Control Elements in Skorne Part 3: Threat as Control

So far, I've talked about control and denial abilities that directly prevent the opponent from taking certain actions.  Basically, our abilities that say, "You can't do that, because I'm stopping you."

But Skorne has another way to control an opponent's actions.  We can say "Don't do that, or else..."

"Or else what?"

Control Elements in Skorne Part 2: Stacking Elements and Building Lists

The second installment in my Control Series.  Part 1 is here.

So Skorne has a lot of options for control, but most of them are somewhat limited in their application - they can only affect one model or one type of model, and they can only control one aspect of its activation.  This post aims to talk about building a stronger control game by getting stacking a bunch of these little interactions to have a way to focus on a certain aspect of the control game.

I'm going to talk about two warlocks who I feel are among the strongest at control we have in general, what parts of the game they seem to want to control, and how we can add to their abilities to build a more control-oriented game.  Here are the 'locks I'm looking at as some of our best at control:

Mak3da: More Thought on Specialists

A bit of news: I didn't play again this Tuesday, but I'm scheduled to play on Friday, so battle report probably on Sunday or Monday.

Way back in this post I talked a bit about what I wanted to bring to Adepticon this year with Makeda 3.  I liked the core lists pretty well, but I wasn't so sure about the specialists.  I've been thinking about specialists and ADR a lot in the last couple of weeks, and so have two podcasts I follow: Combo Smite and Tyrant's Handbook.*

Well, today, I'm going to talk a little bit about what I like in the lists, and what I want from Specialists.

Control Elements in Skorne Part 1: Listing Control Elements and Musing About Tactics

I mentioned this thread over on the Skorne forums, where a couple of players talk about control elements in Skorne, and how to use them.  There's a great list compiled by The Oddity from Battle College of different pieces and what sort of control they provide, and this first post in what is probably going to be a short series about how to play around with control in Skorne is mostly so I don't lose the list!

If we're going to play a control game, we've got to know what tools we have available.  The answer is: a lot.  We have a lot of tools, but the control they offer tends to be pretty situational and/or targeted at a specific kind of model.  We don't have 'casters with universal control abilities who can seriously lock down the table.  The Agonizer is a perfect example of the kind of control we have.  Its Agonies affect Warjacks and Warbeasts.  Spiritual Affliction can be great denial against either, but only 'jacks and beasts are affected, and even then, 'beasts can do anything but use their Animus, and 'jacks can do anything they don't need Focus for.

In addition to a lot of small scale targeted control, we're a beast heavy faction, and that means access to all the power attacks available with Open Fists, specifically Throws and Locks, as well as Slams for control.

So what to do with the control elements we have?  We need to build a list with multiple control elements, of course: preferably a 'caster with control abilities and multiple pieces with synergizing control abilities.

There's a really neat list mentioned on the thread that's Rasheth with Marketh and Double Void Spirits.  The idea is to cover a large area of the table in clouds that cause damage to anyone passing through them.  Marketh and Rasheth can spit out 3 Breaths of Corruption between them, and each Void Spirit can create an Eruption of Ash with its melee attack.  That's five 3" templates that kill any infantry trying to pass through.

I'm playing around with Makeda 3 right now, and she has Ground Zero for pushing.  Given her affinity for huge battlegroups and giving Beat Back to her beasts, maybe I can play a pushing game with her.

There are plenty of builds that work out, and I'll look into overlapping control elements and list building a little more in my next post.

Also, thanks to Luke89 from the PP Forums.  I don't think I would ever have gotten around to posting this if you hadn't started that thread.

Sunhammer??? Sunhammer!!!

I play Makeda 3 a lot, and recently, I've been wondering if maybe I've been a little unfair in judging her spell list.  Specifically, I've been reconsidering the value of Sunhammer.

I know, I know.  But hear me out.

