The Banshee: Screaming All the Way

[Gho5t]

Certainly one of the most anticipated releases for Retribution players after the Wrath book release, the Banshee is a powerful model that brings many useful abilities to the table without being as focus starved as the Shyeel series myrmidons.

BANSHEE: RETRIBUTION HEAVY MYRMIDON

"Silence grants wisdom. Deny your enemies that advantage." -Garryth, Blade of Retribution

Vyre vs. Shyeel

First off, Vyre myrmidons lack the Force Field Generators of their Shyeel cousins, but they have one more armor and more damage boxes. Vyre myrmidons are also a bit slower. There are pros and cons to these changes that list makers should be aware of:

+ More armor means less damage per attack. Good against multiple attacks from units and solos.
+ No Generator (G system) means you don't have to worry about losing your ranged attack. In fact, the guns on Vyre myrms never go offline until the warjack is destroyed!
+ No worrying about spending your warcaster's precious Focus to regenerate d3 boxes on Force Fields.

- Attacks with large damage rolls may cripple systems quicker without the Force Field.
- No self-repairing Force Field for the cost of a Focus.
- Slower approach, less threat range than Shyeel myrmidons.


Stats

As mentioned above, lower SPD than a Shyeel, but better ARM. STR, MAT, RAT, and DEF are standard for Retribution myrms.
At SPD 5 and having one weapon with reach, the Banshee has a melee threat range of 10" and a run-to-engage range of 12". With RNG 12 on the gun, the move-and-shoot RNG is 17".
STR 10 is okay. The power attacks you'll likely be using won't be affected too much by the stat, but there may be trouble if another model attempts to throw, push, or lock up your Banshee. Not awful, but not amazing.
RAT 5 means you'll want to start boosting to hit pretty early on the DEF ladder.
MAT 6 is decent, but will still need to boost to reliably hit anything higher than DEF 12-13.
PC 10 is pretty normal these days for our best heavies, and this one is definitely up there. Definitely worth every point.

Lacks the Force Field of Shyeel heavies, but has more damage boxes in its grid.
Compare it to the Phoenix, the most resilient Shyeel myrmidon:
• Phoenix: 24 boxes + 10 Force Field (Field auto-regens d6 every turn, can regen additional d3 for Focus cost)
• Banshee: 30 boxes, but higher ARM

So, not as resilient as the Phoenix, but still rugged. It's a debated topic, and each chassis has their strengths.

Alone, these stats are okay. However, just like all Retribution myrmidons, the power isn't in the stats but in the special traits and abilities!


Weapons and Attacks

Ranged: Force Cannon

This is your bread and butter. Dry, the 12" RNG and POW 14 are pretty good, Magical Weapon is useful, but the real money is Momentum. Slams small-medium based models d3" directly away and knocks down large based models, suffering the POW of the weapon for damage. This. Is. AMAZING. It'd be nice if it just knocked models down, but to slam them is very generous.

This brings many possibilities to the faction that was generally only available via Rahn and the AFG before. Slamming models at range is very powerful; you can play the Banshee near the middle lines and knock things down for other models to shoot or auto-hit in melee. Being far back can also assist its survival; no better way to survive than to be out of threat range! You can line up your opponents models to try and knock down priority targets; you can even run one of your own models up and try to slam it into an opposing model.

Also, keep in mind that when a slammed target makes contact with another model with an obstruction or equal-to-larger based model you add an additional die for damage. Boost for damage and that model is suffering a POW 14 on four dice. If that model is a warnoun with no Focus or Fury, that's a potential one-shot.

It's ROF 1, but any higher and it'd be broken. Also, this is good on early turns as you won't really need more than 1-2 precious Focus on the Banshee when shooting. Very efficient compared to most of the Shyeel models.

In a faction where there are very few to-hit buffs, the ability to knock down models is invaluable. True, the Arcantrik Force Generator brought this ability to Retribution sooner, but the Banshee has a smaller base so will be less likely to step on the rest of your army's toes, cannot be targeted as easily, has better melee options, and has access to the Focus mechanic. Also, a Banshee is more easily transported than the AFG.

