With the release of Highwaymen, a few of my favorite Trollblood support Warlocks have gotten more interesting - specifically, Calandra, Gunnbjorn, and Jarl. Gunny has already gotten a trial run, and while Calandra is in the running for my 2nd Steamroller Tournament Warlock, I like the possibilities that Highwaymen bring to a Jarl list.
The List:
Jarl Skuld, Devil Of Thornwood (*6pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Kriel Warriors (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* 3 Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower (3pts)
* Kriel Warrior Standard Bearer & Piper (2pts)
Trollkin Highwaymen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Gudrun the Wanderer (3pts)
Lanyssa Ryssyll, Nyss Sorceress (2pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Trollkin Champion Hero (3pts)
Trollkin Sorcerer (1pts)
The Breakdown:
I'm approaching making this list in a different way than I normally do - typically, I pick a warlock, add in a unit or two that work well with him/her, and just add in support and solos I think would work well until I run out of points, without a lot of regard for balance of list structure. Does it make for fun games? Most of the time, yup. Is it easy? Oh hell yes Does that normally work and win me games?
Kinda.
This time, I'm trying it the pGrexy way, or at least my slapdash version of it.
Jamming and Screening:
The Kriel Warriors are there to jam up the enemy, using their superior speed (with Jarl handing out Quicken, they're running 18" a turn, or charging 12") to get right in the most obnoxious place possible and stay there with tough and Steady.
The Sorcerer is attached to them to keep annoying upkeeps off of them (Parasite, Black Spot, Curse of Shadows, etc) and provide some additional Magic Weapon support, while the Fell Caller tags along near enough to hand out Pathfinder or +2 to hit, giving them a possible MAT 9 POW 12 CMA that can help deal with either Kayazy or Nyss, and 3 MAT 9 POW 15 slam attacks from the Cabers.
Anti-Infantry:
The Champion Hero and Gudrun's job is pretty simple - find an enemy tarpit unit and kill it. Between the two of them, they can deal a downright terrifying amount of damage to massed melee units, so I can throw them down the middle with the Kriel Warriors behind to follow up and the Highwaymen to pick off stragglers. In a pinch, the Fell Caller and Cabers can assist with this as well, giving me a back line against more troublesome targets like Cetrati.
The Highwaymen are there to support the Kriel Warriors, using CRAs and swift hunter to pick off annoying solos, UAs, and even Light Jacks/Beasts. The Stone Scribe Chronicler will tag along with them, giving out Concealment to the Kriel Warriors under Weald Secrets in the early game, Hero's Tragedy (knockdown if an enemy models kills a model in the unit) once the Kriels get into combat, and Concealment again as needed to the Highwaymen (more on that below).
Anti-ARM:
One of Jarl's big issues is a lack of a damage buff, which makes him a bit pillow fisted against high-ARM. CRA/CMA on the Highwaymen and Kriel Warriors will help with this, but just to be sure I'm bringing a Mauler and an Earthborn in case I run up against a list with a lot of 'jacks or beasts - or a Colossal, which are popping up just about everywhere recently. A Rage'd Earthborn will have little problem clearing most heavies off the table, especially with Adaptation, and having a Mauler around as backup, Rage-dispenser, and tag-team partner for colossals is just a good idea all around.
The benefit of the Champion Hero is that I can give him Rage (the Mauler's animus) for +3 STR, which allows for a P+S 15 Weapon Master Thresher attack, not to mention more effective retaliatory strikes. That's enough to crack a lot of heavy ARM units, or at least bring them down enough that massed Kriel Warriors can finish them off.
Support:
No Krielstone. That seems a little odd, but given how mobile the list is and how very little Fury Jarl can spare most of the time, it shouldn't be a big loss. Plus, I've noticed (at least in my local games) that high ARM lists are being skewed against pretty heavily - a lot of this is probably due to the Meat Mountain lists and Colossals, but it makes the Krielstone less of a necessity.