Trollblood Warlock Pairings: Adepticon Prep and Post-Erratalypse

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what warlocks and list types pair well together for tournament lists, now that Meat Mountain, Runes of War, and Evolutionary Elementalism aren't the automatic Be-all and End-all of Trollblood competitive lists (Runes of War is still valid from all accounts, but plays slightly less aggressively and is no longer an auto-include, which I think is a good change).

In the last year, I feel like Trollblood tournament players have been effectively ignoring innovation and personal style in favor of the cookie cutter "play this and win" idea, and I'll be honest - I don't like it. When every single player is bringing the same (admittedly very powerful) lists, not only does the Trollblood player community effectively stagnate tactics-wise, it also downright ticks off other players.

I haven't been a very active player in the last year or so, and it's been at least that long since I was in a tournament, but I'm going to Adepticon this year, and I need to prepare. I've worked out a handful of lists, and I'll be testing them as much as possible in the coming weeks - I've already tried the Grim1 list vs pGrexy, and it needs some serious tweaking.

Lists after the break.

List Discussion for Adepticon Post

I have a pretty limited amount of time to finish painting my lists for Adepticon this year, and I'm thinking of running Makeda 3 and Zaal 2.  They seem to cover different matchups pretty well, and they certainly run different kinds of list.

Suggestions and criticisms are very welcome!  I don't have much time to paint before Adepticon, so anything that can help pare down the models I need to focus on would be great.

Here's what I'm thinking for Makeda 3.  It's currently untested, so I may end up wavering and going back to something more familiar, but I'm definitely going to try it out.

Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Sentry (9pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
*Basilisk Drake (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2pts)

Specialists
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
Extoller Soulward (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (1pt)

The base list is a modification on my original Brute Squad list that replaces the pair of Brutes with a Titan Sentry, and squeezes Orin Midwinter and a Basilisk Drake into the list with the spare point.  The Sentry and the Exalted Court will have to bear the brunt of any alpha strikes I take, although access to Locker will make it much easier against some lists, and allows me to deal with dodgy denial tech.  The list has some good control game, good infantry clearing, and a solid group of heavy hitters.  The Titan Sentry could be an Aradus Soldier, but I think I prefer the higher durability and control options offered by Locker to the extra offensive power of the Soldier.  Practice with the list could prove me wrong.

The specialists let me switch up my support and beast loadout to handle specific matchups or switch out some of my beasts for the defensive shield of the double Brutes.  I'm not 100% solid on most of the specialists - I need to see how the base list plays before I decide what it really needs help with.


And here's the Zaal 2 list I'm workind on.  Several people on the Skorne forum (Joelker41 and Kurgash) have had good results with eZaal, but I don't have the models available to run either double Nihilators or the theme force right now.

Zaal, Ancestral Advocate (*6pts)
*Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
*Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Immortals (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Extoller Advocate (2pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Venator Slingers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)

Specialists
3 Ancestral Guardians (9pts)
Cyclops Raider (5pts)
Legends of Halaak (4pts)

This seems like a pretty aggressive attrition list.  It's not terribly well equipped to crack armor, but that's usually what I'll drop Makeda for.  Otherwise?????  I don't really know what I'm doing with eZaal yet.  I've run him twice with the Cetrati brick when the rules were spoiled, and once with a shooty beast loadout and 3 AG's when the model came out in stores, but that's not really enough to get a feel for him.  I'm planning to play him a bunch in the coming weeks to see what I can pull together.

I'm scheduled to play tomorrow, and I'll hopefully be able to try out both lists.  Expect reports!

Army List: pMadrak 50pts, Winter Kin Tier 4

There doesn't seem to be a lot of hype about the new Madrak tier, which is odd to me - it seems pretty good. I figured I'd run through it quick, just for the heck of it.

Bear in mind, I'm not exactly a competitive strategic powerhouse when it comes to list building, so comments would be very helpful.

State of the Lists: Adepticon Planning w/ Gunnbjorn and Doomy3

Well, I've pretty much decided I'm going to Adepticon, so it's time to get those lists going.

