Dawnguard Destors

The elite cavalry of the Dawnguard, destors thunder across the battlefield to smash apart enemy lines or bring down heavily armored foes. Armed with lance cannons designed specifically for their order, the destors can soften an enemy from afar with unerring blasts from their weapons and then finish the job with a crushing cavalry charge. Many times it is the thundering hooves of a destor charge that deliver victory for the Retribution.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:Cavalry
• Template:Dual Attack
• Template:Reposition 3

Weapons

• Template:Close Volley

Lance Cannon
File:Gun icon.jpg		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW
		10			1			Template:-			14
Lance
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		Template:Star				8				14
Lance	Melee	RNG POW 2 14	[[:Category:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] {{Category:{{{1}}}}} [[:Category:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] {{Category:{{{1}}}}}
Mount
File:Mount icon.jpg		RNG						POW
		0.5						12

Theme Forces

• Template:Legions of Dawn

Thoughts on Dawnguard Destors

Dawnguard Destors in a nutshell

Heavy Cavalry of the Retribution, the Destors can damage heavy targets as long as they can land a charge on them. Outside of charges, they usually stay at a distance and pepper the enemy lines with their cannons. They can shoot deep into enemy lines by charging one enemy and shooting at another. Close Volley allows them to guarantee a second POW 14 attack on anything they hit with their boosted MAT 7 (8 under Vyros2) cavalry charge attacks which can demolish multiwound infantry and many of the more DEF-oriented heavies like Warpwolves and dragonspawn. Against lighter infantry they can instead attack two different targets, though the unboosted RAT 6 shot has a hard time reliably hitting anything about DEF 12 or 13.

They can also play the role of ranged skirmishers, peppering the enemy with POW 14 gunfire and then retreating to 13" away from their targets. That puts them well outside the average unbuffed charge range, as in keeping with the Retribution's style they don't really want to eat a charge. DEF 13 ARM 18 is pretty good for cavalry but not fantastic and most charging infantry at or above POW 10ish will be able to clear them out pretty effectively; the Destory Thane's Unyielding aura can help a bit but it's still not ideal for them. They don't particularly want to get stuck in melee either as it reduces them to a single RNG 0.5 P+S 12 mount attack and their ranged attack.

Combos & Synergies

Warcasters

• Elara2 - They can get a lot of mileage out of Scything Touch and from her feat's Boundless Charge and Ghostly. Marked for Death ups their range game significantly against targets they didn't charge.
• Kaelyssa - Add Blur to replicate the same annoyance as the Storm Lances. Her feat can also help them get the charge off
• Ossyan - Excellent targets for Quicken; Fortune is a good spell if you're worried about high DEF, and they get a lot of mileage due to having up to three attacks (impact, lance, and possibly shooting other targets. Ossyan's feat combined with their innate accuracy from Close Volley means they can wreck hard targets
• Goreshade4 is an all-star with Destors, with spells that reduce the enemy's DEF and remove Stealth, an ARM debuff, handing out Ghostly, and Freezing Mists helping them get up the field. Dauntless Resolve makes them more durable, especially in melee with Unyielding.
• Issyria can improve their accuracy and protect them from shooting with Blinding Light. Crusader's Call increases their threat range, Inviolable Resolve ups their durability, and her feat can drastically improve their accuracy and damage output.
• Ravyn - Snipe gives them a walk and shoot threat of 22", and if they charge a target they can potentially shoot 25" away from their starting position! Veil of Mists can grant them Pathfinder and help get them up the field, and they don't make bad Countermeasures targets due to their boxes and potentially Unyielding from the Destor Thane.
• Thyron - 2 excellent spells to help you with rough terrain and enemy upkeeps, and a feat which increases their mobility and accuracy. Keep in mind that impact attacks won't trigger Side Step during feat.
• Vyros2 - You can reach your target easier under Deceleration, and his Veteran Leader bonus will help you both at range, and in combat.

Non-warcasters

• Scyir - Tactics is a must, if you want to deliver all of your attacks. You probably wouldn't consider them without this guy. He also allows you to charge through your Wall of Steel'd Sentinels, or Invictor gunline.
• Dawnguard Destor Thane - might be appealing due to Unyielding, however, you don't really want to get stuck in close combat for too long.
• House Shyeel Artificer - DEF15 against ranged attacks on a unit that usually gets to decide when it gets engaged is great.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Expensive, large targets - which become even more expensive if you add support, especially so since said support can't be taken for free, in theme or otherwise.
• They really need to land the charge to cause the most damage.
• Consequently, anything that denies charges or melee attacks degrades them to a pure shooting unit, something the Retribution already has in spades.
• No native Pathfinder, Tactics, or knockdown immunity.

Tricks & Tips

• By walking and shooting, you have an effective range of 18". If you can't charge or don't have a good target, just advance, shoot, then reposition for a charge next turn.
• Dual Attack does not specify that you have to attack the model(s) you are engaged with. Use it to charge the enemy front line and then take shots into their support models, Command Attachments, or even their caster (though at RAT 6 without boosts that last one may be trickier).

Other

Trivia

• Released in Forces of Warmachine: Retribution of Scyrah (November 2009)
• The name of 'Destor' is likely a mild corruption of the historic term 'destrier' which was the label given to warhorses that medieval knights rode on to jousts and into battle, otherwise known as the 'Great Horse'.