Colossal Casters?

[Lord GreyWolf]

Which caster from each faction is better suited to running their factions Colossal?

for example I seem to be hearing a few comments about:

Cygnar:
PHaley
Colossal

So who else from Cygnar is good with Stormwall?
So whom in the Khador faction would be good with their Colossal?
So whom from the Cryx Faction would be good with the Kraken?

etc etc etc

I am curious and thought I'd ask here rather then have 5 or six other threads about the same thing.

Cheers
LGW

The List:

1 N3mo + Stormwall [Dalthoraz]
2 Darius + Stormwall [Da-Rock] [Dais]
1 pHaley + Stormwall [Da-Rock]
2 eHaley + Stormwall [Da-Rock] [Josh]
3 Kraye + Stormwall [PG_ForsakenPoptart] [PG_Menset] [Lord GreyWolf]
2 pStryker + Stormwall [Mighty] [Ender101]
2 eNemo + Stormwall [Ender101] [Nuriochi_sol]
1 pCaine + Stormwall [ShoX]

4 Strakhov + Conquest [PG_ForsakenPoptart ] [The Buoyancy of Water] [PG_Duckboy] [OrsusSmash]
4 Harkevich + Conquest [The Buoyancy of Water ] [PG_Duckboy] [MathPasta] [OrsusSmash]
1 pIrusk + Conquest [PG_Duckboy]
2 eIrusk + Conquest [The Buoyancy of Water ] [PG_Duckboy]
3 Zerkova + Conquest [The Buoyancy of Water ] [MathPasta] [OrsusSmash]
2 Old Witch + Conquest [The Buoyancy of Water ] [PG_Duckboy]
3 pSorscha + Conquest [The Buoyancy of Water ] [PG_Duckboy] [OrsusSmash]
5 eSorscha + Conquest [The Buoyancy of Water ] [PG_Duckboy] [Lord GreyWolf] [Warcaster Feiss] [OrsusSmash]
1 pVlad + Conquest [PG_Duckboy]
1 eVlad + Conquest [The Buoyancy of Water ]
2 pButcher + Conquest [PG_Duckboy] [OrsusSmash]
1 eButcher + Conquest [PG_Duckboy]

3 eSkarre + Kraken [Rukus] [Decade] [Pseudog]
1 Monty + Kraken [Rukus]
1 pDenny + Kraken [Rukus]
1 eDenny + Kraken [Rukus]
1 Scavy + Kraken [Rukus]
3 The Coven + Kraken [Gaspy] [Decade] [Pseudog]
1 eGoreshade + Kraken [Decade]
2 Terminus + Kraken [Decade] [Pseudog]
2 Mortenebra + Kraken [Decade] [Pseudog]

1 pFeora + Judicator [PG_Asa ]
2 eFeora + Judicator [PG_ForsakenPoptart] [PG_Alviaran]
1 pSevvy + Judicator [PG_Alviaran]
1 Harby + Judicator [PG_Asa]

4 Broadsides Bart + Galleon [Pariah ] [PG_Askew37] [Dais] [Lord GreyWolf]
2 pMagnus + Galleon [Pariah ] [PG_Askew37]
2 eMagnus + Galleon [Pariah ] [PG_Askew37]
2 MacBain + Galleon [PG_Askew37] [Nuriochi_sol]
1 Damiano + Galleon [PG_Askew37]

1 Kaelyssa + Hyperion [Falkman]
1 Ravyn + Hyperion [Falkman]
1 Ossyan + Hyperion [Falkman]
1 Rahn + Hyperion [Falkman]
1 pVyros + Hyperion [Falkman]
1 eVyros + Hyperion [Falkman]

[PG_Dalthoraz]

I found N3mo to be pretty good with Stormwall. Theme list is pretty sweet placing lightning pods at 20" stormcallers, firefly, and stormguard and his feat turn brought tears of joy to my eyes. Love see the e-leaps being effective. Fun thing is I ended up winning w/ caster kill with a lightning shrouded Lancer via Electro Leaps off a Heavy to kill Harbinger it was great.

[Lord GreyWolf]

I bought N3mo when I got Stormwall

I am waiting for the Khador, Cryx, and Merc colossal's but not sure whom would be good or not with them. Considering they haven't been released yet I know I'll have to wait and see whom would be the better choice.

