Gone are the days of the ice cream cone - enter the baddest bitch on the block for Khador, complete with faceless muscle men. First, her stat line. She has middling stats across the board, with the only notable strength being 15/15 (when you play Protectorate, those stats feel above average). The back of her card is a bit better. Inspiration [Greylord] really strengthens Outriders and Ternion units, as CMD 9 is a lot worse than auto-passing. Sacred Ward and Self-Sacrifice help those mediocre defensive stats, creating more complications for killing the squishy Obavnik. The Blessed Orgoth Blade means almost next to nothing. If she's gotta shank someone to win you the game, I suggest you contemplate the decisions that made you reach that point and address them in your future games.
So let's get into the part that really matters: her spell list. Banishing Ward, a solid B spell, may as well be a solid A+ in Khador as it frees your other list to take Eiryss2. Dissolution Bolt may as well say FOC 2 RNG 8 POW 12, so just your below average nuke. Hoarfrost is a surprisingly decent nuke, especially when you get to cast it for free of her Feat. Crit stationary also provides some decent desperation runs. Occult Whispers is the true money maker on her card, providing an insane amount of pseudo-focus once the spray 8s start flying. Of course, there are more than Greylords that can benefit from this. Having a boosted Kiss of Lyliss off of Aiyana and Holt w/attached Valachev opens up the things you can realistically target. It also means that firing off a Hoarfrost or Dissolution Bolt isn't an absurd proposition, especially if you take Sylyss for extra focus. Unfortunately, the "next spell cast" clause on Arcane Secrets means that you can't cast Occult Secrets before tossing your Hoarfrost if you want to benefit from the additional die. That isn't to say you can't still do it, but the order of activations and order of spell cast becomes difficult to manage. Sacrificial Lamb is a really weird spell to find in Khador, though I suppose there might be some Khador players itching to run tons of jacks. Nope, not seeing it. Don't fall for the trap. On the other hand, Telgesh Mark should help Zerkova2 players that really want to maximize the most out of their focus. You'll definitely need Sylyss to get the most out of your spellcasts, as you'll likely be casting Occult Whispers and upkeeping Telgash Mark every turn (4 focus, leaving her with 3 for a Hoarfrost, whereas the free upkeep from Sylyss would give her the additional focus to let her boost the damage).
So on to her feat: Arcane Convergence. The potential in this feat is pretty obviously tied to Occult Whispers, though the order of operations are a slight problem. Unless your spray guys were previously in range of their targets (quick hint, your Outriders probably aren't), then activating her first to cast Occult Whispers and feating is going to be a less aggressive play than you'd probably hoped. Rather, the more likely hope is to have the enemy attempt to run and pin your ponies (or perhaps you sacrifice one or two in the front lines as bait for the rest of your sprays next turn), leaving them in range for a feat to clear movement lanes, then activate the ponies and move up to spray down more infantry. Another play line for the feat is to simply run your Outriders 18'' and threat your 8'' sprays to a total of 26'' for boosted (I know it's additional die) Magic Ability 6 POW 12s. The threat of getting that assassination is a strong pressure on some warcasters, and it's a valuable mid game assassination run to keep in your back pocket. Combine that with the likely ability for Zerkova2 to fire off her Hoarfrost and you have an additional boosted Magic Ability 7 boosted POW 13 finishing it up. On the less obvious side, you get some pretty cool interactions with Valachev and Aiyana and Holt. Firing off double Kisses of Lyliss (at different targets of course) and being able to Zephyr twice create before unseen possibilities. With Ternions, the ability to double up on Ice Cages with the consistency of boosted Magic Ability 7's means you now have a really consistent stationary threat. Being able to lock down key solos or unit leaders (stationary unit leaders can't give orders) can really throw your opponent's game plan. Though Arcane Convergence's raw power is obvious in terms of just infantry attrition, I'm definitely excited to see the situational value that comes from the Ternion.