Luckily, the wording on Momentum doesn't prevent it from doing damage to huge bases, so if you need another shot to finish off a Colossal, Gargantuan, or Battle Engine, the Banshee can deliver.

Melee: Heavy Void Blade and Light Void Blade

Respective P+S 17 and 14 is very decent.
Reach on the left hand, not on the right. Magical Weapon is still nice, and Critical Grievous Wounds is awesome if it happens, but don't count on it too much.
No open fists, so you won't be throwing or locking up any models, but you could just keep them at bay and shoot them with your cannon.

I rave about the ranged weapon on Banshee, but the melee capabilities are also among the best of our myrmidons. From this analysis of melee damage, you can see that overall the Banshee meets or beats every other myrmidon in damage output except for the Manticore at lower DEF, the character myrms at higher DEF, and, of course, the Hyperion.

Incredible gun, excellent potential in melee, and there's still something more.


Skills and Abilities

Wailing is a very nice feature on an already impressive model thus far. Models within 5" cannot give or receive orders or cast spells. If the big swords weren't scary enough, this potentially nerfing ability will make your opponent think twice about running to engage this model. Shutting down your opponent is always great, and unit orders are one of the few things Arcane Assassin doesn't ignore, making those models even deadlier in tandem with Banshees. A fantastic addition to an already great model.


Now that we know why this model's expensive in points, on to the synergies...

[Gho5t]

Synergies and Sample Tactics

• Arcanist - Listed first because this guy can pretty much run a Banshee by himself. The decent stats and incredible gun will keep the Banshee alive on its own without buffs, and the Arcanist can give it 1 Focus, which may be all it needs when shooting. If the Banshee does get dinged up, the Arcanist can repair it, but by that time, the offending model(s) may already be engaged or destroyed by the Banshee and/or rest of the army. Arcanists should be in every list with a Banshee, unless you don't like it when your warcasters get to use their own Focus.


Warcasters

• Garryth - Mirage increases threat range outside of activation, possibly allowing the Banshee to gain the aiming bonus if the target is just out of range. Other than that, Garryth isn't helping the Banshee out much, but damn, the Banshee is sure helping him out. Focus efficiency helps out G-man quite a bit and Momentum is a perfect set-up for a Garryth melee assassination. Also, Sentinels are very popular in Garryth lists, so slamming enemy models helps them auto-hit, as well. Overall, a great pairing.

• Ossyan - A few things stand out in this pairing. Ossyan's feat makes the Force Cannon even beastlier; 3 dice on damage with just the feat, 4 dice if the model was slammed into an obstruction or equal/bigger model, and 5 dice if it boosts the damage. That's pretty effin' mean. Also, knocking down a model helps the rest of the army hit big targets, especially since most Ossy lists have lots of ranged models. Admonition can be beneficial for shutting down a unit/spell caster with Wailing or a shooting model/unit with its Reach weapon, though if the enemy is really getting that close, it may wind up being on Ossy instead. Still, worth mentioning. Other than that, it's pretty standard fare; Ossy synergizes similarly with other myrms. Most people will opt for Hypnos and Discordia, but there could be a good place for a Banshee if you wanted to bring one.

• Rahn - Telekinesis increases the Banshee's threat range, and Force Cannon + Force Hammer means knockdown shenanigans all day. If something runs up to engage the Banshee, Rahn can use Force Blast so the Banshee can continue shooting things, and it'll still keep those models in range for Wailing. The only problem is Banshees don't have arc nodes, and Rahn sure loves arc nodes. Still, a fun combination if you like slamming.

• Ravyn - Like Garryth's Mirage and Rahn's TK, Locomotion helps increase Banshee threat ranges outside of activation. Snipe is also stellar, making the gun 16". With Locomotion, upkept Snipe, and moving before shooting, the potential threat range on the cannon is 3 + 4 + 5 + 12 = 24". Obviously, Ravyn's feat makes the Banshee even more Focus efficient. The Banshee also helps a shooty Ravyn list to hit on non-feat turns. However, Ravyn will probably want to keep Snipe on an MHSF unit, but she can hot-swap it with a Banshee when Archers don't need it. A good combination if you can't bring Discordia with Ravyn.

