Aurum Adeptus Syvestro

Syvestro represents the ideal blend of alchemist and soldier. His demeanor is serious, and he does not succumb to fanciful obsessions over every new alchemical discovery, preferring to keep his work pragmatic and focused on advances in military alchemy. Whenever possible, he hones his battlefield capabilities, pushing himself to improve his martial skill through practice bouts with other soldiers, physical trials, and simulated combat between actual engagements. While others rest, he tests his mind by studying and refining formulae long into the night by the light of an alchemical lantern.

Basic Info

• ===Warcaster abilities: ===
• Focus Manipulation

• Battlegroup Controller

• Power Field

• Spellcaster

• Independent Model

• Leader

Feat : Meta Principle

1. While in Syvestro's Template:CTRL range, friendly Faction models gain an additional die on attack and damage rolls. Discard one die of your choice.
2. Additionally, when an enemy model is destroyed while in Syvestro's Template:CTRL range, a friendly Faction model in Syvestro's Template:CTRL range can remove d3 damage points.

Meta Principle last for one turn.

Abilities

• Template:Immunity: Corrosion
• Template:Immunity: Fire
• Template:Alchemical Mask
• Template:Field Alchemy
  • Template:Ephemereal Vitae
  • Template:Impenetrable Haze
  • Template:Super Fuel

Weapons

Fulmination Grenade
File:Gun icon.jpg		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW
		6			1			3			13
Template:Magical Damage Template:Decrepitation
Purified Blade
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		0.5				4				10
Template:Magical Damage Template:Blessed

Spells

{{Category: Template:AdmonitionTemplate:ExplosivoTemplate:PurificationTemplate:ReviveTemplate:Stygian AbyssTemplate:Transmutation }}[[Category: Template:AdmonitionTemplate:ExplosivoTemplate:PurificationTemplate:ReviveTemplate:Stygian AbyssTemplate:Transmutation ]]

Theme Forces

• Template:Magnum Opus
• Template:Prima Materia

Thoughts on Aurum Adeptus Syvestro

Aurum Adeptus Syvestro in a nutshell

Syvestro is an ingenious alchemist and a high-ranking member of the Order of the Golden Crucible, the powerful alchemists’ guild that supports and funds the Crucible Guard. He is the only warcaster actively doing alchemy on the battlefield. His core concept is that of alchemical transformation. This manifests as spells like Revive (Returning life), Purification (removing impurities), Transmutation (Increased/decreased abilities), Explosivo (Increased weapon efficiency through science!) etc. He is not a fighter himself. He does not have impressive offensive or defensive stats, he uses science and magic instead.

More to the point Syvestro is an all around warcaster who helps in virtually any battle but brings one of the best spells for countering many enemy builds in the game - Purification. If you're plagued by upkeeps he's the Crucible Guard go-to and as such is frequently brought to tournaments just in case. He has an amazing toolbox and can polish any model/unit to peak performance with his spells and feat.

Feat Thoughts

The feat boils down to +2 to hit, +1.5 damage for everyone plus a significant amount of healing with either jacks or medium based warriors. It also ups your chances of critical effects, such as Syvestro's own Stygian Abyss.

Syvestro's feat is extraordinarily useful, but can't be relied on as the backbone of his strategy. The goal should be to feat the turn you need to do the most work, and use the upper averages to make sure that work is accomplished. Having warjacks or revived medium based models around to heal is helpful too.

Spell Thoughts

• Purification - a backbone spell, you need to cast this surprisingly rarely. It messes up his gameplan as he has multiple upkeeps - but really messes some enemies up.
• Stygian Abyss - a boosted Stygian Abyss on feat turn has a very high chance of blinding enemies. And infantry and especially battle engines hate blind. Outside feat turn its chances are less than 50% so it's not so useful.
• Transmutation - generally a good buff spell that works on jacks or infantry, it's a little expensive as a debuff but it also works on friendly models not just friendly Faction. Offensively, it can effectively neuter an enemy melee unit, cavalry, or warjack/warbeast, or make a high DEF unit easy to hit.
• Explosivo - Just useful on a shooty model. Amazing on the huge-base models.
• Admonition - an assassination stopper. Walk out of combat. Or use it on a Toro to counter-charge.
• Revive is normally considered a poor rate of return on Focus - but it's better on feat turn where you can at least heal up the revided models.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Transmutation is an upkeep, meaning you can only either buff ONE of your models/units or ONE of your opponents models/units. You can achieve technically two with spell cycling, but you would miss out on his feat; you have to decide if you want the model/unit that starts the turn with the upkeep on to either gain "signs and portants" from his feat, or to go without the feat so another model/unit can have transmutation under the feat.
• It's very easy to include way to many models/units in his army that all want Transmutation. Remember you can only give it to 2 at a time (as described above). Don't over commit your points to bring to many models depended on it.
• Syvestro lacks any kind of direct ARM debuff outside his army, and his only DEF debuff is transmutation. Due to the high demand for that spell, you will have to rely on your army to better buff/debuff models.
• He has 7 focus, but several of his core spells cost 3+.
• Be careful not to Admonition out of Impenetrable Haze and get shot!

