Hi, today I will step on the topic that I’m sure many would like some ample discussion upon, the Retribution of Scyrah is well known for having flexible, versatile components that allow for a fight mixing the 3 great powers within Warmachine (melee, ranged and magic).
Lets being simple, most factions in Warmachine have a specialty that they adhere to, that’s not to say that some have just as much or more mix of the 3 great powers, but rather that some have it in either max or minimum availability, each has its bag of tricks that allow for mixing it up, but most have that part that can do nothing but one and are really good at it.
To look at it, let’s go over the 4 main factions:
Cygnar: Cygnar has always been viewed as the king/queen of ranged, having a multitude of ranged buffs, weapons, abilities and such, Cygnar is very well known for killing easily from afar and not putting itself in much danger from such great distances. But only when one looks at the other parts can one truly appreciate how well mixed Cygnar can be, as they can blend melee and ranged in good quantity and exercise melee only lists to good effect. They do suffer from not having such good melee support and buffs as other factions, but they have an astounding array of defensive spells and support buffs that allow them to reach the enemy quickly and with minimal damage, except for when the enemy can ignore these spells, then their numbers can start dropping. Their magic is mostly based upon buffing their own army, extending their threats and some magic that allows for disrupting and annoying the enemy advance and offensive. They can mix melee and ranged very well and add some minimal magic.
Khador: Khador as also, for a long time, been the overwhelming monster of melee, with units that dish out a lot of damage in C.Q.C and spells that buff that damage or increase their charge ranges, Khador can kill most anything with the right things on the board. They are not exactly as good at mixing the 3 great powers, their ranged is more support than the main method for winning (of course, with the Iron Wolf their focuses might change and become more flexible, mixing melee and ranged) and their spells are mostly buffing their own army like Cygnar, however, Cygnar may focus on defensive buffs while Khador has more offensive buffs, it also be noted that these can be used in the reverse (a good offense is a great defense and vice versa). They lack arc nodes (except the Old Witch), and so their magic has to either be from greylords, or the warcasters itself, but lacking an extension of their offensive spells, its often better to not take such a great risk unless it’s the only way possible, as it might always be in Warmachine. They can mix melee, with minimal magic and support ranged.
Menoth: Menoth is the better buffer of the 4 main factions, having buffs for most anything, damage, attack, movement, defense, offense...but they can mix it up, however, and their forte is better placed upon melee than ranged. In difference to the other factions, their units, solos and warjacks have somewhat lackluster stats; although their weapons are powerful indeed, they NEED the buffs to be able to deal out maximum damage, except for some weapons (like weapon master melee weapons with blessed). Their ranged cannot compare to Cygnar’s and they don’t have debuffs like Cryx, they can play attrition somewhat well, but I think Khador can play better attrition. They can mix in magic with their arc nodes and cause havoc among enemy lines. They can mix melee with some decent ranged and some magic.
Cryx: the only defining factor of Cryx playing mixed is in their warjacks and some solos, they do not posses excellent ranged combat and their melee is great but not on everything. They somewhat rely on their debuffs to be able to pull forward to win, and their magic can be mixed in to cause a lot of damage, they can mix melee and magic, but not ranged. They can mix melee with magic somewhat well but their ranged leaves to be desired.
Mercenaries: although they begun as simple reinforcements for the main factions, they have grown in number and power and have their own little kingdom. Something like Cygnar, the mercenaries can mix melee and ranged in good amounts and their flexibility in buffs, support and offense/defense makes them pretty powerful in their own right. They can also add those abilities for other factions, covering other factions weaknesses and allowing them to be more mixed. They can mix melee and ranged well, but only Magnus and Fiona can mix in some decent magic as they can both have arc nodes.
Retribution: the subject of this here literary piece, the Retribution have in their own right, some of the best mixes in Warmachine, they can mix melee, ranged and magic in good quantity and they have several buffs and supports for the army, in addition, they have a slight theme in ignoring and denial. They can mix melee, ranged and magic well from several parts in the army, not just from specialized parts of it.
