Walkthrough: Morvahna The Autumnblade

[PG_Macguffin]

The format for this guide has been borrowed from Mutton on the Cygnar forum. If anything needs to be changed to stick to Forum Guidelines please let me know and I will address it promptly. I will edit this Guide at a later date to flush out some of my statements and address any typos.


Morvahna is my favorite caster hands down so I thought it best to start with her and give everyone my take on this amazing caster. Obviously these are only my thoughts and opinions and are in no way to be taken as fact--can’t stress that enough. If what you are doing works for you, then by all means continue to do it!

Morvahna The Autumnblade

Overview
Morvahna is Circle's premier attrition caster; her spells and abilities allow her to endure very long games with ease. She is on the exceptional end of infantry destruction thanks to her feat and Eruption of Life, but requires self-sufficient heavy hitters (although the Gorax, as usual, can help in this regard). Morvahna’s main weaknesses are her heavy reliance on defensive upkeeps as well as her inability to assist her battle group with damage/efficiency buffs--rest assured that a skilled player and careful attention to list building can shore these up. In Morvahna’s case playing to her strengths depends on how you want the list to handle, but essentially boils down whether you want to play aggressive or conservative--this will be addressed later when we talk about list building.


Statistics
The majority of Morvahna’s stats are mediocre to poor with the notable exception of her defense, warbeast points and Fury. She is exceptionally squishy as far as casters go; her ARM of 13 is very low especially when coupled with having only 14 health boxes. She has average MAT and won’t be hitting dodgy models without boosting. Her command is actually quite decent and will be a nice increase for most of our troopers. Her DEF is what keeps her alive and anything that increases it or ensures that an enemy cannot circumvent it (Woldwatcher’s Animus) is very valuable. She is on the high end for warbeast points, which is great because she needs beasts to shore up the few weaknesses that she has. She is also a Fury 7 caster so she has a very respectable control range coupled with accuracy for her offensive spells and plenty of fury for casting (especially with Harvest). Despite her obvious squishiness, most of the time Morvahna will be playing from the middle of your lines for reasons we will get into later, but for now, know that she is far more survivable than she first appears.


Abilities, Weapons, and Feat
Morvahna has only 1 ability, but it is fantastic. Sacrificial Pawn allows her (for 0 Fury) to send any directly hitting ranged attack to any warrior model within 3” which is essentially a free transfer, but better because it takes Morvahna’s exceptional defense and the trooper’s ARM into account (Shifting Stones are usually the primary target, but the Skinwalkers are also and exceptional choice). Sac Pawn, on its own increases her survivability astronomically.


Her weapon, Equinox, is respectable at pow 12 and on a damaging hit allows her to transfer damage once per turn to a model afflicted by Harrow. This is brutal against Warmachine as it makes it very dangerous for your opponent to attempt an assassination if Morvahna applies Harrow to the enemy Warcaster (due to her low ARM). Against Hordes this ability is good, but the damage can still be transfered as the rules for transfers only stipulate that damage transfered to a Warbeast cannot be transferred again. An interesting note is that Harrow does not follow the normal rules for transferring, you may transfer to a target affected by Harrow even if the target is no longer in Morvahna’s control range.


Morvahna’s Feat is absolutely devastating to infantry, but maintains some usefulness (albeit drastically diminished) against beasts and jacks. When a living or undead enemy model is destroyed in melee by a friendly faction model you get to place a forest and all enemy models within the forest take a POW 13 hit. The forests bog down the enemy while simultaneously buffing our troops (especially Ravagers) and the POW 13’s destroy even shield-wall troopers with below average rolls.

[PG_Macguffin]

Spells

Eruption of Life: This spell is crazy good. It’s a moderate cost pow 13 that acts just like her Feat. If the spell destroys a living or undead model, you center a 3” forest and deal a POW 13 to all enemy models within the template. This spell on its own will ensure that infantry will not trouble Morvahna in the least. It also provides protection for friendly models and hampers the enemies movements.


Harvest: This is Morvahna’s go-to spell and should be up at all times and will assist greatly in matchups that punish her other upkeeps. When enemy model in her control range is destroyed she can choose to gain a point of fury. This spell allows her to spam cast EoL and influence to amazing effect while still maintaining plenty of fury for transfers. This spell is the key to her survivability as when needed she can sit on a full seven transfers even after casting and upkeeping. This spell also helps to keep her in the game long after her beasts are destroyed. It is important to have an idea of how much Fury you will need to leach from warbeasts before ending Morvahna’s activation as well as when deciding to collect Fury from Harrow out of activation. If Fury management will be an issue you have Primal and Serenity to assist you in stripping excess Fury. Harvest is arguably her premier spell, but will often seem to pale in comparison to Regrowth.


