Warmachine/Hordes – Silverline Stormguard Knee-Jerk Reaction
Privateer Press ninja-released a brand new, completely unheard-of unit at GenCon, the Silverline Stormguard. What love do they bring Cygnar?
Where the models themselves are concerned, the Silverline Stormguard are distributed in a method similar to the Black Dragon Iron Fangs for Khador. To build them, you need the plastic Stormguard box set and the Silverline upgrade blister, which comes with a replacement weapon for the unit leader and storm chamber backpacks for every model in the unit. This is a really interesting distribution method, as it allows Privateer Press to release new versions of existing units with a smaller investment while also opening up the doors to further lateral expansion using assets already in distribution.
Looking at their rules, Silverline Stormguard have a similar stat line as their vanilla Stormguard brethren: SPD 5, MAT 7, DEF 12, ARM 15, P+S 12 Halberds with Reach, Combined Melee Attack, and Ranked Attack. Where normal Stormguard have Electro Leap for infantry clearance, Set Defense for some protection against charges, slams, and impact attacks, and the Electrical Discharge rule on the leader for an extra ranged poke after melee attacks are made, the Silverline lose these rules for some interesting new ones.
In lieu of Electro Leap, their Thunder Halberds have Critical Knockdown. While not the most exciting of rules, there is a bit of synergy for it within the faction, specifically with Constance Blaize and her ability to allow them to boost their attack rolls with Transference. Any model that grants them additional attacks like Lord Commander Stryker, Captain Victoria Haley, or Anastasia Di Bray can also further their chances at scoring a critical hit against a priority target by sheer increased volume of rolls. These things aside, I feel that Critical Knockdown is far less of a defining feature for the Silverline than Electro Leap is for Stormguard.
What really begins to make the Silverline interesting is Polarity Wall, which they receive instead of Set Defense. The rule states:
Polarity Wall – While this model is B2B with one or models in its unit, it cannot be charged by a model beginning the charge in this model’s front arc.
Note that the rules for slams also stipulate that rules that keep a model from charging also keep them from slamming, meaning that Polarity Wall will also make the unit immune to normal slam attacks, but not spells like Thunderstrike or abilities like Critical Smite. While they can’t be charged, they can still be hit by impact attacks provided the charge targets a model without Polarity Wall, so keep that in mind.
Polarity Wall is a really solid rule and makes Silverline a serious option as a front-line infantry unit. While Set Defense on normal Stormguard is nice, it only puts their DEF value up to 14 against charges, slams, and impact attacks, which isn’t terribly high. Where normally Cygnar players look to Boomhowler and Co. as their premier frontline unit option, I think that the Silverline could very well provide a good, in-Faction option to Cygnar players, which will certainly help in the character-restricted Steamroller environment.
Finally, their last new rule is Electromagnetic Discharge, which the unit leader receives instead of the normal Electrical Discharge rule on the vanilla unit. The rule reads:
Electrical Discharge – After all models in this unit have completed their actions, its Leader can make one ranged attack. The attack has base RNG 6, AOE 5, and POW -. It gains +1 RNG for each model in this unit that hit an enemy model with a melee attack this activation. Models hit suffer +2 damage from electrical damage rolls for one round.
It’s a fascinating rule that provides surprising utility for a martial house that is pretty much exclusively about chopping things in half or shooting them full of lightning. Instead, we now have something that assists others in performing the latter by increasing damage output. While RAT 5 isn’t the most accurate of ratings, the sheer size of template will make it pretty likely that you’ll get decent coverage and application.
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| Soon to be a common sight with Silverline Stormguard |
Like all Storm Knights, the Silverline aren’t terribly durable looking at their base stats. While charges won’t be an issue, ranged and magic attacks certainly will, so anything that can increase their chances of surviving early-game ranged poke will be an enormous benefit to the unit. Spells and abilities like Arcane Shield, Blur, Deflection, Deceleration, Dirge of Mists, and Heroic Call are a must in any kind of environment where this unit will be shot at, which is to say pretty much always. This also means that the Silverline will share the inherent weakness against ranged forces with weapons bearing Blessed or Arcane Assassin, so be particularly mindful of Mage Hunters or Exemplar Errants when choosing your list.
