Somewhat unconventional (I think) 35pt Bart List

[Alphadork]

Hey All,

Been working on my Mercs of late and would appreciate some feedback on the following Highborn Bart list. Some of my reasoning behind the choices are in brackets below,

Bartolo (+5)
Roci- 9 (gets Hot Shot and with RAT 6 should do well with Broadsides)
Rover - 8 (Arm 23 under Batten - has range for Broadsides and can be a melee beatstick)
Sylys -2 (lets Bart upkeep Hotshot plus cast Batten and Broadsides)
Min Sam and Devildogs - 5
marshalled Buccaneer - 3 (Pronto on Bucc with boosted Net attack can set up Broadsides nicely)
Min Boomhowlers - 6 (my fav jamming unit - I take them out of habit)
A+H - 4 (mostly for Harm to help crack high ARM)

and either MacNaile -2 (for ranged support) and leave 1 point unspent
or eEiryss - 3 (because she`s Eiryss)
I think the above list lets Bart soften up units with solid ranged options but can still get into melee with the protection of Batten.

Thanks in advance for any advice or input.

[MagnustheJust]

Man, Alphadork... I am sooo sorry. But you are in a lot of trouble!!

I like this list.

Go with MacNaile, and throw Reinholdt in there with the extra point.

Three shots on Bart - activation, Reinholdt, Broadsides - in a turn is just awesome!!

[LiamPiver]

I have something sort of similar to your list at 35 and have had a lot of success with it.

Bart <5>
Galliant 9
Roci 9
Wishnailer 2
Gun Mages 6
+UA 2
Gorman 2
Harlan Versh 2
Aiyanna and Holt 4
Corbeau 2
Dougal 2

Now this list doesn't really have any tie up options so you can always flip out the Gun Mages for max Press Gangers and Grogspar if that's how you want to go.

Versh powers up Galliant for the first couple turns. Galliant takes that big shot on Bart. Wishnailer upkeeps Hotshot on Roci for free and makes some of Barts other spells a lot more viable like Deadweight. Bart casts Batten every round. Dougal makes Roci really solid basically needing no focus from range. Roci takes away the -2 Def on Bart for close with Batten up.

Aiyanna and Holt are their for the reasons you put and because Holt is a fantastic support piece.

Gorman keeps up with Bart dropping smoke and on Dougals mini feat and with Artillerist puts Blind wherever I want it.

The Gun Mages help with crowd control and zone control. I'm just a big fan of them but it's easier to run tie up in this list. Plus when feat is popped they are amazingly hard to kill from melee.

[Alphadork]

@Magnusthejust - Hahaha - while I seldom post I've lurked on these forums for some time and (at least for me) you liking this list is high praise indeed! Nice call on Reinholdt, in my head he stays tied to Duregn so I had yet to consider him.

Changing topics, your recent post on the "Main Moustache" has me looking forward to using him in a Highborn list (similar to yours but with R&B instead of Wrongeye and Snacks).

@Liampiver - Like your take on Bart as well though I'd probably drop Gallant for the Rover and switch Versh to Eiryss (I have a crush on her . . . a nice safe platonic kill me enemy kind of crush).

[cfox5012]

Here is an idea of someone who plays Bart all the time (my favorite caster). Here we go!
*Capt. Montador
-Mariner
-Mule
-Rover
=Sylys attached
*Bosun
*Doc
*Hawk
*Dougal
*Full unit of Press Gangers

With my personal experience this list works very well. You get a 4 plus tough on your caster from Doc as well as other models, then a no knock down from Bosun (caster and other models). If Bosun goes down you can still get no KD from the Mariner. Hawk is awesome by herself but also boost up all the Privateer models. Sylys and Dougal are there for the obvious reasons, extra jazz. Press Gangers are my absolute favorite Tar Pit unit (with list like this) b/c they are low point cost and on top of all of the buffs they get from everyone they can also Shanghai models (very awesome, unique).

[LiamPiver]

You mean for the RFP ability? Because you know you have to add to a Sea Dog unit which you don't have there.

I agree with your points on the Press Gangers. I really like them as well. I'm a huge fan with Durgen and Primed since they are RFP when they blow up denying souls and they RFP when the kill things denying several abilities. Plus with AD they can really get to objectives quickly making going second my prefered option with Durgen.

[Alphadork]

Quick rules question on the above list.

Once the Rover gets stuck into melee combat can Broadsides give it an extra shot with the Shield Cannon into melee?

