Warmachine/Tactics/Retribution of Scyrah

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Note that this page is, for the most part, a placeholder, and will be added to over the coming months. Also note that, currently, it only contains units from Forces of Warmachine: Retribution of Scyrah.

Why Play Retribution?

Ever feel like hippy tree-hugging Elves that prance about wearing ribbons and singing about world peace and the beauty of nature just don't cut it? Me too. Enter the Retribution of Scyrah, an Elven terrorist organization whose primary directive is the complete genocide of all human magic users, and anyone that would protect their existence. The way that the Retribution sees it, human magic is killing their deities (and not just abstract deities, but actual gods that exist). Thing is, the gods of Ios are on their way out, so not only is the Retribution actually grounded in sensible logic.. in all probability, they're correct. So correct, in fact, that they've started convincing major political players within their isolationist nation of Ios to join their extensive military campaign of waging genocide on humanity.

In other words, if you want to play heavy metal Elves that have done a complete 180 from their traditional role in fantasy storytelling and now want to murder everyone, the Retribution is for you.

Strategically and tactically, the name of the Retribution is graceful efficiency. Even their specialized units fulfill multiple roles, and all the pieces of their army gracefully complement each other to pose multiple threats to an opponent. It can be tricky to design and play Retribution lists because of how many possible strategies each of their units can support, and how many diverse options they have available to them. Their warcasters drastically alter the feel and performance of their troops, and often you will be at a slight disadvantage stat-wise compared to your enemies but have many more tactical options available in the form of special abilities, spells, or inherent traits.

If you like outwitting your opponents and playing army lists that can take on a wide array of enemies while still being dangerous in a stand-up fight, the Retribution would like you to talk to a recruiter.

General Strategy

Typically, you want to build a Retribution list with two components (unless you're building a theme list). The first component will be your 'front lines'. These will be the myrmidons and soldiers that will actually engage the enemy. The Phoenix, Griffon, Dawnguard Sentinels and Houseguard Halberdiers are the heavy and light myrmidons and infantry that are most iconic for this role (respectively), though other units can be substituted in.

Substitutes include Battle Mages, many heavy myrmidons, Destors (in some cases), and Mage Hunter Infiltrators. Each of these dramatically changes the way your army will play.

The point of the 'front lines' component of your army is to give your opponent a solid threat that he has to address in melee. Dawnguard Sentinels are my personal favorite for this, but I've found that running them in first is a quick way to get them killed. Screening them with Griffons or Battle Mages dramatically increases their survival rates, as shooting will typically target the Griffons/Mages, where it will be far less effective than against your Sentinels.

Once the Sentinels are delivered in to close combat, there's not a whole lot they can't kill. Halberdiers are like Sentinels, but with less murder, so they should really only be used if you're planning on taking heavy myrmidons or other components of your list to do most of the killing. Consider Soulless Escorts for both Sentinels and Halberdiers, as being able to negate enemy spell-casting against your melee warriors is often important (especially against Cryx and Cryx-like debuff lists).

The second component is the 'strategic shenanigans' component. While your opponent is busy engaging your front-line fighters, you use this component to set up your one-two punch. Often, this component involves a combination of your warcaster (Ravyn, Kaelyssa, Rahn, Garryth...) and some sort of tricksy unit like Mage Hunter Strike Force + Commander, two groups of Battle Mages, some solos like Mage Hunter Assassins or Ghost Snipers or Narn, and so on. These will allow you to both swing the front line fighting in your favor by applying various battlefield manipulation strategies and lots of potential damage output to the parts of your opponent's formation that are most likely to break under pressure. Always keep in mind that the goal of this component is to kill the enemy warcaster/warlock if possible, and position them accordingly to be threatening. Don't throw them away on a gamble, however: they're much more useful alive than dead.

When building a Retribution army, start with the Battle Box. Kaelyssa is a great warcaster, and complements everything pretty well. From there, pick a unit or two that you think fits your play style. Battle Mages are a good bet, as is Mage Hunter Strike Force, as they're quite good generalists. Don't neglect solos: more than other armies, Retribution forces need their solos, and Mage Hunter Assassins are infamous for a reason. The goal is to figure out how aggressive you like to be, and which warcasters you want to play, and tailor your lists accordingly.

