What do you get when you let someone write an article about list building for their new favorite game? Over 4,000 words, a crying editor, and multiple articles. [ED. NOTE: Not crying; sobbing at most.] But, to paraphrase the immortal words of Mr. Jon Bon Jovi: “Whoa-oh, we’re halfway there / Whoa-oh, Do Paladins Have Hair?” No? Okay, how about a two-fer featuring the Iron Star Alliance AND Aeternus Continuum?
Iron Star Alliance
As with my previous article in this series, we’re taking the Heavy Duty pledges of the different Factions and adding to them to create awesome skirmish forces. This time, we’re taking on my personal favorite Faction: the Iron Star Alliance!
When you select a Heavy Duty pledge for the Alliance, you get the following:
- 1 Interceptor
- 1 Morningstar Variant B
- 1 Paladin Defenders Squad
- 1 Paladin Siegebreaker
- 1 Dr. Myra Hurst
- 1 Collision Course Expansion Rulebook and Cypher Deck
One of ISA’s biggest strengths is its squads of highly trained soldiers. With the inclusion of a bunch of Geometrics in the new Cypher deck, these squads are even more tricked out. To take advantage of this, I put together this list:
- Interceptor (3 Weapon Points, 1 Hardpoint)
- Tempest Cannon (3WP, 1HP)
- Morningstar Variant B (8 Weapon Points, 4 Hardpoints – Right Shoulder, Right Arm, Left Shoulder, Left Arm)
- Exchanger Cortex
- Gate Crasher (3 WP, S)
- Immolator (3 WP, S)
- Force Hammer (1 WP, A)
- Grenade Launcher (1 WP, A)
- Firebrand Variant A (5 Weapon Points, 3 Hardpoints – Shoulder, Right Arm, Left Arm)
- Neural Web Cortex
- Maelstrom (2 WP, S)
- Fusion Glaive (2 WP, A)
- Repulsor Shield (1 WP, A)
- Paladin Defenders
- Paladin Annihilators
- Paladin Enforcers
- Paladin Siegebreaker
- Paladin Weaver
- Myra Hurst (Free Hero Solo)
Attachments:
- Paladin Aegis
- Paladin Aegis
Rack:
- Fury
- Volition Anchor
- Paralytic Disruptor
- Cryo Lock
- Geometric
- Consecration Directive
- Devotion Paradigm
- Tachytelic Metamorphosis
- Reiteration Complex
- Temporal Cycle
- Mortality Destabilizer
- Harmonic
- Eschatonic Well
- Divination Algorithm
- Psychodynamic Infuser
- Overdrive
- Retribution Intercessor
- Vengeance Sequencer
- Interdiction Protocol
The main idea behind this list is that everything is built around helping your three squads. The Morningstar has become a walking gun platform—with the addition of the Gate Launcher, it can clear an area, then launch a gate with enough Arc on it to deploy a squad with an attachment. The Interceptor is an extremely quick flying vehicle with both a massive gun and already formidable forward guns. You can use that to fly around, picking off enemy warjacks or vehicles that are out of range or line of sight of your Morningstar.
The Firebrand has been kitted out with his traditional sword and board loadout, as well as the leftover Maelstrom from your Morningstar B kit. If you keep your Firebrand next to your squads, the Neural Web cortex kicks in, giving it a boost to their MAT. By using the Paladin Aegis with your Enforcer or Annihilator Squads, you add an extra heavy weapon to their attacks and the benefit of constant cover. For the Paladin Defenders, you’ll want to do exactly as the name suggests and pop them down on an objective as quickly as possible. You can also make them nigh-unkillable with the right Cipher cards! With the Paladin Siegebreaker, you not only have a weapons expert solo with 4 armor, but its guns are specifically built for destroying whole squads, allowing you to clear objectives. Finally, with Dr. Myra Hurst, you get some great Arc manipulation and a hand of 6 Cipher cards!
The rack is built around making your squads into absolute monsters. Devotion Paradigm just keeps respawning members of your squad, Tachytelic Metamorphosis gives a +2 to their MAT, RAT, and Movement, and it just keeps getting better from there. The deck also includes some fantastic utility cards, especially Eschatonic Well, a Cypher version of a Gate Crasher!
In order to get the most bang for your buck in the Backerkit for this, I’d recommend the following:
Get a Heavy Duty pledge for the Iron Star Alliance and use your Armory and Provision Credits to get a Paladin Weaver variant. Then, in the Add-Ons, grab Enforcers, Annihilators, 2 Aegis, and a Firebrand A. The Morningstar B will use most of its kit to fill out what you have, leaving you with the extremely useful Maelstrom, which works on the Firebrand!
