Post by spideredd on Mar 9, 2017 18:01:18 GMT
Tactica: Vice Scrutator Vindictus
Overview
Vindictus is a simple but strong warcaster who prefers to let his army do the work. He favours infantry, and delivers them hard and fast into the enemy, leaning him towards scenario play over assassination. He has a strong theme of protection, be it for his army through the feat and Defender’s Ward, or for himself with Call to Sacrifice. His standout trait is granting pathfinder to warrior models/units (within range of the spell), allowing Protectorate players to turn typically hostile terrain into an ally.
Vindictus’ Card
Stats
Vindictus has a decent statline. SPD 6 is great for Vindictus, as he wants to move forward (or backward) quickly. With a DEF/ARM of 15/16 and 16 wounds, he is not the most durable warcaster in the faction, but far from the frailest. He is MAT 6 and carries two P+S 12 magical weapons (A.K.A. Zealot recruitment tools) into battle, one of which is blessed and the other a chain weapon. He has 29 warjack points.
FOCUS 6 is a very important stat for Vindictus. It dictates the range of his two most powerful abilities, and limits the amount of spells/upkeeps he can use in a turn.
Abilities
Call to Sacrifice: When Vindictus is disabled, he can choose a friendly Zealot within 5” of him to die in his place, and he heals 1 point of damage. The number of times you can use this ability is limited only by the number of Zealots you have nearby.
Death Toll: Killing a living enemy warrior model allows Vindictus to add one grunt to a Zealot unit within his command range (9”). The model must forgo its combat action if it activates in the same turn it was created.
Spells
Here’s where things get exciting.
Admonition: COST 2. A battlegroup model with this upkeep spell on it can make a 3” advance when an enemy model end its movement within 6” of it, ignoring free strikes. The upkeep expires once the 3” advance is complete. This is a useful tool for keeping your warjacks (or Vindictus himself) away from melee.
Defender’s Ward: A COST 3 upkeep for +2 DEF and ARM on a friendly model/unit. An incredibly powerful spell that is useful no matter what you put it on. See the ‘List construction’ section for suggested targets.
Immolation: The standard COST 2 RNG 8 POW 12 Fire nuke that many of our ‘casters have. This spell will be cast rarely (if at all) since there are much better things to do with your focus each turn.
Penitence: COST 3. Vindictus’ old feat returned as an upkeep spell. When an affected model is damaged by an enemy attack, the attacking model takes 1 point of fire damage. This works on melee, ranged, and magic attacks, and is very useful when playing into single-hitpoint infantry.
True Path: COST 3. Vindictus’ signature spell. Grants +2” movement and pathfinder to both himself and all warrior models/units activating inside his CTRL. This spell should be cast on nearly every turn, and heavily influences the playstyle of the army and model selection.
Feat
For one round, friendly warrior models inside Vindictus’ CTRL can not be targeted by charges, slams, enemy spells, or non-magical ranged attacks. This is one of the strongest denial feats in the game, and allows Vindictus to position his troops very aggressively for good scenario presence. In my experience, the feat is typically used on the top of 2 or bottom of 1, but it can vary depending on the situation.
Playstyle
A basic plan for playing Vindictus is:
1. Run forward at full speed;
2. Feat once you are close enough to the enemy. Position your infantry outside of melee threat range;
3. Launch a brutal alpha strike on the following turn.
4. Assess after the alpha strike whether your best path to victory lies in scenario or attrition.
Vindictus himself will always be walking, but with True Path it’s an 8” walk. Get Defender’s Ward up on your preferred unit ASAP, and get Penitence/Admonition up when you have the focus. Vindictus can likely be exposed safely on the feat turn, but he must find protection once it's over. Using terrain, shield guards, zealots, or a devout/vigilant will be key to keeping Vindictus alive during the remainder of the game.
List Construction
To Zealot or not to Zealot?
Vindictus has two interactions with Zealots: he can use them as extra lives, and he can add to the unit when killing models in melee. But are they a good use of points?
Because there are pros and cons to taking Zealots, there isn’t really a right answer. People will have different views on whether it is worth it, and we will look at both sides.
Pro – Having 6 to 11 extra lives for Vindictus allows him to survive situation that he otherwise could not, and one of the best ways to fight the list is to assassinate Vinny.
Con – 8 to 16 points spent on Zealots for Vinny is 8 to 16 less points to spend on weaponmasters to smash face with. This con assumes that you play Vindictus only as far forward as you need to, which means that the Zealots will not see combat if they are hanging around to sacrifice themselves. It is possible to load up on Zealots and play Vinny close enough for the Zealots to do work, relying purely on Call to Sacrifice to survive, but I have not tried this build and cannot say whether it is viable or not.
