Continuing in the theme of the previous two posts, here are some more thoughts on list building in Warmachine.
This comes from Malebolgia on the Privateer Press forums. He's using the specific example of building an eSorscha list for a tournament to illustrate some important list building considerations. The whole post is good, but here's my favorite part:
I build my tournament armies as follows: Warcaster [1. Core] [2. Complementary Unit/Jack] [3. Flexible Units and Solos] [4. Gapfillers]
He starts, obviously, with a 'caster. Warcasters have spell lists, feats, and abilities that lend themselves to certain aspects of the game (ranged vs. melee, infantry vs. 'jacks, etc.) and in Warmachine it is usually better to buff a strength than it is patch over a weakness. So, once the 'caster is chosen the next step is to pick a core of units and / or 'jacks to take advantage of whatever the 'caster offers.
Weaknesses shouldn't be ignored though, so after maximizing his strengths, Malebolgia picks a unit or 'jack to help shore up the major weakness that the 'caster + core has.
The first two steps will take up the majority of your army points, so steps 3 and 4 help you fill out the rest of your list. Step 3 is about support - are there any units or solos that will help your army perform better? Things like Greylords, Aiyanna and Holt, Eiyrss, and Manhunters fall into this category.
After that, if you have any points left over you turn to step 4 - gap fillers. The Wardog is probably my most common gap filler because he's one point and every 'caster can benefit from him.
Again, take a look at the original forum post - Malebolgia does a better job explaining his ideas and is building a list while he explains what he means.
This comes from Malebolgia on the Privateer Press forums. He's using the specific example of building an eSorscha list for a tournament to illustrate some important list building considerations. The whole post is good, but here's my favorite part:
I build my tournament armies as follows: Warcaster [1. Core] [2. Complementary Unit/Jack] [3. Flexible Units and Solos] [4. Gapfillers]
He starts, obviously, with a 'caster. Warcasters have spell lists, feats, and abilities that lend themselves to certain aspects of the game (ranged vs. melee, infantry vs. 'jacks, etc.) and in Warmachine it is usually better to buff a strength than it is patch over a weakness. So, once the 'caster is chosen the next step is to pick a core of units and / or 'jacks to take advantage of whatever the 'caster offers.
Weaknesses shouldn't be ignored though, so after maximizing his strengths, Malebolgia picks a unit or 'jack to help shore up the major weakness that the 'caster + core has.
The first two steps will take up the majority of your army points, so steps 3 and 4 help you fill out the rest of your list. Step 3 is about support - are there any units or solos that will help your army perform better? Things like Greylords, Aiyanna and Holt, Eiyrss, and Manhunters fall into this category.
After that, if you have any points left over you turn to step 4 - gap fillers. The Wardog is probably my most common gap filler because he's one point and every 'caster can benefit from him.
Again, take a look at the original forum post - Malebolgia does a better job explaining his ideas and is building a list while he explains what he means.