Which Merc Unit should i use with khador?

[khaosBlizzard]

So i picked up Valachev. Mostly on impulse cuz i love the mini, and i wanted to have all the greylord minis. But now idk what merc unit to pick up to run with him. I was thinking Croe's Cutthroats, or Alexia n the risen. Id get sam if shed work for Khador >.<

[Keravin]

Nyss Hunters who are a great unit to start with, but giving them access to things like iron flesh will make them even more of a target

[Darwin_green]

Hammerfall Highshields could be cool, you'd have another solid defensive unit that can shoot while your widowmakers can shoot through them.

[Tort]

I play searforge, I have the highshields and I generally avoid them even in searforge, I would recommend against taking them as mercs with Khador. You have much better options in faction, they can't use double time and shield wall because Valachev can't issue those orders, you just end up with low pow RAT 5 unit that dies easily.

I'd recommend the Nyss or Croe's Cutthroats, the steelhead riflemen don't do too poorly with him either. The caster can change the equation slightly, if there is some faction specific buff you want to apply or something you want to catch in a specific feat it can make a difference.

[khaosBlizzard]

How do you guys (and maybe girls) think Alexia would do with Valachev? the unit could be iron fleshed, or i could put them behind WGI so when the WGI die the risen squad could grow. I also feel like thed be the unit thatd work great with many of my casters; Butchers Fury spell on his feat turn would make them scary, both Sorschas, Irusks, and Vlads have great support spells too.

[khaosBlizzard]

Also, can Valachev Zephyr a squad thats in mellee back 3 inches and then have them charge?

[DeeKay]

Nyss Hunters are a good unit to include in almost any army, and will benefit from Valachev more than most. Depending on the caster, you could have these guys running at a ridiculously high DEF or get some pretty awesome damage out of a charging unit. The only downside is that the models come in 5-6 parts each, and the joins are rather small.

Core's Cutthroats would be best used if you find yourself playing against Hordes armies a lot. The poison really helps against beasts. Does Valachev have Stealth? If so, Aiyana and Holt might be a fun choice as a distraction unit. I haven't got enough tabletop experience of Alexia and her Risen, but on paper at least they don't seem all that good. Sure, their officer can sacrifice a guy to boost her stuff and the unit can grow if casualties aren't RfP, but they don't strike me as anything more than a distraction unless you play against Cryx or certain Gatormen builds.

@ khaosBlizzard: With regards to Zephyr, it is a * action, and iirc as such it is performed after movement. Nice idea though.

With regards,
Dan.

[Tort]

No, it's an action it occurs after movement. The general thing it's used for is to aim, zephyr and then shoot the guys you used to be in melee with. You can also use it to shoot at range and the duck back further to try and stay out of charge range. It can be used in melee and quite effectively as the officer can use his action at any point in the unit's actions he does not need to go first or last. You can rearrange a combat say if you missed some melee attacks on something you really needed to kill you could zephyr move the models that have already attacked out of the way and move in models that charged other models that have not attacked yet (you would not get the charge bonus but as they successfully completed the charge they can still make attacks), you can also charge your own models in the back in order to have successfully completed a charge and then move those models out of the way and the charging models into melee with your opponent. Don't forget either that disbinding is really good too and that spray is fantastic, ignores the penalty for being in melee, magic ability 7 POW 12, it can cause some damage.

The risen - you're forgetting that they are only MAT 4, they're still going to have to combine to hit meaning much less attacks. As for iron flesh they are DEF 10, it'll do something just not as much as ironfleshing something that is DEF 14 or 15. Don't get me wrong, I love the risen, they're a great unit and they'll work really well. With Valachev - they do already have disbinding and they mainly do damage through the thralls (which would not be affected by Valachev) but Zephyr gives alexia better placement in dropping a thrall and it would mean that she would never have to cast disbinding. No idea how they'll work with Valachev, they'll definitely do well with Alexia behind the winterguard and other Khador infantry picking up souls.

