Cygnar Unit Talk: Stormblades

So, while I'm testing another list that I plan to talk about we'll discuss a specific unit that Cygnar has. We'll talk about the Stormblades today, what role I believe they fill, their shortcomings and some way I've found to overcome them.

Stormblades are what I consider our hardest hitting melee unit, being easily able to reach POW 15 on an above average MAT 7. These lightning infused knights can take down high ARM multi wound infantry on a charge. Light infantry that have less than DEF 15 have a decent chance of getting killed even on a non-charge attack. However, this is just half of the firepower that they can bring. Stormblades have a shot that can reach up to POW 14 without any additional models, they however have a low RAT of 5 and short RNG of 6. This means that you would rather fight in melee rather than at range, unless you have the Command Attachment.

The Command Attachment add two models to the unit, the first is a Standard Bearer who is basically another Stormblade with a flag. Unlike most of the Standard Barer in other unit this one can still fight. The Officer is the second model and adds so much more to the unit. He gives them "Iron Zeal", a once per game ability that grants the whole unit +3 ARM and immunity to knockdown and stationary effects for a turn. He also gives them "Assault", an ability that allows the Stormblades to shoot before they make their melee attack during a charge. "Assault" doubles the damage potential of the unit, dealing an average of 7 damage per model on a DEF 10 ARM 20 target.

The defensive capabilities of the Stormblades however leave much to be desired, they only have a DEF of 12. This ensures that they will get hit by almost anything, their base ARM is just 15 so even POW 10 have a decent chance of killing them. They are also on the slower side of things with a SPD of 5, meaning they will take time to get into melee which is where we want them. There are however ways help if not mitigate these shortcomings.

First is the to use ARM boosting spells, "Arcane Shield" is a Cygnar staple but there are others out there as well. This brings them to a decent ARM rating and combined with a well timed Iron Zeal if you have the Command Attachment bumps them to an insane amount of ARM for one turn. Coupled with "Heroic Call" from Carvolo should ensure that most of them can survive to get their damage in.

There is one way to help them with their low SPD, using the Storm Division theme mean that they get "Advanced Move". After deployment but before the start of the first player's first turn the Stormblade gets to make a full advance, may not seem much but the extra 5" help put them up to par with other faster models and allows them to close the gap faster.

There are a few more synergies that you can take advantage of to really take them to the next level. The Weapon Attachments allows them to have a bit more of a ranged element, since if the Storm Gunner hits the rest of the unit will auto-hit on their ranged attacks on the same target. I find that having the Storm Gunner, who have a longer RNG of 12 can forfeit their moment to help ensure a hit on higher DEF targets. The rest of the unit can then move forward to get in range works wonders.

Laddermore can help them hit even more, giving them +1 to hit provided they are within 9" of her. The last piece that would push their ranged component to the edge would be a Firefly, by having a target within 5" of the Firefly the target will take +2 damage against electrical type attacks. Yes, the Stromblade's ranged attack can hit for POW 16.

Well, that's my take on the Stormblades. Let me know your opinion about them, I don't mind having civil discussions about Warmachine related topics.