Editing Warmachine/Tactics/Retribution of Scyrah (section)

===Warcasters===

*'''Garryth, Blade of Retribution:''' Garryth is up there with the Butcher of Khardov as one of the most lethal melee warcasters in the game. He is a member of the very exclusive club of warcasters that possess Weapon Master, making his melee attacks exceptionally lethal. However, saying that all Garryth does is assassinate your enemy ignores a large portion of what he's capable of.

:The first thing to note with Garryth is Mirage.  Mirage can be very, very useful for obtaining back strikes (+2 to hit in melee and ignoring shields), and upkeeping it on a unit of Dawnguard Sentinels can have a very fatal effect. Death Sentence is also amazing for unit on unit infantry combat, as it will dramatically increase the rate that you inflict casualties in most cases. Psychic Vampire can be handy when fighting enemies that have lots of single-wound spellcaster infantry (like Battle Mages, or Greylord Termions, or Druids of Oroboros). Garryth's feat will shut down your opponent for a turn, making it a good lead-in for an assassination run. Finally, he has Pathfinder and Stealth, making him very survivable and mobile among warcasters.

:You'll probably want to run a Jack Marshal or two with him, because he has relatively little focus to begin with and it's not best spent on fueling myrmidons.

:Garryth changed a bit with Mk. 3.  While his overall purpose and endgame is the assassination run, the addition of support spells allows him to prep for the run with some more security.  Further, his feat is now one of the few reliable ways to completely shut down an enemy caster, including spending focus to boost their defenses.  The addition of Parry makes him able to charge right through enemy models without a care in the world.  While not in the same tier as Caine2, Garryth made out like a bandit with this update.

*'''Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper:''' Kaelyssa got a rather massive update in Mk. 3, and it's worth taking a fresh look at her to understand what's changed.  Her statline is overall unchanged with a small boost to command.  She lost Witch Hound, which is a shame, but retained True Sight.

:Her weapons have shifted a bit, particularly her Runebolt Cannon.  Each attack has a type associated, similar to Eiryss or Gunmages.  Dispel knocks out enemy upkeep spells or animi on models or units, Energy Siphon steals a point of focus or fury on hit, and Mechanikal Seizure makes a warjack stationary.  She can also buy attacks with focus use.  Vengeance sadly lost its passive Energy Siphon, so no more buying additional attacks in melee by stealing focus off your enemy.

:Her spell list has also undergone tremendous revision.  Backlash is still a nice backdoor to damaging a warcaster through their 'jacks, but sadly still does nothing against Hordes.  Banishing Ward is still a great way to dispel debuffs and protect your units.  Phantom Hunter now allows a warjack to ignore stealth.  Her two new spells are Blur and Refuge.  Blur gives a model or unit a large buff to defense against ranged or magic attacks.  Refuge allows a model that hit an enemy model to make a full advance untargeted by free strikes.  Overall, the change in her spells makes her a more buff caster, now lacking damaging spells and emphasizing her role as a caster doing tricks as opposed to smashing things.  Her feat has remained unchanged, granting stealth and making nearby friendlies unchargable.

:Kaelyssa is now firmly an anti-magic and tricky caster.  Her buffs give her army some serious suitability boosts and allow her to bypass a lot of the difficulties that others might have, particularly with Phantom Seeker and all the nastiness that can bring with Retribution 'jacks.

*'''Adeptis Rahn:''' Rahn does a bit of everything. He's the Swiss Army Knife of Retribution Casters, which is both a fantastic thing and a headache to play with.

:First things first. His Feat is useless unless you've got at least one unit of Battle Mages, preferably two. So always plan on taking two units of Battle Mages if you're going to field him. Also, take an arc node, probably a Phoenix. He needs to be able to sling his spells, but he dies pretty easily to dedicated assassin types. Don't bother with House Shyeel solos, in most cases. The Magister's upgrades are mundane rather than magical, and the Artificer is a bit too expensive. If you really want a House Shyeel solo, take the Artificer. You'd probably be better off with a Jack Marshal'd Griffon, though. Or Narn.

:Got all that? Alright. The good news is, when he's properly cared for, Rahn is a beast that can handle any threat. He has one of the most versatile spell selections in the Retribution, and he complements all manner of Retribution troops well. Discordia, his character myrmidon, is pretty spiffy and if you want to take a myrmidon besides the Phoenix, the Disco is your best bet. He goes very well with Dawnguard Sentinels, making them immune to blast damage and knockdown, and his combination of three offensive force spells (Force Hammer, Chain Blast, and Force Blast) allows for him to be very threatening through his arc node and deal with warjacks/solos, infantry swarms, and jamming models that need to be repositioned, respectively. A correctly angled Force Blast and then Force Hammer plus a unit or two of Battle Mages on Rahn's Feat Turn could drag the enemy warcaster 12+" across the field and into the middle of your guys, and knock him down, which equates to instant death. Always remember that Force Bolt lets you pull enemies as well as push them, and that you only need to hit with it for the movement effect to trigger. With some careful positioning, you could daisy chain Force Bolts to drag the enemy warnoun out of the safety of his forces and into the middle of your guys, while beating him up substantially (if not outright killing him) in the process. It's important to land at least Force Hammer to kick this off, as the knock-down will guarantee his continued movement.

