-wise, I'm currently thinking:
Xerxis, Fury of Halaak (*5pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Archidon (Bonded) (7pts)
*Rhinodon (7pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Venator Rievers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
*Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (3pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
I'm not 100% sold on the Rhinodon. I do think it has more synergy with eXerxis than it has with most others. Ignite really helps out its lackluster damage output, and his Feat helps its accuracy out a lot. It also has some infantry clearing with thresher, it's fast, and it can do throws. On the other hand, Xerxis is only Fury 5, and his beasts might easily outpace the Paingivers so much that he can't manage the Fury. I'm also very intrigued by Ferox with eXerxis, and it will be great to have an excuse to pick them up if it turns out they're good with him. If I end up dropping the Rhino for better Fury management, I'll probably add them in.
The Venators don't see a lot of play generally, but I think Xerxis' Feat combined with the fact that the Beasts and Xerxis will outpace a conventional screening force will make them good. They can help clear charge lanes, and snipe out any troublesome shooters who might actually threaten Xerxis. They'll also be around to land some long CRA's on any Warcaster's who get knocked down by a throw or collateral damage.
I'll probably proxy this list (well, at least Xerxis and the Rhinodon) sometime in the next few weeks. The League is wrapping up. I played the 8th game earlier this week, and will have the report up soon.
Another thing to think about is taking out the Gladiator. Granted Mobility and Rush do stack and make your beasts hella fast, but this could be the one list where the Gladiator isn't actually needed.
ReplyDeleteAnother tactic that I read on the forums that could be pretty fun is spamming Savages with Train Wreck to blenderize 4-5 infantry apiece and jam up the board. This takes a lot of advantage from Mobility, his feat makes it more reliable and it can help make sure that melee infantry can't get to your huge base caster. Not sure how it rates for actual Skorne players, but I loves me some Cyclops so could be cool.
I had considered dropping the Gladiator (or Rhinodon) for 2 Drakes. Drake spam is pretty threatening with everyone, and Xerxis' Feat and Mobility make them terrifying. In my first test run, I'm going for a board control list with slams and throws, and the Gladiator has both the ability to Double Handed Throw, and Grand Slam. It's true that Rush isn't necessary though, so I'll definitely be trying the list without the Glad.
ReplyDeleteI've recently started regaining an appreciation for the Savage. It's a solid beast in its own right, and some Skorne warlocks make it fantastic. Xerxis 2 should be able to use Savages at least as well as Morghoul 1, probably better, so one or two seems valid at the very least. Pow 17, 15" threat Savages will kill the lighter heavies surprisingly easily. And with Xerxis' Feat, they shouldn't have that much trouble hacking through a couple infantry either.
After I give Throw spam an honest shot, I'll definitely try double Savage, double Drake, and both. Xerxis 2 has a lot of options, so it'll probably take me a little while to find one that really clicks.