New to the game and the faction.

[LiquidZero]

Hi everyone. I'm getting ready to purchase my first models and I thought I'd run my list by everyone on the forums.

25 Points

Tyrant Xerxis +5
*Titan Gladiator -3 (5)
*Bronzeback Titan -10
Catachract Cetrati (Min) -8
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Min) -2
Agonizer -2

I also have 2 ideas for expanding this to 35 points.

Option 1

*Basilisk Krea -4
*Cyclops Brute -5
Max out the PGBH -1

Option 2

*Basilisk Krea -4
Max out the Cetrati -3
Aptimus Marketh -3

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as this is my first list. Thanks in advance.

[Feren]

How much I love that mutant baby elephant (Agonizer) (off note I want to own 4 them call them Ralph, Mikey, Don and Leo for my Rastheth teir list) Try out Orin Midwinter depending on your meta if their is a lot of spell casting then play him if not go for the MBE (Mutant Baby Elephant lol) I would try get a min unit infantry of some sort to just act like a speed bump and jam up incoming infantry. Basilisk Krea is great only against range armies other than that its meh at best, look at his counter part the Drake great spray. Aptimus Marketh is meh with Xerxis (hear me out on this one) He only really save 2 fury and able to recycle out the spell fury which is great at higher point levels at low especially doing with a such a low model count is not great. My typical 35 list looks like

Tyrant Xerxis +5
Basilisk Drake -4
Bronzeback Titan -10
Titan Gladiator -8
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 3 Grunts) -8
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 5 Grunts) -2
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) -1
Venators Slingers (Leader and 5 Grunts) -4
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor -2

The Swamp Gobbers provides cover for my Cataphract Cetrati.

[Delrogue]

To offer a contrasting opinion.... Xerxis is one of the few locks I would say Marketh is almost a must-have with... I wouldn't leave home without him at anything over 25pts...

He can save 2-4 fury per turn for Xerxis... a 5 fury caster. This is the difference between having Xerxis consistently on zero or 1 fury for transfers, and having enough to feel a bit with him.

There is not much that you can do at 25pts... it's really the smallest that the game can function at (and hurts Hordes casters a lot more than Warmachine Warlocks due to the fury mechanic), so i'll only really comment on the 35pt options.

It's a good starting list, and of the two options, I would 100% throw my support behind the one with Marketh... Cetrati at Max with Def Ward is great. Those two beasts are great. With Marketh, you have enough fury available on Xerxis to charge through the Cetrati wall, combo-smite some stuff, boosting to hit and damage, and still be safe enough on 2-3 fury while the Cetrati wall catches up.

The Krea... is a great beast... are you coming up against a lot of really heavy shooting though? Honestly, I think her Hubby the Drake might be a better option for you here, giving you a great ranged option to take out pesky support stuff, and more crucially - to clear off your shield wall Cetrati. One of the biggest things that gums up Xerxis is infantry swarms holding down the Cetrati... the Drake can help you there by clearing chunks of them off with a spray.

Just a few thoughts.

[Triumph Of Man]

To offer a contrasting opinion.... Xerxis is one of the few locks I would say Marketh is almost a must-have with... I wouldn't leave home without him at anything over 25pts...

Agreed. I spent a long time specifically avoiding having Marketh in my Xerxis lists just to get used to him without Marketh, so I could fully appreciate how stupid good upkeep cycling is.

Having Marketh in the list means you can do annoying stuff like charging with POW 15 Nihilators (that's about the equivalent of of charging with POW 12 Weapon Masters). That will wreck giant holes in the front of your opponent's lines, then directly after that toss Defender's Ward on them. Now you have a unit of DEF 15 tough guys with reach arcs jamming him, that's actually extremely annoying to deal with also. Generally with this combo I'll commit 60% of the unit and hold the rest back behind the Cetrati. Come feat turn another 4 Nihilators with POW 15 and a bonus dice will again tear giant holes in things. They have the capacity to quite easily destroy an ARM 19-20 heavy between them with damage to spare.

Having spent alot of time switching between a Krea and a Drake ultimately I find I prefer the Krea overall. I tend to find infantry getting stuck on the front of the Cataphracts isn't an issue unless you're frontlining with them. Personally I frontline with light infantry, Cetrati for the midgame and my endgame lies in the heavy beasts behind them. But I make heavy use of Venators and Nihilators. If you're planning on running the Cetrati up front a Drake is definitely useful.