:On the defensive side, Polarity Shield is great to cast on a large unit of melee infantry, Force Field counters lists that use blast damage for infantry clearing, and Telekinesis has a huge amount of utility use that's really only limited by your imagination (though a fan favorite is to turn around offending models and get back strikes on them). 

*'''Ravyn, Eternal Light:''' Ravyn is a strange bird. Her Feat emphasizes ranged attacking, but her spells and weapon emphasize her melee abilities. Snipe complements almost every ranged model in the Retribution very well, from Mage Hunter Strike Force to the Phoenix's cannon. Veil of Mists lets you pop through terrain and attack enemies, or obscure your troops and protect them from charges and ranged attacks. Eliminator's a decent spell, if you have an Arc Node, and Vortex of Destruction is absolutely cruel if you're leading a melee charge. Vortex of Destruction works especially well with the many Weapon Master and Flanking models that the Retribution gets, but it also applies to ranged attacks at the target in Ravyn's melee range.

:Ravyn has some issues with where to put her focus, both the stat and in a gameplay sense. She’s kitted out to be a very powerful anti-infantry caster, but most of her spells want her to be support and her feat is kitted for ranged combat. She also just doesn’t have the staying power you want from a frontline warcaster. The result is a bit of a confused warcaster, but one that can still work.  Snipe is still a monster of a spell, and while Snipe+Feat=Go is not the game ended it once was, you can still have a dangerous feat turn. Give her some invictors and consider marshaling a ‘jack or two.

*'''Dawnlord Vyros:''' Vyros1 is the opposite of all the other casters in the Retribution's core book. While every other warcaster is firmly about turning their army towards some kind of strategic gimmick (heavy offense, anti-magic, battlefield manipulation, ranged attacks), Vyros1 is entirely defensive. Rather than repurposing the army for his own needs, he supplements whatever units you pick. He can give them additional armor and make them Fearless, he can increase their speed and give them Pathfinder, he can allow them to ignore clouds and forests and other models for Line of Sight purposes, he makes their front arc 360 degrees (which is a pretty solid and fairly unique advantage), and he has decent offensive capabilities besides all that. With Vyros, you have the closest to a 'traditional' army list, in that you will need to pick a balanced set of offense and defense, melee and ranged, sprinkled with some support, in order for your army to be effective. He doesn't give you extra options or dramatically change the way that your units interact with each other or the enemy: instead, he subtly makes your units better. They become faster, more resilient, and more synergistic. He allows you to field whatever parts of the Retribution you want, and he will make them work together.

:His Feat implies a warjack-heavy focus, as you're going to need at least two heavies in order to guarantee that you'll have something effective to use it on when your Feat turn comes around. Vyros has a decent selection of offensive spells, between Eliminator and Strangehold, and Hallowed Avenger can be handy for solos or myrmidons. You'll probably want to run a lot of infantry with him, as well, to take best advantage of Inviolable Resolve and Mobility. He's pretty good in personal combat, too, but it's better not to rely on his aptitudes. At the very least, drop Inviolable Resolve on him if he's going to be fighting.

*'''Vyros, Incissar of the Dawnguard:''' Vyros on a horse! Vyros 2 gained in mobility, but has shifted now to be even more Battlegroup focused.  On his own, he retained Bird's Eye, gained Quick Work and Reposition, and grants bonuses to attack to Dawnguard.

:His spell list is where things get more interesting.  Deceleration, Easy Rider, and Synergy are all wide ranging buffs in his control area.  Synergy is no longer the psychotic buff that it used to be, but +3 to attack and damage is nothing to sniff at.  Deceleration keeps his army alive, and Easy Rider makes charges far more threatening.  Lock the Target is a good method to shut down a dangerous threat or set up for an assassination run.  Twister is a low power AoE that sets up a cloud.

:His feat gives insane mobility on his feat turn.  The idea seems to be to use a lot of deaths to push forward key units.  Paired with a Dawnguard charge, it can be used to move 'jacks into position for a charge.