The models really pulling their weight in this list are the Stone Scribe Chronicler, Runebearer, Lanyssa, and the Sorcerer. Thanks to Quicken (which gives +2 spd and def vs ranged and magic), their natural Camouflage, and the Chronicler's concealment ability, the Highwaymen are running around under DEF 18 vs ranged and magic for most of the game -- an unheard of quality for Trollbloods. If I switch that over to the Kriel Warriors, under Weald Secrets they get Pathfinder and Camouflage to go with his Concealment (a respectable 16 DEF vs ranged and Melee). The Runebearer is there to help out Jarl, and especially to help hot-swap Quicken or another upkeep on the crunch turn.
Lanyssa and the Sorcerer, in addition to helping out with much-needed magic attacks, can throw down 2 large 16" bubbles that deny Eyeless Sight, Flight, and Pathfinder - this REALLY helps Jarl's feat and can help make the jamming units more effective. Normally this is pretty situational, but with Jarl's feat and 2 of these bubbles (one of which will be keeping pace with the Kriel Warriors), it can be very tricky to deal with. Lanyssa is also a more reliable speed buff, especially for the Mauler and Earthborn, than the Earthborn's Elemental Communion animus/ability.
With 2 heavy, 5-Fury Beasts in the list, Whelps are pretty close to a necessity, and who doesn't love the annoying, beast-healing, fury-mitigating spontaneous road blocks?
Conclusion:
So, there we have it. Already, this list is a pretty interesting departure from my usual fare, and it brings a lot of options to the table under a good central strategy. DEF 18 Trollbloods will almost certainly take people by surprise, and if the Kriel Warriors can keep the enemy bogged down and off them long enough, the Highwaymen should be able to deal a lot of damage while remaining pretty well protected.
I've got a few ideas on how to modify the list (dropping 3pts for a min Krielstone unit to tag along with the Kriel Warriors, dropping Whelps to add in Maximus to the anti-ARM party, etc.) but we'll see if any of that is needed. I should be able to get a game in with it tonight, so expect a battle report in the next few days!
EDIT: d'oh! Didn't get a game in on Friday, but not without lack of trying. Expect a battle report as soon as I can strong-arm someone into playing a game.
Gudrun the Wanderer (3pts)
Lanyssa Ryssyll, Nyss Sorceress (2pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Trollkin Champion Hero (3pts)
Trollkin Sorcerer (1pts)
The Breakdown:
I'm approaching making this list in a different way than I normally do - typically, I pick a warlock, add in a unit or two that work well with him/her, and just add in support and solos I think would work well until I run out of points, without a lot of regard for balance of list structure. Does it make for fun games? Most of the time, yup. Is it easy? Oh hell yes Does that normally work and win me games?
Kinda.
This time, I'm trying it the pGrexy way, or at least my slapdash version of it.
Jamming and Screening:
The Kriel Warriors are there to jam up the enemy, using their superior speed (with Jarl handing out Quicken, they're running 18" a turn, or charging 12") to get right in the most obnoxious place possible and stay there with tough and Steady.
The Sorcerer is attached to them to keep annoying upkeeps off of them (Parasite, Black Spot, Curse of Shadows, etc) and provide some additional Magic Weapon support, while the Fell Caller tags along near enough to hand out Pathfinder or +2 to hit, giving them a possible MAT 9 POW 12 CMA that can help deal with either Kayazy or Nyss, and 3 MAT 9 POW 15 slam attacks from the Cabers.
Anti-Infantry:
The Champion Hero and Gudrun's job is pretty simple - find an enemy tarpit unit and kill it. Between the two of them, they can deal a downright terrifying amount of damage to massed melee units, so I can throw them down the middle with the Kriel Warriors behind to follow up and the Highwaymen to pick off stragglers. In a pinch, the Fell Caller and Cabers can assist with this as well, giving me a back line against more troublesome targets like Cetrati.
The Highwaymen are there to support the Kriel Warriors, using CRAs and swift hunter to pick off annoying solos, UAs, and even Light Jacks/Beasts. The Stone Scribe Chronicler will tag along with them, giving out Concealment to the Kriel Warriors under Weald Secrets in the early game, Hero's Tragedy (knockdown if an enemy models kills a model in the unit) once the Kriels get into combat, and Concealment again as needed to the Highwaymen (more on that below).