Now for Stormwall would Kraye be good with him?

I have:
eHaley
pCaine
eCaine
pStryker
eStryker
Kraye
N3mo

haven't got a Khador, or Cryx warcaster yet but will get one when their colossal's are launched. As for mercs I have eMagnus and McBain.

So what else are being used with Colossal's ?

LGW

[watchgeorgerock]

Stormwall is good with all of the Cygnar casters. The 2 least If I had to choose the worst casters with Stormwall I would choose Connie and n3mo. He just doesnt have enough lightning attacks to make it work it. But I can see the synergy with Storm pod placement being a good thing. I would just rather have 2 Storm Clads with storm blades to have 1 focus equal 3 every turn.

[Da-Rock]

Most rank the Stormwall's best Casters by what the Caster does for the Stormwall and how much the Stormwall does for the Caster - Caster's attributes and abilities, Spell List, Feat and quantity of Focus.

Darius
pHaley
eHaley

Those are the elite as the criteria is met.

[Rukus]

I think the better Cryx casters would be E.Skarre, Monty, and P or E Denny as they both have some good debuff as well as buff spells. I'll even throw Scavy into the mix. How they would actually work is yet to be seen. But those would be my top picks.

[PG_ForsakenPoptart]

I think a strong case can be made for Kraye as a solid driver of the Stormwall; some movement buffs, ranged and melee boosts when they're needed, and it can hide Kraye's big base with ease.

eFeora will love the Judicator when it comes out- all those templates with auto fire will make her a happy girl. She can also buff his speed and in turn he'll help her out by making his own focus.

Strakhov is a decent choice for the Conquest; with Superiority and Sentry running, this guy is moving faster than anyone would like, and shooting that big fat blast template on your opponents turn is a sheer joy.

Of course there are others, but these are the ones that leap to mind at the moment.

[Pariah]

Broadsides Bart has the most to give to Galleon, but Magnus can make it work extremely well too.

[PG_Askew37]

I think Bart will be king of the Galleon.

pMagnus: Iron Aggression, Snipe, free upkeeps, feat will help it move upfield fast.

eMagnus: Mobility benefits anyone.

MacBain!!!: Energizer, Jackhammer, Fail Safe, and Fortune are all sweet on Galleon.

Damiano: The huge Sure Foot bubble has already been discussed elsewhere. Dead Eye can also ensure that the all important harpoon hits.

[PG_Alviaran]

Feora2 and Sevvy1 for the Judicator. First is the obvious bond, giving the rockets Cont. Fire but also the fantastic Escort letting him actually get up there. And as a random, "When you absolutely MUST kill it" there is Ignite as well (protip: without outside abilities, Feora can allocate it three, cast Ignite for two and upkeep Escort for one, running her dry and then he gets a fourth focus from his Reliquary. Toss on a Choir and you have a VERY angry jack). Sevvy lets the rockets hit at effective POW10 blast damage which makes Banes wince while also having the focus to keep him happy (as well as an ARM buff or Vision, depending on the situation).

I'm anxious to put him on the table in more than proxy form with a lot of Menoth casters. My Menoth has been shelved while I've been focusing on my Circle mostly this year. But when the Judicator hits, it is time to jump back into setting people on fire.

[Lord GreyWolf]

sweet some cool mixes in there...

So what else would the Colossal caster be looking for?

units? Solos? once you have a caster that has the moves with their colossal.

for example we have the Khador Conquest and lets give him KOMMANDER STRAKHOV.

what other units would you use to get him to 25pts/35pts

LGW

Also updated the original post with the current choices.

[The Buoyancy of Water]

From casters I currently play for Khador, in no particular order:

Harkevich: Gives it a movement boost, and Broadsides becomes much more castable with that big cannon! Feat for free charges and more ARM!
eIrusk: Fits in the new Heavy Armour Battalion nicely. Also has Fire For Effect.
Zerkova: Force Blast, Watcher and Banishing Ward are all great with the conquest. Though no free movement from Watcher, obviously...
Old Witch: Even more denial added with Murder of Crows and the feat. Lets it see through forests too.
pSorscha: Feat makes it very easy to land 4 POW 12s on a casters head, plus the big gun as well, boosting 3 damage rolls. SPD buff when charging (I think? Might be remembering wrong...)
eSorscha: Feat for crazy damage! SPD buff. Brutal bond when combined with conquest.
Strakov: Sentry as mentioned. Feat gives a big boost to SPD! Superiority, as mentioned.
eVlad: Assail mostly, though he probably has the least synergy of the casters I play. Some very nice slamming though!

