Theme - Llaelese Resistance
Template:Mercenary Theme Force
This mk3 Theme Force has no equivalent in mk4. You can build a similar army in Unlimited Mercenaries (if/when the models in this theme get ported to mk4 rules) |
The beleaguered soldiers of the Llaelese Resistance are mercenaries only by necessity, taking contracts to help pay the enormous costs of their rebellion. Since the fall of Merywyn, many Llaelese noblemen have helped to fund the Resistance from exile. They leave field operations to individuals like the warcaster Ashlynn d’Elyse, who fights an endless war against the Khadorans who invaded her homeland and killed her father. To some, the likelihood of restoring Llael seems remote, and they have turned their attention to pure vengeance, willing to give their lives to force a reckoning.
Theme Rules
- For the core rules on how Theme Forces work, see this article.
Theme Restrictions
An army made use the Llaelese Resistance theme force can include only the following Mercenary models:
- Template:Llaelese warcasters
- Caine’s Hellslingers
- Drake MacBain
- Non-character warjacks
- Llaelese models/units
- MacHorne models/units
- Dannon Blythe & Bull
- Colbie Sterling, Captain of the BRI
- Eilish Garrity, the Occultist
- Gobber Tinker solos
- Harlan Versh, Illuminated One
- Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan
- Menite Archon solos
- Morrowan Archon solos
- Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator
- Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
- Rutger Shaw, Professional Adventurer
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker
- Thamarite Archon solos
- This army can also include up to two non-character Crucible Guard units, up to two non-character Cygnar units, up to two non-character Protectorate units.
- These units are considerd to be friendly Llaelese Mercenary models instead of Crucible Guard, Cygnar, or Protectorate units.
- They can include attachments, but cannot include Ranking Officers.
Full Model List
Requisition Points
You can spend each Requisition Point on either:
- One command attachment
- One other Small- or medium-based Mercenary solo with a point cost of 5 or less
Theme Bonuses
- If Ace is included, it counts as a friendly Mercenary warjack instead of a Cygnar warjack.
- Note: Only Caine3 can take Ace.
- Gun Mage models in this army gain Sniper
- Llaelese models in this army gain Pathfinder.
- Before models are deployed at the start of the game, you can place a 5" AOE rubble terrain feature anywhere completely within 18" of the rear table edge of your deployment zone. When you deploy your models, you can deploy one small- or medium-based solo completely within the AOE.
Thoughts on the Llaelese Resistance
Llaelese Resistance in a nutshell
The Resistance is a very cool theme with excellent benefits, and tons of non-Merc options. Near army-wide pathfinder is outstanding. Sniper on Gun Mages is excellent as well. Having a 5" pile of rubble near the middle of the board to hide out in is extra good.
The force is awaiting more Llaelese releases which may never come. This leaves you light on choices in a manner of speaking. Once you take your two out of faction picks, you only have Archons, Thorn Gun Mages, Devil Dogs, Malvin & Mayhem, Crosse1 plus a 'jack or Blythe and Bull to round things out.
For this reason, most Llaelese armies are archon-heavy. Since Resistance is only one of two warmachine themes able to run four archons, you often see four.
Finally, the addition of Malvin & Mayhem was a game-changer for this theme as it opened up the possibility of using the Choir of Menoth to support a jack-heavy force.
Theme weaknesses
Few In-Faction options
Very limited range of warcasters and Merc units.
Popular Merc models such as Steelhead Halberdiers, Kayazy Eliminators, Aiyana and Holt, Orin Midwinter, Harlow, Asphyxious4, and Eiryss1 are not allowed.
List Building Tips
First choose the caster and then pick between Cygnar, Protectorate or Crucible Guard. In most cases, Protectorate stuff is best, but the other two have their selling points.
Once you've chosen your two units, you will likely have enough points for three or four Archons plus Malvin & Mayhem, a Gobber Tinker and filler solos.
Always bring Anastasia unless you just can't find the points. Eilish, CAs, Crosse1,or Gibbs are all excellent requisition choices
Mercenary models
- Major Harrison Gibbs used to be the cornerstone of many a Resistance list due to his Leadership bubble granting Reposition 3" to Llaelese warrior models. However, if you play jacks, cavalry, or Archons, he is not needed, and jack and archon heavy build have become increasingly popular.
- Ragman should also be in every Resistance army because he's your main ARM debuff. Also, with Gibbs' help, he can walk 9" and still apply Death Field.
- Gorman1 - Your other ARM debuff. He can also contribute to a cloudwall with Repo.
