Warmachine/Tactics/Retribution of Scyrah

NOTE: In process of Mk. 3 update

Why Play Retribution?

Ever feel like hippy tree-hugging Elves that prance about wearing ribbons and singing about world peace and the beauty of nature just don't cut it? Me too. Enter the Retribution of Scyrah, an Elven terrorist organization whose primary directive is the complete genocide of all human magic users, and anyone that would protect their existence. The way that the Retribution sees it, human magic is killing their deities (and not just abstract deities, but actual gods that exist). Thing is, the gods of Ios are on their way out, so not only is the Retribution actually grounded in sensible logic.. in all probability, they're correct. So correct, in fact, that they've started convincing major political players within their isolationist nation of Ios to join their extensive military campaign of waging genocide on humanity.

In other words, if you want to play heavy metal Elves that have done a complete 180 from their traditional role in fantasy storytelling and now want to murder everyone, the Retribution is for you.

Strategically and tactically, the name of the Retribution is graceful efficiency. Even their specialized units fulfill multiple roles, and all the pieces of their army gracefully complement each other to pose multiple threats to an opponent. It can be tricky to design and play Retribution lists because of how many possible strategies each of their units can support, and how many diverse options they have available to them. Their warcasters drastically alter the feel and performance of their troops, and often you will be at a slight disadvantage stat-wise compared to your enemies but have many more tactical options available in the form of special abilities, spells, or inherent traits.

If you like outwitting your opponents and playing army lists that can take on a wide array of enemies while still being dangerous in a stand-up fight, the Retribution would like you to talk to a recruiter.

General Strategy

Typically, you want to build a Retribution list with two components (unless you're building a theme list). The first component will be your 'front lines'. These will be the myrmidons and soldiers that will actually engage the enemy. The Phoenix, Griffon, Dawnguard Sentinels and Houseguard Halberdiers are the heavy and light myrmidons and infantry that are most iconic for this role (respectively), though other units can be substituted in.

Substitutes include Battle Mages, many heavy myrmidons, Destors (in some cases), and Mage Hunter Infiltrators. Each of these dramatically changes the way your army will play.

The point of the 'front lines' component of your army is to give your opponent a solid threat that he has to address in melee. Dawnguard Sentinels are my personal favorite for this, but I've found that running them in first is a quick way to get them killed. Screening them with Griffons or Battle Mages dramatically increases their survival rates, as shooting will typically target the Griffons/Mages, where it will be far less effective than against your Sentinels.

Once the Sentinels are delivered in to close combat, there's not a whole lot they can't kill. Halberdiers are like Sentinels, but with less murder, so they should really only be used if you're planning on taking heavy myrmidons or other components of your list to do most of the killing. Consider Soulless Escorts for both Sentinels and Halberdiers, as being able to negate enemy spell-casting against your melee warriors is often important (especially against Cryx and Cryx-like debuff lists).

The second component is the 'strategic shenanigans' component. While your opponent is busy engaging your front-line fighters, you use this component to set up your one-two punch. Often, this component involves a combination of your warcaster (Ravyn, Kaelyssa, Rahn, Garryth...) and some sort of tricksy unit like Mage Hunter Strike Force + Commander, two groups of Battle Mages, some solos like Mage Hunter Assassins or Ghost Snipers or Narn, and so on. These will allow you to both swing the front line fighting in your favor by applying various battlefield manipulation strategies and lots of potential damage output to the parts of your opponent's formation that are most likely to break under pressure. Always keep in mind that the goal of this component is to kill the enemy warcaster/warlock if possible, and position them accordingly to be threatening. Don't throw them away on a gamble, however: they're much more useful alive than dead.

When building a Retribution army, start with the Battle Box. Helynna is a warjack focused caster, and she comes with a good sample from the Shyeel warjack list. From there, pick a unit or two that you think fits your play style. Battle Mages are a good bet, as is Mage Hunter Strike Force, as they're quite good generalists. Don't neglect solos: more than other armies, Retribution forces need their solos, and Mage Hunter Assassins are infamous for a reason. The goal is to figure out how aggressive you like to be, and which warcasters you want to play, and tailor your lists accordingly.

Unit Analysis

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.