So, in general, the discussion I point out here is really how the Retribution versatility is also somewhat of a weakness. All the factions in Warmachine have a way to mix in the 3 great powers to give the player options in how to deal with different enemies and situations, but not every faction can combine all 3 in balanced amounts like Retribution can, being able to have one good melee, one good ranged and one good magic part in the arm at the same time, for example, the melee could be the Houseguard Halberdiers, the ranged could be either Invictors or Houseguard Riflemen and the magic can be one or 2 units of Battlemages plus any Battlemage solos.
But sometimes, this versatility can be a weakness, being able to do 2 or more things at the same time can spread specialty thin and cause the elements of the army to be good, but not great or excellent. One example, the Invictors, they have excellent melee stat and good ranged stat, but their ranged is better than their melee and they are expensive point wise, they are also rather slow and have only average heavy infantry Defense, their Armor is good when in Defensive Line but when alone, their Armor is average heavy infantry Armor. The Battlemages are another good example, their melee and magic attack stat is the same (average 6) and so they can do either in good quantity, but their defense is only 1 point higher than the Invictors or Sentinels and their Armor is rather low, their melee damage is not bad and on a charge can cause several casualties, but they need to get the first attack or else they will be thinned out quickly.
Two great examples are the Dawnguard Destors and Mage Hunter Strike Force; the Destors have the same melee/ranged stats as the Invictors, plus 1 more point of defense and 2 more points of Armor, but their weapons are what set them off as controversial as to whether they pay back their points or not, their melee weapons can ONLY be used on a charge, and their ranged weapons are nice but not as melee, they have to sit with their ½” melee ranged weapons and, if they don’t have to move, they can shoot twice, but the damage output from those weapons is low so unless whatever they are attacking has a value of under 18 and one point of life, they can deal with it, otherwise, they won’t do much. The Mage Hunter Strike Force has average melee/ranged stats and can do either well, but their weapons have low damage and won’t do much to heavily armored foes.
One of the best known versatile pieces in the Retribution are the Myrmidons, they have average melee with ranged being one points less, their Defense is average and Armor is average too, their weapons usually have decent, but not spectacular, damage in both melee and ranged, they are happy doing either and can choose what to do, but in comparison to other more specialized warjacks, they come off as only average if not lackluster.
What does help the Retribution a lot are their good buffs, denial spells and abilities, while the Invictors have only minimal melee damage output, thanks to Flank they can do as much damage as other heavy hitters, the Mage Hunter Strike Force may have low damage, but Arcane Assassin and Phantom Seeker ensures that spells and LOS don’t bother them for killing, the Battlemages may have low Armor, but Force Barrier gives them some protection against ranged and cannot suffer blast so they can’t die from someone throwing bombs their way.
The Myrmidons may have average stats, but their abilities can ensure they can choose a specialty should the need arise, the Manticore has decent range and can shoot 3 times, but its melee output is much better when combined with its Force Generator and Combo Strike, the Hydra has low pow in melee even for warjack standards, but it makes up for it with its awesome ranged weapon ability and having Grab n’ Smash in melee, some others like the Hypnos or Discordia enjoy being characters and having 1extra point of melee and ranged, they can do either as their roles can shift accordingly for whatever is needed plus they posses nice abilities than either protect (Imprint: Kinetic field) or can disrupt the enemy (Mechanikal Seizure, Void Lock) plus be an extensions and help with our warcasters spells (Arc node, Psychic Relay).
The Retribution can mix melee, ranged and magic in good amounts and parts, but it can also choose only 2 or 1 and still do well, they may lack some specialty that other factions posses (defensive buffs, attrition, debuffs, etc.) but the Retribution, I believe, is to be played with finesse and strategy, knowing the opponent is important as it lets you tailor the army to meet that specific threat or make a balanced arms list to be able to adapt and switch roles in the middle of a battle, choosing to kill your opponents from up close, afar or any general distance.
With the addition of the new things in Wrath, and a future still ahead, I have little doubt that Retribution will be able to become the premier faction to use all 3 great powers in whatever quantity we choose, be it melee, ranged or magic, we will always have options and choices to how we want to play…that isn’t to say we can deal with everything, Stealth is a huge concern to us and we have little to deal with it except some minimal AOE attacks and only 1 in faction spray attack. Nonetheless, there will always be a way to defeat something, all one needs is practice and patience.
