Come next weekend will be what I believe is the 4th annual Lords of Ruin, an annual steamroller event run in our country's great capital Wellington, held in one of its more infamous suburbs; the HUTT.
As the first proper steamroller run in NZ since the release of Warmachine and Hordes aka All New War aka #Mk3years aka #design-space, I wanted to approach things anew with Merca, as mentioned in my previous post. The motivation to pick up Mercs largely stems from my chronic SUSS, combined with paying too much attention to the opinions of podcasters. Particularly the mention of running a Bullet-Dodger Gallant with Magnus2, was all I apparently needed to trade a heap of Skorne for Mercs.
So I started working on practicing some lists, finally settling on the following: Magnus2 with Sylys, Renegade, Gallant, Mangler, Nomad and Vanguard, with Anastasia, Harlen Versh, Gorman, Croe's Cutthroats and Aiyanna + Holt in tow. I've been enjoying the list, with the odd variation here and there like running double Manglers when I hadn't got to the point of having a Gallant model. I've found that the Vanguard also makes a very decent Bullet-Dodger target, and its been fun looking for opportunities to use Magnus' FOECLEAVER X whenever possible, regardless of the usually abysmal consequences. The only real things I found I may want to change in the list, would be to trade out A+H for Eyriss2 and a Gobber Tinker. While she often dies turn 2, I've actually enjoyed running Eyriss2. I can't quite pinpoint her actual function, beyond being a particular type of combat-solo, so I'm keen to play with her some more. The amount of times I've wanted to repair my jacks means the Tinker feels more of a necessity, but there's little fat to trim at the moment, even for 2pts.
Croes just continue to feel like a great unit to occupy board space, disrupt, and act independently of the main force.
Paired with this list, I've chosen Exulon Thexus, running 2x Wreckers, Warden, dos Agitators, double Mind Benders, Mind Slavers, Croes, and Aiyanna + Holt. Yay no character restrictions. This list more floods the table with troops, acting I feel as a good counter to the BG-heavy Magnus list. Having 2 strong control effects in my pairing also feels neat, and the games I've played to date have been rewarding as all heck. The Thexus list chews through my clock like it was a Sunday dinner, and Magnus still feels a tad vulnerable for a caster that plays so far up, but getting in a solid few rounds over this weekend will really put things to the test, and I'm looking forward to it.
