Dais, our resident Warmachine Tzar takes a look at exactly what should be going into a Cryx Army for the Colossals Expansion...

Skarre, Queen of the Broken Coast (*6pts)

* Nightwretch (4pts)

* Ripjaw (5pts)

* Kraken (19pts)

* Skarlock Thrall (2pts)

Asphyxious the Hellbringer (*4pts)

* Cankerworm (5pts)

* Desecrator (9pts)

* Voiceferon (0pts)

Master Necrotech Mortenebra (*4pts)

* Stalker (4pts)

* Deathjack (12pts)

* Kraken (19pts)

* Deryliss (0pts)

Bane Thralls (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)

* Bane Thrall Officer & Standard (3pts)

Bane Lord Tartarus (4pts)

Satyxis Blood Witches (Leader and 5 Grunts) (4pts)

* Satyxis Blood Hag (2pts)

The Withershadow Combine (5pts)

Wraith Engine (9pts)

Mechanithralls (Leader and 9 Grunts) (5pts)

Necrosurgeon & 3 Stitch Thralls (2pts)

Satyxis Raiders (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)

* Satyxis Raider Sea Witch (2pts)

Satyxis Raiders (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)

* Satyxis Raider Sea Witch (2pts)

Bile Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)

Gorman Di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2pts)

Satyxis Raider Captain (2pts)

Warwitch Siren (2pts)

Warwitch Siren (2pts)

General Gerlak Slaughterborn (3pts)

Pistol Wraith (3pts)

Pistol Wraith (3pts)

Necrotech & 1 Scrap Thrall (1pts)

= 150pts

Tactics

An unbound game vs. other Colossals; how does Cryx handle all that armor and health? Simple, they don’t need to. This list is designed to shut down enemy heavy-hitters until you are ready to deal with them. Between the Pistol Wraiths, Gorman, Shadow Bind, and Mortenebra’s Void Gate spell there are several ways to suppress Colossals for a turn or two while doing what Cryx does on the rest of the army. The idea is to take time deploying optimally and come in as a tide of things people hate to see against them all at once - target over saturation.

Unbound helps people activate what they need when they need it with the slightly integrated rounds so expecting things to survive as easily as smaller games will probably leave you disappointed.

There is one sneaky strategy (sneaky strategies for Cryx, who would have thought it!?) to cripple a section of the opposing army by harassing a vulnerable Colossal. The combination of backlash and Satyxis raiders is a very old and basic one with known weaknesses, but those survivable, low Defence Colossals with their huge bases make it too tempting to pass up. Stormwall and Conquest throw a wrench in the works with their placed templates, but there are plenty of other uses for the raiders. Pulling this off will kill an opposing caster and leave a Colossal inert.

Epic Skarre has one of the best spell lists in the game and is well known for being able to run a few jacks very well. Some of her usual shenanigans using Perdition or Admonition won’t work on the kraken, but she’s still going to have a field day with it keeping death ward up and using black spot with its hellblaster; I guess that is what happens when you have one of the best spell lists in the game. Likewise her feat was errata'd to not work on huge bases, but it can still work on most enemy models threatening the vile machine. Seas of Fate should work with the Kraken so the odds of a disappointing activation are rather low. She’s been given some arc node Bonejacks to both help cast and make use of perdition. I went with one ranged and one melee and would probably not have them be the vanguard of the force with so many attacks coming at you early game. Her skarlock can hopefully help juggle some spells for her late game; at the very least recasting admonition after it ruins someone’s day.

Mortenebra, like Epic Skarre has some terrific spells that don’t work on the Kraken, yet remains a top choice for operating one. The Kraken’s main job is to be a huge distraction and trigger overrun for the rest of Mortenebra’s jacks. Anything that can make them forget the Deathjack or a stalker are creeping up on them is to be cherished. Interface can be a boon when three focus allocation isn't enough; and spectral steel plus repair will keep the Kraken going for a while. The Deathjack has all the tools to run rampant through an opposing army and he loves tightly packed infantry with their tasty souls. Stalkers are tremendously underused jacks and I was sure to include at least one; even as a throwaway model that only runs in to trigger grievous wounds on a warlock or beast it is worth it.

