Cygnar

"In Guns We Trust"

Cygnar is one of the eponymous Iron Kingdoms and one of the five major factions of Warmachine. It is, generally speaking, the most advanced nation and the nicest to live in if its borders weren't constantly being raided.

History

RIDE THE LIGHTNING.

Even prior to the founding of the Iron Kingdoms, the lands that would become known as Cygnar were quite important. They were the birth place of the twin mortals-turned-deities Morrow and Thamar, who together founded the major city Caspia, which would become Cygnar's capital. During the Orgoth invasion, Caspia was one of the few free human cities and the hub of the resistance. Once the Orgoth were repelled and the Iron Kingdoms founded, Cygnar quickly became the most advanced nation, playing a major role in developing modern Warjacks.

Since then, things haven't been going quite so well. One king, Vinter Raelthorne IV, was an amazing fighter and general, but a dictatorial dick and utterly incompetent leader. He banned almost all magic (which, unlike in Warhammer, is actually pretty safe and used to power almost everything), brought an inquisition to Cygnar, and drove the economy into the ground by taxing everyone to death (almost literally). This got so bad that his (much nicer) brother Leto initiated a coup d'etat known as the Lion's Coup.

Leto was much more competent than his brother, so things went pretty well until the start of the story. At that point, everybody attacked at once. Khador invaded Cygnar's chief (read: only) ally Llael and part of Cygnar's northern region, the Protectorate of Menoth started crusading, Cryx stepped up its raids, and Vinter returned with an army of wrist-slicing weeaboo assholes known as the Skorne, and an attempt to give the kriels something like home rule blew up due to treachery from within. At the low point the only people not at war with Cygnar was Ord, and they're pirates. However, things have since settled down, with both the Protectorate and Khador signing ceasefires (although skirmishes still break out), the Skorne being beaten out of Cygnar (and promptly abandoning Vinter), and an uneasy peace/informal alliance has settled over the Knarls. They still have to deal with Cryx, but their army is ready, willing, and able.

This being a wargame world, however, the peace was not due to last. Khardor turned on Cygnar right after they kicked Cryx's asses in the north, just as Vinter showed back up to kick off a civil war. At the same time, Magnus, Vinter's former agent, found Vinter's bastard son Julius and moved to put him on the throne, while Alistair Caine was sent to kill the boy. The short war ended with Vinter dead by Magnus' hand after kicking nearly everybody's collective asses, and Julius on the throne with former King Leto serving as advisor.

Julius is so far proving to be rather savvy. He made a deal with Khardor to legitimize their occupation of Llael, so far as no living members of the Llaelese royal family remained alive. No sooner was the deal signed than Julius introduced them to his fiancee; the princess of Llael. Guess who wants their country back?

Crunch

Gameplay wise, Cygnar is very shooty with a lot of neat effects and tricks to represent their high-tech weaponry, but despite their dakka-worship they aren't slouches in close combat and are just fine at smashing things with hammers and swords (their thematic weapons, alongside with guns and lightning). They do sometimes have trouble with survivability without spell support, of which they have plenty - Arcane Shield and Blur both are able to buff their ARM or DEF (respectively) to rather ridiculous levels when called for it.

Cygnar's signature elemental attack is Lightning, and with it the Disruption status effect, which drops all a warjack's Focus and prevents it from being allocated Focus on the next turn; effectively frying the cortex for one round. However, despite being hilarious against warjacks (especially when you knock them down as well), Disruption does jack-all to non-warjack models, and therefore is absolutely useless against Hordes armies, Cephalyx armies, the Convergence (which is bs, it should work on EVERTHING they have), and worst of all, Khadoran-meta (which despite all their flashy heavy jacks remains firmly rooted in infantry). Perhaps realizing the problem with this, PP has started giving some Lightning-powered models Electro-Leap, which instead causes a little damage to models nearby when you hit something.

Cygnaran warcasters usually focus on buffing the defence and ranged capacity of their models. They generally shy away from spells with negative trade-offs for their own models, and don't bring very many debuffs to the table, although most of them have at least one ranged offensive spell. Cygnar doesn't really have any pure combat monsters, but the epic version of Stryker and both versions of Caine and Haley work pretty well in a "super solo" style (eStryker can theoretically hit harder than any other model in the game, Caine shoots everything, Haley delivers magical death). Joining them will be Sturgis, who's a melee monster when he gets to keep his focus for himself.

A typical Cygnaran warjack has pretty average ARM, but makes up for it by being both (comparatively) fast and accurate at melee and range. They also have slightly higher DEF than your average warjack, not high enough that anything's going to reliably miss them, but not so low that every attack will reliably hit.

