Magnus, the Patriot - a discussion of Asheth Magnus' theme lists, VERSION 2

Magnus, the Patriot

Some years ago, before I started this blog, I wrote an earlier version of this. Since then, a lot of things have happened, but the change most notable to this tactics article is that Colossals and Gargantuans (collectively referred to as Colossals from now on, for the sake of brevity) are now a part of the game, radically changing how it's played. Other than that, I've had more experience with writing and left the game for a while (having recently returned), so I'll be trying to come back with a few new/more refined ideas.

Magnus isn't the perfect caster, nor are his theme lists, but his spell list, abilities, army options, and unique take on arc nodes make him a very versatile caster, and it's this versatility which keeps me coming back. That, and I like running pretty jack-heavy.



Magnus the Traitor is a well-rounded caster: Like his counterpoint, (regular) Stryker, he does a decent job with a lot of things though doesn't excel in any one of them. Continuing the analogy, he has a decent but not devastating feat. This means he's less able to deliver single crushing blows than many, but he is able to adapt.

With a plethora of upkeeps, the Traitor can play a relatively conservative adaptive support game.



Magnus the Warlord is a finesse caster. His set of tools (outside of his feat, and shooting things with Renegades) are much more difficult to learn than his regular incarnation. Having played him now nearly as much as his regular incarnation, he's got a lot going for him, but is still not who I'd recommend starting with.

He needs to play much more aggressively than his counterpart and you'll find that, if you don't play him fast and risky, you'll be using him for little more than powering his warjacks.

NB: while this won't take in to account (other than the occasional note in passing) any of his Four Star options, much of the following tactics apply equally well to analogous choices available outside of his theme lists.

Important Note: Bad Seeds is currently unavailable in cont No Quarter 36 (and, without fluff, in NQ 40 or with their smartphone app). However, this list is completely legal in all official settings. Furthermore, as far as I understand the Privateer Press's legalese, it's fine to get a copy from a friend: the actual magazine is not necessary, as long as you have proof.

Stats

Most of Magnus’ stats are fairly average, and reflect a tough-as-nails midfield support caster who can easily switch to melee finisher.

Magnus has a low SPD, though this isn’t often that much of a problem, as he has arc nodes and can keep up with all of his favorite warjacks.

His MAT is good but not exceptional. His RAT is on the low end, but he has better means of attack than his scattergun, so this is hardly crippling.

His DEF is below average for a warcaster: it's in the range where a fair number of things can hit it with a little luck. This means he's rarely safe, especially from anything with a punch, like a heavy. His DEF is the main reason you don't want him in melee: anything that can boost or that has a good MAT can reliably start taking chunks out of him.

NB: Late game, sitting him in/on/behind a piece of DEF increasing cover with Blur or Bullet Dodger on will often force your opponent to engage him directly.

His ARM is strong for a small based caster: you shouldn’t need to worry much about him taking much damage from pot shots or blasts, and this allows him to play in the thick of it just behind his battlegroup. It's high enough to foil long shot kills, but not so amazing as to stop a well set up assassination.

His average FOC of 6 is particularly worth noting. His Traitor incarnation makes this function like 9-10 focus most turns, due to some solid upkeeps and Resourceful (below), while his Warlord incarnation typically needs to be cautious with focus, because he’s not focus efficient, and his FOC 6 means that you’re going to want to boost any time you need an offensive spell to work.

pMagnus will usually be casting upkeeps early (if not T4) and feeding his battlegroup most mid-late turns except when you need to recast upkeeps or if you get a great arc location (see Backstab below), while eMagnus will typically be casting one spell and giving focus where it's absolutely necessary to hit/damage something.

His CMD is decidedly mediocre in both incarnations, but you’ll only be fielding units with his CMD or higher, so this is mostly a null stat, other than some character.

Abilities

Both incarnations:
Backstab: while this seems like a mostly fluffy ability, considering your opponent will generally never have his back to your caster, this is actually a great ability. Both incarnations of Magnus are able to outflank opponents through their feats and spells, and notably through their Renegades. One of the many uses of a Renegade is to manage to run to the back arc of something you want to cast at, and unload a spell at + 2 to hit and an additional damage die, which is about the only way Magnus should attempt a spell assassination.

NB: while this tactic will often not work more than once for a kill, it can certainly be used to force wary opponents to deal with the threat of such an attack.

The Traitor:
Resourceful:
This is what defines Magnus’ regular version as a Jack caster. There are times when you’ll want Snipe on a ranged unit, or Blur on a chunk of infantry looking down the barrels of a bunch of rifles but, in many games, you’ll just throw all 4 upkeeps on his battlegroup and be able to forget about them for a while, since they cost nothing to upkeep. Remember that Magnus gets the free upkeep on himself, too.

A couple notes. First, Purification is becoming a more commonplace spell. This makes Magnus go from efficient to average very quickly, and it may be worth it to pull back than rely on a defensive upkeep. However, if you're casting an offensive upkeep, go for it if it makes sense: they'll be spending as much as the spell cost to cast, without costing you anything but efficiency, since you've already used the spell for a turn. The only spell I'd particularly hesitate on is Iron Aggression, which gets really expensive if you expect it to go down every turn.

Second, this does not mean Magnus likes a 'jack swarm. He has no battlegroup effects, and doesn't make them more efficient passively, so if you're using more 'jacks than you have spells, you face the same problem that regular (non-'jack) casters suffer, that you're seeing a quick drop of in efficiency with more 'jacks.

Feign Death:
If your opponent is dumb enough to knock him down, Magnus will be invulnerable to all but the luckiest and most cleverly thought out ranged assassinations, being untargetable and having high enough ARM to shrug off blast damage, but he’ll still be auto-hit in melee and basically auto-hit by well-positioned sprays. This can be activated defensively with your own Knockdown ability, with the best choice being the Buccaneer, due to no chance of accidentally damaging Magnus.

The Warlord:
Magnus’ epic form loses some strong abilities for a pretty good one- his warjack bond. Backstab is nice, but you’ll rarely actually see this ability in play. What it’s great for is the extra focus you can assign to a melee heavy you’re bonded to, as Merc jacks tend to not quite have the hitting power to clobber another heavy with 3 focus, but can often get it done in 4.

There's some notable synergy with the Galleon, here- the extra focus can be very versatile on its Gun Ports (boosting hits or peppering and boosting blasts) or to be sure your reel the target in with your harpoon.

Weapons:

Scattergun:
A decent power, short range weapon, with an unfortunately low RAT to back it up. One of the few ways a Magnus theme list can deal with stealth or cover.

Mechanical Arm:

A good attack, but only worth boosting if boosting damage doesn’t matter: a high DEF, low ARM caster is a perfect target. Against high ARM targets, there isn’t a great reason to boost this attack roll. KD is the reason to use this attack.

Foecleaver (X)
Foecleaver’s Powerful Attack ability means you’ll average a hit on DEF 17 and do 23 damage, which is pretty great, and why, against DEF 16 or lower, it’s better to boost hit and damage rolls instead of bothering to boost the lower P+S fist.

Magnus the Warlord has retooled his sword to have *Attack: Armor Piercing. With Powerful attack, it makes him a can opener, though he’ll only get one, so really only good when you absolutely need to finish off a medium/large based model that got a bit too close. The dream, of course, is to get an AP Powerful Attack against a medium or large enemy caster (backstriking and Calamity would make this even more ridiculous, typically hitting on anything but triple 1's, and doing 5-8 + 4d6 damage). However, most of the time, this will be a to take out a warjack/beast that overextended. If you can get it down past 1/3 health, usually Magnus can often finish it off with one focus.

The big problem with using this efficient sword is that Magnus's poor DEF means he's not likely to survive a retaliation from anything big. It becomes pretty worrisome, deciding to buy more boosted attacks, or relying on high ARM from focus camping. I'd usually go with the former, since you can't get his ARM amazing.






Comparison of your Mechanical fist or buying more attacks:
Statistical probability of hitting def 15 on a boost: 83%, meaning very reliable. Above this, you should probably be Black Oiling with Gorman anyway, so this is about the worst chance Magnus should roll to hit.

What it actually seems to come down to is whether you're using an even or odd number of Focus. If you have an even number, you can get off a boost to hit fist attack (possibly fully boosted with a charge), followed by your initial powerful attack from Foecleaver, and another Powerful Attack per 2 Focus- the alternative is one unboosted Foecleaver attack at the end, which probably won't do much. If you have an odd number of focus, and you aren't charging, you have a better chance of damaging (since you hit very reliably even without the KD) by buying Powerful Attack and another powerful attack per 2 focus.

Basically: if your last focus would otherwise be used to buy you an additional swing, it's more worth it to boost your KD hit roll. If your last focus would otherwise be used to make a Foecleaver attack a Powerful Attack, it's worth less to boost your Mechanikal Fist roll. This will vary based on if you're charging and how much focus is being spent elsewhere.

...Oh, and I guess the comparison should be made with Armor Piercing. That one's pretty simple: take the AP attack against things with heavy armor that you don't expect to kill well otherwise. If that first AP attack fails, Magnus is probably dead, so you're likely going to have a better chance camping focus and praying to whichever deity Magnus believes in, possibly casting Bullet Dodger if they have nothing that'll prevent Magnus scurrying away.

Spells:

The Traitor:
Arcantrik Bolt:
Standard cheap utility spell. Use it when you need to take down an incorporeal model or the like (since you don’t have much access to magic attacks) or if you’re lucky or skilled enough to get a Renegade in something’s back arc: you’ll hit def 15 on average without boosting, and do 26 damage on a boosted damage roll.

Stationary is a nice effect, but it requires a successful damage roll, and there are easier ways to get knockdown, which is pretty close to the same, though you can stack the two so an opponent will need to spend focus to shake in order to do anything the following turn.

Blur:
Bringing a light up to DEF14+ is a decent tactic, though, the best battlegroup target is probably Magnus himself, where he can, if he needs to, sit pretty at DEF17/ARM23 (watch out for things that ignore buffs). If you’re facing a lot of small arms fire, throw it on a unit. After that, Steelhead Halberdiers (who become DEF16 vs. magic and range and DEF15 vs. charges) or whatever your most valuable unit likely to be under fire is a good target. Trenchers and Idrians can get obnoxiously high DEF with this and some of their abilities. Really, this is a very solid spell to stick on your front line or Magnus, if your opponent has any ranged threat.

