Ossrum Spell list break down

[Da-Rock]

I have made a few purchases already in order to prepare for the General. I have read more than I ever wanted about Bullet Dodger and wanted to look at the spell list more:


Bullet Dodger - I won't go into this much as you can read about uses elsewhere. I can't see this on anyone other than Ossrum or Thor and will be the first thing dropped when I need Focus. Nothing wrong with it.
Balanced Grade = C
Offensive Grade = D
Defensive Grade = C+


Energizer - This spell always makes me want to take more Jacks, but with other Casters you generally do not have access to 3pt jacks that have a great role for an army. Rhulic does and I see this being a good to great boost for not only our slow Heavy Jacks, but for positioning on our gun bunnies.
Balanced Grade = B-
Offensive Grade = B+
Defensive Grade = C-


Fire For Effect - I had never played any casters with this spell and misunderstood its target of a single model. Even after I played it wrong and corrected, it was a great spell. Even better was the idea of giving it to the shooter in a CRA - (we have Ogrun Assault Corps and Hammerfall Gun Corps). Not bad if given to a Marshalled Avalancher so you get main shot boosted and then use Marshalled ability to boost on Blast damage. (If that is correct of course).
Balanced Grade = B
Offensive Grade = A
Defensive Grade = F


Snipe - What else really needs to be said about this? I personally used it on just about everything at least once or twice in various battles. Makes everything great and if we are lucky and get a Battle Engine, it may be even better. Personally having Snipe makes my Hammerfall Gun Corps that much better as range was always my issue with a speed 4 unit and Shield Wall instead of Defensive line.
Balanced Grade = B+
Offensive Grade = A
Defensive Grade = C+



Stranglehold - An ok spell that I personally have been unlucky with on other casters. There will be a situation where you would need it so I like that its there.
Balanced Grade = C
Offensive Grade = C
Defensive Grade = C


Unstoppable Force - I need more experience with Bulldoze as I have never used it before. From the outside I can see this being great in some End Game scenarios for assassination and objectives. I don't see it used too often, but again....its good its there because it gives you utility.
Balanced Grade = C-
Offensive Grade = C+
Defensive Grade = D


Feat - The Arm bonus is cake for me, but the speed bonus is the best part along with Pathfinder and Martial Discipline. It really allows you to set up an assassination run or last ditch effort for objectives etc.
Balanced Grade = B-
Offensive Grade = B
Defensive Grade = C+

[The Buoyancy of Water]

In your Fire Fr Effect and avalancher example, all the blast damage is boosted through FFE as well as the direct hit. The jack marshal bonus could be used to boost to hit. I've used eIrusk a lot Energiser is also very good, and with things like bashers around it provides a mini-Pronto without the need for Thor.

Cheers,
Dave

[maxxev]

Editted because i'm totally wrong, I blame it on a lack of sleep....

[PG_ikildkenny]

edited for reasons of having read rules and cried

[Da-Rock]

Using bulldoze on Ossrum's feat turn with Bashers can allow them to potentially push opponents figures 14", easily removing frontline jacks or beasts from a lot of casters control areas as long as you have a clear path.

Can you break down how Bulldoze and a Basher can move something 14"? (I know I am missing something)

[maxxev]

Can you break down how Bulldoze and a Basher can move something 14"? (I know I am missing something)

Errr can't belive I wrote that.... nope wrong as heck.... you could run 14" and bulldoze multiple models out of the way though.... nothing like as cool... sorry.

[Da-Rock]

ok, no problem. I should have sensed that is what you meant. I really just need to sit down and play it out more

[LiamPiver]

Bulldoze is going to be great with Spray Bunnies. Someone engages, nope, move and then walk to a good spray angle. You have a ton of stuff in the zone. Walk up the spray bunny, Bulldoze the heavy out of the zone if possible, then powerful shot spray the infantry. I love the Spray Bunnies and this will just make them better.

[zack1bt]

Bulldoze is going to be great with Spray Bunnies. Someone engages, nope, move and then walk to a good spray angle. You have a ton of stuff in the zone. Walk up the spray bunny, Bulldoze the heavy out of the zone if possible, then powerful shot spray the infantry. I love the Spray Bunnies and this will just make them better.

Remember that whatever you Bulldoze will probably still be in melee with you, so you wouldn't be able to shoot unless you manage to bulldoze in such a way that you escape their front arc, but then they get a free strike against you (I think).

[LiamPiver]

Remember that whatever you Bulldoze will probably still be in melee with you, so you wouldn't be able to shoot unless you manage to bulldoze in such a way that you escape their front arc, but then they get a free strike against you (I think).

