Retribution of Scyrah

The elf faction. These elves are the pure essence of grimdark played straight. Unlike most factions in WarmaHordes, the Retribution of Scyrah isn't a nation but an extremist organization that believes human magic is killing their gods. Only recently has it been given official backing from two of the elf great houses, making them more of a standard army than a crazed terrorist cell (well, the Iosians are still rather reluctant about associating themselves with these guys and it's definitely not the Iosan army that's marching with them).

The history of the Elves in the Iron Kingdoms

Unlike most settings, elves are not the first race in Immoren. Menoth's creation of humans inspired a group of other gods to try their hands at it. Unlike Menoth, who wanted servants and warriors, the elf gods wanted children and so took extra care in their making. As a result, the elves advanced much faster than humans, spreading all over western Immoren and creating the Empire of Lyoss. At their height, they built the Bridge of Worlds in their capital city Nyshyl. The intent was that the gods could use the Bridge to cross from Urcaen into Caen and live amongst their people. Like most attempts to communicate directly with gods through mortal ingenuity, it failed big time.

Once the gods crossed the bridge, it exploded, obliterating the capital city of Lyoss and the surrounding countryside. The gods and the surviving elves migrated west. Along the way, volunteers from the Dawnguard of Nyrro chose to guard the rear of the refugee column, sacrificing their lives almost to the last. The elves constructed eight cities dedicated to each of their gods, who would live in great temples at the center of each city. Apparently not learning their lesson the first time, the elves resolved that their new nation, Ios, would be just as grand and beautiful as Lyoss.

Over the centuries, elves started to age and die of natural causes. Political unity fell apart. Worst of all, the gods announced that they would leave Caen. They said that living outside the Veld had caused them to weaken and in turn that weakness spread to their people. They met one last time and then left Ios; their meeting hall has been perpetually sealed as a holy place. In the aftermath of the gods' departure, a prophet named Aeric claimed to have received a vision of the gods telling him to lead his people out into the wilderness. After their departure, Darsael was expunged from historical records, as if the people wanted to forget about the city and Nyssor's people. They would later become known as the Nyss.

Hundreds of years later, the clergy of Nyrro claimed that their god had returned. Many joined, but some were skeptical, especially because the clergy were refusing to give details of Nyrro's return and his messages. Eventually it was discovered that the clergy were not just lying, but engaging in horrific rituals that included living sacrifices. The Dawnguard, infuriated that the priests of their god had fallen so low, hauled them out and executed them. Since then, Eversael has been abandoned as a haunted city and the Dawnguard have abandoned their worship of Nyrro. Because shunning Nyrro for some foolish mortals' actions is totally right and just and can't possibly bite you in the ass.

Then came the Rivening. All the priests of the elven gods went nuts at once. When the madness ended, all the surviving priests except Scyrah's had lost their magic. Elven scholars believe that the loss of Ayisla, the goddess of reincarnation, is why babies are being born without souls. They also observed the human resistance against the Orgoth and discovered that the humans could wield magic. This magic appeared to disturb the cosmological balance and was attributed as increasing the incidents of elven soullessness.

Over the centuries after the Rivening, elves would heed a call to Ayisla's abandoned realm to find spiritual fulfillment. Instead, they found a new god: Ethrunbal, AKA Everblight, a disembodied dragon who carefully corrupted their minds, bodies, and souls, refining his techniques to create the perfect blend of loyalty and lethality that he desired. When the elves finally realized the threat, they moved against him. Everblight brought his power to bear, obliterating the city of Issyrah before he was cast down and his athanc torn from his flesh to be imprisoned in a remote mountain where he would never affect the world again, right?

But there was good news (hurray!): Scyrah came to Shyrr, walked into the Fane of Lacyr, and never came back out (hurray?). Her priests said very little about her until they announced that she was dying. Displeased by the lack of action of their politicians, two sects have formed: the Seekers and the Retribution of Scyrah. The Retribution's mandate is to end human magic and its practitioners to save Scyrah's life. It was swiftly outlawed, but not eradicated.

The Retribution has gained followers over the centuries, and one of their advance scouts, Eiryss, has brought news to Ios: Ghyrrshyld of House Vyre, long thought dead, is the eldritch Goreshade, he has Nyssor's sword, and the Khadoran government has Nyssor himself.

