No Quarter #35 Commentary (cont.)

In my 3.25.11 article, I commented on the Khador and Retribution battle engines.  Now, I'd like to take a few minutes and comment on the rest of the models that were spoiled in the newest No Quarter.

First up, we have the new Cryx Bonejack, the Scavenger.  At first glance, this guy looks pretty simple and straightforward.  With SPD 7, MAT 7, P+S 11, it looks like he's supposed to be a light 'jack hunter.  However, with Flight, Finisher, and access to Ghostly, this guy could possibly be the guy to kill warcasters.  Another way this guy could be used is to take out pesky solos.  Flight gets him where he needs to be, MAT 7 hits higher DEF (which all the pesky solos seem to have), and he has Sprint to protect himself afterwards.  Take these guys in pairs, or team him up with a Stalker, and you'll have warcasters peeing their pants at the sight of you.

Next up is the Revenant Crew Rifleman.  The only thing that this guy has different over the Sea Dog weapon attachment is that he is undead, and that he returns to play if he dies.  Here's hoping that the undead pirates get another solo that buffs them up!  Let's see, living pirates have 4 solos that help them out.  The undead pirates have just one.  That's not fair!

Despite having a black belt in search-fu, I could not come up with a picture of the Heavy Rifle Team, short of scanning it.  I really like the look of this guy.  RNG 14, POW 7, Armor Piercing at RAT 7 is pretty cool.  Ideally, they'll be shooting at 'jacks and beasts the whole time, but for them to be effective, you need to get lucky on the dice rolls.  With very few ways of boosting damage (Ravyn's Vortex of Destruction being the only way as of now), expected damage against a Khador heavy warjack is a measly four damage.  Of course these guys can do more damage to light warjacks, doing an expected seven damage against bonejacks (provided they hit needing 8s).

However, one thing I'm coming to realize about Retribution solos is that they work far better in pairs.  I think that is still the case with the Heavy Rifle Team.  Doing an expected eight damage each turn to Khador heavies before they engage is great to soften them up and possibly take out some systems.  Another possibility with these guys is to seriously threaten medium and large base warcasters/warlocks, especially in pairs, all for four points.

More House Shyeel love!  It's awesome!  This guy is greatly different than the rest of the Battle Mages.  With lower SPD and DEF, higher ARM and P+S, the Artificer is a completely different animal.  I can see using all three of the spells that he has.  The first spell I think is most useful at protecting those who would be most vulnerable to blast damage and ranged attacks, which would most likely be the Mage Hunter Strike Force and warcasters.  The second spell, Magno Blast, at face value looks like it should be used to clump up infantry to kill with a later AOE.  However, this being a mini-Hellmouth, you can use it to clear up or create charge lanes.  Finally, the Polarity Field means that they can't charge you.  I would see using this the least of the three spells, but it does have its occasional uses.

Everyone's favorite Thamarite solo!  It's a shame that this guy isn't as good as I think he should be.  The main reason that people want to take this guy is for the Death Field.  However, I think that it's really hard to get the Death Field spell off.  The limiting factors here are: his SPD, no Battle Wizard, limited range.  His SPD, while being good, is not fast enough to keep up with charging units.  Because Death Field is a *action, he can't do it and charge or run.  The limited range on the Death Field means that, even if he walks up 6", Death Fields, then other guys charge in, they still might not be benefiting from Death Field.  However, if Ragman had Battle Wizard, he could charge in, kill something, then Death Field for another unit to charge in afterwards and mop up.

Quite possibly the best spoiler in this issue of NQ, the Flameguard Cleanser Officer brings a LOT to a unit that rarely sees tabletop action.  It looks like a lot of thought went into this guy, and I think that he's great.  Obviously, the +1 MAT +1 RAT is a great addition, but the abilities he brings are where it's at.  First of all, he gives the unit the option of Bushwhack.  I see this only situationally helpful, but when you use it, it'll be VERY useful.  The second ability, Scouring Flames, is amazing.  This mini-feat changes the Cleansers weapons to SP 10 POW 10.  SP10 is so much better than SP8.  This lets them hit a LOT more things with their sprays.  Finally, we have the *action Sheet of Fire.  This places a wall template completely within 5" of the Officer.  Any model going through it takes a POW 12 damage roll and is set on fire.  Also, as a bonus, if you are in the wall, you get concealment (while being on fire).  This pretty much says NO to charging infantry. Eat THAT Bane Thralls!

Well, there you have it.  Thanks for reading!