Post by mcns on Aug 5, 2015 17:03:32 GMT
Air Caste have always been my favorite subfaction. However, with the 2015 releases and the MTI 2015 document, I didn't think Air Caste had a great place for competitive play.
That said, with the Forsaken 2015 book out, I think the Air Caste have a stronger place in the meta game. I say this because Air Caste were previously a "shooty" army that was significantly outranged by the other shooty armies (namely, Forsaken and Outcasts). Since both the big armies that emphasize shooting have been reworked to have lower range attacks, I think the Air Caste is in a better place. To whit, let's look at some ranges before and after the Forsaken book update and compare them to Air Caste:
Old Forsaken
Coils - RN 12 PW 6x2
Coil DiskMaster - RN 12 PW 6x2 [two dice, RF 2]
St. Mark - RN 16 PW 10
Arsenals - RN 16 PW 4x2 [BL(2) (or 6x2 BL(1))]
New Forsaken
Coils - RN 8 PW 4x2
Coil DiskMaster - RN 8 PW 4x2 [one dice, RF 2]
St. Mark - RN 10 PW 10
Arsenals - RN 10 PW 4x2 [BL(2)]
Air Caste
Yovanka - RN 10 PW 5x2 [RF 2]
Whisper - RN 8 PW 4x2 [RF 2]
Guard Slave - RN 12 PW 4 [RF 2]
Lightning (Foci) - RN 8 PW 6 [BL(2)]
******
Compared to the Old Forsaken book, Air Caste was significantly outranged and their guns did less damage than the average Forsaken attack. Now, the ranges are much closer, though the Air Caste tend to have an advantage in RF 2 over their Forsaken counterparts.
It should be noted that while the extreme range of non-template attacks was lowered, Forsaken still have and gained some new very nasty template attacks (Firestorms, St. Isaac's Centipedes, and St. Mary should be noted). While this is something to keep in mind (particularly when the model with a ST attack is on hold), I think smart play with Slaves, the Tornado psychogenic, and smart use of terrain (via Aerobatics) can let you overcome these models. The Forsaken did also gain a new, IMO, "best shooting" model in St. Isaac's Ajax form. However, while he can get a RN 16 range, it costs him quite a bit of AP to get there and we still have Shifting Crosswinds to help mitigate extreme range (particularly from one model).
I think what worked for the Air Caste in 2015 (mostly revolving around Elementals and their shenanigans) still works. However, I think a gun line can be a viable army for Air Caste again. For instance, off the top of my head, the following 500 point list doesn't seem like a bad place to start for a gun-line:
Yovanka
- Tornado
- Ride the Wind
- ::Match-up dependent Foci::
2x Whispers
1x Wail
2x Disc Slaves
4x Sling Slaves
Tornado is designed to zone people away from an area and/or go after models with Medic/Restoration/etc/etc. The Wail is there to sap AP from large models that don't care about the slave/Whisper shooting (giving Yovanka time to get a crazy Gang-up bonus and murder it). Everything else shoots and scoots, poking the enemy while scoring objectives.
Any thoughts from fellow AC players?
That said, with the Forsaken 2015 book out, I think the Air Caste have a stronger place in the meta game. I say this because Air Caste were previously a "shooty" army that was significantly outranged by the other shooty armies (namely, Forsaken and Outcasts). Since both the big armies that emphasize shooting have been reworked to have lower range attacks, I think the Air Caste is in a better place. To whit, let's look at some ranges before and after the Forsaken book update and compare them to Air Caste:
Old Forsaken
Coils - RN 12 PW 6x2
Coil DiskMaster - RN 12 PW 6x2 [two dice, RF 2]
St. Mark - RN 16 PW 10
Arsenals - RN 16 PW 4x2 [BL(2) (or 6x2 BL(1))]
New Forsaken
Coils - RN 8 PW 4x2
Coil DiskMaster - RN 8 PW 4x2 [one dice, RF 2]
St. Mark - RN 10 PW 10
Arsenals - RN 10 PW 4x2 [BL(2)]
Air Caste
Yovanka - RN 10 PW 5x2 [RF 2]
Whisper - RN 8 PW 4x2 [RF 2]
Guard Slave - RN 12 PW 4 [RF 2]
Lightning (Foci) - RN 8 PW 6 [BL(2)]
******
Compared to the Old Forsaken book, Air Caste was significantly outranged and their guns did less damage than the average Forsaken attack. Now, the ranges are much closer, though the Air Caste tend to have an advantage in RF 2 over their Forsaken counterparts.
It should be noted that while the extreme range of non-template attacks was lowered, Forsaken still have and gained some new very nasty template attacks (Firestorms, St. Isaac's Centipedes, and St. Mary should be noted). While this is something to keep in mind (particularly when the model with a ST attack is on hold), I think smart play with Slaves, the Tornado psychogenic, and smart use of terrain (via Aerobatics) can let you overcome these models. The Forsaken did also gain a new, IMO, "best shooting" model in St. Isaac's Ajax form. However, while he can get a RN 16 range, it costs him quite a bit of AP to get there and we still have Shifting Crosswinds to help mitigate extreme range (particularly from one model).
I think what worked for the Air Caste in 2015 (mostly revolving around Elementals and their shenanigans) still works. However, I think a gun line can be a viable army for Air Caste again. For instance, off the top of my head, the following 500 point list doesn't seem like a bad place to start for a gun-line:
Yovanka
- Tornado
- Ride the Wind
- ::Match-up dependent Foci::
2x Whispers
1x Wail
2x Disc Slaves
4x Sling Slaves
Tornado is designed to zone people away from an area and/or go after models with Medic/Restoration/etc/etc. The Wail is there to sap AP from large models that don't care about the slave/Whisper shooting (giving Yovanka time to get a crazy Gang-up bonus and murder it). Everything else shoots and scoots, poking the enemy while scoring objectives.
Any thoughts from fellow AC players?
