Sonnia Criid list

[jetfire0188]

I just started playing about a couple of weeks ago with my first master Hoffman and loved him. He seems pretty straight forward to me so I was looking for a second master and that's when I saw Sonnia.

The thing is I need help building a 35pt list for her. Hoffman's was easy just construct, construct and, more constructs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is my theory Machine please let meknow how it is or what could be changed and why, Thank you.

Sonnia Criid + Sonnia, Avatar of Conflagration

Purifying Flame-------------2ss

ExorcistRare-----------------6ss

Fire GaminRare------------4ss

Fire GaminRare------------4ss

Witchling HandlerRare---7ss

Witchling Stalker-----------4ss

Witchling Stalker-----------4ss

[ SS Pool 6 ]

[Headcase2]

The Purifying Flame is pretty crappy, especially if you're playing the Avatar. You also want 8 SS with Sonnia - ALWAYS. The Purifying Flame is a cool model though...

The list lacks some durability. This isn't necessarily a problem, but be wary of war of attrition tactics (ressers tend to like those). Keep Sonnia safely at the back, or you'll risk losing the totem and the avatar too.

Apart from that most models on your list haven't been released yet.

[jetfire0188]

After doing some forum reading, I have the feeling you really need to build a crew based off what opponent your facing the most of, the scenario/objectives and, that you can't just make an all around list. So base on that the main opponent I face is Rasputina and lately the scenario has just been kill or be killed.

(Objectives we have just been picking at random to understand all of them.)

With that being said the only thing I see that may not work are the Fire Gamin. So with them out I have 8ss left over if I want to keep my cash at 6.

[jetfire0188]

What would make it more durable? I only have the first book right know. The Exorcist, Witchling Handler and, Fire Gamin I looked up at m LGS which seemed like they fit her style minus the Fire Gamin(I just thought that they looked cool/I like fire ^_^")

I did forget that when she goes avatar the totem goes away as well so I see your point with that I'll only have it for like 3 turns.

[Dark Alleycat]

Dont go for the excorcist unless your going to be fighting ressers. Honestly if I were facing Raspy,I would just put in more stalkers. That or perhaps something with a bit of kick to it,like Santiago or the Pale Rider.

[Koali]

I Think the Totem is woth it to become a Cheap Stalker later on...

@ List

Nice thematic List...

I like it...

[Lord Shaper]

I'd say Drop the Gamin (until they're released), Handler, Exorcist(same as the Gamin) and the Flame if your taking the Avatar. That give you 23ss spare plus the 6 your saying. Then add a couple Desperate Mercs...

2ss for character who aren't a bad shot and also can be turned into stalkers.

For protection for Sonnia you can add an Executioner or Judge and Samael is always fun and will be someone for the enemy to draw fire on while you get your crew growing.

2 Mercs = 4ss

Judge/Executioner = 7ss

Samael = 8ss

Sonnia Criid + Sonnia, Avatar of Conflagration

Desperate Merc-------------2ss

Desperate Merc-------------2ss

Samael Hopkins-------------8ss

Judge/Executioner----------7ss

Witchling Stalker-----------4ss

Witchling Stalker-----------4ss

That's sitting at 29ss

Then you could add another stalker and have 6ss add a watcher and have 7ss add another Merc and have 8ss

Also you could always swap out some of the Stalkers for Death Marshals or Guild Guard and when they are going to die turn them into stalkers etc...

[nilus]

I Think the Totem is woth it to become a Cheap Stalker later on...

Nah, because you rish manifesting before you turn it into a stalker and thus it goes away.

Personally for this list, I would drop the totem and take the 2 stones.

And drop a Witchling stalker and take two desperate mercenaries instead. Which you can then abuse and turn into stalker around turn 3

[nix]

At 35ss I have had a lot of luck with the following list:

Guild Crew - 35 - Scrap

Sonnia Criid

--

7 Pool

+ Sonnia, Avatar of Conflagration

[2ss]

• Desperate Mercenary
  [2ss]
  
  
• Desperate Mercenary
  [2ss]
  
  
• Fire Gamin
  [4ss]
  
  
• Fire Gamin
  [4ss]
  
  
• Guardian
  [7ss]
  
  
• Santiago Ortega
  [7ss]
  
  
• Witchling Stalker
  [4ss]
  
  

The basic idea is to keep the Mercs plus Santiago in range of a turn 1 inferno. This buffs the mercs while putting them down to 1wd, allowing a quick stalker creation. If the guardian shield bashes Santiago for 1 wd, inferno pushes Santiago into buff zone as well, making for a fairly hard hitting turn 2 crew. This also does not slow down your manifest.

I typically protect Santiago with the guardian to have somewhere to shift wounds once Santiago gets down to H2K. In addition, the guardian makes a nice Melee escort for Santiago.