Another Month, Another Tournament

It seems I've finally posted about the tournament in late June, only to have another one coming up this Saturday.

I'll probably be playing Zaal and Makeda 3 again, although I've been thinking more and more about Morghoul 1 and Makeda 1 as a pairing.  Morghoul I'd probably run with the Mammoth, since I like the idea of a combined arms list that can benefit from his feat.  I'm not sure what I'd do with Makeda 1, but I have a few ideas.  I'll probably give Despoiler a try with her, even though she can't make it hit hard.  She definitely likes the free upkeep, and Savagery cycling seems like it can be very cute combined between Despoiler and a Void Spirit.  Then again, she'd likely be my Cryx drop, so I'd need to include anti-Cryx stuff.

First Post in a While and Tournament on the 27th

There's a tournament at Tower this Saturday, and I'm going to participate this time around.  

I haven't been playing nearly enough WarmaHordes lately, and I really dropped off posting.  However, I'll do reports for this tournament, and probably get around to posting my thoughts from Adepticon later on.

On to this tournament!  Part of me really wants to play with eMorghoul's new theme force, which certainly seems strong enough to make him playable, but a much more reasonable part of me knows I need more practice with my main Warlocks.  So I'll be taking Makeda 3, along with a secondary drop to take on the matchups she has trouble with.  Very likely, that drop will be Mordikaar, who I still need practice with, but I also really like Zaal, pMakeda, and pHexeris, so there's a chance I'll sub in one of them.

I'll post my results early next week.

Hi Again!

Between class and work, I haven't had a whole lot of energy for blogging in the last couple of weeks, but I'm still here.  The inter-store tournament is done, and I'll have the reports up in the next couple of days (by Tuesday probably).

In the meantime, I played a really fun game of Warmachine against Butcher 1 this week.  My opponent was Tom, who I've played a few times over the past couple of months.  No full report of this one, but it was hilariously fun.  It was my Makeda 3 Brute Squad list against the Butcher 1 list he's been tailoring as a Bradigus drop.  We used a clock, but honestly we spent most of the time making awful jokes.

At the end of turn 2, Tom retreated Butcher to a corner of the killbox after heavily damaging my Brutes and jamming me with a few IFP and Eliminators, and before declaring that he'd probably die to an assassination vector that he didn't notice.

I did notice one, since Makeda 3 is queen of weird angles, and walked her 8" to a group of 2 IFP and one Eliminator.  She Feated, got a Fury from an Exalted Guardian who killed the Iron Fang Kovnik, killed one of the IFP with her sword, and used Blood Boon to kill the other IFP and the Kayazy Eliminator with the spell Eliminator.  Then she walked 4" into a cluster of 4 Nyss, dropped another Eliminator on the one she was base to base with, and killed them all, then walked 8" into the Butcher and his War Dog.  She killed the Dog in one swing, and bought 5 more against the Butcher, missed with 3, and left him on 7 boxes.  Molik was barely in range to finish the job.

Highlights of the game included lots of bad puns about Warmachine rules, Tom using his Spriggan to screen his infantry, and Makeda's epic power walk.  All in all a great game.

Anyway, more reports and such to follow, along with some final thoughts on Makeda's Brute Squad list before I pack her up and take her to Adepticon on the 19th.

Tom's list, for Khador players interested in running a really strong Bradigus drop that's solid against a wide range of opponents was:

The Butcher of Khardov (*6pts)
*Spriggan (10pts)
*War Dog (1pt)
Cylena Raefyll and the Nyss Hunters (Cylena and 9 Grunts) (10pts)
*Koldun Kapitan Valachev (2pts)
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Iron Fang Pikemen Officer and Standard Bearer (2pts)
Greylord Outriders (Leader and 2 Grunts) (6pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (3pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (3pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Widowmaker Marksman (2pts)

Battle Report: Guardians vs Fist

Got in another game against my perennial opponent Russell in preparation for the Blood, Sweat and Tiers tournament that I signed up for at Adepticon. During our last bout my Vyros2 list got very close to beating Fist on scenario, and I wanted to see if I could get it the rest of the way.