Unit Analysis

Warcasters

• Garryth, Blade of Retribution: Nothing much to be said really, pure assassin. If you want to play Garryth you have to maintain a "Go For The Throat" mentality, especially with his tier list he does not like the protracted arms-length playstyle, you are pretty much throwing the game, so make sure you have support for him as insurance for the assassination run. That said he is good at taking out warcasters, very good. Take note of the specific wording of his abilities, as some of it won't apply to warlocks, meaning your kill threat is not as good as it is against warcasters. Also Garryth is probably the only warcaster with a chance at assassinating Gorten Grundback, one of the hardest hardasses in warmachine.
• Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper: Coming soon.
• Adeptis Rahn: Coming soon.
• Ravyn, Eternal Light: Coming soon.
• Dawnlord Vyros: Coming soon.

Myrmidons (Warjacks)

Light Myrmidons

• Aspis:
• Chimera: Your standard light arc node. The Phoenix is more survivable, but also slower and easier to get caught in combat. It has problems with survivability, being on the fragile side (as to be expected from an elf army). Phantasmal field helps, but you usually don't want to blow focus on that. Try to keep it alive and at the edge of your caster's spell ranges, but don't feel bad if it dies.
• Gorgon: Has a basic light Myrmidon statline. Force lock is THE REASON why you take this guy, and has some beautiful tactical applications. Rob a small unit or solo of their movement, or pin a big 'jack or beast in place for a heavy to attack next turn. Stall solos, pin down warcasters, slowing units, force the enemy to break formation. The polarity cannon helps with denying charges as well. Gorgons also work well in duos: you can combine their polarity cannons and force locks to shut down entire charge lanes.
• Griffon: The cheapest Jack Elves have, and boy it is FAST. Use it with finesse. Force your opponent to divert resources into bringing it down. Again, a pair of them opens up more tactical options, allowing you to take on heavier targets.

Heavy Myrmidons

• Hydra: The hyrda is very focus heavy, but its offset by the fact you gain focus for every hit it takes (while its shield still works) and never losses them every turn, useful for waiting for the right time to attack.
• Manticore: Coming soon.
• Phoenix: Cost as much as a character 'jack and for good reason. Arc Node, a good range weapon, the burns things, great sword, the burns things and shields recharge 1d6 every turn for free, and burns things.

