Origins Steamroller Prep - 8 lists & picking 2

[Brandubh]

Heya,
I'm having a hard time picking a pair of lists for Origins this year. I'm torn between running some gimmicky lists (one trick ponies with nasty surprises) or more well rounded lists. Below are the warlocks with whom I'm most comfortable. I've run Morvahna and Mohsar some, but I don't think I have the rhythm of them down yet. The lists are fairly firm, but I'll take suggestions. The idea is to drop a list every day until Origins. So if you can't think of something nice to say, say something mean about one of the lists.

Playstyle-wise, I think I'm a decent enough player. I don't normally go into games with designated strategies. Instead, I try to build lists around a theme or in order to have certain tools available. From there, I watch for openings and exploit my opponent's mistakes. Last year I went 3-0 to come in second place. I'd like to come in first this year if possible.

Feel free to criticize, mock or whatever else you'd like. It's only going to make my decision easier.
Cheers,
Eric

Krueger the Stormlord
* Woldguardian
* Woldwarden
* Woldwarden
Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Druid of Orboros Overseer
Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Druid of Orboros Overseer *
Shifting Stones
Blackclad Wayfarer
Gallows Grove
Lord of the Feast
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios
Reinforcements: 2 x Stoneward and Woldstalkers


This is the first of my “gimmick” lists. The entire list revolves around an early assassination of a warcaster. It's not too good against Hordes and will really struggle if my opponent is canny about his warcaster placement and such. I really like the idea of Eiryss in Hordes, but I don't know if this list has the staying power to deal with a good player on the other side of the table.


Kromac the Ravenous
* Ghetorix
* Pureblood Warpwolf
Tharn Ravagers (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Tharn Ravager Chieftain *
* Tharn Ravager Shaman
Tharn Ravagers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
* Tharn Ravager Chieftain
* Tharn Ravager Shaman
Lord of the Feast
Tharn Ravager White Mane
Tharn Ravager White Mane
Tharn Ravager White Mane
Reinforcements: Tharn Wolfriders Unit (max)

This is one of my favorite lists, but Ghetorix has been ruled a no go for the event thanks to my conversion. I'm still going to take it to see if I can get a second opinion.


I know this list will get the obligatory eye roll from having two units of Ravagers, but to be honest, having 18 8-wound models can really clog stuff up. I'm getting AD on both Ravager units, AM on the warbeasts, and the LotF AD's as well. That's some strong board placement for tournament events. Kromac is a solid warlock and Ghetorix is a good match for him, IMO. This list can deal with infantry, heavy models (multiple P+S 15 attacks) and can dish out some anti-magic. The biggest threat is undead which eliminates a lot of my infantry scything abilities.


Kaya the Moonhunter & Laris
* Feral Warpwolf *
* Pureblood Warpwolf *
* Warpwolf Stalker *
* Warpwolf Stalker *
Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Druid of Orboros Overseer
Shifting Stones
* Stone keeper
Warpborn Skinwalkers (Leader and 2 Grunts)
Druid Wilder
Reinforcements: Pureblood Warpwolf

Vanilla eKaya tier list and we've all looked at it. This list features two Stalkers for infantry defense. Almost the whole list is either getting AD or AM. This list is fast and hits hard. It struggles with high DEF infantry (i.e. Kayazy) it has no upkeep removal and it's going to get swarmed pretty easily. It's definitely for kiting.


Cassius the Oathkeeper
* Megalith
* Warpwolf Stalker
Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Druid of Orboros Overseer
Sentry Stone (Leader and 3 Manikins)
Sentry Stone (Leader and 3 Manikins)
Shifting Stones
* Stone keeper
Tharn Ravagers (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Tharn Ravager Chieftain
* Tharn Ravager Shaman
Gallows Grove
Gallows Grove
Gallows Grove
Gallows Grove
Reinforcements: Tharn Wolfriders (max)

I've really been thinking about Cassius now that we have Gallows Groves. The Groves are nice because he can get souls from them. The main problem I have with this list is the amount of effort I've put into making Cassius work. Shifting Stones allow him to throw Wurmwood around. Druids offer clouds and magic defense. Gallows Groves extend his reach. And 16 points later I can start buying offensive models. I have the Sentry Stones in there to protect the Groves. Anyway, this list feels like a Ponzi scheme. I'm not sold on it, but I think everything synergizes well on the feat turn...


Baldur the Stonecleaver
* Megalith *
* Woldguardian *
* Woldwarden *
Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Druid of Orboros Overseer
Sentry Stone (Leader and 3 Manikins)
Sentry Stone (Leader and 3 Manikins)
Shifting Stones
* Stone keeper
Stoneward and 5 Woldstalkers
Stoneward and 5 Woldstalkers
Blackclad Wayfarer
Reinforcements: Woldwarden


My old go-to Baldur1 list. I love this list. It's solid, durable, fast, hard hitting. It's got just about everything you want in a tournament list. I'm just not sure I want to regulate myself to older models only. But it is tried and true and I fancy myself to be a decent pBaldur player.


Baldur the Stonesoul
* Megalith
* Woldwarden
* Wold Guardian
Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Druid of Orboros Overseer
Shifting Stones
Blackclad Wayfarer
Celestal Fulcrum
Gallows Grove
Lord of the Feast
Reinforcements: Woldwarden or 2 x Woldwyrds (not sure yet)

eBaldur's theme force has a lot of potential, IMO. I don't think T4 is viable because it's payoff doesn't really offset its requirement. But T3 is great. This list is fairly fast initially and has good hitting / staying power. It really lacks a committed anti-infantry vector, though and has a hard time delivering Baldur to the assassination.