Iron Aggression:
Stick it on a melee heavy early on (Mangler is ideal b/c of high attack volume & reach), and send it forward, or use it late game on a ranged heavy to be sure it will hit at that critical time when you need a warjack effectively running with a half-dozen focus.

Most games, you'll want to cast this your first turn because of its cost (unless you're getting it for free). However, if you're not, you're often getting at least 3 focus worth the turn you cast it (1 for charge, 2 for boosted hit rolls), plus free upkeep if your jack survives- this makes the spell very often worth more than assigning the focus. However, my favorite strategy is just loading up whatever has Iron Aggression with 3 focus (potentially blowing all 6 if I need to cast it again) and killing something big.

Iron Aggression is also one of the only ways to boost Free Strikes. This is great news, as an Iron Aggression-ed Heavy can thoroughly threaten a high DEF piece, pinning it better than most options.

NB: Iron Aggression isn't battlegroup-only, so it makes a jack-marshaled jack much more appealing: for 1 focus a turn, you get a ton of boosts on an independent (including Rhulic) warjack, which adds a lot of flexibility. Unfortunately, the only way to jack marshal in his theme lists is Trenchers, but in 4*, he's got a wealth of solid jack marshals to help out.

Obliteration:
You’ll be spending 4-6 focus on this, depending on clearing out chaff or going for something hard. Viable b/c of Resourceful, but I wouldn’t bother unless you’re attempting to blast a bunch of infantry that strayed too close early, there's something with stealth that just needs to die (and there are no warjacks that can handle the job), or you're arcing to a back arc.

I've found that the best use for this is late game, if you've lost your heavies: it's one of the few ways to get a very solid attack in while keeping Magnus fairly safe, and you're not sacrificing other strong attacks. One of the better ways to keep your Renegades threatening.

POW 15 also puts the blast damage at a respectable 8 that can be boosted, which will threaten many wounded casters.

Temper Metal:
A decent spell, often throw it on whichever warjack is furthest up, to force your opponent to expend more resources trying to take out your “bait” model. However, Iron Aggression is so expensive to cast that I wouldn't recommend trying to cycle between the two, even if you only have one melee heavy.

Ranged heavies and the Galleon are strong targets for this. Ranged attacks will usually be weaker than melee attacks, meaning that proportionally less damage will get through (and, in the case of a Galleon, it's taking more hits, so the utility is multiplied). You don't generally want this on your primary melee heavy, since you want Iron Aggression there, and it usually won't be worth the cost of swapping it in, though it could definitely work on a speed bump Nomad.

Snipe:
Not actually that useful on the obvious-seeming Renegades, unless against a really squishy caster or you've pulled it back to safety. Use it on a Mule to get a satisfying threat range of 16-17”. There are also a plethora of CRA military rifles that can work well with it.

Longgunners are a good target: 2 18” CRA's a turn, or a whole lot of weaker shots, represents about the longest range high damage output of anything in the game, that leaves the unit relatively safe, too. You can cycle Snipe for 2-3 focus a turn, but I generally find that it's more worth it to use the extra focus on the warjacks themselves. If you're outranged without Snipe, it might be worth cycling like this.

The Galleon is an obvious choice for this spell, but I'll cover that in its section.

Military Rifles of all sorts are also a solid choice, as they've got a relatively short range but a stronger power than most.

The Warlord:
Bullet Dodger:
The equivalent use for Blur, though only on single models. Much better in 4* lists because of some really nice solos, but good on a light (particularly in a Bad Seeds list, where Chargers begin with respectable DEF) or Magnus himself: Besides the obvious defense bonus, this gives the more powerful Dodge, which makes ranged assassination a bit harder and melee assassination notably harder (though, Magnus doesn't have the DEF to make fantastic use of this ability. The way Dodge works, if something looks like it will take a lot of hits, this should be a serious consideration: a single miss will end the threat, so you've got better odds and may force your opponent to boost, lowering efficiency.

Calamity:
Due to its immense cost, you probably won't have the focus to cast this on the turn you want your battlegroup do do much else. One of the better options is throwing this on a target your infantry will be going after, on a turn where your warjacks aren't in a position to do a lot. Flanking cavalry are absolute gold, here, as they'll nearly auto-hit, and that extra 2 damage spread out over 12+ attacks matters hugely.

A spent Renegade is also great for arcing this, as it puts a much less valuable piece in danger (if you've already fired your obliterator and Calamity-ed something, your Renegade has paid for itself, so the sacrifice is fine).

Colossals have changed the field on this one. 3-4 focus to permanently lower the defenses on something that valuable is way more affordable in the long run.

I would argue that this is eMagnus's most important spell, given it's one of his only ways of making his army more efficient. This is tricky, because it's also expensive and Magnus isn't a great spell caster. Even more than pMagnus, this makes a Renegade necessary. If you've lost all your Renegades, you may want to consider blowing your feat to cast this on a vital target, as long as you can use it to properly protect Magnus.

On Calamity and your Obliterator rockets. The temptation is to cast Calamity first and fire your rocket second to benefit from the effectively increased power. This is fool's gold. You should be firing the rocket first, boosting to hit. All the rocket needs to do is hit, or scatter a short distance, and then Calamity won't need to be boosted. The reverse just makes it slightly more likely for the rocket to hit, and the increased damage isn't really worth the risk.

The notable exception to this is, if you're practically guaranteed to hit with Calamity (say, against a Khador heavy or a unit of heavy infantry) and you're really just using it to increase damage, it's worth it to strike first with Calamity, since you won't need to boost the rocket.

Convection:
This replaces Arcantrik bolt (see Arcantrik bolt for spell assassination), and makes Magnus slightly more focus-efficient, but I find that 2 focus is worth more to me than the gamble of one weak attack that might pay for half of its initial cost. However, if you’re boosting to tag a solo or something, a free focus for your troubles is always nice. See also: Backstab and Arcantrik bolt above.

Mobility:
This makes the Warlord hugely more flexible regarding position than his Traitor incarnation, however, given its cost, you'll want to be conservative and only use it if you really need to or before making contact. You will often be able to field a mostly fast/Pathfinder army because of this.

Obliteration:
This one's much harder to pull off without access to Resourceful, so is very limited in use. As above, really only best used if your heavies have folded and you need a way to hit hard while keeping Magnus decently safe.

Feats:

Hit and Run:
This is a strong late game feat for the Traitor, that can really change the battlefield: moving your whole battlegroup 15” around one flank, with no free strikes, will often throw your opponent for a loop. Against gunlines, you can just run right at them, and tie up chunks of their army with reach heavies. If you’re faster than their melee heavies, you can charge and do some damage, then pull out beyond their run range, potentially.

Defensively, this can give your battlegroup super bushwhack for a turn, if they’ve gotten the drop on you in melee (or your assault faltered): make all your attacks, then pull back out of their range. A simple trick if you've got the edge in an attrition situation (assuming your opponent doesn't have a way to make you regret it, like Nemo's Voltaic Snare) is to simply brick up with Magnus and his battlegroup, and dare them to do their worst (usually involving them needing to make a tough decision on what to sacrifice). This is something you should only do if you know threats and threat ranges well. A simple knockdown and/or good spell can ruin this maneuver, if your opponent has the right tools.

I've had a lot of games near their end with Magnus, a Renegade, and a heavy, and very little infantryBeing able to pull that whole set back and force your opponent to engage on unfavorable terms and/or with only part of his force is invaluable.

Late game, if you still have much of your battlegroup, one option is to surround an enemy warcaster with heavies- it’s quite threatening and often they won’t have the ability to trash them enough to not be left open to attack the next turn.

Things to watch out for: Basically, things that don't care as much about your positioning. This includes melee powerhouses that have little trouble dealing with 2-3 heavies that start next to them (Butcher, Asphyxious, Karchev, many of the character heavies) etc., and pieces that can either push your jacks away or place themselves (or the jacks) outside of melee (Asphyxious, Caine, etc.). This also includes things with long enough threat ranges that running back won't help you much. In this case, you probably want to either run in at them so you're on closer to equal footing, run a sacrificial heavy at them to hopefully get a kill next turn, or chuck 1-2 obliterator shots and a steam cannon shot at them to KD/kill a bunch of stuff and reposition (this of course varies based on specific compositions).

Kill Box:
The most obvious way to use the Warlord's feat is to make it so your opponent can’t advance or retreat, which can give you an extra turn of fire if you’ve got the ranged advantage, or set up good charges, or an extra turn of stabbing if you have reach and your targets don’t. The same principle applies to Croe's or Trencher Commandos at range, if your opponents can't mitigate stealth well. This is, of course, very potent in territory/objective scenarios.

An interesting option is blocking off lateral movement, and simply avoiding the paths of their charges. This gives the opponent basically no maneuverability, and should set up some good charges next turn. This can also protect flanking elements of you army. This works best if you have some melee elements, or your opponent might just run up as close as he can, guaranteeing a charge the following turn.

The third option is an "L" shape. An "L" towards you doesn't seem like much of a plan, unless whoever it is has lots of range and no melee capacity (maybe?)… I haven't found a use for it. An "L" away from you is good if you can prevent someone from getting to an objective, but gives them much more flexibility to just pull back if they want.

Things to watch out for: ranged kills: if you're close enough to use your feat, likely anything with a ranged weapon is close enough to try to kill you with it, and they'll get their aiming bonus. Place effects and pushes: There are a number of these- most are used defensively or to position a charge (which is unlikely), though some can be used more offensively to get a model close enough to kill poor old Magnus. Long threat ranges: As the feat only effects models starting in it.

Composition:

Both Magnuses run well with 3-4 warjacks, and most will start with a battlegroup something like:

Magnus
-1-2 Renegades
-1+ Melee Heavies
-1-2 Ranged Heavies
-0-2 Other Lights

(note: Bad Seeds changes this for eMagnus, this will be discussed separately in that section)

Note: I've decided to color code these entries, to make skimming easier:
Loyalist Blue is for entries that you practically can't go wrong with, and that you may want to grab more than one of.
Chump Red is for entries that aren't so hot, are niche, or aren't great to start with. There are a few of these I like, but still wouldn't recommend until you have experience and other models first.
Mercenary Green is reserved for those most stealthy of entries: things I don't particularly care about, either because they're neither essential nor bad, or because I don't have a ton of experience with them. In a number of cases, they're good, but there are better choices.

