Best Warcaster to run Stormwall?

[raizieldragon]

Just wanted to get fellow Cygnarans input on who they felt would be the best 'caster to run our new toy.

One of the 3 Nemo iterations seems like a solid choice, thanks to his Focus manipulation and nice 'jack support.

Also, thanks to captainspuds generous leg-work on damage calculations, we see that Darius and eStryker can make the Stormwall a beast in melee.

CS' calculations also help show that, while his ranged fire-power is impressive, he truly shines in melee. So, the best strategy seems to be: soften up targets with Big Guns, and use Covering Fire to keep light infantry out of his face while you work your way up and finish them off with those high-Pow fists.

So, anyway; what's everyones thoughts?

[eKraye]

pHaley... eHaley... Either nEmo, pStryker... Siege, There are really less than more for casters I wouldn't use him with honestly.

Getting a mix of all of our jacks at a discount is a helluva bargain imho.

[eKraye]

edit: double

[etherya]

Kraye is my go-to caster, followed by eHaley and pretty close N3mo.

[hmk17]

pHaley, eHaley, Darius, eNemo, Nemo3. Definitely with obvious synergies.

Kraye, pNemo, and Siege have some possibilities as well.

[captainspud]

Anyone who offers a blanket accuracy buff. It hits plenty hard enough already; the only real trouble is connecting.

pHaley gives the easiest buff (works at all ranges and without needing to pick your targets).

Next would probably be eHaley (harder to connect a debuff, but it's bigger) or Kraye (consistent boost to range, and melee boost the one turn you need it). pStryker seems like he'd fit in this category, but I find that an annoying number of the models I have trouble hitting can't be knocked down...

After them, all of our casters who buff accuracy do it to one side or the other. Darius and eStryker do it in melee, Kara does it at range.

The Nemos all buff the Stormwall's damage and keep it fuelled, but none have a consistent way to help its accuracy. Damage just isn't that helpful unless you're fighting Menoth or Khador.

[PG_ELJE]

Kraye and 3nemo. Kraye gives your guns accuracy when you need it, and gets stormwall there on feat turn with blistering results.

[jr caster]

kraye enemo and phaley maybe darius?

[H'lingus]

Im will be working on E and P haley with stormwall. i like the idea of the threat E haley can give stormwall with a few mercs :3


For me it will be E haley stormwall bonded. lanyssa from the wutang clan and anastasia. for alot of stormwall movement shenanigans

[Tommmmm]

Kraye turns it into an absolute monster. Just once put full tilt on it and run it 20". Your opponent'll be terrified.

[rwould]

Thought one of their rules was that they could not run?

[PG_Angelus]

Maybe my favorite part of this model is how well it synergizes with ALL of Cygnar's casters. All of them bring something to the table for it.

That being said the Haleys and pStryker are currently are currently my favorites. eHaley for the bond, pHaley for all things TB, and pStryker for Snipe and his ability to make it practically unkillable on his feat turn.

[PG_Dino-Czar]

Darius.

1 SW, 2 HS, ATGM and support to make weight.

I'll piece trade all day long...

[Soundsofascience]

I'm a little surprised how few people are mentioning estryker with our new toy. At mat 6 our biggest problem is connecting, and we have a cheap accuracy buff right here.

[ShepMachine]

If you go around to the different faction forums and check out what everyone's answer is for Stormwall, it is freakish how many tricks we can shut off with pHaley

Cryx- armor debuffs shut down, charging infantry shut down
Retribution- backlash shut down, charging infantry shut down
Khador- boundless charge shut down, charging infantry shut down

Skorne- enrage unusable, hex blast shut down
Legion- pin cushion shut down

At 50 points, I think it's ok to run a Stormwall with one of the Nemo's, one of the stryker's, eHaley, kraye or Darius. But if you wanted to run one at 35, it is hard not to take pHaley, she hard-counters way too many Stormwall answers, not to mention that she makes him more accurate in melee and at range.

[Melfuaru]

I got about 15 games in with my stormwall at L&L and I can confidently say pHaley is the best caster with the stormwall IMHO. You are basically shutting down everything your opponent can do and putting yourself in position to always get the alpha strike. Very few things can just walk up and hurt it, and those that can should be picked off or damaged fairly well before hand. Big threat items include anything that increase SPD of a model like Superiority.I also thoroughly enjoyed the Colossal with Siege. It's like having two defenders (which most ppl prefered with him) AND MORE.

