Precursor Knights

File:Mercenary Logo.jpg File:Cygnar Logo.jpg

Template:FH2 Template:FH3 Template:FH2 Template:FH3

A Cygnaran order dedicated to the warrior philosophies of the god Morrow, the Precursor Knights are sworn to honorable combat and dedicated to guarding the innocent. Protected from fell magic by the blessings of the ascendants and from the weapons of their enemies by heavy armor and locked shields, the Precursor Knights wield their blessed maces against the unholy terrors that threaten all of mankind.

These holy warriors emulate the example of their god and march to war preaching His word. Leading units of blessed Precursor Knights, these officers and their standard bearers bring light to the darkness of war. They preserve the souls and bodies of their comrades from rapacious undead and destroy the wicked with righteous fervor.

Basic Info

Mercenary - This unit will work for Template:Cygnar Partisan.

• Template:Partisan

Abilities

• Entire Unit
  • Template:Shield Wall
  • Template:Sacred Ward

• Officer only
  • He has +1 MAT and 5 HP.
  • Template:Officer
  • Template:Morrow's Name
  • Template:Tactics (Template:Practiced Maneuvers)

• Standard Bearer only
  • Template:Standard Bearer
  • Template:Take Up

Weapons

• Leader, Grunts, & Officer
  • Blessed Mace - 1" reach, P+S 12 melee weapon
    • Template:Blessed
    • Template:Magical Weapon

• Standard Bearer
  • Template:Unarmed

Theme Forces

• Mercenary
  • Template:Flame in the Darkness. They gain Vengeance in this theme.
  • Template:Operating Theater (only if controlled by a Cephalyx Dominator)
  • Template:The Irregulars

• Cygnar
  • As Mercenaries they can go in every Cygnar theme, however most of the time they use up your "Up to one Mercenary unit" allowance.
  • Template:Flame in the Darkness. They don't use up your "up to one Merc unit" allowance in this theme. They gain Vengeance in this theme.
  • Template:Gravediggers
  • Template:Heavy Metal. They don't use up your "up to one Merc unit" allowance in this theme.
  • Template:Sons of the Tempest
  • Template:Storm Division. They gain Immunity: Electricity in this theme.

• Other Factions
  • Khador players can also use this unit in the Flames in the Darkness theme. They gain Vengeance in this theme.

Thoughts on Precursor Knights

File:Precursor Knights CA.jpg

Command Attachment

Precursor Knights in a nutshell

The Precursor Knights are a shield wall unit of skirmish infantry who can be weapon masters for one turn with the unit attachment. They have blessed, magic weapons and decent threat range for heavy hitters.

Many Flame in the Darkness lists will probably bring one unit along for smashing as they get Vengeance in this theme. Constance Blaize might bring two units.

Thoughts on adding the CA

With effectively only one ability the CA should be a hard sell - but an extra damage die is really powerful, especially once you start adding WA’s. The extra 2” command from the banner can potentially allow for your charges to reach more than one unit or heavy, and half a unit of Precursors has a great chance to trivially remove a Khador heavy with some of the buffs readily available to them.

Combos & Synergies

• Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet - Crusader's Call helps the speed issue, her feat improves durability to help them get there and Radiance of Morrow makes Precursors dangerous when they do.

• Zerkova1 - she does nothing but help deliver them, but that’s all they need and she does it extremely well. There is plenty of caster-independent damage buffs to make up for what Zerkova isn't providing.
• Stryker1 - Similar to Zerkova, no damage buff but excellent delivery tools.
• Gallant - it can trigger its Accumulator ability from this unit.
• Casters with Arcane Shield can put them up to ARM 21 with Shield Wall, making them immune to most unbuffed small arms.
  • And/Or the Journeyman Warcaster is a caster-independent source of Arcane Shield.
• Rhupert - the knights take his buffs very well. Concealment puts them at DEF15 vs shooting/magic. Also as a melee unit they really like pathfinder.
• Lanyssa Ryssyl extends their threat range and pairs well with Crusader's Call.
• The Morrowan Archon gives them Veteran Leader while also acting as a DEF buff against melee. It can also shield guard for the UA.
• Gabriel Throne ups the damage output or provides Pathfinder where needed.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Shield wall units have known disadvantages - and these guys only have a 1" melee
• Low threat range without Blaize.
• They die fairly fast
• Only hard hitters for 1 turn.

Tricks & Tips

• Don't forget Practiced Maneuvers, it helps you with LOS and placement issues during a charge.
• Don't be afraid to use the minifeat early. The longer you wait, the fewer models you'll have to take advantage of the extra damage.
• Cygnar can struggle to get magical attacks into many lists outside of Sons of the Tempest. When facing a large amount of incorporeal models, Precursors can stop them dominating the table.

Other

Trivia

• Released in Warmachine: Legends (2008)
• The Precursors' have a fantastic sculpt. Every sculpt but one is clearly defined with movement. The shields allow you to paint them with varying degrees of detail depending on how nitpicky you are. Their combination of not over-burdening the models with detail and big, bold lines, allow them to look great on the table.