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Monday, October 31, 2011

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.

1 comment:

  1. I like playing pGoreshade. Folks say he's one dimensional but I don't think so. No more one dimensional than pVlad or pHaley is. The Deathwalker is the source of his tricks. A fragile source but a source nonetheless. If you had Darragh Wrathe you can project a nice -4 STR debuff but Darragh has no synergy with Drudges so no point in him joining the team.

    I think that list might work out well. If you get a Scavenger stuck in and don't want to risk a free strike then Drudges are great Soulgate fodder.

    Stealth on the Scavengers should work great. I used the combo of Occultation with Soulhunters back in MK1 before Light Cavalry move got nerfed. Being able to move back into Stealth range is great. The real fun should begin when Admonia nixes an enemy upkeep and then you get to send in a Scavenger with Finisher.

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