20 August 2012

But I Like to Boast: A Guide to the Sons of Bragg by Magonus

When Domination was released, the Sons of Bragg were met with a lot of skepticism. The common complaint was that for the same points you could take a minimum unit of Champions with a total of two more melee attacks, 1-3 points more ARM and the ability to benefit from a Fell Caller and Grissel Bloodsong. All of these points are true, which begs the question: Why take the Sons of Bragg?

The Sons of Bragg fill a completely different role than Champions. Where Champions are able to take a hit themselves then dish one back out, the Sons of Bragg are best avoiding the hit until they can either launch an alpha strike or provide the counter to a hit that a different unit has just suffered. Additionally, Champions want to be bunched together to benefit from Defensive Line. The Sons of Bragg can take advantage of their large command range and still benefit from their fell calls, allowing them to charge from multiple angles and making it difficult to take all three out at once.

With the right buffs, the Sons of Bragg can mow down enemy infantry, wreck light warjacks and warbeasts and cripple heavy warjacks and warbeasts with average dice rolls. Even without external buffs, Fervor can turn the entire unit into an offensive force to be reckoned with.

Warlock SupportBorka Kegaslayer: Under the effects of Iron Flesh, your opponent needs MAT/RAT 9 or better to hit the Sons of Bragg on average dice. Since they're naturally faster than the majority of troll infantry, the -1 SPD doesn't hurt as badly since it just brings them down to the troll baseline. Once you're ready to strike, you can drop the speed penalty and give the SoBs a 13" and 11.5" threat range thanks to Borka's feat. If you don't with them to suffer the speed penalty at all, keeping them close to Borka under the effects of Wind Wall will help keep the SoBs safe until you can pull off the alpha strike.

Calandra Truthsayer: The Sons of Bragg already have higher than average defense and Bullet Dodger will make one of them even better while possibly helping set up a charge angle is your opponent decides to target him anyway but misses. Star-Crossed further helps their survivability while you position the SoBs to strike. While Fervor means that you won't miss often, occasionally it does happen which is where Fate Blessed can save the day by giving you a key re-roll.

Grim Angus: Cross-Country is one of the few ways to give the Sons of Bragg Pathfinder. Additionally, being able to spray through forests with Hunter lets Tor attack enemy models without granting line of sight for a return attack or lets the entire unit pull off an alpha strike from a position of safety.

Grissel Bloodsong: Grissel offers the Sons of Bragg less than any almost other warlock. Calamity is the best she can do for them, especially if you can cast it on a high defense enemy unit, bringing Tor's spray to an effective RAT 10 with Fervor. Otherwise, Grissel is better off using her fury to cast various offensive animi such as Rage or Flaming Fists.

Epic Grissel Bloodsong: Epic Grissel helps the Sons of Bragg much more than her regular version. Dash is always welcome, extending their threat range to 12" and 10.5". Her feat is also a great boon as it allows the SoBs to close quickly with their opponent and bumps them to a respectable ARM 17 once they get there.

Captain Gunnbjorn: Being able to cast Rock Wall with a 12" area of effect can keep the Sons of Bragg alive long enough to allow them the alpha strike. While the Sons of Bragg can stand the entire unit up to start an activation if one or two have been knocked down, Gunnbjorn's feat means that they can use Fervor instead of Call to Action if they've made their tough rolls.

Hoarluk Doomshaper: Fortune is always a welcome spell, but with Fervor the Sons of Bragg have better odds of hitting than almost any other troll infantry so you will likely have a better target. Banishing Ward helps keep the SoBs from being debuffed into uslessness or assassinated by enemy spells. Like Grissel, you may want to utilize Hoarluk to buff the SoBs via animi.

Epic Hoarluk Doomshaper: Epic Hoarluk does the same for the Sons of Bragg that he does for all troll infantry - Nothing. Casting Rage or Transmute for free is about as good as it gets. Or you can cast one of those animi three times and buff all of the SoBs with fury to spare.

Jarl Skuld: Jarl is possibly the best warlock to run the Sons of Bragg with. The fact that they can only benefit from their own fell calls means that giving them Pathfinder is more difficult than for other troll units. Weald Secrets takes care of this problem while also providing Camouflage. The SoBs can sit in the edge of a forest or benefit from Tale of Mist and sit at DEF 17 against ranged attacks. Quicken gives them a 13" and 11.5" threat range on a charge and a respectable DEF 15 as they approach enemy lines. Magic Bullet on Tor is a useful because when making a spray, the attacker chooses which model under the spray template to roll against first. On an Assault, Magic Bullet can bounce to a target up to 22.5" away from Tor, plus the size of the furthest target's base.

