Playing for Assassination

Warmahordes games typically have two win conditions - either win by scenario (5 control points in SR 2013), or win by having the only warcaster/warlock model on the table (assassination). There are usually three playstyles with which one can achieve these goals:

1. Attrition - this playstyle focuses on making efficient trades, sacrificing as little as possible, and generally killing your opponent's stuff while keeping yours alive. The idea is to improve your relative position on the table so that your forces become relatively stronger and your opponent's become relatively weaker, thus allowing you to assassinate or win on scenario a few turns into the game without the possibility of strong resistance or retalition.
   Examples of attrition tactics include recycling dead bodies (Necrosurgeons, Shamblers), hit and run (Vayl, Stalkers), having really resilient stuff that can take a counterpunch without collapsing (Gatorman Posse, IF Kayazy), having enough hitting power to reliably one-rounding heavy targets, and so on.
2. Board Control/Scenario - this playstyle focuses on obstructing your opponent's ability to manoeuvre so that you can control important areas of the board (usually the areas that give CPs).
   Tactics for this playstyle include power attacks (ie. throws), speed debuffs (Crippling Grasp), jamming, movement denial feats (eDenny/ eKrueger/Gorten), generating terrain and generally being an asshole.
3. Assassination - this playstyle focuses on somehow killing the enemy caster as quickly as is safely possible.
   Tactics for this playstyle involve removing/ignoring defenses like buff spells and focus (Arcane Assassin, Eyriss), placement and movement shenanigans (Shifting Stones, Apparition), contrated high power attacks (mobile heavies/casters) and having massive balls of steel.

Obligatory old-school gaming reference

The Purest Form of the Game

Many believe that Warmachine is at its heart an assassination-oriented game, and the assassination playstyle is the purest form of Page 5:

• Mk1 tournament games were won on assassination more often than not, and lists were designed around that.
• The Hardcore format traditionally encouraged an assassination playstyle by having dice down being equal to 'both players lose'.
• The game bears many similarities to chess, which operates on a similar principle. 
• See previous comment about steel balls.

Despite the "purity" of the assassination style, it has fallen out of favor as a preferred winning strategy. I argue this is due to the risk/reward of the assassination playstyle relative to attrition/scenario play.

Risk vs Reward

I think the main reason assassination has fallen out of favour as a competitive playstyle is that it provides the same or lesser rewards than an attrition playstyle, while also being significantly riskier.
If you win a game by assassination, you get 1 VP on your scorecard along with any CP you scored in that game (probably not many).
If you win a game by scenario, you get 1 VP on your scorecard, and 5 CPs that will serve to elevate your overall ranking.
If you win a game as a result of attrition, you get 1 VP, probably a couple of CP, and a good deal of KPs.
In terms of reward therefore, you are likely to get quantifiably more out of a scenario win than you are out of an assassination win, at least in a tournament setting.

In terms of risk, an assassination playstyle necessitates more risk than the alternatives, or at the very least, more focused risk - less redundancy leads to higher potential for each singular die roll to influence the outcome.
First, you will usually have to involve your caster in the assassination, either by use of a feat, a buff, a debuff, a placement effect and so on. Often, this means that your caster has to have the opposing caster in his control area, which in turn means that you caster is probably in threat range of most of his army next turn.
Secondly, you are probably banking the outcome of the game on a smaller number of dice rolls than a scenario win strategy. Most assassinations rely on making a few attacks - the fewer dice are rolled, the more likely you are to get screwed. A ~58% chance of success (dice at expected value) also means a ~42% chance of failure.

Because of all these factors, failure means you will in turn be assassinated next turn more often than not and at much lower risk on your opponent's part.

So why else has assassination fallen out of favour?

First, I think Hordes becoming a fully-fledged competitive sister game to Warmachine (not really the case early Mk1) has made assassination lists less viable, as the transfer mechanic takes emphasis away from winning the game with two-three high POW attacks on the right target. Playing against Hordes pushes you to play for attrition as killing warbeasts simultaneously decreases your opposing warlock's survivability by taking away potential transfer targets - not to mention the loss of resource generation, animi and damage output. Abilities that bypass transfers are quite rare (Grievous Wounds?), the casters who can do it reliably are often crapped on (Garryth, eMorg, Thyra) and Cryx players are too busy spamming OP infantry to take Stalkers. There are alternatives, like manipulating fury on beasts to block transfers or moving them outside the opposing warlock's control area - these are good tactics but poor strategies.
Hordes might come second in almost everything PP does, but I think it has had a significant impact on how tournament games are played.

Second, the changes to Steamroller over the years have also changed how players approach competitive play. Scenarios have become more important to the game, and not respecting the scenario conditions means you are likely to lose on scenario. As scenario play becomes more popular, assassination play has become less so (zero sum).

