WM Rookie - Requesting eHaley and Siege help

[Graymer]

So I've been thinking about taking up WM for quite some time now. I currently play WHFB and 40k, and am looking to start up with WM/Hordes. For each game I play, I only have one army and like to be able to have options when it comes to the battlefield. The steampunk fit of WM, and Cygnar characters and fluff really appeal to me as well. With the release of MK II, I figured this is as good a time as any to join up.

I've decided that I would eventually like to have a huge Cygnar army and have access to all of the generals, but being in a position where I'm just getting my feet wet with the game I'd like to start slow. I'm going to start with eHaley and Siege. From what I've read, they are both very competative, solid warcasters. I'd like some advice on what to purchase to be able to have a solid 15 pt force for each.

From what I've gathered, eHaley is a very reactive warcaster and is all about control. I like this style of play, and it's completely different than what I'm used to in my other games. The only thing I know is that I'll need a Lancer/Thorn and a Squire. Probably a Jr. as the point level increases. Is this correct? If so, what else would give me a good starting and competative force? If not, what should I be getting instead?

Siege is a bit of a contrast, with more staying power and some unpredictability, which I also like. From what I've gathered, a Squire and Defender are must haves for him. Much like my questions with eHaley, are what are some good options that can help to flesh out a nice 15 pt force?

Mind you, I am not necessarily looking for units/jacks/solos that can be used in both lists. I am more interested in units that have great synergy with the warcasters I've listed. If they so happen to be able to slip into both, then fantastic. I'd like to make one initial purchase, so the more criticism and feedback the better.

Thanks in advance.

[Siegebrisbane]

15 point lists are usually mangled metal lists (jacks only)

so

ehaley
-squire
thorn
beatstick (stormclad)

siege
-reinholdt
defender
defender

however, i would not advise using siege in a 15 point list, it's just...awkward

[BlackSwan2276]

I would recommend reading the tacticas in this forum on both of these casters. They have great info for starting players and give good advice on unit synergies.

Just search the cygnar forum for tacticas and you should find them.

[Mar]

Defenders are great, they can lay down serious fire power from long distance, and when the enemy advances they are forced to deal with the Defender's shock hammer. Defender + Explosivo is a great combo.

I'd recommend the Cygnar battlebox as a great place to start. It gets you a Lancer, Ironclad, and Charger, all of which are staple Cygnar Warjacks. The lancer doesn't go amazing with Siege but it's still important to have access to an arcnode for many casters. The Ironclad is a standard beatstick that can be thrown into many lists as it's the cheapest heavy we have at 7 points. The Charger can easily earn it's points back in many lists, as it's only 4.

My recommendation:
Battlebox
Siege
eHaley
Defender

2nd round of purchases
Reinholt
Squire
Jr.
B13

Then go from there. If you want to go Jack Heavy you are in a great spot.

[JamesDiGriz]

Boot Camp (http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?t=7043) is my attempt to put some info in the hands of new players as well as keep the wisdom of the older players in one place. I really helped me out when I started playing, and was sad to see it go.

[admanb]

15 point lists are usually mangled metal lists (jacks only)

so

ehaley
-squire
thorn
beatstick (stormclad)

siege
-reinholdt
defender
defender

however, i would not advise using siege in a 15 point list, it's just...awkward

Impolite, I think is the word you're looking for. :P Hammersmith is a good choice for eHaley, since she can nullify its speed deficiencies with bond and TA.

[Jorek]

Well, nothing in 40K will have you prepared for the killing grounds that´s Warmachine. I would advice against eHaley and Siege as first casters. eHaley needs a pretty profound understanding of not only the basic rules and your army, but their army as well. And Siege brings a straight up killing power to the 4*4 that´s rather unknown for Cygnar - thus giving you a wrong picture of the faction.

For learning the game and the faction, I cannot recommend the Battlebox highly enough. You will get Stryker, Cygnars posterboy - both fluffwise and gameplay wise. He is all about support and some nice tricks. You get three of our staple jacks, and you learn the basics of focus allocation, model activation, warjack usage and warcaster protection.

And trust me: You will need these basics.

[Graymer]

This is all very good advice. Perhaps learning the basics with the Battlebox would be a good idea before anything, really. Here's the order I may place within the month:

Battlebox
eHaley
Siege
Reinholdt
Squire
Thorn
Stormclad
Defender

I'll get a bunch of great options to start out with, as well as playstyles to test out.

[Amarel]

I think you'll be lucky to get a Battlebox, they're being removed from sale at the moment so no-one is getting restocks (I guess there will be new ones with plastic 'Jacks arriving soon).

FWIW, my 15pt eHaley, non-mangled metal, list is: eHaley, Lancer, Hammersmith, min Sword Knights, Arlan. Not saying it's ideal, but it is fun (and easy to swap out Arlan for a Squire or to upgrade the Lancer to Thorn).

[Garath]

Now i've played 40k for say 7 years with 5 different armies and have seen lots of WHFB games- and WM will advance your gaming experience to a whole new level.

First of(and this might seem strange to some people) the model activation(aka basics) is simple ,and offers more options-since you do everything you want to do with unit A,then proceed to unit B.

Where in 40k its move everything,shoot with everything, assault with everything.

Cygnar is famous for it's ranged units- but in comparison with 40k -ranges are phatetic and you do really get perhaps 2 rounds of shooting.
As a result,your army needs a cc element.
After you've learned the basics(with the battlebox) try thinking as much as you can outside the box.
Few dirty tricks for ya:

- Having hard time hitting something with a high DEF (18)?
Stick a cheap infantry model in front and shoot it in the back with a big template(yes,you can)

- Knock stuff down with an Ironclad,and then shoot it with another unit(since models lying down have DEF 5)

- SLAM your model into a high def target to knock it down(note- any jack can slam stuff)

These are oldies...

[Graymer]

Since the army book is incoming here soon, I'm going to get it first before I make a purchase. This may help to solidify what I'll pick up aside from the Battle Box.

Thank you all for the really great advice though!

[TKaz84]

You can still find the Battlebox on eBay.

[Graymer]

So I placed an order for:

eHaley
Siege
Reinholdt
Squire
Thorn
Stormclad
Defender x2

Just waiting on them to arrive!