Battlegroup
There aren’t strictly right or wrong warjacks to take with Vindictus, but there are three qualities that are very desirable:
• Focus efficiency. Vinny doesn’t typically have spare focus to allocate to ‘jacks, so ‘jacks that need no allocation are good picks. This is probably one of the best homes for a Sanctifier out of all the warcasters in the faction.
• Guns. Going behind the infantry, warjacks will only reach melee combat as the ‘third wave’. Warjacks with ranged weapons (like the Reckoner) can offensively contribute in the more critical turns when you units are striking.
• Warcaster protection. The Devout and Vigilant will serve you well if you take one of them, as ignoring the scenario and assassinating Vindictus is a good way to fight against him.
Taking only 29-32 points of warjacks is desirable, to maximise the amount of infantry you can fit into the list.
Units
Whilst Vindictus can make any unit shine, some are particularly good with him. These are some of the units that should be considered for a list:
Knights Exemplar: Knights hit like a truck (especially with the CA), but have difficulty reaching their target due to victim stats, average SPD, and frequent (but not total) lack of pathfinder. Vindictus covers all of these weaknesses, and turns them into absolute monsters. A top consideration for Vinny (multiples don't hurt!).
Flame Bringers: They are a fantastic DW target and are great for drawing the line of battle well within your opponent’s half of the table due to their speed. On the feat turn, it’s possible to charge, deal some damage, and then side step + reposition back into feat range. It’s so satisfying.
Idrian Skirmishers: Idrians make a good front-line unit and a good DW/Penitence target. They can mini-feat on one turn and benefit from feat on another to get two turns of protection while they shoot.
Exemplar Errants: Errants are another choice for a front-line unit, operating in the same space as Idrians. Whilst Errants get outclassed by Idrians in terms of ranged output, they are an excellent DW target and can be hard to remove.
Daughters of the Flame: Daughters are an interesting option. They are very fast with SPD 7 and AD, and can help contain the opponent in a similar manner to flame bringers. They also have acrobatics, and therefore are never in the way of your second-wave units.
Choir of Menoth: Even if you are only running 29 points of warjacks, 4 point for a min choir is a big boost to your battlegroup. However, if there was a caster in Protectorate that could forgo the choir, it’s probably Vindictus.
Solos
The other units/solos that I think can work well with Vinny are:
Wracks/Hierophant: Vindictus loves focus support. Assuming True Path is cast every turn, it is impossible to get Defender’s Ward and Penitence in play at the same time without extra focus. It’s useful even if just for extra focus camp.
Anastasia di Bray: Going first helps a lot as you can secure a large amount of the battlefield early, forcing your opponent to fight their way to the middle of the board (which is often necessary depending on the scenario). Taking Anastasia increases your chances to win the first turn from 1:1 to roughly 2:1. In addition to the starting roll bonus, she can intimidate the opponent into compressing their army towards the center, and is a strong counter to any ambushing solos your opponent might have.
Allegiant of the Order of the Fist. The Alligiant is an excellent objective/zone holder, and can advance 9” and stance with Vindictus. A great option for 3 points.
Covenant of Menoth: The book is good with Vinny for two reasons. Firstly, knockdown/stationary immunity is great for your models into certain matchups. Secondly, it can jam your opponent’s spellcasting more effectively due to increased movement speed and screening from other infantry.
Knight Exemplar Senechal: If you don't have 9 points spare for another unit of KE, the KES can get you another two weaponmaster attacks for 5 points.
Matchups/Pairings
Good against…
Lists that don’t like pathfinder, since Vinny can grant it to up to three quarters of his army.
As far as ‘jack spam and infantry spam go, Vindictus can be built to kill nearly anything depending on the infantry composition.
Bad against…
Anything that ignores/counters his feat. This includes:
• Attacks that can hit your models without targeting them, such as electro-leap, lightning generator, ashes to ashes, etc.
• Large amounts of magical shooting.
• Time-walk feats. These feats can really take the wind out of Vindictus' sails if used in response to his own feat.
Pairings
My main suggestions would be ‘jack heavy lists or gunlines.
Amon: Taking Amon presents your opponent with two skews, and it’s likely that their pairing won’t be able to answer both.
Durst: Another ‘jack heavy warcaster that presents a very different list to Vindictus, also good into some of the factions that contain items on the ‘bad against’ list (Cygnar, Retribution).