Military

Unlike other forces Cygnar is all volunteer and allows non-humans. They are also the only faction to have non-character Warcaster Journeymen, owing to a long-standing tradition of sending out trainee warcasters to serve under a veteran warcaster in a padawan-Jedi style arrangement. This lets Cygnar throw down up to four battlegroups once the next expansion comes out: the main warcaster, Jakes, Journeyman and Crosse for a total of 11 Focus plus whatever the Warcaster brings to the table plus at least one more thanks to Arlan's Power Booster.

• Arcane Tempest Gun Mages: Think Harry Potter but with guns for wands and some bitching outfits and nice hats.
  • Tempest Blazers: As above, but on horses.
  • Gun Mage Captain Adept: Badass veteran solo mage. Sadly, loses the hat
  • Arcane Tempest Rifleman: Gun Mage Campers. Keeps the hat, though.
• Arcane Mechanik: A battlefield mechanic to keep your Warjacks in working order, along with his Gobber assistants. Carries a big wrench and a rivet gun, and won't hesitate to hit you in the face with both.
• Long Gunners: If you were to randomly mortar a Cygnaran camp, chances are it'd hit a Long Gunner. And then his buddies would shoot you. These guys are armed with revolver rifles that can rapidly put shots downrange.
• Journeyman Warcasters: AKA Junior; baby warcasters who get pimped out to senior warcasters for 'training'. Why you'd give a hormonal teenager control over a 7-ton walking tank, nobody knows but since they can throw out Arcane Shield most people tolerate them.
• Rangers: Fragile gunmen who tell the rest of the army how to properly aim their guns.
• Squire: Cygnar's version of Artoo-Detoo. Powers up Warcasters.
• Stormnouns: Lighting units that are named Storm something. Hence stormnouns.
  • Storm Knights: The heavy hitters of Cygnar's melee units.
    • Stormblades: Knights with lighting-blasting electro-swords. They can't hit shit with their discharges, though, hence...
      • Storm Gunner: Attached to Stormblades, Storm Gunners have a lightning gun to help direct the electrical wrath of their comrades.
    • Stormguard: Uses halberds that hit a secondary target with electro-leaping.
      • Silver Line Stormguard: Extra-special Stormguard who use electromagical shenanigans to stop people from charging them.
    • Storm Lances: Heavy cavalry with lightning-lances.
• Stormsmiths: Wizards with Lighting Rods, can triangulate to hit targets beneath them.
  • Storm Tower: Artillery version of stormsmiths.
• Sword Knights: Vanilla 'dudes in armor with swords', they wouldn't look out of place in a more mundane setting (except they're trained to both fight with and take down 'jacks just as well as they can regular humanoids).
  • Archduke Runewood: Badass old Knight
• Trenchers: Essentially WWI trench infantry, they're the toughest bastards around. Also come in Commando flavour, as well as a bevy of support units (chaingun and cannon, to be precise).

'Jacks? 'Jacks.

• Light 'Jacks.
  • Charger: Has a gun and a close combat weapon. Is fairly uncomplicated, but needs quite a lot of focus to work efficient.
  • Firefly: Light, electric, support and mainly ranged - just like the rest of Cygnar. Works great with the stormnouns and Stormsmiths in particular.
  • Grenadier: The Trenchers' best friend. Throws grenades overhead and can give the enemy a mattock to the face if they get too close. Can also dig a grave for it self like the rest of the Trenchers. Nearby Trenchers can reload the Grenadier's launcher faster.
  • Hunter: This nimble 'Jack is perfect for hiding in the woods, picking off high ARM enemies. If the noisy engine of the 'Jack didn't ruin that completely. Good at range and works well with Rangers and the Gun Mage UA (if you start second, there's better than even odds that you can stand and shoot something in the face on turn one).
  • Lancer: A little 'Jack with a spear that can distrupt other 'Jacks, as well as a shield to bash their Cortex out of order. Good as a mean to get the enemy 'Jacks to back to fuck up.
    • Thorn: Haley's personal 'Jack, this thing just wants to be with someone who can churn out a lot of magical dakka through its Arc Node. It is also pretty difficult to destroy for a Light 'Jack.
  • Minuteman: How do you make Warjacks even cooler? Give them a fuckin' jetpack! This is pretty much the fastest 'Jack in the Cygnar range, and will make fly-by shootings at hard-to-crack enemies with his Slug Guns.
  • Sentinel: If you want to keep the hordes at bay, pack yourself with a shield and a gatling gun. Works well as a protector of a Warcaster, but not much else.