Third, the mass reduction in threat ranges between Mk1 and Mk2 has had a pretty big impact on how easy it is to keep your caster safe. There are still a few models that can go a million miles and hit really hard (ie. my buddy Molik Karn), but such models are far less prevalent than they used to be. The reduction of advanced deployment from 12" to 6" is also a big deal, as is the greater distance between each player upon deployment (first player deploys 7").

Finally, arc nodes. I think the increase in relative cost of arc nodes from Mk1 to Mk2 is a factor in the decrease of assassination play. Mk1 Warmachine lists usually had an arc node (unless you played Khador, which traded arc nodes for charging 22" on average). Lancers, Revengers, Guardians and especially chicken bonejacks were very common. Spell assassination was a common strategy amongst all the factions with arc nodes, and THE strategy for Cryx.
Fast forward to a few years of Mk2 and I haven't seen a Revenger in YEARS (except for the one I have on the lower level of my case next to Calaban). Same thing with Lancers and Guardians. Bonechickens are still pretty common, although you see one or two per list these days, compared to the 4-5 you saw in Mk1. Sometimes Haley and Nemo players take Thorn (because he is sweet), and Ret players regularly take a Phoenix with Rahn (since it is also one of their best combat jacks). But on the whole, spell assassination as a reliable tactic or list strategy is gone.


In the end, is the move away from assassination a good thing or bad thing? I don't think it is really either - it just 'is'. The alternative is we could go back to Mk1-style eVlad casters that make assassinations much more certain by throwing ridiculous buffs on a handful of models*, or Goreshade being able to exchange a Blackbane's Ghost Raider almost anywhere on the board for a Deathjack that gets to activate and insert his metal into your caster. Personally I prefer the way things are now than the way they used to be.

In summary, the way the game is at present, if you enjoy assassination and like that aggressive playstyle, you can still be competitive in building your lists around it. There is nothing wrong or right about playing for the assassination. However, it is riskier, and therefore a less reliable path to victory than attrition/scenario play in most balanced matchups.

Blindwater Assassination

One of the nice things about Gators is that (almost) all their casters have some legit assassination tactics, on top of being quality attrition warlocks (due to Gatorman Posse, shooting denial and Spiny Growth).

Barnabas - The "Drop 'n' Pop"

This is basically the oldest trick in the WM book, but weaker since Blindwater has far less guns than PoM and Barnabas's feat is a straight-up inferior version of pKreoss' feat. I wish it was 'non-amphibious enemy models have their base DEF reduced to 5 and must sacrifice movement or action next turn' instead. You don't get LoS advantage like you would with KD, but then there is a ton of anti-KD tech out there that it would bypass... I digress. Here is how it is done:

1. Activate Barnabas
2. Charge a living enemy trooper (charging gives you an extra 3" of range on the feat which you will probably need to catch the enemy caster).
3. Feat to knock down enemy caster and everything in the way
4. Kill your now-KD target with the Blood Cleaver, giving you a free Flesh Eater at the enemy caster
5. Cast 2 more Flesh Eaters at the enemy caster
6. Shoot KD enemy caster with Ironback Spitters and Croak Hunters

I admit I use this tactic more than I would like - sometimes because I come upon bad matchups and feel my odds of victory are better with this than playing out the game, and sometimes just because I like to cup my nuts of steel and gamble.

Maelok - The "ScoobyDoo Ghost Gator"

I think this is probably the most potent assassination in Blindwater because it is really unpredictable, and the only sure defense is distance (or Polarity Shield/Hellbound type stuff)- which is a problem when you are faced with an grindtastic Gator list threatening to win on scenario. It is a bit like a weaker but more focused version of eGaspy's feat:

1. Activate Maelok
2. Revive some Gators in your control area (if you managed to get a small heap of souls last turn, then you get more Gators! Yay!)
3. Feat and finish Maelok's activation
4. Charge enemy caster with incorporeal Gators, or whatever else in your army that can get there and do the job (heavies for example)

That's about it. Against a living warcaster, 2 Gators are likely to get the job done - rerolls are pretty cool. You just have to make sure you have LoS, beware magical weapons, and try to keep Maelok semi-safe in case the assassination fails - the less heavy stuff there is on the table at this point, the better it is.

Rask - The Best Gun In The Game™

Rask has really viable assassination options:

• Boundless Charge for 2" of threat range/ free charges on beasts
• Fury for +3 damage
• Paralysis Bolt to bring high DEF casters to their knees
• Arcane Interference Bolt to remove those pesky defensive upkeeps and focus adding to ARM

I have one-shot several hardy casters after hitting them with Rask's gun and charging them with a single Furied Gatorman (2x POW 16s at MAT 7s with rerolls = better than many heavies).
Snapjaw in particular becomes an absolute terror under Rask, with a 14" threat range against living models at P+S 20 (Fury + Boundless Charge + Bloodthirst + Elasticity). Turns out this is pretty good at killing Gargossals as well.
Anything that stops or hinders ranged attacks can hurt this assassination run of course (Stealth, Blur, DEF buffs, etc.)