Not unless it has reach. Bulldoze just pushes a model up to 2 inches away from you. So you walk up to a non reach model that's in the way, Bulldoze it out of the zone or to a better position, then spray whatever you want. You can't follow up to the bulldoze model like it were the actual Push power attack.

This also isn't directly away so you should be able to do some angular pushing.

[John of Arc]

FFE boosts the attack roll, and ALL damage rolls for the attack. This means it works best with AoE attacks, or other ranged attacks that don't normally have access to boosts.

[mikethefish]

FFE boosts the attack roll, and ALL damage rolls for the attack. This means it works best with AoE attacks, or other ranged attacks that don't normally have access to boosts.

IE - it works best with Herne and Johnne

[PG_Devilsquid]

Bullet Dodger will work on a lot of good targets: Gundrun and Bokur come to mind, because anytime you miss them, they get to move, not just shooting.

And Bulldoze is a silly good ability.

[CareyBear]

IE - it works best with Herne and Johnne

No, the things it works best on he will not usually be able to get his hands on.. The Commodore Cannon would be completely broken, for example. Or Durgen. Durgen would totally be best buddies with Ossrum.

I can easily picture them, drunk in a field after a battle, with Durgen slurring "C'mon Oss.. Oss.. Buddy.. Jus' juice me up once more an' I reckon I can blow the top off that mountain", while Dougal holds him by the helmet and sights down his arm.

[PG_Devilsquid]

FFE is good on the Artillery Unit as well. Makes them solid, especially with Arcing Fire.

[nicholas_342]

I've actually had some luck putting F4E on the rockram. The boosted attack with the gun is nice, I've probably gotten more crits than I should with it, and the extra die for damage is just gravy. If I don't have Herne and Jonne then the rockram is my usual target for the spell.

[Heavygear]

Haven't proxied the general yet but I am thinking F4E with the Avalancher and Snipe on the Rockram. I see these as my go to jacks with him right now. I should probably marshal the Avalancher to Thor and get a second Rockram though. I can see the benefit of multiple Bull Dozing gun bunnies too.

[Gramut]

Seems to me like General Awesome is going to get some serious mileage out of the Rockram. I can see Spray/Gun Bunnies bull-dozing jack-screens out of the way to allow a FFE Rockram a Charge -> Assault into a Warcaster or other high priority target.

[maxxev]

Presuming the ruling goes in thier favour, how about bullet dodger on Lug. DEF 14 bear might be handy, o course you probably don't want to move him out of BtB with Brun though.

[Ricky Racoon]

Elephant in the room: the Mule. In a highborn list, you could score a Mule for 10 pts at the cheapest(Shaw or Meg). Shaw is the better choice here, as his re-roll drive will give the mule a very high return on fire for effect. I'm still working out the list, but there's really no drawback to rutget shaw trying to reroll the jack, because with fire for effect, it will still be getting it's boost. Reach gives rutger something to flank with, and the mule provides a 4" AOE that's POW 15 with a nice critical. That's blast 8, which with boosted would be popping ARM 17. That's really nice.

I also see a good use for Aiyana and Holt: Aiyana will provide a nice damage buff to make up for the lack of a melee jackbuff, and holt will take to bullet dodger swimmingly. Bullet dodger will not only allow him to have DEF 17 against shooting, but with Quickdraw, he can fire back, hit, make them automatically miss, and get a 2" move on top of it. His two RAT 8 handcannons are pretty solid, comparable in power to an unboosted gunner. He's a great bullet dodger target, and I really have trouble finding a better one in the mercenary faction.

Snipe is an outstanding spell, with outstanding targets across the board. Gunmages provide a great marshal for the Mule(as well as free-snipe), and giving them snipe via ossrum allows them to crit brutal shot or push, at an extended range. Also great on Nyss, Highshields, Long gunners, trenchers, and a host of solos. Snipe on Gorman allows him to lurk further back, behind cover of friendly models(who he can throw through) and lob things, while dougal can buff the mule while having a 14" quad iron. Harlen Versh is just as awesome as always, and can receive snipe. There's a lot of great models that I look forward to using with snipe. Ah, snipe on a caster AND horgenholds, AND rhulic 'jacks to smash things up? I can definitely dig it.

Stranglehold is somewhat meh. Not a terrible spell, but the only thing that entices me about using it would be sylys, and I just can't justify him as easily. Situationally useful. It's an offensive spell on a caster with 4 upkeeps and much better spells to use.