Think that's it for now

Cheers,
Dave

[Dais]

There are a lot of casters that are good with colossals but Darius and Bart both turned a 180 from worst in faction to competitive with the release of their respective colossals. The other casters may be as good or a bit better than they were before colossals, but they weren't so transformed by the new releases.

[PG_Asa]

Pfeora with mega burning effigy? A little superflous crowd control. Just a thought...

[Gaspy]

The Coven are great with the Kracken. Their feat actually protects it, Infernal machine for +2Mat and Spd. Their whole kit works great on her.

[Falkman]

Pretty much all of Ret's casters work great with their colossal.

Kaelyssa gives it protection against magic, Phantom hunter, witch hound, and immunity to charges under the feat.
Ravyn gives Snipe, and boosted ranged attack rolls during feat.
Ossyan gives Quicken for some extra def, Shatter storm for aoes on the handcannons, and massive damage boost from feat.
Rahn gives protection from charges with Polarity shield, and he has a huge focus pool so can give some to the Hyperion.
pVyros gives +2 ARM from Inviolable resolve, +2 SPD from Mobility, and some extra focus if you manage to use the feat.
eVyros gives Synergy.

The only caster where the Hyperion would feel like a waste is Garryth.

[PG_Asa]

I also think harby would be pretty good. Guided hand for low mat. Crusaders call for a 9 inch "run". An unknockdownable wall of protection.

[PG_Menset]

I have played a couple of games with the Stormwall and Kraye. They work very well together and get my vote. The synergy with Guided Fire one turn and Full tilt the next is what makes it a all rounder.

[Decade]

Kraken + ______

Skarre2 - Oh so delicious blackspot synergy. With a good roll for the flayer cannon, and a point of focus or two, the kraken can take upto 10 shots a turn (4 from the flayer, 1 normal from the hellblaster, + 5 from blackspot kills). Taking those extra shots using the hellblaster makes for a salvo of death worthy of mechagodzilla. Deathward not only improves the kraken's survivability by upping its armor, but lets you keep your systems online longer by giving you column choice for damage. Because of the errata to her feat, Skarre2 can't directly protect the kraken, but she can feat on those models most likely to hurt it.

Goreshade2 - There's one spell shade has that can be obscene with a kraken: phantom seeker. Being able to ignore LOS when declaring charges, and when firing its guns, should make the kraken pretty damn good at taking out support models like chiors, mechanics and the like. And since Shade has access to curse of shadows, and is usually seen running around with banes, the kraken's potentially going to be effectively hitting with P+S+7 (+3 from corpses, +2 from CoS, +2 from darkshroud). That's going to make a lot of things dead.

Terminus - Terminus doesn't like having a lot of jacks, but I can see the kraken being fun with him. First, ravager + 4" reach = lots and lots of dead things. The kraken also gives him some ranged support, which most Terminus lists are in desperate need of. And after the first three bodies, the kraken isn't depriving Terminus of souls (since the models stop being rfpd once the kraken's eaten its fill). The kraken is also a good way to screen Papa T.

Mortenebra - Its a jack. Morty likes jacks. However, because the kraken can't make out of turn movement, one of Morty's favorite tricks goes out the window. But what it does provide is a very good way to trigger said trick. Terminal Velocity + the kraken's threat range is just so tasty. A fully loaded kraken under Morty's feat can do a lot of damage on a charge. Interfacing with the kraken provides it with a big boost in terms of hitting potential. Morty is squishy, and having the kraken to screen her is beautiful. And finally, Morty's spectral steel and ability to repair damage to the kraken can and will make the thing much harder to get rid of.

the Coven - With focus to spare, a speed buff, a very nice armor debuff at their disposal, and a feat that can protect the kraken, the coven provide a good support structure for the thing. Ghost walking it makes tramples deadly thanks to it not taking any free-strikes, and having a gigantic area of doom smashy.