My gut says no, since I think "Pointblank" says make a melee attack with the ranged weapon and Broadsides says make an extra ranged attack, but I'm hoping that I'm wrong because it would make the Rover even a better fit with Bart.

[PtotheRice]

The Pressgangers are actually a Sea Dog unit. So you should be able to add to theirs too.

[LiamPiver]

The Pressgangers are actually a Sea Dog unit. So you should be able to add to theirs too.

Nope you can't. The ability specifically says Sea Dog Crew. While the Gangers are Sea Dogs, they aren't crew so you can only cycle to the Sea Dog Crew unit. This is a lot harder than it sounds actually. You'll get a lot more out of the RFP abilty than you will from the addition of new models, or at least I do.

[LiamPiver]

Quick rules question on the above list.

Once the Rover gets stuck into melee combat can Broadsides give it an extra shot with the Shield Cannon into melee?

My gut says no, since I think "Pointblank" says make a melee attack with the ranged weapon and Broadsides says make an extra ranged attack, but I'm hoping that I'm wrong because it would make the Rover even a better fit with Bart.

I don't think it works because of what you said.

But really, Broadsides isn't a great spell. It's a trap. I play Bart and I'm unbeaten with him so far in a meta that loves to try to beat me, and during this time I think I've cast Broadsides all of 0 times. I'm a Batten Man that likes to camp or use the extra focus for jack/spell allocation depending.

[Alphadork]

@LiamPiver - First, I'm a Batten man as well (I play Thornfall with Carver a lot . . . ARM 21 Warhogs are a thing of beauty)

Broadsides isn't the reason I chose Bart, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "trap spell". I see myself casting it maybe once or twice a game if the right situation presents itself - e.g. Roci or Bart trying to clear massed infantry or Rover tossing an extra shot at a target that the Buccaneer managed to KD with the net.

I like having the option to cast both Batten (again - love this spell) and Broadsides available to me. It's the main reason I took Sylys in the list because I think keeping Hotshot upkept on Roci is also a solid plan. Will casting it win me a game? Likely not, but it never hurts having another tool in the old warcaster box.

[LiamPiver]

Once or twice a game.....wow. Hey man, if you can use it, do it. But with all the hardcore lists I tend to have thrown at me in the local areas I play (I have a lot of people that just want to see me lose), I need that focus for other things typically. Sure it's got situational uses just like any spell, but it's not my cup of tea.

[Breadsmith]

Because nobody else ever will, I believe it's Batten that's the trap. Why? All it does is turn the jack"s it's on int Khador Heavies, with a bit more speed, maybe, and less boxes. It may just be a meta thing, but where I play, it isn't about weathering your opponent's turn, but hitting first and hitting harder. Batten does not allow for this, whereas Broadsides does allow you to hit before your opponent. Now, Batten will pretty much always be better than camping 3 focus, but camping is a strat that relies more on it's opponent making a mistake than playing like you've got a pair. It's like roshanboing, but your opponent goes first.

In short, Batten is reactive, and Broadsides is proactive.

[Alphadork]

As I said in an earlier post, I think both spells can be very useful and (besides being a great looking fig) is one of the reasons I'm adding to Bart to my stable of warcasters that work for Highborn (HB and Searforge are my Merc contracts).

Batten is great for low DEF 'jacks like Roci and the Rover (10? each I think). At that point you are being hit by MAT or RAT 6 on a roll of 4. Given that snake eyes auto misses casting Batten means that I'm only giving my opponent the bonus of hitting on 3's for the benefit of the +3 ARM which saves you from 3 points of damage every time a 'jack gets hit. I am drooling at the thought of sticking an ARM 23 Rover into my opponents face.

It's also one of the reasons I don't think Gallant is the best choice for Bart - his DEF 13 is a much better match for say Damiano who can throw Surefoot on him to push it to DEF 15 . . . a heavy with that becomes a tough nut for someone to crack.

I think that Bart is best played as a 'caster that can choose to throw around extra ranged attacks with Broadsides or turtle up a bit with Batten as the situation dictates. The addition of Sylys in Wrath was good for him because Hotshot is also a great spell for any warjack that fires a template weapon and allows Bart to upkeep it while still having the option of Batten, Broadsides, plus decent focus allocation or the option to cast both if needed . . . now the Mercs just need a non-Rhulic warjack with a good Spray attack (crosses his fingers for some nastiness on the Galleon).

As for meta's, how does that line go? No plan survives first contact with the enemy? That's my meta and it's why I try and field lists that are as versatile as possible.