Kreoss1: Kreoss 1 is an example of a gunline that offers a wildly different playstyle to Vinny.
Overview
Vindictus is a simple but strong warcaster who prefers to let his army do the work. He favours infantry, and delivers them hard and fast into the enemy, leaning him towards scenario play over assassination. He has a strong theme of protection, be it for his army through the feat and Defender’s Ward, or for himself with Call to Sacrifice. His standout trait is granting pathfinder to warrior models/units (within range of the spell), allowing Protectorate players to turn typically hostile terrain into an ally.
Vindictus’ Card
Stats
Vindictus has a decent statline. SPD 6 is great for Vindictus, as he wants to move forward (or backward) quickly. With a DEF/ARM of 15/16 and 16 wounds, he is not the most durable warcaster in the faction, but far from the frailest. He is MAT 6 and carries two P+S 12 magical weapons (A.K.A. Zealot recruitment tools) into battle, one of which is blessed and the other a chain weapon. He has 29 warjack points.
FOCUS 6 is a very important stat for Vindictus. It dictates the range of his two most powerful abilities, and limits the amount of spells/upkeeps he can use in a turn.
Abilities
Call to Sacrifice: When Vindictus is disabled, he can choose a friendly Zealot within 5” of him to die in his place, and he heals 1 point of damage. The number of times you can use this ability is limited only by the number of Zealots you have nearby.
Death Toll: Killing a living enemy warrior model allows Vindictus to add one grunt to a Zealot unit within his command range (9”). The model must forgo its combat action if it activates in the same turn it was created.
Spells
Here’s where things get exciting.
Admonition: COST 2. A battlegroup model with this upkeep spell on it can make a 3” advance when an enemy model end its movement within 6” of it, ignoring free strikes. The upkeep expires once the 3” advance is complete. This is a useful tool for keeping your warjacks (or Vindictus himself) away from melee.
Defender’s Ward: A COST 3 upkeep for +2 DEF and ARM on a friendly model/unit. An incredibly powerful spell that is useful no matter what you put it on. See the ‘List construction’ section for suggested targets.
Immolation: The standard COST 2 RNG 8 POW 12 Fire nuke that many of our ‘casters have. This spell will be cast rarely (if at all) since there are much better things to do with your focus each turn.
Penitence: COST 3. Vindictus’ old feat returned as an upkeep spell. When an affected model is damaged by an enemy attack, the attacking model takes 1 point of fire damage. This works on melee, ranged, and magic attacks, and is very useful when playing into single-hitpoint infantry.
True Path: COST 3. Vindictus’ signature spell. Grants +2” movement and pathfinder to both himself and all warrior models/units activating inside his CTRL. This spell should be cast on nearly every turn, and heavily influences the playstyle of the army and model selection.
Feat
For one round, friendly warrior models inside Vindictus’ CTRL can not be targeted by charges, slams, enemy spells, or non-magical ranged attacks. This is one of the strongest denial feats in the game, and allows Vindictus to position his troops very aggressively for good scenario presence. In my experience, the feat is typically used on the top of 2 or bottom of 1, but it can vary depending on the situation.
Playstyle
A basic plan for playing Vindictus is:
1. Run forward at full speed;
2. Feat once you are close enough to the enemy. Position your infantry outside of melee threat range;
3. Launch a brutal alpha strike on the following turn.
4. Assess after the alpha strike whether your best path to victory lies in scenario or attrition.
Vindictus himself will always be walking, but with True Path it’s an 8” walk. Get Defender’s Ward up on your preferred unit ASAP, and get Penitence/Admonition up when you have the focus. Vindictus can likely be exposed safely on the feat turn, but he must find protection once it's over. Using terrain, shield guards, zealots, or a devout/vigilant will be key to keeping Vindictus alive during the remainder of the game.
List Construction
To Zealot or not to Zealot?
Vindictus has two interactions with Zealots: he can use them as extra lives, and he can add to the unit when killing models in melee. But are they a good use of points?
Because there are pros and cons to taking Zealots, there isn’t really a right answer. People will have different views on whether it is worth it, and we will look at both sides.
Pro – Having 6 to 11 extra lives for Vindictus allows him to survive situation that he otherwise could not, and one of the best ways to fight the list is to assassinate Vinny.
Con – 8 to 16 points spent on Zealots for Vinny is 8 to 16 less points to spend on weaponmasters to smash face with. This con assumes that you play Vindictus only as far forward as you need to, which means that the Zealots will not see combat if they are hanging around to sacrifice themselves. It is possible to load up on Zealots and play Vinny close enough for the Zealots to do work, relying purely on Call to Sacrifice to survive, but I have not tried this build and cannot say whether it is viable or not.