Now let's talk about Fabio and Sven. Their stat lines are slightly improved at +2 ARM over the OG Reavers, though they suffer -1 POW because they put down their swords and picked up axes. The back of their card kept the best of all worlds, with the addition of Counter Charge. Though Counter Charge is pretty decent with MAT 7 POW 12 Weapon Masters, be careful with getting overzealous and moving them out of Self-Sacrifice range of the Obavnik if your opponent still has a ranged assassination threat. While not particularly exciting, the bros are decent roadblocks.
Overall, I think she's a great addition to Khador. She has excitingly complex interactions that push the boundaries of Khador's norms. Best of all, you can say "thanks Obavnik" when you win or lose your games. On a scale of Zerkova1 to Butcher3, I'd give her a Vlad3.
So let's start the Swans off with Caine's character jack: Ace. With the same base statline as a Hunter at the steeper points cost of 7, Ace has a lot of 'splainin to do, especially in a faction that already has tons of decent quality guns. With RAT 7 and True Sight, Ace's ability to hit is on the higher end of the faction (after accounting for a boost). At RNG 14 POW 12 and magical, Ace's Rune Shot Cannon is decent, but not unique or even particularly impressive in Cygnar. His Affinity [Caine] grants three different ammo types: Shadow Fire, Thunderbolt, and Trick Shot. Shadow Fire is good, but easily accessible through Taryn at 5 points cheaper. Thunderbolt is non-unique (Gun Mages), but can create unique opportunities at a 20'' threat (SPD 6 + RNG 14). Trick Shot is the real money maker on the list - essentially a Magic Bullet at POW 10. Solo sniping and Choir killing have never been easier. But is that worth 7 points? Infiltrate, the final rule on his card, gives Ace and its B2B controlling warcaster stealth for one round once per game. While that's helpful in keeping warcasters alive, I'm feel like I'm missing something with Ace. He lost Parry, Armor Piercing, and requires Caine to make use of his Rune Shot abilities. Without Caine, Ace is a glorified Charger. Overall, the overwhelming sense of mediocrity in every ability makes me feel a bit disappointed. Just another mediocre Cygnaran gun with more mediocre tricks. On a scale of Deliverer to a Knight Errant, I'd give him a Temple Flameguard.
Though it pains me to argue against Jason Flanzer, best Warmachine player in the world, I believe the Trench Buster is another mediocre Trencher release. First, let's discuss the problems inherent to 3 point solos. 3 point solos demand an extraordinary amount on a list for two primary reasons; first, the list is constructed out of the larger blocks of points based on units and warjacks/beasts, leaving a low number of points capable of being allocated to generalist solos. In most cases, those solos come in even blocks, filling out the ten-or-so points that normal lists leave open. This means that lists often don't naturally create room for a 3 point solo unless they are essential to the operation of other models in the list, i.e. Journeyman Warcasters and Dartan Vilmon. Generalist combat solos like the Trench Buster largely don't fit into the schema of those archetypes, neither supporting another unit well nor outputting enough damage output to make up for his points block. This will be fleshed out later. Second, 3 point solos cannot compete with the statlines of 4 point light warjacks/beasts. This point is specific towards combat solos that do not serve as support, i.e. Nicia, Trench Buster, and Yuri the Axe. Looking to their statlines and laundry list of abilities on the back of their cards, these solos are often forsaken for other choices. The difference lies in the efficiency of points cost. At 2 points, a solo represents a marginal investment in comparison to a unit or warjack/beast. Compare the output of a utility solo (say, Vassal or Hierophant) to half a unit of basic 4/6 infantry (3 TFG or 3 Zealots), and you'll find that in many cases there's a reasonable argument for the strength of the utility solo over said infantry. Now compare the output of a 2 point combat solo (say, Paladin or Errant Seneschal [even in this case the Seneschal provides support abilities, but bear with me]) to the same 3 TFG or 3 Zealots. In terms of raw output, a Paladin has the combined advantages of higher potential damage against single targets while restricting the types of attacks that can hurt him. On the other hand, the TFG require more attacks to actually kill, while also providing more swings in general. To a large extent, I'd argue those trade offs are largely balanced, making both choices relatively equivalent in the larger strategy of the game.
