Ahoy Matey! Starting Talion are ye? Lay your good eye on this thread first!

[Mael]

Hey Crew! Welcome Aboard! I'm captain Mael, and I've been playing Talion Charter since they first hit NQ many moons ago. Once upon a time there was a massive thread I put together with the intention of initiating new lubbers into the fold. Most of the information is outdated since the scalliwags at Privateer Press have released the MK2 rules, but it may be worth glancing over if you have the time.

Why Play a Talion Army?
Like many other armies in the Iron Kingdoms, the Talion Charter works best with layers of stacked synergy. The abilities that the powerful solo's provide turn your rag tag band of guys with swords into a very potent fighting force. Beyond that the Talion has access to some of the most characterful models in the entire game - from Bartolo (Broadsides Bart) Montador to Lord Rockbottom to the mighty Commodore Cannon. Taking a strictly Talion army also gives you an extra +1 bonus to the first turn and the ability to redeploy your powerful solos after setup.

Can Talion work with my Warmachine Faction Army?
The answer to this is a resounding "yes". With the exception of the Retribution, the Pirates will work all Warmachine Factions. Since the support needed by most models is tied into their powerful solos, Casters who do not provide much infantry support (such as Karchev) or rely heavily on living models (such as Terminus) that can use all of the living bodies to their advantage. Dirty Meg is able to bring Mercenary Warjacks with her into more faction oriented lists. Sorry Cryx, she still won't work for you. If you're looking to try out some Talion models but aren't sure where to start, adding them into your existing Faction force is the perfect place to get your Sea Legs.

Who's Going to Lead my Talion Army?
You've got three options when starting a Talion Charter. Captain Phinneus Shae, Broadsides Bart Montador, and Fiona the Black. The most common suggestion is to start with Captain Phinneus Shae. He is sly, quick, and can hit from angles that your opponent doesn't expect. Beyond that he is the only caster that gives you access to the mighty Commodore Cannon - the most potent artillery piece in the entire game. Shae is also no slouch in melee! He can easily become a torrent of combat with his swashbuckler rule, attacking every enemy in combat with him. His DEF17 should keep him safe from harm most of the time, but be careful. A few good hits connecting is all it takes to bring him down.

If Shae's not your style you can always go with Broadsides Bart, our Jack Caster. Focusing on ranged combat, Bartolo can really lay down a ton of firepower at a distance. With potent ranged Warjacks like the mule and the Mariner at his disposal, Bart can drop devastating amounts of fire leaving your opponent as a smoking wreck covered in fine, red, paste. Bart isn't all about offensive power however, and can really turn the tides to make his Battlegroup resilient to damage when combat starts happening. Bart's feat allows you to protect your forces, causing enemies who come too close to get instantly knocked down. Bart is a great defensive caster.

Fiona the Black is an altogether different Warcaster, instead focusing in debuffing your opponents by controlling their minds through magic, with a will strong enough to force enemy troopers to turn on their allies. She is the spell slinger of the Faction, able to bring your opponent to their knees through heavy magic. Keep her safe however, she isn't nearly as resilient as our other two casters! Honestly I haven't played Fiona nearly as much as the other casters at our disposal so i feel like much less of an expert in all things Thamarite. If you've got some wisdom relating to her feel free to toss it in!

I've put some sample lists up here: http://www.privateerpressforums.com/...ad.php?t=13315
I've even got a battle report here: http://gk-workbench.com/?p=1718
and here: http://gk-workbench.com/?p=1718

More to come...

[Mael]

What Does Captain Phinneus Shae Do?
Captain Phinneus Shae is the poster boy for the Talion Charter. His skills are heavily reliant upon hitting hard and fast and setting the game's pace. He is a Gunline's worst nightmare, able to send his forces screaming across the table, getting charge distances of up to 16.5"! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Although classically I've played Shae as a very cagey Warcaster, lately I'm finding that he works wonders on the front line. With his DEF17 and immunity to KD debuffs he can be tough to pin down, while his spell Storm Rager makes him a whirlwind of destruction while keeping him safe from CMA/CRA attacks. Don't forget that he has Beatback and Swashbuckler on his weapon, allowing you to engage multiple units and once and unengage with them at will.

His spells help his sneaky ways as well, providing Pathfinder and ways to mitigate shooting such as Phantasm and Veil of Mists. Other spells are more offensive minded, like the amazing Coup De Main to add extra charge range and Blow the Man Down to setup a juicy target for your Freebooter to pull limb from limb. Storm Rager is just awesome at turning any model you want into a crazy fighting machine. Hawk becomes a cruise missile, and even the most lowly of pirates can get to MAT+4 POW+4 if you calculate in gang bonuses.

