New player looking at War Machine Cryx

Due to burnout from GW games and the fact that my closest place to play GW is 40 miles away, I'm looking into Warmachine to get my table top fix. I've located a store where WarMachine is supposed to be played and it's only 20 miles so much more attractive as gas prices keep rising.

Anyways, I looked into starting WM up years ago and went so far as to buy a WM Prime book and escalation books. I'm guessing these are Mk1 rules and the ruleset has moved to Mk2. So going to guess a new rulebook is high on my purchase list. Looking over the minatures Cryx looks the most appealing to me. Looking at models I like and plugging them into Army Builder here's a tenative 15 point list for my First purchases:

Lich Lord Asphyxious ( I really, really like the look of the 'Epic' one, is there some sort of restriction on using epic VS normal?)

Death Ripper - looks cool, and the node idea seems interesting
Reaper - I like the idea of harpooning enemies to me and killing them or perhaps letting Bane Lord Tartarus kill them.

Bane Lord Tartarus &
Unit of Bane Knights

If my basic grasp of the rules and possible synergy are correct. My basic idea is advance, Use the Reaper to pull enemies out of formation to kill them, with possible kills by Bane lord to give me more Bane Knights. If some Bane KNights die, it's ok, I can make a final finishing move of using the Lich Lord's Feat to bring back up to 10 of the models for a 1 turn finishing blow to hopefully kill the enemy warcaster.

if I under stand army building this is 21 points but only counts as 15 due to the Lich Lords +6 bonus points.

Looking online, I see that I can buy the basic knights in 1 box set and get blisters to suppliment the unit 2 at a time. (I have no clue is just having 2 extra bane knights is enough for Lord Tartarus, but it's a start)

Death Rippers are 2 to a pack, so that does allow for some expansion as I move to higher levels.

Am I being completely dumb here? Any advice?

Looks like you're definitely headed in the right direction. I think what you've got up there is a perfectly acceptable starting point. But here are a couple things to think about.

Bane Thralls tend to be the preferred bane because of Stealth, Dark Shroud, and the fact that they can upgrade with a very good unit attachment which gives them tough. With Asphyxious 2 though there are great reasons to go knights instead. Reach gives them extra threat range on his feat turn, Parasite makes up a bit for the loss of dark shroud, and Excarnate can help him make new ones.

If you're just getting started, I really would recommend the battle box though. At $50 it gives you a great deal. The Deathrippers you were already thinking of getting will set you back $20 so for an extra $30 you get a heavy jack ($35 by itself), a warcaster ($10), and another bonejack (lets just call it $10). The slayer is not as good as the reaper, but personally, I still use them because I like throws. Or if you decide you want to start using Scaverous at some point you could buy the Erebus upgrade kit for your battlebox slayer. Also, Deneghra1 is a powerful warcaster you are sure to want to add to your collection, so there's another reason to go Battlebox.

So bearing those things in mind, if you still just want to get the stuff you mentioned in your post, no you are not being completely dumb. It should be a pretty darn good 15 point army. 2 extra blisters of Banes should be enough spares for Tartarus to raise, given you are sure to suffer some casualties from them. If you go over that it just means things are probably going great for you so you shouldn't worry about it :D.

I'll echo GentleBen - the battlebox is a very good deal. Don't feel beholden to get it first, but picking it up and playing battlebox games before jumping in whole hog is a nice way to adjust to the activation system, get acquainted with the basics of the rules and learn to assign Focus. A battlebox will run you $50, and you get starter rules (basic rules, rules for Warcasters and Jacks, stats for the other WM battlebox units and casters). pDenny is a strong caster, and you get a very good value out of that $50. I didn't start my forces with boxes, but then I inherited a lot of my models second hand.

Your pointing is right on the money - a 15 point game with either version of Gaspy is actually 21 points of models - just remember that the bonus brought by a warcaster is specifically Warjack points - you can't bring other kinds of units with their free points. Note though - when writing out your list, just note if your unit is minimum or maximum sized - I figured it out via context, but it just makes it easier.

Looks like a pretty decent list - You've got the plan and the synergies to make good use of everyone's abilities - Tartarus kills some stuff and swells the ranks of the Knights, if the Knights are killed off, eGaspy's feat goes off and brings them back. Arc Nodes are always good - don't be surprised if it goes down fast though - the bone chickens are very fragile by jack standards. I'm not sure about the Reaper - I've never actually seen one in action, so I have no real advice there. One note - at 15 points, you won't have a hard time vs. folks that bring a large number of infantry, but beware beast/jack heavy lists, as they won't give you much opportunity to increase the Knights' numbers. While Bane Thralls are more popular, I'm more afraid of the Knights myself - Vengeance on a Weapon Master unit that also has Reach is NASTY, and they ignore free strikes and terrain.

There's no restriction on epic casters anymore - in MK.I they required a 750 point game to use, but in MK.II they just have different rules, and sometimes different jack or beast point bonuses.

KK, thanks for the replies. One question about the Battlebox, is the Slayer inside there only able to be assembled as a Slayer?