Myrmidons (Warjacks)

Light Myrmidons

• Aspis: Your light myrmidon tank. Phoenix Field combined with Shield Guard means that the Aspis will be good for bodyguarding solos or your warcaster, and it's reasonably competent in melee. Situational, but if you build your list correctly it can be very useful. Can be used to screen troops, but isn't quite as useful as the Griffon since it doesn't threaten as much damage and its ARM is a bit lower.
• Chimera: Arc node with decent melee capabilities. All of your light myrmidons are fragile, so this isn't anything new. Most of the time, you'll want a Phoenix instead, but this guy can be situationally useful.
• Gorgon: Has a basic light Myrmidon statline. Force lock is THE REASON why you take this guy, and has some beautiful tactical applications. Rob a small unit or solo of their movement, or pin a big 'jack or beast in place for a heavy to attack next turn. Stall solos, pin down warcasters, slowing units, force the enemy to break formation. The polarity cannon now imposes a speed penalty, and those no longer affect charges. However, the Gorgon still makes it possible to lock down lanes with good placement.
• Griffon: Take two if you're taking any. Great for Jack Marshals, relatively durable, and they do good damage on the charge. Try to avoid dropping Focus into them if at all possible: but do keep in mind that even one Griffon in a group of infantry will drastically increase the survival rate of the little guys. Even though the Griffon is considered a cheap and fragile jack, just one of them can still take more punishment than an entire unit of Dawnguard Sentinels and still be a threat.
• Siren: A light Vyre warjack, but in terms of role, think of it as a “medium” warjack. The Siren hits relatively hard for a light ‘jack, and further has blessed and magic weapons to ensure that it hits hard. It has an ability to spend focus to not suffer a damage roll from an attack, which makes it able to negate that one big hit, but requires you camp focus. It’s only once a turn, so never camp more than one. It’s gun is a moderately powerful and decent ranged attack that can take over a model it boxes. Overall, the Siren makes for a good mid range combat ‘jack.
• Harpy: This...is an odd model. It has the same pillowy fists you expect from retribution, but also flies. It has a lighter ARM, but actually decent MAT and RAT. It’s gun, the wind flayed, is decent range and POW that fires twice and pushes back. Relatively cheap with some OK support, but don’t expect it to rake in kills.

Character Light Myrmidons

• Moros: Moros is Garryth's personal 'jack...and it shows. On it's own, it has Pathfinder and Stealth and can spend focus to get faster. It's ranged weapon basically makes it's target unable to do much and drops its defense to a set 5. When paired with Garryth, it gains acrobatics, making it able to charge right over friendly lines.

Heavy Myrmidons

Shyeel

• Hydra: The Hydra is another example of a warjack that you build lists and strategies around. The ideal use of a Hydra is to drop 3 Focus on it at the beginning of the game and sit it somewhere that it can exploit the range of its cannon for a few turns to make very long, very damaging shots (boost Attack and Damage and replenish its focus, if you have to). Eventually the enemy will try to close with it, at which point it can unload all of its Focus to become a large threat in melee. It works very well with Kaelyssa's Witch Hound ability, as the capacity to take extra pot shots with a fully charged Focus Cannon is pretty deadly. Drop Phantom Seeker on it and you're in business. The goal of the Hydra is to last until the late game: most pieces will be traded down, but you'll still have a Heavy Myrmidon with a very self-sufficient supply of Focus that can power through your enemies. The key is to use it conservatively early to toast solos and damage warjacks/beasts, and then engage with it later as casualties mount on both sides. Make a mental note of enemies that might threaten the Hydra and do your best to remove them before the Hydra takes center stage.

• Manticore: A strong toolkit myrmidon. Strong melee abilities, two open fists with strong POW+S that it can make even stronger temporarily, a ranged magical weapon with a variable ROF, and the Covering Fire special that lets it lay down cloud effects that damage trespassing enemies. It can be great to use Covering Fire to screen your troops, as enemies charging into them will receive the unpleasant hit that will kill most infantry on the spot. Typically, activating the Manticore last and using covering fire to prevent counter attacks while you advance is a very useful tactic. The Manticore will also do well in melee and has the uncanny speed of heavy myrmidons that gives it a substantial charge threat range.

• Phoenix: The iconic Heavy Myrmidon. Great ranged weapon, great melee weapon, open hand attack, unit-clearing AoE attack, Phoenix Field's regeneration of your Force Field, and it's an Arc Node. There are very few situations where I can come up with a reason as to why I shouldn't take one. I've noticed that most of my serious lists include either a Phoenix, Dawnguard Sentinels, or both. Take care of your Phoenix and it will take care of you in return, by setting all of your enemies on fire and then making them dead. It may seem expensive, but you can't really put a price on victory. The Phoenix gives you everything you need to win, all in one durable package.

Vyre

• Banshee: The Banshee offers two main selling points. The first is its gun, which has decent range, good POW, and slams smaller units and knocks down larger ones. Wailing is the second, and it is nasty. In a decent range, enemies can't cast spells or give orders. That second part can cause serious issues, particularly if your opponent wanted to charge that turn. Crit Grievous wounds on the swords are nice, but unreliable.

• Daemon: You might be forgiven for thinking this is a melee 'jack, what with the blessed fists and decent MAT. But the gun is the main point of this 'jack, and it's a doozy. Basically, once you hit with it, it pushes everything nearby toward the target, then drops a decent POW AoE template on top of it. It's a potent way to clear out infantry and, failing that, pull things out of position.