Kriels on the Move: TC Interstore Tournament

Several stores in the Twin Cities are combining together to do a month long inter-store tournament, and I'm signed up! (For more information on the tournament, see pGrexy's wonderful post).

Since my Jarl list is still in the testing phase (though I haven't had time to test it, hence the lack of a battle report), I'm switching over to a Grim list with a similar set of models to deal with infantry and scenarios and an Epic Doomshaper list for heavy armor cracking.

Since this is a month long tournament, I'm going to be doing a battle report for each phase and giving my general feelings on the lists. Both of these are exact not lists I've played before, primarily because I haven't been playing a lot of Trollbloods for a while, but I have confidence in them since they build on a lot of my previous lists, but with better models than I've used or had access to before.

Grim Angus (*6pts) - 50pts Steamroller
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer (2pts)
Trollkin Highwaymen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Fennblade Kithkar (2pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Trollkin Champion Hero (3pts)

Grim1 is a bit more well rounded as a warlock than Jarl is, and he's a more proven quality - plus, he's pretty good at scenario play. Highwaymen are a natural for Grim, since he can de-buff enemy defense and they're a great target for Cross Country (who doesn't like hunter?).

Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia (*6pts) - 50pts Steamroller
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
* Rok (11pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Trollkin Warders (Leader and 4 Grunts) (8pts)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)
Lanyssa Ryssyll, Nyss Sorceress (2pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)
Trollkin Sorcerer (1pts)

This list is pretty self explanatory - block of dangerous beasts with Doomy2's buffs and feat, plus warders and support to back them up and make them tougher. The Warders are a new inclusion - typically, I try to use a ranged element to back up the beasts, but since I've already got a stone running I figured I'd go a little Meat Mountain -- or in this case, Meat Molehill.

So, there we have it. My first game is tomorrow vs Wes' Menoth (since our lists are already distributed, he'll be running Severius2 and Harbinger... oi), and I'll hopefully have a battle report up sometime this weekend.

TC Interstore Tournament and Adepticon

Now Edited because it was unfinished when I clicked "post."

Hey again everyone!

Tower is participating in the first ever Twin Cities Interstore Tournament, along with fellow FLGS's The Source and Fantasy Flight Game Center.  Since the schedule will work like the NFL League I played over the summer, where you get in touch with your opponent before a game, and hash out a time that works for both of you, I'll actually be able to compete!

Since lists are already handed in, I don't feel bad posting mine on here.

Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)

This is currently my favorite list in Skorne, so of course I'm going to play it in the tournament.  This is a solid attrition and scenario list that skews armor pretty hard.  The Brutes are my frontliners.  They either take the enemy alpha strike, or jam them up, and they're very annoying to kill off.  Molik and Makeda herself are the main offense of the list.  They do most of the work in the midgame, clearing zones and enemy jams to put me in a good position in the attrition and scenario game.  The titans are second line heavies for cracking armor, and support Molik and each other with their animi.  The Krea is support against shooting, as well as a portable Def Debuff that I've really come to appreciate.  Over the last year, I've often run this list with a Cyclops Savage, but for now I'm sticking in Orin and the TyComm at the suggestion of DrillbossD (on the forums) who comments here as Dustin.  Overall, they add a lot to Makeda's game, and shore up some shaky matchups, and I've liked them in my few trial runs so far.

Void Seer Mordikaar (*5pts)
*Tiberion (11pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
*Basilisk Drake (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)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)

This is a shameless netlist first run by Jason Watt, and taken to dizzying heights of tournament success by Martin Hornacek as one of his main lists.  I recently heard an interview with him on the Removed From Play podcast, and hearing him talk about Mordikaar definitely influenced me.  I have a tendency to get sympathetically excited about whatever 'caster people are gushing about, but when it's someone who's had as much success as Hornacek, I can really get carried away.  Anyway, this is first and foremost an attrition list.  It can certainly jam slower lists out of some scenarios, and it can capitalize on an assassination if there is one, but its main job is to keep the pressure up with constantly reviving soldiers.