Madrak Ironhide: Madrak is able to provide a lot of benefits to the Sons of Bragg. Carnage combined with Fervor brings them to an effective MAT 11, allowing them to hit just about anything. Under Madrak's feats, the SoBs can mow through enemy infantry. MAT 9 or 11 will hit most things and P+S 12 or better weapon masters will kill them.

Epic Madrak Ironhide: With Blood Fury, the Sons of Bragg can reach the height of their offensive potential. Fully buffed, Wrathar can charge an ARM 20 Khadoran heavy warjack for 17 damage on average dice while Rhudd can do 27 with his two swings. Popping Epic Madrak's feat after the charge brings the totals to 29 and 37, respectively. Against lower ARM models, the beatdown is even more severe. Since the Sons of Bragg can't benefit from a Fell Caller, Epic Madrak's ability to give them Pathfinder via Killing Ground helps to get them into the enemy's lines despite hindering terrain

Other Support

Warbeasts

Dire Troll Mauler: Rage is the best friend of the Sons of Bragg. Combined with Fervor, the effected SoB can hit at P+S 17 or 15, enough to remove a column from a Khador heavy on average dice even without a charge.

Earthborn Dire Troll: Transmute requires the right terrain to make good use of, but a wall gives an effected Son of Bragg defensive stats of 17/17 against ranged attacks and 15/17 against melee keeps the SoB alive long enough to destroy your enemies. Nearby rough terrain gives him a 13" or 11.5" inch threat range. Assault means Tor can put a POW 14 spray on an enemy 19.5" away, hitting DEF 15 on average dice.

Pyre Troll/ Slag Troll: Flaming First and Acidic Touch are the little brothers to Rage. P+S 16 or 14 can still cripple the weapon of a light warjack on a non-charge and can almost one-shot a bonejack on a charge. And a 13% chance of causing Fire or Corrosion never goes amiss.

Storm Troll: Rhudd gets the most Lightning Fists given his two attacks. The ability to destroy two support or light infantry models behind the charge target is typically worth 1 fury. Tor also can put it to good use. The spray granted by Assault is resolved prior to melee attacks but can often leave stragglers, one of which an Electro Leap can finish off.

Swamp Troll: Swarm greatly increases the survivability of a Son of Bragg. When an attacking model needs to have effective MAT/RAT 8 to hit on average dice, your opponent needs to allocate a greater percentage of their force to get the job done.

Solos & Units
Janissa Stonetide: Janissa needs to do a little work to keep up with her slower speed, but Wall of Stone can keep the Sons of Bragg alive long enough to get to the enemy army. If the SoBs are engaged, Tectonic Shift pushes your foes just far enough way to allow a charge and Tor's ever dangerous Assault.

Stone Scribe Chronicler: Did I say the Sons of Bragg were a 6 point, 3 man unit? The SSC helps them to the point that they might as well be an 8 point, 4 man unit. Tale of Mist adds the ever important survivability without having to spend fury from a warbeast or warlock. Since the SSC only needs to be within 8" of one member of the SoBs, he will typically survive to buff them turn after turn. Charge of the Trolls (combined with other buffs) allows the SoBs to their highest melee output, an effective P+S 20 and 18.

Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes: The Sons of Bragg benefit from Protective Aura as much as any troll unit with ARM 17 being that much tougher to crack. Stone Strength brings Tor and Rhudd's P+S to the same as a Champion and Wrathar better melee damage than most troll light warbeasts.

Army Ideas

35 Points
Jarl Skuld, Devil of the Thornwood
-Dire Troll Blitzer
-Pyre Troll
-Troll Impaler
-Runebearer
Fell Caller Hero
Kriel Warriors [6]
-Kriel Caber Thrower [3]
-Kriel Warrior Standard & Piper
Sons of Bragg
Stone Scribe Chronicler

50 Points
Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain
-Dire Troll Mauler
-Pyre Troll
-Troll Axer
-Troll Impaler
-Runebearer
Fell Caller Hero
Sons of Bragg
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Thumper Crew
Thumper Crew
Troll Whelps
Trollkin Fennblades [10]
-Fennblade Offier & Drummer

3 comments:

  1. Keep in mind also that Calandra's feat increases their potential damage output, including fate blessed as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Keep in mind also that Calandra's feat increases their potential damage output, including fate blessed as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really wanna like my Sons of Bragg way more than I do, I guess I need to pick up Jarl and try that combo out.

    ReplyDelete