Not posted for a while, been really busy with work and a new baby arriving in the family so time has been pretty short. Managed to find some time so thought I would come back with another Cryx Warcaster Review.
I am beginning my planning phase for SmogCon which is going ahead in February 2017, part of which is deciding on a pairing for the Steamroller events. The Witch Coven are pretty much nailed on at this point as they play the meta so well and i wanted something 'different' to go with them. Without delving too much into a post about SmogCon (I will do this at a later date), I think I am going to take Denny3 so let's take a more in depth look at her and what she can do.
Denny3 is pretty much the most Assassination focused caster that Cryx has. She can play a decent scenario game given that she can't be KD or pushed out of zones or off flags, but her primary win condition will be irking out that 14" run to the enemy caster to chop their head off.
Her card then
Denny3 is a little bit weird to be honest, she is a caster that likes to get stuck in but doesn't have the stats to support that game plan. Like most Cryx casters she has 7 focus, so enough to get done what she needs to get done. She is only MAT6 (but perfect spell to improve this) so she does need help here. Her dragon does have a SP8 POW 10 which is really useful but at only RAT4 it's nothing to get excited about, however coupled with her incredible SPD of 9 with Reposition 5" it can do some work. Denny's melee weapon, Malefactor, is her main go to with RNG 2 and POW 13 it should usually be enough to get the job done when coupled with her spells.
What truly defines Denny3 is the way she interacts with souls, she has 3 rules which use enemy souls, Soul Mastery, Soul Taker: Cull Soul and Soul Weaver.
Soul Taker is the Cryx standard of models destroyed within 2" of Denny, she gets their soul. Soul Mastery is fantastic, what this lets her do is for the cost of 1 soul token Denny can either cast 1 spell from her card with a COST of 3 or less or let a jack within her CMD range gain up to 3 Focus points. Soul Weaver is a great ability that lets her remove soul tokens from any friendly model within her CMD range and place them on her self, once per activation.
These rules in combination is where Denny3 really shines and gets work done. She only needs a soul or 2 per turn to really up her output with a couple of free spells or being able to fill up a jack after the allocation phase is a very flexible tool to have.
Spells
Ghost Walk - A bit of a Cryx staple, simple but oh so very effective. Ghost Walk gives a friendly faction model/unit Ghostly, which lets them ignore penalties from moving through terrain and makes them immune to free strikes. Ideal to throw this on Denny when going for her assassination run, or any other combat unit really. fantastic synergy with the new changes to how melee ranges work, letting you charge into back arcs without taking free strikes is top draw stuff.
Grave Wind - Another decent spell (I just wish it could affect whole units), gives target model +2 DEF and Poltergeist. When a model misses an attack against a model with Poltergeist it can be pushed d3" directly away from the model with Poltergeist. Usually find this cast on Denny herself to get up to DEF 17 which helps her inability to benefit from cover or concealment etc. Poltergeist is a cute addition, can be very useful in certain niche situations but normally it won't have much of an impact, other than to make things further away from you on your turn. Could be useful if it pushed models out of zones or out of range of a second shot for example, but it won't come up that often.
Mortality - Oh ho ho, this is the money spell. Target model/unit suffers -2 DEF and ARM, loses Tough and cannot have damage removed from it for 1 round. Boom. Fixes basically everything Denny and Cryx in general need fixing (well maybe not ARM, we are pretty good at that already). -2 DEF and ARM helps Denny's army hit harder, and removing Tough and transfers are perfect for when Denny goes on her assassination run.
Scourge - Another spell which will normal only be used on Denny's assassination run, normally it will go; Charge, cast Scourge (auto hit's because of deviation rules, Denny is immune), use soul to cast Mortality, kill caster. Handy spell to have and gets much more use out of it than previous incarnations of Denny would.
Feat
Denny's feat is very simple. She gives herself 7 soul tokens. For any other caster this would be an awful feat but because of the way Denny interacts and can use souls, it is actually pretty damn good. It is multi-functional, she can either use the feat to spam spells, 7 free copies of Mortality or Ghost Walk on top of what she can already cast is a tasty thought, or she can sit on them prior to assassination run turn to become focus for extra attacks. Not setting the world alight but a very flavoursome feat that supports her game plan well.
Suggested Units
A list that contains Denny3 needs to be almost exclusively built to deliver her to the enemy caster. She can take most units and support them through Mortality and Ghost Walk, so you can pretty much build her to your own flavour, just keep in mind the first point, everything needs to have a part to play in delivering Denny. Given that she is a huge base and not exactly invulnerable, she will want a Shield Guard, so bring and Inflictor - or a Bokur if you are feeling brave. I like her with Nyss Hunters for their ability to clear models at range which can be crucial for finding Denny a landing spot when she goes in. From here, almost anything works, I like to pack a Pistol Wraith for his ability to pick up a soul or 2 at range which Denny can then pinch for her own use and The Withershadow Combine is great here for casting Ghost Walk and Mortality as well as their free upkeep ability and ranged soul collection in a pinch. Soul Trappers never go a miss either to keep her 'Soul Network' flowing. With Denny, most games will be won by assassinating the enemy caster, so always build her army with that goal in mind.
Summary
I love Denny3, her model is frankly amazing and she offers a very aggressive play style which I like. in Mk2 she was almost God tier towards the end and in Mk3 she has been brought down a fair few pegs. Her weakness is her vulnerability to ranged attacks, even at DEF 17 she is at risk as boosting is a thing. The odd attack she can weather but a serious attempt on her life(?) will put her down pretty easily, she is the ultimate glass cannon. That said, almost no one takes her anymore so she could slip into that sweet spot of being underestimated and under prepared for giving her a slight edge. Time will tell. Either way, she is a lot of fun and I can't wait to get her on the table.
For a score out of 10? she probably only gets 5 or 6, perhaps lower into ranged armies but for fun factor she is well up there with the best.
Thanks for reading and be sure to let me know what you think.
Steve.
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