Ios and the Skorne are ancient enemies, going back to before the Rivining when the Skorne would raid their outlying settlements. When the Skorne invaded, they lost no time in renewing the ancient feud. Now under siege, the Retribution has diverted forces to aiding their homeland against foreign invaders.

Forces of the Retribution

Warcasters

• Adeptis Rahn Shyeel - One of the strongest elven spellcasters, he is a master of Jerkassery and Wizardry. He mostly joined the Retribution for personal gain and is only somewhat interested in saving his Goddess and his race. His hobbies include going bowling with jacks/beasts and flinging blasts everywhere. Both his theme lists are solid, but are not required to make him good. Bring Arc Nodes for maximum effect. With the right setup he can perform assassinations from a ridiculous distance.
• Dawnlord Vyros Nyarr - Like Rahn, he joined the Retribution for personal gain but is actually truly interested in saving his Goddess and his race. His feat, his spell list, and his Bird's Eye ability (he and his jacks can see through forests and intervening models) suggest that he likes jacks, but he does not have enough focus to run them all effectively. On his feat turn you can sometimes get some silly things happening, such as jacks that have Side Step or Beat Back being able to kill an entire unit. An enterprising player from Wales created a unique but very effective version of Vyros' first theme force which has double Daemons marshaled by a pair of Sentinel units, using the Sentinel Officer's Drive: Pronto to give the Daemons more mobility.
  • Vyros, Incissar of the Dawnguard - "I'm on a horse." One of three warcasters (and one warlock) in the game with the spell Synergy, which with the right setup can make a light jack strong enough to take down a colossal. Because of Synergy, he generally brings a list comprised mostly of Griffon myrmidons. If you play competitively, expect to see him a lot, since he is one of the few decent answers to Legion beasts (and the Shadow Pack spell) that Retribution has.
• Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper - The battle box caster, she brings no offensive buffs but lots of anti magic and a strong defensive feat. High-ish focus, you tend to see quite a few jacks with her, including a few Arc Nodes to make use of her True Sight spell casting. Can steal focus/fury, but don't get yourself killed doing it. Her second theme force, "Force Wall," is pretty effective and lets you bring a large amount of House Shyeel myrmidons.
• Garryth, Blade of Retribution - His pistols have bayonets on the butts. He probably stabs himself with them a lot. With his high MAT and Weapon Master he's a pretty good melee assassin, but don't underestimate how much damage his paired pistols can do. Squishy as hell, though. He is sometimes referred to as The Most Interesting Elf in the World.
• Ravyn, Eternal Light - When paired with the Mage Hunter Strike Force (+ UA) listed below, she presents a scary assassination threat as she can buff both their accuracy and their range. This is known as "Snipe, Feat, Go," or SFG. In practice, SFG fails as often as not, but the threat of SFG is still very effective because the mere possibility of being attacked by a unit that ignores most defensive measures from outside your range to deal with it will control the pace of games. In addition to Mage Hunters, she usually brings other long range units such as Stormfall Archers. Even though she doesn't support melee troops, she herself is no slouch in melee and can buff herself with Vortex of Destruction or "gun kata" her way through a unit using a combination of melee attacks and point blank ranged attacks.
• Issyria, Sibyl of Dawn - A unique warcaster with no weapons or damaging spells at all. However, she is extremely effective at supporting her army. Her feat increases the accuracy and damage of both melee and ranged attacks. She can also increase charge distance, which lets her army get off a devastating alpha strike. Her Blinding Light spell is an excellent debuff so expect Arc Nodes with her, and also possibly a Hyperion for her to use Ancillary Attack on. She also runs an infantry swarm army rather well.
• Lord Arcanist Ossyan Vyre - After Ghyrrshyld (AKA Goreshade) fucked things up for House Vyre, Ossyan is trying to repair his House's tattered reputation. He was able to recover the frozen God Nyssor, but then Vyros took all the credit for it. If you need to tear down something tough from range, Ossyan is your man. He has some movement shenanigans through speed buffs/debuffs and out of activation movement, but the main reason for bringing him is his feat which buffs ranged damage rolls. Give him a Banshee or two for their knockdown guns, then bring some Stormfall Archers and go to town. Killing a colossal in a single turn from range is not unusual, especially if you bring the mercenary Lady Aiyana for her damage buff spell.
• Thyron, Sword of Truth - A swordmaster from House Ellowuyr, Thyron is very strong in melee with Reach, Weapon Master, and Riposte. He can also buff himself up with his Storm Rager spell, or cast Storm Rager on a powerful solo like Fane Knight Skeryth Issyen or a Mage Hunter Assassin. He has a number of useful buffs for both infantry and jacks, including Field Marshal: Cleave. He helps add variety to the faction by bringing a less ranged-heavy playstyle compared to some of the other warcasters.