Unfortunately, the 1 point bump from 2 to 3 points creates a radically different comparison in value. That's because the difference of 1 point from 3 to 4 drastically increases the number of possible models and boxes a purchase creates. For example, the Trench Buster at 3 points is an 8 box, ARM 17 model. That means that a damage roll equaling 25 kills the solo, which is quite achievable by many models in the game (including the aforementioned Paladin). Simply put, the extra point you spent on the model's resiliency (boxes, ARM, tough, etc) is largely irrelevant in game terms. Now let's bump up the points cost to 4 and see what Cygnar has access to: a Charger or a min unit of Sword Knights. For one more point (or a third of the cost of the Trench Buster's value), you can get a Charger with +14 boxes. Similarly, the min unit of Sword Knights reduces the amount of boxes by -2, but creates 6 bodies that will (in most cases) require more attacks to destroy than the Trench Buster. Then you have to assess the Trencher Buster's actual combat efficacy. With a POW 13, POW 11, and a ranged POW 14 off of Assault, the Trench Buster's actual combat output isn't too shabby. But in comparison to the six swings of the Sword Knights or even the output of a focus-fueled Charger, the latter seem to hold more value than the former. Even when you have Flank [Trencher] (which now includes another 6+ points of models [or another Trencher Solo at +3]), the overall damage fails to be unique in comparison to higher damage infantry. Though I know the analogies aren't perfectly congruous or equivalent, I believe the point still stands: 3 point combat solos usually don't return their points in comparison to more expensive options.
If you buy that the damage output of the Trench Buster doens't make up for its points cost (or the potential points cost of having to bring more Trenchers for Flank), then the only area that can save it is in utility (Impervious Wall ala Vilmon, a Journeyman Warcaster's Focus efficiency and spell list, etc.). To that, the Trench Buster has two relevant rules: Girded and Smoke on the Cinder Bomb. The first truly provides value: not suffering blast damage is pretty relevant to the squishier side of the Cygnaran caster line up (Caine, Kara, Sturgis, Haley[ish]). It's also valuable when dealing with Cygnar's squishier infantry, such as Gun Mages and Trenchers that haven't Dug In or Smoke Walled (what?). Yet even being B2B for Girded also has a high opportunity cost, such as Fire, Electro Leap, slams, throws, and even Influence. Overall, Girded is a situationally beneficial rule. Smoke on the Cinder Bomb can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing in attempting to complete a cloud wall at the cost of a friendly model or Storm Pod. A curse in that it alters your order of activations when trying to shoot an enemy target to death (giving concealment to something you want to kill at a range generally isn't a good idea - though Cygnar does have many ranged options that ignore concealment).
But the real issue is that both the Trench Buster's damage output and utility are largely situational. The inability to know for certain what the role of a 3 point solo in every game is something that I'd personally be uncomfortable with during list design. When you buy Vilmon, you know for sure that he's providing your Paladins of the Wall Impervious Wall. When you buy a Knight Exemplar Seneschal, you know for sure that he will contest a zone for at least one turn. When you buy a Journeyman Warcaster, you know that he or she will consistently provide 3 extra focus to a 'jack every turn. It is that consistency in utility that dictates the cost and value of those models. When you look at a Trench Buster, Nicia, or even Yuri the Axe, you lose that certainty of value because they have to kill something to earn it back. That, in my mind, is automatically worse than a model that provides consistent value with lower over potential. So overall, on a scale of a Trencher Master Gunner to a Stormblade Captain, I'd give the Trench Buster a Gun Mage Captain Adept.
Seriously, I'd rather take Finn in most Trencher lists than a Trench Buster. That's saying something.
That was a long ramble. Next time we'll cover the REAL Swan releases: Hurricane and Haley3. Peace.
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