Warjacks

Renegades:
It's just too good not to take. Unquestionably one of the best Light warjacks in the game. It's slow for a Light, but makes up for this with armor, hitting power, and abilities. Its Shredder is decent, and will often only require the one to-hit boost: good for taking out hard to hit pieces, and a respectable threat to a caster.  Iron Aggression will help in insuring a properly devastating Shredder attack, making it more likely to avoid those bad rolls and more likely to crit. When not shooting or arcing, a Renegade can easily hunt solos or lights.

The Arc Node serves very different uses between casters. pMagnus uses his mostly for swapping support spells around, with opportunistic offensive spells. This is often the only safe way eMagnus will be able to cast Calamity. You'll want to fire the Obliterator first, but this is a solid option. You'll still potentially be sacrificing an expensive light warjack, but if you absolutely need Calamity on something, this is the way to do it.

The Obliterator is the flashiest part of this jack. The threat of this attack alone is good enough to often keep one in reserve until late game, as opponents will plan around doing everything they can to not let their caster get hit with a boostable POW 16 auto-knockdown.

Timing your Obliterator shot(s) is often as important as timing your Feat. Most games, you don’t want to waste them on the first turn to clear out some infantry, or to ding and slow down a heavy early game- while Snipe looks good on a Renegade, it really isn’t worth it most games. Of course, there is also the chance that your opponent left his squishy caster within 23” (Traitor)/21”(Warlord) of your Renegade (5” move, 14” range, +4 from snipe or +2 from mobility), in which case, you might be able to end the game early with just 2 focus (eMagnus can, conveniently, just barely cast mobility and double boost 2 obliterator shots). Other than this, though, you’ll want to bide your time on the Obliterators for as close to a perfect shot as you can get (perfect would be if you can KD and black oil something in charge range of a fully loaded heavy). They can be worth it to clear out some dangerous, hard to hit infantry, but this should be a last resort- they’re too good to waste on something other than a kill.

Note: Obliterator shots are one of the only reliable ways you have to ignore a colossal. Your target still needs to be an inch away, but this is often your best bet.

These three things (Shredder, Obliterator, Arc node) specialize in one theme: Assassination. Renegades aren't going to do spectacularly against big stuff, but anything that relies on good defense (or a wall of models in the way) and decent armor should be worried about your Renegades

Notes on 2 Renegades: While lots of people claim that two Renegades are necessary, I disagree-- the trap, here, is that you're overspecializing. The more you stock up on similar things, the more likely the game will devolve into rock-paper-scissors- though this isn't to say that you'll never be the rock to their scissors, it will make your matches more likely one-sided. (This is particularly true at <35 point games. At greater, there is little downside to 2+ Renegades.)

The counterargument is redundancy, which can work over multiple turns, but I don't really believe in trying to get the two shots off unless there's an incredibly vulnerable caster who just needs the KD to ensure a kill.

Notes on bonding: the Renegade is the only light warjack I'd consider bonding. It's got high durability (meaning the bond will be more likely to last), a large and high POW AOE (meaning you may want to boost multiple blast damage rolls), and a decent melee attack with Sustained Attack (meaning you'll be very efficient with those extra focus).

Melee heavies:
Magnus’ old personal warjack (the Mangler) is solid, especially with the discount in his epic theme list. Iron Aggression), will clear out any infantry that gets too close, and a heavy with reach, a good armor, and a fairly good P+S is great. With pMagnus, Iron Aggression makes this a very good choice. With Magnus' Agenda, the theme bonus makes them only one point more than a Nomad, so it's probably worth it. Recently, I find myself wanting the extra 2 points for ranged options, and taking a Nomad. The exception is when you have a low volume of attacks and few dedicated melee pieces, in which case I'd encourage a Mangler.
Magnus tends to run a little infantry light, so reach-chain-thresher, potentially with all boosted attack rolls (

Nomads are good and cheap, and have nearly the durability and damage output of a Mangler, but without thresher, which is a big loss with Iron Aggression, and a small loss elsewhere. They're fantastic for their price, and when I play other armies, I find myself wishing I had the option to take a Nomad. They're the only warjack I've bought three of. See above for a comparison on when to take a Nomad, vs. a Mangler.

I really can't recommend these no-frills heavies any more highly. I run one in almost every list I have, because they've got such a high threat for minimal investment. I usually use them as a threatening countercharge right behind my first line and right in front of something more expensive than it.

Also, they've got one of the nicest poses around- get one of the old metal kits if you can. I wish more WM minis looked like this guy.

Freebooters are useful for power attacks and speed, however, they're a bit light on ARM and need a proper setup to become a serious threat, so, especially for new players, I'd recommend a Mangler or Nomad instead. A finesse piece, where Mercs usually aren't lacking for tricks, but power.

I'm not saying they're terrible, but I've never gotten great mileage from one, and love the Nomad (which costs the same).

Ranged Heavies:
Mule: A decent secondary melee warjack with a gun with an amazing critical* and a short range. I
used to love taking one, and had it in almost every list (especially with pMagnus), but they have lost a fair amount in the new meta, in my opinion, as a Colossal counters just about every strength it has, relegating it largely to anti-infantry. Furthermore, the Galleon does a fantastic job at range, which lessens the value of a Mule by comparison, since it can also put out and take a ton of damage in melee.

In short, this one's probably best around 25 points: smaller and you don't see a ton of infantry, bigger than 35 and there are just too many good counters.

It does have a place fighting colossals, with Snipe, because you can potentially arc over the Colossal to attack the support behind it, but it's far from stellar, still.

*Note: Crit Dev is throw damage, not blast damage, meaning Solid Ground, etc. do nothing against this damage. Don't let your opponents tell you otherwise... they will. Also, there have been numerous errata on this one- be sure you're playing the throws correctly.

Mariner: Okay, I'm through deriding the pirate 'jack. I had always thought of it as a worse Mule, but it fulfills a different role. With Snipe and boosting, it can threaten almost any soft target (solos, cav, lessers, a damaged light) in the game. Given its power, I think these are the ideal targets for it to take out, with a little precision fire. Snipe also gives it a little more freedom to position, meaning that you should be fine with loaders, as long as you took a decent amount of infantry to start with.

Late game, it's got nearly the same punch as a Nomad and more than a Mule, though less reach. The big thing to not about it is that its defensive stats are pretty terrible: it's just barely tougher than most lights. It doesn't have a ton of staying power, so, once you switch it from sniper to melee second, it probably won't survive past that.

Under eMagnus, Calamity can help its punch, and his feat does nearly as much to help it survive as Snipe, so it's also a decent option there.

I'm not saying it's great, but if you're fighting an army that relies on some light weights, it's definitely worth considering.

Rover: Having played this a bit, I'm going to have to recommend a pass, at least outside of Mangled Metal. It's just not good enough on its own. It's got a high volume of attacks (but a Mangler and Mariner easily have more); it's got good armor (but Manglers are almost as high and Nomads are tougher by point); it's got a gun (but the Mariner and Mule have better ones). The other problem is it doesn't have reach, meaning it isn't even that good as a front-liner.

About the only place I'd suggest this is in Mangled Metal, and even then only if you already have a reach heavy. It's a good alternative to a Mule, where the durability and range are worth more than a strong AOE.

Lights:
Buccaneer: good to set up the kill with a knockdown shot, and very cheap. There's the trick with Feign Death, but that isn't worth 3 points on its own. The Buccaneer will most often be competing with a two point solo for the last three points in your list. It's notably the only maritime jack that doesn't have its role filled by something similar and (IMHO) better.

Talon:
Okay but, since it's not what you go for first, you're usually spending 1-2 more points for a Renegade,1 more point for a Vanguard (similar offensive potential, more flexibility), 2 more points for a nomad, or have enough warjacks already. Good for a single good charge (powerful charge means you likely only need to spend focus on a charge), but there are often better options. A very solid support choice in Bad Seeds, discussed below.

Vanguard:

Good, but Magnus generally doesn't need Shield Guard in small games. Good if you have the points and want to run jack-heavy, and Assault is a very useful ability, for that extra range and ignoring melee penalty. Some people swear by these guys, but I've never found them particularly amazing. They're high on my list of "need more exp."

Colossals

First, every fluff entry and picture has the Galleon with Magnus the Warlord, yet it can't be taken in Bad Seeds, which would have benefitted incredibly from it, but PP didn't bother to update the theme, dooming Bad Seeds to struggle despite being a really interesting list. There. Had to get that off my chest. Moving on...

I really don't like that PP made Colossals, but since that's where the game is going, we might as well use ours.

Because it shouldn't be overlooked, Colossal rules:
Defense:
You can always attack it, and usually with no defensive bonus. This doesn't matter a ton, because it's got an embarrassingly low DEF, though it does mean that forests don't block LOS to it.

However, it can't be Disrupted, Knocked Down, or made Stationary, and can't be moved by your opponent. Note: there are tons of other effects that can hinder its movement or force it to sacrifice something. Be aware of these, because it'll probably get hit with all of them if possible.

This basically makes it a rock, for good and bad.

Offense:
It has Pathfinder and Reach- Reach isn't very special for Mercs, but Pathfinder is really nice, since we don't have any other Pathfinder Jacks (other than through Mobility).

It also has Sweep (i.e. Mega Thresher), great with Iron Aggression for obvious reasons, though it'll usually have Temper Metal up at that range.

It has the regular power attacks and Strike (slam while standing still), none of which are too exciting, just because raw damage output will usually be better: this isn't a finesse piece.

Shooting while in melee: you can do it, but at the sacrifice of melee attacks and without the ability to Aim. Special conditions with the harpoon cannon, though (below).

Galleon
On to the model, itself. In short, this thing is a beast.

First, the boring bit (defense). Temper Metal is decent (though you'll often want to upkeep a strong offensive buff unless you know you'll get smashed), Blur is near-useless, and Bullet Dodger fails because it can't move out of activation, and, reminding, smoke does nothing for something this big. Not a lot going on, here. Unlike most Colossals, Galleon has uneven arcs. This means that you can protect the stronger left arc arc by turning it away from the attacker.