Aeternus Continuum
So above we covered the Iron Star Alliance. Now, I’ve been asked to stop trying to figure out how Trollkin shave (because my doodles were disturbing our CS team), and instead focus my energies on building a skirmish list for everyone’s favorite organ-harvesting, trench coat-wearing cult, the Aeternus Continuum!
As before, we’ll be using the Heavy Duty Pledge as our starting point for our list. The AC’s Heavy Duty Pledge comes with the following:
- 1 Scythe
- 1 Nemesis Variant B
- 1 Vassal Raiders Squad
- 1 Raker
- 1 Harlan Sek, the Curator
- 1 Collision Course Expansion Rulebook and Cypher Deck
Right off the bat, you have an amazing squad of snipers, an attachment to help protect them if anyone gets too close, a stand-out utility solo, an amazing warjack, and one of the coolest vehicle sculpts in the range (I mean look at that giant blade!). Thus, you have tons of amazing offensive abilities—but not much defense. Normally when presented with models like this, I would stock up on defensive pieces to protect them, but that’s not really the Continuum’s style. I mean, who needs survivability if you’ve already scored your victory points? So, that gives us this list:
- Scythe (3 Weapon Points, 1 Hardpoint)
- Heavy Stinger (3 WP, 1 HP)
- Aenigma (3 Weapon Points, 1 Hardpoint)
- Hellfire Cannon (3WP, 1 HP)
- Nemesis Variant B (8 Weapon Points, 4 Hardpoints – Right Shoulder, Right Arm, Left Shoulder, Left Arm)
- Oracle Cortex
- Obliterator (3 WP, S)
- Fusion Saw (1 WP, A)
- Obliterator (3 WP, S)
- Stinger Cannon (1 WP, A)
- Scourge Variant A (5 Weapon Points, 3 Hardpoints – Arm, Left Shoulder, Right Shoulder)
- Revenger Cortex
- Reaper (2 WP, A)
- Nailer (1 W, S)
- Hex Cannon (2 W, S)
- Vassal Raiders
- Vassal Reavers
- Immortal Weaver
- Marauder
- Harlan Sek, the Curator (Free Hero Solo)
Attachments:
- Raker
- Raker
Rack:
- Fury
- Decomposer
- Nihilation Vortex
- Pyrokinetic Surge
- Geometric
- Acheronian Venediction
- Mortality Stabilizer
- Reiteration Complex
- Harmonic
- Recurrent Apotheosis
- Canker Bane
- Divination Algorithm
- Psychodynamic Infuser
- Overdrive
- Vengeance Sequencer
- Devastation Optimizer
- Impulse Inducer
- Momentum Calibrator
With both a Scythe and Aenigma in your list, you’ll be flying circles around your opponent. In addition to getting a second vehicle, Aenigma also has an Arc Relay, meaning they’re a Weaver as well. By giving Aenigma the Hellfire Cannon, you’re not only getting an awesome gun, but you’re increasing the range of Fury Cyphers cast through them to 15˝—that is literally half the board in a skirmish game! The Nemesis and Scourge warjacks have become toolbox killing machines, able to deal damage in both melee and ranged combat, with their cortexes helping them hit their targets. The Vassal Raiders give you another group of long-range killers to keep the enemies away from your squishier Vassal Reavers, and your Marauder is there to just wreck face. Then, you have an amazing utility piece in Harlan Sek. You can use him to heal your own units, mess with your opponents’ hands of Cyphers, or hand out activation tokens with his Flux Disruptor. Finally, with two Rakers, you have enough to deploy both with your squads, increasing both their damage output and survivability like crazy.
When you play with glass cannons, you’re gonna lose a few units. Because this list really leans into the glass cannon lifestyle, we better add something to punish our opponents when they inevitably kill a model or two. Here we have several great cards that really make your opponent think before taking a swing at you, notably Acheronion Venediction. The great thing about this card is you don’t roll to deal damage; it just automatically does damage to your opponents’ models if they hurt your squad. Seriously, this card should be in every single AC list.
Apart from those elements in the deck, we also have methods of moving your opponents’ models around, adding special effects to damages, and a couple of cards to help you out if your glass cannons are getting a little too broken.
Here’s how you get the best price out of the Backerkit to get this list:
Get a Heavy Duty Pledge for the Aeternus Continuum, use the Armory and Provision credits to get a variant Marauder, the Aenigma pilot kit, and an extra Nemesis Weapon Pack B (for that sweet Obliterator). In the Add-Ons. select an extra Raker, Scythe, Scourge Weapon Pack B, and Aeternus Continuum Command Group. With the Command Group, not only do you save a couple bucks, but you also get an extra Marauder you can use to customize the list if you like.
And don’t forget, our Backerkit is still up and running! It closes incredibly soon—like, on the 15th! Here’s the link: https://warcaster-collision-course.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Happy gaming!