While at first his feat may look lackluster it's benefits really lie in how flexible it is. You can use it to get your whole army another 3" charge range if you really need to get stuck in, or to move your commodore into just the right position to catch the enemy warcaster with a crit-slam. If you're already stuck in you could move out of combat and then re-charge your opponent for that extra damage die. The most sneaky thing I've seen it used for is in conjunction with Veil of Mists - moving directly through enemy models and charging their Warcaster afterwards. You should see the look of shock on your opponent's face when you do this with a Nomad!

Last but not least is possibly the most devastating thing Shae brings to the table - the Commodore Cannon. The Commodore can do multiple things as an artillery piece, slamming big models around, dropping AoE's that set tons of things on fire, and even bringing a 10" POW20 spray template to the table. When you mix it with money shot you can really do some major damage, adding +2 to the attack and damage rolls that turn.

Next up... Bart!

[Feverdream]

Thank you for starting this thread. I've been a Talion player since they came out... well, okay, I just owned the models. In mk 1, I pulled some nasty tricks with Fiona. Mk. II, I've yet to win a single game.

I'm looking forward to more posts, and, if possible, some tips on how to keep your solos alive long enough to hit the enemy. I can't seem to do that well, with all the Phantom Seeker stuff or whatnot, to make sure that they can do their job.

Again, thanks for this thread.

[Merc Commander1230]

Thanks I already picked Shae but now I like him even more he is an awsome looking model and his blow the man down spell is a powerhouse

[DaughterOfFrankenstein]

Would you mind if I wrote up my two cents about Sea Dog Crew, whom I love to this day with any mercenary warcaster?

[Mael]

This is Talion specific, but I am going to be writing a blurb about the units eventually once I finish the warcasters - i'll let you know DoF.

[Spooker]

Thanks Mael.
Luve the write-up.
I too took up the Pirates when they were released. I am hoping that we also get more models and Casters in the future.

Take care.

[Mael]

What does Bartolo "Broadsides Bart" Montador do?
Broadsides Bart was a welcome addition to the Talion Charter when he first came out and is by far the most widely used and abused caster from our "Forces of Warmachine" book. Part of this is because Bart isn't tied to the Talion charter the same way Captain Shae is. Captain Montador can also work for the Highborn Covenant and the Four Star Syndicate.

The Real Meat and Potatoes of Bart's abilities lie in his range buffing abilities. Hot Shot gives a model boosted ranged attack damage rolls (hello blast damage!) while Broadsides allows every model in his Battlegroup to make an additional ranged attack ignoring ROF. This means you'll be pumping out tons of AoE's during the course of the game and not a single unit of infantry will be safe. For instance, if Bart puts himself under the influence of Hot Shot he can stand still and spray twice at RAT7 with boosted damage all the way through!

Bart also has some considerable defensive abilities to match his ability to lay down offensive power at range. Batten Down the Hatches increases the ARM of all battlegroup models and prevents knockdown. His feat Typhoon means that any enemies who try to engage fall over once they reach their destination. This gives Bart the unique ability to push hard into the opponent's lines with his ranged warjacks while using his feat and spells to keep them safe from harm once retaliation hits your lines. To make sure Bart reaches the ideal position for his feat he has another two neat abilities - Blood Quenched and Overtake. Bart can go on a killing spree during his feat turn and gain extra ARM and STR while he's at it. This means if you can Overtake into an important model during his feat turn he can take a nasty freestrike if it tries to escape.

Beyond his three signature spells, Bart has some good denial spells as well. Deadweight and Powder Keg can inflict major damage while messing with your opponent's activation orders. I find I rarely use these spells with Bartolo, but they can be really game changing in the right scenario and are good to hold in your toolbox of abilities.

Next up - Fiona!

[baronvonchaos]

I like Pirates. Hands down. In anything. If I would have known that Pirates were coming out, I wouldn't have bought the Protectorate .

My biggest problem with them at current is that they just don't dole out the hitting power. The best jack they have in pirate terms is a Freebooter which can do 6 attacks with 3 focus. The Nomad and Mangler are the only two jacks that I could honestly say could deal with heavies and heavy damages. That and the Commodore.

If you could go over how to deal with opponents like Khador and specifically Karchev. Beasts like him with the Talion Charter, that'd be great!

I love me Pirates!

