Theme - Black Industries
This mk3 Theme Force has no equivalent in mk4. You can build a similar army in Unlimited Cryx (if/when the models in this theme get ported to mk4 rules) |
Cryx’s necrofactoriums churn out a seemingly endless supply of bonejacks and helljacks to wreak havoc on the Dragonfather’s enemies. These black-iron creations fall upon their prey like a pack of hungry beasts indulging in wanton slaughter. Attending the warjacks are a small army of necrotechs, ironmongers, and other specialists who keep the machines operating at peak ferocity.
Theme Rules
- For the core rules on how Theme Forces work, see this article.
Theme Restrictions
An army made use the Black Industries theme force can include only the following Cryx models:
- Cryx warcasters
- Cryx warjacks
- Template:Cephalyx models/units
- Template:Iron Lich models/units
- Template:Thrall models/units
- Template:Warwitch models/units
- Black Ogrun Ironmonger units
- Darragh Wrathe
- Template:Necrotech solos
- Soul Trapper solos
- Solos with the Battlegroup Controller special rule
- Template:Wraith solos
- Wraith Engine battle engines
- This army can also include one Mercenary solo and one Mercenary unit that will work for Cryx.
- These models/units can be included even if they have the Partisan [Cryx] rule.
- Mercenary units can have non-Ranking Officer attachments
Full model list
Requisition Points
You can spend each Requisition Point on either:
- One Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls unit
- One Cryx CA
- Three Brute Thrall weapon attachments
- Three Necrotech solos
- One other small- or medium-based Cryx solo with a point cost of 5 or less
Theme Bonuses
- Heavy warjacks in this army gain Carapace.
- Template:Carapace
- Note: This theme benefit does not apply to light warjacks or colossals.
- One Mechanithrall unit in this army gains Ambush.
Thoughts on Black Industries
Black Industries in a Nutshell
This theme has two aspects; it is Cryx's heavy warjack theme, and it is their steampunk zombie horde theme (the thralls). There are also a plethora of support options available, and it is very flexible when it comes to list design.
The Carapace bonus makes one of the main drawbacks of Cryx warjacks, their fragility, practically disappear. They can now get across the table and into melee without having their weapons systems crippled by small arms fire on the approach. The Slayer and Seether, especially, were susceptible as they lose a lot of effectiveness if they lose either arm system.
Secondly, all character warjacks are allowed in this theme, opening up interesting combos.
This makes it the go-to theme for any Cryx player that wants to run a bunch of heavy warjacks. Note that, since Carapace only applies to heavies, if you want to run lights or colossals you may be better in the Scourge of the Broken Coast theme.
Thralls are the cheap, mindless undead troops of Cryx. They have terrible statlines but make up for it in shear quantity.
Requistion Thoughts
- 6 points
- 3 free Brute Thralls is a solid choice regardless of whether you're going for a zombie horde or warjack spam. It does require you to spend at least 6 regular points for a minimum unit of Mechanithralls, though, but having an ambushing unit to score circular zones with is always a plus, in jack lists especially, and 6 points and a requisition is good value for 9 warm bodies.
- 5 points
- Deneghra0. Since the free solos were capped at 5 points and some of theme were reduced in cost, [Deneghra0] became one of the best solos to choose from.
- 4 points
- Since the last cost update and the reduction in point cost of several solos, 4 points has become the last tier of models in which you can still choose something.
- The one exception is Doctor Stygius, since he synergises so well with certain casters. He also makes the Skarlock Thrall option irrelevant.
- Bloat Thrall Overseer Mobius can normally be skipped unless you're taking regular Bloat Thralls
- Aiakos1, has become the other JWC that you can choose from, and one of the most expensive solos at the end of this edition.
- Pistol Wraiths are interesting decisions, because they're usually out of the ball-park for being "worth their points", but they're accurate, fire two shots a turn, and can stationary targets that they can hit - forcing an enemy warjack to spend focus to shake means that's one less attack coming your way if that thing survives. If nothing else, they can be incorporeal solos that capture flags!
Theme weaknesses
Carapace only works on heavy warjacks. If you want to have a swarm of light warjacks or 1-2 colossals, you're probably better off in the Scourge of the Broken Coast theme.