Gun Ports: No-frills small blasts with solid range. One set on each arc, so, if you're peppering an area, you might want to be careful about positioning. Mostly I've used these without any focus to blast whatever I want to, sometimes boosting blast damage to peel off solos. Without support, they're nice backup but aren't very reliable on their own.

Note: If you want to know in advance how many shots you have, fire once on each side, since you don't need to fire all of them at once.

Harpoon Cannon: This thing is great. I'll always be boosting my hit and damage on this one, because it's so useful. The wording on Drag means that you can fire a volley of Gun Port shots and Harpoon something, then get a free melee attack and buy more.

Effectively, if you're already in melee with something, you can sacrifice 4 POW and 1 accuracy (instead of using its claw) to generate 2d3 blasts,or you can pull another target into melee, then continue hitting what you were engaged with.

This is a bit of a gamble, since, if you fail your initial attack, you're losing your other stronger melee attacks, which is why I boost if there's any threat of failure.

Also worth noting is, until you start buying attacks, you can attack in any order, for instance: shoot once on each side (to determine how many shots you get), drag, free melee attack, continue barrage, buy melee attacks.

This also makes his effective charge range against anything but a huge base equal to his MOV+RNG (5-9" further than charge + reach).

Because of all of this, unless running, I'll always be putting 3 focus on the big guy (or four if I can spare it with eMagnus).

Remember! You can't drag colossals or battle engines, despite the wording on Drag suggesting otherwise.

Weaknesses:
Yes, there are some.

Anything that shuts down his guns will make him little more than a very tough Heavy with a few good rules.

Huge bases aren't vulnerable to his best ability, and his harpoon is pretty mediocre without the special rules. Often, though, you can just keep pouring a barrage of light blasts around the huge model, peeling off solos etc., though you'll actually be hoping for a miss.

By far the scariest thing, though, is an offensive upkeep like Crippling Grasp. This is your #1 priority after protecting your caster- you should be doing everything you can to stop this, since it's your biggest investment and, unlike in Four Star, you have no upkeep removal.

Synergy:
pMagnus has some very solid options. The best I've found is Snipe until close, then Temper Metal, running Iron Aggression on a heavy to peel infantry off of it. Iron Aggression has its place on the Galleon, with Sweep and because you'll only be using focus to buy attacks, too. Basically, don't run Blur.

The Galleon will make Magnus play even more conservatively than he usually does, just because of how slow it can be.

Two notes: Magnus's Feat has no effect on the colossal, and yes, T3 does allow you to place a CD-sized wreck on the table.

eMagnus: Calamity and Killbox work well with any options that have Reach/ranged attacks, a high volume of attacks, and/or enough durability to not get taken at range. This is more a factor of the Galleon being a strong model than of any particular rules that work well together. The potential fourth focus is nice, though.Note that, unlike Hit & Run, Mobility does work with the Galleon.

With more games, I've actually found that the biggest things the Warlord brings to the table are knock down (from his Renegades) that provides a massive number of auto or near-auto hits, and the extra focus from the bond, because that last hit is often what you need to kill something.

I've taken the Galleon more often with eMagnus than pMagnus, mostly because eMagnus has fewer focus to throw around, so you want to be sure they do the most they can.

Building your army around the Galleon:
I always try to take a Nomad (or something heavier) to run an early threat in front of the Galleon. The Galleon just isn't incredibly durable, and a little more threat/distraction will either keep it running better (if they go after the smaller target), force their first strike against something less valuable, or provide a secondary threat (if they leave the Nomad alone).

Other than this, just consider it to take the place of two heavies and plan the rest of your army like normal.

Units

Most 35 pt Magnus lists will only have room for 2ish units, so it’s important to know your options. You’ll generally want self-sufficient units, esp. with eMagnus, but don’t be afraid to Snipe or Blur them (note: this means pMagnus likes units with ranged capabilities which, conveniently, are mostly what he can take.

Boomhowler & Co.:
A solid tarpit: good melee, med. bases so no tramples, 4+ tough, reveille, and an officer with 8 wounds and good enough armor that it matters, mean they make a fantastic tarpit. They’re good, and are priced as such, but can easily serve as your only unit/only melee unit, while Magnus and his battlegroup dance around whatever they’re holding up/killing. A solid choice, if just taking one unit.

Recently, I've been using Rage Howler to great effect, and it's a really nice way of protecting your front line, since -2 to hit (without any test to negate) can hurt a lot, and a chance at incapacitating units is just gravy.

Blur on the unit or Bullet Dodger on Boomhowler can increase the survivability of the unit a lot, and will turn them from tough to tough and dodgy. Definitely a good option if you're using them to absorb fire.

These are one of the few tarpit units where I feel that a minimum unit doesn't lose a ton: I love the maximum unit, but if you're strapped for points or cash (they are an expensive unit), or are having trouble positioning them, a minimum unit is a solid option still.

Croe’s Cutthroats:
Magnus offers them some support: Obliterator Rockets are arguably the biggest help they get, since they have terrible RAT, and KD allows them to hit reliably at range, and Snipe/Killbox help them stay a little safer until they switch to full-on stabbing. (Note that their range is short enough that a Mule's Devastation may actually throw the target out of it, so not very reliable even if it works.) One of their big flaws is a pair of terrible defensive stats, though: they're low enough DEF that many attacks can still pretty reliably hit them, and blasts and other things that don't require hits are almost guaranteed to kill them, and even Blur won't do a lot of good for them. This is then paired with only decent accuracy at best, on a unit that is priced as elite.

About the only place that I'd suggest taking them is against an army with a fair amount of low DEF beasts and/or heavy infantry, unless you want their attack power to rely on Obliterators and their targets not having Steady (but also being able to take an Obliterator shot and live... and be living targets). I expect they'd do well enough against Skorne or Trollbloods, and some Warmachine lists involve a lot of heavy infantry (though this depends more on local meta), so they're situationally useful if you know who you're fighting when you field them.

A note: If you manage to get the enemy caster in range and knocked down, they'll be able to put a ton of hurt on, with poison and the insurance of killing spellcasting from Croe's pistol.

Ultimately, they're expensive and fragile, though. If you're learning the ropes, stay away from these guys for now: the biggest problem is, in small games they're too expensive, and in big games there are often lots of things that will be good at killing them. I'm not sure I'd ever take the full 10 of them in a remotely serious environment.

Note #2: Croe's are one of Magnus's few odd-pointed options. If you're considering taking them, they'll often fill the same slot as something worth 6 points, so they look a little better in that light.

Idrians & UA:
First, I want to re-emphasize this after the title. You shouldn't be taking these guys without their UA- they're mostly just expensive Riflemen with pathfinder (and without the Steelhead trait or re-rolls) without it.

The meat of this unit is their UA, and, specifically, Prey. +2/+2 will be enough to make most things hurt, but add +2/+2 for Calamity and again for CRA/CMA and pairs be reliably hitting and doing mid-20's damage, twice (with Assault and Battery). Until you get comfortable with them, I'd suggest running them as opportunists, going for Lights, Solos, or small units. They're a very solid counter to most opposing AD models, and it's worth noting that they immediately choose a new Prey. For instance, if you're in the middle of making an Assault and Battery action when you take out a prey, you can immediately swap in a new one for the charge. Taking on smaller Prey targets will make them much more flexible, since you can keep changing things up if they succeed.

Go to Ground should be used during the second turn, probably, since that's when the most of them will be alive but you're still seeing more gunfire than melee, but that obviously depends on the game.

Snipe helps them a lot, as does Blur. Ultimately, they're expensive, but versatile, so useful.

Of note, they (along with their less flexible cousins, Croe's Cutthroats) are your only Pathfinder+AD units, if you're finding yourself outmaneuvered.

If you do use them without the UA (about the only reason for this is for the tier benefit, in my opinion), a minimum unit will be a decent skirmishing line, either harassing a flank or acting as a speed bump, depending on terrain and the enemy army.

Longgunners:
Snipe makes them work pretty well and Killbox can protect them for a turn, given their high RNG, so the Magnuses are far from your worst option for running them. A min. unit can run interference on one flank, a max. unit can dish out damage, and the UA provides one of the few anti-stealth and field control abilities the theme list has access to. Their biggest flaw is needing to be static for best offensive capacity.

Don't be afraid to split up those CRA's. For instance, below ARM 17, two five-man CRA's are about as accurate and will do more damage on average. A fun trick against high DEF casters (or other fragile targets) is, if you've managed to cripple their defense (with an Obliterator KD, for instance), just start pelting them with single shots instead of CRA's. I'll eventually need to figure out the values for these and post them.

Also, there's definitely a good reason to split off a couple smaller CRA's or single shots if there are grunts or solos nearby. Obliterator shots can work quite well for them: it'll often be advantageous to just riddle a surviving model full of near-auto-hit single shots than do bigger CRA's.

Not my first choice. They're very expensive for low durability and need some hand holding to get good use out of them. The other problem is, especially with harder targets, their higher end shots just aren't amazing. You're paying for range more than power.

Trenchers:
I misunderstood this unit for a while. Offensively, you've got a ton of cheaper and/or better units. They're okay in combat, but what you're buying is Dig in and Smoke: a minimum unit can deny LOS to an 18" stretch of table. They're too expensive in a small game because you won't be attacking with them often (or, sometimes, ever), but a dug in smoke wall is very difficult to get around, and is ideal for protecting vulnerable expensive pieces like solos or cavalry. Bonus points if you combo them with Boomhowler, so they can't be trampled, either.

These have notable synergy with eMagnus, since their main vulnerability is getting charged, and eMagnus's is needing to be very close to use his feat well.

On the Officer and Standard: You're not getting a ton of return. About the only jacks they can reasonably marshal are some of the lights, but that makes an expensive unit even more-so. Adding to their offense is also not very useful: again, there are better options for a strong offense with Military Rifles, so you should take one of those instead. Cautious Advance would be great if they could use smoke, but they can't, so it's only protecting themselves, and I'd rather protect what's behind them.

On the Grenade Porters: Never buy a maximum unit. These guys are exactly as expensive per model, and are more flexible attackers and give you more point options. Usually I'll only invest in these if I have a spare point, because two of them will likely be worse than one solo or upgrading a 'jack.

