Summer Sale Starter Army list

[Silentbob1217]

So since the GW price list got leaked and goes into effect Friday I figure its time to jump ship. Me and a few friends have decided to venture into Warmachine so I chose Menoth my friends are playing Cyrx and Khador.

The box comes with:

High Exemplar Kreoss
Crusader
Repenter
Revenger
Choir
Bastions
Vassal Mechanik
Vassal of Menoth.

My questions are these. 1) Is this a solid start to learning how to play the game? 2) Favoring the epic Kreoss model what models could I keep and what models would i need to use him effectively?

[Del Fuego]

Let's see:

1) Yes, it is a very solid start to learning the game. You get a taste of just about everything we do well while not getting sixteen rules to somehow synergize together... that comes later after much self-loathing.

2) eKreoss is going to favor a lot of melee infantry (Exemplars) so your Bastions are a shoe in. Honestly eKreoss can be played a lot of different ways. I personally use him to good effect with two to three jacks in my lists, but the overall opinion is that eKreoss shines best with one jack in his battlegroup, typically the Fire of Salvation, his personal character jack. If you're going to really stretch his abilities and see why our enemies fear our Grand Exemplar, you're going to need Knights Exemplar (Lucky for you we just got a really well detailed plastic re-release). These little guys are a staple for a lot of Protectorate players and you only need to get the charge off with one Bond of Brotherhood fully buffed Exemplar to see why. Outside of that...

Exemplar Vengers - Pricey points-wise (and a @#%^@ to put together) but these dudes have by far the best threat ranges of our Exemplar type units. Combine that with their ability to threaten even the sturdiest of heavy jacks/beasts on the charge, and they really can save your rear on a feat turn when all impact attacks and the charge attacks auto-hit. Plus the additional from the feat is not an initial so you can follow-up with the sword on the feat turn.

Exemplar Bastions - These guys can take a beating, and thanks to their Sanguine Bond, they just refuse to die if you don't want them to. Reach with Magical Weapon is a great way to screen a lot of the field against incorporeal models, and like all Exemplar (save Kreoss) they are still weapon masters.

Exemplar Cinerators - I like these guys, most of the forums likes to dump all over them, but there is something magical about flame burst, like how I imagine the Khards or Cygnarans scream when their buddy explodes and their bits set their friends on fire. Ah... magical. Anyway, these guys can't spread damage around like the Bastions, but they do have another point of Armor and like the Vengers, they get meaner when someone in the group gets hurt.

Knights Exemplar Errants - Great tarpit unit. Send them out with a buff and watch them play speed bump all day long. Good enough armor to survive usual blast damage, so your foe will have to commit troops if he wants to bring them down. They have some shenanigans when it comes to death that can frustrate a lot of rules that benefit your opponents and sometimes they even live to counter attack! How cool is that?!

Knights Exemplar - Covered them decently above, but their basic function is to go "That Way" until they break your opponents heart. The End.

[Gaston]

The starter deal is a very solid start, has the support that Menoth thrives upon. You will eventually want to pick up the plastic heavy kits though (both of them, when the second one drops) and I'd highly recommend magnetizing them, as well as the Crusader from the starter set.

Epic Kreoss -- buy the forces of Menoth book, or just use iBodger or Forward Kommander for free; and use his tier list. It's pretty much aim and click, nothing to it. You'll need a fair amount of Knights (not a bad thing) and they've been redone in plastic and look awesome. Exemplar Errants are a very strong unit in every army once you get a handle on their sometimes funky rule interactions (self sacrifice). If you're just starting out, I'd hold off on purchasing Vengers, they're $$$ for a unit that isn't universally useful.