Unstoppable force does appear very tempting. It gives a jack bulldoze. That's awesome. 3 point gun bunnies who can run and knock things out of position for you? I'd love that. It's not an "always", but it's certainly interesting to see the return of bump and grind. Sorta.

[Ricky Racoon]

Meh, not what I wanted to do.

[PG_relasine]

FFE is good on the Artillery Unit as well. Makes them solid, especially with Arcing Fire.

I think it makes the Artillery Unit into effective solo killers, but beyond that, I don't know. In my opinion, AOEs either need to deviate or be large enough (4"+) to tag several models. If the Artillery Corps is boosted at RAT 7, it's going to stand a pretty damned good shot at directly hitting its target and then merely doing blast damage in limited area around it. The same goes for the Avalancher.

Granted, there will be times to capitalize on this (like when that back-line solo must die), but I can't help but feel that Herne and Jonne will almost always be both a better investment for three points and a better target for FFE. Just my opinion.

Bullet Dodger seems like it would work pretty well with eAlexia. Stacked with Ghost Shield and supporting a gaggle of infantry (most likely Forge Guard and High Shields), I think she could get a lot of mileage out of it. As has already been pointed out, Gudrun seems a fitting target. I'm still not thrilled by Gudrun due to his relatively low-MAT for a solo with Berserk, but I think that Bullet Dodger would effectively increase his staying power enough to make him more justifiable.

Snipe would do a lot to make High Shields a bit more worth the cost of entry. The full unit at 11 points is steep, but I think that the extra 4" of range can really help to make the On the Double Order more viable.

Ossrum's lack of a STR buff for warjacks makes heavy choices a bit more difficult. I think Thor is all but required for him so he can Tune Up damage rolls to shore up a Driller or a Rockram. Getting them to their target will be a bit easier, though, thanks to Energizer. Otherwise, I think he'll be relying on Forge Guard to pull a lot of anti-ARM weight. Thankfully they're reasonably priced and mix well with his feat. Dealing with high-ARM can still be a problem even then. Against a Stormwall with Arcane Shield, Forge Guard will only be striking for an average 3 damage-per attacker (provided they get through the Covering Fire templates). A Driller will be striking at 3d6-5, so average 5.5 damage per swing with the Drill (3d6-6 with the Grappler). Having access to a damage buff/ARM debuff through Aiyanna and Holt, Gorman, or Ragman will go a long way.

Ossrum seems to be better designed towards a Searforge-exclusive list than Gorten or Durgen were, so I can certainly see contract-specific players being excited, but I still think that Ossrum will be better-served in a Highborn list so that he has access to Sylys to manage his many, many upkeeps, A&H for damage buffing and ease of access to the Magical Weapon ability, Gorman for damage buffing and lovely, lovely denial, Ragman for cheap damage buffing, eEiryss for upkeep stripping, and Long Gunners as a solid target for Snipe. You'll lose a little mileage on his feat and the reduced deployment area, but what you pick up in solo/unit access will potentially be a big help.

Something like:

General Ossrum
- Grundback Gunner
- Ghordson Driller
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr
Herne and Jonne
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Full)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Full)
Lady Aiyana and Master Holt
Long Gunner Infantry (Full)
Alexia, Mistress of the Witchfire
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist
Thor Steinhammer

[PG_ikildkenny]

Remember that whatever you Bulldoze will probably still be in melee with you, so you wouldn't be able to shoot unless you manage to bulldoze in such a way that you escape their front arc, but then they get a free strike against you (I think).

it does not ... you move (still in his front arc) slightly "behind" the model and THAN touch aka bulldoze it - it is pushed away from you and you "accidentially" are outside of his frontarc after that ... allthough that is highly theoretical

[The Buoyancy of Water]

As long as the enemy model doesn't have reach they will not be engaging you in melee in you shove them the full distance. They move away from you so they don't get a free strike against you and you don't get to make one due to it being a push. I can see lots of gun bunnies making zone grabbing very easy with this! It's bad enough with four bulldozers...