Battlegroup
There aren’t strictly right or wrong warjacks to take with Vindictus, but there are three qualities that are very desirable:
• Focus efficiency. Vinny doesn’t typically have spare focus to allocate to ‘jacks, so ‘jacks that need no allocation are good picks. This is probably one of the best homes for a Sanctifier out of all the warcasters in the faction.
• Guns. Going behind the infantry, warjacks will only reach melee combat as the ‘third wave’. Warjacks with ranged weapons (like the Reckoner) can offensively contribute in the more critical turns when you units are striking.
• Warcaster protection. The Devout and Vigilant will serve you well if you take one of them, as ignoring the scenario and assassinating Vindictus is a good way to fight against him.
Taking only 29-32 points of warjacks is desirable, to maximise the amount of infantry you can fit into the list.
Units
Whilst Vindictus can make any unit shine, some are particularly good with him. These are some of the units that should be considered for a list:
Knights Exemplar: Knights hit like a truck (especially with the CA), but have difficulty reaching their target due to victim stats, average SPD, and frequent (but not total) lack of pathfinder. Vindictus covers all of these weaknesses, and turns them into absolute monsters. A top consideration for Vinny (multiples don't hurt!).
Flame Bringers: They are a fantastic DW target and are great for drawing the line of battle well within your opponent’s half of the table due to their speed. On the feat turn, it’s possible to charge, deal some damage, and then side step + reposition back into feat range. It’s so satisfying.
Idrian Skirmishers: Idrians make a good front-line unit and a good DW/Penitence target. They can mini-feat on one turn and benefit from feat on another to get two turns of protection while they shoot.
Exemplar Errants: Errants are another choice for a front-line unit, operating in the same space as Idrians. Whilst Errants get outclassed by Idrians in terms of ranged output, they are an excellent DW target and can be hard to remove.
Daughters of the Flame: Daughters are an interesting option. They are very fast with SPD 7 and AD, and can help contain the opponent in a similar manner to flame bringers. They also have acrobatics, and therefore are never in the way of your second-wave units.
Choir of Menoth: Even if you are only running 29 points of warjacks, 4 point for a min choir is a big boost to your battlegroup. However, if there was a caster in Protectorate that could forgo the choir, it’s probably Vindictus.
Solos
The other units/solos that I think can work well with Vinny are:
Wracks/Hierophant: Vindictus loves focus support. Assuming True Path is cast every turn, it is impossible to get Defender’s Ward and Penitence in play at the same time without extra focus. It’s useful even if just for extra focus camp.
Anastasia di Bray: Going first helps a lot as you can secure a large amount of the battlefield early, forcing your opponent to fight their way to the middle of the board (which is often necessary depending on the scenario). Taking Anastasia increases your chances to win the first turn from 1:1 to roughly 2:1. In addition to the starting roll bonus, she can intimidate the opponent into compressing their army towards the center, and is a strong counter to any ambushing solos your opponent might have.
Allegiant of the Order of the Fist. The Alligiant is an excellent objective/zone holder, and can advance 9” and stance with Vindictus. A great option for 3 points.
Covenant of Menoth: The book is good with Vinny for two reasons. Firstly, knockdown/stationary immunity is great for your models into certain matchups. Secondly, it can jam your opponent’s spellcasting more effectively due to increased movement speed and screening from other infantry.
Knight Exemplar Senechal: If you don't have 9 points spare for another unit of KE, the KES can get you another two weaponmaster attacks for 5 points.
Matchups/Pairings
Good against…
Lists that don’t like pathfinder, since Vinny can grant it to up to three quarters of his army.
As far as ‘jack spam and infantry spam go, Vindictus can be built to kill nearly anything depending on the infantry composition.
Bad against…
Anything that ignores/counters his feat. This includes:
• Attacks that can hit your models without targeting them, such as electro-leap, lightning generator, ashes to ashes, etc.
• Large amounts of magical shooting.
• Time-walk feats. These feats can really take the wind out of Vindictus' sails if used in response to his own feat.
Pairings
My main suggestions would be ‘jack heavy lists or gunlines.
Amon: Taking Amon presents your opponent with two skews, and it’s likely that their pairing won’t be able to answer both.
Durst: Another ‘jack heavy warcaster that presents a very different list to Vindictus, also good into some of the factions that contain items on the ‘bad against’ list (Cygnar, Retribution).
Kreoss1: Kreoss 1 is an example of a gunline that offers a wildly different playstyle to Vinny.