Newbie Army Progress Thread: Crusaders of Sul

[Thor Summer]

Hello, all. So, I'm a longtime 40k player, and recently decided to jump over to Warmachine, because why not? The army that really stood out to me was the Protectorate, and in particular, all the wonderful flavours of Exemplar Knights. I always pick a theme for my armies, and this one was 'Crusader Knights'. Then I realised that 'Holy balls, there's actually a crusader knights list!' So Crusaders of Sul it is.

The list stands at:

35pts
Grand Exemplar Kreoss
Fire of Salvation Character 'Jack
Repenter Light 'Jack
2x Knights Exemplar Squads
1x Full-Size Exemplar Cinerator Squad
1x Full Size Exemplar Errant Squad w/UA
1x Errant Seneschal

I also painted up a Paladin of the Order of the Wall and bought Dartan Vilmon because the models are awesome, but they won't be crusading

This is my colour scheme. Black armor is cool in my books, and purple robes is like Catholic priests. Seeing as this is the Crusades gone wrong, I thought it appropriate.

[Caitsidhe]

Welcome to the world of Warmachine/Hordes. As someone who plays both 40K and WMH, I can give you a slight heads up on the differences. Warmachine/Hordes is far less random than 40K and your actions and choices tend to have more weight than logistics (list building). Don't get me wrong, bringing the right tools to the table is always important in a wargame, but how you use what you have means more.

The key thing to remember, i.e. the biggest differences between 40K and Warmachine/Hordes are:

1. You can win by killing the Warcaster/Warlock. You can cut the head off the snake.
2. The battle is far more like Chess because you must carefully weigh what you lose, i.e. make trades of models and units.
3. Movement is EVERYTHING.

Board control via movement has far less effect in 40K because that game is dictated mostly by firepower and redundancy. Everyone can pretty much reach everyone else with attacks and thus when and where you move has far less effect on the outcome. In Warmachine/Hordes the battle is won and lost in how you move. Menoth is a great faction, although I prefer Prime Kreoss over Epic. That is just a preference based on fighting style. I'm not an Infantrymachine type fighter.

[Thor Summer]

Thanks for the tips! I'm fully aware I'm going to face a learning curve in this new game. From what I've seen and heard I really like it. I have a 15 point list planned and almost painted, then I'm off to get some practice in before the full Crusade is ready.

I must say I much prefer the way stats and damage etc is done in Warmahordes. The multiple D6 system is a load better.

[vonDietdrich]

I've been playing Warmahordes for a bit after coming over from 40k. Protectorate is one of my armies, and yours looks solid, but a couple of things.

Dartan Vilmon and Paladins are /fantastic/ solos. They have exceptional damage output, and excel at protecting your warcaster. They're also very good offensively once the game reaches a boiling point.

Exemplar Bastions are also a great choice to consider. A full squad of Bastions with a Seneschal solo is incredibly threatening and has a great board presence.

Menoth is a very flexible army and brings a lot of strategic options to the table. If you want to expand your list, Menoth has great supporting options available as well.

[Thor Summer]

Thanks for the tips again. At 35/50 pts I want to have enough models to both have a full Tier 4 Crusaders of Sul list, and then just an army with stuff I like in it too. I played a 15pt. game a couple days ago, vs. Two Cygnar 'Jacks and Nemo. I took my Paladin, he did very well. I did learn that charging Weapon Masters are mean. I love that there's so much Weapon Master in the Protectorate.

[Poseidon]

I'd consider using the free senecshal for the knight seneschal since it's three points and has to be killed dead last. It's more useful with gravus since they never get knocked down and are a pain to kill. Also they never really die meaning they can't be eaten or removed from play. They always get a chance to revive. Especially when you have two or three and they can only kill one a turn at the very most. The Bastions are a better choice overall since they can block line of sight to your caster while taking a lot to remove even just one if you want with sanguine bond.
I run a similar list
Kreoss2 35pts tier4
Fire of salvation
Knights exemplar
Knights exemplar
Knights exemplar
Bastions min
Errants full +UA
Free knight seneschal
Errant seneschal
(Kreoss generally likes to keep a few focus on him so the repenter's points could be better used especially without a choir)

50pts tier4
Kreoss2
Fire of salvation
Knights exemplar
Knights exemplar
Knights exemplar
Bastions full
Errants full+UA
Free knight seneschal
Knight seneschal
Bastion seneschal
Gravus
Errant seneschal
Mechanik (last two can be switched for another knight seneschal)

They are both brutal lists but can be screwed by rough terrain except the errants. Luckily the format for tournaments is at least two lists. So it can be a strong option.
Might also consider kreoss three theme for another crusade list. You just have more jacks and support with an exemplar force.