Carapace only works vs ranged attacks - your warjacks are still made out of tissue paper vs melee and magic. So make sure you use your superior jack SPD, and clever positioning to dictate which player will strike first.
Fundamentally, the thralls are the low-quality troops of Cryx and they come with just terrible stats. In previous editions you can sprinkle a few elite units amongst them, but with the way themes work in Mk3 you're stuck with nothing but the thralls which ... isn't ideal.
The Scourge of the Broken Coast theme has much better combat troops available, and it swaps the Carapace on heavies benefit for Gang Fighter on all warjacks. Also, with the 2019 Remix, Scourge gained access to more warjack support in the form of Warwitch Sirens and Deneghra0 so there's even less need for warjack-heavy lists to stick to Black Industries.
What this all adds up to is: Use Black Industries if you're running 3+ heavies (to get the most out of Carpace), a particular character 'jack + caster combo, and/or a ton of thralls... otherwise, there's a good chance your army/strategy will do better in Scourge.
Warjack thoughts
- All of the Character jacks are available to anybody (except Gaspy4) here. The cream of the crop of these character jacks are definitely Barathrum and Khadybdis.
- Barathrum - A surprisingly hardy jack (for Cryx standards), with steller offensive output thanks to MAT 8 and POW 17 on the claws. With Drag Below it is deceptively mobile, too.
- Kharybdis - Acid loud keeps it alive on the way in and then in goes to town with either the spray, or the chain strike tentacles. A native 12" threat range is very, very potent.
- Slayer spam becomes a realistic strategy in this theme.
- The Harrower can give you a way to deal with swarms of enemy infantry, with its Thresher attack.
- The Deathjack hits hard, casts extra spells, and less focus burden on your caster. He is expensive and still as squishy as any Cryx jack.
- The Inflictor is transformed into an ARM 23 Shield Guard, with Carapace.
Support thoughts
Models that can help shift the focus burden off your caster are the Warwitch Siren, Aiakos1, Deneghra0, and Asphyxious the Sanctified (Gaspy4).
Special mention goes to Asphyxious who brings an ARM debuff which can make up for the sometimes pillow-fisted Cryx 'jacks. The combo of a Carapaced mercenary heavy with Dark Shroud is not to be sneezed at. Do this with Barathrum or Kharybdis and they'll hit hard enough to kill almost anything in one activation, and they won't take much more than two heavies to kill even a colossal. On problem with this is that you cannot put Barathrum nor Kharybdis on Gaspy himself, due to the way his Limited Battlegroup rule works.
Aiakos1 can run Kharybdis instead and can speed it up with Escort. From the bond Kharybdis also gains Prowl so he's Stealth in its own cloud.
Thrall Thoughts
Dawn of the Dead
- One unit with 10 Mechanithralls, 3 Brutes (free), to put in Ambush (9)
- Two units each with 10 Mechanithralls, 3 Brutes (free), 1 Skarlock Commander (24)
- Two units of Necrosurgeons (8)
Spend all your Requistion Points on Brute Thralls and you'll end up with 41 combat models and 8 support models, for 41 points total. It asks the very simple question "Can your opponent kill swathes of models, where 6 regenerate each turn?"
This build has long been a bog standard for Terminus and Skarre1. You may want a Ghost Walk caster and/or Saxon Orrik to help with rough terrain, though.
Death Race
- Two full units of Soulhunters (32)
- Darragh Wrathe (9)
- 41 points total, plus 3 Requistion Points unspent.
This is a very mobile force. It also leaves all your Requistion Points wide open for whatever you please.
The Wraith Engine is a decent choice for this build, although unfortunately Soulhunters sit around that ARM threshold where +2 ARM isn't going to make much difference.
Again, Ghost Walk or at least Saxon Orrik are much appreciated. A caster with Curse of Shadows like Goreshade2, Deneghra2, or the Witch Coven of Garlghast could run this module exceptionally well.
The Birds
- Two full units of Carrion Thralls (20)
- Two units of Necrosurgeons (8)
- One unit with 6 Mechanithralls, 3 Brutes (free), to put in Ambush (6)
- 34 points total, plus 2 Requistion Points unspent.
This module has the benefit of not caring about a lot of terrain. This build gels very nicely with Goreshade3's typical gameplan. Casters with scary assassination threats like Asphyxious1, Captain Aiakos, or even the much-maligned Sturgis2 could also get a lot of mileage out of a module of fast, cheap, recurring jammers that come with two free solos.
