LNP How To Start: Cryx Necrofactorium
This month marks the release of the newest Warmachine faction - Cryx. Currently available for preorder on the Steamforged Games website, and technically released at Gen Con earlier this month, the Cryx are monstrous creatures born of industrialized necromancy. Hailing from the Nightmare Kingdom, this is an army of iron liches, master necrosurgeons, and anyone who pledge their souls to the Dragonfather.
Basically it is a faction for anyone and everyone who enjoys robotic zombies. And if that is you, then we have put together a simple guide for the best way to get started and building an army at all four point levels within the Iron Kingdom and Warmachine.
Wait a second…four point totals?
If you have never played Warmachine before, the idea that there are four different point totals to play at might sound a bit daunting. Lets run them down:
Recon - 30 points. This is typically reserved for demo games or quick, casual games. Recon is also a fantastic level to test a new army at because it requires the least amount of finical investment. Generally it is a battle between two Warcasters and a small group of models.
Skirmish - 50 points. A slight size increase from Recon, this will be where most beginners spend their time learning the game or where more experienced players go to for faster games. At this level, battle engines, colossal, and gargantuan models are not usable.
Pitched Battle - 75 points. Pitched Battles, aside from being large scale, allow players to bring their massive battle engines, colossal, or gargantuan models.
Grand Melee - 100 points. The ultimate test of a player’s skill, fielding the largest army possible. Again, battle engines, colossal, and gargantuan models may be used.
Additionally, for tournament events an organizer will use the rules laid out in the Steamroller document (available to all players on the app). The Steamroller lays out all the rules for army building, table set up, and what scenarios players will be playing with. Tournament organizers have the final call on point totals and, now that we are further along in the release of the latest edition of Warhmachine, players can expect either 75 or 100 point games.
Now that that boring stuff is out of the way, lets talk getting started with the Cryx Necrofactorium.
What is available for this new army?
That is a good question. The short answer is…not a lot.
Currently, we have two possible purchases that will be releasing on August 31 - a Command starter and a Battlegroup box. Both options offer great starting points and can be combined to form a larger force (hint for later in this guide).
The Command starter box gives players a robust selection of models, including:
Wraithbinder Nekane (Warcaster)
Hades (Character Warjack)
Master Necrotech Chatterbane (Character Solo)
The Furies (3-Characters Model Unit)
Meanwhile, the Battlegroup box gives a much smaller sample of the Cryx with:
Discerptor Eviscerus (Warcaster)
Malefactor (Heavy Warjack)
Raptor (Light Warjack)
Raptor (Light Warjack)
As of this writing, a few more models have been teased, including the Machine Wraith Dominator, but release details have been stated.
Recon Builds:
This is going to be the easiest one to discuss, and the quickest. The reason being that Steamforged has done a fantastic job of framing these boxes as entry points for new players and veterans wanting to test the waters of a new faction.
Out of the box, the Command starter box is an even 30 points. The Hades (Character Warjack) doesn’t offer any alternate build patterns, so there aren’t any points to worry about trying to balance. The downside is that that limits the Command cards you can use, opting for the 0-point cards.
The Battlegroup box offers 24 points to start with on the models’ base line. With the 6 remaining points, there is room to play around with the three Warjacks’ optional build patterns. Additionally players can utilize the Command cards that cost additional points.
If you have both boxes, Wraithbinder Kekane along with Hades and a 14-point Malefactor will equal an even 30 points.
Skirmish Builds:
Obviously to get to 50 points, the only real option is to purchase both boxes. For most games of Warmachine, you choose a single Warcaster to lead your force. There are exceptions to this but that can be covered in another article. Having both boxes does mean one of the two Warcasters will have to sit the game out. In our opinion, we like Wraithbinder Kekane for our Warcaster of choice.
Our recommended 50 point build would be:
Wraithbinder Nekane
Spell: Blood Rain
Spell: Claminty
Spell: Carnage
Hades (16 points)
Malefactor (14 points)
Head: Dark Shroud
Right Arm: Plague Cannon
Left Arm: Vexing Cannon
Raptor (5 points)
Head: Beaked Maw
Back: Necrovent
Master Nerotech Chatterbane (4 points)
The Furries (10 points)
That build brings us to 49 points. The additional point can be used for a change in the builds of the Malefactor and Raptor, or in choosing one of the 1-point Command cards.
Pitched Builds:
Looking at the Cryx faction options in the Warmachine app, you’ll notice a lot of models that are Cryx-specific that aren’t out yet. This is something they do to tease the future of the game/faction. There are several options to add to bring your 50-point build up to 75-points, but we are discussing what can be done today. For that purpose, we’re going to have to take a look outside of Cryx and look at some Mercenaries. A model with the Mercenary keyword is a model that can be added to most factions.
Our 75-point build is going to look something like this:
Wraithbinder Nekane
Spell: Blood Rain
Spell: Claminty
Spell: Carnage
Hades (16 points)
Malefactor (14 points)
Head: Dark Shroud
Right Arm: Plague Cannon
Left Arm: Vexing Cannon
Raptor (5 points)
Head: Beaked Maw
Back: Necrovent
Raptor (5 points)
Head: Beaked Maw
Back: Necrovent
Magnus the Unstoppable (20 points)
Invictus
Master Nerotech Chatterbane (4 points)
The Furries (10 points)
For Pitched Battles, we add the second Raptor from our Battlegroup box and pick up Magnus the Unstoppable, which comes with the massive Invictus model. Magnus the Unstoppable isn’t a Warcaster, but he does bring with him his own unique spell rack, while Invictus is a Super Heavy Warlock with four massive attacks that can run down most smaller units.
Again, we’re left with a single point (74 out of the possible 75). Dropping the second Raptor would give players an additional 6-points total. Warjack build paths and Command cards could have more play with those 6-points.
Grand Melee Builds:
The largest point total in the game of Warmachine, 100-points can give a player a lot of room for build possibilities. As previously stated, we only have the two boxes of Cryx models to work with. With that in mind, our recommendation would be the purchase of a second Battlegroup box to add a second Malefactor to our original Pitched Battle build. The build would look like this:
Wraithbinder Nekane
Spell: Blood Rain
Spell: Claminty
Spell: Carnage
Hades (16 points)
Malefactor (14 points)
Head: Dark Shroud
Right Arm: Plague Cannon
Left Arm: Vexing Cannon
Malefactor (15 points)
Head: Dark Shroud
Right Arm: Fell Axe
Left Arm: Spiked Shield
Raptor (5 points)
Head: Beaked Maw
Back: Necrovent
Raptor (5 points)
Head: Beaked Maw
Back: Necrovent
Magnus the Unstoppable (20 points)
Invictus
Master Nerotech Chatterbane (4 points)
The Furries (10 points)
That would bring us to 89-points. With the remainder of points, we can have full range of the Command cards to use and mess around with any build paths for our four customizable Warjacks.
Final Thoughts:
Ultimately, there will be growing pains with any newly released faction. With Cryx Necrofactorium, it is only possible to play Recon or Skirmish with a Cryx-pure list. As the new models teased release, this will be a much easier thing to do. For those that want to jump in and play the Pitched or Grand Melee, we hope that our recommendations help get you started.
Also, a final note on Command cards. We find them to be highly player or meta dependent, so we are always hesitant to discuss which ones we think should be taken. They are the final spice that makes a list truly unique to the player behind the Warcaster and their Warjacks.
Until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming!