Al's Thoughts on Wrath

Is it sad for me to say that while I am pleased with the new releases, nothing is a must have in my playbook? Maybe it's because I'm on an eMagnus kick with Bad Seeds. Don't get me wrong - I am very pleased with the releases and I am very willing to argue, nay beatdown, any naysayers who think that Khador got the best sliced bread.

I need to point out first the fiction. I'm going to avoid a lengthy spoiler here and just say it was nice to see the fiction for eMagnus surface again and be more substantial in meaning and character development. Damiano's fiction was not too bad either, but it is hard to generate some amazing Merc fiction without showing favoritism to other factions. I think they did an excellent balance and highlighted to tough, if not lost, cause Highborn is embroiled in right now.

Anyway, onto the meatier stuff:

Warcasters
Well, mercenaries got two warcasters this release.
1. Damiano - Average stats with an amazing Paymaster ability. Reform and Moneyshot! I know everyone is looking at these abilities for Steelhead Rifleman, but I'm thinking Steelhead Cav can benefit too. Reform after making a Ride-By-Attack and during an Assault, Moneyshot is amazing! Damiano is very much a support caster. His weapons are nothing to party about, but the spell list provides substantial troop and warjack support, enough to leave me happy with one or two warjacks and a couple of units and solos. The feat is a poor man pSkarre's feat, but the unmovable aspect of the feat is interesting. No throws, slams and counters Gorten's feat pretty nice.

2. Constance Blaize - Highborn only, animosity to Thamarite so you're losing out on Alexia and Ragman for now. She can be a support caster but she can quickly adjust to be an assassination warcaster. She wants to run a lot of infantry, which is fine since I can run a lot of cheap infantry. 4/6 Steelheads, 5/8 Precursors, Forgeguard, 5/7 Devil Dogs. And then I can stuff them down the opponent's throat and make my warriors nigh unkillable. If you want to run warjacks with her, do so but keep it as a support - ranged like Mules, Mariners, and the Rover should be fine. There's no reason not to take Gallant or Harlan as well when you're playing her (Gallant will get a focus from Harlan too!).

Warjacks

1. Rover - A good solid warjack, although I'm loathing the 8pt cost. Point-blank and the shield are nice, but at 8 pts there's plenty of choices. Still, it is a good ranged weapon and excellent armor. A great alternative between the Mule or Mariner and a good warjack for MacBain, Bart, or Magnus.
2. Rocinante - Damiano's warjack and I suspect it will become a mainstay in most Merc armies due to Guard Dog. Guard Dog is an insane ability and makes certain casters like MacBain or Magnus more survivable or Ashlynn or Shae nigh unkillable. Defensive Strike is a good deterrent, but not the most useful ability.
3. Gallant - Simple monster that's not going to replace the Stormclad I think. The utility of the Stormclad within Cygnar is too good to ignore and there's not enough Precursor/Morrowan support right now to make the most out of Gallant's Accumulator. Shield Guard is nice too, a good warjack for Ashlynn and Blaize due to their low armor, or even MacBain for his average stats. No animosity either, but you're not making the most out of the Accumulator. If you don't care, then he can fit in anywhere.

Solos:
1. Sylys - A merc warcaster attachment that's pretty amazing for two points. Add'l range, free upkeep, and boosted attack/damage rolls on magic attacks makes me giddy. Since most of our warcasters are FOC 6 or less, FREE BOOSTS! Gallows with Ashlynn, Calamity, Convection, and Obliteration on Magnus...the synergy is not subtle and potent. I will probably end up purchasing him to augment some lists, but right now...Bad Seeds.
2. Ragman - Ragman's been out now for a while and I have already gone over his abilities in the past. The 3" Dark Shroud bubble is deceptively large once you start throwing in warjacks with reach, extending pockets out further than 6". Good with Steelheads and Boomhowlers.

Units
1. Ogre Assault Commandos - Decent unit, nothing to write home about. Tough to kill but expensive. Good ranged and the CRA ability with an AOE is amazing. They also have CMA, so don't forget about it. Average stats and nothing that pops out at players. Most people will grab them for Durgen, but I think there's more potential here. When people talk about AOE's it's never about late game or scenario play, where the opponent is bunching up models. Spam lists like Thralls, which are annoying, can be dealt with easier with these guys. Damiano's Deadeye, Ashlynn's feat & Quicken, eMagnus's feat and Calamity, and Fiona's auto pointing spell (name escapes me at the moment) are all high potential candidates.  
2. Kayazy Eliminators - 2 man unit, a ton of abilities. High def, low P+S, but Gang, Combostrike, Duelist and Side Step. Oh, and Acrobatics and Stealth. Khador is going to love them, but I think they are overhyped. Great unit, good unit, but kill one and you lose out on more than 50% of the unit's capabilities. Think about it; Gang benefits both models and it only takes to kill one to cause a CMD check. I could have a lot of fun with these with MacBain or Gorten.

Other thoughts:
I am absolutely in love with the Minuteman. What an amazing little warjack! Gives new life to Kraye, awesome potential with Siege, and a crazy warjack to jackmarshall with the ATGM UA. Demolisher rules need to be expounded on, as there's crazy combo with Harkovich which...seems not right? I'm a fan of Ossyan and may have to play him, despite the whining about his feat.

Again, solid release, nothing that's a must for me at the moment. Overall, I'm happy.