The Purge
- Two min units of Bile Thralls with Skarlock CAs (24)
- Two units of Necrosurgeons (8)
- One unit with 6 Mechanithralls, 3 Brutes (free), to put in Ambush (6)
- Two Bloat Thralls (8)
- Bloat Thrall Overseer Mobius (free)
- 46 points, plus 1 Requistion Points unspent
This build is definitely more on the casual side, especially in a meta that favors high-ARM multi-wound models. Still, someone like Bane Witch Agathia could have a lot to offer this sort of build.
List Building Advice
25 points (Brawlmachine)
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.
- Venethrax1: [+29 WJP]
- The Withershadow Combine: [7 pts]
- Barathrum: [13 pts]
- Erebus: [13 pts]
- Slayer: [10 pts]
- Warwitch Siren: [3 pt]
- Soul Trapper: [1 pt]
- Necrotech: [1 pt]
- Mechanithralls (Min unit): [6 pts]
- Weapon Attachment (x3): [Free] Template:Grey
25 points & expanding to 50 (Warjacks)
In 2019.02 juckto wrote this expansion guide. It's relatively newbie friendly.
For Step 1 I recommend getting the Cryx battlebox and adding the Deathjack, Aiakos1, and a Machine Wraith.
- Agathia1: [+29 WJP]
- Deathripper: [6 pts]
- Deathjack: [23 pts]
- Slayer: [10 pts]
- Aiakos1: [Free] Template:Grey
- Reaper: [13 pts]
- Machine Wraith: [2 pts]
- 25 points total (58 points worth of models)
Deathjack is an expensive, but powerful and focus-efficient character warjack that works well with many casters. With Agathia he is an excellent target for Hellwrought, and he can cast Hellfire for a bit of extra "ranged" ability.
Aiakos1 is one of my favourite solos. He can work as a focus battery, fuelling a warjack so your caster doesn't have to. He can speed up his jacks with Escort and/or make them more deadly with Grievous Wounds. Lastly, he is a decent combat solo in his own right. I put the Reaper on him for no other reason than they both have harpoons and that tickles my fancy.
The Machine Wraith is essentially points filler and could be swapped out. It is good at contesting zones and harassing enemy warjacks.
The other models you'll already be familiar with from battlebox games.
For Step 2 we're going to upgrade the Slayer to a Seether, add a Desecrator, and add a couple of solos.
- Agathia1: [+29 WJP]
- Deathripper: [6 pts]
- Deathjack: [23 pts]
- Desecrator: [14 pts]
- Aiakos1: [4 pts]
- Reaper: [13 pts]
- Iron Lich Overseer: [Free] Template:Grey
- Seether : [13 pts]
- Hellslinger Phantom: [Free] Template:Grey
- Machine Wraith: [2 pts]
- Warwitch Siren: [4 pts]
- 50 points total (91 points worth of models)
The Seether + ILO is a potent combo that hits like a ton of bricks. The Desecrator gets bonus focus just for hanging out around Agathia, has an AOE gun, and the AOE stays in play doing damage which gives you a bit of crowd control vs enemy infantry.
The Hellslinger can let you snipe out important targets, and lastly the WWS is a good utility solo, with 3 different spells that let her adapt to what is needed each turn.
To expand to 75 points, it really comes down to what you like the look of, what's available, and what you need to beat your local opponents. Look at the List Building Advice section for thoughts on what else is worthwhile to pick up.
Template:Header Template:Expand
25 points & expanding to 50 (Thralls)
In 2019.02 juckto wrote this expansion guide. It's relatively newbie friendly.
For once I'm not going to recommend the Cryx battlebox (Bane Witch Agathia) to start with, despite it being quite cheap dollars wise. Agathia is a good jack of all trades, able to work with a lot of Cryx options ... but I really don't think thralls and her are a good match.
Instead we're going to go with Deneghra1, the ultimate turd polisher, to make these thralls into a respectable force. We'll put in Barathrum as a heavy hitter, the Hellslinger as a solo hunter, the WWS for support, and the rest is just drowning your opponent with zombies.