Light Myrmidons

All current Retribution light jacks are made by House Shyeel and have forcefields (MK3 Edition)

• Chimera - A light arcnode that can teleport short distances and phase partially out of existence (giving it a Defense buff). It's primary purpose is as an Arc Node, but it also has two open fists which let it throw and slam effectively. It has enough damage for killing with ease infantry models, and can also combo strike to deal with tougher models. His mobility and his cheapness make him the best friend of any caster who want to use spells without exposing themselves. While he is annoying, he tend to survive quite well since he is not very dangerous by itself, and that most people will ignore it except if they can shut it down quickly.
• Gorgon - Currently the only non-character light jack with a gun that Retribution has. If the Gorgon is engaging an enemy, Force Lock keeps the from moving, which seems neat but don't expect it to survive long once it gets into place as people hate being unable to move. His gun is strong enough to kill solo and infantry, but his main purpose is a speed debuff ( -2) on his foe, which is EXTREMELY USEFUL in this game, because a jack with 2 SPD is even less dangerous than a dead jack.
• Griffon - Contender for best light combat jack in the game. It has pathfinder, it's naturally fast plus has a situational speed booster, it has a reach attack which gets an accuracy bonus when charging, and it has a shield, all for only eight points. They are frequently seen with Vyros2 (Incissar), where Synergy turns can make them it quite hard (pow 18 with a mechanik), Vyros 1, who make them murderous with his feat and mobility, as well with Thyron. They have one of the best power/resilience/speed/cheapness ratio in the game.
• Aspis - A Shield Guard jack who can absorb one shot per turn in the place of one model in 3 " near him. While he is low-armored, he can regenerate his forcefield shields automatically just like a Phoenix's, making it very resilient for his ridiculous cost. His two bowling ball fists give him beat back and some decent anti infantry potential as well.

Character 'Jacks

• Moros - Garryth's character jack. It has stealth, does decent damage with its blades, and good def. Its blades and short-ranged gun each cause Paralysis, which makes his foe unable to charge, run or execute power attacks as well as locking them at Def 5 - effectively auto-hits for everybody. With Garryth it gain acrobatic, making him able to pass through enemies and threaten a kill (or setup for Garryth's murder run) behind the front lines.

Heavy Myrmidons

Retribution heavy jacks are priced and statted with the understanding that you will take an Arcanist with them. Do not leave home without at least one Arcanist, and if you have more than one jack you should probably bring two Arcanists.

House Shyeel - These jacks have forcefields, which you can spend focus to regenerate (like regen in hordes, but worse). They are faster than Vyre jacks but have less armor.

• Hydra - Its main trick is gaining focus when it gets hit and then storing that focus between turns, which then boosts the power and range of its gun. It also has two open fists and a Chain Attack, so it can be useful in melee but its damage output is too low to take down other heavies.
• Manticore - It has a Rate of Fire 3 Hand Cannon, which can also create a Covering Fire template. It has two open fists and is also capable of giving itself a strength buff, which when combined with Combo Strike gives it the single hardest hit in the faction.
• Phoenix - Expensive, but so worth it. Has a penchant for fire, with Continuous or Crit Fire on all its attacks and is equally at home clearing infantry or taking on other heavies. Like its namesake, it can regenerate its forcefield without spending focus. Also has an Arc Node.

House Vyre - Slower than Shyeel jacks, but more armor. No forcefields, but they have extra hull boxes to make up for it. Their guns are not tied to any systems, which means they are still a threat until the model is dead.