Lets being simple, most factions in Warmachine have a specialty that they adhere to, that’s not to say that some have just as much or more mix of the 3 great powers, but rather that some have it in either max or minimum availability, each has its bag of tricks that allow for mixing it up, but most have that part that can do nothing but one and are really good at it.
To look at it, let’s go over the 4 main factions:
Cygnar: Cygnar has always been viewed as the king/queen of ranged, having a multitude of ranged buffs, weapons, abilities and such, Cygnar is very well known for killing easily from afar and not putting itself in much danger from such great distances. But only when one looks at the other parts can one truly appreciate how well mixed Cygnar can be, as they can blend melee and ranged in good quantity and exercise melee only lists to good effect. They do suffer from not having such good melee support and buffs as other factions, but they have an astounding array of defensive spells and support buffs that allow them to reach the enemy quickly and with minimal damage, except for when the enemy can ignore these spells, then their numbers can start dropping. Their magic is mostly based upon buffing their own army, extending their threats and some magic that allows for disrupting and annoying the enemy advance and offensive. They can mix melee and ranged very well and add some minimal magic.
Khador: Khador as also, for a long time, been the overwhelming monster of melee, with units that dish out a lot of damage in C.Q.C and spells that buff that damage or increase their charge ranges, Khador can kill most anything with the right things on the board. They are not exactly as good at mixing the 3 great powers, their ranged is more support than the main method for winning (of course, with the Iron Wolf their focuses might change and become more flexible, mixing melee and ranged) and their spells are mostly buffing their own army like Cygnar, however, Cygnar may focus on defensive buffs while Khador has more offensive buffs, it also be noted that these can be used in the reverse (a good offense is a great defense and vice versa). They lack arc nodes (except the Old Witch), and so their magic has to either be from greylords, or the warcasters itself, but lacking an extension of their offensive spells, its often better to not take such a great risk unless it’s the only way possible, as it might always be in Warmachine. They can mix melee, with minimal magic and support ranged.
Menoth: Menoth is the better buffer of the 4 main factions, having buffs for most anything, damage, attack, movement, defense, offense...but they can mix it up, however, and their forte is better placed upon melee than ranged. In difference to the other factions, their units, solos and warjacks have somewhat lackluster stats; although their weapons are powerful indeed, they NEED the buffs to be able to deal out maximum damage, except for some weapons (like weapon master melee weapons with blessed). Their ranged cannot compare to Cygnar’s and they don’t have debuffs like Cryx, they can play attrition somewhat well, but I think Khador can play better attrition. They can mix in magic with their arc nodes and cause havoc among enemy lines. They can mix melee with some decent ranged and some magic.
Cryx: the only defining factor of Cryx playing mixed is in their warjacks and some solos, they do not posses excellent ranged combat and their melee is great but not on everything. They somewhat rely on their debuffs to be able to pull forward to win, and their magic can be mixed in to cause a lot of damage, they can mix melee and magic, but not ranged. They can mix melee with magic somewhat well but their ranged leaves to be desired.
Mercenaries: although they begun as simple reinforcements for the main factions, they have grown in number and power and have their own little kingdom. Something like Cygnar, the mercenaries can mix melee and ranged in good amounts and their flexibility in buffs, support and offense/defense makes them pretty powerful in their own right. They can also add those abilities for other factions, covering other factions weaknesses and allowing them to be more mixed. They can mix melee and ranged well, but only Magnus and Fiona can mix in some decent magic as they can both have arc nodes.
Retribution: the subject of this here literary piece, the Retribution have in their own right, some of the best mixes in Warmachine, they can mix melee, ranged and magic in good quantity and they have several buffs and supports for the army, in addition, they have a slight theme in ignoring and denial. They can mix melee, ranged and magic well from several parts in the army, not just from specialized parts of it.