From the Slayer standalone kit:

"This box set contains three color stat cards and one multi-part heavy warjack plastic model. Included are all the components to assemble one of three heavy warjack variants: Corruptor, Reaper, or Slayer. "

I'm guessing there is an additional sprue that lets the Slayer be changed to a Corrupter or Reaper.

As for the suggestions of Bane Thralls. I saw a comment somewhere that they cannot block LOS if they are outside of the 5 inch stealth range. So if my Warcaster was behind the Thralls, but the Thralls are more than 5 inches from the shooting enemy then my caster will be fair game to be shot.

All I have currently are the free download rules so lacking a lot of the rules.

Can you get by with just the rules in the start boxes or is the main rule book required?

GW for example gives a cut down rule book in their starter box, it's got all the rules, just missing a lot of the fluff of the big book.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tepogue

KK, thanks for the replies. One question about the Battlebox, is the Slayer inside there only able to be assembled as a Slayer?

From the Slayer standalone kit:

"This box set contains three color stat cards and one multi-part heavy warjack plastic model. Included are all the components to assemble one of three heavy warjack variants: Corruptor, Reaper, or Slayer. "

I'm guessing there is an additional sprue that lets the Slayer be changed to a Corrupter or Reaper.

As for the suggestions of Bane Thralls. I saw a comment somewhere that they cannot block LOS if they are outside of the 5 inch stealth range. So if my Warcaster was behind the Thralls, but the Thralls are more than 5 inches from the shooting enemy then my caster will be fair game to be shot.

All I have currently are the free download rules so lacking a lot of the rules.

Can you get by with just the rules in the start boxes or is the main rule book required?

GW for example gives a cut down rule book in their starter box, it's got all the rules, just missing a lot of the fluff of the big book.

---

The multi-part kit has the bits to make the one chasis into the listed 'jacks, magnets are great here.

The starter box rule book is fine, that does not come with the battle box though, only the two player starter box with Menoth vs Khador a la Black Reach. You need the core rule book or the small one to play the full game.

Your interpretation of stealth is correct.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tepogue

KK, thanks for the replies. One question about the Battlebox, is the Slayer inside there only able to be assembled as a Slayer?

From the Slayer standalone kit:

"This box set contains three color stat cards and one multi-part heavy warjack plastic model. Included are all the components to assemble one of three heavy warjack variants: Corruptor, Reaper, or Slayer. "

I'm guessing there is an additional sprue that lets the Slayer be changed to a Corrupter or Reaper.

---

Just an as aside: PP plastics aren't the same type of plastic as GW's, they're more of a 'restic.' There aren't sprues in the boxes, just bagged parts, and GW plastic glue will not work on them.

Anyway, back to your question: The heavy jack kit has all the parts needed to make any one of the three, but the starter box only has the parts for the Slayer. If you didn't want to magnetize, you could buy a heavy jack kit alongside the starter, and use the bits to make a Reaper and a Corrupter.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tepogue

As for the suggestions of Bane Thralls. I saw a comment somewhere that they cannot block LOS if they are outside of the 5 inch stealth range. So if my Warcaster was behind the Thralls, but the Thralls are more than 5 inches from the shooting enemy then my caster will be fair game to be shot.

---

Correct.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tepogue

All I have currently are the free download rules so lacking a lot of the rules.

Can you get by with just the rules in the start boxes or is the main rule book required?

GW for example gives a cut down rule book in their starter box, it's got all the rules, just missing a lot of the fluff of the big book.

---

Well, the starter rules in the single faction boxes are the same as the quickstart rules available online: [URL="http://privateerpress.com/files/WarmachineMKII%20Quick%20Start%20Rules%20Front.pdf "]Front page[/URL] and [URL="http://privateerpress.com/files/Warmachine%20MKII%20Quick%20Start%20Rules%20Back.p df"]Back page[/URL]. There is a full mini-rulebook in the 2-player starter, but that has Menoth and Khador, no Cryx. The Quickstart rules are sufficient so long as you only play with jacks and casters, but rules for terrain, solos, units, and cavalry are absent. The main rulebook is going to be required once you move beyond battlebox games - fortunately if you're on a budget it is available in softcover.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tepogue

As for the suggestions of Bane Thralls. I saw a comment somewhere that they cannot block LOS if they are outside of the 5 inch stealth range. So if my Warcaster was behind the Thralls, but the Thralls are more than 5 inches from the shooting enemy then my caster will be fair game to be shot.

---

Asphyxious (both versions) has a medium base. You can ignore smaller based intervening models when determining line of sight, so neither form of Bane will block line of sight to him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GentleBen

Asphyxious (both versions) has a medium base. You can ignore smaller based intervening models when determining line of sight, so neither form of Bane will block line of sight to him.

---

Ah I see, not having bought any minatures yet, I was unaware of the base size difference. Based on this info then only a warjack of some sort could screen Asphyxious from shooting. and only having a single model be your shield would seem to make this tactic unviable.

Oh well once i round up some cash and hopefully an opponent I can start playing for real and quit theorycrafting

Thank you for all the responses.

He has a cloud effect spell he can cast. That should keep him safe from a lot of shooting. Eyeless sight things will get him though.