The TC Interstore Tournament has a standard tournament format, except that each store will run a pod of 8 people for the first 3 rounds (Tower has enough players that it might run 2 pods).  After that, all the undefeated players will meet in a short 1-day event that will either be a 2-round elimination tournament, or a 3-round round robin tournament (I forget which).

Either way, it starts this week, and I've already got my first game lined up.

In other news, I'm signed up for Adepticon this year.  I'm signed up in the start-of-the-weekend Masters event (which I think is a qualifier for Masters Finals, although I could be wrong), and the "Warmachine casual day track" which includes fun formats like Who's the Boss and Spell Draft.  I'll probably spend most of the weekend hanging out in the Iron Arena cadging for games though.  I'm still undecided on what I'll be bringing, although the hope is to take Makeda 3 and one other Warlock to Masters, and have at least a fully assembled Retribution list to have fun with as well in the casual games.

Thanks for reading, and wish me luck!

Steam(T)roller List Building, Part 1: Jarl Skuld

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.

Steamrolling with Makeda 3 and the Brute Squad, Part 2: Partners

Searching for the perfect match (image from the PP Galery)

Last week, I talked a bit about different modules I'm thinking of taking in my Makeda 3 list HERE.  A big part of working with those modules, though, is making sure my other list can make up for any blind spots I've left.  This time around, I'll talk about a few 'casters and lists I'm thinking of pairing with Makeda 3 at tournaments to cover her weaker points.

To start with, here are the matchups I'm most worried about with Makeda 3:

Steamrolling with Makeda 3 and the Brute Squad, Part 1: Options

As people who read my posts regularly know by now, I've been playing Makeda 3 a lot, and lately, I've been playing her in the same Brute Squad list a lot.  I've talked a little about branching out and trying more options with this list, and here are a few modules I'm thinking about trying out.  They're all variations on the Brute Squad, and I'm really only switching out a couple of models.  There's also been a lot of good discussion about the various modules in various places, and I'd like to use this post as a setting to talk about the ones I've heard or thought of, and some other ones people have seen and used.

I've posted about my current list a lot, but here it is again:

Makeda and the Exalted Court (*2pts)
*Molik Karn (11pts)
*Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
*Titan Gladiator (8pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Brute (5pts)
*Cyclops Savage (5pts)
*Basilisk Krea (4pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)

NFL League Playoffs

With a record of 9-0 (my final opponent didn't have time to play me before the deadline last Friday, so our scores for that game aren't counted), I'm in the Tower NFL League playoffs.

There are three games (though I'm pretty sure I have a bye for the first round).  The format is basically the same as the regular season, with one exception: we can only use a Warlock/Warcaster once.

I won the Fury conference with a record of 9-0 (my last opponent and I weren't able to schedule our game in time for the deadline this past Friday).  Also in the Fury conference are Jamie and his Cryx, and Sean with his Blindwater.  My week 3 opponent, Tom, went 8-2, and won the Focus conference with Khador.  Benesh with Convergence, and another Tom with Mercenaries are also in the playoffs in Focus.

The first round pits the runners-up in each conference against each other: Jamie plays Sean, and Mercs Tom plays Benesh.  The winner of each match will play the conference winner: Me and Khador Tom (who posted here as Zatak).  Then the winners of those games will play in the finals.

Without wanting to telegraph my lists too much, I'm still sticking to the 4 Warlocks I've focused on over the summer: Mordikaar, pMakeda, Makeda 3, and Zaal (but especially Makeda 3).  I'll be able to bring 2 to each match, and I'll still be able to tailor my lists a bit to confound my current opponent.

The first playoff games are happening tonight, and I'll show up just in case Sean or Jamie wants to play a double header.