• Heavy 'Jacks.
  • Avenger: Combined Arms in 'Jack form. It can knock enemies down with its Quake Cannon, and slash 'Jacks into submission with a taser-sword.
  • Centurion: A moving wall of metal. Armed with a shield to protect itself with and a spear to poke the enemy from a good distance. Set this in the flank and dare the enemy to outflank.
  • Cyclone: Fistfuls of dakka on two legs. Well, forearms (this is a good thing). This thing will make swiss cheese out of infantry and light 'Jacks alike, and with two open fists it can hurl heavy 'jacks back at their owners.
  • Defender: The Hammerhead of Iron Kingdoms, toting around the heaviest and most powerful gun on anything not Huge based. Essentially a tougher, slower Hunter although the Hunter's gun is better for ARM >= 18. Backup cortex-frying hammer to pound 'jack brains to pulp.
    • Triumph: Siege's special friend. While having a better RAT than the vanilla Defender and s Shield for additional defence, Triumph doesn't work too different from its vanilla counterpart.
  • Hammersmith: What it says on the tin; simple, tough, and smashy. Good for dealing massive damage to single enemies while pushing them back. Might be a Khador 'Jack painted blue.
  • Ironclad: The main battle warjack of Cygnar and the 'standard' by which all other 'jacks are judged. This behemoth will wreck infantry, light and heavy 'Jacks alike. It has a good speed for a heavy and its hammer does a good amount of damage, while having the ability to control masses through Earthquake.
    • Ol' Rowdy: The cranky 'Jack of Stryker, Ol' Rowdy will do what the Ironclad does and then some. It is better at hitting things like the beatstick it is, but has some tricks up its metallic sleeves (which had been pimped out by Stryker into incredibly fashionable bucklers) that makes it even more effective at its job.
    • Gallant: Constance Blaize's 'Jack of choice, this nice little bugger does what Blaize does (smite evil, collect souls of Morrowans, get laid), while looking awesome in the process. Let it defend along a line of Precursor Knights and Blaize herself and laugh as the enemy tries to kill your guys (Pro-tip: Let them do just that - Dead souls power up both Gallant and Blaize).
  • Reliant: As the name suggests, it's a decent 'Jack that can mix it up in melee with its hammer, or fry light infantry at range with a lightning cannon that puts an AoE into play for a turn.
    • Dynamo: Nemo's second character 'Jack after Thunderhead and a ranged monster. Dynamo can throw out some serious punishment to single models with its Firestorm Cannon, gaining a bonus to damage every time it hits the same model in a turn. When paired with Nemo, he almost never misses.
  • Stormclad: The best buddy of the Stormnouns and any warcaster who wants to save on Focus, this conduit of lightning and awesome powers up as its friends fry enemies. Is mainly melee with a sword long enough that it has reach, and can attack over range if needed. It's rarely going though, because having reach combined with its mobility gives a better threat range in melee than it has range with its respectable, but overshadowed ranged weapon.
  • Thunderhead: The brainchild of Nemo when he tried to build an electric powered jack. It didn't work as well he would have liked because being a walking thunderstorm made it as stealthy as one, so Nemo only build one. It is both ranged and melee, but might be most useful at range. Also called DJ Thunder because of its pose.

Oh, and we have a Colossal.

• Stormwall: The Stormwall works just like Cygnar does: Very powerful at range, but no slouch in close combat (Colossals are good in close combat!? WHO KNEW!!!?!?!). It is essentially a bigger and badder heavy 'Jack with more health, more guns (two Defender-sized cannons + a Cyclone's worth of chainguns named METAL STORM), but also at a higher point-cost. It can also shoot out Lighting Pods who create electric zaps between it and the Lightning Pods. It also has a ridiculously small head like anything Colossal. Often considered the best Colossal ever for its mix of ranged firepower (armor cracking Big Guns), ranged firepower (infantry shredding Metal Storms) and ranged firepower (Lightning Pod shenanigans). And did we mention it also has taser-fists? And that Stormsmiths can triangulate with the pods to really bring the thunder?

And then there is our Battle Engine.

• Storm Strider: The bowling ball on legs, this is the pinnacle of zapping. Gets more powerful the more it is hit and can send enemies back where they came from if the get into melee - keep in mind, though, that if they get the thing into melee it can't shoot out of it until they're all dead! The Strider is best at downright killing light- and medium-armored targets than anything else, but it has some trouble outright killing heavy ones without boosts, though arcing lightning off of them isn't a bad idea either.

Warcasters

• Commander Coleman Stryker: The posterboy of Cyngar. Kind of a patriot, who would rather sacrifice his own health than see his soldiers wounded. Basically Harry Potter with a fuckhueg sword, even down to the anger issues, the plot armour and disrespect for authority.
  • Lord Commander Coleman Stryker: His revealed dark side. Stryker went nuts when the Menites of Caspia's sister city Sul started a crusade on the walled capital of Cygnar, imprisoning any Menite (no matter their allegiance) in the eastern part of Cygnar in fear that they would help the invasion. What a dick. This incarnation sees him as a melee powerhouse, though not the type you can throw into the enemy without regard for his safety. Can possibly outfight anyone on melee damage, though he might fry himself as well.

