Request: Cephalyx

With the tournament out of the way, I turned my attention back to the Cephalyx project. That turned out to be a seriously hard request, but I stumbled upon pGoreshade, in my own search for a new caster, and he looks promising.

Goreshade brings a couple of things to the table: The Deathwalker brings the ability to debuff defense in a critical area, while Shadowmancer and Dark Summons make it easy to apply Dark Shroud. This allows a couple of Drudges to hit at MAT 7 and PS 15, which is not bad. With combined attack they can do a MAT 9 and PS 17 attack, which should hit and kill most solo characters (and kill/dismount cavalry).

Scavengers with Stealth & Dark Shroud could be really effective (not to mention fitting nicely with the theme), and Bane Scavengers can't be a bad thing. I think I'll run this thirty five point list by the requester, and see what he thinks of it.

Goreshade the Bastard

- Scavenger

- Scavenger

- Scavenger

- Scavenger

Cephalyx Mind Slaver & 5 Drudges

Cephalyx Mind Slaver & 5 Drudges

Cephalyx Overlords

The Withershadow Combine

Gorman di Wulfe

Saxon Orrik

Warwitch Siren

Warwitch Siren

I think a good player could have some fun with this. Scavengers can charge ten inches and retreat seven, if they kill something. They can also function as assassination pieces, though free strikes are hard to avoid. The Withershadow Combine are there for re-rolls, and to ensure that an opponent doesn't just trample through the Drudges to destroy the Scavengers. Hordes armies care less about them, but PS 13 models with easy access to Dark Shroud support, and possibly souls, will still pack a punch.

Gorman is there to debuff as usual, and the Drudges really need that Black Oil to hit high defense targets. Gormans cloud might also increase the Drudges life expectancy a bit, but there's the whole speed issue to consider, so I think that might be a waste of his talents. Warwitch Sirens also bring a defense debuff to the table, and in the crazy event that Black Oil, Shadow Bind, Dark Shroud, and Deathwalkers Aura are all up on the same target, the Drudges will be hitting at MAT 14 & PS 15. Saxon Orrik is there for Pathfinder, and a backup melee piece against Warbeasts when needed.

I think I've found a workable list, that doesn't completely ignore the Cephalyx, and will function without them if they're wiped out. Everything except the Cephalyx have stealth (Shadowmancer should be a priority), and while it lacks some real punch, it has a unit of Bane Thralls hanging around between worlds, ready to punish opposing heavies when needed.

It has an available ranged game, with sprays, WSC, and Saxon, and I actually think this army could do well. The theme is also quite nifty, with a bunch of slavers advancing across a battlefield, while almost invisible black killers strike from the skies, and disappear before anyone can react.

Bugger me with a rusty nail!

It's been brought to my attention that I mix up the words Lose and Loose. I've been writing Loose for more than twenty years, without anyone telling me I was doing something wrong, so I really should have a little chat with my old teachers.

I know I'm horrible at punctuation (I can't even manage it in Danish), so I won't even try to correct that, but feel free to correct basic mistakes like Lose/Loose, since it makes reading easier for everyone. I'll probably mess up for a while, but there's only one way to learn :D

The hunt is on: Next caster

I usually change casters when I hit around ten or twelve games, so it's time to find someone new. I've gone through eAsphyxious, pDeneghra, Mortenebra, Scaverous, and of course Terminus, but only Terminus really gives me the type of games I'm looking for.

• pAsphyxious
• eDeneghra
• pGoreshade
• eGoreshade
• pSkarre
• eSkarre
• Venethrax
• The Coven

That leaves me with this list of casters to choose from, and it needs to be someone survivable with the option for going attrition. I might be in the wrong faction for that, but when we take survivability into account I'll remove anyone with a medium base and no defensive option.

• eDeneghra
• pGoreshade
• eGoreshade
• pSkarre
• eSkarre
• The Coven

pSkarre isn't really my cup of tea, and I sold her anyway, so she's out. I would go with pGoreshade but a rookie in the club just began with him, and so I won't tire people with even more games against him. I can't really see why he's considered a poor caster, so in time I'll get to him.

• eDeneghra
• eGoreshade
• eSkarre
• The Coven

eSkarre is a boring caster, and eDeneghra won't be a challenge. I could go with eGoreshade, but I'm not sold on him as a caster in general, so I guess it's time to break out The Witch Coven. I'm not sure I like that idea either, but I can't play Terminus forever, and while pSkarre Ships in the Night would be fun, it wouldn't be fun more than a couple of games.

Tournament: Einherjerne - Day 2

I got a good nights sleep, and woke up with a cautious optimism. Today was fifty point games, and I felt a lot better with the last fifteen points on the table, so I turned up and faced my first opponent.

Lamoron Vs. The Crushing despair.

Another player with less than ten games under his belt, and fielding Circle (Kromac). He had a lot of miniature wargaming experience, but I knew I was in for another of those games, that end without ever getting interesting. I took Mortenebra, and set myself to the task of winning on control points with an assassination list. I then explained every trick I had, and resigned to getting it over with.

After playing myself by proxy for an hour, he did manage to surprise me, and killed Mortenebra a round before I thought it would happen. At that point I wasn't even trying, and I just wanted to go home (again this was in no way my opponents fault, just the fact that I had no lists designed to fight rookies). I looked my tournament organizer in the eyes, and asked him if there was any chance at all, that the program would appoint a certain mercenary player as my last opponent.

Scaverous Vs. Fiona

I don't know if my opponent felt exactly like I did (though it looked like it), but the last game was like sinking into a warm bath after a long day at work. A couple of players from our club turned up to watch and smalltalk, since they had been prevented from participating, so we banned the clock, and got down to enjoying the game.

A new character was quickly borne, when Gronk the Bloodgorger wiped out most of his mates, in a mad scramble for the title of boss (Influence from Fiona), and then Slaughterborn took care of the rest, a Warwitch Siren, and swung at Brine from behind. Gronk remained the only surviving Bloodgorger on the table, after a deck gun killed two Bloodgorgers with a single shot (POW 7 blasts Vs. armor seventeen, steady, and Tough trolls: no problem), and he made it through the game.

Rorsh was quite safe, and Brine had mauled a Nomad, but then a pile of Gun Mages knocked him back, until he was out of transfer range, and the Mule killed him. I didn't realize where that was going, until a shot put him out of transfer range, and I saw the Mule move.

