Building from the Battlegroup: Journeyman League with Skorne from 50pts to 75pts

This is going to be the last Journeyman League post I make this week.  The first post discussing the battlegroup itself is HERE, and the second post on expanding the list to 50pts is HERE.  In this post, I want to talk about taking your Journeyman force from 50pts to 75pts.  Up until now, I've recommended choice that let you build up a working core army list.  The last 25pts are going to give you some space to branch out a little more, and really decide what kind of list you want to run.  I won't talk about any of the Warlocks you might have switched to at the 50pt level, though I'd be happy to chat about them in the comments, or do a followup post at some point if there's enough interest.  I also won't make recommendations for specific point levels.  Your core list should have pretty much everything you need to get by, so I've organized my suggestions based on themes or strategies you might want to build on as you expand your list.


If you've followed my suggestions so far, you should have:

Beast Master Xekaar (*31pts)
*Aptimus Marketh (6pts)
*Titan Gladiator (14pts)
*Titan Cannoneer (17pts) or Titan Sentry (15pts)
*Cyclops Raider (9pts)
*Cyclops Shaman (8pts) or Cyclops Brute (8pts)
*Cyclops Savage (8pts)

Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor (4pts) or Extoller Soulward (3pts) or Mortitheurge Willbreaker (4pts)

Paingiver Bloodrunners (Leader and 5 Grunts) (9pts) or Praetorian Karax (Leader and 9 Grunts) (11pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)

Total: 46pts -50pts

So, what have you enjoyed about your list?  Is there some aspect you want to double down on, or something you're missing that you want more of?

For example, if you really like shooting, you might want to take even more ranged models.  If you haven't taken any beyond the starting Cyclops Raider, you might want a stronger ranged presence to give your list more flexibility.

Some good shooting options in Skorne are the Venator units.  They're all pretty good.  The Slingers are a cheap utility unit.  They have short range, but three good shot types.  Use Acid Bath against infantry, Erosion against 'jacks, and Flare against anything you might want to finish off with other units.  A neat trick with Flare is to put Guidance on a Slinger from an Extoller Soulward so it can ignore Stealth, then have that Slinger shoot a Stealthed target with Flare.  Venator Rievers are more expensive than Slingers, but more powerful, since their guns have longer range, and Burst Fire.  They also have Combined Ranged Attack, which allows them to put out a low number of powerful and accurate shots, and a Command Attachment that gives them even more range for a turn as well as a handy Reposition move.

The two weapon crews are powerful and cheap, but fragile.  The Catapult is great against infantry and very low-Def stuff thanks to Innacurate and scattering.  The Flayer Cannon is decent against all troop types, but has to get closer to the action to shoot.  It's pretty common to run both types of artillery in pairs.  Two catapults can do a lot of damage to a unit or anything that gets knocked down.  They're also great against the objective in the last Journeman scenario, Journey's End.  Two Flayers can tear up a lot of heavy beasts and 'jacks, especially with help from Mortality.

If you choose to play any of the Venator units, you'll want the Venator Dakar solo (assuming it's released by then).  The Dakar has a Weapon Master Riever gun, a couple of neat *Actions, and Veteran Leader [Venator], which gives any Venators in its CMD, including other Dakars, +1 to attack rolls.  This little solo is good enough that you might want to go for 2.

If you've enjoyed playing the heavies, and want to double down on a high-damage, high-armor list, a third Titan is a good option.  Any of the Titans will work, even if that means doubling up on a type you already have.  Having 2 Gladiators means having more melee damage at the ready, and having two sources of great slams.  The slam threat from 2 different angles can be very hard to deal with.  Two Cannoneers make a great shooting package, and can put serious damage on a heavy or kill most of a unit over 1-2 turns of shooting.  Two Sentries gives you a very high armor core for your list that lets you last a long time in a slugging match, and can exhaust your opponent's armor cracking models trying to break through them.  Adding a third type of Titan is good too, since it fills a gap in your selection of beasts.

