Cygnar - Beyond the Battlebox

[Stuart]

With the league looming I should probably be looking to acquire a few more Cygnar models beyond what I have in the battlebox. I heard "Long Gunners" mentioned, does that sound like a sensible next step? Any other recommendations appreciated.

[stygmatyr]

Long gunners definitely, as they give you some more ranged capability, i recommend gun mage captain adept, a very useful solo for 2pts, Journeyman warcaster is an interesting one as he can control warjacks the same as your main warcaster and gets three of his own focus.
Really it depends on what style you want to go for as theres good models for everything, there are good models for melee:- Stormguard (unit), stormblades(unit), Hammersmith (jack), stormclad(jack)
All the models with 'storm' in their name are lightning based too.
Good models for ranged: Long gunners(unit), Trenchers(unit), Arcane tempest gun mages(unit) Defender (jack), charger(jack), Cyclone (jack), gun mage captain(solo)

I would reccomend having a look at getting the cygnar forces book so you can see the stats of things for yourself, as well as all the other warcasters, as i can only give advice on what i've played against, in that respect I would doubly recommend the Gun mage captain as he's been a thorn in my side for many a game

[Stuart]

Nice one, cheers Justin - sounds like I need to pick up that forces book pronto.

[Etched Oracle]

I second the purchase of Long Gunners, Gun Mage Captain Adept and the Journeyman Warcaster. The two solos are very versatile and in many lists you'll no doubt be including one if not both of them (From what I've seen of Cygnar).

Outside of that, perhaps look at picking up a second warcaster to try out. Whilst Stryker is a good 'caster to learn with you might find you'd prefer the turtling, time-slowing powers of Haley or the 'Jack heavy, spell slinging Nemo. You could even go for the one-man ranged army of Caine.

A different warcaster will affect the same models in completely different ways, so even if you were to only pick up 25pts worth of troops/jacks, switching out the 'caster could allow you to see your army in a completely new light.

[Luke the Squig]

Yeah, I found this out when I used Kreoss for one match, then used epic Sev for a second game. My warjacks behaved very differently, as I found myself using certain new spells (like Hex Blast) through the Revenger's Arcnode. Also, I noticed that Kreoss has a much offensive profile and statistics, so quite often I would leave him out in the open where he could fend for himself, whereas Sev has a much more spellcastery type profile, so I knew that I couldn't afford to keep him out in the open, so had a temporary wall of 'jacks around him (until there were all destroyed!) to keep him protected. A slight change in 'caster can completely alter the behaviour of your warjacks, so it's definately worth considering.

[Stuart]

Thanks for the advice chaps, I've just placed an order with Firestorm (so they stand a chance of being here by the end of the week) for...

   
Long Gunners

   
Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Captain Adept

   
Journeyman Warcaster

[Stuart]

Following last night's tutorial with Justin I need to put the finishing touches to my initial Cygnar force in preparation for the league.

As a minimum I need to pick up...

• A second Warjack Charger (metal, to match the one I have)
  
• Heavy Warjack plastic kit (Ironclad/Defende/Cyclone) + magnets
  

...but I think there were some other suggestions too?

[Gareth]

I'll bring in some magnets next week. Does the kit come with 3 heads, or will it just be arms that need switching?

[Stuart]

Looks to be just the arms and hands: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfkCOvtrT...re=related

Might even pick up some magnets from TG on Saturday. Along with a pinning kit I think - it'll come in handy for Cutlass.

[Etched Oracle]

Depending on what you'd like to play I'd probably suggest the following expansions;

Squire - Warcaster attachment, provides bonuses such as an additional focus and extended Control Area. Believe he's only 1 or 2pts at max.
Black 13th - Cygnar's character unit, they are 3 rather epic Gun Mages who can shoot nearly everything and anything in the game.
Hunter Light Warjack - It's abilities are very unique; Extended Control Range, the CR for this 'jack is doubled. That means you can out him 24" out in most cases and still Allocate. Plus his ranged gun has Armour Piercing so it halves they ARM of Medium or Large models. Deadly.

Those would be my next suggestions and outside of Trenchers and a handful of Warcasters, is also the extent of my Cygnaran knowledge.