[PG_KujakuDM]

a good way to deal with some models is to use terrain to your advantage with pirates, you have a good pathfinder ability and lots of charging.

and dont forget, put the freebooter in some deep water if you can, dear god that has given me alot of wins over the past coupla days.

[PG_vytzka]

Anyone still working on this? It was off to a good start.

[DaughterOfFrankenstein]

I'm going to post something long and hard about Sea Dog Crew and Pressgangers if it doesn't get up soon.

[Mael]

Sorry dudes - I've been uber busy trying to get as many games in as possible with my Trolls. I'll post something up on Fiona ASAP.

[eodluigi]

Love this thread. I have been inspired by it. I used to play pirates all the time in MK 1. I even took them to GenCon, but they have been on the shelf since MK 2 hit. I think I am gonna revisit the Talion Charter.

[baronvonchaos]

What do people use as anti-heavy tools with the Talion Charter?

[Mael]

If you're trying to crack ARM20+ you have a few options - but only a few.

1. KD + Freebooter. Weaponmaster 14's are nothing to scoff at, and between the buccaneer, the commodore, and Shae's Blow the Man Down you can certainly pull it off.

2. Aiyanna and Holt can give you +2 on the damage roll against any target - utilize it! This also goes great with #1 since you'll pretty much autohit the KD'd target.

3. Nomads - 6 point Heavies with Reach are nothing to scoff at. Manglers work great too but are a bit more expensive.

4. Mob it with tough troops - if all else fails throw your +4 tough pirates at the problem. Keep grogspar close to prevent trampling.

[mikethefish]

Anti-Heavy TARGETS? I assume you mean Anti-Heavy tools and options :P

Anyhow, Aiyanna and Holt are a must have in this regard. +2 damage might not seem like much, but taken over the course of multiple attacks it starts adding up real quick. Lets assume a Nomad or Mangler fully loaded with 3 focus fighting some badass enemy heavy jack. Through the course of those 5 attacks the jack can make, that's a bonus of 10 extra damage that you wouldn't otherwise have had. Probably enough to take down said badass heavy enemy jack.

Alternative anti-heavy options would be...

Fiona's Affliction spell combined with multiple low-power hits (Sea Dog pistols are best for this)

The Mangler's Chain Weapon on it's wrecking ball if you are going up against Cygnar or Protectorate - the two main factions that make the most use out of shields.

Typical shennanigans that don't kill heavies but at least mitigate their effectiveness - slamming or two-handed throwing stuff out of the way via Freebooters, knocking them down with a Buccaneer etc. This is less effective thanks to Shake Off, but can still be useful, especially if you are going in on an assassination run, or if you simply want to drain some of the enemy caster's rescources (ie - Focus/Fury)

[baronvonchaos]

Mael & Mikethefish, this is what I needed to know. A&H should work as well.

So would your list look like this for a semi-rounded assault privateer force
Shae +6
-Freebooter 6
-Freebooter 6 (or Nomad 6)
-Commodore 4
Sea Dogs (min) & UA 7
Press Gangers 6
Bosun 2
Doc 2
Hawk or Bradigan 2
Rockbottom 2
Aiyanna & Holt 4

[PG_vytzka]

I'm going to post something long and hard about Sea Dog Crew and Pressgangers if it doesn't get up soon.

*poke* *poke*

[DaughterOfFrankenstein]

What's So Great about Sea Dogs?

The Notables

Before introducing the crew themselves, it's worth taking in just what my mates will be able to do for them.

-Lord Rockbottom

Lord Rockbottom is the chief support option for any army running Sea Dogs, which makes him a mainstay in Talion Charter lists. His coins can buy failed command checks, and for Sea Dog Units they can buy a number of useful incentives that can increase a Sea Dog Unit's threat range and likeliness to hit, damage output on ranged attacks, or survivability if things have gone sour. He also has decent RAT on a fiery SP 8 attack that will cause the Fire continuous effect and make short work of most light infantry.

NOTE: As of this correction, Units can benefit from only a single incentive per turn.

-Doc Killingsworth

Apart from tough, Sea Dog infantry units are largely glass cannons that live or die by the 1/3 chance of a Tough roll, so any way to improve their chances here is vital. Doc Killingsworth makes that a 1/2 chance for all Tough Privateers in his command. He can also heal multi-wound models, including warcasters. Paired with Bart, who also has Tough, Doc can be a warcaster attachment all his own.

