Monday Mercenary Mutterings: WTC Solo Masters and Constance Blaize

So it looks like Mercs did very well at the World Team Championships, getting 1st, 4th, and 9th in the WTC Solo Masters Report!

That's pretty impressive, but what's almost as impressive was the range of Warcasters used - Bart, Damiano, Constance Blaize, Ossrum, and a pair of Magnus2 lists for the Solo Masters, with a smattering of Cephalix, Drake, Gorton, and more Magnus2 added in for the Teams. That's an impressively broad range of warcasters (yea, yea, except for a small preference for Magnus2), especially considering that Damiano, Ossrum (before Earthbreaker), and Constance Blaize saw very little competitive play in Mk2, with the latter being widely considered the worst warcaster in the faction/game, depending on who you were talking to.

The Blaize list was actually pretty similar to the one I've been toying around with for a while, so that got my interest peaked. After a rather disheartening loss with Borka2 the other day, I think my Trollbloods are going to take a time out for a while, so it's back to Mercs for the foreseeable future, and Constance Blaize is at the top of my list(s). 

More after the break...

Jetelu's List

In the link above, Alexander Baues (AKA Jetelu on the forums, who came in 9th) was using the following Blaize list:

Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet
- Gallant
- Rover
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt
Horgenhold Forge Guard - Leader & 9 Grunts
Precursor Knights - Leader & 9 Grunts
- Precursor Knight Officer & Standard
Steelhead Halberdiers - Leader & 9 Grunts
Steelhead Halberdiers - Leader & 9 Grunts

(The list he posted on the PP Forums is 4 points short, which I assume is either for Harlan Versh or Sylys Wyshnalyrr)

First off... that's 42 melee infantry to 3 or 4 support/shooting models, and 2 jacks. For lack of a better analogy, we're going to call this one the "Zapp Brannigan List", since it throws wave after wave of infantry at the enemy - and it's surprisingly effective at it. 

The Steelheads are there to get the charge in or run to jam and then (almost certainly) die en-mass to fuel up the feat, after which the Precursors and Forgeguard can add some weapon master shenanigans and high ARM to the fray, backed up by hideously overpowered warjacks and so many boosted rolls that it becomes ridiculous.

This takes HUGE advantage of Blaize's feat, and can play very aggressively or even somewhat defensively, sitting on an objective with multiple units who get harder and harder to kill the more you try. Jetelu's track record at the Master's shows a pretty even spread in terms of opponents:

round 2 vs mortenebra won on scenario
round 3 vs calaban won via assassination (there will be a chainattack podcast mention of this because it was josh)
round 4 vs Damiano kingmaker lost on scenario ( this was pretty much lost after list picking)
round 5 vs Cyphon (which was super close we will have to redo that at some point)

Specifically, it looks like it's fares well against some varied lists, though the Damiano Kingmaker matchup is a bit worrying. Deadeye, Death March, and Sure Foot are really bad things for a Blaize list to face, especially against a full Trencher Boat, 20 Halbardiers with min Cav, AND 3 Nomads.


My Lists

I originally took a slightly different tack, using Rocinante over the Rover, taking only 1 unit of

Halbardiers and no Aiyana and Holt in exchange for Sylys, Harlan Versh, Lanyssa Ryssyl, and Thorn Gun Mages.

Blaize 75pt, v1.0
Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker
- Gallant
- Rocinante

Harlan Versh, Illuminated One
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress

Precursor Knights - Leader & 9 Grunts
- Precursor Knight Officer & Standard
Horgenhold Forge Guard - Leader & 9 Grunts
Steelhead Halberdiers - Leader & 9 Grunts
Thorn Gun Mages - Leader & 2 Grunts

However, I've had some problems with this list - it only has 1 screening unit for the heavy hitters, which leaves whichever one I leave uncovered vulnerable, and secondly it doesn't have enough ranged attack power to trade well with a gunline or dedicated denial list like Magnus2.

Jetelu's list doesn't really bother with that, choosing instead to forgo the shooting almost entirely and concentrate on putting bodies in the way - and I think that's probably the much better strategy. However, I like a lot of the support elements of this list, and I'm not totally ready to give them up just
yet.

So, here's my thoughts on an updated version:

Blaize 75pt, v1.1
Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker
- Gallant
- Rover

Harlan Versh, Illuminated One
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress
Ogrun Bokur

Precursor Knights - Leader & 9 Grunts
- Precursor Knight Officer & Standard
Horgenhold Forge Guard - Leader & 9 Grunts
Steelhead Halberdiers - Leader & 9 Grunts
Steelhead Halberdiers - Leader & 5 Grunts

Not a lot is changing here - Rocinante is being exchanged for a Rover, the Gun Mages are out in place of a min unit of Steelheads, and a Bokur is in to protect Lanyssa/Harlan from ranged retaliation (and because I didn't want to come up 1pt short by maxing the 2nd Steelhead unit instead).

I'm not sure how much the Bokur and Lanyssa will do in this list, but they can pretty easily be swapped for Aiyana and Holt in the next version. The 2nd unit of Steelheads gives me better cover, and shifting away from shooting and more towards defense and attrition should help in the long run.

As for pairing, Ossrum, a Durgen Gunline, or possibly Magnus2 could be good. Damiano seems too similar to Connie to be a good pair, but Ashlynn might be worth a try since she can take Kayazy now (I think), though the story-conscious part of my brain will have fits about that one.



Well, that's it for today's Mercenary Mutterings. Hopefully I'll keep the initiative to do this every Monday, and maybe get in a battle report or two on the side (I have to actually play games for that to happen though... hmmm...).