Warmachine: Faction Holiday Wishlist
What does each Warmachine and Hordes faction wish for?
Ho, ho, ho, Chalkboard here from Chalkboard War, wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Dreary Kramus Nacht. Given the holidays season, it’s a great time to talk about what “gifts” each of the Warmachine and Hordes factions really want this year. I’ll run through each of the factions in Privateer Press order and talk about what each of the Warmachine and Hordes factions needs most right now. Given that a January errata is on the way, it’s the perfect time to think about what each faction could want as their holiday “gift” from the Privateer Press design team.
Cygnar
What do you get for the faction that has everything? Haley4. Like them or hate them, Cygnar is the faction that has the story of Warmachine and Hordes revolve around them. And that means the need to add the next layer of the story through this faction. I think it would be very understandable to have them be the first faction to get a fourth iteration of a warcaster or warlock. Asphyxious certainly would be in the running too, but I think that Haley probably deserves the starring spot in the story.
Protectorate of Menoth
An in-faction solo that can give Pathfinder to a Warjack. It’s fine to have faction-defining limitations on certain factions, but this one is just rough. There are a few warcasters who can manage it (Amon Ad-Raza in particular), but it leaves a huge glaring weakness for the faction as a whole. Finding yourself in a match up with a caster that can leverage terrain can be devastating. Even if the solo were expensive, they’d see their way into lists and help the Protectorate get to an even footing with their already-slow Warjacks.
Khador
Restraint among their players. I know the temptation to do the list of 15 Mad Dogs with Karchev is strong. But if there is a glut of those lists, then the meta will go into an odd cycle for a long time. And if it gets really bad, then limits get placed and points costs will be raised. And Khador doesn’t actually want that. So go for your Warjack heavy lists, but bring one unit of infantry and some varied choices in Warjacks. A bit of restraint among players could go a long way for the faction’s long-term health.
Cryx
Better recursion. Yes, Mark III hit all sorts of recursion effects hard, and Cryx felt them worse than most factions. And while I think the change was good for the game, perhaps a bit more of the old “surprise” recursion might be okay for Cryx (the type that gets to attack on the turn it enters play). Perhaps specific pieces that get to pump out models that do get to attack on the turn they arrive would be enough. Not everyone needs it, but just a few would seem to be okay. If nothing else, let the Necrosurgeons go back to their old ways so that people take Mechanithralls again.
Retribution of Scyrah
A revision for Ravyn. Retribution is in a really good spot with Mark III and their warcasters. I honestly think they have more depth in good warcaster than any other faction (Cygnar and Khador being close), which is all the more impressive given that they have fewer warcasters overall than those factions. Ravyn just happens to have Ossyan on hand who does a better job running a gunline than she does. I think a revision to make her the true shoot-and-melee kind of caster that seems to have always been in her rules would be great. Just a few tweaks to give her a different feel or mode of fighting would be enough to set her apart.
Convergence of Cyriss
You saw this coming: just a few new models. I know, I know, that’s not going to happen. It was a planned limited release and that was that. But nothing binds Privateer Press from doing a second burst when it comes their time in Mark III. Even just two more Warcasters would make this Warmchine faction shine.
Trollbloods
I bet you thought I would say “fix Borka2”. Nope. Instead, I think that what Trollbloods needs more than any other faction is a single point model. Their solos are so expensive (4 points or more) that often it is clunky to fill out that final point in a list. For other Hordes forces, the Swamp Gobber Chef is an okay choice. But in Trollbloods, Whelps seem to fill that role effectively, leaving the Swamp Gobber Chef rather iffy. Instead, why not a Pyg solo? How about a Pyg Spotter? He could have only a hand weapon, Advance Deploy, and the Mark Target special rule. That would be a fun addition to some of the more shooting-oriented forces. It’s just a suggestion, but Trolls need something at a single point.
Circle Orboros
A reason to not take Wurmwood. I get it, Wurmwood is an amazing warlock. He asks a question that many lists, and even more players, are unable to effectively answer in the game. And all that is great. But what it does it that it locks down variety in Circle. Many people are doing a Wurmwood plus a list for when Wumwood would face a problem match-up. And there are only so many of those types of lists. Which makes for a stale play space for both Circle players and their opponents. People might think they want a dominant warlock, but they actually don’t. They want a stable of competitive and strong warlocks rather than some default choice.
Legion of Everblight
Eyeless sight coming back just a bit. It doesn’t need to be as strong as it was, but maybe a bit more is needed. It feels like a compromise spot: give a bit more to Legion but don’t give away the world. Perhaps seeing 5″ into forests rather than 3″, or getting some other minor benefit would help a fair amount. That said, Legion is in a strong place right now so maybe that’s not all that needed. But hey, we’re talking what the factions might wish for and a change to the curently limited Eyeless Sight seems likely to be high on many wishlists.
Skorne
Simple. A construct warbeast. It would be fun for other casters, but where it would really shine is with Zaal2. It’s the piece that he’s just fundamentally missing right now. Ancestral Guardians and Immortals are good, but with a construct warbeast his Feat would be amazing. Some people would spam them with Zaal2, others would layer them in with other Warbeasts. Either way, I think it’s the big wishlist item that could really benefit Skorne.
Mercenaries and Minions
Not exactly something for these two factions, but rather something in the others: a few more Friendly Model rather than Friendly Faction Model rules. The pendulum swung a bit far in Mark III it seems. It went from too many Mercs and Minions fielded to a real absence of many of their choices. Just a little nudge will be enough. A couple more warcasters and warlocks in the other fations who had reason to field a bit of Mercs and Minions would certainly increase their play and variety.
~ That’s my sense of what each Warmachine and Hordes faction would want, but what are you wishing for your faction? What one change would you want to see? Is it a new model/unit? A change to some existing model or unit’s rules? Or a change to the game itself? Share your holiday wishes for your favorite Warmachine and Hordes factions!
To see why my personal wish is to win more games, check out Chalkboard’s Warmachine and Hordes blog at:
www.chalkboardwar.com
