So, I've been playing WarMachine for about six months with varying levels of success with my primary faction being the emo-racist-terrorist elves of Ios, militaristically given form within the Iron Kingdoms universe in the Retribution of Scyrah.
A relatively small faction, they have seven casters, one with an epic form, four light jacks (called myrmidons, a strange term given that it means 'ant-person', but it adds a certain alien character, and I find it delightfully quaint), six heavy jacks, three character heavy jacks, one colossal jack, one battle engine, ten units, one weapon attachment, five dedicated unit attachments, one character unit attachment, eight solos, four faction only character solos and two faction friendly mercenary solos (one of them also possessing both an epic and legendary version). And not forgetting the smallest roster of possible Mercenaries & Minions outside of the Convergence of Cyriss. Yeah, so... not much! *ahem*
Anyway, as with many Retribution, I started with Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper as my first caster... she was in the battlebox after all. Swept away by the fluff (my first purchase was the Forces of WarMachine book, oddly... or perhaps not) and her theme list, I had a difficult time adjusting to how Kae played. Yes, she is considered very fondly among the Retribution players' community, with many gamers ribbing each other declaring that "No! She is my girl, Kae!!" and indeed, I say the same.
She is, perhaps, the most subtly versatile caster among the WarMachine factions with very few devastating tricks, but a great deal of tricks nonetheless. To Retribution players, she is everyone's friend (so long as you've got pointy ears), with very few genuinely bad match-ups, particularly against WarMachine, and against Hordes, even though a couple of her spells (Arcantrik Bolt & Backlash) lose their value, she still brings a bit of irritation.
And with No Quarter 54's release of the Force Wall tiered list, the potential grew even further bringing in a very restrictive list (at least at first sight) but one that played like no other in the game.
This tier, as earlier, I used for the Journeyman League. Seasoned WarMachine players will probably scream "WHY?!" because it is neither suited to beginners (though in my defence, I had a pretty good handle on the rules by then) nor is it a friendly list to play against, due to its roadblock nature. Tier 3 is quite a kick to the knee for many factions.
Moving on... my experience with Kae has been mixed, as with my whole WarMachine/Retribution experience, but I'll persevere as I was well aware of how steep a learning curve the game has, especially if one decides to dive in straight at 50pts (I didn't, thankfully, but my first few games at 50pts were eye-opening encounters). Having a regular sparring partner with Legion as his main faction hasn't helped, but having my arse handed to me on a plate more often than not has put certain aspects of the game into perspective.
Back on cases. Kae is a little tricky to use at first, not least because her feat is somewhat bewildering for new players, well, it was for me, since I learned in an environment of constant ASSASSINATION!! which Kae's feat is a little pointless for. Scenario play is where her feat shines as it facilitates the alpha strike or compels your opponent to run to engage. Trampling is possible but, with proper pre-feat placement, potentially a waste of initial attacks and severely limiting particularly for often FOC strapped WarMachine factions. Hordes, less so, though I can't say much more, since I haven't been on the receiving end of a trampling beast through my lines.
But given Kae's rather modest combat prowess (she needs regular boosts to hit pretty much every other caster in melee unlike both versions of Vyros and Garryth, and even Ravyn), she's a support caster in the main, but not a backline caster (such as Issyria) as her weapons bring some FOC/FURY manipulation shenanigans that can bring her close to the thick of battle. Nor is she mid-line like Rahn because she can get stuck in with a bit of support. Now... about those rather modest combat abilities, it explains why one of her best friends is the Banshee. Knockdown/slam? Thankee kindly. Send a medium-based model flying into the enemy caster, profit abound.
Obvious methods aside, I've found that Kae can work with almost (note: ALMOST) anything you field with her. Invictors with a Reach-weapon'd myrmidon is a great start. Anyone with a RNG 12"+ gun would be a good target for Phantom Hunter... or herself, for that matter, as it lets her ignore everything under the sun when choosing a target except elevation. And her feat allows her to deliver melee units, of which the Retribution's Houseguard Halberdiers and Dawnguard Sentinels are brilliant examples of, into combat brilliantly. The Thane's Desperate Pace and Vengeance mean that some bunch of unlucky bastards will get a lot of angry elven steel to the face pretty soon unless they think of something quick. A gunline isn't bad either, but better served by someone like Ossyan (his feat certainly promotes it) and Issyria (though she's good with melee oriented lists as well).