• Sphinx: This 'jack is a bit more of a rounded kit, but has, unsurprisingly, a neat trick with its gun. Mk. 3 updated the gun so that it now causes anything hit by it to suffer from Arcane Attraction. Basically, this makes spells used against the target gain range, which can pair well with spell focused warcasters like Rahn and Ossyan.

Character Heavy Myrmidons

• Discordia: Despite being Rahn's personal 'jack, Discordia sees a lot of play with others. For reasons only PP knows, it got a huge buff in Mk. 3. The main draw of this 'jack is the gun. Long range, high POW spray. For a long time, it was the Retribution's most reliable method to deal with stealth. Now, it's just as nasty, but also makes models damaged unable to cast spells. Discordia can also spend a focus to gain bonuses to armor against ranged attacks and ignore blast damage, granting these bonuses to nearby models as well. In melee, if it hits with both it's initial attacks, it can can models away from it. Oh, and now when bonded to Rahn...it never suffers from crippled systems. After all that, it's cost went down in Mk 3, so have fun fielding this lovely piece of destruction.

• Hemera: Meet Issyria’s personal ‘jack, and oh boy is it built for her. It has stats on par with other Shyeel heavies, and packs not only an arc node, but an arc node that reduces the cost of spells cast through it. While he’s up close, he gives bonuses to other Retribution models, and can reposition to ensure that the arc node is where you want it. It’s gun is a wide AOE blast that is magical and dispels on a crit. While bonded to Issyria, she gets one upkeep spell for free, freeing up her focus. Hemera obviously works well with Issyria, but the enhanced arc node makes him dangerous with any caster.

• Hypnos: Hypnos is...a bit of an odd 'jack. For starters, it's an arc node, so that's good. It's got a good, powerful gun with a good AoE, which is also good. The gun ignores LOS, concealment, and cover, which is fantastic. In melee, it's...decent, but not spectacular, the big selling point being that when it hits, it puts on a debuff that makes the target unable to move except to change facing and slaps a hefty defense penalty. When bonded with Ossyan, that gets slapped on the gun. Overall, a decent toolkit 'jack with some nasty debuff potential.

• Imperatus: Vyros's personal 'jack is basically a souped up Phoenix, with everything that that implies. First of all, it has a second thermal blade, giving it an extra attack with reach, continuous fire, and high POW. Side step lets it dance around the battlefield a bit, and with it's reach, that has less risk. Second, the gun causes continuous fire to nearby models if it boxes the target. Finally, when bonded with Vyros, it can run or charge without spending focus. It keeps the Phoenix Field and Phoenix Protocol from the Phoenix, only losing out on the combustion special attack and arc node. It's a nasty close combat monster, and should be treated as such.

Colossals

• Helios: This...is an unusual colossal. Let's go over some of what it does. It's ranged attack is a tractor beam that shoots multiple times in a round, moving targets a few inches. This gives it a lot of battlefield control, as you can either move three models a few inches, or one model multiple times. As this is split into increments, it allows you to drag people out of cover, then closer. The fists it has are open fist, so power attacks are an option, and they cause continuous fire, and also make people explode to cause more continuous fire when boxed. So far, so good. However, special rules are what make this colossal different. Force barrier gives it bonuses against ranged attacks and does not suffer blast damage. Force gate are where things get weird. You can spend a focus to get a special rule for a turn. You can only do this once per power, but here it goes. Broadcast Power gives nearby jacks a focus point at the start of their activation, Distortion field adds +2 to its defense and causes enemies that miss it to be pushed away, and Repulsor Field pushes models away that hit it in melee. It's possible with these rules to fuel a lot of warjacks, push its ranged defense higher than any colossal, and mess with enemy lines. Overall, think of this as a support colossal, unusual as that is. It gives an absolutely insane amount of battlefield control. That said, those high P+S fists are well worth the use, so don't get carried away with using it strictly in a support role.

• Hyperion: Unlike Helios, the Hyperion is all about firepower. Let's build up The blade fists are what you expect, and match around the same as other colossals in melee with open fists. The Thresher Cannons are decent POW guns with a variable ROF, allowing you to take out multiple targets, great for shooting a few models off the board. But the big selling point is the Starburst cannon. In fact, it's best to think of the rest of the model as a delivery system for this bad boy. High power, absolutely huge AoE, and Crit Consume. Useful for taking out 'jacks, clearing troop units, bypassing tough on that crit and curing errection dysfunction...Starburst does it all. The low RAT makes this a bit unreliable, but pair it with the right warcaster and buffs in place, and you'll be seeing all kinds of nastiness.