If not, I'll probably give eXerxis another spin, and/or try out Zaadesh.

EDIT: It turns out I can't play tonight :(  But that's ok.  I'll play on Friday, and let you all know how it goes.

Mercs: Short, Stubborn, and Surprisingly Well Painted

So, I've been seriously thinking about getting into Mercs (and more specifically Searforge) for a while now, for the following reasons:

1. I love Forge Guard - great models, great fluff, fun stuff on the battlefield, just fantastic all around.
2. General 'Awesome' Ossrum - this short little dude is just everything a caster should be, to me.
3. EARTHBREAKER SMASH! - nuff said.
4. Have I mentioned Forge Guard?
5. They are a bit different tactically from my current factions (Trollbloods and especially Circle), and it would be good to get back into a Warmachine faction from playing Hordes for so long.
6. MOAR FORGE GUARD!

So, contemplating this and actually buying (and assembling, priming, painting, and basing) said models are two different things entirely. In the meantime, my friend Tim says to me one day "Caleb, wanna buy some Searforge?" to which I says "maybe, how much ya got?"

Pretty much all of it.

So, I now have Searforge. A lot of Searforge. A lot of beautifully painted and based Searforge (with instructions on how to replicate the paint job for the ~1/3 of the models that are not painted). With the exception of Durgan, Gortan, the Tactical Arcanist Corp, and the Earthbreaker (which I promptly bought, but have yet to assemble), I managed to procure a complete Searforge army and helped a friend out to boot.

List Building

At the moment, I'm limited to Ossrum and Searforge - actually a lot of models, but coming from Circle and Trollbloods, that is actually a very limited selection any way you slice it. I have 2 games under my belt so far, one late-night game I barely remember winning, and another against my eternal foe, pGrezy (see battle report). I've been building Ossrum lists, which poses a surprising conundrum - Ossrum's tier, or straight Searforge?

Searforge:
Benefits: deployment zone extended 4", +1 to FA of non-character models/units

Thoughts:
 - an extra 4" deployment zone is just amazing, and help mitigate the universally low SPD
 - additional FA is ok, good for skew lists (3 units of Forge Guard), and it lets you take 2 High Shield UAs (which is actually a really nice strategy if you want to go gun line with an Earthbreaker).
 - with no tier restrictions to reach, it makes for MUCH more variable lists than tier.

Ossrum's Tier 'State of War':
Tier 1: take basically Searforge models = 1 unit gains Advance Deploy
Tier 2: take 2 units with ranged weapons = place 1 trench template (for each 2 ranged units, basically)
Tier 3: take at least 2 solos = start with Ossrum's Upkeeps already up
Tier 4: take 3 jacks in Ossrum's Battlegroup = they get +2 SPD for the first round

Thoughts:
 - All the benefits basically equal out to a very, very fast start: speed boost for jacks, AD for a unit, trench templates for running units/exposed Ossrum to hide in, and upkeeps already up so Ossrum can throw fury into a full Energizer and fail-charge forward for 10" (15"+ for 'jacks!) on the first turn. Not bad.
 - Getting to tier 3 alone means running either a straight gunline or a combined arms list, which can get kinda tricky unless you space them out (causing problems for his feat) or pack them near Ossrum to benefit from Martial Discipline (making it a tempting target for templates).
 - 3 jacks, even if two are gun bunnies, are really going to put a strain on Ossrum's available focus. Switching just one of them over to Thor would be a big help, but the tier is battlegroup-specific.

Conclusion:
Honestly? Both are about evenly matched. Ossrum's Tier 3 is amazing, and the advance deploy/spd buffs do a lot to make up for losing the 4" extended deployment zone, but it's really the main thing the tier has going for it and comes at a cost of a greatly restricted variety of lists over straight Searforge. What I'll probably do is make the list I want to make in one of them, and see if it would work better converting it over to the other. I'm digging the Tier list for the moment, mainly because it is such a faster start than anything I can make in Searforge.