Tricks & Tips

• Impenetrable Haze is "Super Stealth". See the #Rules Clarifications section (below) for typical exact differences.
• Transmutation does not require a model/unit to be friendly Faction when placing it on friendly models.
• Three partially-boosted Stygian Abysses on feat turn is surprisingly effective at killing enemy casters but should never be your primary game plan.
• Cycling Explosivo between models with multiple sprays can completely shut down some opponents.
• Standard game plan with Syvestro is Super Fuel on Turn 1, then Impenetrable Haze (almost) every turn after unless you need a free spell (usually Purification).
• Transmutation removes Pathfinder but does not prevent the model/unit from getting it, such as from Relentless Charge.

List Building Advice

Strategy

Syvestro is crucible's ultimate toolbox caster, represented by his sweet 7 FOCUS and large array of varied spells and abilities. He can play into gun lines and melee based lists with equal capability, and he particularly enjoys medium based models to revive, then heal back with his feat. The best way to play with Syvestro is to "go with the flow"; whatever form of attack your opponent takes against you, find an opportunity to adjust your strategy to meet or counter that attack. Explosivo to counter incorporeal/infantry swarms, Admonition to escape melee assassins, and his prime spell Transmutation to either bump your melee troops up to snuff or make your opponent's troll champions cry. Whatever the challenge, a good Syvestro list will most likely meet it.

Theme thoughts

While it's possible to do a jack-based list with Syvestro, he really prefers having infantry in his list to better benefit from transmutation, so Magnum Opus is more appropriate than Prima Materia.

Army

Warjacks

• Liberator: Channeling Transmutation or Stygian Abyss can be pretty legit. It's also a good target for Transmutation itself. With super fuel that's SPD 8, Pathfinder and DEF 17 against living models.
• Toro: Admonition + Countercharge! Yes, they do stack. Yes, that is awesome. Yes , that is a lot of out-of-activation movement shenanigans your opponent likely won't appreciate. It's a solid baseline jack, too.
• Vanguard: A shield guard is always nice. A neat gun on top of it is too.
• Vulcan: Super fuel makes running for 16" first turn possible, as a colossal. As such, it can really dictate the game state.

Battle Engines

• Railless Interceptor - Also a construct model, so they are affected by super fuel and boy do they make use of it! At SPD 8 it can rocket up the board, bulldoze models around and shot everything to death under feat and Explosivo, then reposition away. Two Railless and a Vulcan under Syvestro asks a very hard to answer question to the opponent.

Solos

• Aurum Legate Alyce Marc: She ups his focus efficiency with Exaltation or Empower, gives you an out to incorporeal models and let's a model/unit without a gas mask ignore clouds when firing and when she's killed she becomes a countercharger and as such likes Admonition quite a bunch.
• Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist quite likes clouds to hide in in a pinch. Syvestero delivers! Also a source of Rust and a model that contests.
• Prospero among Veteran Leader and Super Fuel (for which Prospero is also a valid target) you can get quite the number of buffs for your jacks. His Equation and the fact that he can run a jack for his himself further increases his brother's focus efficiency. Just be mindful that Prospero HAS to take a jack with him and Syvestero probably wants to also take a merc unit. Surplus points in Magnum Opus are limited, so consider carefully!
• Doctor Alejandro Mosby is essential if you want to bring merc units. He also provides heal for your revived units-

Mercenaries

Syvestro generally appreciates merc units way more than he does his in-faction options. Mosby isn't mandatory to Transmute these, especially if they have an excellent CA alredy (Like Forge Guard), but his +2 STR and Overtake buff is great.

• As Syvestro lists are usually very fast, he will want to run Press Gangers who can keep up with his huge bases via Advance Deployment or Ambush. Shanghai chaining overtakes into each other is also very fun! His 3 huge base list usually pose such a conundrum to his opponents that they will sometimes forget about Ambushing Press Gangers altogether. Other options include:
• Steelhead Halberdiers - Fortemorphic Elixir and Transmutation make them punch way above their points class they are slow though.
• Horgenhold Forge Guard - The hardest hitting merc unit and Syvestro can heal them on feat turn. They want their CA over mosby, which is okay, because it helbs them be faster, which they desperately need, rather than hit harder, which they already do.
• Order of Illumination Resolutes basically better Storm Troopers. Their relative slowness is somewhat compounded by their guns and good stats.
• Morrowan Archon - Basically another DEF buff and a Shield Guard to boot. Resolutes also get +1 to hit by it.

Starting a 25 point Brawl list

In 2020.10 Phillip Melvin, one of the LOS authors, put together this list for the Brawlmachine format. It was then updated for the 2021.10 errata. He even wrote about it's playstyle and expanding it beyond 25 points, which you can read here.

Theme - Magnum Opus

Syvestro1: [+28 WJP]

• Vindicator: [15 pts]
• Toro: [13 pts]
• Aurum Ominus Alyce Marc: [4 pts]

Rocketman Stinger: [Free] Template:Grey

Rocketman Ace: [3 pts]

Crucible Guard Mechanik: [1 pt]

Ragman: [3 pts]

Failed Experiments (Max unit): [14 pts]

Other

Trivia

• Released with the Faction release (2018.06).
• There is no "L" in the name Syvestro

Video Battle Reports

• 2019.11 Arcane Assist, vs Ossyan1
• 2018.09 Deathclock Dave, vs Vladimir2
• Template:VBR