Battle Engines

• Arcantrik Force Generator: A delightful support model. Each shot from its teleforce cannon gets a special attack type. Blasted Earth puts down a decent AOE which is rough terrain for a round, Destructor raises the power of the attack, and momentum slams models away or knocks them down if large. Dual shot lets you fire twice if you don't move, and Range Booster gives nearby models an increase to range. Blasted Earth paired with dual shot lets you drop rough terrain in two spots, and the range booster is useful with any ranged unit, which the elves have plenty of.

Units

• Dawnguard Invictors: Heavy infantry with Combined Ranged Attack and the ability to perform well in melee. Mk 3 saw them lose flank, but gain some POW to their melee to make up for it. They also gained assault, which lets them make the most of their weapons. They're a balanced unit that has several options available to them.
  • Dawnguard Invictor Officer & Standard: Too good not to take. The highlight of Invictors is their ability to perform CRAs, and the Officer makes CRAs even better by letting you reroll misses. With this, 5 man CRAs will hit (and kill) just about anything that isn't a warjack/beast. In most cases, two 5-man CRAs is better than a 10-man CRA unless you're attacking something with very heavy armor. The mini-feat that the Officer adds is also fantastic (range extension) and works very well with Ravyn's and Ossyan's feat turn.
• Dawnguard Sentinels: Reach + Weaponmaster on heavy infantry? Sign me up. If you've ever been irritated by Bane Thralls.. well, these are like Bane Thralls, except they have heavier armor and Reach instead of Stealth. Put them in reverse triangles to maximize Defense Line (groups of three or four are best), and leave gaps in the triangle for Reach. Mk. 3 added Vengeance, letting them move up if one of them gets killed.
  • 'Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard: If you're taking Sentinels, you're gonna take the Officer + Standard. Full stop. Now that Sentinels get Vengeance naturally, they add Relentless Charge as tactics, making the charge far more reliable, and a mini-feat, Iron Zeal, which gives bonuses to ARM and makes them immune to stationary and knock down for a round.
• Dawnguard Destors: Destors have gotten a lot of changes in the Mk. 3 rules. First of all, cavalry rules have done a lot to them, allowing their mounts to attack and causing their charges to gain boosted attack. They lost unyielding and dual shot (meh) but gained Quick Work and Reposition. This makes them a lot more dangerous on the charge as every lance kill lets them shoot that cannon. Paired with Assault, this makes that charge potentially devastating. Still pricey, but a unit of multiwounds with that kind of destructive potential makes them quite potent as an elite unit.
• House Ellowuyr Swordsmen: These guys are lighter, cheaper versions of Sentinels. They don't have quite the raw damage output or staying power, but they do have some nice mobility. First, Blade Shield makes their defense respectable against ranged attacks. Cleave lets them potentially clear tarpits. Parry makes them able to dance around and ignore free strikes. They overall fulfill the role of medium melee troops.
• House Shyeel Arcanists: To talk about these guys, we need to discuss their competition since they run up against arcanist mechanik. At slightly over 2 points per model, they are actually more expensive to field. That said, they are ever so slightly less squishy with their force barrier. They also have the option to do a small magic attack that does knockdown on a crit. Their repair isn’t as good as the artificer, and they don’t have the ability to directly boost their abilities. With all that said, you can keep them a bit closer without worrying about a stray blast killing them, meaning that they could potentially keep a battlegroup running longer.
• House Shyeel Battle Mages: Battle Mages are excellent examples of the Retribution's diverse tactical capacity. They're cheap for the amount of bodies you get and the spell-casting. The Critical: Knockdown on Force Bolt is very handy. Force Barrier making them immune to being cleared out by blasts and most shooting is pretty ace, as well. They get two melee attacks each in close combat with respectable POW+S for infantry, plus Beat Back lets them move in combat so they can take advantage of how many attacks they have. Note that Beat Back triggers even if the model they're attacking is slain, so they can still move the inch. Force Bolt is also a very useful spell for pulling the enemy into charge range or pushing them out of it, and six Force Bolts fired against the same target can drag an enemy right into your heavy hitters and probably knock him down in the process. If you're going to take them, seriously consider taking two units. All of their attacks are magic, which makes them a nightmare against Incorporeal enemies and Dartan Vilmon.
• House Vyre Electromancer: Because why should Cygnar have all the fun? A bit like Stormcallers, these guys are a bit more blasty than their Shyeel counterparts. They have a decent ranged magic lightning attack with some variations on the type. Energy leak lowers the Focus cap of target warjacks, Lightning generator does some arcing, and Pulse fire basically hits a unit multiple times. Melee (why would you do this?) causes one damage to the cortex of a 'jack...but again, that invovles putting your squishies up against a warjack.
• Houseguard Halberdiers: Like Sentinels, but cheaper and less killy. They trade in death-dealing greatswords for spears and shields. Shield Wall gives them heavy warjack-tier armor, and they can out-attrition most infantry pretty respectably. Practiced Maneuvers allows them to move through one another, so order of activation matters a bit less with them. They also ignore LOS, so they can reach through each other. Set defense is OK, and Brutal Charge is helpful. The Houseguard Thane makes their mobility terrifying. A fantastic tarpit unit.
  • Houseguard Halberdier Officer & Standard: If you're taking Halberdiers to actually use them, instead of provide plentiful meat shields for your army, you're going to want the Officer. Noticing a pattern here? The Officer makes them much more effective by giving Reform and the mini-feat, and the Standard Bearer improves their morale substantially.
• Houseguard Riflemen: Surprise, it's another Combined Ranged Attack unit. They're comparable to other light infantry-style marksmen units, such as Winter Guard or Longrifles. They also ignore each other for LOS and can advance through them. The Thane gives them serious utility and taking one with them is almsot mandatory.
  • Houseguard Rifleman Officer & Standard: Absolutely terrible, under no circumstances take this. ..nah, just fucking with you. As with pretty much every other Retribution unit, the officer adds essential traits. War Tempered lets you make CRAs into melee combat, which gives the Riflemen many more potential targets after turn 2. Whites of Their Eyes is also pretty good for making lots of two-man CRAs, when it comes up. The Standard Bearer improves their iffy morale.
• Heavy Rifle Team: The equivalent to light artillery for Retribution. These guys are...a bit odd. The heavy rifle is a nasty bit of work as it halves armor, boosted attack roles with rangefinder...but it's not exactly thrilling with lowish POW and no AoE. That said, paired with the Houseguard Thane (yeah, this guy is a Houseguard unit), it can be a nasty surprise for someone not expecting it.
• Mage Hunter Strike Force: Mage Hunter Strike Force are /the/ iconic toolbox unit of Scyrah, in an entire faction of toolbox units. They've got Pathfinder, Stealth, great Defense, Blessed, and they get an extra damage die versus warjacks. While they're not optimal in melee, they do have Combined Melee Attack so they can make a decent showing, and they're quite cheap. You pretty much have to take a unit attachment, if you're going to take MHSF, because of the force multiplication that they provide. They're not quite as good against Horde armies, but don't underestimate their ranged damage output against even heavy infantry. If you limit yourself to thinking of them as an assassination tool, you'll never use them to their fullest potential (although they are quite good at killing enemy warcasters/warlocks, if the opportunity does come up).