I managed a couple of control points the round before, and though the mangler wiped a substantial part of my army of the table, I simply had to kill a couple of models to free up the third and final point, which I did, and then forgot all about moving models in to actually get the point. I almost thought I had lost, until I noticed that one of my Croe's Cutthroats was alive and hiding behind the Bane Thralls (it seems their stealth works on me as well), so they were still a scoring unit and able to capture the point. It didn't matter much that I won, but it mattered a lot, that I got one good game out of the weekend.

Summary

I've added character restriction to the list of things I'll never try again, and I'm going to have to make a decision on tournaments with rookies. It turns out, that the first player I faced today won quite a lot of his games, and he took second in the tournament. I shouldn't have a problem with that, and I have a great deal of trouble expressing why I do, but it bothers me.

If I had denied him take-backs, punched the clock, and gunned for a hardcore assassination, I would have given him a short, brutal, and poor game. Instead I opted for a game I was pretty sure I would lose, which I did, and the player took second in the tournament. I like the fact that rookies turn up for tournaments, but they present me with options I don't like, since one of us will have a shit game:

• If I destroy him, he has a poor game, and a poor experience.
• If I don't destroy him, I'll lose and face more rookies.

I doubt anyone can truthfully claim to enjoy losing, but I don't mind it when the game itself is worth it. I do mind losing because I need to impose restrictions on myself, in order to make the games enjoyable for my opponent. On the upside the tournament was won by a deserving player, and I had a good game in the end, so the weekend wasn't a complete loss.

Tournament: Einherjerne - Day 1

I arrived a full hour earlier than I needed to, since a couple of people got themselves lost. I was facing one of the slackers, and he turned out to be a very nice guy, but going for the title of most hungover player I've ever seen.

It was a day of mixed emotions. 

My opponent was a veteran of two entire games, so I settled down for a game of try not to end it to fast. I had an enjoyable game, with Scaverous against eMakeda, but the outcome was never in question. While I didn't come to the tournament to fight rookies, they're the future of the hobby, so I decided to enjoy myself, and I did. In the end I killed him with an unbinding from Admonia, which was a first for me, and it was on to round two.

This is when it hit the fan. Due to the character restriction I couldn't bring a good Terminus list and play around with Scaverous at the same time, so when I was faced up against Retribution I knew I was doomed. Mortenebra would be destroyed, so I settled for learning some more about Scaverous while I took my beating. It was a Ravyn list so I threw everything I had forward and hoped for the best.

Scaverous vs. Ravyn

It took him three MHSF shots to neuter my Arc Nodes, and both Sirens were lost to sacrifices I need to make. The entire WSC and Rorsh couldn't shoot the Destor Thane, so Brine had to step in as well, and I wasted fourteen points worth of army to destroy a single cavalry solo. Then I missed the range on a charge with Tartarus and I knew I was done for.

Amazingly his dice decided we should go another round, and my casualties were fairly limited. I actually had a shot at doing this, so I took it. TK a few models, TK Ravyn, Icy Grip Ravyn, Feast or Worms Ravyn, and forget to TK my Bane Thrall Officer into range (sigh). I did get one Bane Thrall on her, after I shot her with three Dark Fires, and the Feast of Worms plinked a few boxes of her as well, so if I rolled well on the single Bane Thrall I could still do it.

Guess what, I didn't. While I came closer than I would have thought possible, I lost as I should, and went on to round three. I can't say I enjoyed the game all that much, since I knew I was doomed, but at least my opponent was a nice guy, and I sort of owed him for our last game, in which he accidentally shot and killed his own caster.

Mortenebra Vs. The Harbinger

While both my opponents were great people, I was having a bad day in general. My first game was a slightly advanced practice game, and my second game was lost before the first dice hit the table. I know I intentionally brought a weak build to produce better games, but being two thirds through the day without a good fight, left me slightly bitter. I also came to the conclusion that character restriction is an impressively bad idea, that works just as piss poorly in Warmachine as it does in Warhammer.

With that in mind, I faced my third opponent who turned out to be a rookie Menoth player. I know he's been an impressively successful Warhammer player, but he has less than ten games under his belt, so while he had some impressive skill for such a new player, it just wasn't enough. The Harbinger list was actually quite well suited to handling my Mortenebra list, so I put that on the table to make things a little interesting.

He managed to surprise me, and he actually scored a control point, but The Harbinger got within 19.5" of a Scavenger, and he didn't feat. If he had popped his feat I would have been in trouble, since no Scavenger survives Overrun + Charge against POW 14 hits (it actually dies on average dice), but being new he had so many things to keep track of, that he forgot about Overrun (I made sure he knew, and gave him a walkthrough of my army and tricks, but being new is hard).

My Scavenger beaked The Harbinger with Focus left to spare, and the day was over. I did some peeking at the other tables, and one of the complete rookies from my last tournament was winning his third game, so I latched on to that (and the opportunity to add one to my beaker-score), and called the day acceptable.

Summary

I did learn a few things today, and I've got Rorsh & Brine figured out (all I had to do was write REMEMBER TRANSFERS on the back of each base), but I don't like thirty five point games, and I loathe those character restrictions.

I've got in my ten games (in total) with Scaverous, but I just can't get him to work the way I would like. There's no doubt in my mind that he's a fantastic caster, but I find his style produces the same kind of annoying games that pDenny does, and he requires the perfect setup to run smoothly, which tends to lead to boring lists.

I still can't get around the sad fact that I need Terminus as a backup caster. Terminus covers just about every bad match-up we have, and he produces exactly the kind of games I prefer. My opponent gets to kill, main, and burn my army to cinders, and I end up winning. My opponent has fun smacking me around, and I win the game, which means he has as good a game as I can deliver without loosing, and that means a lot to me.

Tomorrow is another day, and maybe it will bring some close and interesting games, so I can either lose some close games, or get a few more notches on the beaker-score. Edit: After giving it some thought, I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed the day completely, IF I could have brought Terminus to the table, so I could have played a serious game in between noob-stomps. I guess that's what I'll do next time.

Tournament: Einherjerne

It's Thursday, and I need to decide on a list for the weekend. I was briefly considering playing to win, but then I met skeptical turtle. Skeptical turtle called me on my bullshit, and told me to remember how much fun I've been having with Scaverous the last couple of games, and my oath to stop making boring lists.

I'm not entirely settled on a list yet, but I'm sure I'll be including Rorsh & Brine, and perhaps building the list from my available painted models to make up for the lack of paint on Scaverous, Rorsh, and Brine. It's a bit annoying, that the tournament has three games at thirty five points, since I can never seem to build a satisfying list for those. This is what I've got so far.