-Bosun Grogspar

Where Doc Killingsworth keeps units alive, Bosun Grogspar will make sure those units can do something about being alive next turn. Being a medium base will leave him somewhat vulnerable, but he has tough, and Doc Killingsworth can make that mean a great deal. To round him out, he runs around with a gun firing harpoons with dynamite strapped on, and can throw people around with a big freaking hook, and he serves as a Commander.

-First Mate Hawk

First Mate Hawk is the final padding on any Sea Dog force. While in her command range, Sea Dogs will never flee and will automatically rally, and Sea Dogs also gain additional damage dice against enemy warrior models with their hand weapons, but this is less useful with some configurations than others. Pressgangers need the bonus, as their attacks bank on one damage roll, but Sea Dog Crew get two rolls, and typically only need that additional damage die when hitting Heavy Infantry. Mix and match for your meta.

While her support role for Sea Dogs isn't quite as necessary, she's still a high profile damage dealer. Fiona and Shae both get a lot of mileage out of Acrobatics and her damage output.

Sea Dog Crew

Sea Dog Crew are a glass cannon. On their own, they die to a stiff breeze, but what doesn't die is almost certain to take something with it. Between their Hand Weapons and Point Blank on their ranged weapons, each Sea Dog takes 2 initial attacks to the table, and their initial gang bonus to attack and damage rolls will leave unwary opponents with a whole lot of room to underestimate just what a full unit of Sea Dogs can do. Between weapon attachments and their character officer (Walls), one can fit fourteen bodies into a single unit, each with two initial attacks at varying POW.

Sea Dog Riflemen give the Sea Dogs an option to take out targets from a distance, as they can CRA with each other at a target up to 14" away (20" on the advance). Rifles aside, it's still a Sea Dog with two initial melee attacks.

Mr. Walls, their Unit Attachment, brings the meatiest initial attacks in the unit. Engaging enemies, his monkey will interfere with their attack rolls (and any sort of defensive bonuses I can get, I'll need), and once a game he can give Sea Dog Crew added threat range and a slew of useful abilities to help them along the way. All of this inside one unit... and then there are my support options.

My Favorite Ways To Support
1) Lord Rockbottom
Every ability he brings to the table can be useful for Sea Dog Crew, from buying them Tough (which they'll always, always be thankful for), to buying then additional threat range with Pay Day, to giving them better ranged ability with Money Shot. There's a little something for everybody, making their potential use unpredictable from turn to turn until he runs out of money.
2) Doc Killingsworth
Because bought tough had better be good tough.
3) Bosun Grogspar
Because bought tough had better be great tough.
4) First Mate Hawk
Because if all of my bases are covered there's no reason not to.


Sea Dog Pressgangers

In a Talion Charter list, Sea Dog Pressgangers are usually one's bread and butter for a number of reasons. First, they're cheap (a 4/6 6/10 unit). They're tough, and higher base POW than Sea Dog Crew on their hand weapons. All you lose are ranged shots. Pressgangers also have their Lass, a useful tool for manipulating enemy position (with Seduce). Also all Pressgangers have the Shanghai ability. At its worst, Shanghai can remove living enemy warrior models from play at the 'boxed' stage, denying an opponent soul tokens from their own models and preventing models from being returned to play. At its best, one can use this ability to add more Sea Dog Crew to their Sea Dog Crew... and this ability can let a Sea Dog Crew reach well beyond its initial size.

Run in tandem with Sea Dog Crew, the two support each other well. Pressgangers can add more Crew to the Sea Dogs and screen them on the advance. Both Sea Dog Crew and Pressgangers can benefit from the same support options. Finally, Sea Dog Crew can meet whatever damage/charges the Pressgangers soak up quite well.

My Favorite Ways To Support
1) Doc Killingsworth
Because Tough Is Good.
2) Bosun Grogspar
Because Tough Is Great.
3) First Mate Hawk
Because damage output is key.
4) Lord Rockbottom
Because Lord Rockbottom can't really bring much to Pressgangers. They get nothing from Money Shot, and come pre-toughened up. Pay Day's value can still be acceptional here when faced with high DEF models, or when you want that added maneuverability, but personally, if I'm taking Pressgangers, I'm taking a whole lot of Pressgangers to tarpit enemy models while I peel them apart with support from models like Deck Guns, which Lord Rockbottom can support far better.