Watch out for enemies that can drop multiple AoE's or sprays. One isn't really a big deal, as you ought to expect casualties if you're playing Warmachine... but a group of Man O War Bombardiers, for example, can cause some serious pain if they get the drop on you and shell you with grenades. Normally, with the range on the Strike Force's crossbows, this won't be an issue. It is important to be aware that AoE spam and sprays are just about the only way to counter MHSF short of engaging them in melee, however, in order to use them effectively.

• Mage Hunter Strike Force Commander: Whelp, someone got hit by the nerf bat. That said, the rules gave him something of an indirect buff, namely that you can take him in multiple Strike Force units. Phantom Seeker is replaced by Phantom Barrage, giving you a one time use Phantom seeker that now ignores Stealth! Overall, how you use him hasn't changed, aside from keeping him alive is now more important and you only get one time use for Phantom Barrage.

• Mage Hunter Infiltrators: Your light melee unit...and they're a bit underwhelming. Blessed, pathfinder, and stealth, two attacks at lowish P+S and middling MAT. They do get gang, so a boost to attack and damage when attacking the same enemy. They lost mage hunter, which means they’re not as threatening to the warcasters camping fury, but got a cost reduction to make up for it.
• Spears of Scyrah: Smaller, more elite band of mage hunters. They have a few things going for them over others. First, they flat out have more wounds per model, and actually end up with more total wounds than any other mage hunter unit. They are quick, have a reaching weapon with blessed, weapon master and magic, they can reposition to get them into place or out of combat with a lower reach, and their defense becomes utterly rediculous when in melee. Shield guard lets them spread damage a bit (or take a hit for a nearby model) and vengeance makes taking them down one at a time a risky prospect. Add in stealth, pathfinder, and a good MAT, and you’re looking at a hard hitting small unit that can make very nasty surgical strikes. One thing to keep in mind is that vengeance can combined with shield guard to make sure one of the models is standing to get vengeance off. They like being in melee, so anything that boosts their speed is welcomed.