Lord Exhumator Scaverous [35]

- Deathripper

- Deathripper

Skarlock Thrall

Bane Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)

- Officer & Standard

The Withershadow Combine

Bane Lord Tartarus

Rorsh & Brine

Warwitch Siren

Warwitch Siren

That list has more blind spots than a blind beggar with a blindfold, looking the wrong way, in the dark. If we add the fact that it has no protection against Eiryss, it transforms into a thing of horrible beauty. In the words of Ron White: Take it down, I don't give a shit. Hit something hard, I don't want to limp away from this.

Lord Exhumator Scaverous [50]

- Deathripper

- Deathripper

Skarlock Thrall

Bane Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)

- Officer & Standard

Bloodgorgers (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Croe's Cutthroats (Croe and 5 Grunts)

The Withershadow Combine

Bane Lord Tartarus

General Gerlak Slaughterborn

Rorsh & Brine

Warwitch Siren

Warwitch Siren

It will drop like a rock, and I will ride it to hell while cheering for more more fucking beatings. The fifty point version has a bit of punch and a slight defense against ranged threats, but I very much doubt it will be enough to prevail.

Bile Thralls

I updated the Bile Thrall spotlight here.

Tournament restrictions: Solved

I solved the character restriction issue (for the tournament this weekend), by deciding to ignore it. If I field Mortenebra as my second caster, I can have a fully functional army with no characters at all (and I've been thinking about giving her some table time anyway). That leaves me unlimited access with any other caster, which sounds a lot better to me.

Master Necrotech Mortenebra [35]

- Helldiver

- Scavenger

- Scavenger

- Stalker

- Harrower

- Harrower

Warwitch Siren
Warwitch Siren

Master Necrotech Mortenebra [50]

- Helldiver

- Helldiver

- Scavenger

- Scavenger

- Stalker

- Harrower

- Harrower

Satyxis Raiders (Leader and 9 Grunts)

- Sea Witch

Satyxis Raider Captain

Warwitch Siren

Warwitch Siren 

While the more powerful non-tier setups would be better, they would hog an important character, so my Satyxis Raider build will have to do. It's not exactly a poor build, so it should do fine (even if I'm a bit rusty with Mortenebra at the moment).

Wasn't I supposed to do this last week?

Sigh, in all the excitement I've completely forgotten about designing some lists for the tournament this weekend. It's character restricted, and the first day is 35 point lists, while the second day requires the same lists upgraded to 50 points.

That would be fine except I'm running a D&D campaign tonight, and Friday I'm playing the "Wandering Vampire" at work, since we've got a Halloween event for children (I'm using my LARP experience for something work related, SUCK IT Mrs. Guidance Councilor, I win!). I would probably be happier, if I didn't have to look like Cuddles the vampire, but work decided my initial costume would be problematic.

What!? They're FIVE, grow up already. I guess Thursday will be busy...

Cephalyx: Research

As I wrote here, I've accepted a request for help with a Cephalyx list, and I thought it might be interesting to follow the steps involved in answering such a request. I've never actually used the Cephalyx, so step one was taking a look.

Step 1: Take a look

Perhaps a wee bit obvious, but I took a look at the model/unit before doing anything else. If I began my research without formulating an opinion, I'd be biased by what I read. In this case my opinion was: slow, vulnerable, weak, and with a pile of almost useless abilities. Being slightly less than encouraged, I moved on to step two.

Step 2: The Obvious

I casually flipped through the options available, since I usually stumble upon a couple of options, which I look up in the relevant books. In this case the obvious place to begin was Warwitch Deneghra, but since the requester would like to avoid her (something I very much agree with) I moved on.

Cephalyx are part of the Lich Lord Asphyxious theme force, so that's seemed like a good place to start. I looked through the list, and it wasn't completely hopeless, so I made a core list, to see what I had to work with.

Lich Lord Asphyxious

Cephalyx (Mind Slaver & 9 Drudges)

Cephalyx (Mind Slaver & 9 Drudges)

Cephalyx Overlords (Free)

Cephalyx Overlords

The Withershadow Combine

That's twenty one points (Tier 3 eGaspy), which leaves me plenty to play around with. The real trick is making it work because of Cephalyx, and not in spite of them. With something to work from, I began my research.

Step 3: Quick & Dirty

Having formulated an opinion, I used the advanced search function on the Privateer Press forums, and asked for threads with "Cephalyx" in the title (this type of search is not meant to find every relevant thread, but to produce a set of results I can manage). I got twenty six threads, so I decided that was fine, and began looking at titles.

A few of the results were in the painting section, so I skipped those, and a couple were clearly irrelevant questions, which left me with fourteen threads to look through. As expected most of them contained pointless drudge-bashing, but I did turn up a few interesting things: Ragman, Ghost Walk, pSkarre, Scaverous, Saxon Orrik, and The Coven.

Step 4: Research

I decided to look for information relating to the tier list instead, and a second search led me to Lost Hemisphere, and an article about a completed Dark Alliance list. The author was Dicewraith, so I dug up what I could about the project, and found this.

I immediately noticed a mistake, since the Overlords can't create Drudges with sprays, and this seemed to be crucial to the success of the list, so I kept that in mind while following his project. Dicewraith noticed a couple of interesting things with the list. 

There is a lot of models on the board to maneuver around, and if not careful can cobble my models and limit attacks. Ceph Drudges are a little bit harder to rebuild than I first thought, however I can probably get easier at the more I play. - Dicewraith

He also has some nice things to say about it, though sadly not a lot. He had a lot of fun fielding the list, but the articles following the project stopped before he got to the real meat.

Ceph Drudges are a veritable tar pit. eGaspy adds even more denial with caustic mists, also from soul gathering he got loads of focus to sling, with all of the efficiency of Deathjack and Withershadow in the army, I was not found lacking. - Dicewraith

I needed to find something else, so it was back to Google. Fifteen minutes later I was getting frustrated, since I was just not finding anything worth reading, so I decided to do it myself. It's strange since Warmachine is such a complicated game, but in depth articles are exceedingly rare. I did some searches on the other casters, but dug up even less, so I moved on. 

Step 5: The hard way

Right then, we're in for the long haul. I failed to dig up some actual information, so I'm going to have to theory-machine my way out of this. I'll put on my thinking cap, and get back to you on the next couple of steps when inspiration strikes. The list I'll be working from is the one below, though obviously the Desecrators are problematic, with the whole "not being out yet" issue.


