Thorn Gun Mages

Clothed in black to honor and mourn the last king of Llael, Thorn Gun Mages are among the deadliest and most zealous soldiers of the Llaelese Resistance. Each of these veteran gun mages is a lethal arcane combatant skilled in the use of Llaelese double-barreled magelocks. Their virtuosity with their weapons is matched only by their solidarity as they fight in an increasingly desperate cause.

Basic Info

Mercenary - This unit will work for Template:Cygnar mercenary, Template:Crucible Guard mercenary or Template:Menoth mercenary.

Abilities

• Template:Gunfighter
• Template:Prowl

Weapons

• Dual Magelock - 10" range, ROF 2, POW 10 ranged attack
  • Template:Magical Weapon
  • Template:Attack Type
    • Template:Black Penny
    • Template:Incendiary
    • Template:Thunderbolt
  • Template:Both Barrels
• Sword - 0.5" reach, P+S 7 melee attack

Theme Forces

• Mercenary
  • Template:Llaelese Resistance. They gain Pathfinder and Sniper in this theme.
  • Template:Operating Theater (only if controlled by a Cephalyx Dominator)

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use this unit in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Crosse2 is leading the army.
  • Furthermore, Mercenaries can be hired by other Factions. Normally those Factions' themes will have a limit on how many models they can hire. Refer to #Other Theme Forces, below.

Thoughts on Thorn Gun Mages

Thorn Gun Mages in a nutshell

Thorn Gun Mages are a trio of gunslingers with two shots per model and the ability to shoot with both barrels for a bit more punch. They are short ranged and easy to kill while being priced like three solos. Because they have Black Penny and Gunfighter, their place is behind the front line clearing paths and making a nuisance of themselves.

While 3 points is a lot to pay for ARM 11 models with 1 box, in Llaelese Resistance they gain Sniper and Pathfinder, and that is probably enough to justify the cost of one unit as a specialty piece, especially with Ashlynn making them RAT 8. Probably not the best idea to go whole hog on the Sniper thing, though.

Combos & Synergies

• In the Llaelese Resistance theme force, you can make a quite powerful group with them, Gorman, and Gibbs.
  • The theme grants them Pathfinder which makes it easier for them to maneuver into forests and gain Prowl and also grants them Sniper so they can prey on single wound infantry such as Dawnguard Sentinels and apply anti-tough.
  • Gorman Di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist has smoke bombs to trigger their prowling. Or he can also make it easier for them to take down warjacks with his Rust Bomb, or high DEF targets with his Black Oil.
  • Major Harrison Gibbs gives them (and Gorman) Reposition 3", enabling them to hit and run. This is actually pretty important.
  • This grouping can be taken outside of the Llaelese Resistance, if you want to, of course.
  • Rhupert can also hand out concleament to trigger Prowl when needed.
  • Ashlynn1's feat makes knockdowns a high probability when using Thunderbolt.
  • Gorten protects them from blasts and they in turn help him clear zones; especially the turn after the feat when your opponent is desperately trying to contest with reduced SPD or faraway models.
  • Menite Archon - He up the damage of their shots if you opt for Incindiary. That's either two POW 12 shots or one POW 16 shot per model, making them able to take on multi wound infantry.

For other Factions

• Protectorate casters make excellent use of their Continuous Fire shots.
• The Crucible Guard's Retaliator warjack can oil things up for their Incendiary shots, and the Vulkan can remove fire immunities.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• They can't take any incoming damage, each one only has a single damage box but costs as much as an Archon, who all have better value than them. Compare them to three man units in other factions (Virtue Host Trollkin Barrage Team), too, and you'll be green with envy at how good they are in comparison tho these guys.
• Guns have average range, and lack the Snipe option that makes their Cygnaran cousins more survivable.

Tricks & Tips

• If your army gets jammed with skirmish infantry, these guys can use Black Penny to clear the jam.
• If there's a heavy jamming your lines, charge with these guys and use Gunfighter Thunderbolt shots to shove it away.
• Both Barrels and Black Penny in combination can catch people by surprise. It's not what their stat card looks as if it will do.
• A Gunfighter which charges can only make initial ranged attacks. It cannot do a Both Barrels attack.

Other

Trivia

Released 2017.02