Influence You get to take control of an enemy warrior model and make a melee attack with it for 1 Fury--what’s not to like? Against low defense high POW/Weaponmaster infantry (Reach model’s are your best targets) this spell can essentially be free thanks to Harvest. Be mindful of Warcasters/Warlocks standing too close to their impressive melee solos/troops as Influence could very easily give you a caster kill in the right circumstances. Combined with Harvest, and a little luck, this spell may not even cost anything.


Regrowth This spell is AMAZING! 4 Fury upkeep spell that for one Fury you can return models from the affected unit to play during your control phase. This spell allows her units to play a very long and drawn out game at full strength and will give any unprepared opponent fits and you will, I promise, hear cries of brokenness. Having said that, don’t rely too heavily on it because your opponents will move heaven and earth, if possible, to deny you access to it. My best advice is to learn to play Morvahna without using Regrowth before you start using the spell as it is a very expensive spell to cast and requires that it remain active through your opponent’s turn and on into your next turn to be of any value, so recasting and juggling it is not efficient. Another note is that models will not come back if they are removed from play, and in some ways is more dangerous than simple upkeep removal being that once the models are gone they will never come back.


Restoration: This is a very unassuming spell that can go overlooked and undervalued. this spell adds +2ARM and allows Morvahna to, once upkept, heal for 1 point of health for each model in the unit within 1” of her. This spell is best applied to heavy infantry because medium based multi-wound models are the perfect bodyguard for Morvahna as she works her way up field (Medium bases block LoS and offer a reasonable threat to anything seeking to engage her). If the models are fearless it simply increases the value of Restoration as she can count on them being right where she needs them to be. This spells healing ability coupled with shifting stones (for Sac-Pawn and healing) can keep Morvahna’s health topped off in even the longest of games. This spell allows her to cut for Fury for free essentially and will keep her in the fight even when there are no beasts to leach from. This spell is easily juggled and should be used where ever it is needed as often as you need it. The disclaimer, however, is that Morvahna will still arguably need beasts for heavy targets, but this does allow her to play beast-light if you choose--our beasts are great and I would certainly still take a full compliment of heavy hitters. This spell combined with Harvest are what will win your games against upkeep denial as they will usually slip under the radar of even skilled players and/or are easily defensible thanks to Circle’s anti-magic options.

[PG_Macguffin]

Army Composition
Heavies: As stated before, Morvahna can handle infantry on her own, but struggles against high ARM targets, so you need to make sure that you have something that can reliably crack armor. The catch is that she will not assist their damage dealing abilities so whatever you choose has to be reasonably self-contained. The Warpwolf Stalker is a perfect fit for her (and every other caster we have) as MAT6 is not an issue against most high ARM models and it can get to POW18 on its own. On the feat turn the stalker paired with a Gorax could warp for berserk and retain its POW 18 (now with MAT 8) and decimate anything in its way, and if you’re careful and watch your fury may still even be able to pop his own animus and sprint deeper into the enemy lines to make sure it frenzies against the right target (of which few should be remaining). Both Megalith and the Woldwarden are good with Morvahna, but our character beast really shines through thanks to his animus and additional fury. The effective MAT boost and denial elements to his animus are very welcome and she can easily afford his hefty price tag thanks to her bonus warbeast points. The Feral is quite good with her, but its lack of pathfinder usually gets him stuck in too easily (I usually shift him in with stones to get around this). The Woldguardian is excellent with Morvahna in brick playstyles as it further mitigates ranged threats and would give certain lists a very hard time. Everyone’s best buddy is the Gnarlhorn Satyr, he is one of the best warbeasts in circle due to his efficiency and animus. Tramples under the affects of bounding are simply terrifying. You can use other heavy beasts with her, but these guys are the ones I find most effective and their respective costs are not prohibitive to Morvahna.

Lights: The Woldwatcher adds just the right amount of redundancy to her lists I find. His sustainability fits with her theme, he adds to the denial with forest generation, he has shieldguard in a pinch or for other models, and his animus ensures that your enemy will be forced to deal with her very high defense. In her tier list I think you will find that spamming Watchers is surprisingly effective, especially in scenario play. The Woldwyrd assists in protecting your upkeeps primarily. Its animus will make attempts at nullifying your spells very costly as well as threatening opposing upkeeps and opening up new assassination options, he should be played forward and always in position to threaten warcaster’s movements. The Gorax, what needs to be said? This model is one of the strongest and most efficient models in all of WarmaHordes, bring him and get comfortable with knowing when to use his animus as there are quite a few subtleties to using it beyond simply smashing things with it. The Argus fills a very useful role in her tier as he is one way to deal with high armor. The Argus combined with primal is a pinch-heavy-hitter