Lich Lord Asphyxious

- Ripjaw

- Deathjack

- Desecrator

- Desecrator

Cephalyx (Mind Slaver & 9 Drudges)

Cephalyx (Mind Slaver & 9 Drudges)

Cephalyx Overlords (Tier3 bonus)

Cephalyx Overlords

The Withershadow Combine

Update: I've run into the problem, that including Banes to power the Desecrators, will remove the Focus on Cephalyx in the list.

Spotlight: Master Necrotech Mortenebra

Master Necrotech Mortenebra has a special place in my heart. The Overseer is a place where I champion the odd models and maligned options, so getting the opportunity to flaunt a devastating build, that just happens to fly in the face of every bit of Internet wisdom in existence, is simply priceless.

The first thing you'll notice when doing a search on the Privateer Press forums, is an overwhelming love for Mortenebras Tier list, and since I was quite new when I discovered Mortenebra, I jumped on the wagon, and bought a pile of Helljacks.

Master Necrotech Mortenebra, an architect of Cryx’s war industry, has emerged from the smoke and soot to lead her ‘jacks to war.

It was a horrible experience, with a clumsy list of heavies stumbling about, trying to exploit mistakes my opponents didn't make, and I soon realized that whenever someone tells you that Mortenebra can fight an attrition battle, you should smack him in the mouth. I won two games, then I lost two games, and then I realized I was using a scalpel as a club, attempting to bludgeon where I could simply slice.

I sat down and put on my thinking cap, and while I was doing that I was spectating a game. The Cryx player was doing some amazing tricks with Helldivers (slams & reverse charges), and something just clicked: Mortenebra can make them do that for free. Privateer Press noticed my interest, released the Scavenger, buffed the Stalker, and caused the birth of an abomination: Non-tier Mortenebra.

Master Necrotech Mortenebra: Abilities

Mortenebra is a very fragile caster, placed on a medium base, with nothing to protect her, except immunity to knockdown. That sounds bad already, but then we add the fact that she runs herself dry on Focus every turn, and it all goes to hell. It basically boils down to this: if they can see her, they can kill her. As always you can go to Battlecollege to get the specifics.

Master Necrotech Mortenebra: List construction

Running Mortenebra with her Tier list is possible, and several people do very well with it, but I find the non-tier option to be such a powerful choice, that I cant see ever going back.

When I introduced the non-tier Bonejack list, it raised a few eyebrows, but it was considered nothing but an entertaining experiment. A few months later I was told, that several people were very pleased, that my flying circus of doom didn't make an appearance at the Danish Masters. It includes Helldivers (2), Scavengers (2), Stalkers (1), Harrowers (2), and Warwitch Sirens (2). In a typical fifty point list, the core build is thirty eight points, leaving me twelve points to play with.

The linked articles should give you an idea about the different uses for the Helldivers and Scavengers, while the Stalker is kept in reserve for assassinations against warlocks, or if the Scavengers fail. The Harrowers castle forward, providing a safe place for Mortenebra (this is extremely important), and either clear drop zones for the Scavengers (using their Mortifiers), or exploit Thresher and Overrun to assassinate careless casters.

The real magic of this list is found in the remaining twelve points, which allows Mortenebra a host of options she lacks in her Tier list. I've tried out a couple of different builds, and these three are the most successful so far.

• Satyxis Blood Witches, Hag, and Withershadow Combine: Granting Mortenebra access to major upkeep removal, a free upkeep, and an additional reroll. The Withershadow Combine also add another ranged element, able to clear out one or two annoying models blocking an assassination. The Blood Witches are able to charge, remove a screen, and then turn incorporeal to allow charges through them. The Hag shuts down Tough, which is otherwise a serious problem for a Harrower assassination run, and this is my preferred setup (add your choice of one point filler).
    An alternative build I've been toying with, is going with just one Warwitch Siren, and including Slaughterborn instead, giving me the ability to clean out two ranks of infantry, before sending in the jacks.
• Bane Thralls, Unit attachment, and Tartarus: Have you ever seen a unit of Bane Thralls charge with rerolls on everything? It's like watching a truck with a front mounted plow, hit a wall of butter at fifty miles an hour. Bane Thralls allow Mortenebra to play attrition, and that makes for some very dangerous lists.
• Satyxis Raiders, Sea Witch, and Satyxis Raider Captain: These girls provide an excellent screen, activate Finisher with Feedback, wreck lines on infantry, and occasionally manage to knockdown something important. In a list with multiple slams and knockdowns, they can really wreck some face, and in other games they can engage enemy ranged models to save your precious Harrowers.

The core list plays on Terminal Velocity, allowing me to perform slams and power attacks for free, with boosted attack rolls and increased range against living models. A friendly Trollblood opponent once looked at our match, and asked me if I wanted to save some time and surrender, so we could go get lunch.

Master Necrotech Mortenebra: How to win

I asked him why I would do that, when I was going to win in about thirty seconds, and he laughed. I can understand why, since I had four Bonejacks and Deryliss left, facing an almost intact army, and Mulg placed by his caster.

• I upkeep Spectral Steel (Scav.) and assign three Focus (Scav.).
• Mortenebra activates: Terminal Velocity & Recalibration.
• Deryliss puts Overrun on a Stalker.
• Stalker procs Overrun.
• Scavenger moves with Overrun.
• Helldiver slams Mulg to the ground.
• Helldiver slams Grim Angus to the ground, inflicting two damage (not transferred)
• The Scavenger charges through the lines, with finisher up, hitting Grim automatically.

Grim had two Fury on him, but with Recalibration up it just wasn't enough. He could have survived with some lucky Tough checks, but one wasn't enough.

Sometime after that, it was named the Flying Circus of Doom, and people began taking it seriously. Fielding the Mortenebra non-tier list is a lot like playing a pinball machine, and in one game against a Legion player I slammed every beast he had on the table. Helldivers slammed, Scavengers flew over the slammed models to slam the second rank in odd angles, and Overrun moved the Stalker into position for a charge.

Master Necrotech Mortenebra: Non-tier

I'm often asked why I find non-tier to be superior, and there's a simple answer. Terminal Velocity & Recalibration allows our different Bonejacks to perform amazing stunts, while our heavies mostly just increase in raw power. When I field non-tier I can include models/units that increase my hitting power with debuffs, weapon masters, and support, while adding some ridiculous shenanigans to the list as well.

Non-tier Mortenebra with Bane Thralls can attrition a Warjack heavy list, which is something Tier-lists struggle against. Non-tier removes every problem you have when facing infantry spam, which is something Tier-lists struggle with as well. Non-tier has very few bad match-ups, and that's what I feel makes it so superior to Tier -lists.