Anti-ARM:
One of Jarl's big issues is a lack of a damage buff, which makes him a bit pillow fisted against high-ARM. CRA/CMA on the Highwaymen and Kriel Warriors will help with this, but just to be sure I'm bringing a Mauler and an Earthborn in case I run up against a list with a lot of 'jacks or beasts - or a Colossal, which are popping up just about everywhere recently. A Rage'd Earthborn will have little problem clearing most heavies off the table, especially with Adaptation, and having a Mauler around as backup, Rage-dispenser, and tag-team partner for colossals is just a good idea all around.
The benefit of the Champion Hero is that I can give him Rage (the Mauler's animus) for +3 STR, which allows for a P+S 15 Weapon Master Thresher attack, not to mention more effective retaliatory strikes. That's enough to crack a lot of heavy ARM units, or at least bring them down enough that massed Kriel Warriors can finish them off.
Support:
No Krielstone. That seems a little odd, but given how mobile the list is and how very little Fury Jarl can spare most of the time, it shouldn't be a big loss. Plus, I've noticed (at least in my local games) that high ARM lists are being skewed against pretty heavily - a lot of this is probably due to the Meat Mountain lists and Colossals, but it makes the Krielstone less of a necessity.
The models really pulling their weight in this list are the Stone Scribe Chronicler, Runebearer, Lanyssa, and the Sorcerer. Thanks to Quicken (which gives +2 spd and def vs ranged and magic), their natural Camouflage, and the Chronicler's concealment ability, the Highwaymen are running around under DEF 18 vs ranged and magic for most of the game -- an unheard of quality for Trollbloods. If I switch that over to the Kriel Warriors, under Weald Secrets they get Pathfinder and Camouflage to go with his Concealment (a respectable 16 DEF vs ranged and Melee). The Runebearer is there to help out Jarl, and especially to help hot-swap Quicken or another upkeep on the crunch turn.
Lanyssa and the Sorcerer, in addition to helping out with much-needed magic attacks, can throw down 2 large 16" bubbles that deny Eyeless Sight, Flight, and Pathfinder - this REALLY helps Jarl's feat and can help make the jamming units more effective. Normally this is pretty situational, but with Jarl's feat and 2 of these bubbles (one of which will be keeping pace with the Kriel Warriors), it can be very tricky to deal with. Lanyssa is also a more reliable speed buff, especially for the Mauler and Earthborn, than the Earthborn's Elemental Communion animus/ability.
With 2 heavy, 5-Fury Beasts in the list, Whelps are pretty close to a necessity, and who doesn't love the annoying, beast-healing, fury-mitigating spontaneous road blocks?
Conclusion:
So, there we have it. Already, this list is a pretty interesting departure from my usual fare, and it brings a lot of options to the table under a good central strategy. DEF 18 Trollbloods will almost certainly take people by surprise, and if the Kriel Warriors can keep the enemy bogged down and off them long enough, the Highwaymen should be able to deal a lot of damage while remaining pretty well protected.
I've got a few ideas on how to modify the list (dropping 3pts for a min Krielstone unit to tag along with the Kriel Warriors, dropping Whelps to add in Maximus to the anti-ARM party, etc.) but we'll see if any of that is needed. I should be able to get a game in with it tonight, so expect a battle report in the next few days!
EDIT: d'oh! Didn't get a game in on Friday, but not without lack of trying. Expect a battle report as soon as I can strong-arm someone into playing a game.
Awesome! I'm looking forward to reading the report. The only thing I'd consider changing up is to include a Troll Impaler in there somewhere for 16" range magic bullet shenanigans. Not strictly necessary I guess, but Magic Bullet is such nonsense, it seems a shame to limit it to 12 inches.
ReplyDeleteIt's not quite so limited since he can put Magic Bullet on a Quickened Highwayman, and 2/3 highwaymen can move and CRA to ensure that it gets where it needs to go.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a really interesting and terrifying list which definitely asks questions outside of the norm for trolls. I'm looking forward to field reports as well.
That's true, isn't it?! What a BS spell! :P
ReplyDelete