The Lists

35pt Ossrum: State of War Tier 4
General Ossrum (*5pts)
* Grundback Blaster (3pts)
* Grundback Blaster (3pts)
* Wroughthammer Rockram (8pts)
Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps Officer & Standard (3pts)
Herne & Jonne (3pts)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Lord Rockbottom (2pts)
Thor Steinhammer (2pts)

Sort of a bare-bones approach, it has everything I want in it and very little else. Rockbottom is in a lot of these lists partly to keep units/thor from failing command checks, partly as a secondary target for Fire For Effect (he's got a pretty decent spray), and mostly because there is exactly one other 2pt choice in the entire freaking sub-faction to fill up points with, and that model is already in every list anyway (Thor).

35pt Ossrum: Searforge
General Ossrum (*5pts)
* Grundback Blaster (3pts)
* Wroughthammer Rockram (8pts)
Herne & Jonne (3pts)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Tactical Arcanist Corps (4pts)
Lord Rockbottom (2pts)
Ogrun Bokur (3pts)
Thor Steinhammer (2pts)
* Ghordson Basher (7pts)

As much as I like High Shields with Ossrum (snipe!), it's tricky to fit them and Forge Guard in at 35pts and keep a good diversity of options - I had a hell of a time just dealing with incorporeal models in my first game, simply because I had only 1 magic weapon (Ossrum). Dropping them for a Bokur, TACs, and upgrading a gun bunny to bash bunny on Thor really opens up some options, namely magic weapons, shield guard, and a good single target slammer to keep jacks/beasts off my line and relieve the focus-crunch on Ossrum.

50pt Ossrum: State of War Tier 4
General Ossrum (*5pts)
* Grundback Blaster (3pts)
* Ghordson Driller (6pts)
* Ghordson Earthbreaker (19pts)
Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps Officer & Standard (3pts)
Herne & Jonne (3pts)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Ogrun Bokur (3pts)
Thor Steinhammer (2pts)

At 50pts, there really is absolutely no reason not to bring an Earthbreaker (discounting not being a jackass... kidding, kidding!), which severely limits options. Dropping the Rockram for the Earthbreaker and upgrading the bunny to a driller takes up a lot of it - I want the driller around to threaten enemy jacks/beasts once the Earthbreaker goes, as one of the few sure-fire ways to deal with an Earthbreaker list is to kill the damn thing as quickly as possible with everything you've got and hope you come out favorably in the inevitable counterattacking scrum. The Bokur is in there for charge blocking, as a 2nd string hitter, and (mainly) shield guard to counter the other sure-fire way to deal with the Earthbreaker: that dirty rat bastard. The problem is, to fit that in, I'm dropping TACs to keep to the tier requirement.

50pt Ossrum: Searforge
General Ossrum (*5pts)
* Ghordson Earthbreaker (19pts)
Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps Officer & Standard (3pts)
Herne & Jonne (3pts)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Lord Rockbottom (2pts)
Tactical Arcanist Corps (4pts)
Ogrun Bokur (3pts)
Thor Steinhammer (2pts)
* Grundback Blaster (3pts)

Same thoughts, bit more variety. The blaster is a good choice for Thor, in my opinion, as he can pronto it around and it can boost a spray attack or two when needed, making it a solid 2nd line jack, especially with Thor devoting his buff to the Earthbreaker (because holy hell that's good). I'm debating dropping Herne and Jonne, Rockbottom, and the TACs (or just the High Shields and UA) for a full unit of Ogrun Assault Corps for some speed and a relatively independent combined-arms force to run interference for the big guy - medium bases are always good, after all. We'll see how this one works first.

So, there we have it! I'll be putting up some battle reports for these as soon as I can get some games in (they're just so photogenic, you see...), as well as (hopefully) a Trollblood tactica or two and some more lists now that the Circle-specific football league is over and the insanely busy summer is winding down.