Sea Dog Deck Guns

The artillery of choice for pirates. like most Artillery it seems like a fairly poor choice at first, but like most Sea Dogs, this can be made up for with a couple of solos. One of the only ways to really make the Deck Guns work is by taking a lot of them, which means running Dougal MacNaile. He lets you take three Deck Guns and his mini-feat can give them all +2 RNG, which they need just to make up their points. After that, there's Lord Rockbottom to buy them money shot, but chances are your money will be better spent on Sea Dog Crew, who will earn their points back more quickly. Sea Dog Deck Guns are a very fluffy, but sub-par choice.

My Favorite Ways To Support
1) Dougal MacNaile
Because in the case of Deck Guns, quantity has its own quality, and Dougal MacNaile has Double Powder-Rations, increasing their RNG for a turn. However the difference is slim between Dougal and...
2) Lord Rockbottom
...who brings just as much to the table, giving them bonuses to attack and damage rolls. They're both necessary to get use out of the Deck Guns

The Commodore Cannon

The Commodore Cannon is by all players agreed to be the most powerful Artillery piece in the game, and it shows. It has three different firing modes:

1)A cannon ball fired at extreme ranges that can slam any model and deal a decent amount of damage.
2)An incendiary round fired at a slightly above average range. It causes fire damage and also the fire continuous effect, and has an AOE value of 4".
3)One of the only SP10 shots in the game at POW 20 and a bonus to RAT just for using it.

All of these shots come on a unit that can achieve staggeringly high RAT for an artillery piece of its magnitude (Every single shot from the Commodore Cannon should be RAT 8 base). Also, both Dougal and Rockbottom's support abilities synergize with the Commodore. In tandem with a trio of Deck Guns this can be highly entertaining, but the Commodore is an effective artillery platform on its own.

My Favorite Ways To Support
1) Lord Rockbottom
Because if Money Shot is good with Sea Dog Deck Guns, its devastating with the Commodore.
2) Dougal MacNaile
Because Artillerist only helps one of the Commodore's threee shots, and Double Powder Rations seems redundant on a piece with so much initial threat range.

[DaughterOfFrankenstein]

What Else Is There, then?

Lady Aiyana & Master Holt

Lady Aiyana & Master Holt are a major support unit in Talion Charter that can do a great deal on their own. Played straight, Mr. Holt is a marksman that can drop two RNG 12 POW 12 shots a turn. Beside him is Aiyana, who can make both of them stealthy, give target model/unit Magical Weapon for all of its weapons, or she can blow a Kiss of Lyliss to target enemy model/unit, giving a damage bonus to all damage rolls made against that model/unit. This all adds up to not just a vital support role in Talion Charter (whom apart from Mercenary Warjacks have slim to no options against high ARM targets other than stalling.), but a vital support role in any Mercenary force you can think to drop them in.

Bloody Bradigan

Bloody Bradigan is a heavy hitting solo who's tough, and loves to get in the thick of things. Berserk won't count for too much on a model without Reach, but with Gang Fighter he'll get a damage bonus no matter who he's fighting beside, and there's support from Warcasters enough to give him an absolutely nightmarish attack run.

Dirty Meg

Dirty Meg is a solid 'jack marshal who can interfere with other warjacks with her Junker gun. With her warjacks, she brings Off-Road, a solid drive that gives a warjack a free charge (or slam) with Pathfinder. Her command is a little low for a 'jack marshal that banks on its drives, but in Talion Charter this is alleviated somewhat by Lord Rockbottom, as all Drives are Command Checks.

What if I want to expand from Talion Charter?

Sea Dog Crew and Pressgangers are both supported happily by multiple 'casters outside of The Talion Charter. Magnus The Traitor, Magnus The Warlord, Durgen Madhammer, and Ashlynn D'Elyse all can support Sea Dogs and Pressgangers, and Durgen Madhammer might even enjoy taking a trio of Deck Guns along for the ride. The major strength of Sea Dog infantry outside of the Talion Charter will be the ability to take their most vital support options in solos that are cheap, and can work right alongside them no matter the contract. This means that a Talion Charter player looking for a little more variety in their warcaster/warjack options can still keep the Privateer force a Privateer force. Also, non Talion Charter players can enjoy most of the benefits of a good Privateer force without having to sacrifice the variety they enjoy from taking more forgiving contracts such as Four-Star Syndicate, or Highborn Covenant.

[Mael]

Thanks for posting that DoF! I'll get something up on Fiona asap.

[DaughterOfFrankenstein]

Have it done soon, or I'll do it instead. (Fiona/Shae are my personal favorites in TC)

[Weaselcreature]

...eagerly awaiting a Fiona write up.

[PG_vytzka]

Bumpitty bump?