Units: Bloodtrackers are my favorite Regrowth target because their high defense and stealth offer them solid defense from the majority of upkeep denial (as they require hitting the target). They are also very reasonably costed, exceptionally fast and hit surprisingly hard in both range and melee. Bloodweavers also make a great regrowth target, and against living models they can hit exceptionally hard. The weavers also add upkeep removal, AoEs, and gang as opposed to prey. The Druids are crucially important with Morvahna to protect her and her upkeeps. The Druids should always be at least 6-7” ahead of her (against anti-upkeep casters, further ahead versus the Harbinger), making sure both she and the Regrowthed unit are covered with Countermagic as well as ensuring that the opposing caster must stand at least 16-21” away from her to cast their spells. These guys help to neuter enemy chances of removing your precious upkeeps. The Ravagers really shine with Morvahna thanks to Restoration and her feat (increases their killing potential and defense to 15 in the woods). The Skinwalkers are a favorite of mine thanks to their already high armor and overall survivability. These guys are able to engage and bog down anything that can effectively threaten your upkeeps while still applying pressure. Morvahna’s Sac Pawn can add 2” to their threat range without great loss to the unit. The they are fearless, have CMA for high DEF/ARM, and cause terror! Shifting Stones are also a great include for their teleporting and can be used for primary Sac Pawn targets. The Sentry Stone unit can be used for Sac-Pawn targets and it also helps by aiding the assassination (removing Fury/Focus).

Solos: The Lord of the Feast is great no matter who you use him with, but on the feat turn he is brutal beyond reason. Because his attacks are simultaneous he can create what is essentially a 4” deadzone of infantry around his location (each kill creating its own 3” death zone as well), but do not expect him to always be able to use the raven afterward unless he is standing inside the forests. The Blackclad is welcome thanks to Hunter’s Mark, but the spray is not as essential as it is for some other casters.

Tips and Tricks
Play aggressive with this caster and keep her fairly up field against anyone without exhaustive upkeep denial. Target and tie up anything that can threaten your upkeeps with extreme prejudice. Use the Regrowthed Bloodtrackers to run and engage models first and allow the rest of your force to get into position. Always keep one or two models in the unit at a safe distance from the fight to try to ensure that the unit cannot be wiped out completely. Beware of the remove from play mechanic as it trumps Regrowth completely. Also be aware that a Snacking model must be able to heal (ie it must already be damaged) to remove your models from play. There are many qualifiers for Regrowth placement, make sure that you are well aware of what you can and more importantly what you can’t do with this spell. As I advised earlier, learn to play without Regrowth; I promise you that a skilled player will be able to work around this spell and you will need to be able to react accordingly. Morvahna has the tools to PUNISH without Regrowth. The Wyrd and the Druids are your main defenses against upkeep removal, always keep them between you and upkeep denial and protect them like the game depends on their survival (because it most likely will). Druid clouds last for one round and are not removed when the model is slain--do not forget that. Keep in mind that with a proper set up, Druids and a Woldwatcher will have Morvahna sitting at an effective 17DEF against ranged/magic/melee, with immunity to knockdown, no spell targeting and 7 Fury for transfers--virtually immune to all but the nastiest of assassination attempts. Use your beasts to crack high ARM as early as possible and Morvahna will take care of the rest.

Summary
Morvahna is an attrition warlock who can exhibit tremendous control over the pace of the game. She has moderate assassination ability on her own and truly relies on her army to take care of business for her in that regard. Her primary objective is almost always to weather the initial storm and retaliate hard with her self-contained warbeasts. If used effectively Morvahna will give your opponents fits. Don’t be affraid to play her forward and have her mix things up in melee (especially on her feat turn with Megalith’s animus), so long as you are careful and mind your fury accordingly. She takes a little more getting used to against her bad matchups (especially against pKreoss and the Harbinger) than most casters I have played because her bad matchups can be devastating if handled improperly.

[PG_Macguffin]

35pts (It Has Two Stalkers, No Introduction Needed)
*6 Morvahna
10 Stalker
10 Stalker
8 Gnarlhorn
8 Blood Trackers
2 Nuala
2 Shifting Stones
1 Stonekeeper

35pt tier 4 (Death of 1000 Paper Cuts)
*6 Morvahna
8 Bloodtrackers
free Nuala
5 Bloodweavers
5 Bloodweavers
6 Wolf Riders
5 Wyrd
5 Watcher
5 Watcher
2 Shifting Stones

[Dark Fledgling]

Very well done, and I applaud your effort. I have to say I agree with your "learn to play without regrowth" method. In almost any highy competitive format you will easily see one out of every 3 opponents with a way to remove upkeeps and without being able to adjust your play, you will quickly get hosed.

But yes, great write-up on one of our less then "encouraged" casters.

-DF

[Seraphat]

Great job! Have you thought about adding this to the Battle College wiki site with a link to this page for discussion?

[AshenFang]

Had a questions on the spells.

Influence, haven't really used this spell, because it didn't seem all that great with the new unit formation. It doesn't allow them to move right? So they can only attack a model that was already within it's LOS and melee range?

[Pat Thompson]

Thanks for writing this, it was very informative and has given me the inkling to give her a try (i guess the ultimate goal of any walk-through!)