NB: one combination I've particularly liked is a brick of Halberdiers (Set Defense weakening charges) Trenchers (Smoke, Blur, and/or Dug In give them good defense against range, and Smoke denies LOS); and Boomhowler & Co. (medium bases deny Trample and some LOS, ARM and Tough make it hard to chew through; Rage Howl can mess with enemy offense). It's very difficult to go through, and will protect about anything that you need protected. The only problem is, if it's been overly successful, you'll need to figure out some tricky maneuvering to avoid clogging up your own attack. This block will typically cost 16-20 points, a bit pricey, but every element is capable of offense and defense, and I've never actually had it wiped out.

Steelheads:
This is a situation of “go big or go home," and Magnus doesn’t have a lot of free points, so they’ll usually be the only units you take in 35 point games and under, since it’s a big investment to get them to all work together.

Cavalry:
These guys are a wrecking team. Halberdiers' Reach, combined with their Flank, will mean that you can have one trample over 3-4 infantry, and then take half the health of a Light or take down a Solo. Three of them will often take out a heavy. Simply put, they're okay without Halberdiers, and amazing with them.  They have high threat ranges, high volume of attacks, and are both accurate and hard-hitting with Halberdiers, meaning they break the mold, as jacks of all trades, and masters of each. If your infantry is missing some punch, I can't recommend these guys more highly.

While you could in theory get a very long charge with these guys, I much more often prefer to use them kind of like a second-line heavy, and wreck anything that hits my Halberdier line instead.

I most frequently just field a minimum unit. A full one is a large investment and tends to scare your opponent into dealing with them. However, once your opponent realizes just what sort of chaos these guys can cause, you'll need to get better at defending them.

Note: Flank does work with impact attacks but doesn't work with Assault attacks. Also, don't forget that all cav get +2 to hit on a charge (on average hitting DEF 16 for 27 damage).

Halberdiers:

Cheap and surprisingly accurate/powerful on a charge, and high defense when receiving one. They're a great target for Blur, which means that the only attacks that have a good chance of hitting them are pieces walking in to melee or things that probably involve far too many resources being devoted to your fodder troops.

It's worth noting that, even unaided, Powerful Charge and a 3+ man CMA will do enough to threaten most casters and heavies, and seriously damage or take out most lights and solos.

Set Defense and their low point value means that you'll often be using a unit of these guys to absorb charges, though you'll want to remember to protect a few if you've got cavalry.

In my opinion, some of the best cheap infantry in the game, and one of the best front lines you can buy for cheap. I'll regularly put 6-8 points into these guys.

Note: many games, if you're fielding these with Cav, you'll be sacrificing their attacks to run them into position as portable Flank homing beacons. Get used to only a couple of them making charges of opportunity while the rest run. It's more than worth it.

Riflemen:

I don't have a ton of experience with them, but they're basically the mobile ranged element, that competes with Idrians and Long Gunners. They've got very average stats and no particular defensive ability, though the combination of their rifles' power 11 and the ability to re-roll misses makes them respectable threats: Even with a minimum unit, they've got enough power to threaten lights and casters or dent heavies.

They're really about as average as you can get. They're not amazing, but you're not shooting yourself in the foot for using them. About the only exceptional part of them is that they're a little overpriced for a full unit.

Solos: 

You’re down to your last few points now, and the question is what solos to take? (Usually the answer for me is "More infantry or better 'jacks," but these guys definitely patch some holes in Magnus's lists.)

Brocker:
Obviously good with Steelheads, especially if there's enough terrain that it would clog up your charge lanes. When I take him, he's usually the pivot for my Steelhead block, and he fortunately not so essential to your forces that you're too worried to send him after a juicy target.

Some people take Brocker as a harassing speedy/tough solo. I haven't tried this out, but it seems like throwing Blur or Bullet Dodger on him and running him up a flank would be the best plan if this is your tactic. I'd think that a Talon would often serve the same role but tougher, or Kell or Midwinter could do similarly well for a lot fewer points.

Gorman:
Great: can debuff defense or armor, and can buff/shield with smoke. A fantastic utility solo, who will usually protect stuff for a few turns then run in and blind/rust something at point blank, to make sure it hits (though he’ll usually die the next turn, so hope he’s done his job). If you can get him to the front, he'll wreck your opponent's day before going down.

I used to think this sneaky little bastard was basically a given, but, with judicious use of Calamity or Iron Aggression, the accuracy/damage output benefits he provides aren't necessary (though are fun to stack), and Magnus doesn't have very many ways of helping his defenses.

Synergy: he works great with Boomhowler's Trollkin: send one off and try to get it knocked down near the caster (take free strikes) - Gorman will reliably hit them, and the splash will blind your real target. If you don't get them knocked down, if the real target doesn't have reach, you can stop barely out of melee and still catch them*, and Trollkin getting hit in the back only need a 5 (3 if aiming)

3" AOE - .5"(melee range) - 15mm (1/2 base) is still a little over 2/5"


Kell:
One of the few magic attacks you have access to, and a good one at that. Stick him in some terrain to the side and annoy your opponent with 2 long ranged magic snipes a turn. He usually survives long enough to make his points back twice over: a solid choice if you're lacking magic, range, or a better plan for what to do with 2 points. He's one of your best answers to 1-wd infantry, though won't lose much value if there's none to be found.  

NB: unless you need exactly 1 point of damage, vs. ARM 15 or less, rolling damage is worth the risk, instead of taking the one auto-damage.

Midwinter:
One of the few ways to fight magic (Null Magic), Stealth (through targeting a nearby non-Stealth piece with Chain Lightning), and non-Magic-immune enemies. A good but squishy utility solo that covers some holes in a typical Magnus list. I would not take him first, but he has his uses. Without ranged attacks or an Arc Node to take him out, this can completely shut down many casters/magic solos on eMagnus' feat turn. Remember, he doesn't need LOS so he can hide when using Null-- if you opponent doesn't have any good ways of bouncing damage past it, hiding him behind the Galleon or a forest is a great option, though a wall and some guys in the way will do in a pinch.

Orrick:
Most of the time he gives your army Pathfinder or an accurate rifle shot, with the occasional ability to mess with beasts. Utility over any of the above depends on the presence of beasts and terrain. Unlike the other three 2-pt-ers, he's got a good defense and MAT, so he can hold his own in melee.

Over All Composition (as aspects and a whole)

Note: most of this applies in principle to Bad Seeds, with notes where appropriate.

Jacks:
Despite differences in their abilities, both Magnuses run best in very similar lists. 3-4 Warjacks, as stated above, is optimal for pMagnus' Resourceful and feat, and eMagnus' Mobility. I'd tend to run eMagnus slightly more melee oriented, as he's more reliably speedy and doesn't do much for range (only threat range).

pMagnus will probably top out at 4-5 warjacks in larger games, while eMagnus tends to top out at 4, and is probably more comfortable at 3.

Given how the presence of other colossals have changed the game, I'd be wary to run with fewer than two heavies, preferably 3 at 35+: SH cavalry hit just as well, but it takes much less concentrated force to start taking chunks off of your cav's damage output than your jacks'.

Colossals:
This changes things a lot. A Galleon will is a very solid anchor (no pun intended) with either version of Magnus- more flexible with pMagnus, and potentially devastating against a single target with eMagnus.

It's pretty boring, but a Galleon patches up a ton of holes in Magnus's armies, and is a very solid choice at 35 and even better at 50. Again, I don't like Colossals, but, since we have the tool, no reason not to use it.

A Galleon will easily replace your heavies in small to medium games, though, in larger ones, I'd still want at least a Nomad as backup/speed bump.

Two Galleons is something I haven't tried yet, but I've got something in the works for that second one.

pMagnus will work pretty nicely with them. He doesn't really need Renegades (they're just a great deal in his theme list), and can just slap upkeeps on them early (Snipe and either Temper Metal or Iron Aggression, depending on what you're fighting), and, with free upkeeps, can just hand out 6 focus a turn. This isn't the best double-Galleon list, though. If you want to run two with Magnus, that's fine, but there are other casters who can get away with the same combo but with better results (Fail Safe, and Batten Down for instance, are head and shoulders above Temper Metal). Also worth noting is that his feat will be nearly useless instead of just lackluster.

...for the record, 41 points is the minimum number to get two Galleons into T3 (or 48 for T4), if you really want to clog up the board with giant wreck markers...

 eMagnus doesn't want two: he just isn't efficient enough and can get better use out of other pieces.

Ranged:
Snipe helps pMagnus a lot in running a lot of ranged pieces, but he doesn't do it amazingly. Alongside the Renegade(s), at 35 points, I would tend towards at least one heavy hitting ranged element. The best cheap option, in my opinion, is Kell and a Mule. Expensive, and the Galleon is the obvious choice.

eMagnus has no direct support for ranged infantry, other than Killbox and Calamity (which a canny player can use just as well in a melee army). However, Bad Seeds' access to Rangers and Master Gunners for high accuracy, and Chargers and Defenders for straight damage, makes for a potentially very powerful ranged list.

eMagnus will always be taking Renegades, so you might as well get more use out of that KD rocket- I'd suggest taking at least one ranged jack with the Renegade, even if it's just a Vanguard.

Tough:
You've got cheap heavies and Boomhowler's wall of angry trollkin. If you want to run tough, just max Boomhowler's and take as many warjacks as you can reasonably fit in your army. That's it. Barring terrible luck, Boomhowler & Co. are going to be good in melee, good at stopping opponents in their tracks, and probably around long enough that they'll have always paid for themselves in kills or holding the line. A Galleon or Nomad spam also work well as a tough element.

NB: Bad Seeds doesn't really have a tough element, so varies in this way from Most Wanted and Agenda lists.

Melee:
The duo of Halberdiers and Cavalry hits like a truck, and Boomhowler is no slouch in melee. If you like them, Idrians and Croe's also get the job done with a little more versatility and flare. If you're running a melee-oriented list, a Mangler is a very strong anchor/threat with Iron Aggression, as one can go toe-to-toe with both infantry mobs and most heavies. If you have enough anti-infantry, a Nomad will suffice.

NB: Bad Seeds' only serious melee threats are warjacks and flanking Sword Knights- these are both cheap enough that it's possible to run a decently smashy melee army in Bad Seeds.

