New to warmachine

[bassman]

Hello all, and zdrastvootse! i have recently taken up the banner for the motherland and i am looking for some advice. i currently have the battle box, 10 iron fang pikemen, 4 widomakers and a manhunter. my question is where should i go from here? i have looked at doom reavers and the great bears of gallowswood but i am open to suggestions.
thanks

[almond]

Welcome to the Motherland comrade! You seem to have a good selection there. But the best advice I can give is try and proxy new models before buying them. That said, with already a flexible selection of models, you can give new warcasters a try other than pSorscha. The two that comes into mind is pVlad and pButcher.

After that you can open your avenues with other 'jacks (if that's your thing). The Kodiak and Devastator make good purchases imho. Beast-09 is the best 'jack that we have that's beneficial to all casters, you might look into investing in it.

For solos, the Wardog and Manhunter is pretty easy to use. The MoW Kovnik will alleviate the focus burden by marshalling 'jacks, enabling your caster to cast more spells.

I'm sure other people can give better suggestions though, I only gave the ones that I felt were easy to use and have a devastating effect on the battlefield.

[Karazax]

Iron Fang Officer and Standard Bearer seems like a natural choice since you already have the 10 pikemen.

If you stick with p Sorscha as your primary caster, WG mortar teams can be nice, giving you lots of ranged attacks to drop on opponents on your feat turns. A Koldun Lord could also fit in nicely, marshalling the destroyer for you and freeing up more focus for Sorscha.

Army Points: 35
Name Cost
Kommander Sorscha Kratikoff -5
Juggernaut 7
Destroyer 9
Widowmakers 4
Manhunter 2
Koldun Lord 2
Iron Fang Officer and Standard Bearer 2
Iron Fang Pikemen (10) 8
Winter Guard Mortar Crew 3
Winter Guard Mortar Crew 3



Greylord Tenion could also be a solid support unit whose blizzards can help keep your pikemen alive as they advance, with an additional bonus battle wizard ability if you go with the Koldun Lord. Subing the greylords, and a 2nd manhunter for the 2 mortars in that case. It just depends on whether you want the additional AoE range mortar attacks or the blizzard concealment and support of the Greylords. If your heart is set on either doom reavers or great bears, I would probably sub out the 2 mortars for great bears and a wardog, or doom reavers respectively, though that seems a bit weaker to me with Sorscha.

I would also second the suggestion to pick up Butcher and Vlad warcasters which will give you the most drastic change in play for your money. I do think that the koldun lord and Iron Fang officer attachment should be looked at regardless of whatever else you add.

[Jack Shandy]

If you are looking for another 'Jack, I would recommend the Kodiak. Chain Attack: Grab & Smash is an awesome ability, and the free power attacks it generates will teach you how to use power attacks more effectively in other situations.

[xbanditsx]

As another new player, this is what I've had success with.

The Kodiak is good next 'jack - it is a little more focus lite than the Juggernaut, moves better, and hits about the same.

I added some Greylords and have found them to be useful all the time. They can give some concealment bonuses with Blizzard, do damage with their spray, or use Ice Cage to make it easier for your stuff to hit.

I've also done what Karazax said and marshaled the Destroyer to a Koldun Lord and so far it has worked pretty well.

[Gnoa]

I would avoid the Reavers for a bit. They are an awesome unit, but a little tricky to learn how to use effectively.

I highly recommend Man-o-War Demolition Corp. I always tell people they were one of my last purchases, but should have been one of my first. They are hard hitting and super durable. Just a wee slow.

GreatBears used to be one of the most beloved\hated units we had. Loved by us, hated by everyone else. I haven't seen much that would change that...but honestly i haven't played them yet in MKii.

Buy the WarDog when you can! Let me repeat that...buy the WarDog when you can! +2 defense in melee is huge. Some people may disagree with this, but it has saved my butt way too many times not to be an auto-include for me.

As for Warcasters...the sky is the limit. I would highly recommend you avoid Zerkova (http://privateerpress.com/warmachine/gallery/khador/warcasters/koldun-kommander-zerkova) and Epic Butcher. Zerkova (http://privateerpress.com/warmachine/gallery/khador/warcasters/koldun-kommander-zerkova) is just tricky and can frustrate you when you are learning the game. Epic Butcher is just a wee bit too random for beginning with...however he is a little more forgivable than Zerkova.

Jacks...Beast 09 is your friend. He is your friend because he will take any flag and dye it to the color of the Motherland using the blood of your enemies.

[General Nemo]

Before expanding your units, I would recommend trying the same stuff you have with a different warcaster. It looks like Irusk would love the list you have, and so would the Butcher. Try new casters so you can find your niche, and then expand on that!

[LACK OF SUBTLETY]

Welcome to the Motherland Komrade!

You have some great stuff there to start with. The one thing I will recommend picking up is the Unit Attachment for your Iron Fangs. It will just make them better.

A second caster will give you a totally different game, so try any of the other casters out, they all have fun options.

Other than that, go with what catches your eye. Khador does not have bad choices.

[saxondog]

Looking at what you have already and not knowing your budget, I would consider adding the Greatbears, Greylords, IFP UA, and pick your second caster.
Nothing changes the way an army plays more than a different caster.
This would give you a good base to build up.
Play some games and see what you think is missing dependent on your play style.
Hope that helps.

SFK

[bassman]

thanks for all the help. i had one more question though: when are epic casters allowed to be used? just curious

[almond]

You can use epic warcasters in any point level now.

[bassman]

great thanks