Warmachine: Primer - Cryx - Back From The Dead

Cryx is the Nightmare Empire, fusing machines with necromancy, to create weapons and machines of war that are powered by the energies of death.

Compared to Khador or Cygnar, Cryx is an army relies of fast moving warjacks, melee combat, and cheap disposable troops. While not as heavily armoured as other armies, Cryx has the means heal, repair, and bring back from the dead models, while also featuring attacks that cause corrosion and incoporeal fighters.

Warcasters

Discerptor Eviscerus

With ARC 7, a cohort ability that allows all warjacks to heal if they kill a construct, plus is able to perform repair actions, Eviscerus is the warjack caster in the army. Those same warjacks also gain Retaliatory Strike - able to make a free melee attack after they have been hit in combat.

Eviscerus' feat keeps with the warjack heavy theme, as Boneyard allows all cohort models to Dig In (while Dig In affects a model it gains cover, Resistance Blast, does not block line of sight), and those that do get +2 SPD and a free focus point at the start of their activation. This allows his warjacks to move forward and escape incoming fire and put pressure on objectives with the increased speed and free focus.

Eviscerus further augments these benefits with his spells. In particular Deceleration provides +2 ARM against arcane and ranged attacks - making those dug in warjacks even harder to shift. Meanwhile, a dug in warjack can benefit from Redline, which provides a further +2 SPD, focus free charges, and +2 to damage rolls.

Wraithbinder Nekane

Filling the role of an assassin, Nekane is fast and hard to hit, coupled with some movement tricks like Dodge and her Grappling Hook - spend a focus at the end of the activation and move 5 inches. She also couples well with Incorporeal models, giving them +3 ARM.

Where Nekane comes into her own as an assassin is her feat, which allows her to lose a hit point so she can either cast a spell for free (this can only be done once per spell in this manner), and can take one point of damage to boost an attack or damage roll. This means in principle she is able to attack 7 times in combat, and boost each attack and damage roll so long as she has full health (it may be more than 7 since the gun she has is ROF D3+1). Alternatively, she can pump out multiple spell attack via an arc node.

Master Necrosurgeon Sepsira

A troop warcaster, Sepsira works well in conjunction with thralls. She is able to heal undead models, and has Battle Plans than can enhance undead units in the army. Her 4 close combat attacks all are able to return Mechanithralls back into play, making those units her main tool to act as tarpits on objectives.

Her feat is simple, but creates a viable threat enhanced by her spells and Battle Plans - she can summon another yet of Mechanithralls. There are free to move and attack turn.

Further more, working well with her trooper heavy tactics, she grants all her cohort Gang Fighter (get +2 to attack and damage rolls when engaging a model that is also engaged by a another friendly model). So the mechanithralls simply engaging enemies is a bonus for the warjacks in her cohort. And given that she can summon even more, this combo works well.

Warjacks

Hades

A character Warjack, the Hades is a real monster in the game. It can run and charge for free, and can move out of combat without sacrificing its combat action. It's got tusks for knocking down enemies, and a shield arm that can deal some significant heavy hits. But the main feature is the interplay of the soul manipulation abilities of the Hades and its Soul Cannon ranged weapon. This cannon can deal out damage happily to units of grunts - and so harvest souls - and using souls, can ignore LOS, cover, and concealment, making this a particularly powerful sniper.

The Hades is able to collect souls, and using them can either perform Shadow Gate - once per turn after it has hit an enemy in melee it can be placed 2 inches away. Or it can turn Soul tokens into Focus points at the start of its activation. Or spend a Soul token during its activation to turn Incorporeal.

Malefactor

The main heavy warjack chassi for Cryx, it boasts a higher defense than Khador or Cygnar equivalents, but less ARM and less hit boxes. It makes it more of a glass cannon - hard-hitting but easy to trash. But, it does get to run and charge for free, making it viable for Warcasters to have Focus left over to cast spells to enhance the Malefactor where it is weakest.

As far as loadouts are concerned, a shield and Fell Axe mix creates a beat stick that can threaten other heavy warjacks. Combined with the Berserk head, it can chew through units happily, while Dark Shroud is a good option for softening up those heavies it ploughs into. But if you are looking for a gun platform, the Spiker puts out some threatening gunfire against heavies, especially when coupled with Calamity. The Vexing Cannon, makes for a useful gun-fist combo, which thanks to Psycho Venom, combined well with Dekathus or Nekane's feat as it can plant a channeler deep in enemy lines.