And silly me for forgetting FFE boosts the attack roll as well

Cheers,
Dave

[StJason]

St. Jason's "I'll tell ya where to stick that spell..." list:

Bullet Dodger: On self. On high-value solos like Brun/Lug, Bokur, or especially, especially Thor. I still think it's a nifty idea to throw one on your Basher-missile before sending it off, but YMMV.
Energizer: On your battlegroup, duh! Helps for that last minute reposition, to get your guys back into cover, or to squeeze out an extra inch or three before a charge. Someone earlier compared it to Pronto. That's exactly how to think of it. A battlegroup-wide Pronto.
Fire for Effect: Herne & Jonne are the obvious choice (eRAT 8+3d6, 3 ePOW 7+3d6 templates), but there is much to be said for slapping it on the OAC too. A five-man CRA is eRAT 10+3d6, ePOW 17+3d6, with blast damage doing 11+3d6! If only they had a bigger template!
Snipe: There is someplace you don't want this spell? Okay, maybe the Forge Guard. Maybe. But 23" threat Avalanchers, 19" Gunners, even 16" (19, if you 'failed charge assault') Rockrams. High Shields 18", H&J ~20", Arty Corps 20", OAC 21"... there is no lack for someone to put this spell on.
Stranglehold: Pretty situational. Without boosting, you are looking for targets that are DEF 13 or less, and ARM 16 or less. Which means troops and maybe solos. Not really useful against Warnouns. Still, in theory, a magic attack that ends movement or activation could be useful for something like a Pistol Wraith.
Unstoppable Force: This is one of those spells that people are going to mull over for a long time. Useful for knocking baddies into an area (for sprays and/or blasts), out of an area (for charge/firing lanes), or picking off guards/opening up targets. A year from now, people will either be raving about the utility of the spell, or complaining about it's uselessness.

[The Buoyancy of Water]

A year from now, people will either be raving about the utility of the spell, or complaining about it's uselessness.

As someone who frequently uses four bulldozer jacks with Harkevich, I'd put high bets on "raving about the utility" Knock things out of zones, out of shield wall, out of control area, into charge range of something else, slam an extra 2", the list goes on!

Cheers,
Dave

[PG_vytzka]

Stranglehold: Pretty situational. Without boosting, you are looking for targets that are DEF 13 or less, and ARM 16 or less. Which means troops and maybe solos. Not really useful against Warnouns. Still, in theory, a magic attack that ends movement or activation could be useful for something like a Pistol Wraith.

Wishnailer makes a pretty good case of being included with General Lightbulb, especially because he tosses in a free Bullet Dodger on the side.

(If you're playing the *CENSORED* or *CENSORED* contracts that is)

[John of Arc]

Focus 6 be damned, Stranglehold is an awesome spell. It's not a staple, but when you really need to say no to something its there.

[StJason]

Focus 6 be damned, Stranglehold is an awesome spell. It's not a staple, but when you really need to say no to something its there.

No, it has the potential to be a life-saver, but its low POW, and Ossrum's mediocre focus means it'll need to be boosted against anything that is really threatening. It only affects a single model, so it's not going to stop a whole squad of Doom Reavers or Steelhead Cavalry, either.
So, for four focus you get a spell that should stop a DEF 16, ARM 20 model. For one activation. One model.

[PG_vytzka]

Despite the fact that I must conclude you have me on ignore ( ) it can be pretty sweet if that model is Beast 09 or the Deathjack. It's less resources than what you'd spend killing them and one turn of them not doing anything could be all you need.

I mean, I play Bart and Deadweight is a pain in the ***. And it's a lot easier to prevent than Stranglehold while costing about as much in practice (it's harder to damage a jack but it's easier to hit and with Wishnailer it will come out to only one boost - damage in this case).

[StJason]

Despite the fact that I must conclude you have me on ignore ( )

....what is that annoying buzzing noise?

it can be pretty sweet if that model is Beast 09 or the Deathjack. It's less resources than what you'd spend killing them and one turn of them not doing anything could be all you need.

I mean, I play Bart and Deadweight is a pain in the ***. And it's a lot easier to prevent than Stranglehold while costing about as much in practice (it's harder to damage a jack but it's easier to hit and with Wishnailer it will come out to only one boost - damage in this case).

...the problem is that you'd need a 9+ on the damage roll for the Deathjack and a 10+ to stop Beast 09. So you have to boost and hope. Which means for a FOC 6 caster, you are spending half your focus just to stop a model. Like I said, situational. Sure, it's useful, but not the game-changer the way Unstoppable or Energizer or Snipe or F4E...

[PG_vytzka]

You can even take Reinholdt if you dislike Wishnailer

[PG_LEJKaya]

You can even take Reinholdt if you dislike Wishnailer

Or both.

[John of Arc]

Man, Stranglehold works on colossals. That **** is crazy.

[StJason]

Man, Stranglehold works on colossals. That **** is crazy.

Hrm. Good point. There is a good example of a situational use.