Solos:
All of Magnus' solos are pretty good at helping your army, through assists, plugging holes, or just killing stuff efficiently. I'll always reach for Gorman first, as he's great for all of Magnus' kill approaches and protecting one model a turn. After this, 1-2 solos is about all that's safe to take, as they're squishy (except Brocker, who's expensive) and take away from your infantry and Jacks. There aren't enough solos to talk about running a solo horde, and they don't do enough raw damage to bother trying to make it competitive. If you look hard, Magnus' very limited solos can do anything you want, to fill about any gap: Gorman assists kills; Kell has long range, multiple attacks, and magic; Midwinter has anti-stealth (within limits) anti-infantry, and anti-magic; Orrick gives pathfinder; Brocker is tough, has multiple strong attacks, and is a commander, besides his unique Steelhead abilities.

Really, within reason, take as many solos as you want: there aren't many, and they all help your army.

I've preferred running few to none recently, but I've never regretted taking up to 2.

Notes on potential trouble matchups/elements:

Terrain heavy board/Circle-caliber board manipulation: 
eMagnus will have no problem with negotiating terrain, but pMagnus is a bit on the slow side. You can take Croe's, Idrians, and/or Orrick to navigate, but if you focus on range, you should be able to sacrifice your front line and use some cheap, strong melee elements as a second line.

The Galleon changes this in larger games, though, and is almost an auto-include when I approach 50 points.

Stealth:
You've got up to 2 obliterators if you need them, but this is the primary reason I take a Mule with pMagnus. The Galleon, too, laughs at most stealth infantry. Midwinter can help in a pinch. In the case of Bad Seeds, Commandos.

You've also got plain old Halberdiers, which are disposable and have set defense, which makes the Stealth Alpha Strike far less rewarding. Sword Knights fulfill a similar role, though less effectively, in Bad Seeds.

Incorporeal:
You have Midwinter (in combination with anti-stealth and anti-magic, Midwinter is generally a good choice against Cryx), Kell, and 2 arc nodes. Since Magnus doesn't want to wast focus on spells, I consider Kell or Midwinter strong choices, for just such an event. Kell has more raw damage output, but Midwinter can do more damage if he's lucky (though shorter range and less accurate) and has other functions. I prefer kell, but either is useful.

Anti-jack: 
Magnus' jacks are fine spreading out or clumping, as necessary. Intelligent positioning in reaction to the opponent's army is key, and both Magnuses have a way to react well to poor positioning.

Anti-infantry:
The core of your army should be your battlegroup. Your infantry is your ablative armor, so if they're going after your infantry, they're playing your game, though you should be extra careful about protecting your solos and cav.

Super heavies (the best character heavies, Colossals):
You out-threat a number of them, and both feats can be used to get that necessary first strike. Your best options in many circumstances will be:

-avoid the threat (not always an option)
-Flank infantry (Cav, Sword Knights)
-Nomad spam/Nomad Speed Bump
-Iron Aggression + Heavy
-Arcing fire
-Galleon... Smash!

Maneuverability:
Your feat (in either case) should allow you to get the drop on your enemy or salvage a bad situation. Furthermore, Snipe and Mobility should help keep you at a healthy threat range.

Upkeep Removal: 
This is really your nightmare, as pMagnus. You'll need to play more conservatively, and won't be able to rely on defensive upkeeps, though you may want one up if they like upkeeps, too, to force them to choose to take both out. This doesn't matter much for eMagnus

No KD and/or immunity to AOEs:
More and more, blasts are less useful against anything but infantry and solos. The best preparation is avoiding overspecialization.

Victory Conditions:

Magnus primarily relies on himself and his battlegroup. If you can keep them and Gorman going when near the enemy caster, you've likely won already.

Ranged assassination: Pretty simple, if you're taking Gorman and he's close enough, start with a blind bomb from just outside melee range to autohit, then (or, first, if he isn't) double boost an Obliterator shot, then throw as much ranged fire as you can in. If you happen to also have a nice CRA still alive, now would be the time. Against tougher casters, this won't necessarily kill them, but they'll be hurt, knocked down, and can't cast spells or shoot (blind), and shouldn't be able to reach you in melee, though they can overboost, heal, etc. More and more, this seems to be how I'm getting my kills with Magnus. All three of his theme lists can cater to range, and specifically flexible ranged units. Combined with Renegades (for arc nodes or obliterators), a Magnus gunline is a mobile and viable option.

Assisted melee assassination: same setup as above, followed by a charge, preferably from a heavy or some cav, but most things will be hitting and doing reasonable damage with a charge's boost. Against light-medium casters, a Renegade with Iron Aggression may do the trick quite nicely.

Magnus melee assassination: probably more viable with eMagnus than pMagnus, due to mobility's extra 2 inches for a charge. Against high def targets, start with a boosted to hit fist to auto-KD, then go to town with unboosted Foecleaver attacks. Otherwise, just make as many powerful attacks as you can. The above assists, of course, help. This is, without a doubt, the least safe and probably least intelligent attack run. I'd only suggest it if you're running out of jacks or your other tactics have failed.

Spell assassination: Magnus isn't much of a spell slinger, but backstabbing Arcantrik Bolt or Convection through an arc node is viable against weaker or already hurt casters- the optimal 2 damage boosted shots will do an average of 24 damage to an ARM 14 caster, or more impressively, 18 damage to an ARM 17 caster (which would be enough to kill lighter casters overboosting or overconfident medium weight casters). Gorman-renegade setup is, of course, helpful.

Note: I've played very little against Hordes, so don't know how well some of these tactics will work against warlocks, but the principle is there, and there should be enough damage to do plenty of damage. I wouldn't recommend charging Magnus in, but the others are pretty safe attack runs for Magnus.
Note: in Bad Seeds, Rangers (and possibly Master Gunners) will replace Gorman's role in assassinations, though, obviously this does nothing for melee or magic assassinations, unless an Obliterator shell KD's your target.

Attrition: against a balanced list, if you've played your units and a bait heavy right, by mid-late game, you should have wiped out many of their heavy hitters, have more warjacks intact than they do, and hopefully have at least one obliterator shot and a utility solo left. With the speed of either Magnus' battlegroup, you should be able to completely reposition most of your remaining force in a turn, so the top of your next turn will allow you to concentrate your force from a new direction. If you can, save your feat for a late game reposition, as, once both armies have been whittled down a bit, it's much harder for your opponent to respond to a rapid shift in position.

Kill box: you can use this for scenario wins pretty effectively. It's also worth reminding you that the Mangler's punching spike is also an open fist, so it's possible to throw or slam a key piece off an objective and feat to secure victory in most circumstances. It relies on a critical, but the Mule's steam lobber works for this, too.

Optimal Tier sizes:

Most Wanted
T2 is reasonable at 25 points, but will generally push out a solo or two you want. At 35, you'll get solos, but squeezing in other units will be tricky unless you take a small battlegroup. There are plenty of good reasons to stop at T1, such as wanting a bunch of solos and Boomhowler's.
T3 is no different than T2, really, since you'll basically always want to run Magnus with at least 3 jacks.
T4 is extremely limiting at 25 and not recommended. It's definitely possible at 35, but, again, will dramatically limit your options, basically to solos, unless you want to skimp on warjacks. 50 points will give you all of the benefits, with some room for flexibility. Note that, aside from protecting against the occasional long assassination run, this doesn't do much other than get you started faster, so, while very nice, is not necessary to reach. There are some people who love their their 2 renegades, and if you're one of them, then there's little reason not to aspire to T4

This list runs well at any size, though will not have much flexibility 'til 50, and probably start maxing out of options around 75 points.

Magnus' Agenda
T2 is reasonable at 25, and will allow some flexibility. I would not recommend going beyond this, especially as a new player.
T3 is very difficult to meet and actually benefit from below 35 points.
T4 Not reccommended.

Okay, so, I'm not convinced of any of the upper tiers. However, there is a reason to take T1. If you're playing a moderately large game (35+), Trenchers work pretty well with him. If you're not taking trenchers, there's no reason other than pride to take this instead of Four Star, since the bonuses aren't great, and your other new unit options aren't particularly unique.

Let me repeat for emphasis: unless you've got a lot of experience, Four Star is better. Agenda is clearly a product of very early theme list construction and has a lot of flaws: the following isn't proving how good the list is, but showing how one could salvage a poor design, if you want a challenge. (Bad Seeds is a whole different and mostly not comparable.)

I actually almost exclusively play Agenda at T1: I treat it exactly like it was in 1st edition- a mini-contract (that now just happens to have cheaper Manglers). This is generally what I'd recommend.

The following is temporary until I try it. I wrote off the higher tiers, but think there might actually be value to them. Rather, I think it may not be insane.

The theory of T4: Strike fast and hard, control the board. You have a ton of fast-moving, independent (partially because of how they function, partially because of Magnus not having much to cast for them) units. All three required units have ranged attacks but are better in melee. You also have two strong but mostly disposable warjacks. After this, the next necessary piece is a Renegade, mostly for protecting Magnus while casting Calamity, and the Idrian UA to make them a credible threat.

What you're gaining from taking higher theme levels is, in theory, unpredictability and having a very fast turn: you don't have any necessary spells and do have a lot of AD, so you can just run screaming at the enemy, which would be good for board control with Killbox in scenario play

At 35 points, you just don't have a good reason to take T4: if you do, you'll either be running both Idrian units without a unit attachment or without any Renegades. 36 is theoretically possible. The principle is there, though, at Tier 3. Without the mandatory Manglers, you have 19 points to spend on a Renegade, a Heavy, and either a second heavy or a Vanguard.

At 50 points and Tier 4, you have the above 36 point army, with 14 points of flexibility (yeah, I wish it were 18, too).

If playing balanced, I'd probably go with a Vanguard or Trenchers (for protecting Magnus during his feat) and put the remaining ones into either full Boomhowler's or min and a solo.

If I wanted all out offense, the answer would be obvious to me: 14 points of Halberdiers and Cavalry.

Both could benefit from his feat and Calamity, and there isn't a lot else to take with him.

Dropping to T3 @ 50 opens up a lot of options and is probably a better choice. A Galleon instead of the Manglers (or at least one) would be where I'd start, though you also have a lot of room for units at this level, which would benefit from Pathfinder for an aggressive first turn.