:Vyros2 loves his warjacks.  Griffon spamming may not be as effective as it used to be, but mixing things up can still work.  The Sphinx is a current heavy favorite, being cheap and dangerous in melee.  One thing to note is that Vyros2 can be Focus starved with the upkeeps and spells.  Sylas can offset this somewhat, but has trouble keeping up.  Arcanists can give extra focus are almost auto-includes.  Vyros2 is great with Dawnguard thanks to that bonus to attack he grants them.

*'''Lord Arcanist Ossyan''': Everyone meet Goreshade's...cousin, I guess?  Ossyan is a good toolbox caster with a few unique tricks that make him a good pick for various reasons.  First of all, Future Sight on him and his Battlegroup allows for a lot of flexibility when it comes to boosting, easing up on Focus and resource management.  The Chronophage Cannon isn't as potent as the Mk. 2 incarnation, but the -2 to SPD and DEF is a welcome debuff on hit.  Locus and dispel...well, Ossyan shouldn't be in melee, but if he is, this can maybe help on an assassination.

:Admonition grants Ossyan some safety if he's targeted by an assassination and is a decent upkeep.  Arcantrik Bolt is a decent magic missile spell that can shut down a 'jack for a round.  Fortune, paired with Future Sight, gives one of Ossyan's 'jacks a really solid chance to hit.  Quicken is a solid buff to a unit or solo, and Shatter Storm, on paper, is a good way to grant minor AoEs to a unit, though in practice, it rarely works due to low POW.  Ossyan's feat works to boost models' damage rolls in his control area.  While it can also decrease enemies, in practice, this places him uncomfortably close to the front lines.

:Ossyan gets along well with 'jacks with ranged weapons, particularly those with nasty effects like the Daemon and Discordia.  Hypnos, Ossyan's personal 'jack, gains a nasty effect to it's gun.  Hyperion and Ossyan get along frighteningly well, as that terrifying main gun becomes a lot more reliable with Ossyan around.

*'''Issyria, Sibyl of Dawn''': Meet the most unique caster in Retribution, and one of the more mechanically odd ones in the game.  First things first: Issyria has no weapon.  At all.  She can't attack, thus can't charge or defend herself.  Her stat line reflects this having little in the way of attack, though her high defense and focus make her a good caster.  Ancillary Attack lets a warjack in a short range make an extra attack.  Given some of the nasty effects Retribution ranged weapons have, you can guess why this is considered rather scary.  Arcane vortex lets her negate spells cast in a short range of her, and True Sight in the Retribution is always welcome.

:Unsurprisingly, her spell list is focused on support.  Admonition is mostly there to keep her safe, and Velocity grants her some mobility.  Crusader's call and Inviolable Resolve are decent buffs that can increase mobility and defense, respectively.  Blinding light, her only offensive spell, got a nice buff, now able to target any model or unit, negating their ability to use ranged or magic attacks and dropping their defense. Her feat grants True Sight in her control area and lets the same models roll an extra die and discard one.  This is basically a small boost, but can also be handy for getting critical effects.  Like, say, Hyperion's crit consume.

:Speaking of which, Hyperion is a nice addition to her battlegroup, as is any model that has a good ranged attack.  The reason for the range is that you want to keep her out of combat.  Arc Nodes are also welcome as a result.  Issyria has no assassination methods herself, and so relies on her army.  It is important to know your army to get the most out of this caster.

*'''Thyron, Sword of Truth''': Ever wanted to see what would happen if you stuck an elf in power armor?  Thyron is here to answer that question.  Thyron is a melee beatstick.  At decently high Mat, P+S on par with light melee 'jacks, and weapon master, Thyron is someone you don't want to tangle with up close.  Adding to this is Blade Shield, that keeps him safer at range, Riposte, and Cleave.  He also gives Cleave to all his 'jacks.

:His spell list, unsurprisingly, is a lot of buffs, though not all are personal.  Assail lets his 'jacks charge without spending focus, and Storm Rager can give a warrior model some nasty punch.  Onslaught grants him and his 'jacks Pathfinder on a charge.  Spellpiercer gives all models in his control range blessed and magical damage for a turn.  Ground Zero puses models away from him and does a decent POW AoE.  His feat grants him and his battlegroup an additional die on melee attack rolls and Side Step.

:Thyron is decidedly unsubtle, but subtlety in this case isn't really wanted.  Slapping Storm Rager on Thyron pushes him into Butcher territory for melee output.  However, where Butcher has little support, Thyron is more than capable of giving his army the buffs they need.  Spellpiercer is of particular note as it makes it possible to grant his entire army the ability to negate most buffs.  Melee 'jacks are the name of the game, with Vyre 'jacks being particularly welcome.  One note with Mk 3 is that Side Step got a nerf in that it no longer negates free strikes.  While sad, it doesn't make Thyron any less scary.