- Captain Sam MacHorne & The Devil Dogs - Every one of them is a knockdown on a stick with their nets. They need serious help with delivery, which can be provided for them in this theme. Crosse can put Lifebound on the so the enemy will not want to kill them, while either Ashlynn can speed them up.
- Dannon Blythe & Bull - As mentioned, Kayazy girls are not in this theme. These two are the best (and only) substitute you will find.
- Thorn Gun Mages with Pathfinder are able to make good use of their Prowl ability, which helps justify their high cost. Also, as mentioned above they are one of your few sources for magic weapons and thunderbolt shots can help you with assassinations and scenario likewise. Gibbs' leadership also lets them back up after shooting so they might not die like chumps after they shot something.
- Taryn also helps with with assassinations thanks to shadow fire. The black penny/sniper combination is of course excellent and at five points he's an excellent free model choice.
- Eilish is very useful but sometimes tough to squeeze in.
- Vanguard - It gains Pathfinder here, but it's a focus hog and doesn't do much damage, so not ideal for any of the casters here.
- Anastasia - She's very close to a must-take, if just for her +1 to the starting roll.
- Malvin & Mayhem require you to bring Reinholdt or the Gobber Tinker, but if you bring the Choir, they won't get shot and they'll be POW 22 when you send them in. Super nasty under Quicken and Ashlynn1's feat.
- Crosse1 - He brings excellent shooting and the powerful spell Discombobulate. Even if there are no models with Backstab in this theme sans him and Anastasia, it is still such a powerful tool that you should probably bring him.
- Princess Delores Graciela - You unlock access to her by bringing a Toro, which also acts as a tough body guard to her. Aslynn2 likes her as her most expensive feat target and during Graciela's mini-feat turn Hand of Fate goes well on her, too.
Cygnar options
Ashlynn runs Cygnar stuff pretty well. Reason for this is that she makes Trenchers RAT 7, and very hard to kill under Dig in, cloud walls and feat, while Storm Knight models under Quicken can be where they are needed really fast. You are pigeon holed into bringing some combination of Rangers, Trenchers or Lances though, as Storm Knights and Gun Mages rely heavily on their solo support, which is unavailable to them here.
- Trencher Infantry can drop clouds and Reposition back behind with Gibbs. Gibbs can be the solo in the rubble to help start that working sooner.
- Trencher Long Gunners are an excellent ranged unit that can snipe important solos and WAs or straight up shoot the enemy of the board.
- Rangers - If you want to buff the RAT of a Galleon and your Thamarchons, these might be an option.
- Storm Lances are nimble, sturdy and hit (relatively) hard, which is rare in this theme.
- Stormblade Infantry are slower than Lances, but hit harder under the leader's buff. Without Force Barrier they will likely not survive the advance though.
Protectorate options
- Exemplar Cinerators - A perfect option for Crosse, as under Dauntless Resolve and his feat, they can be delivered relatively easily due to their high ARM and Vengeance. Also worthy of consideration with Ashlynn2.
- Exemplar Vengers - Vengers are a faster option over Cinerators. Useful in an Ashlynn1 or 2 list designed to get the alpha strike. Crosse2 could do worse than to put Dauntless Resolve on them
- Holy Zealots - If you don't fear spot removal or RFP, these guys can be soul battery for Crosse, then after you send them all in to die, the CA can bring them all back amd usher a prayer to lift either accuracy or damage. They migth also be a consideration for MacBain with Menite Archons and Fortune.
- Choir of Menoth - Ashlynn2 can put Hand of Fate on a Galleon, which makes the Choir appealing. Malvin & Mayhem and Crosse1 supply enough of a focus pool that bringing the Choir is also a reasonably good choice for Macbain and even Ashlynn1.
- Exemplar Bastions probably not quite as good as Cinerators, but under Gastone they can get up to armor 19 with tough, certainly not as good as armor 23, but instead of playing offensively, you should hold Bastions back in your zone or near your flag. A couple Mat 7, blessed, weapon master defensive strikes will kill most infantry, might kill lights, and put a dent in heavies. Gibbs can also heal them up so they can double dip on sanguine bond. They are tough to deliver.
Crucible Guard options
- Rocketmen are outstanding with Ashlynn1, able to get up the board quickly and hold ground while jamming like few other units. That is unless the enemy has more than one or two blasts, in which case they will die too fast to be of any value.
