Carving your Sigil: pRhyas Tactica
Sept 24, 2018 17:19:05 GMT
thelat, ForEver_Blight, and 1 more like this
Post by davycannonhound on Sept 24, 2018 17:19:05 GMT
So, I'm nowhere near the best Legion player out there, but I count Rhyas, the Sigil of Everblight among my top 3 warlocks, and have won the most games with her, so I wanted to try my hand at this. I may help a lot of people or tell everyone the complete wrong thing, so, we'll see how this goes.
Rhyas is among some of the faster warlocks/warcasters in the game (SPD 7), only really being beaten out by cavalry/battle engine casters. She boasts deadly accuracy (MAT 8, RAT 6), and her weapon, Antiphon, outputs high damage (P+S 13 weaponmaster) with a long reach (2”). Antiphon also has access to another huge damage multiplier (crit decapitation), one that, while not reliable, is oftentimes enough to scare people into keeping important models out of her reach (for example, I once left Loki with only four HP with a single unbuffed charge attack using Rhyas. He wasn’t my kill target, he just happened to be close to my actual target, his warlock). Her fury stat (6) compliments her spell list fairly well, allows her feat to reach JUST enough models to really make it worth while, and really makes her a threat up close. She’s able to avoid most attacks (DEF 16), however her ability to take damage is less than optimal (ARM 14, 16 HP).
Abilities
Rhyas screams assassination. With access to parry, acrobatics, and pathfinder, she can pretty much go wherever she wants, and no one can stop her. If an enemy misses her with a melee attack, she can make a basic melee attack against them (Riposte). This ability is not limited to once per turn, and could potentially trigger multiple times. She can also obliterate an enemy, before returning to a relatively safe distance (Sprint). One of her surprise abilities is the ability to take fury off of a warbeast she kills (Spirit Eater). Even if she can’t take all of it, anything left cannot be recovered by the enemy after she is done. This opens up some unexpected options when dealing with fury management during an assassination attempt. However, this leaves her preferring to fight a Hordes army as opposed to a Warmachine army.
Spells
Rhyas has access to three spells: Dash, Occultation, and Rapport. Thanks to her recent fury boost she will be able to cast them all turn one, however depending on your match-up, you may not need all of them.
Rapport - Rapport is the major player of her spell list. Rapport comes in two parts: a stat boost, and a control range booster. Despite the fact that Rhyas has no ranged attacks, she has a decent RAT. Of course, her MAT is extremely high as well. Rapport gives a target warbeast her MAT and RAT, potentially giving an impressive boost in accuracy. The other major component of this spell is the control range booster. This allows a warbeast to roam much further from her. (While Blighted Nyss Shepherds are available, a warbeast being forced by a Shepherd will not benefit from Rhyas' feat, so you'll at least want this out on a feat turn). With it, you can essentially slingshot a warbeast into your opponent’s army, while Rhyas herself hangs back. Or, you could use it to let a warbeast better cover a flank. (Notice the wording of the spell. It specifies that control range is doubled, NOT that the model gains extended control range. So, you would quadruple the control range on say, a Raek. Not very useful, but something to note if you’re feeling frisky.) I will go into which warbeasts like this spell the most, later.
Dash - Dash offers +1 SPD to both Rhyas and warrior models activating in her control range (note that they still keep the speed buff even if they leave her control range). Additionally, it offers warrior models in her control range Parry. These two components allow warrior models to dig deeper than they normally would be able to, and opponents must directly block charge lanes as opposed to simply setting up free strike positioning. The downside to this is that it does require her to play a bit more forward than may be comfortable.
Occultation - Occultation is a good spell for helping your army stay alive on the approach. That said, some armies can ignore stealth, so if you expect to fight an army that can do so, I would recommend finding other ways to protect yourself.
Feat
This is what makes Rhyas tick. The feat offers all models in control range an extra attack. Additionally, the first time a model in her control range damages a model with a melee attack, you immediately place the attacking model base to base with the damaged model.
A lot of people look at the extra attack, as opposed to the placement effect first, and rightly so. The extra attack is perfect for threshing infantry or even chewing through more heavily armored foes. However, the extra attack can also serve to allow you to attack models that normally would be out of reach. The placement effect allows for unpredictable threat VECTORS. While threat range is important, Rhyas deals just as much in threat vectors, or angles. As a player, you need to be constantly watching model placement, and figure out what is in reach of other models. For example, between her base and 2” reach, Rhyas herself can attack a model that is within 3” of another model that she can directly engage (under ideal conditions), giving her a long non-linear threat range. This is where the mind games I mentioned earlier come in. If an enemy doesn’t know what can truly happen with her feat, they will more than likely place poorly, and give you a free win. If a player has faced rhyas before, then they will be mindful of that, and will attempt to position accordingly. As you can imagine, this is easier said than done, and can potentially cause your opponent to make mistakes in model placement, simply from trying to prevent you from reaching certain models. All in all, Rhyas’ feat requires a good eye and exemplary attention to detail to use, but is extremely rewarding to those who are willing to put in the effort (due to the placement effect, I would not recommend models with a melee range less than 1”).