[drugar101]

yes. Use druids of orboros to force bolt move them around. especially if you can get a model with weapon mastery next to his warcaster!
then influence that model to kill the caster. If you take control of a grunt that is out of formation it becomes a unit commander of a unit of one model for the duration you control it. So you can try to mush a grunt all around the table and never worry about formation during influence.

[PG_Macguffin]

Had a questions on the spells.

Influence, haven't really used this spell, because it didn't seem all that great with the new unit formation. It doesn't allow them to move right? So they can only attack a model that was already within it's LOS and melee range?

Influence has its own limitations, but against models with low defense and reach this is a highly spamable spell. You want to use influence when models are not clustered enough to use EoL, or when there is a particularly nasty solo near a prized model as you can sometimes achieve a caster-kill with this spell. The formation rules do hinder its performance a little, but not as much as it looks like it does on paper. No matter how skilled a player is, once two armies are engaged there will be a lot of clumping of models. The Bloodtrackers are also great at encouraging clumping by running to engage models to stick them in place for the following turn where they will be dismantled by EoL, Influence, and her feat.

Thanks for the kind words from everyone!

[PG_fildrigar]

Had a questions on the spells.

Influence, haven't really used this spell, because it didn't seem all that great with the new unit formation. It doesn't allow them to move right? So they can only attack a model that was already within it's LOS and melee range?

Yes, no movement, so they have to be in LOS and melee range. It's in many ways a good revenge spell. If the enemy charges a bunch of your stuff and kills it, they're likely to be clustered and set up well for a line of Influences.

[PG_fildrigar]

SpellsThis spell is best applied to heavy infantry because medium based multi-wound models are the perfect bodyguard for Morvahna. If the models are fearless it simply increases the value of Restoration as she can count on them being right where she needs them to be. This spells healing ability coupled with shifting stones can keep Morvahna’s health topped off in even the longest of games. This spell allows her to cut for Fury for free essentially and will keep her in the fight even when there are no beasts to leach from. This spell is easily juggled and should be used where ever it is needed as often as you need it.

I don't know about medium base multi-wound infantry being the perfect bodyguard for Morvahna. I'd like to disagree and say that Shifting Stones are better, because she can use Sacrificial Pawn on them. With Restoration, they're ARM 20, so most shooting is going to ping right off of them. Also, they can heal her as well. With a unit of Shifting Stones with this spell on them, clustered around her can really let her run beast low, by healing 3+d3 damage a turn.

Ravagers are good with her, though. But, they need to be held back a bit for the feat turn. If you run them out front, they're more likely to die before you get the good chance to use them. Between her Feat and Eruption of Life ( It's a shame about the delicious fruit tokens, BTW ) , they are a good fit with her, you just need to be sure you save them for the right time.

Additionally, a quick point about Restoration. Adding ARM to a low ARM unit seems like a wise thing to do. But it is far more effective to add ARM to a higher ARM unit. Druids are ARM 13, and die to a stiff breeze. Druids that are ARM 15 still die to a stiff breeze. They may become slightly more survivable to drifting AOEs, but instead think about bringing Shifting stones to ARM 20. Or Skinwalkers to ARM 20. Or a Heavy Warbeast to 20. Or LotF or Morraig to 19. You get much more use out of the extra ARM on something that already has a good ARM.

[PG_Macguffin]

I don't know about medium base multi-wound infantry being the perfect bodyguard for Morvahna. I'd like to disagree and say that Shifting Stones are better, because she can use Sacrificial Pawn on them. With Restoration, they're ARM 20, so most shooting is going to ping right off of them. Also, they can heal her as well. With a unit of Shifting Stones with this spell on them, clustered around her can really let her run beast low, by healing 3+d3 damage a turn.

Ravagers are good with her, though. But, they need to be held back a bit for the feat turn. If you run them out front, they're more likely to die before you get the good chance to use them. Between her Feat and Eruption of Life ( It's a shame about the delicious fruit tokens, BTW ) , they are a good fit with her, you just need to be sure you save them for the right time.

Additionally, a quick point about Restoration. Adding ARM to a low ARM unit seems like a wise thing to do. But it is far more effective to add ARM to a higher ARM unit. Druids are ARM 13, and die to a stiff breeze. Druids that are ARM 15 still die to a stiff breeze. They may become slightly more survivable to drifting AOEs, but instead think about bringing Shifting stones to ARM 20. Or Skinwalkers to ARM 20. Or a Heavy Warbeast to 20. Or LotF or Morraig to 19. You get much more use out of the extra ARM on something that already has a good ARM.

Agreed. Shifting stones will always be the primary sac pawn target, but if an opponent fires a moderate POW shot with no way of boosting damage at Morvahna the Skinwalkers become the target unless they are already engaged so that it triggers their +2spd buff--7" with reach makes them hit a 12" threat, which should not be passed up. For my money, the Skinwalkers allow Morvahna to sit much further forward, and between the Shifting Stones and the Skinwalkers she has plenty of available Sac-Pawn Targets.