- Crucible Guard Assault Troopers - Being Weapon Masters with the ability to attack the same model twice the bring some serious ARM cracking to the Resistance, something that only very few other units do. Their beefy defensive stats also play very nice with Ashlynn1's feat and Quicken, which also solves their SPD problem, or Gastone's Dauntless Resolve spell which makes them nigh unshootable. Considered especially strong with Ashlynn2
- Failed Experiments - Durable, berserking, and self healing, the Failed Experiments love what most of the casters here (Ashlynn1 and 2, Crosse2) can do for them.
Caster Thoughts
She is quite strong in this theme. Her (almost) army wide Veteran Leader pushes the RAT and MAT values of most solos and units from decent to great and she personally enjoys pathfinder and rubble to hang out in. Ashlynn excels with any of the unit choices above and also benefits from Morrowan Archons.
She wants to put Hand of Fate on a Galleon and sit the Choir behind it while sending archons forward with extended threat ranges. Her second Protectorate unit choice should be something she can keep safe from shooting and ensure they get delivered, so Vengers or Flamebringers are good picks. She also speeds up Cinerators and Bastions to an extent and can grant them unyielding and Tough, so there is a possible build to be found there.
He is probably better off in Soldiers of Fortune or Flame. Nevertheless in Resistance Crosse is played alongside Protectorate units, but does very little for Cygnar or Crucible (or rather, they don't do much for him). Protectorate has exactly the kind of beefy high ARM units he wants to deliver in Exemplars. Exemplar Vengers with both Battle Driven and Dauntless Resolve are ARM 23 while Exemplar Cinerators in shield wall with Dauntless Resolve are ARM 24 - and can be surprisingly fast at getting up the table if the enemy triggers Vengeance. However, he ends up having to burn a Protectorate unit choice to be his Lifebound target, which means running painfully slow Errants, weak Flameguard or useless Zealots. Or you have to bring overpriced Devil Dogs to fill the role.
He is the only caster in Mercenaries that can credibly run Menite Archons as this is the only Merc theme in which they can be taken and he and Caine3 are the only two casters who dodge the Animosity rule. So, you bring two, plus Choir, plus a Fail Safe Blockader and a Fortuned Malvin & Mayhem and you spray POW 18's over all and sundry.
With Choir he could be powerful ... if there were any source of Empower in this theme, and any mercenary warjack that could make good use of his feat (comparable to a Charger). But there ain't so he isn't.
Sample Lists
Starting a 25 point Brawl list
In 2021.03 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.
- Ashlynn1 [+29 WJP]
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker [4 pts]
- Toro [13 pts]
- Nomad [11 pts]
- Talon [6 pts]
- Taryn di la Rovissi, Llaelese Gun Mage [Free] Template:Grey
- Major Harrison Gibbs [4 pts]
- Anastasia di Bray [3 pts]
- Thorn Gun Mages [8 pts]
- Dannon Blythe & Bull [5 pts]
25 Point Faction hybrids
These 3 lists were added to WMU 2019.03.
A lot here depends if you're crossing over with the Protectorate, the Crucible Guard, or Cygnar. This is a hybrid army option so I'm giving all three possible armies as the Llaelese resistance is a great theme either to use your mercs if you want to grow another army or if you already have another army and you want to grow mercs.
The aim of this list is to have a wall of armour that can't be shot off the board and can wreck things, and a shooty battlegroup. Feel free to swap out either of the 'jacks for a Mule.
- Exemplar Cinerators (Max)
- Cinerator Officer
- Choir of Menoth (Max)
- Total Points: 25 as of 11.2021
- Total RRP: USD $223.92 (based on PP's online store prices 2021.11)
Six ARM 24 models with Tough and Feign Death in addition to two heavy warjacks with shields and a network of shield guards is, however, not how to win friends at 25 points.
Similar to the Menite offering but leaning in more to the guns Crosse loves at the cost of some durability.
Rocketmen let you DEF-skew a little and the weapon attachment has a warjack-killing weapon. This list is based on a Warmachine-heavy meta; against Hordes you'd drop Gorman and the Tinker for a Dragon's Breath Rocket
- Total point cost: 25 as of 2021.11
- Total RRP: USD $200.93 (based on PP's online store prices 2021.11, assuming the slightly cheaper sculpt for Ashlynn)
Other
Trivia
- Llael gained independence from Khador at the end of the Acts of War series of books when Ashlynn, Crosse and Lukas di Morray helped Cygnar take the city of Merwyn from within. Parts of the country were still under Khadoran and Protectorate control prior to the Infernal invasion not long after the Llaelese victory.
Other Mercenary models/themes
Rules Clarifications
Template:RC Pathfinder Template:RC Sniper Template:RC Llaelese Resistance Template:RC Theme