Krueger the Stormwrath
* Feral Warpwolf
* Woldwarden
* Woldwarden
Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Druid of Orboros Overseer
Shifting Stones
* Stone keeper
Tharn Bloodtrackers (Leader and 9 Grunts)
* Nuala the Huntress
Gallows Grove
Gallows Grove
Lord of the Feast
Reinforcements: Tharn Wolf Riders (max)

Standard pKrueger anti-infantry madness. I was thinking of pairing this up with my pBaldur list to cover all of the bases. Lightning Tendrils are good for LotF, Bloodtrackers and the Feral. I think that Tendrils in the Bloodtrackers could remove an insane number of infantry in a turn. So I feel pretty good about pairing this list with the pBaldur list.


Grayle the Farstrider
* Pureblood Warpwolf
* Warpwolf Stalker
Reeves of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Reeves of Orboros Chieftain & Standard
Warpborn Skinwalkers (Leader and 2 Grunts)
Warpborn Skinwalkers (Leader and 2 Grunts)
Wolves of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Wolf of Orboros Officer & Standard
Wolves of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Wolf of Orboros Officer & Standard
Reeve Hunter
War Wolf *
War Wolf *
War Wolf *
War Wolf *
War Wolf *
Wolflord Morraig
Reinforcements: Warpwolf Stalker

Again, I can already hear the objections. But this list has a few things going for it. Firstly, it hits very early. The Reeves of Orboros + War Wolves makes for turn 1 charges if I go second. There's enough infantry in this list to clog up charge lanes and take / contest objectives. Grayle can assassinate on his own, so that's a viable fallback option.


Of these 8 lists, I can only take 2. Feel free to double check my points / tier benefits if you'd like.


I'm going to eliminate one list every day for the next week based on feedback and consideration of what is workable together.


List compatibility runs as follows:


eKrueger isn't compatible with Kromac, eBaldur, or pKrueger
pKrueger isn't compatible with eKrueger, Kromac, or eBaldur
Cassius isn't compatible with pBaldur or eBaldur
pBaldur isn't compatible with Cassius or eBaldur
eBaldur isn't compatible with Kromac, eKrueger, pKrueger, or pBaldur
Kromac isn't compatible with eBaldur, pKrueger, or eKrueger
Grayle and Kaya are compatible with any list.

[Brandubh]

Okay, day 1 (yesterday) saw me eliminate Cassius from the pool.

Right now, Grayle is looking like he's next to get dropped.

[PG_cheddercaveman]

Of these lists I like the Baldur1 and Krueger1 pairing the best I'd say. I don't know that you need 2 wardens in the Krueger list though, and I would personally find room for a Blackclad and the 2nd unit of shifting stones with him. Just a note for Baldur1, you get the points reduction for reinforcements too so you can do a wold heavy and a Blackclad.

[Brandubh]

Of these lists I like the Baldur1 and Krueger1 pairing the best I'd say. I don't know that you need 2 wardens in the Krueger list though, and I would personally find room for a Blackclad and the 2nd unit of shifting stones with him. Just a note for Baldur1, you get the points reduction for reinforcements too so you can do a wold heavy and a Blackclad.

Sounds good. Those are the lists I'm leaning the most towards as well. What would you suggest instead of the second Woldwarden in the Krueger list? A Pureblood maybe?

Are the Blackclad / Shifting Stones for board control?

My thought was that with Gallows Groves, Tornado becomes a little more fun to cast. You can dish it out without putting Krueger in danger. That means that the Wardens are more necessary for the Chain Lightning.

I think I'm settling on the Krueger 1 / Baldur 1 set up. I feel the best with those without being able to use Kromac/Ghetorix (mainly because he's my all time favorite Warlock). But if I get permission to run Ghetorix - I'll probably run Kromac / eKrueger and drop the LotF for something else in the Krueger list.

[Snowmelter]

It is a shame that they do not accept your conversion. I guess it is the one from your avatar? The extreme Ghetorix? I plan the same conversion and on the web you already see some of them.

Afterall it is a warpwolf with all the upgrade kits parts.

[Snowmelter]

double post ftw

[PG_cheddercaveman]

Sounds good. Those are the lists I'm leaning the most towards as well. What would you suggest instead of the second Woldwarden in the Krueger list? A Pureblood maybe?

Are the Blackclad / Shifting Stones for board control?

My thought was that with Gallows Groves, Tornado becomes a little more fun to cast. You can dish it out without putting Krueger in danger. That means that the Wardens are more necessary for the Chain Lightning.

I think I'm settling on the Krueger 1 / Baldur 1 set up. I feel the best with those without being able to use Kromac/Ghetorix (mainly because he's my all time favorite Warlock). But if I get permission to run Ghetorix - I'll probably run Kromac / eKrueger and drop the LotF for something else in the Krueger list.

As much as I hate having to make the typical suggestion, I think I'd drop the 2nd Warden for a Gorax, 2nd unit of Shifting Stones, Blackclad and either another Gallows Grove or Gobbers if you feel the need to hide things. Also, I think my suggestion varies a little based on who you're pairing with. I think you're going to want to make sure both lists have some kind of an ability to get to POW 19 if you're playing Baldur and Krueger. If you swap out Baldur for Kromac, then you can maybe have a better chance with running the massive infantry frying list like you have.

[Dragonowar]

I can honestly say from first hand experience that your tharn ravager list with kromac was brutal and your ghetorix conversion was awesome. I didn't realize that the tier 4 kromac was that brutal. Still, we had a good end of event game I think. Morriag is certainly going to get a good paintjob for saving the day.