04 November 2013

Like A Boss: Solo Spotlight - Stone Scribe Chronicler



Happy Monday to all of you! It's the start of a new week, and with that, a new edition of Like A Boss, this week, we will be taking a look at the Stone Scribe Chronicler.

Just like last week, the goal with this series will be to give an insight on how I rate our varying faction units/solos/warlocks, and hopefully provide some fun and informative topics for discussion and debate.

Follow along after the jump for all the juicy details!

Last week we covered the Skinner, and while some of you may question my rating, understand the following: I tend to play my models differently than most. Things in my meta are pretty competitive but more than likely different than your meta. Just because something doesn't work well in your meta does not mean it won't work in others, and vice-versa.

With that being said, if you want to debate my ratings, please feel free. I want your feedback and thoughts, just be prepared to engage in a conversation about them.

This week we will be looking at the Stone Scribe Chronicler. To most veteran players, this is considered to be an auto include solo with some lists, most prominently Borka's family reunion in tandem with Boomhowler's where his abilities really shine. Lets start breaking this model down bit by bit and see if the Chronicler is everything its cracked up to be.

Grading System

For a rating system, we will be grading four aspects of the model itself: Stats, Abilities, Attacks and Point Cost. This will be done on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, and 1 obviously being the worst. Each aspect will be looked at individually to determine a score. After all of the breakdowns are complete, I will issue a final grade based on the total number of points on the following scale:


  • 0-5 Points - D Grade (Probably useful in some random 1 time occurrence)
  • 6-10 Points - C Grade (Useful under certain circumstances with the correct army composition)
  • 11-15 Points - B Grade (Useful under most circumstances regardless of army composition)
  • 16-20 Points - A Grade (Auto-include, the best of the best that you can bring
I will try to keep these as objective as possible going forward, and remember, these are my impressions and opinions. Your mileage of course, may vary.

Stats

The Chronicler possesses pretty average stats. Fast enough at SPD 6 to keep up with Boomhowlers or Fennblades. DEF 12 means he's just like everything else in our faction, easy to hit. His ARM is on the low end at 13, which pretty much ensures he's going to die to a stiff breeze. The Chronicler has the worst ARM rating out of all our solo's with a melee attack.

Score - 2

Abilities

He's Tough! But he also tells Stories! The storytelling is what makes the Chronicler a viable solo selection. So lets break them down, one by one.
  • Charge of the Trolls - +2 melee attack and damage rolls against enemy models in melee range of a friendly warbeast. This one is mostly useless, considering we only have four warbeasts with Reach(not counting the Mountain King) and only one of those is a Heavy(Mulg). The other three(if they actually get into melee)won't last very long once they are there.
  • Hero's Tragedy - If an enemy model kills an affected model(or models) at the end of its activation, it gets knocked down. So after the enemy gets its full activation, if it kills a model, its knocked down. Not entirely sure I like this ability or not because it hinges on you losing models to work.
  • Tale of Mists - Models gain concealment and feign death. Okay, so your gonna get +2 DEF from concealment, and feign death, which makes you immune to being targeted by ranged or magic attacks while knocked down. This is probably the best story of the three, especially when used on faction friendly Boomhowler's or Sons of Bragg. For our other infantry, the +2 DEF could come in more handy. So this would be a solid story to tell on a unit every turn.
So out of the three stories, I see maybe two (Hero's Tragedy & Tale of Mists) seeing more use just due to how many models will be able to benefit from the story itself. (More so Mists than Tragedy). The attack and damage boost could be situational, but I'm not sure you're going to find a use or appropriate time to put Charge of the Trolls when you could put the other two stories on the same or different unit.

Score - 2

Attacks

One P+S 11 attack. Swinging at MAT 6, its going to be average, but then again, if this solo is swinging in melee, you may have other issues. He can however tell a story and attack in the same turn, so he can lend some support to the unit he covers. Just don't expect greatness out of him in the melee department.

Score - 1

Point Cost

Two points and you can only take one of them. Let me say that again. Two points, and you only get one.

Score - 1

Overall Score - 6 -  Grade C

My Thoughts
So there you have it. Overall grade of a C, which puts the Chronicler effective in certain circumstances with the right army composition. Now bear in mind, my grading a of C doesn't mean the model is useless. It means this model is useful with certain combinations, which I would venture most Troll players would agree.

If I could improve the model, I might be tempted to give him a magic weapon (because more of those are always useful). I would also increase the FA to at least 2, and lower the point cost to 1. Outside of that, maybe adjust Charge of the Trolls to where its not an extremely stripped down version of flank. I say this because with a faction full of medium based infantry, its extremely difficult to pull this ability off to where it pays off for more than just 1-3 models. I'm not entirely convinced its a ability that does as much for us as a faction full of small based infantry.

Which solo would you guys like me to cover next? Let me know! I've received a few suggestions that people might like to see the Kithkar next. Maybe he will be!

As always, have a comment/question/suggestion? Leave it below! Agree or disagree with me? I want to hear it! Articles you'd like to see done here on the Scrum? Speak up! I can't write it if you don't tell me you want it!


You can also follow me on Twitter or contact me via Email



Till next time kin, Stay tough and remember...
 