[Da-Rock]

I purchased pHaley for that very reason at 35pts. Darius also can run a decent 35pt list that gives him ranged firepower that I never have had with him before.

Darius
Stormwall
x2 Hammersmith
JR
Squire
35pts

[PG_Dino-Czar]

I flatly refuse to believe that no one else ever noticed how much shut-down pHaley offers.

But if I'm not how is TB and the Vortex spear such big news?

[mrhuettel]

get darius off your shelves and give the old chap a good dust-off!

the synergies with stormwall are abvious and nasty: full throttle, jack hammer, feat and darius' repair ability make him shine. the only issue is the lack of focus, so bring a squire and arlan to help out with that.

the nemos will be nice, too - you can never do wrong with either haley.

kraye and siege will get a lot of mileage out of it.

the only ones i am really not considering are constance and kara, as well as both caines.

[ShepMachine]

I flatly refuse to believe that no one else ever noticed how much shut-down pHaley offers.

But if I'm not how is TB and the Vortex spear such big news?

There are new variables with Stormwall.

Variable #1. Haley can now stand behind a huge base model that cannot be moved and has 56 boxes and armor 22.
Variable #2. A focus spent on vortex spear now protects 19 points. More protection per focus point than before.
Variable #3. Stormwall is the most compact 19 points that can be purchased, which has obvious implications in temporal barrier coverage.

As you say, it shouldn't be a revelation that pHaley is good at shutting down enemy plans, I just think it bears special mention that, with Stormwall specifically, pHaley can make Stormwall unkillable for all intents and purposes, in the case of cryx and skorne specifically.

Other things, like backlash, can just instantly end a game if you didn't think about it beforehand, and pHaley is uniquely positioned to shut that down.

[Da-Rock]

You guys mean Arcane Vortex right? I have never played pHaley before, but I have played a lot of eHaley. I have not been a fan of gunlines, but the Stormwall changes how that will be played and pHaley's unique skills make a new "Utility" gunline look tasty! ..................... I look forward to playing it.

[Defenstrator]

I have my Stormwall, but I haven't had any chance to play it yet. But based on my experience with the Storm Strider pHaley is the one I pick instintcualy. The Vortex spear is way better at protecting big things that can hang out right by Haley, and denying charges really cuts down on threats and buys an extra turn for shooting. She also can run the double Arcane Shield list which really ups the durability.

But I do think that all our warcasters bring something.

[n647]

Well kara can give return fire, firegroup and refuge to the stormwall, plus her feat, there may be some synergy there, other jacks will think twice against shooting a return fire stormwall, firegroup and refuge make things get silly, since it can advance 5 shoot both cannons and put supressive fire (rng 14"+2" firegroup+5" move=21" for the cannons and 12"+2"+5"=19" for supressive fire), and then move back, you could do this with 2 defenders and 2 cyclones plus you can only cicle refuge on 2 at the same time, or further if you wish, plus being inmune to freestrikes, this gives the collosall some extra movement flexibility right?

[Da-Rock]

Well kara can give return fire, firegroup and refuge to the stormwall, plus her feat, there may be some synergy there, other jacks will think twice against shooting a return fire stormwall, firegroup and refuge make things get silly, since it can advance 5 shoot both cannons and put supressive fire (rng 14"+2" firegroup+5" move=21" for the cannons and 12"+2"+5"=19" for supressive fire), and then move back, you could do this with 2 defenders and 2 cyclones plus you can only cicle refuge on 2 at the same time, or further if you wish, plus being inmune to freestrikes, this gives the collosall some extra movement flexibility right?

No Refuge as Stormwall cannot move out of normal movement and in activation etc.

[Tommmmm]

Can I get a quick referenced clarification for anyone with the book. Does it count as heavy cav under Kraye? I've had people say yay and nay so far.

[nathrax]

+1 for pHaley rolling me w/ a Stormwall

[Edwars]

Can I get a quick referenced clarification for anyone with the book. Does it count as heavy cav under Kraye? I've had people say yay and nay so far.

No it does not. Iron horse affects "heavy" and "light" warjacks, not "colossal" warjacks


As to best casters, I'm looking forward to trying all three Nemos, Darius and the Haleys

[Defenstrator]

Not that it's a write off with Kraye. Guided Fire can actually pay for itself on a model with 2 big and 2d3 small ranged attacks, and Full Tilt can send it screaming into action. A 15" melee threat range on something that big is not to be underestimated.

