Mael's Mk2 Talion Lists v2.0

[Mael]

Alright scailliwags, we all know I've had an unhealthy obsession with Trolls during the field test. But my one and only true Warmachine love will now and forever be the Talion Charter.

I'll note that first and foremost I've never picked up sea Dog Riflemen. So before you go all "OMG GET RIFLEMEN" on me remember, I don't actually have any. Ahem.

The keystones for a Talion Charter list are always it's solos. They turn your regular old def13arm12 goons into a respectable fighting force capable of felling the mightiest of foes. The Talion "Holy Trinity" are always in my lists. Doc, Rockbottom, and Grogspar. Occasionally other solos make it in too - but when pressed for points I always find space for these three. These guys are where the power and the theme come from in your pirate lists so make sure they make it in.

Captain Bartolo Montador (+5)
- Mariner (8)
- Mule (8)
- Vanguard (5)
Sea Dog Crew x 6 (5)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
Bosun Grogspar (2)
Doc Killingsworth (2)
Lord Rockbottom (2)
Bloody Bradigan (2)
Master Gunner Dougal McNaile (2)

This Bart List is straight forward, focusing on screening the big shooty Warjacks with supertough infantry. Since Bradigan is a more defensive solo than Hawk and most of the game will be played on your heels i like having him around instead. A&H mostly stay stealthed except when prepping big targets for damage via Kiss of Lyliss.

As for Bartolo and the Jacks, most turns will be spent with Hot Shot upkept on the Mule (larger AoE), one focus to each of the Warjacks, and three kept back for a casting of Broadsides. The turn before the enemy charges the supertough infantry line Bart can drop his feat to keep them at bay. When Warjack combat starts happening Bart can trade using Broadsides for Batten down the Hatches instead.

Next up - the golden boy Shae!

[Mael]

Second up is the main man, the first Privateer Warcaster to be released in that legendary ancient tome known only as "No Quarter" many moons ago, Captain Phinneus Shae. He's here to show you that you can be tough even though you're wearing eyeliner.

Edit: I've updaed the list to make it a little more adept at tackling heavy targets. More infantry also means more of a tarpit for Shae to work with while he's trying to pull off some tricks to get an assassination.

Captain Phinneus Shae (+6)
- Freebooter (6)
- Buccaneer (3)
- The Commodore Cannon! (4)
Sea Dogs x10 (8)
- Mr Walls (2)
Press Gangers x10 (6)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
Bosun Grogspar (2)
Doc Killingsworth (2)
Lord Rockbottom (2)
First Mate Hawk (2)

This is the most balanced of Shae lists with the three important survival solos (Rock, Doc, Grog) around with some extra melee punch added by First Mate Hawk. Dougal McNaile is around to buff both the Commodore and provide the Mariner a constant loader. How the army plays is basically the Sea Dogs on the front line charging 13" under Coup-De Main and with the Feat of Mr. Walls. If you give the Sea Dog unit tough the Press Gangers come second and should be able to fill the Sea Dog unit back up. When the opportunity presents itself Shae can use a combination of his Feat, Storm Rager, and Veil of Mists to move through the front line of enemies and charge the enemy Warcaster with a super buffed model in his army.

The Warjacks provide some good ranged support as well as some heavy punch to take down hard targets. Anything the Cannon or Shae can knock down will be easy pickings for the Mariner to blast or the Freebooter to pound into oblivion. By having both Warjacks immune to knockdown you'll be able to save some focus and do some crazy power attack shenanigans. Any knockdown you can provide via power attacks will really help dictate the flow of the big things on the table. Against certain Warjack Heavy lists you might have trouble unless you can get to their fleshy center. This list is NOT made for attrition past the third turn.

[Verdigris Zombie]

Hi,

If you can use something to make a whole (Mariner shot?) you can do the whole "throw the cannon" thing for an early turn assasination. Or use the cannon to make a hole and throw the mariner. Though, it might work better in your Bart list - use broadsides for an extra shot.

VZ

[Mael]

Okay, so the first draft for the Fiona the Black list is finished.

Fiona the Black (+6)
- Mariner (8)
- Buccaneer (3)
Sea Dog Crew (8)
- Mr. Walls (2)
Press Gangers (6)
Aiyanna and Holt (4)
Bosun Grogspar (2)
Doc Killingsworth (2)
Lord Rockbottom (2)
First Mate Hawk (2)
Dougal McNaile (2)

This lists really focuses around assassination. Basically the whole game will be spent playing attrition with the pirates while Fiona, McNalie, and the Mariner blast the enemy Warcaster/'Lock every chance they get. Ideally on the assassination turn the Buccaneer will provide a knockdown for Fiona to Arc a few Soulfires plus a boosted shot from the Mariner. The main weakness with this list is high ARM targets. Any Jack or ARM heavy forces will literally roll over me. Hopefully with all of my tough infantry and i'll be able to keep them at bay until I can assassinate!

[lbird]

Hi,
I'm thinking to start Talion after finish painting my khador. I'm going to start from 15pts list, this what i have in mind

Shae (+6)
Freebooter (6)
Buccaneer (3)

but i still confuse about what next to fill up the pts, can u give me any suggestion?

thx

[Mael]

Hmm, at 15 it's a little awkward to fill up your points. Let me explain.

The (+6) works where you basically get a Warjack for free as long as it's in his battlegroup. In the list you have the freebooter is basically free! This leaves you with another 12 points to fill up with whatever you want.

