After Wednesday's post on analyzing Warmachine lists I was thinking some more about things I consider. Here, in no particular order, are a few other things to keep in mind when building your lists:
Stealth
This is a super annoying ability for shooty armies to deal with. I don't tend to have much shooting in my lists but it is still worth thinking about how to deal with it. I'm not talking about armies that spam Stealth units and solos, because they're giving up other things for that ability. I'm talking about one or two Stealth solos or a single Stealth unit - is your list able to deal with this?
Recently my Spriggan has been finding himself in most of my lists and he provides an easy counter to small amounts of Stealth. If that isn't a good option I'll just engage them with one of my many melee units.
Objectives
Most of the tournaments in my area use the SR2010 rules, which means I need to keep objectives in mind. This is a holdover from my 5th edition 40k days, but I like to have a fast moving, hard hitting solo in my armies to either contest my opponent's objectives or sneak in to claim mine.
A Manhunter or Drakhun serves this role nicely. They're cheap, hard to hit or durable respectively, and pack a punch. They'll spend the first few turns staying safe and then spend the later parts of the game being super annoying. This tactic actually helped me win a game in a recent tournament because I was able to sneak a Drakhun around my opponent's flank and take out a destructible objective.
Magical Attacks
Nothing throws me off my game more than seeing lots of Incorporeal stuff across the table. Sure, most Warcasters have magical weapons in MkII, but if your are spending focus or charging a Pistol Wraith with your 'caster your opponent is probably happy to make that trade.
I like to have Kell Bailoch and / or a Koldun Lord around to help my 'caster out with this. They're both GREAT little solos anyway, and having magical attacks to put me at ease against Incorporeal stuff is an added bonus.
These three things are a little more specific than the more general list building advice from the previous post, and might depend a little bit on the meta in your store or area.
Stealth
This is a super annoying ability for shooty armies to deal with. I don't tend to have much shooting in my lists but it is still worth thinking about how to deal with it. I'm not talking about armies that spam Stealth units and solos, because they're giving up other things for that ability. I'm talking about one or two Stealth solos or a single Stealth unit - is your list able to deal with this?
Recently my Spriggan has been finding himself in most of my lists and he provides an easy counter to small amounts of Stealth. If that isn't a good option I'll just engage them with one of my many melee units.
Objectives
Most of the tournaments in my area use the SR2010 rules, which means I need to keep objectives in mind. This is a holdover from my 5th edition 40k days, but I like to have a fast moving, hard hitting solo in my armies to either contest my opponent's objectives or sneak in to claim mine.
A Manhunter or Drakhun serves this role nicely. They're cheap, hard to hit or durable respectively, and pack a punch. They'll spend the first few turns staying safe and then spend the later parts of the game being super annoying. This tactic actually helped me win a game in a recent tournament because I was able to sneak a Drakhun around my opponent's flank and take out a destructible objective.
Magical Attacks
Nothing throws me off my game more than seeing lots of Incorporeal stuff across the table. Sure, most Warcasters have magical weapons in MkII, but if your are spending focus or charging a Pistol Wraith with your 'caster your opponent is probably happy to make that trade.
I like to have Kell Bailoch and / or a Koldun Lord around to help my 'caster out with this. They're both GREAT little solos anyway, and having magical attacks to put me at ease against Incorporeal stuff is an added bonus.
These three things are a little more specific than the more general list building advice from the previous post, and might depend a little bit on the meta in your store or area.