So, in general, the discussion I point out here is really how the Retribution versatility is also somewhat of a weakness. All the factions in Warmachine have a way to mix in the 3 great powers to give the player options in how to deal with different enemies and situations, but not every faction can combine all 3 in balanced amounts like Retribution can, being able to have one good melee, one good ranged and one good magic part in the arm at the same time, for example, the melee could be the Houseguard Halberdiers, the ranged could be either Invictors or Houseguard Riflemen and the magic can be one or 2 units of Battlemages plus any Battlemage solos.
But sometimes, this versatility can be a weakness, being able to do 2 or more things at the same time can spread specialty thin and cause the elements of the army to be good, but not great or excellent. One example, the Invictors, they have excellent melee stat and good ranged stat, but their ranged is better than their melee and they are expensive point wise, they are also rather slow and have only average heavy infantry Defense, their Armor is good when in Defensive Line but when alone, their Armor is average heavy infantry Armor. The Battlemages are another good example, their melee and magic attack stat is the same (average 6) and so they can do either in good quantity, but their defense is only 1 point higher than the Invictors or Sentinels and their Armor is rather low, their melee damage is not bad and on a charge can cause several casualties, but they need to get the first attack or else they will be thinned out quickly.
Two great examples are the Dawnguard Destors and Mage Hunter Strike Force; the Destors have the same melee/ranged stats as the Invictors, plus 1 more point of defense and 2 more points of Armor, but their weapons are what set them off as controversial as to whether they pay back their points or not, their melee weapons can ONLY be used on a charge, and their ranged weapons are nice but not as melee, they have to sit with their ½” melee ranged weapons and, if they don’t have to move, they can shoot twice, but the damage output from those weapons is low so unless whatever they are attacking has a value of under 18 and one point of life, they can deal with it, otherwise, they won’t do much. The Mage Hunter Strike Force has average melee/ranged stats and can do either well, but their weapons have low damage and won’t do much to heavily armored foes.
One of the best known versatile pieces in the Retribution are the Myrmidons, they have average melee with ranged being one points less, their Defense is average and Armor is average too, their weapons usually have decent, but not spectacular, damage in both melee and ranged, they are happy doing either and can choose what to do, but in comparison to other more specialized warjacks, they come off as only average if not lackluster.
What does help the Retribution a lot are their good buffs, denial spells and abilities, while the Invictors have only minimal melee damage output, thanks to Flank they can do as much damage as other heavy hitters, the Mage Hunter Strike Force may have low damage, but Arcane Assassin and Phantom Seeker ensures that spells and LOS don’t bother them for killing, the Battlemages may have low Armor, but Force Barrier gives them some protection against ranged and cannot suffer blast so they can’t die from someone throwing bombs their way.
The Myrmidons may have average stats, but their abilities can ensure they can choose a specialty should the need arise, the Manticore has decent range and can shoot 3 times, but its melee output is much better when combined with its Force Generator and Combo Strike, the Hydra has low pow in melee even for warjack standards, but it makes up for it with its awesome ranged weapon ability and having Grab n’ Smash in melee, some others like the Hypnos or Discordia enjoy being characters and having 1extra point of melee and ranged, they can do either as their roles can shift accordingly for whatever is needed plus they posses nice abilities than either protect (Imprint: Kinetic field) or can disrupt the enemy (Mechanikal Seizure, Void Lock) plus be an extensions and help with our warcasters spells (Arc node, Psychic Relay).
The Retribution can mix melee, ranged and magic in good amounts and parts, but it can also choose only 2 or 1 and still do well, they may lack some specialty that other factions posses (defensive buffs, attrition, debuffs, etc.) but the Retribution, I believe, is to be played with finesse and strategy, knowing the opponent is important as it lets you tailor the army to meet that specific threat or make a balanced arms list to be able to adapt and switch roles in the middle of a battle, choosing to kill your opponents from up close, afar or any general distance.
With the addition of the new things in Wrath, and a future still ahead, I have little doubt that Retribution will be able to become the premier faction to use all 3 great powers in whatever quantity we choose, be it melee, ranged or magic, we will always have options and choices to how we want to play…that isn’t to say we can deal with everything, Stealth is a huge concern to us and we have little to deal with it except some minimal AOE attacks and only 1 in faction spray attack. Nonetheless, there will always be a way to defeat something, all one needs is practice and patience.