- Deneghra1: [+26 WJP]
- Deathripper: [6 pts]
- Deathripper: [6 pts]
- Barathrum: [15 pts]
- Hellslinger Phantom: [Free] Template:Grey
- Warwitch Siren: [4 pts]
- Mechanithralls (Max unit): [9 pts]
- Command Attachment: [3 pts]
- 2× Weapon Attachments: [4 pts]
- Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls: [4 pts]
- 25 points total (58 points worth of models)
For Step 2 we're going to get that 3rd Brute we couldn't quite fit in 25 points. We're down-sizing the Mechanithralls to a minimum unit with the intent to Ambush them. Soulhunters have been added as a main combat unit, and the Carrion and Machine Wraiths have been added to try & keep up with the Soulhunters and maybe run a bit of interference for them.
- Deneghra1: [+26 WJP]
- Deathripper: [6 pts]
- Deathripper: [6 pts]
- Barathrum: [15 pts]
- Hellslinger Phantom: [Free] Template:Grey
- Warwitch Siren: [4 pts]
- Machine Wraith: [2 pts]
- Machine Wraith: [2 pts]
- Carrion Thralls (Max unit): [10 pts]
- Mechanithralls (Min unit): [6 pts]
- Command Attachment: [3 pts]
- 3× Weapon Attachments: [Free] Template:Grey
- Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls: [4 pts]
- Soulhunters (Max unit): [18 pts]
- 50 points total (89 points worth of models)
To expand to 75 points, it really comes down to what you like the look of, what's available, and what you need to beat your local opponents. Look at the List Building Advice section for thoughts on what else is worthwhile to pick up.
If you're running thralls I highly recommend Terminus who, by the way, has a bond with Barathrum.
Caster Thoughts
Battlegroup Casters
You can ignore the thralls completely and run this as a pure warjack theme, and if so you'll want a caster that can run a large battlegroup.
Mobility speeds his jacks up and provides pathfinder.
His Field Marshal makes them tougher in melee. Combined with their natural good defense, they become extremely difficult to deal with in an efficient manner. His Feat provides a potentially massive focus turn.
Altogether he might be the single best caster for Black Industries.
- Asphyxious3, 9 Slayers
This list became a bit infamous during 2018 and it is, as the name would imply, built around 9 Slayers and a bit of support. The strength of this list has been taken down a bit by (a) people getting used to fighting against it (b) the change to how free points work in Oblivion (2019.09) and (c) the small nerf to Carapace in 2019.07.
What makes this so strong is the combination of Unyielding, Carapace, and Mobility. Your Slayers are ARM 21 vs shooting and ARM 19 vs melee.
They're so fast they can rocket up the board and prevent the enemy getting to the scenario, and position themselves to avoid getting charged. If they do get bogged down they can walk (or trample) out and shrug off most free strikes.
Goreshade can teleport warjacks with Soulgate, increase their damage with Dark Shroud, and provide even more anti-ranged tech with Stealth.
Also, he's one of the few casters that take the Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges in earnest and not for scenario reasons.
She has no trouble running large battlegroups with her Sacrificial Lamb spell.
All her spells are geared around buffing warjacks, when it comes to it.
Her battlegroup is more durable with the Salvage Field Marshal, her feat gives them Flank, and 2 of spells (Fail Safe and Locomotion) are warjack-only buff spells.
He has no trouble running large battlegroups with his Terminal Velocity spell. Free charges make Slayer spam a viable choice. Field Marshal: Countercharge is good fun, too.
Combined Arms Casters
Scaverous quite likes Black Industries. There's a lot of magic users that can benefit from his feat, he likes Deathjack, and with the 2019 Remix he no longer needs to spam jacks and now he can take the combined arms force he prefers. The only downsides is that a) there is no great target in this theme for his Soul Harvester spell, and b) he often works better in Scourge, especially since the release of Death Archons.
She can get good efficiency out of warjacks with her Field Marshal: Future Sight, but typically she struggles to fuel large battlegroups and tends to prefer units in her army.
Zombie Horde Casters
Terminus likes to surround himself with undead. In this theme he gains access to Erebus and the combination of Terminus' Ravager spell and Erebus' Overtake ability can let Erebus just blitz the enemy.
Other
Trivia
- Released 2017.09
Other Cryx models/themes
Rules Clarifications
Template:RC Ambush Template:RC Carapace Template:RC Black Industries Template:RC Theme