Hey guys, I again don’t have a list that I feel comfortable talking about. I am currently playing and testing my new Maddox list but I don’t feel that I have had enough games with it to for an informed analysis. Fear not however as I do have something that I feel comfortable to talk about that is Cygnar related!
The Arcane Tempest Gun Mages and their unit attachment, including what jacks to bring with them! I figured that I would share my thoughts on these guys to help new Cygnars understand what roles the unit fills. Let’s get started.
The Arcane Tempest Gun Mages(ATGM) cost 11 points, the Officer cost 4 points. Their noteworthy stats are their high RAT 7 and high DEF 14, they have average SPD 6 and a respectable threat range. They however leave a lot to be desired for their ARM and amount of damage they can dish out on their own. The UA gives them a bit more mobility with “Swift Hunter” and a mini-feat giving them “True Sight”, the biggest thing about the Officer however is his ability to “Jack Marshal” and his “Drive: Rune Shot” which I will talk about more later. They have the ability “Attack Type” which allows them to choose one of the following three effects when making a ranged attack : “Snipe: RNG +4”, “Critical Brutal: On a crit add 1D6 to the damage role” and “Thunderbolt: Push hit target D3 inches directly away from the shooter”. Their guns are also “Magical”
The unit typically fills the role of anti-light infantry, their high RAT combined with a RNG of 14” (Base 10” + 4” from Snipe Attack Type”) means that they can often aim to bump up to RAT 9. Meaning that they have a decent chance of hitting anything with a DEF lower than 16. They can also deal with “Incorporeal” infantry since their guns are “Magical”. The mini-feat also allows them to counter “Stealth” infantry and solos. The POW 10 of their guns means that anything that will require you to roll 7 and above to kill is going to be dicey.
Now we get to the fun part, the “Jack Marshal” ability and its interaction with “Drive: Rune Shot”. Having a jack under the control of a “Jack Marshal” instead of a warcaster is typically ill advised, after all these marshaled jacks don’t get the benefit of focus. They do however get a few interesting benefits, they can run or charge without using focus, they can gain +2 to hit on top of aiming and they get +2 to their range attack damage if they aim. Marshaled jacks can choose one of the benefits each turn, this is also on top of the “Drive” ability of their marshal if any.
“Drive: Rune Shot” is where things get really interesting, this makes the jack that is marshaled by the ATGM Officer have their ranged weapons become “Magical” and they can use any of the three “Attack Types” that the Officer has, Snipe, Thunderbolt and Critical Brutal. The means that you would want to marshal ranged jacks on them, here are some of my recommendations.
Defender or Hunter, allows you to deal a single high damage shot from a good distance away using the “Snipe Attack Type”. The damage can then be upped as needed via the “Jack Marshal” benefit of +2 to ranged attack damage if you aim. You can also use the “Thunderbolt Attack Type” to push a model toeing an objective zone for a surprise scoring. Which of them to use will depend on how many points you have, Defenders have more survivability but the Hunter is more accurate. I also recommend brining Arlan Strangeways if you have points to spare or a free solo slot as being able to boost on top of the “Jack Marshal” benefits is just golden.
Avenger, biggest issue I have with the Avenger is that its slow, has a short RNG and has low RAT. When controlled by the ATGM Officer “Jack Marshal” it solves 2 of the 3 problems. “Snipe Attack Type” gives is a good RNG allowing it to aim, the “Jack Marshall” benefit also bumps up this RAT. An interesting trick is that the +2 to ranged attack damage if you aim also applies to blast damage. So if you can pair him up with a caster that has “Fire for Effect” or Cain 0 when he comes out will see you shred infantry even with high ARM.
Cyclone, this by far is my favorite. Using the “Snipe Attack Type” you can reach far, giving more opportunity to aim and allowing you to take the +2 to ranged attack damage “Jack Marshal” benefit. Unlike the Hunter or Defender however, Cyclones can get 2 to 6 shots out that all get the +2. This setup is also very self sufficient in that you won’t need Arlan or Cain 0 to maximize it.
That’s it for the Arcane Tempest Gun Mages and their Officer and the jacks that they marshal. As usual if you guys have comments or questions just let me know down in the comments section and I will try to answer them to the best of my abilities. Thanks for reading…
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