[raincaller]

Fiona's Tear *lol* list has caused Fiona lovers minor heartbreak. I personally am on a hiatus from my favorite redheaded thamarian pirate wench.

[DaughterOfFrankenstein]

I will not be posting anything up about Fiona, sadly. Legion of Everblight will be taking up far too much of my time (and money) for me to focus on anything in Mercenaries at the moment. Be safe Sea Bros.

[PG_vytzka]

DaughterOfFrankenstein is blighted D: Curse you, Ethrunbal! *shakes fist*

[DaughterOfFrankenstein]

I've been blighted for a while, I just got into Legion too late and went frosted butts during the field test/wait for cards.

[Chiller]

I have the MKII Merc Cards deck (but not the book so this may no longer be possible)!
but I have used it to take out caster's at stupid arm levels thanks to arcane shield and camping focus.

First Mate Hawk & Bloody Bradigan
Bradigan is according to the card is a "Mercenary Privateer Sea Dog Solo" therefore can benefit from Hawk's Object of desire.

Basically charge the warrior model caster target with Hawk for her own nasty attacks.
Then if they've survived Bloody Brad charges them

Thanks to his rules and the target being in combat with Hawk
Brad can hit Def 16 targets on average rolls and puts out an average 28-29 damage on the charge attack and an average 25 damage on his other fist

[Osito]

Another great way to deal with heavy armor for us is the Commodore. Give the old girl Money shot, and put a pow 18 slam right into their heavy armor. This is best when followed up by a freebooter charge on the now knocked down heavy... Nomad works too! Bring the pain. For wine and wenches! Yarg...

[Garred]

I have the MKII Merc Cards deck (but not the book so this may no longer be possible)!
but I have used it to take out caster's at stupid arm levels thanks to arcane shield and camping focus.

First Mate Hawk & Bloody Bradigan
Bradigan is according to the card is a "Mercenary Privateer Sea Dog Solo" therefore can benefit from Hawk's Object of desire.

Basically charge the warrior model caster target with Hawk for her own nasty attacks.
Then if they've survived Bloody Brad charges them

Thanks to his rules and the target being in combat with Hawk
Brad can hit Def 16 targets on average rolls and puts out an average 28-29 damage on the charge attack and an average 25 damage on his other fist

Unfortunately, First Mate Hawk specifies "hand weapons" and although Bloody Bradigan is, in fact, using his hands as weapons, they are listed as wrapped fist.

[cllone464]

heres my 35pt shae tier 4 list
shae +6
buccaneer 3
buccaneer 3
freebooter 6
the commodore 4
sea dog crew full 8
mr.walls 2
sea dog deck gun crew
full sea dog crew 8
doc killingsworth 1
lord rockbottom 1
first mate hawk 1
bosun grogspar 1
dirty meg 1

[raincaller]

A link to this needs to be here
Fiona the Black tactica by devilsquid.

[spellscape]

Some people claim that Shae can't compete with newer factions lists. Is this true or pirates player skill is main factor in competitive play ? (I don't mean that other winning just by placing models on the table - just that pirate player must be more familiar with his army)

[Aetou]

Some people claim that Shae can't compete with newer factions lists. Is this true or pirates player skill is main factor in competitive play ? (I don't mean that other winning just by placing models on the table - just that pirate player must be more familiar with his army)

Shae has one of the best theme forces in Warmachine - it's seriously fast and nasty while reducing the solos to one point each helps massively. There are some things that he just can't deal with, but most 'casters have some bad matchups and pairing him with a Highborn list can offset most of those. Talion definitely do need you to be more familiar with your own army than, say, Khador due to the high amount of internal synergy but they also require your opponent to be quite familiar with their combinations too. It's very easy to blindside somebody with Talion if they haven't played them much before.

[spellscape]

As I thought
WOW Is Gorten really part of Highborn Covenant? - In this case this is win for me - I already got Gorten force.
Is Shae + Gorten make good army?

[Mael]

Some people claim that Shae can't compete with newer factions lists. Is this true or pirates player skill is main factor in competitive play ? (I don't mean that other winning just by placing models on the table - just that pirate player must be more familiar with his army)

Shae has a seriously awesome spell list as well as an amazing theme force and access to the absolute best artillery in the game. As with all Warmachine casters, after you spend some time getting to learn them they'll be awesome in your hands!

[Osito]

Shae is extremely competitive. Play him a few times and find out. He can stand up well against any army. As with all other casters the support army you will need depends on the army you will face. Shae for the win!

[spellscape]

I just hope Mercs and Pirates also get famous 120mm based monstrous tanks.