• Banshee - As expensive as a Phoenix but just as worth it. Its gun lets you slam smaller models or knock down large ones, and it has a high powered melee weapon to boot. Banshees wail, so enemies can't hear orders or cast spells when close to it.
• Daemon - You're bringing it for its gun, which makes mini black holes. Suck in all models around the one it hits, then stick a template on top of them. Blessed fists give it some melee threat, but not as much as the other heavies.
• Sphinx - The cheapest heavy we have, its a melee jack at heart. It has two open fists (one of which has reach) which give it some flexibility, and like all Ret jacks it has a gun. Its gun adds 3" to the range of spells targeting the model it hits, so it's also a great option if you want to play Battle Mage pinball with your enemies.

Character 'Jacks

• Hypnos - Ossyan's jack. The main thing of note is his gun, which when you bring him with Ossyan can stop warjacks and warbeasts from spending focus or forcing, and even works on Colossals and Gargantuans. Even though his melee damage is only average, Hypnos' higher MAT and the ability to make warjacks stationary mean he's pretty strong in melee. Also has an Arc Node. He's definitely worth considering with Ossyan as a second jack after a Banshee.
• Discordia - Technically Rahn's jack, but she spends more time with everyone else. She has a long range magic spray and can make models around her immune to blast damage. Her higher MAT makes her a strong melee threat, on par with the Banshee and Phoenix.
• Imperatus - Vyros's jack. Essentially a souped up Phoenix, Impy trades the Arc Node and Combustion abilities for an extra sword and Side Step. He is a serious assassination threat with most of the Ret warcasters, and he can also revive himself when killed which makes him as durable as a Colossal.

Colossals

• Hyperion - Big stompy robot that was designed to take down dragons like Everblight. Compared to other Colossals, its bladed fists have decent power (which can be buffed by Arcanists), it has average armor, and it has above average defense and damage boxes. Its main gun is a short ranged but high powered blast with Crit Consume attached, which can let it wipe whole units off the board quickly.
• Helios - "PRAISE THE SUN!" The Retribution's second colossal brings completely different abilities to the table compared to the first. It has fire fists instead of bladed fists. Its main gun is a tractor beam which doesn't do any damage but can move enemies around and fires three times per round. It gets +2 DEF vs ranged attacks, and can spend focus to gain a number of special abilities including an additional +2 defense, the ability to push attackers away from it, and it can give focus to other nearby myrmidons (which is great for "jack heavy" lists like Vyros2 Griffon Spam or Kaelyssa's Force Wall theme force).