• Eiryss, Mage Hunter Commander: Yep, she's got a third incarnation, and now she's all ours. First off, all her attacks have Weapon Master, so enjoy that. She's almost as deadly as Narn in close combat. She gives Fearless, Reform, and Advance Deployment to her unit, making them even more mobile than under a regular Commander. The loss of Phantom Seeker with a regular Commander is unfortunate, but she more than makes up for it by being a badass. Arcane Haemorrhage makes Horde armies cry by eating all their fury. Ding a warcaster with it via crossbow and watch all the upkeeps they've cast evaporate. While Mage Hunter Strike Force are not typically a good melee unit, they have a high enough DEF and Combined Melee Attack that they can actually do a decent amount of work in close combat (especially against 'jacks). Eiryss hidden in a group of Mage Hunter Strike Force can pose a serious threat to most combatants, easily killing two or three enemies per turn with her Weapon Master attacks + Quick Work. She grants her attached unit reform, so a bit more mobility, as well as advanced deployment. Overall, Eiryss feels more like a super-solo who happens to have an extra unit as a tax rather than a real UA.

• Stormfall Archers: Archers that shoot grenades. These grenades come in three types: high-powered (extra damage die on direct hits), rocket-propelled (extra range), and napalm. They're cheap and useful in many situations. They can clear infantry, snipe warcasters, and even threaten warjacks with their damaging ammunition. If you ever feel like your list doesn't have the ability to deal with hordes of infantry or focus fire on big threats, Stormfall Archers have just the grenade for you.
• Soulless Escort: You really have to ask yourself 'is the kind of list I'm building going to need a Soulless Escort or two?' Lists that rely on melee infantry to hold their center will benefit from an Escort. Lists that revolve around Stealthed units or ranged attackers will not. They're fantastic when attached to Dawnguard Sentinels or Houseguard Halberdiers, because they remove the threat of Parasite and similar maladies. Paying a 1 point surcharge to preemptively counter any magic shenanigans an opponent might throw your way is a steal. Just make sure you know when they're appropriate and when they aren't. They're also quite decent in melee with Flank, but that's not what you're taking them for.
• Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters: Now counted as Retribution when included, so we can go ahead and talk about them as well. They're expensive for what they do. They are fast skirmishers with CRA and weapon master in melee. They all have pathfinder, which is great, but...overall they're a bit underwhelming compared to other units. They have little in the way of dealing with armor, and a solid hit from an AoE blast can pretty much decimate the unit. They also have no real protection against attacks outside of their average DEF and very poor ARM. While a solid unit overall, they are expensive for what you get in return.

'*Ryssovass Defenders': Did we want elf highlanders? Because we got elf highlanders. Good MAT, middling speed, defense, and ARM, but has tough and weapon master. They do get a defense buff (pushing them to higher end middling) in melee and can choose which column to damage on a warjack or warbeast. They are pricy, and tough can only work so often, but they can be a nasty surprise when they aren’t expected.

Solos

• Arcanist: Mk. 3, with its focus on 'jacks, makes the Arcanist all the more useful. Repair is generally useful, but the magic abilities are where he shines. Concentrated Power gives a minor buff to melee damage. Slapping it on a Vyre 'jack or Imperatus will see some serious extra output. Empower is what you'll probably use the most, however. An extra focus and removing Disruption. The extra focus frees your warcaster up a bit. It's extremely helpful for focus hungry casters. Thanks to the minor increase in points, they're a little harder to squeeze onto lists, but they're well worth the points.
• Dawnguard Scyir: The Scyir is ideal for warcasters with lots of strong spells (Rahn, for example). Instead of spending all your focus powering your caster's battlegroup, you have your Scyir do the lifting. He's not only a Jack Marshal, but he also has quite a few abilities that augment his synergy with his myrmidons and make them work very well with Dawnguard (himself included). If you're having problems deciding whether you want to cast spells or power battlegroups, look no further than the Scyir (unless you've got Elara, of course). He now grants Dawnguard the ability to move and shoot through each other, which is fantastic.
• House Shyeel Artificer: Oh, hey Mr. Magic Jack Marshall. This guy is actually pretty tough for a caster solo, with high ARM, decent defense against ranged attacks, and some good spells. Force Manipulation makes him immune to charges and slams in his front arc, Force Wall puts Force Barrier on nearby friends, and Magno Bolt is a decent POW blast that pushes or pulls nearby models. As a Jack Marshall, he can repair the field of a myrmidon, giving them sustainability. In melee, which he isn't actually bad at, he can smack foes around as is standard for mittens.
• House Shyeel Magister: If you're going to take a Magister, you should seriously ask yourself 'why don't I spend another three points and get six of them instead?' In almost all situations, a full group of House Shyeel Battle Mages is superior to a single Magister. Six of them means six Force Bolts instead of one (and if you're taking the Magister for the Force Bolt, you're doing it wrong anyway). Combo Smite, an extra MAT, and some extra health boxes are the Magister's only claim to fame (Whip Lash is negligible), so he could be good for bodyguard duty on your 'caster. His only other function is as an escort for nasty solos: Combo Smite is a good way to set up an assassination attempt. Unfortunately, he's pretty squishy, and if anything actually gets the drop on him, he dies instantly.
• Houseguard Thane: Put simply, if you are taking Houseguard units, you want at least one of these guys. Yeah, he's got weaponmaster on that sword, but who cares? You're taking him for his special rules. He is only usable with Houseguard, but he has two special commands. First is Desperate pace, which adds a small bonus to normal movement. The other is Firing Solution, which allows houseguard to ignore stealth. This guy makes Halberdiers quick, and single handedly makes riflemen worth taking. He's a bit squishy, so keep him back and life will be good.
• Lys Healer: A healer with a few tricks. The basic trick she has is to heal a small amount from a living model. Great if you need to heal a solo or, potentially, a warcaster. Power of Faith makes it harder to pull movement tricks on units, and Purifying Prayer gets rid of all continuous effects and animi. This makes her a highly useful unit against Hordes. She can also move if a model is damaged in her command range, and, perhaps most uniquely useful, she prevents soul tokens in her command range. She's overall a decent defensive toolbox with a lot to offer.
• Mage Hunter Assassin: Often hailed as 'the best solo in the game, take two or more.' Yeah, they're pretty spiffy. First, let's address her issues. She only has one attack, so she needs to charge (preferably into the back arc) to make an impact. The other option is having her charge a knocked down model (warjacks, Magister, Battle Mages, Rahn, etc). Her armor sucks, watch out for explosions. Everyone's going to focus her, so don't play dumb and expect her to Rambo around by herself and not get wasted.