I aim to keep the fire gamin back to work as a second wave once I manifest.

[nilus]

Blah Blah Blah Nix's awesome Sonnia list blah blah

YOINK!

So stealing this. Any trick you can add to keep the Guardian from falling behind.

[Brettqpublic]

YOINK!

So stealing this.

Me too! Me too! As a new player I was wracking my brain on how to use aCriid when she comes out (that model is too sweet to not field with a proper paint job).

Any trick you can add to keep the Guardian from falling behind.

Overprotective has always allowed him to keep up with Lady J for me. Santiago outpaces him but Protect has a range of 3 inches. What I usually do is move the Guardian first to a position where he can Protect Lady J after she charges.

[nilus]

Me too! Me too! As a new player I was wracking my brain on how to use aCriid when she comes out (that model is too sweet to not field with a proper paint job).

She is actually pretty easy to use and field. She is one of the best avatars in the new book imho. My problem is that I am relatively new to Sonnia(I have been mostly a Perdita and LJ player) so I am just trying to figure out the best crew to work with her.

[Dracomax]

I discovered in a recent game that guild hounds, or as I now call them, mobile strike coordinators, work well. they don't last long, but they are cheap.

Basic strategy: Hound runs up to enemy master/group. Using companion(master) Sonnia activates, then Sonnia Targets hound with Flame burst. Since your opponent cannot cheat to stop it from happening, or spend a soulstone, you have a pretty good chance of Severe or moderate damage, so blast markers hit your enemies.

Seems like a solid strategy, and if the hound survives, he's usually primed to be turned into a witchling, so if there's anything in the Rules I missed that would prohibit it, or any reasons it isn't a good strategy (or there are cheaper pieces with comparable movement), let me know.

[Bucket Monkey]

I too may have to steal nix's list when I get round to getting avatar sonnia, maybe even give it a go with regular sonnia for the mercs into stalkers, using the fast guild hounds as a fire point is a very good idea too, maybe a blend of both dropping the fire gamin for hounds.

[fishtank]

I despise the idea of taking a generic cheap model simply to turn it into something more expensive.

Sure, it's in the rules...but it seems so against the spirit of fair competition, and reeks of playing the system. The same sort of playing the system that made me fall out of love with Warmachine.

It makes a vague sort of sense for Ressers to act like that, but Guild? not so much.

[FearLord]

I despise the idea of taking a generic cheap model simply to turn it into something more expensive.

Sure, it's in the rules...but it seems so against the spirit of fair competition, and reeks of playing the system. The same sort of playing the system that made me fall out of love with Warmachine.

It makes a vague sort of sense for Ressers to act like that, but Guild? not so much.

Hardly. First of all, outside of totems, the cheapest models you could bring yourself to do this are 3 soul stones (or Desperate Mercs who cost 2 but will cost more if you want them after the first few turns) and Witchlings are only 4 soul stones, so the points advantage here is tiny...

Secondly, it isn't like it costs nothing to use 'Violation of Magic' - at a bear minimum it uses up 1AP from your master and a 10+ of Tomes (alternatively, if you're planning to benefit from it multiple times, you can use forbidden lore to make it a soulstone, your (0) action, 1AP and a 9 of any suit...

Thirdly, the target has to be on 1 wound (or slightly more and have a cast of over 5) which will require some interesting work between you / your opponent to make it a sure thing...

Lastly, the newly summoned Witchling will be 'Slow' on the turn its summoned, so unless you've already used the model you replace, you replace a model with 2AP with a model with 1AP...

Basically, its best to use as a way of recycling Minions who happen to be down to their last wounds and in the case of Witchlings and Fire Gamin, those who are poised to explode on enemy models if killed. A nice tool to have, but anyone who thinks its a good idea to take 3 soul stone models to turn into 4 soul stone models turn 1 as a way of getting more points out of their list is being pretty foolish...

Edited October 2, 2011 by FearLord

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

I despise the idea of taking a generic cheap model simply to turn it into something more expensive.

Sure, it's in the rules...but it seems so against the spirit of fair competition, and reeks of playing the system. The same sort of playing the system that made me fall out of love with Warmachine.

It makes a vague sort of sense for Ressers to act like that, but Guild? not so much.

I agree with your feelings it is cheap, but as fear points out it really isn't beneficial, also another point to add is for Sonia it seems unnecessary and extremely easy to see especially if it was done before.

[nilus]

It makes a vague sort of sense for Ressers to act like that, but Guild? not so much.

I think you miss the point of the Desperate Merc. Its not just there to make a Witchling out of. Points for point they are probably the best unit in the game. You take them and hurt them so they perform better and then you have the shoot the crap out of your enemy. If you can get lucky and turn them into a stalker before they die or try to charge you an extra Soul stone that is just great.

