Revised MkII Lists

A quick analysis of the new Mk II Magnus, without Tiers:

pMagnus is a beast and I feel that I have to take him. But he's better at smaller games. Why? His ability for speed is key. Iron Aggression is pop and forget. Bounce Snipe around each turn to other mobile units. Feat is powerful enough. Finally, Arcantrik Bolt slows down enemy warmachine factions.

To go with the feel of the "Hit & Run" tactic:
Croe's for Bushwack. 14" range with Snipe? Plus they fill out the role against Hordes nicely.
Renegade. Obvious choice for Snipe, but think about Temper Metal to get the Renegade up there.
Mangler benefits largely from Iron Aggression. Boosted melee attacks for Thresher?
Idrians + UA. Snipe + Assault & Battery (Shoot then run. Away.) is pretty cool. How about that everyturn? On the plus side, with Prey, I gain +2" movement to actually run away.

Solos? Kell and Gorman. Gorman provides limit screening and debuffing (which Magnus lacks) and Kell is a solid choice for 2 pts.

35pt List
Magnus the Traitor(+6)
-Renegade
-Mangler
10x Idrians + UA
10x Croe's Cutthroats
Kell
Gorman


As we expand into 50 points, there's better reason to take eMagnus, for Control. Steelhead blocks are better at this game, creating a swathe of territory that's deadly for the enemy (Cavalry + flank). Boomhowler makes a great tarpit now and is definitely viable. Trenchers can deny sight issues as well, thanks to cloud effects (sure they're in it...). Magnus' spell choices change too. Mobility helps the entire battlegroup, which makes it better to run Nomads at this level than the focus inefficient Mangler (Thresher needs the boost I feel to work correctly). Calamity can help solve the Mangler issue, but in limited form. Calamity in fact helps Croe's more now. Bullet Dodger makes Kell a lot of fun and can make Magnus a nightmare. Obliteration is powerful and Convection has a one off use. However, given his spell choices, he does need the two arc nodes. Since I'm going minimalistic and using the same models for most of my army...

I see myself taking the following list right now for 50 points:
Magnus the Warlord (+6)
-Renegade
-Renegade
-Nomad
10x Idrians + UA
10x Croe's Cutthroats
6x Trenchers
Kell
Gorman
Orin

I have 2 points left over and can upgrade to a Mangler if I wanted to. I may in fact do it, but will have to see the performance of the two jacks.

That's it for now. Right now I need to prep for Mangled Metal (500 pts). I'm thinking Talon + Mangler + 2x Renegades.

A lackluster of updates lately

Well, I've been trying to get things off the ground and running. We'll have to see how things perform, but all in all, I'm facing burnout from the game if I keep the tempo up. I am gunning to get everything painted by the end of the year, so I can roll into Mk II fresh. The main issue though is looking at the Tier game play for the Merc Contracts. The smoke-nerf to Trenchers reduces their role somewhat, but I think I can make a case to use them still. Just like the Idrians.

Anyway, I have to review my list choices for Mk II and come out with a solid list. I'll have two lists - 35 & 50 points built up. eMagnus only though.

In retrospect, it may have been a bad idea to build a list then move it over to MkII due to several rule changes in the way models work. Everyone experienced it, but it's harder for me to push models that were viable vs models that are no longer viable. I may have to just suck it up and sink this one in as a loss and move on to the next option (maybe a pMagnus, but I think I'm done with a Magnus Agenda for now). It also hurts that I'm exploring my parent faction (Cryx) some more and jumping around with other faction ideas.

But instead of being a downer as I just mentioned, I'm going to hold my head up high and carry through. I want to be done so I can help host a tournament during Water Awareness Week (3rd week in March usually).

As for the future, I can't say I can continue right away. I have an idea for an army that I'd like to run and an issue to go with it. But I'm getting married mid next year and possibly moving to an entirely different state to boot. So I may not announce anything for a rather long time unfortunately.

In other news, while I wasn't able to make it to our local Breast Cancer Brawl, I was fortunate enough to manage to drop by and donate. Man, talk about bad timing. I push for our LGS to hold the tournament and then the PG's schedule it the day I'm traveling down to Dallas.

Finally, some little news:
Chocolate that comfort food? Maybe not.
Water & Population. Expanding Supply vs Reducing Per-Capita-Expenditure
El Nino effects on S. America

I haven't been able to read any further articles right now due to scheduling (I've been traveling all over the place).