12 comments:

  1. Another cool read so thanks for that.

    With regards to Hero's Tragedy I think it would work very well on units like Burrowers. They pop out, cause mayhem and get beaten up the following turn but if in killing them the enemy gets knocked down the Borrowers have achieved two great turns for you rather than one as you can then put a world of pain onto the KD models.

    Next solo....Runebearer for me :)

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  2. I think he is slightly better than a C. Heroes tragedy is actually where I find he shines. Knocked down models allow you to see over them or simply walk past them on your turn so you can get to some juicier targets. Knocked down models that survive the turn have very limited options.

    When I first started trolls I didnt like him very much. But DEF 14 Trolls vs ranged and magic is a much needed boost in a faction full of DEF 12. My only gripes are as you mentioned. Charge of the Trolls is very situational, but I think with an Bouncer sitting at ARM 21 from the stone its a doable combo. Its not hard to get a Caber thrower up to POW 18-20 after layering Flaming FIists, Str of Stone, Fervor and Charge of the Trolls.

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  3. So in your estimation the Stone Scribe Chronicler is roughly as useful as the Trollblood Skinner, as they both received a grade of C. Alrighty then.

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    Replies
    1. Essentially yes, however a grade of C doesn't mean the model is bad. It simply means that this model is only really effective within the bounds of certain lists and I don't think that's a wrong assessment.

      If you think I'm wrong, then please tell me why?

      It's easy to leave a snarky comment, but if you think I'm wrong then let's talk about it. Tell me why I might be wrong.

      I am human, I can and will make mistakes.

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    2. The Trollblood Skinner is horrible even at the task that he was designed for - killing beasts. He can barely scratch them and doesn't have the defensive tech to get there alive in the first place (Prowl isn't even a poor man's Stealth). He has no place in any competitive list, and you never, ever see him in any major tournament list.

      The SSC, on the other hand, is an amazing support piece for our most popular army type - infantry swarm. Jamming someone up with Burrowers or Fennblades with Hero's Tragedy is amazing, punishing them for even killing the jam. Tale of Mist helps those same units make it up-field without getting shot to pieces (probably the Fennblades greatest weakness). Late game, Charge of the Trolls can turn the Krielstone Bearers into heavy killers (far better heavy killers than the Skinner will ever be). He's just slightly less useful than the Fell Caller Hero, who's an A in Trollbloods if there ever was one, and probably MORE useful than the Fell Caller Hero if your caster has a reliable method of lowering defense.

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    3. Wilde, your statement here just 100% justified my rating of C. You even say yourself that the Chronicler is an amazing support model for Infantry swarm armies.

      Thats just one army type we can run and if your running a more beast heavy list, the Chronicler is not going to be your first choice, especiially if infantry doesnt form the core of your army.

      When I grade models based on abilities and stats, im going for an overall look, not just how this model affects infantry swarm or beast swarm. Im grading as I see how they apply to the entire faction as a whole. I'm not comparng them against other factions, im simply doing an intra faction analysis.

      Again, you can disagree with my rating, and thats fine. Everyone has different opinions on how certain models perform, and every meta is different.

      I'll even give you a good non Trollblood example. There's a skorne player in my meta who recently won a last chance qualifier for Warmachine Weekend. One of his lists was a Makeda list (which is the one he won his final match with). I watched his match.

      Now, since he's won, suddenly the entire national skorne meta is up in arms, because Makeda is not considered a very competitive option, and there are now people trying to figure out what exactly he did to make his list fire off like that. Even more so because he used components that are not usually considered top tier for competition.

      Just because a model is perceived to be useless does not mean that it is.

      Remember, Trolls won hardcore at L&L this year, with a mountain king list, no less.

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  4. C is an average score, which I agree with. Problem is people's perception of 'average scores'. Don't get me started on the proliferation of 7/10 & 4/5 being used as okay/average scores. But I digress.
    Nice work Kro.

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    Replies
    1. The problem is that the Trollblood Skinner is NOT an average model. He's commonly referred to as one of, if not THE, worst models in Warmachine. He's a running joke on most podcasts. If he's a C, then everyone's a C or better. It's the proliferation of every model being "okay if used properly" which means that no model is every considered to be bad (even if they ARE in comparison with everything else).

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    2. Ah yes, the internet said so.

      "It's the proliferation of every model being "okay if used properly" which means that no model is every considered to be bad (even if they ARE in comparison with everything else)."

      It comes down to this, the stats on the card and the points cost.The two point zone is very very hard to adequately attribute value to. There is no question that some models of equal cost are more (or less) powerful.

      Player ability is a factor. The internet opinion is unavoidable,

      If you don't like the Skinner, don't play it! No one's forcing you to.

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    3. "There is no question that some models of equal cost are more (or less) powerful."

      What 2-point choices in Trollbloods do you think do less than the Skinner?

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    4. You realize there are four aspects being graded from 1-5 each. The lowest overall score possible being a 4. Yet the D grade is set at 0-5. So yeah everything pretty much will be a C or better.

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  5. I would rate him at least a B. Turning your frontline unit into a DEF14/Feign Death tar pit against shooting is so good. Sure, it's 'only' useful against an army with guns, but most of the top tier armies are running with them and of those, I think only Legion gets around it (and you're running Runes against that anyways).

    He's incredible. To put him on the same level as the Skinner is....discomforting, hehe.

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