Units

• Dawnguard Invictors: Heavy infantry with Combined Ranged Attack and the ability to perform well in melee. They also get Flank [Faction Warjacks], so they can be handy to support your myrmidons. The unit is also a Jack Marshal, and probably a bit better than Sentinels for Marshaling (as the unit isn't quite as prone to dying against most lists). Give 'em a Griffon if you plan on having them operate solo.
  • Dawnguard Invictor Officer & Standard: Too good not to take. The highlight of Invictors is their ability to perform CRAs, and the Officer makes CRAs even better by letting you reroll misses. With this, 5 man CRAs will hit (and kill) just about anything that isn't a warjack/beast. In most cases, two 5-man CRAs is better than a 10-man CRA unless you're attacking something with very heavy armor. The mini-feat that the Officer adds is also fantastic (range extension) and works very well with Ravyn's Snipe spell and Ossyan's feat turn.
• Dawnguard Sentinels: Reach + Weaponmaster on heavy infantry? Sign me up. If you've ever been irritated by Bane Thralls.. well, these are like Bane Thralls, except they have heavier armor and Reach instead of Stealth. Put them in reverse triangles to maximize Defense Line (groups of three or four are best), and leave gaps in the triangle for Reach. The entire unit is also a Jack Marshal, in case they weren't already appealing enough. A great way to run a Griffon or even a focus-light heavy myrmidon (the Banshee comes to mind because all you need to do is boost the Force Cannon's attack roll), but also keep Focus on your caster. With a myrmidon to inflict knockdown for them, they can reliably kill anything on the charge. Between these guys, Invictors, and the Scyir, you can run everything but your arc node outside of your warcaster's battlegroup if the whim strikes you. It's a great way to save focus for spell-slinging, which a lot of Retribution casters partake in.
  • 'Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard: If you're taking Sentinels, you're gonna take the Officer + Standard. Full stop. Vengeance makes the entire unit extremely good, and the Drive: Pronto seems like it was tailor-made to marshal a Banshee with. Pronto allows you to activate the Banshee outside its regular activation, so it can move and still get the aim bonus for its cannon. Even if you don't take advantage of the unit being a Jack Marshal, Vengeance alone means that you will be striking for free at anything within 5" of any of your surviving Sentinels, and then they get their regular activation later on.
• Dawnguard Destors: Destors are a really strange unit. You would think that cavalry would primarily be focused on melee, but apparently Iosan knights do things backwards. Destors shoot blasts of energy from their lances, and are most effective when shooting things. They also have Virtuoso, so they can shoot things while in melee. They can put out pretty reasonable amounts of damage per turn, they're mobile, they're durable, and they're good in melee. They're not specialized like the other two types of Dawnguard, however, which is an issue. While troubleshooting with Destors can be a reasonable solution, usually you have myrmidons for that. If you're playing a caster like Vyros1 or 2, who can buff them with unit-affecting spells, they become a bit better than the typical myrmidon alternative. Still, they take some getting used to.
• House Shyeel Battle Mages: Battle Mages are excellent examples of the Retribution's diverse tactical capacity. They're cheap for the amount of bodies you get and the spell-casting. The Critical: Knockdown on Force Bolt is very handy. Force Barrier making them immune to being cleared out by blasts and most shooting is pretty ace, as well. They get two melee attacks each in close combat with respectable POW+S for infantry, plus Beat Back lets them move in combat so they can take advantage of how many attacks they have. Note that Beat Back triggers even if the model they're attacking is slain, so they can still move the inch. Force Bolt is also a very useful spell for pulling the enemy into charge range or pushing them out of it, and six Force Bolts fired against the same target can drag an enemy right into your heavy hitters and probably knock him down in the process. If you're going to take them, seriously consider taking two units. All of their attacks are magic, which makes them a nightmare against Incorporeal enemies and Dartan Vilmon.
• Houseguard Halberdiers: Like Sentinels, but cheaper and less killy. They trade in death-dealing greatswords for spears and shields. Shield Wall gives them heavy warjack-tier armor, and they can out-attrition most infantry pretty respectably. They have problems against heavy infantry and anything that can dent heavy warjacks. Also, have a very clear goal of what you want them to accomplish. If that goal is 'sit in front of my forces and protect me from danger', expect them to get blown up, sniped, etc. If you're okay with that, go for it. Best run with Vyros1's armor boost.
  • Houseguard Halberdier Officer & Standard: If you're taking Halberdiers to actually use them, instead of provide plentiful meat shields for your army, you're going to want the Officer. Noticing a pattern here? The Officer makes them much more effective by giving Reform and the mini-feat, and the Standard Bearer improves their morale substantially.
• Houseguard Riflemen: Surprise, it's another Combined Ranged Attack unit. They're comparable to other light infantry-style marksmen units, such as Winter Guard or Longrifles.
  • Houseguard Rifleman Officer & Standard: Absolutely terrible, under no circumstances take this. ..nah, just fucking with you. As with pretty much every other Retribution unit, the officer adds essential traits. War Tempered lets you make CRAs into melee combat, which gives the Riflemen many more potential targets after turn 2. Whites of Their Eyes is also pretty good for making lots of two-man CRAs, when it comes up. The Standard Bearer improves their iffy morale.
• Mage Hunter Strike Force: Mage Hunter Strike Force are /the/ iconic toolbox unit of Scyrah, in an entire faction of toolbox units. They've got Pathfinder, Stealth, great Defense, Arcane Assassin (ignores spells that boost ARM and DEF as well as power field overboosting), and they get an extra damage die versus warjacks. While they're not optimal in melee, they do have Combined Melee Attack so they can make a decent showing, and they're quite cheap. You pretty much have to take a unit attachment, if you're going to take MHSF, because of the force multiplication that they provide. They're not quite as good against Horde armies, but don't underestimate their ranged damage output against even heavy infantry. If you limit yourself to thinking of them as an assassination tool, you'll never use them to their fullest potential (although they are quite good at killing enemy warcasters/warlocks, if the opportunity does come up).

