Total Cygnar Noob

[chevchelios]

I am just starting Warmachine. I have my new rule book and new cards. i want to start an army using Major Haley. That is all i know that i want,because its such a beatiful figure. I really like the jacks,not too keen on the infantry. So where do I start?

[AJ the Ronin]

Thorn. You should start with Thorn. Then get a Defender (or 2), a Squire and a Journeyman. After that either follow the advice given by the next posters or buy the minis you like.

[GunMageinTraining]

Stormclad is an awesome choice for eHaley, but you will want at least some infantry, maybe not much.

JR is optional, Arlan is excellent. Defenders are good, Thunderhead can work. ATGMs, or atleast B13.

[Tamrielo]

Major Haley (or eHaley on the forums) is EASILY my favorite Cygnar warcaster.

I highly recommend a Stormclad and Stormblades with her. She uses both extremely well.

You absolutely must have an arc node with her. She needs it so much she has a special one just for her (Thorn, who is very good but I find isn't always worth the extra 2 points).

After that, you want some protection. If you like melee troops, Precursors are VERY good with her. If you like ranged, I tend to like Gun Mages and/or the Black 13th.

The trick with her is to have something to ensure she doesn't get assassinated, which is often extreme distance, but anything that gets past your front lines needs to be dealt with. That, for me, is what the Black 13th are for.

[chevchelios]

Thanks guys. I knew this was the mini game to get into. The players just seem more helpful than any other group.

[Ysthrall]

May I suggest you purchase the battle box. Yes, it has Stryker in it. It also is a good investment, with the three useful jacks in it.

An Ironclad for straightforward bashing, a Lancer arc node, and a Chrager for some (effective now) shooty.

Stryker is also an easy caster to learn the game with, before jumping in with Major Haley.

Beyond that, I can't specify, as I've never played Major Haley. However, I agree with the above posts: a Squire, a Journey(wo)man warcaster, and perhaps Arlan Strangewayes are excellent investments.

In terms of infantry, Gun Mages are indeed nice.

Actually, for those long range assasination attempts, you may with to consider purchasing a Sentinel. It can Shield Guard her, screw up threat lanes, and ping away at any infantry swarms coming upfield. At 4 points, well worth it.

Welcome to the forums, and good luck!

[phreaker187]

Arcane Tempest Gun Mages +UA are my favorite to run with her. The defender shooting into their DZ twice on turn 1 is just too good to pass up.

[Shinobiwolf1980]

Hey Chevchelios,
Congrats on deciding to come play Warmachine and welcome to Cygnar. I understand about the beautiful model thing with eHaley, it is spectacular. Not sure its the best place to start, but she is probably our supreme caster. I agree with the battlebox statement, you get three great jacks in it and Stryker, who is a decent stand up caster.

I own eHaley, but I haven't played her yet. I've played prime Haley once and creamed my opponent. But with either version of Haley, arc nodes are your friend. I recommend you have a look through the tactica's posted:
GunMageInTraining (who seems to be training others more than being trained these days) has posted a thorough tactical guide to using eHaley.
Find it Here

I just got my first defender and I love it. Thorn will definitely be useful to switch in and out with a regular lancer.
The Black 13th are great for 4 points.
I'm not sure how other things mesh with eHaley. People complain about Hunters, but I've always found mine to perform well when attached to a Journeyman.
Aside from that, ensure you have fun.

[Shinobiwolf1980]

People complain about Hunters, but I've always found mine to perform well when attached to a Journeyman.

Actually I have a humorous story about my Hunter against a Retribution player. He used Ghost snipers to tear the longarm off my Hunter. So my Hunter chased them down and killed them with his axe.
At that point I'd pretty much given up on it, so I charged it next turn into an his riflemen. He kept trying to ignore it and it ended up killing half of his squad before pStryker got the drop on Ravyn and stabbed her repeatedly.

He hasn't ignored it since. But I did the same thing to a Khador player about three weeks ago and a Cryx player 2 weeks ago.

[TsavongLah]

Yeah, that little axe can sometimes be surprisingly lethal.

[Griffin745]

Well if you don't like infantry so much you'll lack a good way of dealing with the enemy infantry, fortunatly we have a brilliant 'jack that deals with infantry like there's no tomorrow. The Thunderhead, it's just too damn good at what it does, also one cool mini, just check my picture over on the left...yeah you see that, awsome.

So if I were just starting I'd pick up the battlebox, Haley and the Thunderhead.