Hey all. It's been a pretty intense weekend on the Warmachine front.
Like I mentioned last week, one of the stores I go to was running their
Domination event this Saturday, and I took the opportunity to try out
some of the new Everblight models. This game actually took place last
Friday, as several players were trying out lists for Saturday's event. I
decided to try out one of the most intriguing new additions to the
Legion, the new character Carnivean Proteus. At 11 points, it feels like
he'll be competing against the Carnivean for space in lists, so I
decided to sub into my Saeryn list, which ended up looking like this:
Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
-Proteus
-Scythean
-Shredder
-Shredder
Striders + UA
Blackfrost Shard
2 Spell Martyrs
There are two big downsides I see with Proteus: his most powerful attack is P+S 16, and his MAT isn't any better than the Carnivean's. I feel like this list should help address both of those problems, since the Blackfrost Shard's Kiss of Lyliss boosts his POW up to Carnivean levels, and both the Shard and Saeryn can help him hit with Ice Cage and Breathstealer respectively. Hopefully it'll also help his ranged attack connect, which I think is his best ability.
My opponent was running a beast heavy Skorne list, headed by pMorghul:
Master Tormentor Morghul
-Bronzeback Titan
-Titan Gladiator
-Rhinodon
-Cyclops Savage
-Cyclops Brute
-Basilisk Krea
Full Paingiver Beast Handlers
Wow, thats a ton of beasts for a 5 FURY Warlock! It'll be interesting going up against this list - Proteus and my Scythean should tear into his beasts, especially with the Blackfrost Shard and Saeryn's feat backing them up, but the Striders are probably going to running interferance more than anything else.
My opponent won the roll and opted to go first. Here's a quick sketch of the terrain:
Deployment
My opponent deployed his forces in the center, with the Bronzeback, Gladiator, Rhinodon and Savage forming a front line. Morghul was behind them in the middle, flanked by the Krea and Brute. The Paingivers deployed around the back, trying to set up as close to the beasts as possible.
I deployed everything on the far right, hoping to take advantage of the forest. Proteus and the Scythean deployed directly behind it, with the Shredders on either side of them and Saeryn behind them. The Spell Martyrs deployed next to the Shredders, and the Blackfrost Shard deployed close to the middle, behind the wall. Though opponent had virtually no shooting, I figured it would keep them safe from charges. The Striders advance deployed as far up as possible on the right. I figured I could run them into the back field and try to snipe out the Paingivers.
Skorne Turn 1
Rush was passed out, and all my opponent's beasts ran towards my force, stopping short of the forest.
Everblight Turn 1
My Striders ran forward, placing themselves to the right of the forest and my opponent's force. They had 2 roles: bait opposing heavies close so I could get the charge, and if they survived, push further and take a shot at the Paingivers. Unfortunately Perfect Balance made Morghul immune to Combined Range Attacks, and with the Krea's animus I was unlikely to get an assassination that way. The rest of my force ran forward, placing themselves behind the forest. Saeryn gave Respawn to Proteus, since I figured he would end up closer to the opposing force and be more likely to need it.
Skorne Turn 2
My opponent noticed that the Rhinodon had line of sight to my Scythean, and decided to go for a quick kill. He placed Rush on it and then use the Paingivers to boost its strength, then moved up Morghul so it would remain in his control radius and cast Abuse on the beast. All told, it had +4 Strength and Speed! It charged my Scythean, just barely making it into range. After a few lucky rolls, my poor beast was reduced to paste. Thats what I get for underestimating Skorne's charge range! The Titans and Savage went after the Striders, killing 3 of them as they tried to get around the forest and get LOS to Saeryn. Meanwhile, the Krea and Brute moved forward to protect Morghul with their abilities and animi.
Everblight Turn 2
Things are looking bad, but there is a silver lining: Morghul is now within Proteus' range. Decided I need to go for broke, I run my Spell Martyrs up and activate Saeryn, making sure to pop her feat before moving up and casting Hellfire on the Cyclops Brute - I couldn't have Shield Guard messing up my assassination. She then placed Breathstealer on Morghul. The Blackfrost Shard then activated, moving around the Rhinodon to place Ice Cage on Morghul (sadly only one of the two hit) and Kiss of Lyliss on the Brute. My Shredders then moved forward, immune to the Rhinodon's free strikes thanks to Saeryn's feat, and with some good rolls devoured the Brute and opening up a path for Proteus. The Cthulhu-Carnivean hybrid then moved up and used his ranged tentacle attack. Boosting to hit, I barely managed to snare Morghul and drag him close. Fortunately he was only sitting on 1 FURY, and fell under Proteus' barrage of attacks.
Aftermath
Wow, that was a nailbiter! While Proteus was clutch, upon thinking about it, I realized I was relatively unimpressed with him. Here's why: while I initially thought he would be competing with the Carnivean, I actually found he was closer to a Scythean. While the Carnivean is more of a utility beast with his spray and animus, Proteus' special ability is his drag. While it seems like a good utility ability, all it does is move one model. I can think of a better way to accomlish this: kill that model. In this respect, Proteus seems more like a beatstick than a utility beast, even more so because of his weak animus.
Ok, so he's a beatstick. He still has extra range on the Scythean thanks to his ranged attack, and an additional point of FURY on the Scythean. That makes him worth 2 more points, right? Unfortunately, Proteus has one more disadvantage: his best P+S weapon is 1 point weaker than the Scythean's. To me, this is the deal breaker. While he'll do fine against most targets, against the very heviest opponents, more often than not Proteus will fail to finish them off while a Scythean would get the kill.