And unlike his fluff blurb, he never actually applies the finishing blow himself. What a douche.

Calaban - The "Yeah Nah"

The "Yeah Nah" tactic of assassination is something that looks sweet and legit, but isn't. Here is how it should go:

1. Activate Calaban
2. Shoot a squishy enemy living model with LoS to the enemy caster with your voodoo meat gun
3. Pop feat and finish activation
4. Kill every infantry model in your opponent's list, and use the fury you generate via the feat to periodically throw boosted Bone Shakers into your opponent's caster through the meat node.
5. Fail and die

Much like the phrase "yeah nah", it doesn't really mean anything, but sounds deep and meaningful. I think I have actually pulled this off once or twice, but repeated self-inflicted blows to the head to reduce the mental strain of playing Calaban seem to have affected my memory. It is also very matchup dependent, which makes it even less appealing. It's a decent feat, but more for defensive than offensive purposes IMO.
This makes me want to write another article about exactly why Calaban sucks - I know you love them! Watch this space.... maybe.

The Gator Rise Missile 

This trick can potentially be pulled off in any list that includes a Blackhide Wrastler. I have already written about this trick at length here so you can have a look at it there. The summary is basically that it is an effective and unpredictable way to deliver a heavy beast to the enemy caster and bypass the engagement lines, but I feel it is very risky (even risky for an assassination).

The Totem Hunter

This guy is a ninja and is capable of killing the squishier casters, especially if you can get Fury on him. However he will need the Prey bonus to do so for the MAT/damage buff, and the odds of you getting a Totem Hunter onto a moderately skilled opponent's caster early game are very slim. You would be better off preying an AD unit or key support piece and focusing your efforts on killing that, saving a potential Totem Hunter assassination for late game.

*Sidenote - History Lesson: Blood Legacy in Mk1 was not only +3 to all stats for a round, but also fully-boosted attack and damage rolls and an additional attack per melee weapon. And the Drakhun had d3 initial attacks. It's also why the fastest caster kill on hardcore record was eVlad feating on 4 Widowmakers who killed a focusless Skarre with 4 fully-boosted RAT 10 POW 10s.

Learning to swim - a guide for new players

If you intend to play Blindwater as a faction, my first piece of advice would be "run for you life, and don't look back". Minions are the weakest faction in the game. You've heard it plenty of times before, and it won't always be the case, but playing Gators is like strapping a rabid hungry monkey to your leg and wondering why you're having trouble walking and losing so much blood. If you intend to carry on, however....

EDIT 08/2015 - Blindwater has received some really good releases since this guide was first written - Jaga Jaga, the Sacral Vault and Croak Raiders, all of which are excellent and cover Blindwater's bad matchup vs weapon master infantry swarm and provide a decent ranged game. Gators still lack a few things but in my opinion are about middle of the pack in terms of competitiveness thanks to its strong warlocks and very strong individual pieces.

"Faction" Summary

In the style of the threads on PP beginner forums:

Blindwater Melee: Gatormans excel at eating things, which is difficult to do at a distance. The backbone of any good Blindwater list is the Gatorman Posse, who are arguably the best medium-based infantry in the game. Durable, hard-hitting, and tactically adaptable, Gatorman Posse are an elite melee force to be reckoned with. Like the Posse, most models in the faction boast two or more base attacks which helps them make up for their lower table numbers.

Blindwater Ranged: Being primarily a melee faction, ranged has historically been the weakest point of the faction. But this has changed a lot with the introduction of Croak Raiders, one of the best ranged units in the game, and the Sacral Vault, which provides accurate shooting on top of its support capabilities. The Spitter warbeast also boasts a great boostable gun..

Blindwater Magic: The general theme here is that of voodoo, shady swamps and blood magic. This translates into excellent resilience for both our warlocks and their army, while also leeching life force (both enemy and friendly) to bolster their units or impede the opponent in some way. Blindwater forces are also often accompanied to battle by Witch Doctors who use sacrificial magic to manipulate the veil between life and death.

Blindwater Warlocks: Blindwater's warlocks are on the whole much more powerful than the average warlock and carry the faction on their backs in order to make up for lower list synergies. The general theme of our warlocks is durability and a good mix between troop buffing and battlegroup spells, with a strategic theme of denying enemy ranged combat or excelling in a grindy attrition fight.

Blindwater Warbeasts: Blindwater's beasts are based around the theme of the swamp - amphibious creatures who like it rough and dirty, such as monstrous oversized alligators, turtles and octopuses. Although rather unimpressive in terms of their combat stats, our beasts generally have great animi (Rise, Spiny Growth, Elasticity, Submerge) bring a lot of tactical utility with their myriad of combat abilities and multiple open fists.