[PG_fildrigar]

Army Composition
Heavies:

Lights: .

Something to keep in mind while pointing up a Morvahna list, is that you need to focus on exactly the right amount of beasts that you want to use. Do you want to go beast heavy, beast light, or beast medium? Morv does beast light and beast medium quite well, be she can do beast heavy alright also, it just takes a bit more finesse. You're going to want at least one heavy hitter, for cracking high armor. Where the tough choices come, though are the support beasts. You have to stay very focussed on exactly what you want, beast wise, to ensure that you can take enough infantry to keep Morv happy. I'm very interested to see your thoughts on the Wyrd with her.

[PG_fildrigar]

Agreed. Shifting stones will always be the primary sac pawn target, but if an opponent fires a moderate POW shot with no way of boosting damage at Morvahna the Skinwalkers become the target unless they are already engaged so that it triggers their +2spd buff--7" with reach makes them hit a 12" threat, which should not be passed up. For my money, the Skinwalkers allow Morvahna to sit much further forward, and between the Shifting Stones and the Skinwalkers she has plenty of available Sac-Pawn Targets.

Very true, especially if you are running a full unit of Skinwalkers, and have one back by Morv, while the rest are positioned a bit more forward. ( Or off to the side ) I'm trying to be much more strategic about my unit placement, trying to consciously keep them more spread out than I have before MK2. ( Unless I have a very good reason for clumping them, like a wall of Vortexes ( Vorticies? ) to block LOS to stuff behind. I see this as being something that is completely necessary with Morvahana, for Regrowing.

[PG_Macguffin]

Great job! Have you thought about adding this to the Battle College wiki site with a link to this page for discussion?

Thanks for the suggestion, I will get on that.

[Dark Fledgling]

Just thought I would add some of the better Influence targets I thought of off the top of my head.

Stormguard: 12 Defense, 15 Armor, POW 12 weapons with reach that spark a POW 10 electro leap. With these guys you can even kill 2 guys with one spell!
Champions: 12 Defense, 18 Armor when in base-to-base, but POW 11 Weapon masters will still annoy the crap out of them.
Bastions: Oh yeah, these are your golden boys with Defense 10 (maybe 11?) 16 Armor and nice fat reach POW 12 weapon masters. Downside is, they dont die cause of sanguine bond, so you wont be harvesting any fury from them. Upside, is when they DO die, you will grab a whole lot of fury for taking down the whole unit

-DF

[ShockwaveIIC]

I'm getting the impression that Morvahna breaks a lot of conventions in regards to how you manage your fury. If things go well for you would you not be finishing your turn on near to max fury with all Harvesting going on? I'm guessing that in your following control phase you would then spend that fury on Regrowing a unit, then you leach.

Would this then lend weight to the fact that you would be preferring Wolds as your beast's because you would be complete unaware as to how much fury you would be in a position to leach?

[EDIT]
It appears that I can't find my rules PDF so..
Does damage flow back still happen when you use harrow?

[kaneblaise]

Would this then lend weight to the fact that you would be preferring Wolds as your beast's because you would be complete unaware as to how much fury you would be in a position to leach?
?

You don't HAVE to take the extra fury. Even if you end your turn with three fury, that's plenty for transfers assuming she has a sac pawn target (especially if there's a Wldwatcher close). You could still fill a Feral's fury up.

[PG_fildrigar]

Just thought I would add some of the better Influence targets I thought of off the top of my head.

Stormguard: 12 Defense, 15 Armor, POW 12 weapons with reach that spark a POW 10 electro leap. With these guys you can even kill 2 guys with one spell!
-DF

Stormguard are immune to lightning, so unless your opponent has non-lightning immune units right next to Stormguard, no such luck.

[Dark Fledgling]

Stormguard are immune to lightning, so unless your opponent has non-lightning immune units right next to Stormguard, no such luck.

Ok, you got me with that one, Hah of COURSE they are lightning immune, duh...

-DF

[PG_TrollSlayer]

What about the new WoldGuardian? His abilities should prove exceptional in keeping the Autumnblade alive.

[kaneblaise]

What about the new WoldGuardian? His abilities should prove exceptional in keeping the Autumnblade alive.

At first, I thought this looked excellent, then I realized sac pawn only works on warrior models. I still think it wouldn't be a bad choice, but she's already pretty resilient to ranged assassination, which is what the Guardian helps with primarily. I think I'd rather have the Shifting Stones and a Woldwatcher near her.

[Tsenzei]

What about the new WoldGuardian? His abilities should prove exceptional in keeping the Autumnblade alive.