Introduction
Rhyas, the Sigil of Everblight’s main gameplan is assassination. She uses high threat range to strike first, and flexible threat vectors (something I will elaborate on later) to pick apart her opponent’s army from unexpected angles. She offers a way to buff speed, ignore intervening models, has some protection against shooting, and offers a way to “crutch” her biggest flaw. Her power level spikes heavily, even more-so than the likes of Vayl, Consul of Everblight, and Absylonia, Daughter of Everblight. In fact, I would argue that after her Feat turn, if you didn’t secure a win then, you’ve lost the game. For those who want a point and click warlock, or a warlock with a stable and consistent power level, I would not recommend Rhyas. Her game plan requires meticulous list construction, and heavy forethought from turn one.The Warlock
StatsRhyas is among some of the faster warlocks/warcasters in the game (SPD 7), only really being beaten out by cavalry/battle engine casters. She boasts deadly accuracy (MAT 8, RAT 6), and her weapon, Antiphon, outputs high damage (P+S 13 weaponmaster) with a long reach (2”). Antiphon also has access to another huge damage multiplier (crit decapitation), one that, while not reliable, is oftentimes enough to scare people into keeping important models out of her reach (for example, I once left Loki with only four HP with a single unbuffed charge attack using Rhyas. He wasn’t my kill target, he just happened to be close to my actual target, his warlock). Her fury stat (6) compliments her spell list fairly well, allows her feat to reach JUST enough models to really make it worth while, and really makes her a threat up close. She’s able to avoid most attacks (DEF 16), however her ability to take damage is less than optimal (ARM 14, 16 HP).
Abilities
Rhyas screams assassination. With access to parry, acrobatics, and pathfinder, she can pretty much go wherever she wants, and no one can stop her. If an enemy misses her with a melee attack, she can make a basic melee attack against them (Riposte). This ability is not limited to once per turn, and could potentially trigger multiple times. She can also obliterate an enemy, before returning to a relatively safe distance (Sprint). One of her surprise abilities is the ability to take fury off of a warbeast she kills (Spirit Eater). Even if she can’t take all of it, anything left cannot be recovered by the enemy after she is done. This opens up some unexpected options when dealing with fury management during an assassination attempt. However, this leaves her preferring to fight a Hordes army as opposed to a Warmachine army.
Spells
Rhyas has access to three spells: Dash, Occultation, and Rapport. Thanks to her recent fury boost she will be able to cast them all turn one, however depending on your match-up, you may not need all of them.
Rapport - Rapport is the major player of her spell list. Rapport comes in two parts: a stat boost, and a control range booster. Despite the fact that Rhyas has no ranged attacks, she has a decent RAT. Of course, her MAT is extremely high as well. Rapport gives a target warbeast her MAT and RAT, potentially giving an impressive boost in accuracy. The other major component of this spell is the control range booster. This allows a warbeast to roam much further from her. (While Blighted Nyss Shepherds are available, a warbeast being forced by a Shepherd will not benefit from Rhyas' feat, so you'll at least want this out on a feat turn). With it, you can essentially slingshot a warbeast into your opponent’s army, while Rhyas herself hangs back. Or, you could use it to let a warbeast better cover a flank. (Notice the wording of the spell. It specifies that control range is doubled, NOT that the model gains extended control range. So, you would quadruple the control range on say, a Raek. Not very useful, but something to note if you’re feeling frisky.) I will go into which warbeasts like this spell the most, later.
Dash - Dash offers +1 SPD to both Rhyas and warrior models activating in her control range (note that they still keep the speed buff even if they leave her control range). Additionally, it offers warrior models in her control range Parry. These two components allow warrior models to dig deeper than they normally would be able to, and opponents must directly block charge lanes as opposed to simply setting up free strike positioning. The downside to this is that it does require her to play a bit more forward than may be comfortable.
Occultation - Occultation is a good spell for helping your army stay alive on the approach. That said, some armies can ignore stealth, so if you expect to fight an army that can do so, I would recommend finding other ways to protect yourself.
Feat
This is what makes Rhyas tick. The feat offers all models in control range an extra attack. Additionally, the first time a model in her control range damages a model with a melee attack, you immediately place the attacking model base to base with the damaged model.
A lot of people look at the extra attack, as opposed to the placement effect first, and rightly so. The extra attack is perfect for threshing infantry or even chewing through more heavily armored foes. However, the extra attack can also serve to allow you to attack models that normally would be out of reach. The placement effect allows for unpredictable threat VECTORS. While threat range is important, Rhyas deals just as much in threat vectors, or angles. As a player, you need to be constantly watching model placement, and figure out what is in reach of other models. For example, between her base and 2” reach, Rhyas herself can attack a model that is within 3” of another model that she can directly engage (under ideal conditions), giving her a long non-linear threat range. This is where the mind games I mentioned earlier come in. If an enemy doesn’t know what can truly happen with her feat, they will more than likely place poorly, and give you a free win. If a player has faced rhyas before, then they will be mindful of that, and will attempt to position accordingly. As you can imagine, this is easier said than done, and can potentially cause your opponent to make mistakes in model placement, simply from trying to prevent you from reaching certain models. All in all, Rhyas’ feat requires a good eye and exemplary attention to detail to use, but is extremely rewarding to those who are willing to put in the effort (due to the placement effect, I would not recommend models with a melee range less than 1”).