[scout's honor]

Old Witch: Even more denial added with Murder of Crows and the feat. Lets it see through forests too.

I'm not so convinced. For one because I feel the Old Witch really wants to have a 50-point list just to be able to have everything she needs, and a single model with that kind of point cost puts a crimp in that. For another because a Konquest's denial is really not that convincing. It's not a terrible combo, but others are (much) better.

[Mighty]

pStryker+Stormwall=profit

Snipe, Arcane Shield, feat and Earthquake for LOS and dropping DEF.

[PG_Duckboy]

Vlad1
Butcher1
Butcher2
Sorscha1
Sorscha2
Old Witch
Irusk1
Irusk2
Harkevich
Strakhov

I want to pick zerkova but I just don't see it.

[PG_Duckboy]

I'm not so convinced. For one because I feel the Old Witch really wants to have a 50-point list just to be able to have everything she needs, and a single model with that kind of point cost puts a crimp in that. For another because a Konquest's denial is really not that convincing. It's not a terrible combo, but others are (much) better.

IMO, she can play very well at any point level.

[Nuriochi_sol]

I think Bart will be king of the Galleon.

pMagnus: Iron Aggression, Snipe, free upkeeps, feat will help it move upfield fast.

eMagnus: Mobility benefits anyone.

MacBain!!!: Energizer, Jackhammer, Fail Safe, and Fortune are all sweet on Galleon.

Damiano: The huge Sure Foot bubble has already been discussed elsewhere. Dead Eye can also ensure that the all important harpoon hits.

All awesome, but unfortunately, Energizer won't work. No out-of-activation movement

[Josh]

So far I've found that the Stormwall works with eHaley by far and away the best.

[Ender101]

My favorite thing about the Stormwall is that almost every Cygnar caster gets something out of it and offers it awesome benefits.

My next game with the Stormwall will probably be with Nemo2. Mmmm delicious Polarity field. And when the time comes there's always Fail Safe. That along with this Elite Cadre for Stormsmiths makes me think that he'll be the best to run the big guy. It loses out on Energizer, but that's not too bad, it loses out on a lot of movement shenanigans already, so no big loss.

I'm also excited for Stryker1 for his new unstoppable force + immovable object combo. That will be fun.

The only warcaster that I think doesn't care for the Colossal is Constance Blaize, and that's because she wants lots of infantry, and dosen't want to spend 19 points on a jack, and then another 9 for Gallant. The rest love it to bits.

[MathPasta]

Vlad1
Butcher1
Butcher2
Sorscha1
Sorscha2
Old Witch
Irusk1
Irusk2
Harkevich
Strakhov

I want to pick zerkova but I just don't see it.

Remember. This is BEST suited. Not just a buff.

[PG_Duckboy]

Remember. This is BEST suited. Not just a buff.

I would not take conquest with zerkova, but all the casters i listed, yes I would.

Only advantage I see of having conquest with zerkova is banishing ward

[PG_Askew37]

All awesome, but unfortunately, Energizer won't work. No out-of-activation movement

Damn, yeah just caught that. I even made sure not to put Warpath and other out-of-activation movement abilities in there.

[John of Arc]

I would not take conquest with zerkova, but all the casters i listed, yes I would.

Only advantage I see of having conquest with zerkova is banishing ward

Watcher is pretty amazing with Conquest. I've stopped a lot of attacks on him cold with Watcher either delivering a big template on whatever just charged him or punching it in the face with a boosted POW 22. Banishing Ward is *really* good in certain matchups. He can clear out a huge area with Force Blast, and can't be moved in return. She also really likes something with that much staying power, and a huge base to hide behind. They do good things for each other, and I'm definitely fitting him into my Zerkova lists from now on.

[PG_Duckboy]

But zerkova and conquest have to be relatively close together for the watcher thing to work. Which might put zerkova in a perdicament.

[Nuriochi_sol]

Damn, yeah just caught that. I even made sure not to put Warpath and other out-of-activation movement abilities in there.