Why is she so good, then? If you can set her up with a good charge where she lands her hit, she can kill almost everything in the game that doesn't have 20+ armor with just that one hit. Decapitation combined with 9 + 4d6 damage on the charge means that on average you're hitting for 23 damage before Decap. Against an armor of 16, that means you're doing 14 points of damage. That will drop most Warcasters as long as they've taken even marginal damage prior to the Assassin's dive. Pathfinder means terrain is no problem, Arcane Assassin of course is nasty for killing 'casters, she can hit them from 4" away (giving her a 14" threat range on the charge, base), and Advanced Deployment means she can get into that threat range very quickly. If you're going to run two, also run something that can seriously threaten your opponent (Mage Hunter Strike Force, Dawnguard Sentinels + Stormfalls, heavy myrmidons, etc). This way, you can place one major threat on each flank and force your opponent to choose how he's going to split up his defenses. This dramatically increases your odds of getting the kill.

• Ghost Sniper: Like Mage Hunter Assassins, they work best in pairs. Use them to kill important attachments, solos, and officers, or damage systems on warjacks. They can also punish your opponent if he walks his Warcaster up the field with a lot of camped Focus (though if you're playing Scyrah and not running at least two dudes with Arcane Assassin, what are you doing with yourself?). Think of them as a bubble of board control: your opponent will be wary of moving any important pieces into their kill zone. Make sure you have some dudes set aside to cover them if your opponent tries to rush them. They're exceptionally effective with Ravyn and Kaelyssa.
• Dawnguard Destor Thane: Much like the Destor Unit, this guy has shifted in the latest edition. He's got the same gunfighter/assault combo with quick work that the base unit does, also still has reposition, but now give an armor buff to Destors nearby when they're engaging an enemy. He acts a bit like a slightly more free roaming UA as a result.
• Soulless Voidtracer: Got a decent magic two handed sword, but is squishy and only has a single box. However, she makes life very nasty for spellcasters. She can't be targeted by spells, and in her command range, anything targeted by a spell causes the caster to suffer damage as a backlash. Even better, if this boxes the caster, the spell doesn't happen. Stealth to keep her alive, but watch for blasts as it takes very, very little to kill her.