• Vyros1 - Bird's Eye. Hell yes. It just became harder to hide from the Banshee. Reach makes a Banshee a great escort for Vyros, too, and the Focus efficiency always helps FOC 6 'casters. Hallowed Avenger is obviously great, and the Banshee's P+S 17 blade is a good combo with it. Inviolable Resolve bumps the ARM up to 21 if you think there might be some trouble, and Mobility helps increase threat range.
An interesting combination is Momentum + Stranglehold; a knocked-down model that doesn't use focus has to sacrifice movement or action to stand up, and Stranglehold forfeits the other. If Eiryss is in your list, this combination works on 'jacks, too.

• Vyros2 - Bird's Eye is still here, still awesome for a Banshee. Also, granting Pathfinder to a Banshee is great when you need it, as rough terrain hurts SPD 5 myrms a LOT. Feat can help position the Banshee for future shots. Synergy is okay with a Banshee in, but cheaper models are generally better to help build up a chain. An okay combination.

• Kaelyssa - Saved my favorite for last. Other 'casters can give Banshees out of activation movement, and pVyros can allow them to make out of turn melee attacks, but Witch Hound allows you to make a ranged attack after an out of activation advance.

We’ve been drooling all over the Force Cannon for months and that requires no further explanation, but a Witch Hound shot with this thing is downright unfair. Knocking down a fully loaded jack or a caster who hasn’t activated yet is at thing of downright beauty. It’s damn near cheating.

With all of the anti-magic Kaelyssa already has at her disposal, a Witch Hounded Banshee will certainly make opponents think twice or even thrice about it.
Also, her feat helps keep a Banshee safe in many ways. 5" is the important distance here; you can't hit the Banshee with a shot outside of it, and inside 5" you're affected by Wailing. This can make choices pretty complicated for opponents who like to run to engage with their units. Also, they can't be charged, which is always nice.
Phantom Hunter allows the Banshee to shoot any non-Stealthed target in its range. Kaelyssa may not be able to extend the range of a Banshee at all, but PH more than makes up for it. A Witch Hounded Force Cannon shot through an obstruction will leave opponents with regrets for sure.
This is an excellent combination that any Kaelyssa fans should try. Seriously.


Other Notable Synergies

• Sentinels - Jack Marshaling a Banshee with Drive: Pronto is awesome. Move into position with the Drive, advance again, and shoot. Or advance and shoot, then Drive it back out of threat range. With an Arcanist, you can boost to hit and boost damage. Also, knocking down a model means the Sentinels can charge and auto-hit it. Great against heavy targets with high DEF.

• Invictors - Reach helps them get the Flank bonus, and Force Cannon helps them hit with their shots. Still, Sentinels are better for Pronto.

• Mage Hunter Assassins - The Force Cannon is a blessing to all melee units, but I make special mention of the MHA. Typically, one of the few things keeping an enemy model alive is the unreliability of MAT 7 on higher DEF models. This helps keep the MHA in check, as her other abilities are so powerful that she is considered one of the most broken models in the faction. Banshees take away the weakness of whiffing on melee attacks. Auto-hitting a warnoun with an Assassin's Decapitation is pure joy. Rahn and the AFG brought this help before, but now non-Rahn lists can enjoy this synergy without the unpopular addition of the huge based Battle Engine.

• Eiryss1 & 2 - Disruption + Arcantrik Bolts wreak havoc on warjacks, but in lists without Kaelyssa or Ossyan, you can get a poor man's version with a Banshee. The target won't be able to either move or shoot on its next activation, which can gum up an opponent's plans.

• Sylys - Saves your 'caster even more Focus. With these two in any list, it becomes possible to run more heavy 'jacks. Our infantry is great, but sometimes nothing but small based models can be a weakness. This guy makes it easier to do so, and especially if a Banshee is already there.

• Manticore - The Manticore is a very Focus-hungry myrmidon; when shooting, its ROF 3 gun at only POW 12 makes it want to take more shots; when in melee, it wants Focus to boost its strength and to either Combo Strike or make as many attacks as possible. Bring in a Banshee, and that big-swinging Manticore is auto-hitting the target, and the 'caster should still have Focus to space. Also, an Arcanist giving Concentrated Power to the Manticore makes it even stronger.

