Blighted Nyss Swordsmen

Corrupted and reshaped by Everblight’s will, the blighted Nyss have become eager accomplices in the dragon’s murderous schemes. At the onset of battle, blighted Nyss archers rain down an unending deluge of arrows on enemy fortifications. Blighted swordsmen, at one with their prized blades, then close in to finish off what’s left of the demoralized foe.

The hollowness of blighted swordsmen aligned naturally with the meditative discipline of sword mastery, allowing them to evade horror by concentrating solely on their skill. Those who embraced this new philosophy, the abbots, kill as a form of meditation and are the greatest blade masters of their race. The champions are their best students.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Everyone
  • Template:Blade Shield

• Abbot
  • The Abbot has a better statline
  • Template:Officer
  • Template:Prayers
    • Template:Draconic Fervor
    • Template:Imbued Force
    • Template:Song of Blades

• Champion
  • The Champion has a better statline
  • Template:Countercharge
  • Template:Defensive Strike
  • Template:Tactics (Template:Overtake-alt)

Weapons

Leader, Grunts, & Abott	Nyss Claymore File:Sword icon.jpg  RNG   POW   P+S  1 4 11 Template:Weapon Master
Champion	Nyss Claymore (x2) File:Sword icon.jpg  RNG   POW   P+S  1 4 11 Template:Weapon Master

Theme Forces

• Template:Children of the Dragon

Thoughts on Blighted Nyss Swordsmen

File:Blighted-swordsmen-abbot-and-champion.png

Command Attachment

Blighted Nyss Swordsmen in a nutshell

Swordsmen are the hammer units of the Legion lists. Thanks to weapon-master and a decent MAT they're capable of chewing through shield walled infantries even outside charges, and do serious damage even to heavies with the right support. Children of the Dragon allows them to bring those solos and the Tactician bonus offers great flexibility in their positioning. They are adequately defended against ranged attacks thanks to Blade Shield, but anything that gets through their DEF will likely to kill them as their ARM is almost non-existent - according to typical Legion fashion.

With a high MAT and Weapon Master they serve as the backbone of the anti-ARM CotD lists. You will want to get the alpha strike so that you can have four dice on damage and utterly destroy whatever your Swordsmen come in contact with.

Thoughts on the CA

Being one of the most expensive free card you can take in the theme, this CA is a worthy - and near-must-have - addition if you want to field Swordsmen. They are among the rare command attachments where both participants have multiple hitboxes and can actually fight. Beside giving Overtake, the Champion is a really badass combat solo who can capitalize on the aforementioned Tactician bonus near your warlock by having both Defensive Strike and Counter Charge on his card, being able to find the best angle to strike the enemy with a weapon-master attack. His Overtake Tactics works very well with the Abbot's Cleave prayer. As for the other Prayers, Relentless Charge ensures that you'll get the most out of the unit once the enemy is within charge range. Giving magical weapon is a cute gimmick but will rarely come up save for a few corner cases.

Combos & Synergies

Warlocks:

• Anamag - Even if she feels more at home among Ogrun, Swordsmen are as every bit as deadly under her support, as Warmongers. With Fury's Strength, her feat and the Warlord's support you can cripple most of the enemy's heavy hitters with little effort. She may also bring Golab into CotD, providing Entropic Force to stop healing/repairs on the target.
• Bethayne1 - An infantry polisher supreme, Blood Thorn + Disintegrate upon selected targets offers nothing short of crazy damage output. Hex Blast also allows you to remove troublesome upkeeps from the target that would otherwise cut into the Swordsmen's damage output or accuracy.
• Bethayne2 - Transmutation puts these guys' DEF to absurd heights while turning them into P+S 13 weapon masters. Also, having Pathfinder always on means that you can use the Abbot's Cleave Prayer and benefit from PF even during your Overtake move.
• Fyanna2's Iron Flesh protects you from blasts, the most dangerous tool against the swordsmen. Her feat allows them either to be delivered safely up the field, or remain longer in combat if they are already stuck in. In the latter case, don't forget to swap IF to Fury, and let the carnage begin.
• Kallus1 - Dark Guidance + Ignite is a self-evident combo, as well as having a DEF16 Incubus out of a Swordsman, if the enemy managed to shoot him down on the advance during your feat.
• Kallus2's Battle Lust may seems a bit excessive, but if you expect an ARM-heavy meta, he definitely helps to solve it. Also, Blazing Path keeps you safe from Fire, something that is often used against high DEF models.
• Kryssa is an excellent choice since she can cast Cloak of Ash on them and upkeep it throughout their advance, making them effectively DEF 18 against shooting. When the enemy is in range, swap it to Ignite maybe even feat, and watch them cut through all but the most evasive forces with their effective P+S 16 attacks. Her Total Obedience zone may also save some of the Swordsmen if enemy fire finds its way through.
• Rhyas1 can support them with Occulation for defensive measure, while Dash gives you not only extra speed, but also the ability to dart behind enemy lines for back-strikes with impunity. With Cleave, Overtake, and her feat, they can deliver a startling number of attacks. The Champion alone gets 4 strikes, and with a little support from the dice, he can get behind enemy lines with the first attack. Then, he can deliver the additional 3 from the back arc of the enemy - perfectly capable of eliminating, or badly damaging a multi-wound shield-walled infantry line on his own.
• Rhyas2 - Occultation can also be found here, plus her Onslaught aura allows you to make your charges connect, even if the enemy abuses rough terrain after killing off your Abbot way too early (or if you want to use Cleave instead of Relentless Charge).

Non-warlocks:

• Blighted Nyss Warlord - He grants them Precision Strike, allowing you to choose the column you damage. If you are going up against a lot of warjacks this would enable you to quickly destroy their cortex and make them far less effective.
• Blightbringer - All of his auras can make the Swordsmen work plain better, be it STR, DEF or ARM buff. It also synergizes well with the other infantry choices in CotD, namely the Legionnaires who can be used to screen them until they're within striking distance.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Low armor value. If something manages to hit a Swordsman (or just scatter over him, like blasts), he is most likely dead.
• No access to Pathfinder outside charges makes them susceptible for rough terrains.
• Weapon-master infantries are rightfully feared; they are high on the target priority list.

Tricks & Tips

• Watch carefully for templates and blast damage as they can quickly wipe out your whole force. Be sure to space your troops wide enough to prevent disaster. This is even more pronounced with the prevalence of Death Archons and Void Archons.
• Working out an entire unit's extra moves and attacks via Cleave + Overtake can be really time-consuming for beginners. Topple it with Rhyas' extra feat attack plus placement, and you will easily put yourself into time disadvantage. Practice accordingly.

Other

Trivia

• Unit released way back in Primal Mk1 (2006)
• CA released in Hordes: Metamorphosis (2009)