1499 Ysian list

[HughB]

So with many a rules error and quite a lot of (inadvertent o.O) cheating on my part, our games have moved from 999 to 1499 gold totals. I've also moved my allegiance from Wales to Cornwall and swapped the noble draconic fire for the brutish filth and froth. I'm still not entirely certain of the best way to use corrupters (ended up spraying through my own brutes at an ogros in combat and doing significantly more damage to myself than to the colossus) so advice on that would be appreciated. Comments and criticism on the list also much appreciated.

General - Battle drune - 47 gold Authority 75

Generals command

10 ax drunes with complimentary command (mainstay) - 120 gold
10 bow drunes (common) - 100 gold

1st commander - Death brute - 101 gold Authority 67

5 brutes with complimentary champion and great weapons (mainstay and authority 0 due to death brute brute commander rule) - 280 gold
2 brute corruptors (bound to the brute unit) - 98 gold

Druc, meathulk (rare) - 386 gold

2nd commander - Flesh drune - 58 gold Authority 35

1 nithing (bound to the fleshdrune) - 5 gold

5 brutes with complimentary champion (mainstay) - 250 gold
2 brute corruptors (bound to the brute unit) - 98 gold

Total gold 1496

[Rob Lane]

Hugh,
That actually looks rather good to me - I'm loving the symmetry - excepting the lack of sorcery... that's the only thing I'd try to get in. The Brutes are particularly effective with an invocation combo...

Cheers
Rob

[HughB]

Hmm. Interesting point. Are you thinking the generic invocations on the ysian list or the 'heighten' and 'fury' invocations of the harvest drune? The only problem I have with the harvest drunes invocations are that they appear to take a fair chunk of damage out of the marked unit after they've had their effect. I take it by what you're saying is that your experience is thats its worth sucking up the damage taken to increase the amount of damage inflicted?

[HughB]

Oh, while I'm here, can I check that I'm doing this right. Cos they're frenzied, am I right in thinking that if corruptors can hit an enemy unit with their spray weapon, they're obliged to. Even if it means hitting brutes from their own unit in doing so?

[Rob Lane]

Hmm. Interesting point. Are you thinking the generic invocations on the ysian list or the 'heighten' and 'fury' invocations of the harvest drune?

Yeah, Wrath and Mutate are the ones I go for if I'm running Brutes.

The only problem I have with the harvest drunes invocations are that they appear to take a fair chunk of damage out of the marked unit after they've had their effect. I take it by what you're saying is that your experience is thats its worth sucking up the damage taken to increase the amount of damage inflicted?

In general yes, up to a point of course.

Oh, while I'm here, can I check that I'm doing this right. Cos they're frenzied, am I right in thinking that if corruptors can hit an enemy unit with their spray weapon, they're obliged to. Even if it means hitting brutes from their own unit in doing so?

Yes, although I can't remember where I've said that, mind.

Cheers
Rob

[HughB]

I completely missed the second part of mutate at the first glance. Oh hells yeah! I've really not used magic much at all before but I may need to reconsider that. Yeah I can't say I remember reading it specifically under the frenzy or spray rules but I just assumed that brutes and brute corruptors probably wouldn't politely tap each other on the shoulder and shuffle out of the way to avoid getting 'gop' on eachother while charging wildly into combat. Falls in line with the precedent of frenzied things being quite happy to trample through their own units to get to grip with the enemy (don't put your brutes between your meat hulk and the enemy unless you like flat disc shaped brutes).

[Rob Lane]

I completely missed the second part of mutate at the first glance. Oh hells yeah! I've really not used magic much at all before but I may need to reconsider that.

Mutate, especially, can be quite "Brute-al"... ahem...

Yeah I can't say I remember reading it specifically under the frenzy or spray rules but I just assumed that brutes and brute corruptors probably wouldn't politely tap each other on the shoulder and shuffle out of the way to avoid getting 'gop' on eachother while charging wildly into combat. Falls in line with the precedent of frenzied things being quite happy to trample through their own units to get to grip with the enemy (don't put your brutes between your meat hulk and the enemy unless you like flat disc shaped brutes).

Yes, that is good advice!

I've found that Corruptors are bloody awesome, by the way - they seem to have a habit of causing very annoying wounds...

Cheers
Rob

[HughB]

I very much like them but I'm going to need a few more games to get my head around how best to use them (and to stop inadvertently cheating with rules derps). I'm really loving the sightless strikes and sightless shots that they and the ysians generally have though. Beset? Nope! Eat my spray. Where did it come from? You don't want to know.

EDIT to avoid double post. So further to your advice and cos mutate just sounds awesome (need to make sure the seer drune doesn't fall over and die trying to get it off or trying to heal himself afterwards - even our high temper casters have a bad habit of blowing their own heads off after failing recovery roles. I think maybe somebody planted an oghu stone under our gaming club), how about this for a slightly revised 1499 list:

General - Battle drune - 47 gold Authority 75

Generals command

Seer drune, mutate, wrath of kernunnos - 152 gold
10 ax drunes with complimentary command (mainstay) - 120 gold
10 bow drunes (common) - 100 gold

1st commander - Death brute - 101 gold Authority 67

4 brutes with complimentary champion and great weapons (mainstay and authority 0 due to death brute brute commander rule) - 224 gold
1brute corruptor (bound to the brute unit) - 49 gold

Druc, meathulk (rare) - 386 gold

2nd commander - Flesh drune - 58 gold Authority 35

1 nithing (bound to the fleshdrune) - 5 gold

5 brutes with complimentary champion (mainstay) - 250 gold
1 brute corruptor (bound to the brute unit) - 49 gold

Total gold 1494

I dropped three brutes rather than two brutes and a flesh drune because I very much like the idea of recycling all the dead bits on a battle field and even if I don't get much joy out of piecing together the leavings that the nithings bring back, the flesh roll at the start of the game usually gives me enough by itself to make a death abhorrent which means the flesh drune has already more than paid for itself. So far seza has definitely outdone herself after springing fully(ish) formed from the flesh heap on all of seventeen health, beating a unit of snakes in combat then tying up a unit of mesokolossus for two rounds of combat due to some truly inspired parry roles. A most solid debut.

[Rob Lane]

Yeah, that's a better host - great stuff mate.

Just you wait until you use Mutate...

Cheers
Rob