Between Nemo2 and MacBaine (both of whom I play) I was a bit bummed by that small barrier. But then, once I saw the rest of the rules, well... I don't much mind anymore. ^_^

[Pseudog]

Mortenebra of course. Rather than playing with 3 (or more!) heavies I can see army builds of kraken + other heavy. Or two other heavies, if that's how you roll.

Witch Coven, for Infernal Machine. That's a bucketload of terror checks, too, in addition to other benefits :P

Someone mentioned Scaverous and for a moment I was wondering that why on earth would Scavy want a Kraken. But then I remembered Death Ward - being able to pick damaged column on a model that has plenty of boxes is quite a bonus. Scaverous collects souls reliably only with Erebus, so slight competition over soul-providers is a non-issue. At least I think that Kraken removes from play when he puts stuff in with Meat Fueled?

However, epic Skarre wins here. She has Death Ward too, and Black Spot. Yikes.

And last but not least, to me Kraken strikes as an insane vehicle with Terminus. MAT 7 berserk chain with 120mm base and 4" reach... well, you just need to make sure that your own models aren't close by :P If Kraken removes the three models from play it puts into its furnace, that's potentially only three less souls on Terminus' feat turn.

[Lord GreyWolf]

some great advice and ideas coming from this simple thread.

So far:

Top 3:

Cygnar:
1. Darius, eHaley, Kraye, pStryker, eNemo
2. N3mo, pHaley
3. -

Khador:
1. Strakhov
2. Harkevich, eIrusk, Old witch, pSorscha, eSorscha,
3. pIrusk, Zerkova, pVlad, eVlad, pButhcher, eButcher

Cryx:
1. eSkarre, The Witch Coven
2. Terminus, Mortenebra
3. Monty, pDenny, eDenny, Scavy, eGoreshade,

Menoth:
1. eFeora
2. pFeora, pSevvy, Harby
3. -

Mercs:
1. Boradsides Bart
2. pMagnus, eMagnus, MacBain
3. Damiano

Retribution:
1. Kaelyssa, Ravyn, Ossayn, Rahn, pVyros, eVyros
2. -
3. -

cheers
LGW

[PG_Duckboy]

Extremely surprised on strakhov winning overall, for the khador side.

[Lord GreyWolf]

he's only leading at the moment.

The casters each offer something different to the Colossal's but I guess we should be looking at what caster does it well and then what units/solos also help that caster utilize the Colossal even better.

I still haven't placed my votes in still thinking about it. I am tempted to try eSorscha with Conquest. Kraye with Stormwall as he is the caster I am using currently. [N3mo is still in his packing.]
And Bart will be my next purchase for when the Gallieon gets launched. Still undecided on the Cryx caster at the moment.
I don't play Menoth or Ret so can't say who would be good or whom I'd want to play.

So do the Colossal's need infantry support? more Warjacks? heaps of different solos that can be used to buff him, or just hamper enemy for him?

Cheers
LGW

[MathPasta]

I would not take conquest with zerkova, but all the casters i listed, yes I would.

Hmmm. Alright. Your pick. I wouldn't. I would pick mostly Harchevich and Zerkhova.

[Lord GreyWolf]

well I finally put my votes in I went for Kraye with Stormwall as he's the one I am currently playing,

Bart for the Gallieon and eSorscha for the Conquest.

LGW

[The Buoyancy of Water]

I'm not so convinced. For one because I feel the Old Witch really wants to have a 50-point list just to be able to have everything she needs, and a single model with that kind of point cost puts a crimp in that. For another because a Konquest's denial is really not that convincing. It's not a terrible combo, but others are (much) better.

I don't know, I can see it being fairly good. Conquests covering fire is not the best, but with Old Witch's control being so good it sort of balances out

But zerkova and conquest have to be relatively close together for the watcher thing to work. Which might put zerkova in a perdicament.

If someone starts, say, bouncing spells off the conquest into her they're going to start taking damage every time. Considering the "extra" hits from spells are often around POW10 and she can camp plenty of focus, she could well end up doing more damage to the opponent Arc lightning might be a different story...

Cheers,
Dave

[Warcaster Feiss]

My vote for Conquest goes to eSorscha. Awesome Warjack Bond, plus 4 Focus, Boundless Charge (for free charges) and a killer feat. She does a lot for Conquest.