Journyman Warcaster

[john_doe85]

I have been following the thread about Junior's Battlegroup and I was kickign around a few ideas.

Since Jr is pretty easy to take out, and giving him a Defender or long range jack, really ups his points. Does anyone run just the Journyman without any warjacks?

Arcane Shield a unit and upkeep it. And then the following turn(s) use the hand cannon and arcane blast to hit targets.

It was just an idea that I have been thinking about. I am sure there are other solos out there that are comparable for points and can do more. But I see it that another arcane shield per turn can be worth the fact that Jr. doesnt have a warjack to control.

[Defenstrator]

I have upon occasion. There are some that treat the Journeyman as an extra Stormblade. He puts Arcane Shield on himself and gets stuck in. Being able to boost his hit and damage roll means he's meaner than his stats look. He can also just hang back and put out a boosted to hit and damage handcannon shot. While running a jack on the Journeyman is nice because it lets you have one without focus load on yuor caster, and it lets the Journeyman hang back where it is safer, he can certainly contribute to the battle without one.

[OniBeowulf]

I have done that before not the greatest thing for 3 points. but you could get worse lol

[knight_actual]

I have on occasion brought Jr. solely for the arc shield. but this is rare, usually i try to give him a hunter.

[hammy44]

I find that JR and his AS is too valuable to hang out and let die prematurely. How I run him is 1st turn he throws the AS out. Then he kinda mills around in the back and as the forces converge maybe he comes ever so slightly forward and starts taking pot shots at stragglers or solos ect ect. My main priority is to keep him alive however so if I have to debate does this look like an unsafe place for JR, then I already know not to advance and maybe back him up more..... It works but sometimes I feel I am wasting points because he is a good fighter, I just don’t like him to die.... I find AS is worth the 3 points provided you put it on the correct thing….. I also almost always field him. I feel the trick is to put AS on something with high armor to make it stronger.... Always enhance a strength, not a weakness, then just play VERY cautiously with him.....

[allistorpreist]

My 35 point Caine list (formerly my 500 point Caine list) ran with Jr. and no jack. With the Warjack points I am likely adding a charger and, due to Caine using his focus to cast spells and shoot things, and keep up the Ironclad, Jr may get him. I am toying with the idea of taking a sentinel to keep jr safe, but the list has sooo many pow 10 shot already, I may save that for a different list.

But AS has saved my fragile little gunmages from a lot of template fire and occasionally saved Caine's butt, so yeah, he is worth it to me with or without a jack.

[Gorbad]

If I'm using Junior that's how I run him. Basically I'll take him for his Arcane Shield. It might occasionally work out that he will get a Charger or something, but that was never the original intention.

[MadJack]

In MkI I did that a couple of times, but I didn't really feel like I was getting the most out of him. Having said that, in the most recent (MkII) game in which I used Jr. I gave him a Defender, and the Defender did manage to do some damage, but Jr. killed almost as much by himself as the Defender did, including doing the majority of the damage to my opponent's warcaster (Madhammer) over 2 turns before Stryker finished him off. I like to give Jr. a warjack, but don't underestimate what he can do on his own through boosting attacks/damage.

[whitekong]

One of the guys I play against never gives jr a jack, he thinks giving him a jack puts an even bigger target on him. Boosted power 12's from his hand cannon are nothing to scoff at they really start to add up after a couple turns.

[TsavongLah]

I only ever use Jr. without a 'jack in my pNemo lists. Between the AS and the free focus that he gives Nemo, the 3 pts become close to worth it.

[Templar Coyote]

I almost never use Jr. with a Jack. He sits in the backfield watching his warcaster do his/her thing until the time is right to finish the game or pop an annoying solo with boosted hits. Wasting focus on a jack is just silly!

To illustrate how foriegn it is for me, I was playing a list I'm planning on fully painting for a LGS event and gave a Charger to Jr. It was bizzare NOT casting AS on anything because the armor wouldn't help (gunmages, commandos, B13th) so I gained two boosted POW 12's. Just felt odd with him actually commanding a jack.

[Arkady]

I only ever use Jr. without a 'jack in my pNemo lists. Between the AS and the free focus that he gives Nemo, the 3 pts become close to worth it.

Do you just recast Arcane Shield every turn?

[whatawookie1]

I very seldom ever run my Jr. with a jack. Unless I'm running 50 pts or more, then I give him a defender so he can sit back a distance, a hunter is fine as well.

in pNemo lists, I have him re-casting shield every turn.

in regualar low-points list, I shield a hard to kill target, then use him to pick off solos with boosted shots, or boosted spells at incoporeal models.

Also - never underestimate his charge when he has full focus, he has killed casters before.

[TsavongLah]

Do you just recast Arcane Shield every turn?

Yeah. It allows me to avoid annoying anti-upkeep spells and gives me the versatility to put AS on whatever needs it the most. The only downside is that Jr. has to be a little closer to the front lines than normal, but as long as you're paying attention it's pretty easy to keep him safe.

[basicbob]

Jr has value with or without a jack. The basic value of Jr is his three focus. The decision comes when you have to decide before the game what do I want to do with that focus. This gives Cygnar players a certain degree of a advantage because Cygnar players have that extra focus to use. For instance in a game were the warcasters each have six focus to use the Cygnar side has a theoretical power increase of 33% with the addition of Jr.. ( Jr, here represents a third of the Cygnar focus total.)

I think when you have a game piece that brings more focus into the game that becomes so critical as it relates to this game where focus is the main area for warmachine players. So to me the real question has always been whether I am going to use Jr. or not. Because that is three focus points I could bring to the table for only three points. I mean really how valuable is focus to you? Is it worth at least one point a piece from Jr.?

[MadJack]

Yeah. It allows me to avoid annoying anti-upkeep spells and gives me the versatility to put AS on whatever needs it the most. The only downside is that Jr. has to be a little closer to the front lines than normal, but as long as you're paying attention it's pretty easy to keep him safe.

That's really a good idea. I have yet to use Nemo, but when I do, I can guarantee I'm going to do this.

[whatawookie1]

That's really a good idea. I have yet to use Nemo, but when I do, I can guarantee I'm going to do this.

Actually, the best reason to keep re-casting Arcane Shield with Jr while running pNemo, is so that he can get an extra focus in the following turn.

[basicbob]

Actually, the best reason to keep re-casting Arcane Shield with Jr while running pNemo, is so that he can get an extra focus in the following turn.

Agreed. This is a long standing tactic with Nemo and Jr..