Hellbringer Asphixious is the new third incarnation of everyone’s favorite iron lich (maybe second favorite after that sexy lady Admonia) who seems to be Cryx’s new buff caster. His spell list is full of great enhancing spellsfor both infantry and jacks like mobility, ashen veil, carnage, and scything touch. He also shows his dominance of the buffs by using hex blast to rip the magic bolstering enemies he hits with it. He has plenty to buff without needing to fill out his battle group so I kept things lean with only his favored cankerworm and a desecrator. He won’t need an arc node with Voicefron staying in the ranks and acting as an arc node to help him juggle buffs.

Bane Thralls are one of the most loathed and dominant units in the entire game so I didn’t want to be a big jerk bringing three units. One will do nicely. If they are held in the middle of the tide of Cryx they may have a chance to survive to get a charge. Even if they die those are attacks not spent on the rest of the obnoxious things in the list.

Bane Lord Tartarus fits in well with his bane thrall brethren but he will really need to watch his step, unbound games are dangerous for offensive solos.

The minimum blood witches and blood hag were taken to flank the edges of the battlefield and tie up things. There are better units suited to the task but entropic force helps them have an additional utility.

The Withershadow Combine are like superheroes, undead superheroes. A free upkeep and puppet master alone are worth four of their five points. Being able to be played defensively really helps them as vulnerable character models.

The wraith engine gets to shine in a list like this because of all the other targets that take attention away from it and it’s ability to reposition and endure through the use of incorporeal. You will want to keep it far from other soul gatherers since it has such a great range though, especially Voiceferon.

Mechanithralls are an obvious choice to help build up the wall of undead and are vicious for their points. If you keep them near Epic Skarre the necrosurgeon can heal her blood trade damage and still support the thralls. It is probably best the necrosurgeon hangs back any way.

Satyxis raiders are intended to help reduce a warcaster’s brain to mush with feedback, but are also high defense models with the all important force barrier rule to let them survive blasts easily. They have all the tools you need in a melee unit, reach, survivability, great speed, and combined attacks to help them overcome high defense or armor.  Two units of these all-rounders felt right.

The minimum bile thralls are the over-the-top response to what ever the opponent does to get close to your models. There is no way they will survive in the jungle that is an unbound battlefield so they are meant to be held as reserves behind the line to neutralize any uppity infantry that try to punch a hole in your line with a big friendly purge. Excessive? Yes. Fun? Without a doubt.

Gorman is one of the few mercenaries that not only works for Cryx, but offers them nice things. His smoke cloud can screen a Warcaster for the first three or four turns before he starts tossing out rust or black oil bombs. Black oil is one of those attacks that just neutralizes models for a turn and almost everything is susceptible. This mercenary is one of those that help non-Colossals eat through Colossals in a single turn.

The Raider Captain is around mostly to let Epic Skarre be immune to knockdown, but she is a vicious model in her own right and with so many raiders around she may need to help keep her crew in line. Also, never forget she has a pistol. I see too many Cryx players forget to take the shot.

Warwitch sirens are phenomenal models with a nice mix of support and offense. Power booster will help some of the arc nodes run without bleeding your caster’s dry and magical sprays are wonderful for firing into or through melee. In an emergency charge one at a big scary model and lock it down in place while you manage other matters first; this may be less effective on Colossals but them not  being able to be moved for any reason whatsoever will ruin a plan or two.

You know that old saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”? Pistol wraiths are why that saying applies to putting all your points in Colossals. Death Chill is so easy to land on a Colossal and is such a devastating effect. Even if it didn’t work on them, the wraiths could target other jacks and leave other elements to gang up on the big boys. I was tempted to take six of these.

General Slaughterborn is a big target for attacks of opportunity, but the reward for him successfully reaching combat is immense. I don’t even want to think of how many infantry this guy could kill in a single turn in 150+ point games.

A Necrotech as an obvious choice for the last point since this list will run several survivable models. The Krakens are going to survive most single models and unsupported units easily and there are two armour buffs in this list as well so this guy should never be without a jack to repair.

This list may not be optimized, but it has a strong psychological element and will provide you with a vast toolbox for easy adaptation to unexpected changes.

- Dais