Bad Seeds

I've separated this, partially because it came out after I had written on Magnus' other themes, but also because there's some strong variation between this list and the previous two. However, much of what’s available in his theme list has been written on above, so I’m only adding new stuff, with the occasional note on changed roles.

This variant allows you to play an “oldschool” Cygnar army, with about the only bits missing being the Ironclad and field Mechanics, but that might have been asking for too much. Also, it's interesting, much of this list fulfills very similar roles to his Agenda list, but is much better constructed. Therefore, I will be discussing changes largely in relation to the roles of his normal list.

Addendum: Bad Seeds does not get access to the Galleon. This is bad news, and means that there's a very large hole in the Bad Seeds list, that was less of a concern before Colossals became a threat across from you.

Warjacks

The staple Renegade, Mangler, Nomad, Rover, and Mule, are still here. The Mule gets some more accuracy, and the Rover's role is slightly improved by being the most durable model you can take, now, but it doesn't particularly change how I see them.  and the Talon gets some new life as a Flank beacon. Ranged elements all get bonuses from the Artillerist and/or Rangers, which will give automatic bonuses (i.e. ones without rolls required), similar to Gorman.

Without a Colossal, and with the threat of them across from you, until I get more experience, I'm going to suggest that a minimum of two melee heavies should be in any mid-sized list or larger- probably Nomad Spam is the best answer. This also makes Calamity even more important, so you'll want at least one Renegade.

The Mariner is replaced with the slightly more expensive and superior Defender (but only one). You get much better stats, cortex damage, and independence (no loader). This is an overall improvement, and shines with the newly available Rangers. You also lose thresher and AOE 3, but, really, if you're taking a heavy for thresher, you're reaching for your Mangler. Steady is rather situational. It's worth noting that a Defender also makes a solid melee piece, often with effective P+S 17 (with cortex damage), and the highest MAT warjack Magnus has access to. The only real drawback is lack of reach and being slightly pillow-fisted against Heavy beasts. A good choice if only taking one heavy, in my opinion, and still solid if you're taking more.

As with the Mariner, I consider its gun better at handling middle-weight threats rather than heavy ones, though Bad Seeds has access to more accurate rifle firepower than any other Magnus list. A question to consider is whether you'd prefer one Defender or a Nomad and a Charger for one point more. For me, this will often be answered by whether I have an even or odd number of points left over, as they're pretty equivalent choices.

The Vanguard and Buccaneer are replaced with the Sentinel and the Charger (no, the Charger has no real similarities to the Buccaneer except for efficiency... just that there are similar quantities of options).

Since Magnus doesn’t have a lot to do with his focus in many turns, the Charger and its focus-hungry
dual powerful shots are a welcome addition to the list, and single shots are a great use of that spare focus. Chargers, in the current meta, have dropped a bit, as you're more likely to see Colossals, which will just laugh off boosted 12's.

Personal note: This little guy has far more caster kills under his belt than he has any right to.

The Sentinel is okay, replacing the shield guard capacity of the Vanguard. Not great, but Rangers and Calamity at least make its random attacks more likely to hit. One option for his Feat protection.

Jack Marshaled Warjacks

This is worth a separate note: unlike either of the other themes, Bad Seeds can make fairly good use of jack marshals. The Sentinel doesn't really need any focus (though could benefit from one) and the Mule really only needs one, if you're just using it for range. The Talon also can get by with one.

The combination of Sword Knights (flank and pronto) and some low-need jacks means that Magnus, who's often going to find himself focus-starved, can make a lot of use of some secondary jack-marshaled warjacks in larger games.

(more notes in the Sword Knight entry)

Units:

Trencher Infantry are all that are kept. Still mostly only a decent option even in larger games.

Croe’s cutthroats are replaced by Trencher Commandos as stealth models who are good in melee and have ranged attacks. I’d call this an improvement, as, for the base 7 points of Croe’s, you basically get one more model with a spray, and the option of short-ranged AOEs. Poison is replaced with anatomical precision, which means they’re better against infantry, worse against bigger stuff. I'm starting to think these guys are a solid answer to a lot of the theme's problems: their short range AOE's can cut through most stealth and high DEF infantry and has regularly taken down heavy infantry with a heavy enough barrage, and they're good enough with knives to stab anything that has other defenses at range. Rangers notably synergize well, for RAT 7 sprays. These guys pull their weight as multitaskers.

Steelhead Halberdiers are replaced by Sword Knights. This is a fair trade, you loose some threat range and defense for more survivability and a lot more punch potentially. They have two distinct roles:

Benefitting from T4, Ambush does some brutal things, as they're currently the most resilient Ambushing unit in the game, and the only with access to additional damage dice. They suddenly will now almost certainly get the first attack, can attack behind enemy lines, reposition with Magnus’ feat protecting them from reprisal.

You have the potential to attack an isolated component of your opponent's forces but, unless they're sloppy, you'll usually be forced to run your Knights on their ambush turn, in order to threaten your opponent's back or flank, ideally on your Killbox turn. Some forces will easily dispatch them, while others will be bogged down, particularly if they have trouble with typical infantry masses: 13DEF/16ARM is not amazing, but is pretty great for a 4/6 unit that's coming in from a difficult angle to counter. If needed, for pathfinder, Saxon Orrick can Ambush alongside them, otherwise, he's fine where/whenever.

I believe this unit is great when entering late game, when most other infantry have been ground down, to put some serious pressure on, or to simply get in the way, without enough enemies to clear them out. For 4 points, you get a cheap little unit that gets in the way, while, at 6 you can swing the game much more dramatically, with a lot more bodies. Considering they can’t marshal when ambushing, the UA is decent for its points (allows you to pick damage location, and move through each other, which can give some easier placement options when ambushing), but I’d go for a full unit first, and don't consider the UA essential.

Note: Flank does stack with back strike, for some very accurate attacks.

Using them as a line unit, the UA is a solid choice, but I'd still go for the four extra guys first. Without the UA, a Talon is probably your best choice for a jack marshaled warjack, since you really only need the one "focus" for a charge, with the free accuracy bump and setting up flank.

With the UA, you can also use Pronto to move while retaining the aiming bonus, or move, shoot, and pronto back or position for flank: the Sentinel works well here, and marshalling a Mule has serious benefits: Pronto means it can take advantage of the aiming bonus, and it can be used for Snipe, too. This is a pretty costly maneuver, in my mind, but another solid option.

Notes on Defensive Line: very often, it isn't actually a great idea to take advantage of this. You should be paying close attention to the power of the attacks coming in. If there are enough AOE's that have a decent chance of damaging them, it will often be better to spread these guys out, or at most pair them up.

Idrians and (sort of) SH Riflemen are replaced by Rangers, which, in my opinion, is a trade up. They have less damage output capacity (especially against anything heavier than basic infantry), but buff all of the ranged elements in Magnus’ army, including those all-important Obliterator shots, and the swanky new Defender he has access to, and are cheaper, to boot. Remember that they can buff their own unit's shots, for some RAT 8-10 close-range fire. A trick Cygnaran players already know well is running a single grunt, out of formation and in to the heart of the enemy army, which is often worth the loss of some rifle fire.

Longgunners are (sort of) replaced by Trencher artillery.

Canons can deliver accurate punches (which hit at POW15 under Calamity), though I prefer Chargers' durability and boosting, for one more point. Really, the biggest reason I'd want to take one is it doesn't require focus.

Chain guns can add board control (in theory, a pair could be particularly useful under Killbox).

Remember that the loader can fire his rifle. I started taking this pair for their looks, but it turns out that, as long as you have reasonable expectations, and, especially with the Rangers you'll likely be taking, they'll chew through medium infantry, and have a decent chance of plinking heavier things.

It's also worth noting that, if there are absolutely no good targets, they can do a decent job blocking charges or line of sight game (remember, though, that Dug In doesn't block LOS).

Boomhowler and the Cavalry are your biggest losses. Sword Knights can fulfill similar roles (durable for the points and your hardest hitting infantry), but don't excel like either of the units they're replacing. With the additional loss of the Galleon, this means that Bad Seeds won't likely win a protracted fight, except by out maneuvering.

Solos:

You lose Stannis (without access to Steelheads, not much of a loss) and Gorman (a bigger loss, as you lose his smoke protection and his assassination enabling).

Kell: Kell gets one hell of an upgrade: He benefits from Rangers’ +2 to hit, and is free(!) with them. Not who I’d pick first, but free is free.

Orin: His main competition, Kell, is already taken for free. This means you get access to more magic attacks, taking some of the pressure off of Magnus. His role doesn’t change, though. Much of the time, especially in smaller games, even if you're taking 3 jacks, it won't necessarily be worth it to take him if you're tight on points (obviously, this assumes you're not trying to get to T4).

Orrick: Ambush is a very nice ability, and he’ll likely be appearing with his armored buddies, ready to give them Pathfinder. Ambush gives him a much better role from new placement options of, when not handing out pathfinder, picking off back field support (or even pegging something more important: RAT 7 + aiming and/or back strikes is nothing to forget), and DEF 15 (usu. w/ concealment, if playing him right)/14 ARM with health means he'll probably be able to take a few shots, or more power than your opponent wants to divert. If there's little terrain in the way of your Sword Knights, I'd place him separately, to take down pesky solos and support pieces from potentially opposite flanks.

You get access to the Trencher Master Gunner: this somewhat replaces Gorman’s role, of making your Obliterators more accurate. He replaces general versatility with some more combat prowess, for late game. He can also, in tandem with Rangers, can get a Renegade or Mule up to RAT 10 without much trouble, and POW +2(added after calculating blast damage)/RAT 12 with Calamity (though, there's a decent chance you used an Obliterator shot to set up Calamity), and RAT 14 if aiming. It's worth noting that Close Fire protects against damage, but friendlies will still get knocked down by an Obliterator, so they better be going after it, and not needing to move if they want to attack afterward.