Master Necrotech Mortenebra: Summary

The best thing about non-tier Mortenebra is, that it isn't quite as boring as her Tier-lists. You've got twelve points you can tailor to your specific needs, change around as you please without endangering the list, and use to add the variety that her Tier-list so badly needs.

Non-tier Mortenebra is an incredibly powerful build, that melts right through an enemy army to annihilate their caster, or probes his lines before forming into a steel fist, and striking where he's weak. Nobody can catch you, and nobody can dictate where you fight. You will outmaneuver Legion speed lists and destroy them, you will ignore enemy infantry no matter how many lines they form, and you will teach them to fear.

A request: Cephalyx

I've been asked to consider an list. It's to be centered around Cephalyx, and while it's easy enough to create a workable list featuring Cephalyx, it's quite hard to center one on them.

It's an interesting challenge to be sure, so that's what I'll be working on, right after I finish my spotlight on Mortenebra. I think I'll work from an eGaspy Tier3 list at first, since pDenny is out of the question (even with Cephalyx), but I'm waiting for inspiration to strike.

It's the games you remember.

Though I'm not entirely sure where I wrote it, it seems I issued a challenge a while back, and today it was answered. The Trollblood player that took second in the Danish Masters, had fought quite a few battles against me, and never once had he actually won, so he decided that today was the day.

I had brought my Lord Exhumator casual-list, and I faced an equally casual Gunnbjorn Tier list. Neither list was close to optimal, and strangely we each faced our worst match-up. I was facing a list with endless AoE attacks, and he was facing a list with endless stealth. I thought it would come down to dice, and it did.

I don't think I've ever seen two players roll worse dice so consistently, and any casual observer would have labeled us both complete newbies, with the amount of mistakes we made during the game. It was a fantastic experience, and I've never had a better game of Warmachine: Period. Finally, this goes out to my opponent!

I got my ass kicked, and it was epic. I think I need to mention a few of the exceptional stupidities we both made, so here's a little list.

• Placing Tartarus between two Bombers, with the intent of locking and debuffing both, but ending up being unable to engage either due to range.
• Placing Wrong Eye in front of a Fell Caller Hero, and then running Snapjaw full on focus.
• Killing a Slag Troll on the round I wanted to assassinate, just to see three Fury reaped, making Gunnbjorn immune to my assassination. Then seeing the Slag Troll resurrected, since he was killed by a Bile Thrall purge rolling boxcars.

I then tried for an assassination, and I had Puppet Master up, Black Gate up, and needed to roll 13+ once, with six tries, to TK-pull out Gunnbjorn: guess what failed. Then I charged in with Brine, and the horrible dice continued, leaving Gunnbjorn alive and kicking. My opponent also made some epic mistakes, so there was excitement to the very last dice.

• Assaulting the Withershadow Combine with Scouts, only to realize they were still outside stealth range. Then they failed a Terror check, got themselves Threshered by Scaverous, and the sole remaining scout fled into some nearby woods.
• Running up two Bushwhackers, in order to provide targets to wipe out the Bane Thralls, then killing them both with drifting blasts, from other targets he missed.
• Trying to kill my Bokur with the last remaining scout, only to accidentally engage it, and making it ten times as difficult to kill.

In the end the Slag Troll took a shot, and rolled 34 damage against a Focus dry Scaverous. Then Scaverous got himself hit by Winter Troll, reducing him to one hit point, with corrosion active. Sadly the last remaining Bushwhacker managed to hit defense fourteen and do exactly one point of damage, or the game would have ended with Scaverous melting.

As I've said before, it was the best game I've ever had, and I can no longer claim a perfect score against that particular player. I love playing my Lesser Warlocks, and I love running the less than optimal lists.

I hate myself.

I've received the last few miniatures I need for my mercenary lists (eEiryss and A&H), so I can field a tournament set with McBain & pMagnus. Eleven out of thirty models are assembled, and looking at it I realize I've bought myself another ranged assassination list.

Why on earth did I buy a damn ranged assassination list, when I just had to abandon one. I really need to find myself a melee Hordes army, and just never look back. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Spotlight: Warwitch Deneghra

I'm not entirely convinced this belongs in a spotlight article, since I'm considering contacting Privateer Press to have her removed from the game (obviously I've got the clout to make that happen), but unfortunately I'm a sucker for flattery so here goes.

How to lose your opponent in ten games

Even though I've been strong-armed into introduce you to Warwitch Deneghra, it was never agreed that I had to be entirely serious while doing it, but the information in the article remains valid, and I mean everything I say.

Warwitch Deneghra is the most powerful caster in the game. There I said it, and anyone who disagrees suck **** by choice. Warwitch Deneghra is so powerful, that she destroys games she's not even in, and I'm not making fun of you either.

I find the most common response to pDenny from all factions is the foetal position. It doesn't help, but it saves time. - CareyBear

If you choose this caster, you will be fleeing a mob of angry gamers with pitchforks, and you will lose whatever friends you had managed to make in your meta.

Warwitch Deneghra: Abilities

In clear contradiction with reality, Warwitch Deneghra actually died in the fluff. This is clearly a mistake, since nothing can kill her in the game. As always Battlecollege will answer most of your questions about abilities, but she cannot be locked down, cannot be shot, and she has one of the best spell lists in the game.

Warwitch Deneghra: The Withering

E.B. Farnum: God damned quagmire of piss and bull shit! Withering is defined as being capable of wreaking complete destruction, but also exhibiting a lack of respect, being rude, or being discourteous. It's like the person who named the feat prophesied the actual effect it would have on the game, because this feat is the death of armies and entertainment alike.

The first round we run, and the second round we win the game. It might take your opponent a couple of more rounds to quit or die, but the result is always the same. In most games we simply win, since his caster is taking a nap, and getting hit on anything above snake eyes, while taking five additional damage on every attack, but occasionally we have to settle for killing his entire army and making him cry.

Sometimes we have to charge our own guys in the back for extra range, but only when your opponent decides to lose later rather than sooner, and stays back where he thinks it's safe. Then you shoot his entire army, and he quits the game, burns his miniatures, and the mobbing starts. If the mobbing doesn't start immediately, it's because they're in the alley outside your house with torches.