I would suggest starting with something like:

Shae (+6)
- Freebooter (6)
- Buccaneer (3)
Sea Dog Crew x10 (x8)
The Commodore Cannon (4)!

This will help you get started and learn the rules - use this list as you're getting your feet wet and becoming familiar with the system. It's by no means optimal, but it'll give you a good idea on how Warcaster, Warjacks, Infantry, and Artillery work.

When you want to upgrade your games, you can simply jump to the 25 point level by adding:

Mr. Walls (2)
First Mate Hawk (2)
Lord Rockbottom (2)
Doc Killingsworth (2)
Bosun Grogspar (2)

These solos provide some complex interactions with your pirates so I would suggest laying off until you feel really familiar with the rules.

[Mael]

So after some awesome Talion Times this weekend I've come up with an updated version of the Shae list. It drops out the Nomad and A&H in favour the Mariner and McNaile. It gives Shae a little more damage potential at range which will really help him pull off assassinations considering how much KD he has at his disposal. I also swapped out the Sea Dogs for the Press Gangers. When only taking one unit they seem like the obvious choice considering their Tough and Advanced Deploy for 6pts less. I do lose the once-per-game pathfinder bonus but the addition of Dirty Meg should help that quite a bit while letting Shae hold onto his resources and focus on buffing his awesome solos.

Captain Phinneus Shae (+6) Ver1.1
- Freebooter (6)
- The Commodore Cannon! (4)
Press Gangers x10 (6)
Dirty Meg (2)
- Mariner (8)
- Buccaneer (3)
Bosun Grogspar (2)
Doc Killingsworth (2)
Lord Rockbottom (2)
First Mate Hawk (2)
Bloody Bradigan (2)
Dougal McNaile (2)

and when we hit 50 add:
- Vanguard (5)
Sea Dogs x10 (8)
- Mr. Walls (2)

[Mael]

...and then there was Bart. I decided I would focus on getting KD on big models and then blasting them into oblivion. If I'm going to be casting Broadsides 2 or 3 times a game I'd rather have the buccy around to take advantage. Against infantry heavy armies the Mule gets hot shot, but against Jack heavy armies the hot shot moves to the Mariner where it can really get the most damage at range. The Swap to Sea Dogs from Press Gangers is specifically for the ranged potential. Although there isn't space for the Riflemen the pistols can still be deadly in large quantities against knocked down models. I switched back to using Hawk as she provides some nice damage potential against tougher infantry models that might cause me troubles (MoW's, Champs, Ceratii, etc.) and re-added Walls so I could get some pathfinder when I needed it.

Captain Bartolo Montador (+5) v1.1
- Mariner (8)
- Mule (8)
- Buccaneer (3)
Sea Dog Crew x 6 (5)
- Mr. Walls (2)
Lady Aiyanna and Master Holt (4)
Bosun Grogspar (2)
Doc Killingsworth (2)
Lord Rockbottom (2)
First Mate Hawk (2)
Master Gunner Dougal McNaile (2)

and at 50:
- Vanguard (5)
Up Sea Dogs to x10 (3)
- Sea Dog Riflemen x3 (3)
Press Gangers x6 (4)

[TrentM]

Captain Bartolo Montador
Mariner
Mariner
Vanguard
Dirty Meg
Freebooter
Buccaneer
Master Gunner Dougal MacNaile
Lady Aiyana and Master Holt
Sea Dog Deck Gun

This army is true to the background stories, with the addition of a Vanguard and A&H.

The Mariners sit back with Dougal and shoots, preferably from a hilltop. He puts Artillerist on a Mariner that doesn't have Bart's Hot Shot. They attempt to clear out any infantry in front of the other jacks. Meg marshalls the Buccaneer to assault and knockdown something juicy with it's net. She marshalls the Freebooter for a 4 DMG dice charge on the KD target, 4 DMG on the other attack, and a 2 handed throw if it's still a threat. They can even charge through terrain with Drive: Off Road. Bart advances with the Vanguard. He puts up Batten Down the Hatches to give his Vanguard ARM 22 (and the Mariners get 20 ARM). And off course, the obligatory Broadsides to let the Mariners shoot again, with a token shot from the Vanguard. That will tap him out of focus, but he's DEF 15 ARM 19, can't be KD, and the Vanguard can take a shot for him. A&H are an insurance policy. They can give magic attack to a shooty jack, like the Buccaneer, so it can still KD jacks that have been granted Passage from a Choir. Or they let a Mariner take out that approaching Incorporeal Machine Wraith. The Deck Gun is just gravy. Dougal can give it range 16" so it can sit back and pick off infantry.

It's a shame Batten doesn't affect jacks in control area. Because as it stands Meg is a nice addition, but marshalled jacks loose the potential ARM bonus. The other liability is the marshalled jacks can get pinned down by high DEF infantry. The 'booter might kill one infantry per turn, but it's still stuck because it can't trample.

* All this said, Bart works better in Highborn army. But if you must go Talion then this list could work.

[DaughterOfFrankenstein]

I don't see Bloody Bradigan anywhere in these lists.

There are no pirates.

[Mael]

I don't see Bloody Bradigan anywhere in these lists.

There are no pirates.

Bah! I missed him in the Shae list v1.1. I definitely made sure there was space for him! I made space for every single pirate solo.