General Advice

This is some general advice for any new players to Warmachine, and for veteran players wishing to pick up another faction:

1. Start small, build up. I see a lot of complete noobcakes wanting to rush straight to 35 or 50pts so they can "play proper games". Maybe this is a holdover from WHFB and 40k, where you had to invest a couple of hundred bucks off the bat to get to 500pts to play bare minimum games, but Warmahordes thankfully doesn't work that way. Although games are much better around 50pts, you can still have a meaningful and challenging game at 15/25pts using only battlegroups. That's the beauty of the system, it scales very well.

Thus I recommend starting at 15pts, and building up to 25pts, 35pts and 50pts over a period of at least a month but more likely 4-5 months (depending on how much free time you have). This gives new players time to get familiar with core mechanics like focus/fury, power attacks, activation order and gloating, and gives experienced players time to adjust to their new faction's intricacies and feel out where they would like to expand.

2. Don't over analyze - go with your gut.
In my experience, and in my observation of other players, too much rationalization and agonizing over the 'right' faction and caster will just lead to more pseudo-rationalism and frustration down the line. You are better off choosing a faction or caster that you think is cool, playing a few proxy or Vassal games with it, and sticking with that choice if it feels right. The best faction decisions I've made have come about this way (eButcher + Blindwater).

Having said that, you also have to accept that realities do not usually match expectations, hence the importance of trial.
If I chose my faction by theme alone, I would be playing Khador without a doubt - wolves, (slavic) women, winter and war. Also bears. That is my inner calling, as I identify Central Europe as my spiritual homeland. Also axes and melee are way more awesome than guns, and tanks are better than DPS.
However, that is not actually how Khador plays. Khador probably would not take any jacks at all if it weren't for warjack points, Khador's focus mechanic is boring (except with Butcher2), and you spam small-based infantry. That is not how I like to play Warmahordes.
Another example, my second faction in Mk1 was Protectorate of Menoth, purely because I really liked Kreoss2 and the Testament of Menoth in the fluff and art. Unfortunately, both their playstyles in Mk2 are about as exciting as watching a dog lick its balls for an hour. I got frustrated for a few months, having spent quite a bit of time and money on the faction before deciding to move on (1).

If you play Blindwater for a while and realize playing an underpowered grindy faction with almost no releases each release cycle is not for you, cut your losses and play something else.

3. Play some trial games.
The best way to assess your decision is to put it in play on the table. I wouldn't recommend any experienced players to buy into a new faction without having played a few games on the table to see how you like the playstyle. Proxy at will.

4. Read and re-read your special rules, then put them into practice.
Once you've got your army assembled, read the cards over and over. Play some games and try out special abilities, even if it's not the most tactically brilliant choice at the time. Every turn is an opportunity to learn. The best way to remember anything is to put it into practice. I have an informed opinion of Boneswarm being really bad since it has failed me on so many vivid occasions. I would not have this knowledge and total lack of respect for its rules had I not played it several times! Likewise, I used to hate on Croak Hunters until I started using them as backline counter-chargers and lane clearers, now I think they are a worthwhile addition to almost any list that can spare the points.

5. Paint your models.
I have a personal guideline that I don't buy any new models unless I've painted everything I already own. This not only leads to a more personal and pretty collection, but will also keep your costs down and keep your purchases focused!

Where do we start?

At the time of writing, we have five warlocks: Barnabas, Calaban, Maelok, Jaga-Jaga and Rask.

I would recommend that you initially avoid Calaban at all costs, since I think he is as well designed as the highway system in Auckland combined with a healthy dose of mind-altering substances, and will probably just serve to frustrate you with his Skornergy. But then again, if he sets your heart aflutter, go for it.
Maelok is quite straight forward and effective but works much better with multiple Posses than beasts (ie. higher point levels). Rask and Jaga-Jaga would both be good at low points levels though - Rask is a very solid caster and probably the most powerful in faction although I would not recommend for low points learning games as he can just hard win a lot of matchups (easy wins are not the best learning experience). Jaga-Jaga is a more passive, support-oriented warlock and would also work well at low points games, despite her feat not doing anything if no infantry is present.

Barnabas would be my pick for your first caster. He is very tough, has a great spell list for low points games, and his feat can be used for the simple and effective pop 'n' drop strategy (feat, KD enemy caster. KD stuff screening caster, shoot/spell DEF 5 caster to death). Barnabas' main weakness (at all levels) is his inability to crack high ARM, but at lower points games you are unlikely to see Gargossals and being unable to kill high ARM models will force you to use your Swamp Pits and power attacks, hence learning more.

To start with, you want to get a solid core of warbeasts:

15 pts

• Warlock (+6)
• Blackhide Wrastler (9)
• Ironback Spitter (8)
• Bull Snapper (3)
• +1 pt

You can fill the last point with a Feralgeist or Swamp Gobbers, both models you will find very useful later on, or just play a point short if you wish to play Mangled Metal/Tooth and Claw games.

This list provides you with a solid core to build on for any warlock you might choose to play in the future, and a good selection of animi.You can read more about the specific models by clicking on the tactica link to your right.

