So, step one. Look at the first caster you like. In my case, it was going to be one of the casters I enjoyed playing. That meant, Thyra, Kreoss1, Kreoss2, Feora2, Feora3, Harby, or Vinny.
Onto best-bae. Feora. Feora2. Some great memories here. She's mostly unchanged from MkII but the loss of ignite and her bond meant that she's way too focus starved to do anything after upkeeps and allocation. I still played her mind, but her normal MkII schtick was gone. So was that warm fuzzy feeling I got from using her to BURN THE HERETICS.
So that's it. That's how I make a pairing. I hope it helps!
Kreoss2 was my immediate go-to. With EI, he's just gained a lot. The +2" of deployment means he can get his troops into combat a turn earlier, and against infantry lists, he's just horrible with Sacrosanct and his +2 arm spell, whatever it's called(there are many). BUT, I played a fair few games with him, and I've come to realise that whilst he has games, his bad matchups outweigh his good ones and the faction doesn't have a "Pre nerf Haley"-esque caster to cover all the bad matchups.
Ergo, I looked at Kreoss1. That gave me more joy, the Pope'n'Drope(Is that a thing, it totally is now) is always viable. So I looked at various ways of building him. And in the end I narrowed it down to two. The standard Dropem and Sockem with Reckoners, Tristan and Redeemers and so on. And the much more fun JACK MARSHAL FO' DAYS SON variant. Where you jack marshal Redeemers onto EVERYTHING. Bastion senny's. Reclaimers. The works. I dub it "Shock and Awe(plswork)".
The thing is, that's a one trick pony. You're relying on sheer volume of attacks or quality of attacks, and with the advent of the new MoW theme, the risk of that popping up is too much for me. Also one turn to deal damage is kind of a deal breaker(more on that later).
Thyra was next. She's got an AMAZING toolkit. Her spell list rocks, her weapons are great, her statline is insane, and she works in all themes. The issue is, can she function as a main list in a pairing? I don't think so. I prefer to use her to shore up weaknesses in my main list, and that is where she shines. She picks a few matchups to deal with and builds her list around them, using her spell list and feat to get into a great position.
Vinny however, does not have that issue. With the EI build using double vengers and knights, he can set the lines of engagement, use his feat to avoid retaliation quite well and use his army to cause maximum havoc the following turn. Case in point. Denny1 GF. If Vinny goes first, he's in charge range the following turn. If he feats, the only debuff Denny can apply is her feat, which won't stop the units from getting into her squishy pirates and destroying them with cleaving/overtaking knights. And the shooting? Forget about it, his feat makes his army immune to every gun bar the pistol wraiths, Rengrave himself, the hellslinger phantom and the weapon crews. So, at most. you're losing 6 models that turn, and removing a lot more. So that was an option. One I was strongly considering until I looked at a different caster(Wait for it.)
Onto best-bae. Feora. Feora2. Some great memories here. She's mostly unchanged from MkII but the loss of ignite and her bond meant that she's way too focus starved to do anything after upkeeps and allocation. I still played her mind, but her normal MkII schtick was gone. So was that warm fuzzy feeling I got from using her to BURN THE HERETICS.
Then it happened. Menoth threw a hissyfit and when he calmed down, he shat out a flaming horse. And gave it to Feora.(Canon fluff there.)And when the dust settled she became the master of rabblerousing, and gained a spell to show for it. Her mobility, her damage multiplication was great. I loved everything about her. I knew from the moment I saw her model, I'd have to get her, and when I saw her rules, I knew I'd have to play her.
So, onto a list. Looking at her stats, she's focus starved, that rules out Creators. She really needs a Hierophant, so that unfortunately rules out Guardians and Interdiction. So we're left with Faithful Masses. So in that theme, what can we get that works with her. I started with the Battlegroup and worked from there. She obviously wants a Hierophant as I stated, and I, of course, took her character heavy because of course you would with Threeora in Faithful, then I took a Reckoner and a Crusader.
So, onto a list. Looking at her stats, she's focus starved, that rules out Creators. She really needs a Hierophant, so that unfortunately rules out Guardians and Interdiction. So we're left with Faithful Masses. So in that theme, what can we get that works with her. I started with the Battlegroup and worked from there. She obviously wants a Hierophant as I stated, and I, of course, took her character heavy because of course you would with Threeora in Faithful, then I took a Reckoner and a Crusader.
I took a max unit of Idrians and the UA because I needed a strong unit that could take zones and deal damage on cue without CRAs. As for the merc stuff, I took Eiryss1 for disruption, LoS ignoring shots and finishers with Deadly Shot. Then I took Aiyana and Holt with an Attendant Priest for even more damage stacking under this theme. Then the choir came in, and finally I sprinkled in a few denial solos. Dartan as a shield guard, Two Paladins to sit on flags and a Punch Monk to deny zones/sit on flags. And that was the first list built.
To figure out what to pair it with, I needed to look at the first list, and figure out what I could play it into well, and what I couldn't drop it into. To that end, I looked at the meta boogeymen. Vlad1 rockets, Denny1 Ghost Fleet, and Coven Dark Host. Thyra has game into Dark Host, that's a fact. But she'll die to Ghost fleet because Speed 7 arc nodes and ghost shot CRAs are a thing under Denny's feat. She can somewhat play into Vlad1 rockets with occultation and her innate stealth combined with her feat. But I don't feel confident enough with that. Kreoss1 doesn't have the volume of attacks or the quality into either of the cryx lists and I haven't tested out the jack marshal spam list into the Vlad1 list.
So I was left looking at Vinny. His feat turn lets him deal with the Vlad list really well, providing you block the trample lanes with your cav, and as mentioned, his feat basically dictates where Denny goes, as well as making you immune to her attrition game for a turn.(At least in theory) And it stops the coven Dark Host 5" LoS/charging banes bullshit from happening. So, he shores up the three main lists that the first list in my pairing can't deal with.
So that's it. That's how I make a pairing. I hope it helps!
