Getting back into Hordes

[Lord GreyWolf]

A mate of mine has just purchased the Hordes 2 player Starter pack.

I played warmachine and hordes quite a few years ago... but want to know if Gatormen would be a viable choice to play against The wolves and dragons?

I have some gators coming from impactminiatures  that I could convert into Gatormen.

Also where would a be able to get copies of their stat cards ?

Cheers
LGW

[Dewbakuk]

Gatormen are okay, but they are a Minion force which means they are restricted (though not as much as my Farrow) in their beasts and unit options. You'll lack a lot of the tricks and abilities that the main factions bring to the table, but that just makes it all the more satisfying when you win

[Jakar Nilson]

You can get any of the basic minions stat cards with any Hordes card pack. Trollblood, Skorne, Everblight, Oroubouros...

Or I think. Maybe they package them according to who can work for which faction.

A lot of the newer casters, solos and beasts are missing from those card sets, so the only way for them is probably to buy the actual models.

[Lord GreyWolf]

You can get any of the basic minions stat cards with any Hordes card pack. Trollblood, Skorne, Everblight, Oroubouros...

Or I think. Maybe they package them according to who can work for which faction.

A lot of the newer casters, solos and beasts are missing from those card sets, so the only way for them is probably to buy the actual models.

I remembered my War Room password and logged on to it. I have the Cygnar and Mercenaries card packs just need to buy the Minion full deck.

these are the minis i have coming to me to use as Gatormen.



LGW

 

[Major_Gilbear]

Just to clarify; you're thinking of starting a full Gator force (i.e., Blindwater Congregation)?

Otherwise, you can just use a Gatorman Posse unit as an add-on to another faction that they can work with. Basically, the Hordes version of mercenaries (called "Minions").

In terms of Minions, each of the four Hordes decks has a selection of suitable Minion cards in it (I think Circle has the biggest selection, but it's obviously still limited). Minions do not have their own deck released however, and you may be better off buying the cards from the PP online store instead.

The reason for the card decks in the first place is to update players who already have units to the new releases. Any releases that are "current" come with cards anyway, so are not found in the decks. Minions at the time of the last update weren't a playable faction in their own right yet, and so a selection of the various Minion cards up to the end of Mk1 was tucked into the back of the four main faction decks instead.

If you are intending the Gatormen to be a faction selection, then I would approach them from a theme rather than competitiveness angle. Simply put, the main factions have much more to choose from than Minions, and you might struggle to keep the Gatormen competitive in the shorter-term. This post might be helpful for information if you're concerned about playing tips and commentary.

[DeafNala]

The Crocs look COOL, Wolf! I rather like the Piggies myself. Be that as it may, have FUN with the new project & keep us posted as it develops.

[Lord GreyWolf]

Just got myself the Circle faction.

Some one was selling the circle from the 2 player battle box. So will start off with them and might see if I can add in the gators to flesh the circle out.

Hey DeafNala will post pics as I get the job done.

LGW

[Malebolgia]

You can add Gatormen models to Circle, but you don't see them as often now as you did in the past. With the current Skinwalkers + Alpha you often are better off as they are affected by your feat and friendly faction spells.  
But for Circle you often see a Gatormen Witch Doctor with Morvahna 1 and Bloodtrackers. Why?

1. Cast Regrowth on the Bloodtrackers
2. Do the Zombify Action with the Witch Doctor on the Bloodtrackers

Baldur with Stone Skin also gives a great similar combo.

Now you have a Stealthed, Tough unit...and you can return any killed models

The Shamblers are also relatively popular in some lists. A nice tarpit unit which can be handy in some lists, but requires some infantry around to work well.
Totem Hunters are always a good choice to have! A good beatstick who is great to take out solos or deal massive damage in one blow.

One of the new elements, the Croc Battle Engine (Sacral Vault) will be very popular with Circle once it is released. You already see many people playing with proxies in their list. A great piece against infantry (especially against Cryx).

If you need some Circle tips or info, I'll gladly help out.

[Lord GreyWolf]

yeah circle Tips would be great.

only reason I was thinking of Gators was due to having 40 gators coming to me. [they arrived this morning when i was at work]

I also now have the Circle figs from the 2 player box coming to me should be here by tomorrow.

So some ideas on what I can field with them and then to add to those minis. I don't want to spend to much I got into a lot of trouble with "she whom MUST be obeyed" when i was playing Warmachine and spent way to much money on it.

LGW

[beefcake]

I like the circle minis the most I think. Originally bought everblight (subsequently sold it) the than are the things I like from the circle.

[Malebolgia]

Circle is a grea army to play...a bit hard to master but if you got a good grasp it can be very hard to play against.