Expanding your force

15 -> 25pts:

1. One full Gatorman Posse (9pts)
2. Feralgeist or Swamp Gobbers (whatever you didn't take in your 15pts list)

Gatorman Posse are AMAZING and are the backbone of the Blindwater Congregation. A full unit is a must if you intend to play Blindwater, and you will take at least one in pretty much every list (2).

25-> 35pts:

This is where it gets interesting!

• If you want to play Maelok, Barnabas or Jaga-Jaga:

1. A second full Posse unit (9pts)
2. Replacing the Swamp Gobbers+Feralgeist with a Witch Doctor or Totem Hunter (-2, +3 = 1pt)

Both Maelok and Barnabas actively make Posse better. Maelok wants them to grind and Revive, Barnabas buffs them with Iron Flesh and Swamp Pits. Jaga-Jaga on the other hand allows Posses to excel by eliminating enemy buffs and terrain considerations. The Witch Doctor is good choice for troop support and utility, the Totem Hunter is a great solo assassin and board controller but takes a little skill to use effectively.

• If you want to play Calaban:

1. Swamp Horror (8pts) OR Max Croak Raiders (8pts)
2. Replacing either the Swamp Gobbers and Feralgeist with a 3pt solo (Witch Doctor is a good choice, as is the Totem Hunter). (-1 + 3 = 2pts)

Calaban doesn't get as much from a second Posse as his fellow Gator warlocks in my experience. He does make the Swamp Horror into a MAT 8 beast however, and can afford to push beasts a little harder with his Fury of 7.

• If you want to play Rask:

1. A second full Posse and sub in 2pts for a Totem Hunter,  OR
2. Swamp Shamblers (6pts), Totem Hunter (3pts), and switch out Feralgeist/Gobbers for a Croak Hunter. (1pt)

Rask can do amazing thing for Gatormans, usually giving them a devastating alpha-strike. However, Swamp Shamblers give you a little attrition which Rask otherwise lacks and also provides him with bodies for his Call to Sacrifice ability, making him ridiculously hard to assassinate. They suck in melee but the Bokor can do some serious damage to a heavy target given enough Shamblers to feed him. Bog Trog Ambushers are also decent as Sacrifice fodder, because with Fury they are very legit counter-chargers late game.

35 -> 50pts

By now you should have a good feel for the faction and a good chunk of games under your belt, so will know what you want to add in to cover your weaknesses or enhance your strengths. Here are some suggestions, in no particular order:

- Wrong Eye + Snapjaw: This pair are a complete package. Highly independent, good utility (especially against Hordes), hard hitting, very survivable. A good choice with any caster.
- Another Gatorman Posse: Three full Posses at 50pts might seem excessive, but they really are that good. I will almost always run Maelok with 3 Posses at 50pts, and will usually take 3 with Barnabas as well since neither of them are great ARM crackers, so you might as well maximize your advantage.
- Bog Trog Ambushers: these little guys are great at dealing with support staff or providing extra threat vectors since we lack ranged power. I don't usually take them below 50pts, but at 50 they shine.
- Another Snapper and some 3pt solos: Snappers are awesome, and solos are useful. The Thrullg comes into serious consideration here as well.
- Add in some beasts: Rask absolutely loves Swamp Horrors for example - I prefer to run him with a Wrastler, a Swamp Horror and WE+Snapjaw at 50pts. Jaga-Jaga and Barnabas might also appreciate another Spitter instead of a Wrastler, depending on your matchups.
- An army of frogs: goes great with your bask of crocodiles. Croak Hunters are decidedly mediocre combat solos, but in pairs and threes they can almost pull their weight.
- Sacral Vault: This thing is ridiculously good. Get one.
- Croak Raiders: One of the few signs of power creep in the game, these guys are just better than they should be. They don't directly synergize that well with Blindwater stuff, but they do benefit from our buffs and feats!

And that's that!

Those are my recommendations for anyone intending to start playing Gatormans - if you have any criticisms, suggestions, or wish to correct my grammar and/or stylisms, feel free to leave a comment below, or send me a PM on the Privateer boards (Yertle4).

Updated Oct 2014 - Sacral Vault and Jaga-Jaga notes.

(1) I moved on to Skorne near the end days of Mk1, since I liked the challenge of not having pathfinder anywhere, and playing badass melee armies. Then Metamorphosis came out and Skorne got ridiculous amounts of pathfinder, along with one of the most broken warlocks ever made, then Mk2 playtest came out and flipped the faction on its head. I was out.
(2) Unless you are playing the Rask tier for some drunken fun. Maelok and Barnabas usually take 3 Posse.

Blindwater Tactica - Index

Here is a summary post of all my review/tactica articles on this blog:

Warlocks

• Bloody Barnabas
• Calaban, the Gravewalker
• Maelok the Dreadbound
• Rask
• Jaga-Jaga, the Death Charmer

Warbeasts

• Boneswarm
• Bull Snapper
• Blackhide Wrastler
• Ironback Spitter
• Swamp Horror

Units

• Gatorman Posse
• Bog Trog Ambushers 
• Gatorman Bokor & Bog Trog Shamblers
• Swamp Gobbers
• Croak Raiders

Solos

• Totem Hunter
• Witch Doctor
• Feralgeist/ Thrulg/ Croak Hunters/ Pendrake
• Wrong Eye + Snapjaw 
• Raluk Moorclaw
• Swamp Gobber River Raiders

 

Battle Engine

• Sacral Vault

-- Learning to Swim -  a guide for new players --

-- Grading Blindwater - an analytical exercise --

-- Pedigree Butchery - the right caster for the right matchup --

The rest - Gobbers, Thrullg, Croaks, Feralgeist and Pendrake

Being the last of the 'tactica' articles for currently released models, I've decided to just do quick write-ups on the less common/complicated models.

Swamp Gobbers

These little hobos are really quite good. They aren't as good as they were in Mk1 by a long-shot, but being able to put a huge cloud effect in front of your casters or top of your stuff to grant concealment is not to be dismissed. That will make your Dirged Posse DEF 15 vs ranged attacks, and makes the Boneswarm look even crappier (Snapper + Gobbers > Boneswarm).

They are insanely squishy so would do well to hug a Spitter for Girded when they can. Note also that even when clouds are no longer useful in a game situation, you still have two small-based models with melee weapons that can block charge lanes and take monstrous P+S 5 free strikes. You'd be surprised at the damage a free-striking or charging Gobber can cause.

Clouds are good. A great way to use up that last point in any list. Just make sure you keep them well back and activate them last!

Thrullg

This guys seems to be pretty useful but at 3pts, looks quite expensive and squishy. Being on a medium base and unable to benefit from any magic buffs (Spell Ward), he will get shot to pieces by any opponent worth his salt. Gators is probably one of the best factions to run him because of the large amount of medium bases to screen him from getting shot.

#1 pro-tip for this guy: Advance Deployment is a trap! Do NOT put him in front of your army by himself. He should be deployed with the rest of your force, and used primarily to hit enemy offkeeps off your own models. Definitely a late game model.
In the meantime, he can stay protected and provide a pretty strong deterrent to enemy magic users (that deterrent being death) and bide his time. Once the lines have engaged and a few turns gone by, he can get involved by killing some troops, disrupting some jacks, or knocking focus off the enemy caster. At MAT 7 with three attacks, he is pretty decent in melee.
#2 pro tip: knocking down a non-reach warjack and then disrupting it with your reach tentacle is sweet.

Definitely has a place in most competitive Gator lists so you do not autolose the game vs bad upkeeps like Crippling Grasp.

Croak Hunter

This guy seems pretty good on paper but is pretty crap on the table. He is basically that generic 2pt combat solo that you throw in to fill your list and is slightly better than an average small-based trooper. I've never been impressed by them, nor have I been really disappointed (like I am with Calaban). They aren't especially good at holding objectives since they are so squishy and only have one attack.

They are ok at assassinating squishier living things, and in packs are quite capable of killing light warbeasts. They are also not too bad at baiting people out, since Poison ranged attacks can instill a bit of fear.
Like the Thrullg, AD is a bit of a trap on Croaks. I think the best use of them is to keep them back for the first 2-3 turns behind your Gator wall (where their stealth will matter) and use them to either clean up loose models contesting zones with their ranged attacks, or get high-potential countercharges on living targets (MAT 8 POW 12 weapon master charges = ouch). If you put them out front as anything other than bait against bloodthirsty players, they will die and do nothing.

Feralgeist

This guy is super solid for one point. He is insanely squishy with ARM 11 but he is incorporeal AND a low-priority target, so if you play him conservatively and just do the basics with him, you should get his point's worth out of him and more.

• Scenario Powerhouse - being 1pt and having a CMD stat allows this guy to hold and contest scenario objectives and zones! Extremely useful for a low model count force like Gatormans.
• Blocking movement - despite being incorporeal (not blocking LoS and people can just walk through him), he is still a model with a base, and therefore other models cannot end their movement on top of him. This is great at blocking charges through narrow gaps, and very great at douching huge-based models.
• Taking over dead warbeasts - he also does this. For some reason, this is the one rule I always forget but it does prove very useful at forcing your opponent to make just one more attack to clear a lane or zone. Seems to me the undead warbeast will also be affected by Maelok's feat if it's up?
• Being a frenzy target - if you expect one of your warbeasts (or an enemy beast) to frenzy next turn, park this guy right in front of it. Better a warbeast do nothing than kill something useful. 
• Being a throw target - two-handed throw your own stuff at him so it doesn't deviate.

A strong competitor to Swamp Gobbers for that last 1pt slot.

Hugz?