Bad Seeds Tiers:

T1: If you’re not interested in Cygnar minis, don’t take the list.
T2: This is great. It makes your obligatory Obliterator run easier, and gets you a good solo, for taking a good unit, and has built-in synergy. You should take this, unless you have a very good reason not to. …Like, uh, you just want Sword Knights and Cygnar jacks, but aren't interested in better accuracy for said warjacks, magic shots, or getting your Sword Knights to the enemy faster. I guess. Or something. Oh, or you might not have the models and don't want to proxy. There, that's one to consider, I guess.  T2 is very easy to meet, and you get a 2 point return for spending 5 points. Well worth it at any point level.
T3: This was a big misconception for me. Most of the time, this just means you can cast mobillity and Run any size of jack mob, or sit on your Focus, however this can work very well if your opponent goes first and overextends their forces (i.e. just gets them within 18" of your line, which is typically outside the functional threat range of a Magnus army). You conveniently have just enough focus to fully load a charger (or partially load up other ranged jacks), boost a calamity, and run anything else. Your opponent will often want to push to engage, as to not get shot up with what is often a ranged advantage, but this can leave them open for a nice opening blow. T3 is easy to meet. Again, you'll want 3 warjacks normally, so, it's a question of whether 2 points is worth a solo and free focus your first turn. Possible below 35, easy at 35, recommended but hardly necessary.
T4: Magnus’ big problem of no real anti-stealth tech is solved by an ambushing melee unit. It’s a squeeze at 25 points, but can be worth it, since it's pretty well-rounded and has some real synergy even at that size, and more than worth it at 35+, when you can have a slightly more flexible army. Ambush is very strong, but not necessary. There are more notes on the changing roles of SK's in their entry above.

From Mangled Metal on up, this list does great things for eMagnus. It starts running optimally at 35 points, and you'll feel like you can take what you want at 50 points (its peak, in my opinion). Above this, the threat of overwhelming armor is serious, and I wouldn't recommend it.

NB: The sole reason I would not recommend this list is it takes a minimum of $70 of non-merc pieces to field T4, and will probably take well over $100. It is much more affordable for a Cygnar player to branch out to this than a merc player. However, this list is the most fun I've had playing Warmachine or Hordes in years, so, if you have the extra capital or just want to invest in a niche army, by all means, do so! It has some bad matchups, but is a very fun and pretty well-rounded army.


This is much better than Magnus’ Agenda list. It eliminates the worst problems of his regular list, and provides some nice benefits. It's much more well-rounded, requires fewer points to get to the good benefits, is nicely balanced, has a few strong support options, and you're not paying too much for any of it. The only serious loss is the Galleon (if my opinion wasn't clear above).

Notes on play style:
With Rangers, a Renegade, Kell, Orrick, Midwinter, and probably one or two other ranged elements to his army, Bad Seeds will potentially run circles around melee armies early game, with Sword Knights to mop up. Against a middle of the road ranged list, stealth/prowl will make sure you're fighting on your terms most of the time, however, armies with Snipe, Gunmage UA/Black 13, or plenty of AOEs will potentially cause your army a lot of trouble unless you take enough jacks, because it's very easy to focus on a lot of independent light infantry.

Bad Seeds' Bad Matchups:

I used to have a whole bunch of text here, but have reconsidered.

Bad Seed's biggest threat is your own overspecialization. You run a mean ranged list, and can easily end up making an army with no melee other than a couple ranged heavies.

This leaves you open to a ton of threats, including things that ignore conventional fire (ex: stealth, choir), heavy armor, things that outrange you or outmaneuver you.

The answer, in my opinion, is taking 1-2 more melee heavies than you'd prefer. Nomads are cheap and some of the best 6 points you'll ever spend. Even taking one will give you a more credible melee threat and durability. They're not incredibly efficient, but they're completely worth it when you need them.

Small games will be more likely to be unbalanced, but still following this rule should minimize bad matchups even in them.

Bad Seeds doesn't have some of the great ranged tools some armies have, so it will never be top dog at range, so it's better to generalize than overspecialize in something you can't be the best in.


In a setting that allows for two lists, I would compliment this with either:
-Most Wanted: this can deal with most things that can give this list problems other than protection against mundane attacks, as it tends to have a bit heavier armor and more of a melee orientation, as well as better defensive buffs. Also, of course, the fun character overlap bit. While you can get some mileage out of characters, Most Wanted isn't reliant on characters when push comes to shove.
-Rhulic Casters: though, admittedly, I don't have a vast experience with our eastern, vertically challenged brethren, from what I can tell, they will play radically differently than Magnus, going for heavy armor and attacks over light skirmishing ones.
-Highborn: if you want two lists with Cygnar influence, Gun mages have a ton of strong counters to most tricks protecting against range, and Highborn has absolutely no overlap with Bad Seeds, regarding character restrictions.
-Damiano: again, not much experience, but heavy armor cracking is something this list lacks.


After this, the other contracts/themes all have their specializations. I would suggest going for something with better armor and some heavy warjacks, with a more substantial melee component, and preferably easier access to magic attacks than Bad Seeds. Lots of options will work, here.

Mangled Metal/15 point games

I realized that this wasn't covered before, so, discussing the options:

pMangus: Damiano's character jack, Rocinante, appears very solid with Magnus, so there is a very real reason not to take his theme list now, but, due to the cost reduction on Renegades, which you'll probably always take at least one of, the theme list is certainly worth a look. I'd say a Mangler (Iron Aggression target, 'til it goes down), Mule (snipe), and Renegade ('cause), is the optimal combination of range and melee power, and not many casters can run 2 heavies and a light anywhere near as well as Magnus at this point scale (there are, of course, exceptions). All of his upkeeps are free, so, unless you find a need to swap them around, cast them early, and have fun assigning focus to make your giant metal friends attack better.

I'm considering replacing the above Mule with a Rover in Mangled Metal, as the additional ARM & RNG seem worth the loss of AOE and Reach. (Similarly, it's worth noting that, outside of the theme list, the Mangler and Mule can be exchanged for a Nomad and Rocinante, which certainly seems viable, as the only thing you really lose is the critical devastation, when playing without infantry.)

A second alternative is Renegade x2, Nomad, Vanguard: I haven't tried this yet, but it seems very flexible. The melee-emphasized version that gets you four jacks is Renegade, Nomad x2, Talon, which will get you about the most armor you can, and the Talon can assist or block charge lanes as necessary. I will be testing these at some point, and they're currently just theory.

A third option: Galleon and Buccaneer. This isn't a nice list. It's not the meanest ever, but it's still a very nasty one. The Galleon loads up on focus and Magnus gives it upkeeps, possibly swapping between two since he has the extra focus. The Buccaneer is there to get in the way, assist if possible, or just game the scenario and stay alive so your opponent will need to fight Magnus directly, if the Galleon goes down. Don't play this list unless your opponent is being a jerk or knows what's coming.

eMagnus: It's worth noting that eMagnus has just enough points to run three Manglers, if you want to try something fun that he can't run incredibly well. I'd probably lean towards the same Renegade-Mangler-Rover combination, though.

I'm still on the fence with the Rover. The main reason I'd want this is that it's better in melee than a Mule and that the loss of the AOE is less problematic without infantry. It's about as good as a Mangler (again, no infantry makes thresher less exciting, though reach is a serious loss) but notably has a gun, meaning it's got the edge with flexibility. I think it's probably the only place I'd be likely to take a Rover.




With his Bad Seeds list, you get a radically different set of tools. You lose access to Privateer jacks, and a few others, but gain access to Chargers, Sentinels, and a Defender. The addition of Colossals has, as described above, put a lot of hurt on Bad Seeds, but you should be able to put out a decent amount of damage in a small game.

In the same vein as pMagnus' well-rounded list, the Renegade, Defender, and Nomad fit perfectly, and will provide some nice threat ranges. This has notable advantages over the Renegade-Mariner-Mangler combination, as you gain range and staying power, accuracy, and cortex damage, while only losing some attacks that are largely better against infantry (thresher, AOE)… in fact, the Defender's stats are all the same or better than the Mariner's, except for P+S, which is one lower, but it causes one point in cortex damage per swing. (This is theory for now.)

If you're having trouble with armor, two Nomads and a Defender will give you a less flexible but stronger and tougher list. If your opponent has decided that bringing a colossal to a 15 point game is fun, this is the best answer I have for it.

Outside of theme, you could run exact same list but with Rocinante, which I'd probably perfer.

25 point armies

A new section, in progress...

I don't really like giving advice on how to build your army only one way because of how much play style will affect list composition, and you may end up fighting your own list if you listen to other people's advice as anything more than a general suggestion (for instance, I have a way of gravitating towards ranged tactics, no matter how few guns are actually in my army), but, here goes.

Most Wanted

T4 is a little tight, but you can do it at 25
Magnus
-Renegade
-Renegade
-Nomad
Steelhead Halberdiers (10)
Steelhead Cav (3)

...gets you 20 points and T4. The rest really depends on context:

Solos: Gorman gives the assist and smoke; Kell provides reliable magic weapons; Orin has anti-magic (and is who I'd least recommend if you're not that experienced); Brocker gives your infantry some support and is a powerful hitter in a pinch.

Upgrades: I'd used to start by upgrading the Nomad to a Mule, but feel the Mule has lost a lot of power in the over all meta recently, and now would be upgrading it to a Mangler instead. I've gotten a bit more respect for the range on the Mariner, but would be worried about its durability as the only heavy.

Adding more: If I wanted more than a solo or two, I'd go for SH riflemen (since the list doesn't have a non-single-shot Snipe target) or a Vanguard (same reason, only if you're worried about Magnus getting shot to bits


Durability as a theme works pretty well. Something like
Magnus
-Renegade
-Nomad
-Nomad
Boomhowler & co (full)
SH Halberdiers (full)

This list has a lot of hitting power and durability but some serious issues from neither having ways of increasing speed nor having a decent amount of long ranged weapons- it'll handle other bricks well, but will frustrate you against speedy armies like Circle. It is, however, often where I start list construction for larger forces, because it's a very solid core.

Taking the same concept in a different direction, dropping a Nomad will give you similar options to the first list, and the first thing I'd recommend is adding a good target for Snipe. The other option is dropping Boomhowler & co to a minimum unit, which will run almost as well and give you another few points of play for stuff you really want to take.


In both cases, you'll probably want to throw Blur on the Halberdiers to make them particularly hard to hit. In the former, you've then got surviving Halberdiers as homing missiles for the Cav; in the latter, both units combined make a fairly aggressive tar pit. In this case, it may make sense to lead with Boomhowler if your opponent can blast light infantry without caring much about hitting.