Units

• Dawnguard -
  • Invictors - Their swords have guns and they are efficient in melee too. With Assault, they can shoot, then charge and attack opponents, and so can annihilate infantry with ease and dent heavy infantry/cavalry. They can use Combined Ranged Attacks and with their UA, Invictors can reroll their Combined Ranged Attack, making them able to remove with ease even the hardest-to-hit model. They can use a once-per-game range increase too. Extremely effective against infantry and even lights jack, they are very cost effective and one of the best jack of all trade unit in the whole game.
  • Sentinels - Their swords don't have guns, but they do have Reach and Weapon Master. They kill 'jacks and beasts. They have Vengeance and Wall of Steel built-in (if your opponent wants to neutralize their threat they'd better commit to killing a whole lot of them) while their UA gives them Iron Zeal and Relentless Charge for more reliable delivery. Once again they're expensive, but unlike Invictors they're pure brawlers. A bit slow, but if you can get them stuck in they will wreck face.
  • Destors - They have horses and revolver lances. Sounds cool, but their high cost, fragility (for cav models), and conflicting rules mean you don't see them often.
• House Shyeel Battlemages - Elf Muscle Wizards. They can cast Fist twice per turn, and they can take a 1" step between each casting. They also have Fist at a Distance, which yanks people around like ragdolls and sometimes knocks them on their ass. They are a solid choice with most warcasters, but they can annihilate on Rahn's feat turn.
• Houseguard -
  • Halberdiers - The closest thing to a line grunt that Ret has. They are relatively inexpensive, they have solid base stats, they have Set Defense and Shield Wall which make them survivable against charges or low powered ranged attacks, respectively, and with Brutal Charge they can also be devastating themselves. The UA gives them Reform, which helps keep them alive longer once stuck in, and a mini-feat for more damage and accuracy. Compared to basic Reach infantry in other factions, they are definitely top-tier for their price.
  • Riflemen - Basic CRA trooper. Their UA increases accuracy at close range, and lets them CRA into melee. Before the Houseguard Thane was released, they were generally overshadowed by the Invictors and Mage Hunter Strike Force, but the Thane lets Riflemen ignore Stealth, which is a unique and very valuable niche.
  • Heavy Rifle Team - Light artillery with an Armor Piercing anti-materiel rifle. Slow moving and squishy, but reasonably accurate while the spotter is alive and able to threaten anything with an armor value. Combine with a Thane to take the heads off any Stealth models loitering in your firing lane.
• House Vyre Electromancers - These techno-mages are trying to steal Cygnar's thunder (haha) by breaking their monopoly on lightning tech. The Electromancers can use electro leaps to clear infantry, or do d3 damage rolls against a single target (good for medium armor targets, but not heavy jacks/beasts).
• Mage Hunter - All mage hunters ignore armour and defence buffs, as well ignoring focus-camping on warcasters, which makes their low power go much further. They also have pathfinder.
  • Strike Force - The reason people hate Ret. With the UA their ranged attacks ignore half the rules in the game (defensive buffs, line of sight, terrain), but they are allergic to blasts. Unlike most ranged units they are still decent in melee combat. They get a damage bonus against warjacks with both melee and ranged attacks, but don't expect them to scrap a heavy without help.
  • Infiltrators - Fast and fragile, but painful when they hit you. They may have low power, but their Gang ability combined with ignoring defensive buffs makes them good at slicing through most infantry. They also have Mage Killer, which means they will make a mess of warcasters and warlocks as well, if you can get them there.
    • Eiryss, Mage Hunter Commander - Unit attachment for both our mage hunter units. You can't take her on the same unit as the Strike Force UA, so you can't get LoS ignoring, focus/fury removing shots. She gives Fearless and Reform to the unit, which makes the Infiltrators a lot more survivable since they can spread out after ganging up on something. If she hits a spellcaster, she will remove any upkeep spells that the model she hit cast. Unlike her previous two versions, has taken some combat training and is now a Weapon Master, which means that she can probably kill infantry that jam her now.
• Stormfall Archers - Elven archers... with grenades attached to their arrows. Three types of arrows: extra damage on a direct hit (good for taking down heavy jacks/beasts), long-range arrows (good for carpet-bombing low ARM infantry), or fire arrows (good for lighting shield walls on fire). Plant them on a hill and keep them the fuck away from anyone with melee.
• Soulless Escort - A universal weapon attachment. He protects his unit by forcing the enemy to get closer to cast spells on the unit, and he can dispel upkeeps. Flank gives him decent melee potential, but he's squishy beyond belief so you may want to keep him way in the back. He also has a Magical Weapon in case you come up against Incorporeal enemies and don't have enough spells to deal with them.