Raptor

The classic death turkeys of Cryx, these cheap warjacks are not going to take down other warjacks on their own, but they do help support larger warjacks, and harass the enemy thanks to their greater speed. This of course makes a Raptor an ideal arc node (especially since the arc node can't be disabled). With the Necrovent and Deathripper head the Raptor is ideal for tearing into light units of grunts, Dodging away as they fail to hit due to the Necrovent. And if they do destroy it, the Raptor pops with a powerful acid blast.

Running Raptors as support for units couples well with Mechanithralls and Sepsira giving her cohort Gang Fighter, while Eviscerus' feat gives a host of these extensive threat ranges, opening the possibility of an assassination run.

Units

The Furies

A character unit of three ghosts, they immediately couple will with Nekane, gaining +3 ARM while within range of her - potentially sitting on an objective even. While they have reasonably powered attacks, the main role of the unit is in a support function. Mortal Fear is an aura that lessens damage dealt by living models, thus protecting Cryx's glass hammer warjacks.

The main feature though are their spells. Power of Death works well with Sespira and hordes of thralls, as they gain +2 to melee damage rolls, buffing Brute Thralls up to POW 20 for their combined attack. Stygian Abyss meanwhile can hamper enemy cohort models, in particular negating them a Fury/Focus as they try to shake Blind, and allow them to attack without giving up their Incorporeal status.

Mechanithrall Swarm

This unit of undead are an annoyance, and with the right buffs, hard to shift, and also hit hard. Thanks to Gang they gain a bonus on attack and damage rolls, and Tough means that deaspite their low DEF and ARM, and single hitpoint, they have the potential to stick around.

Their two attacks are not particularly powerful, but Gang plus Power of Death from the Furies, make both attacks POW 14. This can go higher thanks to further Warcaster spells like Calamity, and stacks even more with Evicerous' Carrion Feast. Of course, they also gain staying power thanks to Necrosurgeons bringing back grunts, and Sepsira providing more with her attacks.

Night Terrors

Another ghostly unit, and so prime candidate to work with Nekane - especially as she can keep up with them - Night Terrors are ideal for rushing heavy units and light warjacks that have been softened up by a first wave in melee, or ranged attacks. Being cavalry, they gain boosted attack and damage rolls on the charge, and against damaged models get a further die of damage. Coupled with Apparition and Reposition, the unit can quickly slip in and out of combat and cover. To make them an even trickier unit, Deceleration from Eviscerus, plus Death Ward can take this up to ARM 20.

Solos

Master Necrotech Chatterbane

As a Necrotech, he heals warjacks. Staying close to them, he is not only positioned to heal the warjacks, but also provide them with a potential free move and attack thanks to Enliven, while also providing a concealment aura around himself. Chatterbane can also squeeze extra attacks out of warjacks, making gun platform warjacks exceed their ROF.

Chatterbane also works especially well with Eviscerus, since Eviscerus is repairable, making their pair-up particularly powerful for warjacks.

Skarlock Lieutenant

Odds are you will be using Mechanithrall Swarms, and the Skarlock can give the swarm Shield Guard, so that the swarm can take the hits, thus making warjacks nearby and Warcasters better protected with these cheap, and summonable models. Its spell, Desperate Mission couples well with Sludge Thralls as they get a chance to shamble forward before exploding. Overall, though, this model should be getting stuck in at the front line against grunts, taking their souls, and then chewing through tougher opponents.

Iron Lich Commander

Another spellcaster, the Iron Lich Commander works well with Dekathus and Hades, as the Iron Lich is able shift Souls over to these models. The Iron Lich can also use Souls to enable friendly model attack and damage rerolls using Knowledge of the Damned, which can help ensure those critical charge attacks do hit.

The Iron Lich also has some useful utility spells. Hex Blast, besides being an attack, cancels spells on the target, while Invocation of the Bitterest Night makes the Lich and any model in bases to base Stealthed - a great combo for Warcasters.

Summary

Cryx has a variety of synergies that makes many units hard to kill, while also debuffing enemy units. The Cryx army favours layering up these debuffs and buffs, and thanks to various movement tricks and Incorporeal, a Cryx army can play for assassination.

As an added extra that will be discussed in a separate article, Cryx recently got a new command cadre that is all Cephalyx which brings all new options to what is normally an army of undead.