Watch out for enemies that can drop multiple AoE's or sprays. One isn't really a big deal, as you ought to expect casualties if you're playing Warmachine... but a group of Man O War Bombardiers, for example, can cause some serious pain if they get the drop on you and shell you with grenades. Normally, with the range on the Strike Force's crossbows, this won't be an issue. It is important to be aware that AoE spam and sprays are just about the only way to counter MHSF short of engaging them in melee, however, in order to use them effectively.

• • Mage Hunter Strike Force Commander: Not only grants Advance Deployment, but also the ability for the entire Strike Force to ignore Line of Sight when making attacks (and concealment/cover, while you're at it). Shoot your enemies through impassable terrain, or walls, or houses. Ignore all cover, any spells that might be protecting them, and power field overboosting. You also get to position them before your opponent gets anywhere close to you. If the possibilities don't leap out and strangle you, you're playing the wrong faction.
  • Eiryss, Mage Hunter Commander: Yep, she's got a third incarnation, and now she's all ours. First off, all her attacks have Weapon Master, so enjoy that. She's almost as deadly as Narn in close combat. She gives Fearless, Reform, and Advance Deployment to her unit, making them even more mobile than under a regular Commander. The loss of Phantom Seeker with a regular Commander is unfortunate, but she more than makes up for it by being a badass. Arcane Haemorrhage makes Horde armies cry by eating all their fury. Ding a warcaster with it via crossbow and watch all the upkeeps they've cast evaporate. While Mage Hunter Strike Force are not typically a good melee unit, they have a high enough DEF and Combined Melee Attack that they can actually do a decent amount of work in close combat (especially against 'jacks). Eiryss hidden in a group of Mage Hunter Strike Force can pose a serious threat to most combatants, easily killing two or three enemies per turn with her Weapon Master attacks + Quick Work. ..she's also technically a choice for a free attachment in Kaelyssa's theme list, if you don't feel like taking two Mage Hunter Commanders (and who doesn't like three free points?).
• Stormfall Archers: Archers that shoot grenades. These grenades come in three types: high-powered (extra damage die on direct hits), rocket-propelled (extra range), and napalm. They're cheap and useful in many situations. They can clear infantry, snipe warcasters, and even threaten warjacks with their damaging ammunition. If you ever feel like your list doesn't have the ability to deal with hordes of infantry or focus fire on big threats, Stormfall Archers have just the grenade for you.
• Soulless Escort: You really have to ask yourself 'is the kind of list I'm building going to need a Soulless Escort or two?' Lists that rely on melee infantry to hold their center will benefit from an Escort. Lists that revolve around Stealthed units or ranged attackers will not. They're fantastic when attached to Dawnguard Sentinels or Houseguard Halberdiers, because they remove the threat of Parasite and similar maladies. Paying a 1 point surcharge to preemptively counter any magic shenanigans an opponent might throw your way is a steal. Just make sure you know when they're appropriate and when they aren't. They're also quite decent in melee with Flank, but that's not what you're taking them for.

Solos

• Arcanist: Phenomenal mechanic abilities, itty bitty health stat. If you're going to take one, take a couple.
• Dawnguard Scyir: The Scyir is ideal for warcasters with lots of strong spells (Rahn, for example). Instead of spending all your focus powering your caster's battlegroup, you have your Scyir do the lifting. He's not only a Jack Marshal, but he also has quite a few abilities that augment his synergy with his myrmidons and make them work very well with Dawnguard (himself included). If you're having problems deciding whether you want to cast spells or power battlegroups, look no further than the Scyir (unless you've got Elara, of course).
• House Shyeel Magister: If you're going to take a Magister, you should seriously ask yourself 'why don't I spend another three points and get six of them instead?' In almost all situations, a full group of House Shyeel Battle Mages is superior to a single Magister. Six of them means six Force Bolts instead of one (and if you're taking the Magister for the Force Bolt, you're doing it wrong anyway). Combo Smite, an extra MAT, and some extra health boxes are the Magister's only claim to fame (Whip Lash is negligible), so he could be good for bodyguard duty on your 'caster. His only other function is as an escort for nasty solos: Combo Smite is a good way to set up an assassination attempt. Unfortunately, he's pretty squishy, and if anything actually gets the drop on him, he dies instantly.
• Mage Hunter Assassin: Often hailed as 'the best solo in the game, take two or more.' Yeah, they're pretty spiffy. First, let's address her issues. She only has one attack, so she needs to charge (preferably into the back arc) to make an impact. The other option is having her charge a knocked down model (warjacks, Magister, Battle Mages, Rahn, etc). Her armor sucks, watch out for explosions. Everyone's going to focus her, so don't play dumb and expect her to Rambo around by herself and not get wasted.