So, let’s have a look at what benefits from these abilities as well as who can make the Stormguard work:
- Artificer General Nemo and Storm Chaser Adept Caitlyn Finch: Nemo’s feat provides another damage buff to electrical damage rolls, he has Chain Lightning, Lightning Shroud to hand out to a battlegroup warjack for Electro Leap on melee attacks, and both he and Finch sport ranged weapons with the Electricity damage type. This seems like an amazing fit to me.
- Captain Victoria Haley: Combing Polarity Wall and Temporal Barrier is better than it sounds since it allows Haley to send the Silverline out to a point where potential charges might originate from outside of her control area, giving you a forward element in an environment where Haley typically struggles. She also sports Arcane Shield for increased burliness and her feat gives them an extra attack for increased damage output and critical chance.
- Commander Adept Nemo: Has a ranged weapon with the Electricity damage type and Chain Lightning. Not terribly strong on their own, but he also brings Deflection to help keep the Silverline alive by increasing their ARM against ranged and magic. The addition of other models that benefit from Electromagnetic Discharge can make this pairing really strong.
- Commander Coleman Stryker: Has Arcane Shield and his feat for increased ARM stats and Blur for ranged/magic protection. He can keep them alive but you’ll want other elements with Electrical damage rolls.
- Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet: Boasts Transference for increased critical chance and accuracy, Crusader’s Call to boost their melee threat range to 12″, and can benefit from their eventual death with her feat. They’re a little expensive for a Blaize list, as she prefers cheaper infantry, but there is synergy there.
- General Adept Nemo: Has Lightning Shroud, an electrical ranged attack, and increases the damage output on Stormcallers to POW 12. Stack that with Electromagnetic Discharge, and your Stormcallers are now effectively POW 14. That’s really good for a 1-point model. He also has a RNG 8, AOE 3, POW 13 spell that causes electrical damage (POW 15 under EMD). I like it.
- Lieutenant Allister Caine: Has Blur for increased ranged/magic defense. He also loves a forward element that he can shoot through. Worth considering, but requires an appropriate build in order to take best advantage of EMD.
- Lord Commander Stryker: Has increased accuracy and damage output through Positive Charge, Deflection for ranged/magic defense, and a feat that grants an extra 3″ move and attack. Electrical Storm also provides a solid magic AOE, doing POW 12s to every model under the template with EMD. A solid option.
- Major Markus “Siege” Brisbane”: Fox Hole for increased ranged/magic defense, and a feat that lets them blow up everything on the charge. Not bad.
- Major Victoria Haley: Deceleration for increased DEF and ARM from ranged attacks, Telekinesis for bringing prime targets closer, Time Bomb for hard crowd control, and the best denial feat in the game. Silverline Stormguard pair well with Haley2, but so does everything ever.
- Warjacks (Stormclad, Thunderhead, Firefly, Stormwall): All have electrical attacks or effects. The Thunderhead’s Energy Pulse is cranked up to POW 14 under EMD, and his RNG 10, ROF 3, Sustained Attack Lightning Coil becomes a terrifying POW 16.
- Battle Engines (Storm Strider): Has a pair of RNG 14, POW 15 electrical ranged attacks that becomes POW 17 under EMD. They also have Lightning Generator at all for an extra d3, POW 10 arcs per-shot. Additionally, the Storm Strider increases the accuracy of electrical ranged attacks made against models with 5″ of the Strider.
- Solos (Arlan Strangeways, Major Katherine Laddermore, Stormblade Captain, Stormsmith Stormcaller): All of these models boast electrical damage rolls. Laddermore’s Voltaic Accelerator and the Stormblade Captain’s Nexus Blast become an effective POW 16 while attacking targets under EMD.
- Units (Stormblade Infantry, Stormguard, Storm Lances, Storm Tower, Tempest Blazers): Stormblades, Stormguard, Storm Lances, and the Storm Tower all have electrical ranged attacks while the Stormguard, Lances, Tower, and Blazers all have Electro Leap or Lightning Generator. Lances under Laddermore’s Electro Charger rule and Stormblades with Eletrical Arc hit at POW 16 and Storm’s Eye AOEs from the Stormblade Standard do effective POW 10 blast damage.
