Adeptis Rahn - placing the enemy where YOU want him

Overview

Rahn is the board-control Caster of the Retribution. He is arguably the strongest, but also the hardest to play caster in the stable. Rahn heavily relies on offensive spells which means you have to choose the matchup wisely, while often forcing your opponent out of lists, too. Rahn has one of the best assasinations in the game, while being very strong on (SR 2016) scenario and solid on attrition.

Stats

FOCUS 8 is the stat you will be using often, since Rahn is an offensive spell slinger. He is ok in melee with his MAT 6 and P+S 13 with Beat back. His defensive Stats are ok, helped by his passive "Force Mastery" which protects him from Knockdown and lets him choose the deviation direction of ranged AOEs that deviate in his control area.


Spells
Now we get to the good stuff on his Cards.

Force Hammer: A COST 4 spell that slams the target hit. While it can be used to displace the enemy a random distance, the Knockdown effect of the Slam acts as a massive hit-buff which is why you would cast the spell, mostly. Note that you can Slam your own models with this spell.

Force Blast: A pure displacement spell. For 3 FOCUS, you can push all models within 2" of a model in Rahn's battlegroup 4" away. This can be used to free up a Warjack from a Jam, free up a Line of Sight, or to push models out of contesting Scenario elements. This is the spell you will cast the least, but don't be me and forget it is on the card. It would've won me 2 (a least only practice) games if I remembered it.

Chain Blast: This spell just puts 2 3" AOEs on the board. Great for clearing low ARM infantry. Very good with Arcane Secrets, since you get the additional Die, Drop lowest on all damage rolls.

Polarity Shield: The only upkeep Rahn has. It protects a Model or Unit from being charged or slammed. Often it is just a pseudo-ARM Buff since heavies can charge a nearby model or trample and heavies are prevalent in the meta, but it still often allows our heavies to survive another heavy or make our colossals obnoxious to remove.

Telekinesis: Often said to be the best spell in the entire game. For only 2 Focus, you can place a model completely within 2" of it's current location. This can be used on friedlies as a disengage or a threat extender, but the real fun comes from casting it on enemies. You can draw your enemy closer and turn him around, acting as a threat extender in addition to being a Hit-buff, or you can put your enemy farther back, turn him around and deny Los for charges.

Feat: Arcane Alignment
+2 RNG to non-channeled Spells and boosted attack and damage rolls on Spells. This further helps Rahn play his spellslinging game and also helps the Battle Mages and the Shyeel solos.

List Building
There are several ways to build a list with Rahn. The Forges of War theme force gives you a free Polarity Shield as well as Shield guard on the jacks in addition to the free points and you can build a very strong list.
This is how I play my Forges of War list at the moment:
Rahn1 (Adeptis Rahn) -26
– Helios 34
– Phoenix 18
– Chimera 8
– Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker 0
House Shyeel Battle Mages 10
House Shyeel Battle Mages 10
House Shyeel Artificer 0
– Hydra 15
House Shyeel Magister 0
Arcanist 2
Arcanist 2
Arcanist 2

Helios is another source of pushing, while having two Arcnodes and some ranged support in the Hydra. The list excels at scenario and assasination.

For general listbuilding advice, you really want at least one Chimera and you probably want one or two Battle Mage units and Sylys. Aside from that:

Warjacks: Aside from the Chimera, there are several Warjacks that Rahn likes. Helios further pushes his strengths of putting the enemy where you want him to be. With Polarity Shield and his fields, he is a pain to remove. The Phoenix is a decent heavy and brings another Arcnode. The Sphinx is cheap and a good beatstick and Rahn likes the effect on the gun. Discordia is always a choice to be considered, and she never loses systems with him.

Units: Aside from Battle Mages, I would look towards Sentinels first. Pulling a heavy in means almost certain death for the Warjack. Aside from that, other units might work, but you need to have a plan for them.

Solos: Sylys' upkeep and Arcane Secrets are tailor-made for Rahn. He loves having his full stack for spells and having one Spell with a Hand of Fate effect. Aside from that, you want your Arcanists to fuel and power up your Jacks. There are several other solos that can help here. The Fane Knight offers a Shield guard as well as a damaging charge, and with TK or Force Hammer you could help Mage Hunter Assasins hit. Lanyssa can be a consideration for free charges in a Jack-heavy list. I'd usually not pay the points for the Artificer or the Magister unless you have a plan for them. Eiryss1 or 3 can be great for the assasination.

The Battle Engine: The battle Engine can not be Charged, which synergises with Polarity Shield. It can help support the army by bringing rough terrain, Knockdown and the range-boost. For 16 points, I'd consider it outside the theme.

The Game plan

Rahn is one of the few casters where I would consider going second. Look at the table and if there is a very open side without obstructions or walls, and/or the opponent is slow, give your opponent the open side.

My personal plan with Rahn is to put pressure on the opponent from Turn 1. Turn 1 usually consists of either running everything forward, or to arc 2 Chain Blasts into Low ARM stuff if I am second or the opponent has AD.

From Turn 2 on I first look if I can kill the opposing caster. Usually the kill consists of feating, slamming something over the opposing caster with Force Hammer and then pulling the caster in with Helios and the Battle Mages. Often the Battle Mages alone kill the caster with boosted POW 10s. If I can't kill the caster, I am looking to score. Moving stuff around and out of zones is pretty easy with Rahn and scoring gets you closer and closer to victory. If that also is off the table, I try to kill a heavy by using either TK or Force Hammer to make it easier to hit and pulling it in to kill. If I can clear a zone and kill a heavy without commiting a heavy by myself, that would be golden.

Also, never release the pressure from the opposing caster. Force him to stay back and camp.

Beware of these things

Rahn is usually a very strong caster. There are some Matchups that you don't want to drop him, or at least be wary.

Nemo3: I'd say never drop Rahn here. One upkeep and all your tricks are gone.
Doomy3: See Nemo3
Kromac1: Bestial is also a spell that Rahn hates. I don't know if you can play around it, but it seems like Kromac1 is heavily favored.
Tiberion/Colossal + Orin: Orin offers some antimagic to our opponent. Tiberion and colossals can not be pushed or placed which makes Rahn sad. This can be played around, but it has to be considered. Tiberion can also Shield Guard one of Helios' shots.
Mass Stealth: While Stealth units are not a big problem thanks to chain blast, too much stealth can clutter the field and the pushing paths and stealth on heavies or casters makes Rahn and his army sad. Can usually still be played around.
Knockdown Immunity: Just don't cast Force Hammer on these guys.
Circular Vision: Remember that rule and that TK won't give you a hit-buff against those.


I hope that I was able to give you some insights one of of our most fun casters to play. He does need a lot of practice, but if you master Rahn, he can be a very valuable member of your list-pairing.