The starter box contains the following if I remember well:

Kaya
*Warpwolf
*Argus
*Argus
5 Skin Walkers

Now Kaya, the Warpwolf and Skin Walkers are good starters. Kaya isn't one of the "powerhouses", but she has good options and works well with beasts and a unit or two. The warpwolf is the real beatstick. You will find the Warpwolf Stalker in almost any list, but it is often backed up by a Warpwolf. The Warpwolf has better MAT, one more attack and a higher base damage output. So excellent to work in tandem with a Stalker. The Skin Walkers are also excellent, IF you buy the Skin Walker Alpha unit attachment. This model is a must for the unit and offers them a lot.

So how to expand? Let's focus on 35 points first, it's a good format to start your games with before going to 50 points.

Kaya
*Feral Warpwolf
*Warpwolf Stalker
*Gorax
*Druid Wilder
5 Skinwalkers + Alpha
3 Shifting Stones + Stone Keeper
3 Shifting Stones

A solid army which has all kinds of elements. Let's see what it's got:

1) Two solid heavy Warbeasts which can wreck about everything. Together they can EASILY destroy a colossal and both can destroy warjacks or warbeasts on their own. In addition, the Stalker is also great for clearing some infantry. With Berserk and a weapon with Reach it's no problem to get rid of 4-5 models if you can get in him the right spot. With Kaya's Spirit Door you can happily charge something in the middle of his army, kill a lot and then safely bring the model back to your lines. Very annoying to play against and a lot of fun to play with
2) Extra accuracy and hitting power from the Gorax. Sometimes you need a bit more damage output and the Gorax can deliver. In addition, the Gorax can have 4 fury, so a good 'battery' and it can dish out relatively well. Give him Primal and see him going with MAT8 and up to 6 P+S14 attacks! A nice piece to keep back at first for his animus (and to protect Kaya) and to bring out near the endgame. I have played many games where I struggled against a Gorax in the end where I didn't have the tools to easily deal with him. And note he can do headbutts or throws to knock down a warcaster.
3) Extra fury management with the Wilder. Not only can you cast Primal or Lightning Strike one extra time for free, the Wilder can also remove Fury from Warbeasts. Combine this with Kaya's Soothing Song spell and your Warbeasts can go full out on Fury each turn. Hooray for frothing wolves!
4) Two units of Shifting Stones. Circle is about the alpha strike: you strike first and you strike HARD. The Shifting Stones are paramount to this strategy. You can teleport a Warpwolf twice if you have two units of Shifting Stones. And note you can place your warbeasts WITHIN 8" of its first location. So from the front edge of your base measure 8". Then at that point place the back end of the base...so basically you teleported 10". With two units you can easily teleport a warbeast 15-20". So with two units of Shifting Stones around, it is very hard for your opponent to hide from your warbeasts. BUT it requires both units to be fully intact. Loose 1 stone and things will change a lot. So make sure the shifting stones with Stone Keeper are in the middle of the table and the other unit (without stealth) is in the back. This way you can teleport a warbeast from the first unit into the second unit's triangle and from there into your opponent's face.
5) Kaya. Her feat wants warbeasts, so with two heavies and one light she works well. Nowadays most people use her feat to do some serious spell slinging. She can really hurt warcasters with Spirit Fang. In addition, it is a terrific spell against warjacks or warbeasts. Damage it and it cannot charge due to -2SPD. The -2DEF can also be handy if you want to kill something with your big wolves. For Occultation you have several options. The most obvious one is the unit of Skin Walkers. With Stealth they are hard to deal with. Their ARM16 stops blast damage well, so your opponents must close in for the kill...but that is easier said than done!

Now if you want to use Crocs, you can also replace the Skin Walkers with a unit of Gatormen. Kaya doesn't offer infantry anything, except for Occultation. You can also place Occultation on Minion units, so a nice choice. They have similar damage output and resilience to damage as the Skin Walkers, but you will have 5 models instead of 6. If frees 2 points, so you can pick an extra solo. Maybe a unit of Swamp Gobbers and one Gallows Grove.

[Lord GreyWolf]

Do you read minds???


I have been looking at getting shifting stones and I knew that the Gorax was well worth having.

Are the winter Argus and normal Argus not worth taking? Eg add them in to get it to 50pts?

Will see how my funds are looking and slowly add those units as we get some games.

Cheers
LGW

[Malebolgia]

IMO the only Argus really interesting is the Moonhound. Works well with Bloodtrackers, Blood Pack, Woldstalkers, Wolfriders, Reeves, Lord of the Feast and Reeve Hunter. It gives your ranged models a good edge with a +2 on attack rolls. Not only that, but models within 5" loose stealth. That is REALLY nice against annoying solos or units.

The normal Argus can be interesting with models like the Lord of the Feast. Giving him 360 degrees front arc, combined with his thresher attack can be insane. But it's really situational. The Winter Argus has nice sprays, but a really short range. The animus is not that interesting...maybe if you play Grayle but otherwise I wouldn't bother.