Warwitch Deneghra: List construction

In the words of Dick Durkin: We need to get bigger guns, BIG FUCKING GUNS! and almost anything will do. Nyss Hunters, Croe's Cutthroats, Pistol Wraiths, Dougal MacNaile, and the Withershadow Combine are prime candidates, and the more guns you pack into a list, the more your opponent will hate you. I'd recommend Croe's Cutthroats, since it fits well with the second requirement, and most people don't know what to expect from them either. Nyss Hunters will usually do better, but since you're winning anyway, you might as well do it with a unit most people write of as worthless.

Things with stealth, because otherwise you might lose a model before you can win. In one game at the Danish Masters I made a horrible mistake, and I lost a Warwitch Siren (get two of those by the way, not debatable). It was terribly embarrassing, and I had to do it again the following game, so it would look like it was intentional.

Bane Thralls, because the turn you win, they swing with MAT 10, and inflict 32 damage on average dice, each. They can also run up to a napping caster, and inflict Dark Shroud without even giving him the added defense (since he can't engage or be engaged while napping).

Satyxis Raiders are also fun, and even though they don't actually have stealth, they're quite hard to hit so that's fine. They can charge a gazillion miles, and take down Khador heavies with all the debuffs we have, while being immune to blast damage and doing all sorts of crazy shit.

Skarlock is a given, and a couple of chickens for good measure, and then you're done. If you have points left over, bring more guns (Saxon Orrik is nice). If you still have points left over, it's because you didn't bring enough guns, so rectify that mistake. If you still have points left over, include a Lesser Warlock, because killing Karchev on full camp, with an angry piglet, on average dice, is just what you need to make him bring out the pitchfork.

Warwitch Deneghra: List examples

The list that brought out the pitchforks, had less guns than I would have liked, but that's just because I wanted to avoid winning, until I could win on attrition or scenario instead (incidentally, that makes people even angrier, who knew!). It didn't work though, and I kept winning in round two.

Warwitch Deneghra

- Nightwretch

- Nightwretch

Skarlock Thrall

Bane Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)

- Officer & Standard

Croe's Cutthroats (Croe and 5 Grunts)

The Withershadow Combine

Bane Lord Tartarus

Master Gunner Dougal MacNaile

Pistol Wraith

Pistol Wraith

Rorsh & Brine

Warwitch Siren

Warwitch Siren

Warwitch Deneghra: How to win

In the words of Al Swearengen: Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair or fucking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. It's not really that hard, since most games will end with The Withering and a ranged assassination anyway.

If you're up against some heavy duty tanks, you simply destroy their army instead. If you're up against a tank caster with a beast/jack army, you lock him down and annihilate his army with Bane Thralls and angry piglets. If you're up against... ah what the hell, you get the point.

Warwitch Deneghra: Summary

Warwitch Deneghra is stupidly powerful, and designed in a way that will remove all joy from gaming (Yeah, yours as well). Even if an opponent should ever manage to win, it will be by using a Menoth list tailored specifically to taking on your list, and only if he knows the list in advance.

Mistress of the Witchfire

I don't remember ordering her, but today I received an eAlexia. It seems I did indeed pre-ordered her sometime before the dawn of man, and happily forgot all about it. I did take another look, though I'd long since written her off as a useless waste of points, and another look did nothing to change that view.

She's a four point squishy cavalry solo, with a few abilities that all require her to be on the front line, while doing very little to increase her survivability. If an opponent allows you to gather souls, and impact attack your way to something important, you didn't need to worry about winning anyway. I think I'll stick to pAlexia for now, but I need to find something to do with that model.

Spotlight: Leviathan

The Leviathan is a strange machine. It's a ponderous ranged combatant, that drains Focus from your Warcaster to perform even the most basic assignments, but it's not totally without merit. It's a sturdy Helljack, with immunity to knockdown, that can force opponents forward, and tank what would instantly destroy most other Cryx models.

The thing you need to realize is, that the Leviathan almost never kills anything. It has up to three high powered attacks with long range, but unless you completely luck out with your dice, it simply won't kill anything, but luckily it won't have to: The Leviathan isn't a ranged killer, it's a puller. It might sound a bit silly to use a nine point Helljack to pull, but it works.

For those familiar with MMORPGs the concept of a pull needs no explanation, but a pull is when one player engages the big baddie, and either tanks him or hands him of to the real tanks. The Leviathan is a puller, because it will force your opponent forward. Having two boosted PS 15 attacks hit a Juggernaut will inflict around ten damage, which won't bother it much, but your opponent will look at those ten damage and go "If I let him fire again, I'll loose some systems, so I better go all in before it's to late".

If your opponent hangs back you can keep denting him for ten damage per round, and if he advances he comes within charge range of the remaining army. Most cryxian models have excellent defensive mechanisms, and if you can take out the few models that circumvent those defenses with the Leviathan, you've won: He can't advance and he cannot fight back. There are several of those threats that can be neutralized in one round of shooting (there goes your gun arm Mr. Warjack), and several that cannot even retaliate without getting into range of your remaining army.

There's always the chance he outguns you, or that doing ten damage per round isn't enough to pull him, and that's why I recommend you bring two Leviathans (or none, obviously). Taking twenty damage per round (or loosing up to six models), from two sturdy Helljacks, is more than most opponents can ignore, and few armies can outgun them without getting in range of a counter punch.  This makes two Leviathans a rather good build, because you get to fight on your own terms almost every game.

The Leviathans also make handy tanks and road blocks, with good ARM and sturdy grids, and when your opponent does engage, they can put out quite a bit of damage if you're creative. The Leviathans can throw, trample, or simply hack things apart with it's PS 17 claw, but I've never actually done that. The Leviathans are a threat, and most opponents will attack the threat, even if that threat diminishes when the armies clash.

It's a funny thing, but my Leviathans always die. They're hit by melee monsters (Deathjack, Beast09, and others), or destroyed by a pile of weapon master infantry, and my opponents never seem to realize that they're doing exactly what I want them to (even the seriously good opponents fail this one). I bang up their models/units with the Leviathans, they destroy my Leviathans with some fresh models, and I destroy whatever did the deed. Now we've both lost our heavy hitters, and he has a pile of banged up models to boot. My infantry is usually better than his, and he has lost more than I have already.

Leviathan: Casters

There are plenty of casters that can run dual Leviathans, but few that can do it well. It requires a caster that can gain by throwing all they've got at supporting the Leviathans, and a caster that brings an army that can profit from the pull.

• eAsphyxious: Two Leviathans provide a nice place to hide, and Caustic Mist + Hellbound can protect them from retaliation. Parasite allows for some heavy damage, but he does lack a way to increase their RAT. eAsphyxious also tends to blow most of his budget on Banes, so I think the Desecrator will assume this position when it appears.
• eDeneghra: Two Leviathans provide a nice place to hide, and her feat allows them an extra round of shooting, and a round of great accuracy. She can keep them safe, get them out of trouble, and they should perform well with her.
• Mortenebra: This is one of the Warcasters that are usually recommended for the Leviathan, due to her Interface rule. I find Mortenebra to be a horrible caster, when it comes to Leviathans, and I'll bring a Harrower or Desecrator every time. Don't bring Leviathans with Mortenebra, it's a trap.
• Terminus: It's not a surprise if you've read my Terminus spotlight, but he quite likes two Helljacks, and the Leviathans are good choices. Unfortunately I think they'll be replaced by Desecrators, but until then they're lovely.
• Witch Coven: Occultation, Feat, Increased movement, debuffs, and plenty of Focus to make it all happen. The Coven isn't a bad choice for the dual Leviathan setup, and with Infernal Machine they can do some real damage in melee. I was surprised when I noticed this combination, but it's actually quite powerful.

As you can see, the list of casters isn't worth going out and buying two Leviathans. I would however recommend, that you magnetize the coming spider jack kits (or proxy) and give it a spin. It's different and enjoyable, and when you get used to them it's quite powerful.

 Leviathan: Support

The Leviathans require a lot of Focus, and I mean a lot. They need at least two Focus each, and they would really like three if you can manage it. If you're shooting at ARM 18 or less, with poor defense, you can get away with two Focus, but otherwise you need three for two shots with boosted damage. I've found the Leviathans to benefit a lot from The Withershadow Combine reroll, and if you can get Gorman in there with some Black Oil, you can really lay some damage on a target, but that's about it.

Leviathan: Summary

Leviathans are not the best Helljacks you can find, and I fear they'll become extinct when the Desecrator arrives, but if you build an army to exploit them it can get ugly real fast. I've never actually lost a game, in which I used the two Leviathans, since playing on your terms is such a powerful tool, and they've revolutionized my relationship to Helljacks in general (before trying this setup, I rarely took any Helljacks at all).

Desecrators

A discussion over at the forums got me thinking about the Desecrator. I've been proven wrong before, but I'm usually quite good at seeing potential, and I see a lot of potential in the Desecrator. Most of the time I see people complaining about the short range of the Plague Bringer, and since it's slow as well I can see why. The thing is, that I don't see the Desecrator as being an offensive unit, which means it will fit my style perfectly.

This is pure theory, since I've yet to put it on the table, but the Desecrator brings more of my favorite thing: Impossible choices. A faction model placed in a scather template is immune to non-reach single wound melee infantry, and that's more models than you might think. It can stop all your problems with Daughters of the Flame, block entire units of Knights Exemplars, and protect you from Sword Knights, Kayazy Assassins, Bloodgorgers, Bane Thralls, and the many other annoying units out there.

As we're playing Cryx we have access to stealth (or incorporeal) on a lot of things, which means that with the scather template we should be damn hard to get, and it could allow for some really aggressive moves. Even models with reach will be severely hampered if you bring two Desecrators, as they can create a nine inch wall of death. It will probably cost you a model or two in order to place the templates accurately, or you could use an incorporeal model as your target (another possible use for Blackbane's Ghost Raiders) and place them just where you'd like.

• eAsphyxious: Bane Thralls and Caustic Mist creates a great environment for the Desecrator. Together they can create a ridiculously large wall of corrosion, and with Dark Shroud and Parasite available the Desecrator will hit at PS 22.
• Mortenebra: Terminal Velocity and Critical Shred are made for each other. Non-tier Mortenebra works well with Bane Thralls, giving Mortenebra access to the attrition play she otherwise lacks. Competition would be hard though, since the Harrower is so good with her.
• pSkarre: Dark Guidance and Critical Shred go well together, and Blood Magic fits well in that mix. pSkarre also likes an infantry horde, so fitting in some Banes should be easy. eSkarre's Black Spot and the Plague Bringer should also get acquainted at some point.
• Terminus: Hell yes! I've been looking for something like this, and I always run him with Bane Thralls anyway. The Plague Bringers can add a layer of defense to the brick, and make it suicide to engage it. I think he will like them very much.

A few of the other casters will enjoy the Desecrator as well, but four casters lined up with great synergy isn't bad at all. I'm really looking forward to trying it out, but I'd like the real model first.
I'll return with a spotlight when I get in some games with it.

Ramblings: Ranged Assassinations

Being really bored I decided to throw together some Scaverous lists. I already know what I'll be running the next couple of weeks, but sometimes putting together a few random lists, makes things clearer to me. As I put in Croe's Cutthroats, I got the distinct feeling I was about to embark on another "pDenny adventure".

Against an experienced opponent with an assassination list, a slightly worse player won't learn anything. He will deploy, he will advance, and he will die. I discovered this fact with pDenny, but eCaine will also take out newbies in turn two, and so will eMakeda, and Scaverous with the right list.

I've always been a fan of balanced lists, with the ability to play both assassination and attrition, but with Mortenebra I found a love for assassinations. The problem arose when I got good at it, because a game just isn't fun when it ends thirty seconds into your opponents second turn, and you didn't get to roll a single dice.

With Mortenebra an opponent could block my vectors, build a castle, and while it rarely worked they still learned a few things and enjoyed the game. I've had a lot of really close games with Mortenebra, but I've had exactly two close games with pDenny (including the first game, which I lost). With eGaspy I've had exactly one close game (decided on victory points, which I lost), and with Scaverous I've had a couple of close games, but only because I deliberately avoid playing assassination lists.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but I think what I'm trying to say is, that in a game between players with a different skill level, an assassination list will ruin the fun. In attrition the experienced player will have a lot more opportunities to make mistakes, and one mistake wont automatically cost the new player the game. It's a hard balance to strike, but perhaps we can keep it in mind, and gain some better (and happier) opponents in the long run.

Bane Knights, the dilemma.

There are plenty of discussion about Bane Knights Vs. Bane Thralls, and which unit to bring, but I always found those discussions a bit silly, since they're two very different units. Today I realized something, and it is a choice between the two units.

Tartarus is the reason why, and that's bugging me like crazy. We all know he's a linchpin for the Bane Thralls, but if we add another ten points worth of models, which also become less effective when he dies, he becomes a huge liability.

Bane Thralls are hugely important to almost every list, since they act as a force multiplier with their Dark Shroud, besides being one of the best infantry units in the game. That leaves Bane Knights high and dry, and I do love those Knights. Sad thing is, it took me a year to notice that particular issue. Time to run some lists with 18-21 points worth of army riding on Tartarus!

