Stormguard Infantry

The Stormguard march to war darkening the air around them with the promise of an electrical reckoning. Each is a master of the voltaic halberd, a mechanikal pole arm constructed to hack through flesh and steel while torrents of lightning strike deep into the ranks of the enemy. Every halberd strike charges the sergeant’s nexus generator, and this coiled potential can be unleashed in a massive lightning strike to blast apart enemy formations.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Entire Unit
  • Template:CMA
  • Template:Immunity: Electricity
  • Template:Practiced Maneuvers
  • Template:Set Defense
  • Template:Wall of Steel

• Leader only
  • Template:Gunfighter
  • Template:Quick Work

Weapons

Leader	Nexus Blast File:Gun icon.jpg  RNG   ROF   AOE   POW  10 1 4 6 Template:Electrical Damage Template:Electroconduction Nexus Generator File:Sword icon.jpg  RNG   POW   P+S  2 6 12 Template:Electro Leap
Grunts	Voltaic Halberd File:Sword icon.jpg  RNG   POW   P+S  2 6 12 Electro Leap

Theme Forces

• Cygnar
  • Template:Storm Division. They gain Unyielding in this theme.

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use them in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Sloan is leading the army.
  • Mercenary players can use them in the Template:Llaelese Resistance theme. They become Llaelese models and gain Pathfinder in this theme .

Thoughts on Stormguard Infantry

Stormguard in a nutshell

They're a speed bump, middle-of-the-road unit that can do it all ... but need support present to be more than a speed bump.

Breaking Down the Unit

• Defensive Stats
  • DEF13 means that most basic troopers will hit them on average rolls. When Set Defence comes into play elite infantry, cavalry, or those with access to any MAT buff (Gang, Prey, etc.) will have trouble hitting them. Lieutenant Gwen Keller also grants them Force Barrier helping vs blasts and making them difficult to remove at range.
  • ARM15 is also average in Cygnar. It won't stave off blast damage, and POW10 damage rolls will cut a swathe through their ranks. Thankfully they now have Wall of Steel so as long as they have a buddy they will be at least armour 17, which stacks with Unyielding from their theme force; at ARM19 against melee attacks many warrior models will need to charge to kill them, bringing Set Defence into play. Again adding in Gwen Keller prevents any blast damage. They love Arcane Shield or Dauntless Resolve to really make them a tar pit.
• Offensive stats
  • POW12 is fairly average. You should target light/medium infantry with it, where your electro leaps can work ideally. MAT7 is good Laddermore can passively improve this with veteran leader.
  • boosting electrical damage makes the unit leader a lynchpin model, stack this with a Firefly and zap your enemies to death.
  • SPD5 without Pathfinder yields you a 10" threat range which is not something to write home about. You will have to rely on Rhupert or Gabriel Throne for Pathfinder, or consider casters who can fix this issue (like Maddox). Desperate Pace from the Stormblade Captain will be needed to see them giving a charge not taking one.
  • Of all of the Stormknight models they have the lowest offensive and the CID further widened this trench but they are still above average for normal humans

• Cost
  • With their 9/15 point cost they are quite expensive to be considered a good jamming unit. But unlike in their MK3 debut they now have the tools to adapt to situations and play the game as it comes.

Combos & Synergies

the following models may have some profit from their presence:

• Stormclad or Reliant - Can gain a focus if activates within 3" of one of them.
• Maddox - Can improve their survival via Dauntless Resolve, plus Onslaught will manage difficult terrain issues.
• Rhupert can offer you Pathfinder through March, or concealment, where average unboosted shots start to fall flat.
• Stormguard have their built-in Practiced Maneuvers; however, if you intend to use them as a melee screen for other Storm Knights, think about keeping a Stormblade Captain nearby.
• Laddermore puts their MAT to elite levels.
• The Firefly makes their electric damage rolls stronger, while the Storm Strider buffs the accuracy of their ranged attacks.
• Stryker2 and Stryker3 - Both buff melee units, the first with Positive Charge, and the second with Fury. And of course, Stormguards love the feat of both.
• Morrowan Battle Priests can still stack wall of steel, even if he doesn’t get the bonus . Also the unit gains rise so they become better targets for tough effects. Like Dauntless Resolve
• Sir Dreyfus the Storm Knight - They easily provide flanking opportunities.
• Haley3 - Set Defense, Temporal Distortion and Force Barrier make them DEF 17 against charges or at range. Tactical Supremacy lets them move into Wall of Stell after moving and they offer a way of damage fixing that Haley lacks. Ghost Walk also fixes their lack of Pathfinder.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Their melee weapons do not inflict electrical damage, so they don't benefit from their own damage buff or that of a Firefly.
• The usual misgivings of single-wound Infantry, mainly vulnerability to auto-damage effects, high pow Threshers, blasts and sprays.
• Being relatively slow and no innate speed buff or Pathfinder means the need help with delivery.
• Storm Division doesn't struggle to bring electro-leap or Lightning Generator and apply it far easier - it can bring it on models that are either faster (Storm Lances) or have it on a ranged attack (Fireflies, Storm Striders...)

Tricks & Tips

• They are present in the Mk3 Two Player Battlebox. The figures however were made of an inferior quality material compared to the normal boxed set. They often come with bent spears and parts. Using hot water to bend them back into shape, and rinse them immetiately thereafter under cold water can solve this issue.
• The physical difference between them and the much better Silver Line Stormguard is backpacks and a slightly different weapon for the leader. If you're any good at conversion it's worth it. Give them some sort of backpacks, paint them silver, and call them Silver Line Stormguard.
• If your opponent uses RFP on the Leader model, or just kills it, while under his control, then you lose his special gear and the Nexus Blast ability (because Field Promotion doesn't occur after a RFP, or getting killed while under the opponent's CTRL).
• Be sure to use the 2" range and electro leap combination to your advantage. You can use a run to jam with the unit instead of charging to get models in to positions where if the opponents shorter melee range unit tries to approach to attack they'll always end up taking free strikes that generate electro leaps. This is especially effective against shield wall or high def units. This can be tricky to pull off due to how far models have to spread out.

Other

Trivia

• Released in Warmachine: Superiority (2006)