*'''Elara, Death's Shadow:''' Elara2 is now a full fledged warcaster.  She's gained in stats across the board, and has a few neat tricks.  Apparition serves a dual purpose of keeping her out of trouble or setting up for a charge lane.  She and her 'jacks all gain Retaliatory Strike, letting her counterattack anyone that attacks them in melee.  Her sickle staff, while rather mediocre in stats, does have reach and lets her cast any spell on her list for free with a kill.

:Spellwise, Elara has a lot of aggressive spells that aid with movement and sealing the deal on an assassination run.  Boundless charge lets one model gain Pathfinder on a charge with a bit of an extended range, great for getting her or her 'jacks into melee.  Teleport lets her place herself in a respectable range, though it ends her activation, good for getting out of tight spots.  Convection returns, but is far more reliable with her higher focus stat.  Marked for death is a seriously painful spell to be hit by, and excellent before an assassination run.  Scything touch gives an ARM debuff when in melee range.  Her feat slaps boundless charge on everything in her control range and can move through basically anything, ignoring free strikes.

:Elara2 is an assassin caster with some very nasty tricks.  Scything Touch and Marked for Death make whatever you're targeting very vulnerable, especially if they rely on Stealth or Incorporeal.  Boundless charge can get your jacks into melee fast, and her feat paired with her debuffs can pretty much end whatever it is you're aiming at.  Scything touch pairs especially well with longer reach weapons, so bring along a Phoenix or Vyre 'jack, or possibly Imperatus.  Note that this spell is universal, so everyone gets to take advantage of the ARM debuff, so try to squeeze as many people into the charge as you can.  Unlike a lot of casters in Retribution, Elara2 has a heavy focus on melee 'jacks.  Despite her melee focus, she's at best average on defense, so teleporting out is probably going to be important.

*'''Magister Helynna:''' Well, Retribution finally got a dedicated 'jack warcaster...and oh is she a doozy.  She can repair in B2B with a lot of reliability.  Both her ranged and melee attacks allow a push in any direction.

:Her spells are what set her apart as a 'jack caster.  Deceleration gives her army bonuses to ARM against ranged and magic attacks, which is a good initial cast to get her 'jacks into range.  Rhythm of War allows her 'jacks to move up a short range after all other activation phases.  Force strike knocks down an enemy with decent POW, and Hand of Destruction is a debuff that let's her warjacks roll an extra die on attack and damage, discarding the lowest.  Obliteration is an expensive, massive AOE, high POW blast.  Helynna's feat restores force fields in her control range to full and lets them ignore crippled systems and grants an ARM buff for a round.

:Helynna is meant to be a battlegroup caster, and it shows.  She grants good survivability and mobility buffs early on, then can soften or debuff targets for her jacks to finish off.  Note that she is focus hungry beyond the pale, between her focus on 'jacks and her spells.  Sylys should be included to keep her Rhythm of War going early on, and Arcanists are a must.  Helios is an interesting, if somewhat expensive, option as it can spread focus around quite well.  She is about as tough as wet tissue, so you're going to want to keep an Shield Guard nearby, Aspis being the obvious choice.  Units and Solos are going to need to be good enough to hold their own as she has no support for them.  Dawnguard are a good pick for this reason.  An arc node is going to be useful with her offensive spells.  Also, bear in mind that her feat, while potent, doesn't actually repair your warjacks, and if your opponent is smart, they're going to make sure they don't leave a lot of crippled-but-not-dead warjacks around.  Then again, if you opponent fails to wreck that Phoenix...


* '''Lord Ghyrrshyld, the Forgiven''' No bullshit, meet Goreshade 4. Off the bat, the first thing to not is that both he and all ‘jacks in his command get arcane vortex, which, aside from being bullshit, makes his army incredibly hard to pin down. His stats are average, but his sword still freezes anything it hits.

:Spells are backlash to make warcasters sad, frost field to drag down defenses, ghost walk to just walk through things, hex blast to strip enemy upkeep’s, mage sight to negate cover and stealth, and finally, revive to bring back models from the dead. Yes, seriously. One thing to note is that these spells are all firmly in the 2-3 focus range, so keeping them up is a chore. His feat give everyone around concealment, immunity to cold, and makes enemy models around him stationary.

:Ghyrrshyld is a potent but somewhat odd caster. He works well as a buffer and debuffer, making his allies happy and his foes sad. Make a list to suit. His arcane vortex trick works particularly well to create bubbles of denial. Helios can help with focus. After, grab units and solos that hit hard, like mage hunters and dawnguard, and hit them like a frosty hammer.