Lord Exhumator Scaverous Vs. The Harbinger

Tonight I fought my first really hard game since the masters, and what a game it was! I brought my Scaverous list, which admittedly isn't tuned to perfection, and I had the worst match-up I can imagine. 

Lord Exhumator Scaverous

- Deathripper

- Deathripper

Skarlock Thrall

Bane Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)

- Officer & Standard

Bloodgorgers (Leader and 5 Grunts)

The Withershadow Combine

Bane Lord Tartarus

General Gerlak Slaughterborn

Rorsh & Brine

Warwitch Siren

Wrong Eye & Snapjaw

Vs.

Harbinger of Menoth

- Redeemer

- Reckoner

Hierophant

Avatar of Menoth

Choir of Menoth (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Daughters of the Flame (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Knights Exemplar (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Visgoth Juviah Rhoven & 2 Honor Guard

Nicia, Tear of Vengeance

Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor

Saxon Orrik

The Covenant of Menoth

Vassal of Menoth

My opponent was testing a list for the ETC in 2012, which was designed to lock down spellcasting, though it had a few issues that we sorted out after the game. We rolled a capture the flag scenario that had little impact on the game, and he won the roll to go first.

I was charged, then locked down by her feat, then mauled some more, but in the end the lack of Devout cost him the game. It took almost everything I had left to clear out the Covenant, but the Harbinger was pulled into range, and Scaverous made two new Bane Thralls with Excarnate, and placed them in range. 

One was all it took, since the Harbinger had rolled poorly on her sacrifices, and I pulled a win out of my behind again. We agreed he should try a minimum choir, removing Orin, and removing the Vassal in order to fit in a Devout, and he asked to meet my pDenny list in a couple of weeks, to prepare for the worst Cryx had to throw at him.

Spotlight: Bloodgorgers

The Bloodgorgers are frequent subjects in questions from new players, and with good reason. The angry trolls are in the unique position, of being a great unit in a faction of exceptional units. This makes people take notice of them (and the models which are made of pure awesome), but when placed on the table they often disappoint.

I'll begin with a little story about the first time I faced Karchev the Terrible. This opponent made the error of assuming that Bloodgorgers were designed to destroy infantry, and parked his wall of armor within range. His expression when the debuffs began stacking on the two heavies in front, was one of curious caution, and his expression when the Bloodgorgers charged was one of confusion, but when the first Bloodgorger began swinging at PS 19 that all changed.

Bloodgorgers: Statistics

Bloodgorgers are what I like to call unbridled potential. They need help, they need direction, and they need someone to invest resources in making them work, but when you do, the pure destruction a single troll can inflict defies belief.

• Defense

The Bloodgorgers have pathetic armor. I know it might look solid, but their armor won't protect them from anything but the weakest of blasts. There are times when people will roll exceptionally poorly, but in general you can expect to be hit and killed on average dice, by almost anything in the game. This is their main weakness, and if your caster can somehow overcome that problem they become a truly different unit. This can be accomplished by Occultation, Death Ward, Blood Magic, or similar effects, but is pretty much required in order to make them work as a primary unit.

The Bloodgorgers do have one more trick up their sleeve, and being Tough makes them a fairly resistant unit, when you've done something to protect them from ranged attacks. With General Gerlack Slaughterborn nearby they also become steady, and suddenly the unit can handle some real punishment.

• Offense

The Bloodgorgers are a truly terrifying unit, featuring the gang ability and multiple attacks. Without support they can each achieve two MAT 8 attacks with PS 13, but when you begin applying buffs/debuffs the unit transforms. A simple application of Parasite will allow a few Bloodgorgers to severely damage an opposing heavy, and additional debuffs will see almost anything die horribly.

With General Gerlack Slaughterborn the unit gains overtake, which allows them to be fairly effective against infantry as well. Without the general their potential is limited by their lack of reach, but with the right support (Ghost Walk) and overtake, they can munch through a lot of models. The main issue is keeping their gang bonus available when moving around, but if you can manage it the Bloodgorgers can really go to town.

• Movement

This is another issue you will need to handle, because these guys have some serious issues with terrain. Having a Skarlock and a caster with access to Ghost Walk is your best bet, but Saxon Orrik can handle business if you've got other plans for the Skarlock.

The Bloodgorgers are slow, and while bloodthirst allows them a fair threat against living models, you really need the ability to ignore terrain quite badly, and Ghost Walk is the superior choice. Without access to Pathfinder or Ghost Walk, the trolls will be out of range or unable to charge, and a good opponent will lure them in and destroy them.

Bloodgorgers: Complications

I hope you've noticed this already, but these guys need support. They need something to assist them with movement, something to safeguard them against shooting, and a couple of things to increase their offensive potential as well, and that's a lot of effort to make one unit work. This is why I rarely make Bloodgorgers my primary infantry, but they're really good backup!

Bloodgorgers: You get what you pay for.

A minimum unit of Bloodgorgers is just five points, and that's actually a pretty decent price for what they do, if you already planned on including a few other models.

• General Gerlack Slaughterborn: There are plenty of lists out there with Slaughterborn in them, because honestly he's worth the three points on his own. Add to this that the Bloodgorgers help to keep him safe, and they basically gain Steady & Overtake for free.
• Skarlock: This guy is probably in you list anyway, and sometimes you end up without a job for him. Instead of bringing support specifically for the Bloodgorgers, you can use a couple of them to keep him safe, and they can benefit on turns where he's not needed elsewhere.
• Bane Thralls: A staple of many lists, and they do well with Bloodgorgers. If you're facing infantry the Bloodgorgers can clean it out before you send in the Bane Thralls, and if you face heavy armor the Bane Thralls can supply Dark Shroud, and the Bloodgorgers can inflict some real damage.

When you look at it like that, you'll find that a minimum unit works well as an all purpose unit, that can scavenge resources from your army when nobody else needs it. They can shield important models, roll annoying Tough checks to block lanes, or simply get in the way of tramples. If your main units collapse the Bloodgorgers can pick up the slack, and inflict horrendous amounts of damage to both heavies and infantry alike.

Bloodgorgers are good, because they can be tooled to take on anything, which makes them the perfect backup unit. Bloodgorgers are great, because while they're waiting around to see where they're needed, they do a good job at being incredibly annoying to an opponent. Bloodgorgers are fantastic, because seeing the two remaining trolls annihilate a Juggernaut, will make your opponent go "blergh".