I'd think it usually better to Sac. Pawn, personally, that said, The Guardian could find it's way into some lists, as a good transfer target that can hit hard and help to set up assassinations, and there may be situations when Sac. Pawn is not the best option between it and the Animus.

If you control a model but not the rest of the Unit, do they still count as being part of the unit for effects like Shield Wall and Defensive Line?

If not, Champions are indeed a good choice, and add Cataphracts as well, (all of 'em). EDIT: For Influence of course.


Anyway: It may also be worth going into how different she is with handling Fury due to Harvest and to a lesser extent, Restoration. Planning and anticipating specific actions becomes more important when deciding how much Fury to gain from Harvest, and balancing that with how hot you run your 'beasts, as it isn't all (just) about spamming Influence or EoL, though that is an obvious (and good) use, but also keeping in mind when and if you'll need to Transfer and how much you want to risk for the reward.

[PG_Macguffin]

I'd think it usually better to Sac. Pawn, personally, that said, The Guardian could find it's way into some lists, as a good transfer target that can hit hard and help to set up assassinations, and there may be situations when Sac. Pawn is not the best option between it and the Animus.

If you control a model but not the rest of the Unit, do they still count as being part of the unit for effects like Shield Wall and Defensive Line?

If not, Champions are indeed a good choice, and add Cataphracts as well, (all of 'em).


Anyway: It may also be worth going into how different she is with handling Fury due to Harvest and to a lesser extent, Restoration. Planning and anticipating specific actions becomes more important when deciding how much Fury to gain from Harvest, and balancing that with how hot you run your 'beasts, as it isn't all (just) about spamming Influence or EoL, though that is an obvious (and good) use, but also keeping in mind when and if you'll need to Transfer and how much you want to risk for the reward.

Very good points, I'll try to work them in tomorrow.

[SlimShady]

Great write-up, I appreciate the effort and how easy it is to read. I almost feel like MacGuffin and I are playing the same Morv lists right now. I'm back into Morvahna in a major way so Ill add a couple things I've noticed the past couple weeks.

Feat: Very situational and you have to be careful you aren't helping your opponent by creating forests in certain places. You could easily buff enemy ravagers or block your own LOS so be careful.

Spells:
EoL - I was first upset about the healing part of the spell being nerfed and the reduction in radius but the lower cost allowing for Geomancy is great. The blast damage puts a nice dent in squishy casters and should not be overlooked.

Regrowth - One thing that I've learned recently is the ability to daisy chain units while placing them after buying them back. You CAN use the model you just placed as your measure for other targets being placed. This allows for some AMAZING charge set ups. Helped me finish Baldur off tonight actually. A full unit of Bloodtrackers is just amazing with her.

Influence - I still haven't really got anything out of this spell with the new formation changes making it more situational but I see it having a lot of possibilities. For one point, what's not to love?

Infantry: Bloodtrackers are my fav Regrowth target but the Weavers and Druids are both good choices. I like the Skinwalkers with the armor buff but I've also had some success using Woldstalkers. Another great Restoration target is the Wolf Riders but you probably won't be getting any healing from the spell with this target.

Solos: I've been using the Blackclad for HMark and the Spray with moderate success. At 50 points the LoTF will go in for sure. I'm looking forward to see what the new releases are (as we all are).

Heavies:
So far I've been enjoying Megalith (UGrowth for Skinwalkers + Stalker, thnx), Stalker and the Feral. Wardens will of course be good with her and I used to enjoy the Gnarlhorn (but haven't been using him with her lately). I haven't got to play a 50 point game with her yet but if I do ill be using the Guardian with her probably. I like to play her as attrition and the guardian screams attrition in every way. The only thing that worries me about using a Guardian with her is her lack of a speed buff for him but Hunters mark and Shifting stones early will help.

Lights:
I haven't used any lights with her the last few games and I'm not really seeing the need to. I know that there are some heavy ARM targets that we can have problems with but I normally soften up the target the best I can before I go in for the slaughter. I like to make sure the target suffers the -2 DEF from UGrowth, that way you don't have to boost attacks most of the time. So I haven't been using a Gorax. I haven't tried a Wyrd with her at all but the ability to protect upkeeps (to an extent) is nice. I'd probably just use a min unit of druids though. The Watcher has some great synergy with her but I'd rather use a Guardian. I guess you could say all our lights could have a place in her army but I end up spending so much on the key peices of my army that a light doesn't fit.

General strat stuff......

I've been playing her in the back lately but I'm looking forward to some 50 point games with a Guardian for protection so I can run her up front a bit more.

I disagree that she is good at clearing infantry herself. EoL getting nerfed to 3 inches hurt her infantry killing a lot. Also so do the new MK2 formation rules for EoL and Influence. Luckily for our faction this isn't a big issue at all.

Again, great write up!

At first, I thought this looked excellent, then I realized sac pawn only works on warrior models. I still think it wouldn't be a bad choice, but she's already pretty resilient to ranged assassination, which is what the Guardian helps with primarily. I think I'd rather have the Shifting Stones and a Woldwatcher near her.