• Phoenix - Another one of our best myrmidons, it's even better with a Banshee alongside it. They tend to cover each other very well; a Banshee focuses on single targets when shooting, Phoenix shots have AOE to take out multiple units; Banshee's Wailing can help tie up a unit that benefits from orders (like Shield Wall), Phoenix can Combustion them to pieces. Plus, Phoenix brings an arc node that Banshees lack. A well-rounded combination worth trying at least once..

• Discordia - Covers the Banshee similarly to the Phoenix, but without an arc node. The spray is deadly, particularly to units, and the Imprint can help boost the already decent ARM of the Banshee. Add pVyros' Inviolable Resolve, and the Banshee's enjoying ARM 23. Probably won't need to stack that much, but still a possibility.

• Arcantrik Force Generator - Another ranged slam is available here, and the AFG can boost the Banshee's threat range, but it can be argued that staying close to the AFG can limit the threat range of the Banshee, thus negating the range bonus. Personally, I prefer just the Banshee, as it saves you points, the smaller base is more convenient, and the melee capabilities are great.


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If I missed anything, let me know!

Start the discussion!

[Cyryst]

Nice write up.
On the Ossyan synergy, Im not sure if thats correct. The rule for momentum states instead of a normal damage roll, the model is slammed.
A model slammed is not effected by the feat as it specifies ranged attack damage rolls. Or does it still work in this case?

[Thamarite Merc]

There is one general question I would love to have answered, although I don't know, wether a general answer is possible: Which warcasters prefer Vyre jacks over Shyeel jacks, which ones are better with the Shyeels?
Although, in a tactics thread about a jack, when it comes to discussing synergies with the individual casters, maybe a mention per warcaster on how many jacks he would generally run, and which are the main contenders for the Banshee's slot in his list, would be great.

Plus, I want a pony!

[Thamarite Merc]

2x post... 10 chr

[MMMMK]

There is one general question I would love to have answered, although I don't know, wether a general answer is possible: Which warcasters prefer Vyre jacks over Shyeel jacks, which ones are better with the Shyeels?

I don't think that you can really generalize Shyeel vs Vyre like that. The only real all star out of either group are the Phoenix and the Banshee and most casters would prefer one over the other (or both!) for various reasons. The rest of our heavies tend to fulfill specific roles and are all pretty different from each other.

As for Phoenix vs Banshee... casters that want an arc node will probably choose the phoenix over the banshee if they can only take one (these include Rahn, Garryth, pVyros, Kaelyssa ect.). The phoenix also offers *combustion and an AoE ranged attack and can auto-repair its force field. The banshee is good for all the reasons mentioned above by Ghost. A third contender for this slot includes Discordia who serves another function entirely from the other two, so the choice is really not clear cut.

[Gho5t]

I don't think that you can really generalize Shyeel vs Vyre like that. The only real all star out of either group are the Phoenix and the Banshee and most casters would prefer one over the other (or both!) for various reasons. The rest of our heavies tend to fulfill specific roles and are all pretty different from each other.

As for Phoenix vs Banshee... casters that want an arc node will probably choose the phoenix over the banshee if they can only take one (these include Rahn, Garryth, pVyros, Kaelyssa ect.). The phoenix also offers *combustion and an AoE ranged attack and can auto-repair its force field. The banshee is good for all the reasons mentioned above by Ghost. A third contender for this slot includes Discordia who serves another function entirely from the other two, so the choice is really not clear cut.

Agreed. It depends on what you need for the list. All myrms are very unique, so you have to choose your tools wisely.

And I believe the Ossyan synergy works for Momentum just as it does for AOE blast damage. Still a ranged attack.

[Demeritus]

Nice writeup. As for the question of which caster for which myrmidons I like to mix and match personally as I don't think that one set of warjacks benefits casters any better than the other.

[The Golden Arrow]

I think you underestimate the ossyan synergy. The biggest thins is of course the feat turn. Knocking something down means you will get the most out of the extra damage from the feat. This works especially well with stormfalls who really needs the accuracy boost and kills things dead. Banshee plus stormfalls work with other casters as well, but ossy gives it something extra.

