This is the first of what will be a series of articles detailing the evolution of my new Retribution of Scyrah Force. This is a ground up army so you’ll get to see the models I assemble, paint and play them. In this post I’ll go through my plan for the elves as well as what motivates me to play them.
So why the Retribution? Well I love my Khador, but when you play with or against them you generally know what is going to happen. Khador is not a “tricksy” army, they rely of sheer stats and raw power to get the job done, the quickest path to victory for them is straight through the opposing army. The Retribution however is a complete opposite, they rely on a lot on their synergies and tricks. They still have some very powerfull units but unlike Khador where this strength is bluntly applied to the opposing army, the forces of Scyrah are a precision strike force, like their fluff details, applying it where it is most needed using a wide array of abilities.
I also love the fluff behind the army, that it is not the Ios nation you are representing but rather this radical cult of hunters taking matters into their own hands in order to save what they hold dearest. The background for the elves is very subtly done and they are more down to earth then a lot of the “eldar” races you see in some games.That their gods actually exist in this realm for example; They are written in so as to provide a colourful and fascinating background yet are now a weakness and the nature of their relationship with Ios means that the elves fight not only for their gods but for their own existence.
The models themselves really impress me, especially the myrmidons who I find simple, elegant and very striking. The thigh/knee armour on the myrmidons and some of the heavy infantry makes them look heavily armoured yet graceful and animalistic, setting them apart from their human counterparts. Another defining feature is how you have the slender forms of elves which are garbed in these big chunky pieces of arcane technology, It really lets the style of the elves integrate the steampunk theme of the rest of the iron kingdoms and provides a welcome respite from the elves in other games who’s silhouettes are very sleek and delicate.
So over the past month or so I’ve been building up a small collection of Retribution models through ebay, forum trades and the like. So far this is what I have:
Adeptis Rahn
Ravyn, Eternal Light
Kaelyssa, Night’s Whisper.
Battle Mages
Dawnguard Sentinels + UA
Mage Hunter strike force + Commander
2 Unbuilt Myrmidons
1 Assembled Discordia
2 Arcanists
2 Magisters
2 Mage hunter Assassins
Narn, Mage hunter
Souless escort
I wanted to start small but I may of gotten a BIT carried away with some pretty good deals. all in all I don’t think I’ve spent over £140 on all this so quite a good deal even by maelstrom standards. A fair amount of Ret stuff has been up for sale recently, I was thinking that may be due in a possible surge in popularity after they won the gencon hardcore and now its wearing off? whatever the reason its good for me!
I Wanted to start with Rahn as he seems to be the most all round caster and I can see why; very good stats, lots of movement effects and a variety of utility spells. Ravyn and Kaelyssa follow up, I got them with a few of the deal and as they also seem pretty good that gives me 3 different casters to mess about with.
The sentinels, mages and mage hunters seemed like very solid choices for troops. The sentinels are a good frontline unit, perfect for taking that first hit and striking back. The MHSF are your classic shooty unit of doom, especially under Ravyn. Finally the battle mages are Rahn’s posse and with him they give me lots of fun movement shenanigans!
For the 2 myrmidons I feel they will become Phoenixes as for 10 points I find these jacks just too good. tools for every situation AND an arc node? Im in! Discordia seems pretty good though but with the lack of arc node I ironically can’t see myself using him with Rahn. With his shield though he will be good at protecting stealthed mage hunters.
I managed to pick up a wide variety of support. Mage hunter assassins, including narn, are just brutal and I can definatly see them getting alot of use. Arcanists as well are fantastic for 1 point and I can see all my lists having at least 1 even if it only includes 1 myrmidon. Magisters give me even more fun movement tricks and the souless will protect my units from magic attacks.