It isn't all bad news though. With a damage buff, Proteus should be able to take on anything. For Warlocks who can provide one (pLylyth, pThagrosh, Kallus) or for those already including the Blackfrost Shard, he should be a solid alternative to the Scythean. In a game thats won by millimeters, having an extra inch of range can make all the difference, and between his extra FURY and attacks he's definitely a serious threat to all but the most armored opponents.
Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
-Proteus
-Scythean
-Shredder
-Shredder
Striders + UA
Blackfrost Shard
2 Spell Martyrs
There are two big downsides I see with Proteus: his most powerful attack is P+S 16, and his MAT isn't any better than the Carnivean's. I feel like this list should help address both of those problems, since the Blackfrost Shard's Kiss of Lyliss boosts his POW up to Carnivean levels, and both the Shard and Saeryn can help him hit with Ice Cage and Breathstealer respectively. Hopefully it'll also help his ranged attack connect, which I think is his best ability.
My opponent was running a beast heavy Skorne list, headed by pMorghul:
Master Tormentor Morghul
-Bronzeback Titan
-Titan Gladiator
-Rhinodon
-Cyclops Savage
-Cyclops Brute
-Basilisk Krea
Full Paingiver Beast Handlers
Wow, thats a ton of beasts for a 5 FURY Warlock! It'll be interesting going up against this list - Proteus and my Scythean should tear into his beasts, especially with the Blackfrost Shard and Saeryn's feat backing them up, but the Striders are probably going to running interferance more than anything else.
My opponent won the roll and opted to go first. Here's a quick sketch of the terrain:
Deployment
My opponent deployed his forces in the center, with the Bronzeback, Gladiator, Rhinodon and Savage forming a front line. Morghul was behind them in the middle, flanked by the Krea and Brute. The Paingivers deployed around the back, trying to set up as close to the beasts as possible.
I deployed everything on the far right, hoping to take advantage of the forest. Proteus and the Scythean deployed directly behind it, with the Shredders on either side of them and Saeryn behind them. The Spell Martyrs deployed next to the Shredders, and the Blackfrost Shard deployed close to the middle, behind the wall. Though opponent had virtually no shooting, I figured it would keep them safe from charges. The Striders advance deployed as far up as possible on the right. I figured I could run them into the back field and try to snipe out the Paingivers.
Skorne Turn 1
Rush was passed out, and all my opponent's beasts ran towards my force, stopping short of the forest.
Everblight Turn 1
My Striders ran forward, placing themselves to the right of the forest and my opponent's force. They had 2 roles: bait opposing heavies close so I could get the charge, and if they survived, push further and take a shot at the Paingivers. Unfortunately Perfect Balance made Morghul immune to Combined Range Attacks, and with the Krea's animus I was unlikely to get an assassination that way. The rest of my force ran forward, placing themselves behind the forest. Saeryn gave Respawn to Proteus, since I figured he would end up closer to the opposing force and be more likely to need it.
Skorne Turn 2
My opponent noticed that the Rhinodon had line of sight to my Scythean, and decided to go for a quick kill. He placed Rush on it and then use the Paingivers to boost its strength, then moved up Morghul so it would remain in his control radius and cast Abuse on the beast. All told, it had +4 Strength and Speed! It charged my Scythean, just barely making it into range. After a few lucky rolls, my poor beast was reduced to paste. Thats what I get for underestimating Skorne's charge range! The Titans and Savage went after the Striders, killing 3 of them as they tried to get around the forest and get LOS to Saeryn. Meanwhile, the Krea and Brute moved forward to protect Morghul with their abilities and animi.
Everblight Turn 2
Things are looking bad, but there is a silver lining: Morghul is now within Proteus' range. Decided I need to go for broke, I run my Spell Martyrs up and activate Saeryn, making sure to pop her feat before moving up and casting Hellfire on the Cyclops Brute - I couldn't have Shield Guard messing up my assassination. She then placed Breathstealer on Morghul. The Blackfrost Shard then activated, moving around the Rhinodon to place Ice Cage on Morghul (sadly only one of the two hit) and Kiss of Lyliss on the Brute. My Shredders then moved forward, immune to the Rhinodon's free strikes thanks to Saeryn's feat, and with some good rolls devoured the Brute and opening up a path for Proteus. The Cthulhu-Carnivean hybrid then moved up and used his ranged tentacle attack. Boosting to hit, I barely managed to snare Morghul and drag him close. Fortunately he was only sitting on 1 FURY, and fell under Proteus' barrage of attacks.
Aftermath
Wow, that was a nailbiter! While Proteus was clutch, upon thinking about it, I realized I was relatively unimpressed with him. Here's why: while I initially thought he would be competing with the Carnivean, I actually found he was closer to a Scythean. While the Carnivean is more of a utility beast with his spray and animus, Proteus' special ability is his drag. While it seems like a good utility ability, all it does is move one model. I can think of a better way to accomlish this: kill that model. In this respect, Proteus seems more like a beatstick than a utility beast, even more so because of his weak animus.
Ok, so he's a beatstick. He still has extra range on the Scythean thanks to his ranged attack, and an additional point of FURY on the Scythean. That makes him worth 2 more points, right? Unfortunately, Proteus has one more disadvantage: his best P+S weapon is 1 point weaker than the Scythean's. To me, this is the deal breaker. While he'll do fine against most targets, against the very heviest opponents, more often than not Proteus will fail to finish them off while a Scythean would get the kill.
It isn't all bad news though. With a damage buff, Proteus should be able to take on anything. For Warlocks who can provide one (pLylyth, pThagrosh, Kallus) or for those already including the Blackfrost Shard, he should be a solid alternative to the Scythean. In a game thats won by millimeters, having an extra inch of range can make all the difference, and between his extra FURY and attacks he's definitely a serious threat to all but the most armored opponents.