Victor Pendrake

I do not have that much experience with this guy, but I like him for 2pts in a list that has a a slight Hordes skew (specifically Circle and Legion). He is like a crappier version of Saxon Orrik (who I really wish I could take since he is so baller), but does have his redeeming points:

• First of all, his stats are pretty decent.  SPD 6, MAT/RAT 6, DEF/ARM 14 and Tough.
• Secondly, he has a magical melee weapon which is big deal for Blindwater. 
• Third, his +4 DEF against any physical attacks made by warbeasts allows him to tie them up late game and take sweet Dismember free strikes against them, especially if you can put a medium base behind him to block tramples.
• Fourth, he has a RNG 12 bow with rerolls OR a RNG 8 knockdown gun. This alone puts him on equal footing with a Croak Hunter in my opinion.
• Finally, and most importantly, is his Beast Lore ability, which basically means charging Gators can destroy high DEF warbeasts without breaking a sweat (including Forced Evo Tenacity-ed Angels).

He will only become more valuable as Specialists become more common.


Updated Oct 2013 - some more on Croaks and Pendrake.

Where to from here?

Having completed the epic model write-ups for our small Minion pact, this blog will probably slow down quite a bit in terms of new content but will hopefully remain as a useful archive for current and future Blindwater players.

Stuff you can expect to see here in the future:

• My thoughts on new releases/spoilers
• Model write-ups and tacticas after I've had some playtime with new stuff
• General wargaming/games design articles
• Battle summaries/match-up thoughts (turn-by-turn battle reports are usually boring)
• Random gaming-related rage
• Anything else you'd like to read (leave a comment)

Totem Hunter

Overview

The Totem Hunter is one of the best all-round solos in the game on account of his good survivability, speed, mobility and damage. His stats are very solid for a melee solo, with a high MAT and SPD. He has a heap of common abilities:

• Fearless
• Pathfinder
• Stealth
• Hunter - amazing on models with guns, but since he has no guns is basically means he can see through forests.
• Jump - get to jump 5" after advancing... really good mobility and threat range boost.
• Prey - get a nice +2/+2 against a model/unit of your choosing.
• Sprint - full advance after finishing your combat action if you kill a thing.

A lot of keyword abilities which sum up to 'comes out of nowhere, kills something, then runs off to do it again'.

Damage

He has two weapons, a P+S 14 reach spear and a P+S 11 buckler. Combined with his high MAT, these are enough to reliably kill almost any infantry model in the game, but throw in the Prey bonus and it becomes almost a certainty. He hits hard enough to seriously damage light jacks and beasts, or even kill softer casters.

Survival

He has Stealth, ARM 15, DEF 14 and 8 boxes. On top of that, he has pathfinder and hunter which means he can use forests and linear obstacles to full efficiency without being impeded by them in any way. If you lose him before he gets to make an attack, it means you made a mistake, played too aggressively and didn't use the terrain effectively, or your opponent put a lot of resources into killing him.

Utility

Top notch precision assassination, or hit n' run troop killing. That's where this guy's utility lies.

Tactica

There's a couple of things you can do with him, most of which rely on maximizing the Prey bonus to take his stats from really good to amazing:

• Pick a crutch or powerful enemy solo you want to die. Joe, Tartarus, Janyssa, Gorman, Eyriss... that kind of thing. Then focus entirely on killing them, and hopefully sprinting away afterwards to force your opponent to dedicate resources to kill him or risk another nasty cut. At worse, you can just leave him behind a wall or in a forest to make sure said solo never gets too close. Rinse and repeat until the enemy caster is the best thing to prey.
• Pick an important unit you want to die. Usually this will be an AD unit like MHSF or Widowmakers, but can also be a unit with crutch UAs like Winterguard or Sentinels. Try to kill a few per turn, rinse and repeat until you can get the caster. I find him invaluable for killing that one Stealth Shifting Stone on Turn 2, for example.
• Hold/threaten a zone or flag. This works especially well if there is a terrain feature nearby that you can use for protection while waiting for your opponent to come into range. Your prey target in this case should be whatever you expect to contest the zone, as long as it's not a heavy.
• If you're facing a list with a low ARM caster like Nemo, Morghoul, Kaya, etc. you can simply prey the enemy caster from the get go and use the Totem Hunter as a constant assassination threat on account of his long leap threat (12" with reach). He usually won't be able to do the job all by himself, but he can scare them a bit.

In my experience, the key to utilizing him effectively is to stay focused on one of the above roles and not deviating from it. If you send him up a flank and 'see what happens', he is likely to just dick around a few turns and then kill something useless and die. If you send him up the middle unprotected, he'll just get killed without retaliation. Bide your time. Make sure you trade him for something worthwhile - if he completes his mission and dies, then you should have come out better off.

In all cases, he works best if he has some cover to run to with his Sprint move. If he doesn't, I prefer to run straight towards their board edge so they are forced to split their force to deal with him. He is pretty much 100% independent anyway, so you lose nothing.