If you have the spare points, you could even pick up the Bronzeback Titan.  The Bronzeback is the hardest-hitting Titan, and has some very solid abilities.  Leadership [Titans] helps you manage your Fury better.  Counter Charge adds some damage and positioning during your opponent's turn, but be careful that you don't get the Bronzeback killed by using it.  Finally, it has Chain Attack: Grab and Smash, which gives it a free Headbutt or Throw against a model that it hit with both its War Gauntlets.  You probably won't end up using the Bronzeback as much as your other Titans, but if the idea of running 3 or more Titans in at least some of your lists appeals to you, it's a solid purchase.

If you decide to go for a third heavy beast, you'll probably want more Paingiver Beast Handlers.  Either max out your 4-strong unit, or get a second minimum unit.  This will help keep your Fury down, and your hit points up on all your heavies.

Another option to support heavies is the Agonizer.  The Agonizer's Agony abilities, and on occasion, its Animus, are quite powerful.  That extra -2 Str from Gnawing Pain makes Sentries incredibly hard to remove, and makes Xekaar's Feat turn even more powerful.  There are also a bunch of interesting tactical uses for the other Agonies.  You can put Fury on enemy beasts with Maddening to make them ineligible to transfer damage to.  Or you can add that Fury in combination with Xekaar's Feat to force the opponent to take Frenzy checks at very low Thr values.  Denying spellcasting with Spiritual Affliction can also be a good tool.  Some Warcasters want to be pretty up close and personal when they cast spells, and some units with the Magic Ability rule can do a lot of damage with relatively short-ranged spells.  Animi are also spells when a Warbeast casts them, so if you want to deny your opponent the use of a good Animus, Spiritual Affliction can be worth it.  As much as the Agonizer adds, it's incredibly fragile, though, and 7pts is a lot to spend on a model that might just die to couple of stray bullets.  It can still be a valuable piece, but if you decide to take one, position it carefully.

If you want to run more melee units, there are a couple of good options.  If you went with Karax earlier on, it's worth taking a look at Bloodrunners, and vice versa.  The two units can work well together.  If the Karax are taking the place of your main screening unit for your beasts, the Bloodrunners can work as a flanking force.  They're fast enough to get around to the sides and rear of an enemy formation to kill off vulnerable shooting and support models.  Doing so will often divert a fair amount of attention away from your opponent's front lines, which can let you focus your own forces more effectively.

If you really like the Bloodrunners, you can also double up on them.  Twelve of them backed up by a Master Tormentor or two is a great module for hitting your opponent's lines quickly and killing off a lot of light infantry.  I wouldn't recommend doubling up on Karax, but it's worth taking a look at their Command Attachment (when it's released).  Iron Zeal bumps their armor up to very high levels for 1-wound infantry, especially on Xekaar's Feat turn.  It's also worth considering a Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer unit to support your Karax.  The Push to the Limit battle plan lets Karax move 8" in Shield Wall, which is a huge improvement over 6.  The Tyrant is also a Weapon Master with its Halberd.

Praetorian Ferox and The Legends of Halaak are also good options.  Ferox are incredibly fast, and very hard-hitting for a unit.  They also have a lot of flexibility thanks to Pathfinder and the ability to Jump into combat.  They make a great team with Bloodrunners, since they can move at the same speed, and can handle multi-wound models.  Their only drawback is point cost.  The minimum 3-strong unit will run you 13pts - most of your 65pt installment.  Taking them to 5-strong is a further 8pts.  That said, they're one of the best units in Skorne, and you'll use them a lot with a variety of Warlocks.  The Legends is mainly a hard-hitting infantry unit.  There are just 3 of them, and they need Flank to do respectable damage, but they can make a big dent in heavy beasts and 'jacks.  They also have a nifty list of abilities to keep in mind, including Defensive Strike from Cidaar, and the potentially game-winning Combo Smite from J'Deth.

Those are the other options I'd recommend for the various directions you can take your army.  If you have points left over, more Beast Handlers is never bad.  If you have more than 2, any of the solos I mentioned in my last post is worth considering.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me in the comments or on the main PP Forums.

Now I have to go keep painting my Mammoth.

See you all on Wednesday with a battle report!