The other synergy is that Banshee is a very good admonition target. He can move up and shoot and move away as other jacks, but with wailing you can take it to a whole new level. You can move up and stop orders on a unit and the move away from their attacks (if its a nasty combat unit) to nullify the unit completely (not many units can threat more than 8 when walking). Admo on a reach jack is also very nice and means that you can lock down ranged units that need to get close (say combined with a stealth unit or protecting a caster that is some distance behind). It is such an awesome satisfaction when you can lock down eiryss who was just going to shoot your caster. If they don't think about it you can even admo into wailing range of another unit.

[Code]

I think you underestimate the ossyan synergy. The biggest thins is of course the feat turn. Knocking something down means you will get the most out of the extra damage from the feat.

Knockdowns are certainly great for the Stormfalls, but any jack can headbutt a target for them. The advantages the Banshee has in this capacity is that it won't risk blocking line of sight to the SFA's target, doesn't have to spend focus, and has better range for the KD.

[Derikari]

It also doesn't risk failing and leaving the target at even higher defense than it started with.

[Gho5t]

I updated the Ossy entry, but I also made note that when models are getting within threat range of the front lines, Admonition will more likely be on Ossyan himself since he likes to play up close for his feat turn. Still a good thing to keep in mind, though, so it was added.

[Kurami]

Nice writeup, and under synergy you list Vyros2 as giving out pathfinder to myrs.. From my understanding it only works on warrior models?

[Lord Sessadore]

Nice writeup, and under synergy you list Vyros2 as giving out pathfinder to myrs.. From my understanding it only works on warrior models?

Deflection only affects warrior models. Easy Rider gives pathfinder to all friendly faction models beginning activation in control.

[imomam]

You specifically mention the knockdown benefit for the MHA. My understanding is that knocked down models do not block los. A common tactic is to hide casters behind warjacks. If the Daemon knocks down the blocking model, could the MHA then see and charge the caster with its 4" reach?

I agree that the Daemon is better marshaled to the sentinels due to pronto, however, its not totally useless with invictors. If you can get an invictor unit to within 19" of a caster, and the Daemon knocks down the screening model, thats a very big cra that can one shot a long list of casters (rat 18/pow 23+2D6 w/rerolls to hit).

[Zupkuck]

You mean Banshee instead of Daemon, right?

[Syfer22]

You specifically mention the knockdown benefit for the MHA. My understanding is that knocked down models do not block los. A common tactic is to hide casters behind warjacks. If the Daemon knocks down the blocking model, could the MHA then see and charge the caster with its 4" reach?

I agree that the Daemon is better marshaled to the sentinels due to pronto, however, its not totally useless with invictors. If you can get an invictor unit to within 19" of a caster, and the Daemon knocks down the screening model, thats a very big cra that can one shot a long list of casters (rat 18/pow 23+2D6 w/rerolls to hit).

Yes, if the Banshee knocks down the warjack in front of the enemy warcaster, the MHA can charge the enemy warcaster as long as it is in range.

You do seem to have your mind on two different 'jacks, however -- The Daemon is mentioned to be better marshalled to Sentinels, but the Banshee is the one who is more notorious for knocking things down (Daemon CAN do it, but only through power attacks and slams). If you're talking about the Banshee in the second instance, that's all well and good, but let's be honest: A RAT 18 with re-rolls to hit probably doesn't need the benefit of having the target being knocked down in order to hit.

Fun thing I've done with my Banshee, though, is move my own guy up in front of the enemy warcaster and shoot said guy in the back (a Sentinel in this case). I did this to Deneghra during her feat turn to knock her down.

[Cyryst]

I too have killed Denegrha on feat turn, by slamming my own griffon over her with a banshee shot.
I was lucky enough that the griffon was one of the few models + some stormfall archers that he left out of feat range and just ran up within an inch of her. After the banshee slammed the griffon over her for some damage the stormfalls then targeted the griffon doing blast damage and the last one set her and the griffon alight.
She burnt to death in her control phase.

I really think the banshee and stormfalls are best friends. I would marshal it to stormfalls if i could, same threat, for one focus you can KD something with a potential boosted pw14 and then drop 4 more boosted 12's on it. Drop in A&H and you have an effective heavy smashing 19 points that is still functional at performing other tasks at closer or longer ranges.