Why is she so good, then? If you can set her up with a good charge where she lands her hit, she can kill almost everything in the game that doesn't have 20+ armor with just that one hit. Decapitation combined with 9 + 4d6 damage on the charge means that on average you're hitting for 23 damage before Decap. Against an armor of 16, that means you're doing 14 points of damage. That will drop most Warcasters as long as they've taken even marginal damage prior to the Assassin's dive. Pathfinder means terrain is no problem, Arcane Assassin of course is nasty for killing 'casters, she can hit them from 4" away (giving her a 14" threat range on the charge, base), and Advanced Deployment means she can get into that threat range very quickly. If you're going to run two, also run something that can seriously threaten your opponent (Mage Hunter Strike Force, Dawnguard Sentinels + Stormfalls, heavy myrmidons, etc). This way, you can place one major threat on each flank and force your opponent to choose how he's going to split up his defenses. This dramatically increases your odds of getting the kill.

• Ghost Sniper: Like Mage Hunter Assassins, they work best in pairs. Use them to kill important attachments, solos, and officers, or damage systems on warjacks. They can also punish your opponent if he walks his Warcaster up the field with a lot of camped Focus (though if you're playing Scyrah and not running at least two dudes with Arcane Assassin, what are you doing with yourself?). Think of them as a bubble of board control: your opponent will be wary of moving any important pieces into their kill zone. Make sure you have some dudes set aside to cover them if your opponent tries to rush them. They're exceptionally effective with Ravyn and Kaelyssa.
• Dawnguard Destor Thane: "Say hello to my little friend," Elven cavalry style. Fills a really weird niche, as generally if you want to shoot things you either take mass infantry or heavy myrmidons as Retribution of Scyrah. If you insist on taking him, always be aware of his threat range. His most useful function will be to kamikaze the enemy warcaster if the opportunity arrives.

Character Solos

• Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios (pEiryss): Eiryss has been killing people for the Retribution since before the Retribution was cool.
• Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (eEiryss): Oh you thought pEiryss was a bitch? This is she, matured into a full-grown bitch.
• Fane Knight Skeryth Issyen: Another weird cavalry piece. He's sort of like a faster Light Myrmidon with Weapon Master, so he can be quite effective if you get the charge off on him. He's actually more effective in small games (35 points and below) than in large ones, because he's very good at quickly killing high priority targets while being pretty durable himself. When you get into the higher point ranges, things that can kill him rapidly are more plentiful, which degrades his usefulness pretty substantially.
• Nayl: Souless anti-magic suicide bomber. Can't be targeted by spells (even your own) and when he dies everyone within 8" loses all focus/fury and can't cast spells for one round (it affects you too). He does respectable damage, besides all that, and has Stealth and Advance Deployment, so he can walk your Mage Hunter Assassins up the field. Be very careful with him: if the enemy manages to have a 'jack throw him into your warcaster before killing him, he can seriously mess up your day. Treat him as if he were a live grenade. The best use of Nayl is typically in conjunction with other solos: run them along a flank, send Nayl at the enemy warnoun, and watch your opponent's ensuing headache as he picks from several bad options to deal with him.
• Narn, Mage Hunter of Ios: The character version of the Assassin. Doesn't have the nice reach or decapitation, but instead he's got two melee attacks and is incredibly mobile. He can use Acrobatics to hop right through your opponent's lines with a charge, ignoring free strikes while he does so, kill a nice target, and then move quite a distance with Sprint to get into cover. Remember: back strikes are your friend, and it's very easy for Narn to get them with Acrobatics. On the charge, he can kill most warcasters from full health with a bit of luck.