These are good points but Girded > Shieldguard since she can sac-pawn. She is weaker to blast damage then direct attacks and with the Guardian's animis you have also lowered her chance of taking ranged damage.

Girded + Guardian Animis (Skin of Clay?) > Shield Guard, but were also talking about a 5 point difference and the question of the Guardian 1 extra fury and really nice offensive abilities being worth it. Especially since Morvahna has no way of speeding the Guardian up herself.

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

Nice to see some Morv material; she's very under represented in general even though she is a very interesting Warlock.

A few things though, because she's not perfect, to discuss:

1 - How does Morv deal with non-infantry based lists. There's a lot of heavy stuff out there that doesn't really use infantry more than as a support unit here and there. Morv's spell list and feat really start to grind to a halt without infantry to spather.

2 - A lot of the power of her spells like restoration are lost when the enemy can remove upkeeps. How do you deal with this? There's more upkeep removal than before too.

Very best,

[Spirit Fang]

this is fantastic thank you macguffin! ive just started to play with morvahna and this really helped to give me a direction with the list. i did find a good trick for using morvahnas harrow. if you put the warpwolf stalkers animus on morvahna and charge her into a heavy jack/beast surrounded by an infantry modle. charge the jack so you can damage it to get harrow on it. then kill the infantry modle. make sure you have furry left to transfer. using sprint to make a normal advance the jack has to make a freestrike and becuase morvahna is squishy the jack/beast really rips into its self. its fun seeing the look on peoples face afterwards. espeacially when you sprint her into a shifting triangle and telleport her out after

[juggernaut1]

Great writeup! I was looking into starting playing her, and this thread gave me a serious incentive.

[Xylon]

Ok, about upkeep removal vs. Morvahna, Yes there is a lot of upkeep removal out there the trick is to watch for it. Epic Eiryss is usually the biggest threat ( around here) because so many Warmachine factions can take her. My counter to her is the Totem Hunter. Withershadow Combine for Cryx has to get within 5' and its a spell so Druids are a good counter to them. The casters that can do it are usually the biggest issue so Druids and the Woldwyrd can help vs. them, yet there are still bad match ups for Morvahna.

[Micf2302]

You do not ''HAVE'' to take freestrikes.

[Amarel]

Great write-up Macguffin, Morvahna is (and always was) one of my favourite Warlocks, and probably the model I gave the most feedback on during the Field Test. I find the WoldWyrd invaluable with her and often take two (although I haven't tried her out with the new WoldWatcher or the WoldWguardian, yet), and the Stalker feels like he is pretty much made for her. With regards to units, you've not mentioned Reeves; Morv is one of the few Warlocks where I find Reeves are definitely on the table as a choice - they can stick back next to her and still be effective and get to ignore the forests she's making when attacking.

[PG_Macguffin]

Great write-up Macguffin, Morvahna is (and always was) one of my favourite Warlocks, and probably the model I gave the most feedback on during the Field Test. I find the WoldWyrd invaluable with her and often take two (although I haven't tried her out with the new WoldWatcher or the WoldWguardian, yet), and the Stalker feels like he is pretty much made for her. With regards to units, you've not mentioned Reeves; Morv is one of the few Warlocks where I find Reeves are definitely on the table as a choice - they can stick back next to her and still be effective and get to ignore the forests she's making when attacking.

The Reeves for me are just preference. They don't work well with the feat (melee only) and their points make them tread on points I'd like to spend elsewhere, but that is not to say I have never considered them. There are a lot of models competing for very important roles with Morvahna, but ultimately they're all fine choices if they're played well. The most important thing is that there is no such thing as a wrong choice because the models in a list are balanced by the models they are fighting beside.

The more I read replies to this thread the more I realize that it is impossible to encapsulate every possible model interaction. So long as this guide has got people thinking about Morvahna (especially in an unconventional manner) then I have certainly done what I had set out to do.

[SlimShady]

"A few things though, because she's not perfect, to discuss:

1 - How does Morv deal with non-infantry based lists. There's a lot of heavy stuff out there that doesn't really use infantry more than as a support unit here and there. Morv's spell list and feat really start to grind to a halt without infantry to spather."

I tend to use my Regrowthed BTrackers at their softest biggy and tie it down with them. I do it with 3 - 5 out of the ten. They whittle down the target eventually and it dies over 2 -3 turns. This target MUST be your Prey though to really have a chance of killing it in 2 -3 turns. The dice will need to be on your side too. Even if they just tie the jack/beast up it's normally a small win.


"2 - A lot of the power of her spells like restoration are lost when the enemy can remove upkeeps. How do you deal with this? There's more upkeep removal than before too."

Practice is the best way to deal with this. Use your armies other attributes and don't rely on Regrowth/attrition as you normally would. I find myself playing more balls to the wall and working towards an assassination early. My normal assassination er caster kill comes from a BTracker daisy chain.