• Lieutenant Allister Caine: Drunk John Woo wizard. Though it is well-known that he is killing himself with his dangerous lifestyle, that doesn't stop his superiors to throw him at the enemy. Grimdark. Is tied with Eriyss for the spot of most accurate ranged fighter in the game, and can possibly do more damage than her.
  • Captain Allister Caine: Finally got his promotion (combined with his demotions, this brings him back to square 0), and to boot no one actually respects his new authority. Spends his time drinking, getting laid with the wives of corrupt officials, whereafter he kills aformentioned officials in duels of honour. Has been charged with gathering details on Magnus the Traitor and his plans, which suits Caine just fine - More booze and women involved when dealing with mercs.

• Commander Adept Sebastian Nemo: The Not Einstein with a little Tesla in the mix creator of most of the Stormnouns. Has a fetish for lighting that is extreme even for Cygnar. The sole reason Cygnar is so advanced, and the current mentor of Stryker and Haley. Has very high expectations for anyone around him, but none higher than what he expects from himself, which was the result of not being there for his wife when she died.
  • General Adept Sebastian Nemo: Well, he got a new staff and better armour, but beyond that, there haven't been a lot going for the old guy. Moving on..
    • General Artificer Sebastian Nemo and Storm Chaser Adept Caitlin Flinch: Nemo is now in charge of the entirety of the Cygnaran military production, and has picked up the nifty 'Stormchaser' Caitlin Finch on the way. Together, they can run 'Jacks, fry the enemies of Cygnar and take a cup of tea at the same time without even breaking a sweat. Rumors on them dating are rootless. *Cough*.

• Captain Victoria Haley: The brain to Stryker's might, she has an amazing amount of focus at her disposal and can even control time itself. Has a beef to cut with Cryx, because of their invasion of her home, a small fishing village. Was searching for her lost sister...
  • Major Victoria Haley: ... But when she finally found her, Gloria Haley had gone to Cryx and was serving them as a warcaster. During one fateful encounter, Haley managed to kill her sister, even after her sister had torn her arm off. Neither sister was about to let this particular event stop either of them - Haley got herself a mechanical prosthetic and her sister was revived as a ghostlike mechanical hybrid of sorts.
    • Major Prime Victoria Haley: And now she's managed to learn how to fuck with time so that there's three Haleys running around at the same time; her past self as a Journeyman and a version of her from a possible future. Someone's going to have a really fun foursome.

• Captain Kara Sloan: A sniper who believe that sniping with one gun at a time is last week, so she can make all her 'Jacks fire their guns when she fires hers. Is secretly in love with a Trencher Commando, but as she is a stickler for the rules and wants to be a 'good commander', she appears stern and cold to anyone else. On the table she's a one-woman firing squad that executes enemy warcasters and solos. Mini-crate offered the limited "Kara, the Sloan Ranger" mini with a long barreled, scoped revolver.

• Major Markus 'Siege' Brisbane: Pities no fool as he controls the battlefield and smashes face with his favorite Lightning Hammer and snub-nosed bazooka. Is notable to be able to bring down entire fortresses by himself and being a part of every single major battle and war in the last decade, but hasn't had a single promotion in all that time. He started out as a Trencher, and it shows - He is a consummate soldier, fighting with well planned strikes, strategic diversions and warjack spearheads to soak up damage meant for his infantry.

• Captain Jeremiah Kraye: Likes horses and warjacks so much that his warjacks become cavalry models. Doesn't like to be bossed around and believes the brass forgets about the outer borders too much, so he has solved both problems by deploying himself as a reinforcements to any settlement bordering the Bloodstone Marches.

• Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet: Fully armoured saviour of the faithful of Morrow. Can save the souls of the dead and has bitchin' armour. Can also be taken as a Mercenary warcaster for the Llael Resistance. She likes infantry a lot and gains in power as her troops fall, but also works wonders with melee Warjacks, especially her own 'Jack, Gallant.

• Captain E. Dominic Darius: The man in the machine, this guy can repair any 'Jack on the battlefield while staying inside his metal shell. Also, his Halfjacks helpers? They are also landmines. Yeah. You would suppose that Nemo and Darius got along well, what with all their technical expertise and all, but Darius isn't too keen on advanced machinery and likes cogs and coal more. Though tough as all hell, he is not a fighter in neither fluff nor crunch, so keep him behind his 'Jacks at all times. play him with the Stormwall and pop his feat, healing the colossal for up to 50 damage boxes in an instance and laugh as your opponent now have to bring the machine down a second time.

• Captain Dalin Sturgis: A melee powerhouse with a big stick. Obviously a copy of Obi-Wan Kenobi, down to dying in the campaign to make way for the new kid on the block, Allison Jakes. He even comes back as an undead, Cryx Warcaster version of himself (except, unlike Obi-Wan, he comes back evil. Fucking Cryx.)