[MollyHatchet]

Also under his feat, all melee attacks are boosted.

Rough... And I thaught I was going to save some money this summer. Boy was I wrong.

[RidetheLightning]

Kraye looks like a lot of fun! Use Full Tilt to get him right up there, lay down some Covering Fire templates, and funnel the enemy where you want them. Guided fire now gives you the same benefit at only 2/3 the cost (2x Defenders and Cyclone=27; Stormwall=19)

[Reemule]

First game with Stormwall with Darius. Mountain King Charged the stormwall. Did 47 damage. Darius feated. Stormwall did 30 damage to the MK. And killed all but one of the whelps he generated. So I killed that with a storm smith.

Mountain King Frenzies. Had to let him frenzy over the Mauler and axer in his back line.

Mandrake killed after the Stormwall punts him 5 inches away.

[John of Arc]

Stormwall fists = hard counter to whelp shedding. I hadn't even thought of that, that's hilarious.

[Brettman008]

Stormwall fists = hard counter to whelp shedding. I hadn't even thought of that, that's hilarious.

As a Cygnar and a TB player this makes me both very happy and very sad all at the same time. I love my SW but am pretty meh about MK.

Why does one have to be so good and the other so bland?

[sleet01]

Since Full Tilt prevents making ranged attacks, you can't have the Storm Wall place Covering Fire templates after advancing under Full Tilt. It works on the Cyclone because it's a *Action there, but if Storm Wall can't make ranged attacks (e.g. having made melee attacks already that activation) it cannot place templates "instead of making ranged attacks" with the Metal Storms.

Edit: it is my informed opinion that this is Bad. I can't recommend putting FT on the Storm Wall early in the game.

[Defenstrator]

I can see it if you're going first and you really want it upfield, perhaps on a flank. Being able to run it 20" into position should be solid as long as you stay out of easy charge or engagement range. It's a way to pull a fast redeploy.

[RidetheLightning]

Since Full Tilt prevents making ranged attacks, you can't have the Storm Wall place Covering Fire templates after advancing under Full Tilt. It works on the Cyclone because it's a *Action there, but if Storm Wall can't make ranged attacks (e.g. having made melee attacks already that activation) it cannot place templates "instead of making ranged attacks" with the Metal Storms.

*sigh* "Knowledge, why must you hurt so?" Thanx sleet01, I didn't read enough of Stormwall special rules. Oh well!

[Joasht]

But if you wanted to run one at 35, it is hard not to take pHaley, she hard-counters way too many Stormwall answers, not to mention that she makes him more accurate in melee and at range.

I agree. No matter how much I think about the other warcasters, pHaley feels like the brainless stand-out at 35 points. I do admit, at 35 points running an all-rounder list with her might get a tad difficult (e.g. A&H for magical, Black 13th/Stormsmiths for anti-Stealth) due to point restrictions, but she just brings quite a bit to the table.

One concern of mine, however, is the nature of TB. If you place her directly behind Stormwall, her TB effectively only extends 13" out with the Squire, so in theory, anything with over 13" of threat (not all that rare) can still get to Stormwall.

[PG_Dino-Czar]

One concern of mine, however, is the nature of TB. If you place her directly behind Stormwall, her TB effectively only extends 13" out with the Squire, so in theory, anything with over 13" of threat (not all that rare) can still get to Stormwall.

Where are you getting 13"? 16" control minus ~5" for the Stormwall base means TB extends 11" beyond the big guy. Quite a bit can charge further than that, which is why pHaley behind the Stormwall isn't quit as game shattering as some have made it out to be.

[Joasht]

Where are you getting 13"? 16" control minus ~5" for the Stormwall base means TB extends 11" beyond the big guy. Quite a bit can charge further than that, which is why pHaley behind the Stormwall isn't quit as game shattering as some have made it out to be.

*facepalm*
Sorry epic brainfart. I meant 11" ><
But yeah I mean, my point still stands....her TB bubble isn't that far, so stuff can technically still get to you.

[RidetheLightning]

Wouldn't it be better to have Haley1 in front of Stormwall with his Covering Fire Templates down to protect her? Then you get the full effect of TB and she's safe from high SPD models with the templates. I know it puts her out there but then if you wanted you could take Finn and put out a smoke template over her for concealment.