Character Solos

• Aelyth Vyr, Blade of Nyssor: Mk. 3 has introduced the idea of attachments that aren’t attachments. Enter angry elf Santa. On his own, Aelyth is a tough bastard. Literally. He also hits hard and has cleave for an extra hit if he lands a kill, which is easy with his excellent MAT, decent sword, and weapon master. But what really sells it is how tough he is to kill. He has Hard, which means no impact or collateral, so you have to hit him. He has steady, so you can’t knock him down. And even if you disable him, he gets one last advance and attack. He also grants Ryssovass in his bubble Hard, making them even more annoying to kill. If you field Ryssovass Defenders, you should strongly consider fielding him alongside. Otherwise, he’s a tough warrior solo that your enemy is going to have a frustrating time dealing with.
• Elara, Tyro of the Third Chamber: Elara is a bit odd, but has some use. Like the other apprentice warcasters, she's squishy and has a limited range. Her offensive spell is also difficult to hit with her low focus. That said, Convection is useful if you can reliably kill with it, and Speed of Death is fantastic on proximity 'jacks. Gorgon and Banshee in particular benefit from it. Apparition can keep her mobile, either out of range or set up for a charge, and her sickles, used correctly, can give her 'jack a serious boost if used correctly.
• Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios (pEiryss): Eiryss has been killing people for the Retribution since before the Retribution was cool. An upside of taking one of the mercenary Eiryss pieces is that you can use her in lists for armies besides Retribution.
• Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (eEiryss): So you thought Eiryss1 was a bitch? This is she, matured into a full-grown bitch. She doesn't have the same potency of her younger self, but is more reliable. She is still squishy, but between all the special rules, assault, weapon master in melee, and a ton of mobility, she's still a very dangerous threat.
• Fane Knight Skeryth Issyen: Mk. 3 has moved Skeryth into something of an odd place. His ARM is now a bit higher, and the mounted rules give him a bit more offensive utility. He also picked up shield guard, so he can work to protect vulnerable targets. Retribution players are working where to squeeze him in, but for the moment, you can think of him as a Shield Guard to protect vulnerable casters with some offensive punch if needed.
• Nayl: Souless anti-magic suicide bomber. Can't be targeted by spells (even your own) and when he dies everyone within 8" loses all focus/fury and can't cast spells for one round (it affects you too). He does respectable damage, besides all that, and has Stealth and Advance Deployment, so he can walk your Mage Hunter Assassins up the field. Be very careful with him: if the enemy manages to have a 'jack throw him into your warcaster before killing him, he can seriously mess up your day. Treat him as if he were a live grenade. The best use of Nayl is typically in conjunction with other solos: run them along a flank, send Nayl at the enemy warnoun, and watch your opponent's ensuing headache as he picks from several bad options to deal with him.
• Narn, Mage Hunter of Ios: The character version of the Assassin. Doesn't have the nice reach or decapitation, but instead he's got two melee attacks and is incredibly mobile. He can use Acrobatics to hop right through your opponent's lines with a charge, ignoring free strikes while he does so, kill a nice target, and then move quite a distance with Sprint to get into cover. Remember: back strikes are your friend, and it's very easy for Narn to get them with Acrobatics. On the charge, he can kill most warcasters from full health with a bit of luck.

Attachments

• Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker: Not your only option anymore, but he’s still got his uses. He's got Partisan, so he counts as Retribution when in our army. He has a couple tricks. First, and most important, is Arcane Assist, which lets him upkeep one spell for free. On Focus hungry casters like Garryth and Rahn, this can be a lifesaver. Arcane Secrets gives a warcaster an additional die on magic attack and damage rolls for the next spell it casts, discarding the lowest. Paired with Rahn, this can potentially make your opponent cry. Spiritual conduit gives warcasters a small buff to range so long as they aren't arc noding. Overall, he's a good attachment, particularly for focus starved casters.
• Fane Knight Guardian: Retribution finally has their own dedicated warcaster attachment, and it’s not a disappointment. Reposition can help him not fall behind the faster warcasters. Guard dog keeps casters in melee alive and helps to set them up for an assassination run. Shield guard keeps the heat off otherwise. Combined with good ARM while near a caster and immunity to knockdown, and you have a great addition to any caster. One thing to remember is that he’s got a spear and can act as something of an emergency tarpit if needed.

Mercenary & Minions

Retribution has a tiny list of Mercenary and Minion models that they can include. This means that they have a bit more issue shoring up their weaknesses than other factions. That said, let's take a look.

• Lady Aiyana & Master Holt: Kiss of Lyliss now only works on other Mercenary units, so while Holt can benefit...he's literally the only one in Retribution who can. Most who need it have magic weapons or can get it. Overall, this unit isn't that amazing for Retribution and expensive for them to include.
• Dahlia Hallyr & Skarath: A bit of an odd matchup, but not necessarily bad for Retribution. Dahlia herself is a lesser warlock, so can serve pretty well as a secondary caster. Haunting Melody gives her some defense, while Mist Walker gives her or her pet mobility and potential stealth. Skarath is a nifty warbeast. It's animus can let it blast or bite a unit that comes in close, and the spray is incredibly nasty, giving continuous corrosion and at a decent power. Note that they're both pretty soft, but they can be a neat trick.
• Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress: Are you fighting Legion? Then she's awesome. Are you not? Then she's expensive for what she does. Hunter's mark is always useful, and Ice Bolt is decent. Winter Storm is potentially useful for hampering foes, but shines against Legion. Note that Eyeless Sight messes with your Stealth units.
• Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan: Yep, she is the only human who works alone for the elves. You get to choose between her and Sylys. Madelyn's biggest trick is Parlay, which keeps enemies from targeting your warcaster with attacks while in her Command Range. She's very useful for casters that you want to keep out of melee. Note that she's not exceptionally quick or mobile, so if your caster is, she might have trouble keeping up. Also, keep in mind that Sucker! happens automatically, meaning that she can be hit by ranged attacks which potentially could kill the warcaster.