[Tort]

Nyss Hunters are a good unit to include in almost any army, and will benefit from Valachev more than most. Depending on the caster, you could have these guys running at a ridiculously high DEF or get some pretty awesome damage out of a charging unit. The only downside is that the models come in 5-6 parts each, and the joins are rather small.

second this, they Nyss are brutal to put together.

Core's Cutthroats would be best used if you find yourself playing against Hordes armies a lot. The poison really helps against beasts. Does Valachev have Stealth? If so, Aiyana and Holt might be a fun choice as a distraction unit. I haven't got enough tabletop experience of Alexia and her Risen, but on paper at least they don't seem all that good. Sure, their officer can sacrifice a guy to boost her stuff and the unit can grow if casualties aren't RfP, but they don't strike me as anything more than a distraction unless you play against Cryx or certain Gatormen builds.

No stealth.

Risen - Remember they only cost 5 points. It's pretty easy to get 20 out on the table and they block charge lanes and gum up the board really well. They also appear in inconvenient places as Alexia can place them anywhere within her command so they'll pop up in the middle of weaker units where they can actually do damage with free strikes causing activation issues. The double focus/fury spell cost from alexia can be very painful (especially as it affects upkeeps as you can't get rid of her before paying that cost) and the thrall solos hit hard and because the unit can move, she can pick any risen within 9" and then it can charge you can have one coming from unexpected angles and large distances. Not generally going to be game winners but you get a fair amount of mileage for a 5 point unit.

[khaosBlizzard]

what if i did a full unit of Sea Dogs with Valachev? they could still benefit from solos like Bosun Grogspar, FM Hawk, Doc Killingsworth, and Lord Rockbottom cuz they all say "friendly privateer unit" or "sea dog unit". And with eIrusk the unit woukld be tough (on 4,5,6), not be knocked down, never flee, have +1die on hand weapons atcks vs warriors, and whatever i feel like getting from Rockbottom (In addition to gang and pnt blank). the whole thing would cost 18 pts tho.... and thats like a Colossal lol
anyways, tell me what you think; its not something im dead set on, just and idea I had

[DeeKay]

what if i did a full unit of Sea Dogs with Valachev? they could still benefit from solos like Bosun Grogspar, FM Hawk, Doc Killingsworth, and Lord Rockbottom cuz they all say "friendly privateer unit" or "sea dog unit". And with eIrusk the unit woukld be tough (on 4,5,6), not be knocked down, never flee, have +1die on hand weapons atcks vs warriors, and whatever i feel like getting from Rockbottom (In addition to gang and pnt blank). the whole thing would cost 18 pts tho.... and thats like a Colossal lol
anyways, tell me what you think; its not something im dead set on, just and idea I had

The Sea Dog idea... I see nothing wrong with that. It may seem a lot of points to tie up in just a single unit and its support. So long as you can keep the support alive, this unit could potentially be very dangerous.

As for the Collosal points cost, with the right comination of buffs I can see a full unit bringing one down.

With regards,
Dan.

[sliganian]

Point-of-Order: Lady Aiyana and Master Holt are a Merc 'Unit'.

[khaosBlizzard]

Point-of-Order: Lady Aiyana and Master Holt are a Merc 'Unit'.

thats a very good point. theyed be great against my friend who loves to use Black Bane

[khaosBlizzard]

and Kiss of Lyliss would make Val's spray soooo deadly

[Tort]

Point-of-Order: Lady Aiyana and Master Holt are a Merc 'Unit'.

That's why all previous mention of them in this thread was as a Merc unit. You couldn't take them with Valachev if they were not (though I don't think that was a serious suggestion more of a - be fun to try...)

[Havock]

In theory, steelhead rifles + valachev + eIrusk/vlads would be quite deadly: massive, boosted/augmented CRA's with a reroll. At a better range than the WGI. Considering the SR12 limitations will mean less WG deathstar...

[Itchmonkey]

Nyss hunters + valachev + eIrusk = broken

[Emerett]

I think the Rogue Alchemist works great with them. Put up a nice little cloud in the front as you march your Doom Reaver or whatnot, foward.