So, I've played Kae at the back, creeping forward as the games progress, feating in the second or third turn and letting her wade in shooting in support of her battlegroup and those units still alive from then. Combined arms seems to be her watch-phrase, a little more so than the other Retribution casters. There is a lot of anti-magic in her abilities and spell list, so a little shooty, a little fighty, some support and plenty of decisiveness is the way to go. She has plenty of synergies with much of what the faction has to offer, though unfortunately, she does little to outright strengthen anything. Her feat increases survivability (except against Legion, for the most part) and combinations with various elements make for very subtle tricks. A Gorgon, the Sentinels' Officer and her feat can spell the death of two heavies at the cost of the Gorgon, but at a potential benefit of four points to one, a good trade. A trio of Manticores and their Covering fire (an idea, if Elara decides to tag along, or just by Kae herself under Force Wall, given how Rahn is a massive FOC hog) with an Artificer or Battle Mages is pure battlefield control on a stick. Kae and Eiryss, Mage Hunter Commander (or 3iryss to many) bring enough FOC/FURY games between them to see a lot of cutting or frenzying happen.
Learning as I've gone, a potential list I'm taking against Mortenebra (oh, she of crazy-spider-ladiness) is the following:
Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper (+7)
Warcaster Attachment - Sylys Wyshnalyrr (2)
Heavy Myrmidon - Banshee (10)
Heavy Myrmidon - Phoenix (10)
Character Solo - Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3)
Solo - Arcanist (1)
Solo - House Shyeel Artificer (3)
Solo - Houseguard Thane (2)
Unit Attachment - Invictor Officer & Standard (2)
Unit - Dawnguard Invictors (10)
Unit Attachment - Halberdier Officer & Standard (2)
Unit - Houseguard Halberdiers (7)
Unit - Stormfall Archers (5)
Still in progress and I'm sure it's sillier than I give it credence for, but because of their low ARM, the Stormfall Archers will have the Artificer keep the company during feat turn so that they'll be protected from deviating AOEs while everything else in the list that'll be close enough to the front lines will be tough enough to weather it. The Halberdiers and Invictors form the front line, Eiryss and the Thane provide support where needed (though it'll be pretty obvious where) while the battlegroup and archers back everything up and act as reserve.
This is, perhaps, the greatest mistake I've made while playing WarMachine. On too many occasions, I've deployed in too wide a line and spread out even further in the first turn and inevitably missed vital models out from exploiting or gaining the protection of my feat. Even cavalry/dragoon solos have seen reduced efficiency because I have a habit of just "moving shit" in my first turn. And unlike Warhammer 40K, WarMachine does not really promote linear tactics since ranges and prevalence of melee (if someone isn't swinging an axe/sword/claw at someone by turn 3, someone must demand where balls have gone!) means getting in more than one round of concentrated fire is difficult at the best of times and ranged based feats need to be very destructive to work. That and the fact that WarMachine is played on a 4x4 table which narrows the field even further. Of course, a list without a ranged game runs a great deal of risks as some of the best weapons in the game are ranged ones, and often stuck on big ponderous buggers that are hard to kill. Thus, to Vegetius we return, and decide that strong reserves are more important than frontage. In the instance of the above list, the frontage, I advise myself, should consist of the two twelve man units and the two heavy myrmidons of the battlegroup, with a couple gaps to let my solos flit about. On one flank, the Halberdiers will hold the enemy up and hopefully take a few things down with them, while on the other, the Invictors will point and fire at what's before them. The battlegroup will take down targets of opportunity to make things easier for the front line units. The Archers, I believe, will be the unknown quantities, since they'll be playing just off the Halberdiers, given that they're less killy than the Dawnguard Sentinels.
*shrug* Ah well, we'll see where this goes.
Bubi
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