And taking a desperate man, punishing him and then forcing him to fight and die for you is totally within the Guild style. We wrote the book on oppressing the masses.

[Dark Alleycat]

My only thoughts on it are that its simpler generally to turn your enemies models into witchling stalkers. Besides,why waste the time turning your own resources into stalkers when your enemies models work so very well for it

[shakedown47]

I'm also new to the game...as in I haven't played at all yet I'm an old hand at tabletop games and I'm getting a pretty firm grasp on the rules, I think, and the first game should be this weekend. That said, will Hamelin work well when thrown in with Sonnia's box set? On paper he seems like a natural choice, with being able to move Samael out of cover so that he can spend his action points on Rapid Fire. Also, putting up a couple of flame walls and letting Hamelin walk your opponent's models into them a couple of times seems like fun, all while Advanced Counterspell keeps him shielded from enemy spells. Can anyone speak to the validity of including him in a 30ss or 35ss list?

[harbinger]

It makes a vague sort of sense for Ressers to act like that, but Guild? not so much.

Im not commenting on whether the mechanics are cheese or not... but from a fluff base are we talking about the same Guild?

I mean whod ever think of the Guild using someone for its own good, sacrificing them without a second thought when suits their goals, or grinding them under a boot heel when no longer serves a purpose?

[Akujie]

like the hamelin idea, budy of mine plays him with his pandora, may try him out with her to see if he is worth the points (him and sam though would be a huge chunk of stones)

[nix]

My only thoughts on it are that its simpler generally to turn your enemies models into witchling stalkers. Besides,why waste the time turning your own resources into stalkers when your enemies models work so very well for it

Couple things on that. First, Desperate Merc's actually get better once they are hurt. By hitting them with Inferno it has 2 effects:

1. It puts them in range to turn into a witching stalker
   
2. It activates Frantic (adding a to Attack flips)
   

At this point, the Merc's bring a number of benefits over enemy models. A couple are:

1. You control the point of summoning, not your opponent (when you violate a model, the witchling summons from the target)
   
2. The Merc can activate (0) for my family and you do not need to worry about the sacrifice. Your turning him into a witchling before the end of the turn anyways. (0) FMF gives the merc +3 to duel totals and :+fate to damage flips.
   
3. Mercs have a 5 movement, this lets them position well for using 1 AP to shoot.
   
4. If you do not have to move to get in 8 inch range, you can uncontrolled fire 2 times for a net 4x CB5 shot (paired CB5) and 2/3/4 :+fate damage prior to flipping the attack card. If you have to move you get 1 shot.
   
5. Then, at the end of the turn, you get a slow witchling stalker an additional 6 inches away that can do something as well.
   

Overall, these benefits in exchange for 1 witchling are very much worth it in my opinion. To be fair, I do not skimp on turning the enemy models into witchlings either. I try to churn out as many little cloaked dudes as I can in a turn. The two Merc-Witchling are just controllable and give me other advantages over enemey-witchlings.

[nix]

I'm also new to the game...as in I haven't played at all yet I'm an old hand at tabletop games and I'm getting a pretty firm grasp on the rules, I think, and the first game should be this weekend. That said, will Hamelin work well when thrown in with Sonnia's box set? On paper he seems like a natural choice, with being able to move Samael out of cover so that he can spend his action points on Rapid Fire. Also, putting up a couple of flame walls and letting Hamelin walk your opponent's models into them a couple of times seems like fun, all while Advanced Counterspell keeps him shielded from enemy spells. Can anyone speak to the validity of including him in a 30ss or 35ss list?

Its a good plan, I have not played Hamelin much, do not use many mercs in my guild lists. Desperate Mercs are one of the exceptions for me lately.

I would also think if your looking for an obey, Abuela may be a better choice over Hamelin. Hamelin will end up running you 10ss to Abuela's 7. I would rather save the 3 points if you just looking for an obey in the crew.

[shakedown47]

Its a good plan, I have not played Hamelin much, do not use many mercs in my guild lists. Desperate Mercs are one of the exceptions for me lately.

I would also think if your looking for an obey, Abuela may be a better choice over Hamelin. Hamelin will end up running you 10ss to Abuela's 7. I would rather save the 3 points if you just looking for an obey in the crew.

Thanks for the suggestion, I didn't know about Abuela's abilities. I think I'll stick with Hamelin, though, because due to his ability you can make a model spend an action to walk into a fire wall and then, if the fire wall is set up just right, get a free spell to push them into another fire wall for a total of 6 damage, and then leave them there so that they take another 3 damage on their own activation. Seems nasty.

I also like Hamelin's ability to remove counters from the game and that Nix's bites make models insignificant. Admittedly, though, I haven't played nearly enough to know just how useful those abilities are or how often I'll use them.