Thoughts on the Archangel

So for those who don't know yet, the Archangel is spoiled in the newest No Quarter, and I have to say I'm impressed. I think PP designed a gargantuan that screams Legion - whether or not its good will have to wait until we can get it to the table. I thought I'd put up some thoughts in advance of getting any actual playtesting with it.

First off the good. The Archangel is about as destructive as they come. He has the same attacks as a Carnivean with an additional point of POW, making him the hardest hitting beast in Legion. Throw on reach and the standard flight and eyeless sight and this guy threatens like a Scythean while hitting much harder. On top of that, he has a Ravagore's RAT and a gun thats better in some ways, worse in others. Thanks to ride by attack he effectively has +3" range, and though its one less POW than the Ravagore's shot the fact that you get 2-4 of them definitely makes up for it. He's another reason why Legion will probably never get Snipe. This guy is the ultimate glass cannon, a monster in melee and range.

Unfortunately, that leaves us with the bad. He has the lowest health of any colossal/gargantuan, with 2 less than the Mountain King, and the same DEF/ARM as a Carnivean. Not only is he easy to kill in one round, he doesn't even have something like whelp shedding to heal back up if you fail. And with only the same range as the Seraph on his gun, its a big risk for him not to use ride by attack to move away after shooting. On top of all that he's the same price as the MK, making him one of the most expensive huge jacks/beasts despite how fragile he is. The animus is also mediocre; sure, its nice to punish something that gets close, but they don't suffer until next turn, meaning its not going to help his survivability any. Still, I can see casting this if he has spare fury after killing something and is near the front.

I have a lot of jumbled thoughts about him, but I think for now I'll just put up some lists that I'm thinking of trying out with him:

Kallus
-Archangel
-Shredder
-Succubus
Full Hex Hunters
Full Warmongers

35 points is tough to fit a Gargantuan into, but as our premier infantry caster Kallus seems like the monstrosity for the job. The hope is by flooding the board with infantry my opponent won't be able to get to the Archangel, allowing him to sit back and shoot before coming up later for cleanup. Kallus is also a nice option since even if I lose the Archangel, he can regenerate some of the damage he takes if he cuts for fury.

Primal Thagrosh
-Archangel
-Carnivean
Full Hex Hunters
Spell Martyr

I originally built a list like this for Epic Thagrosh, but found the point cost too restrictive, especially since the epic version really wants Shredders when what I need is more bodies. This seems like a nice compromise, particularly since between the Archangel's strafe and arc'd obliterations I should be able to thin hordes nicely, and I don't need to worry about sending my Carnivean on a suicide mission to take out a heavy.

Well thats enough at 35; lets look at 50!

Epic Thagrosh
-Archangel
-Carnivean
-Shredder
-Shredder
-Shredder
-Shredder
-Succubus
Full Hex Hunters
2 Spell Martyrs

I mentioned eThagrosh above, and this is what the list eventually evolved into. I debated switching the Hex Hunters and Succubus for Striders with the UA and a Spell Martyr, but I was worried about not having enough bodies on the field. I'll probably end up testing out both to see whether that's an issue.

Kallus
-Archangel
-Ravagore
-Shredder
-Succubus
Full Hex Hunters
Full Warmongers
3 Spell Martyrs
The Forsaken

AOEs AOEs AOEs! The goal here is to throw out Archangel shots, Ravagore shots, and arc'd Eruptions to tear the enemy apart as they approach, allowing my infantry to clean up and saving the Archangel for the finish.

I think that should be enough for now; I'll probably end up proxying Absylonia as well just to see how effective her feat is when the AA is so easy to finish in one round.