The real issue is when you have a combination of both. Fighting a lot of heavies and dealing with upkeep removal can end up with a loss for her, it's an uphill battle. That has always been Morvahna's weakness though, at least now she has a few more tools to deal with it.

[PG_Macguffin]

1 - How does Morv deal with non-infantry based lists.

After choosing a target unit for Regrowth (usually Bloodtrackers, but I have been experimenting with Druids as of late) I fill my lists full of things that are either solely geared for killing Heavies or are able to kill both (like the Stalker). She provides nothing noteworthy for dealing with Heavies so everything has to be self-contained. The Gorax + Fuzzy combo is excellent as always and there is always Moraig (with or without the WoO he is great, especially with Lightning Strike).

"2 - A lot of the power of her spells like restoration are lost when the enemy can remove upkeeps. How do you deal with this? There's more upkeep removal than before too."

The very best defense against anti-upkeep is practice. Beyond that, you need to tie up and or kill the upkeep removal as soon as possible. If the removal is from a caster (like pKreoss) you need to ensure that you keep Morvahna at a safe distance and your Druid's Countermagic at least 5" in front of her which means the caster absolutely must stand over 14" away meaning you will not be hit with his pulse (Harvest is the most important spell to keep up, and you can easily reapply restoration), and get used to not using regrowth (unless you keep a Woldwyrd forward as well as it makes it extremely costly to strip off your spells). Surviving and winning against anti-upkeep just takes a lot of practice because it is not easy and you will have to learn to play without Regrowth more often than not, but it can be done consistently with practice.

[PG_Macguffin]

Updated with some lists I have been toying with lately as well as cleaned up the guide itself.

[theaY]

Good write up, man!

[Blackraine]

With Domination out, I have a new mantra: "There are many things which can one-shot Morvhana. For everything else, there's Retaliatory Strike. Ghetorix... he's everywhere you want to be."

In Mk. 1, the Woldwatcher's animus filled this niche, giving Morvhana Defensive strike (smack someone in the face when they move into melee range). However, now that that's no longer an option, Ghetorix's Retaliatory strike is the next best thing. Yeah, it costs 2 fury... but if you can pretty well predict when an assassination attempt may be coming at you, and you can weather the first hit (with a transfer, ostensibly), you can use Retaliatory strike to trigger Harrow and turn their assassination attempt against them. With some casters, this can actually stop the attempt immediately, for fear of killing their own caster. Some may go for a tie (The Butcher and pSkarre, for instance, can actually do enough damage in one hit to kill both models... I think Xerxis is in this boat as well). But more often than not, especially with Morvhanna's low armor, casters aren't going to want to run the risk of one-shotting themselves, and may even abort the attempt before it starts.

[PG_fildrigar]

With Domination out, I have a new mantra: "There are many things which can one-shot Morvhana. For everything else, there's Retaliatory Strike. Ghetorix... he's everywhere you want to be."

In Mk. 1, the Woldwatcher's animus filled this niche, giving Morvhana Defensive strike (smack someone in the face when they move into melee range). However, now that that's no longer an option, Ghetorix's Retaliatory strike is the next best thing. Yeah, it costs 2 fury... but if you can pretty well predict when an assassination attempt may be coming at you, and you can weather the first hit (with a transfer, ostensibly), you can use Retaliatory strike to trigger Harrow and turn their assassination attempt against them. With some casters, this can actually stop the attempt immediately, for fear of killing their own caster. Some may go for a tie (The Butcher and pSkarre, for instance, can actually do enough damage in one hit to kill both models... I think Xerxis is in this boat as well). But more often than not, especially with Morvhanna's low armor, casters aren't going to want to run the risk of one-shotting themselves, and may even abort the attempt before it starts.

The beauty of Vigilance ( The Mk1 Watcher's Animus ) was that it was +2 to hit and boosted damage. ( And triggered when an enemy model ended movement within 2", rather than after taking a hit ) Morvahna doesn't have a high enough MAT to reliably hit anything other than a low DEF Heavy. Undergrowth does last a round, but Megalith isn't usually taken with Morv.

Furthermore, Retaliatory Strike triggers after the first attack is resolved. Sure Morvahna can transfer the first hit away, ( to one of her Warbeasts as usual ) but the first big hit is the one you really want to Harrow back at them. Her ARM is low enough that whatever is hitting her is likely buying extra attacks, rather than boosting the damage. Lots of medium sized hits = dead Warlock.

[Blackraine]

Yeah, if I could change Retaliatory Strike, I'd give it the +2 to hit or boost the attack roll. I don't think it's really worth the 2 cost, but it's what we have to work with, and it isn't a horrible way to make some casters reconsider a direct assault on Morvhana, especially since you might not even miss the 2 Fury if you have Harvest up.