Because of his very high independence, he works well with any caster. He is especially good under Maelok's feat as it gives him even more mobility. He is also really great with Rask's "anything is a threat" assault playstyle.

Conclusion

Gold star! Keep him focused on killing his prey and achieving a beneficial piece-trade, and you'll get a lot of use out of him. He has a place in almost any Blindwater list above 35pts.

Gatorman Witch Doctor - aka. Croctor

Overview

The Gatorman Witch Doctor, also known as Croctor, is a solid support solo with a pretty nice model (despite the official PP photo, which makes him look a little in-bred around the face). This write-up speaks to his use as a solo in Blindwater, although I suspect his ability to Dominate Undead and Zombify makes him relatively more useful in other Hordes factions in certain match-ups.

His stats are Gatorman stats, although a bit weaker and less able in melee than a Posse member. He has the following abilities:

• Amphibious
• Beast Master - beasts can force while in the Croctor's command range.
• * Attack - Dominate Undead - see Alexia1. A much stronger version of Influence where you can advance with the undead model and make an attack.
• * Action - Sacrificial Strike - see Skarre. The ability is friendly faction only so will only work when sacrificing fellow Blindwater members, or goats.
• * Action - Zombify - makes a unit tough and undead for a round.

Note that he is not Fearless, unlike almost everything else in Blindwater.

Damage

Like most Gators, he has a decent bite attack. He also has a magical dagger, which for any other faction would be almost irrelevant but for the young Blindwater Pact, it is a welcome addition. All up however, he is not as good as a Posse grunt in melee, and his primary source of damage will be Sacrificial Strike.

Survival

He is a Gatorman - good ARM, 8 boxes so he can take a few small hits. Apart from that, his best defense is that he is usually a bit further back. He has no other special defense abilities.

Utility

This is where the Croctor butters his bread. He brings a small array of very useful tools.

Beast Master at present is not a very useful ability since most of our beasts are pretty slow and likely to be within 12" or our casters, but I've had it be useful in the late game where I had my caster on one side of the board and a frenzying Snapper had run off to the opposite side. Having a Croctor allowed me to use the Snapper to full capacity before getting him back in my caster's control area.

Dominate Undead and Sacrificial Strike are both useful scalpel abilities. Dominate can be used to move an undead model away, either to clear space for your own guys, get a sweet backstrike or to screw your opponent by messing up their lines and running their support away. Sacrificial Strike can deliver a reliable high POW damage roll exactly where you need it, and is great for dealing with tricky or high def models like Kayazy Underbosses, Gorman or Eyriss. It is also a magical damage roll, so is useful for taking out incorporeal models, Vilmon, or Dahlia and Skarryth.

Tactica

For the early game, you deploy him behind a Posse unit and he casts Zombify for a turn or four. Pretty simple.
If you get the opportunity to Dominate a valuable undead target like Tartarus, do it and mess with your opponent's plans. If you get the opportunity to sacrifice a Gator or Bog Trog in order to get a POW 14/16 on a key model like Gorman, Joe, or any annoying wiener blocking a valuable charge lane, do it. Otherwise, just keep casting Zombify every turn, and look out for ways in which Zombify or his magic powers can help you deal with problems.

If you're using a full Bog Trog Ambusher unit AND they ambush close him, I would definitely make the two best buddies. Trogs are good Sacrificial Strike targets as POW 14 is usually high enough to kill your target, and Zombify gives you an effective tough tarpit and makes up for one of their greatest weaknesses (low CMD). Being on a flank like that might even make Beast Master useful!

He works well with every Gator warlock since he offers a nice toolkit alongside a sweet troop buff, but he synergizes especially well with Maelok, because he allows a full unit to benefit from Maelok's feat, and Tough helps you grind out even more. He also provides Maelok a  mid-range single target magic nuke, which he otherwise lacks.

Conclusion

The Croctor is a great support/utility piece and brings some magic damage to the faction! He is a bit on the expensive side of things at 3pts for Gators and is surely a victim of the MkII points system (1), but I would nevertheless consider him Blindwater's number one all-around solo choice beside the Totem Hunter.

(1) Although I prefer the MkII "decimal" points system to the MkI "percentile" system, I think plenty of arguments have been made that the system loses a lot of granulary at the lower points level, specifically the 1-4pts bracket, which affects solos heavily. The vast majority of solos in the game sit at 2pts, and within that bracket there is a HUGE variation in power and utility, with models like Gorman and Joe at one end and guys like Rutger Shaw and Troll Skinner at the other. I think the system would benefit from just doubling all the points to allow a little bit more of a fine tuning edge to points values - the Croctor in my opinion is at the lower end of the 3pts scale, which can be evidenced by his cost of 2pts in a Maelok list where he is no less useful than he is in any other Blindwater list, but far less useful than he is in certain Troll lists.