Solos

• Arcanist - Can repair stuff, give a strength bonus to myrmidons, or provide a point of focus. Bring one for each jack you have at a minimum. They are almost on a par with the Choir of Menoth in terms of useful jack support.
• Dawnguard Destor Thane - He has a hand cannon with Multi-Fire on a cav base (his horse giving him much-needed mobility), but he also has a decent melee charge if needed. Looks plain at first but once you know the cav rules inside and out, Destor Thanes are rather hard to pin down and make good spot removal tools and objective holders.
• Dawnguard Sentinel Scyir - This guy got a revamp in Mk3. His order of activation issues are eased by replacing Flank with Weapon Master, allowing him to go before his jack without hindering his damage output. His Drive now grants Righteous Vengeance to himself and his jack, allowing them to deathmarch alongside Sentinels. He also give Dawnguard in his command range the ability to move through each other's bases.
• House Shyeel Magister - The Battle Mages' bigger brother. He adds Combo: Smite to the mix, letting him slam enemies, as well as the ability to move your own models with Whipsnap.
• House Shyeel Artificer - Nicknamed "mega-mittens," he gives out blast immunity, can move enemy models, and is rather tough. He's slow, but if you can get him into melee he has power on par with a light warjack.
• Mage Hunter Assassin - Elf chick with a giant whip chain that can ignore focus camping and defensive buffs. As if that weren't bad enough, she's also a weapon master that rolls an extra die on damage. As if that wasn't bad enough, she also has Decapitation, which doubles all damage that gets past armor (so if you exceed their armor by 5 points, you actually do 10 damage instead of 5). The frosting on the cake is that she's also got a four-inch reach. The decorative icing on the frosting is that she also has Stealth. And Pathfinder. And Stealth. And Advance Deployment. All for two points. The only saving grace is her low armor: expect your opponents to bombard your single elf chick with every fucking AOE on the planet once they realize what she can do.
• Ghost Sniper - When he hits something he can opt to do three automatic damage instead of rolling, and against warjacks/warbeasts you can choose which column on the grid/spiral to damage. Good at killing solos, UAs, and knocking arms and aspects off of jacks/beasts.
• Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios - Biggest threat is her disruptor bolt, which is effectively game over if you manage to land it on a warcaster. Like the Ghost Sniper, she can also hunt solos and UAs if you can't get her to their caster. Works for other factions as a merc. Gets called all sorts of names, none of them polite.
  • Eiryss, Angel of Retribution - Like the first Eiryss, but trades some power on her disruptor bolt for the ability to remove upkeeps. Also works for other factions as a merc. Probably hated even more.
• Fane Knight Skeryth Issyen - Fast Weapon Master with a Blessed weapon, he gets tougher and stronger when allies near him die. Things tend to die when he reaches them.
• Nayl - Character soulless. Totally untargetable by spells, when he dies he blows up and removes all focus and fury in an area round him, which can either be great (Terminus loses all his camp), bad (the enemy chucks him back at your caster), or worse (enemy uses him to remove fury from his beasts, so can get more work out of them). Use at your own peril.
• Narn, Mage Hunter of Ios - Character mage hunter assassin. Trades Decapitation and Chain Weapon for an extra melee attack and Sprint, which lets him dance around the battlefield. Crossbow for when you can't get in range to hit other stuff.
• Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker - Like Eiryss, Sylys is a mercenary who counts as a faction model when working for Ret. He is a warcaster attachment and gives some useful boosts to Ret's casters.
• Elara, Tyro of the Third Chamber - Our Journeyman Warcaster. Can munch through light infantry in melee by herself, but poor ranged ability due to having no ranged weapon and only four focus to cast her spells. She has a spell which gives Counter Charge to her and her jack, which is situationally useful. Rahn gives her a passable assassination option with his feat.
• Houseguard Thane - Makes Houseguard effectively fearless, and either move faster or ignore stealth. Single-handedly makes the Riflemen worth taking, and gives the Halberdiers a stupid threat range, especially if you take them with certain casters (they get a 15" charging threat with Ossyan and Issyria).
• Soulless Voidtracer - A Solo version of the Soulless Escort. She can't be targetted by spells, and if a nearby model is targetted by a spell then the spellcaster takes a few points of damage. She also has Stealth and a Reach Magical Weapon.

Mercenaries

Iosan elves are extremely xenophobic, so the merc options available to the Retribution are limited.

• Dahlia Hallyr & Skarath - A creepy elf girl who charmed a giant snake by playing her flute. Dahlia's spells and flute are useful for shutting down enemy (living) units. Skarath is a bit on the weak side for a heavy beast, but he does provide some extra muscle without requiring focus from your warcaster and his venomous spray attack is good for clearing infantry.
• Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters - Cylena and her gang are some of the only Nyss left who were not corrupted by Everblight. They play kind of like a mix between Dawnguard Invictors and Mage Hunter Strike Force.
• Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Aiyana brings some very useful abilities to the Retribution, including a damage buff against a single target and a spell to give a model/unit Magical Weapons. She can also make herself and her boyfriend Holt stealthy for a round. Holt is one of only two humans who can work for Ret, and he brings two accurate Hand Cannons shots and is not horrible in melee.
• Lanyssa Ryssyll - Another Nyss, she is an average spellcaster who can use Hunter's Mark to increase charge distance or lay down a snow storm.
• Madelyn Corbeau - The second human who can work for Ret, Madelyn's most useful ability is to give one of your models an extra 3" move when an enemy comes near her.