Aspis

Aspis Retribution Shyeel Light Warjack

Prime This model is available in 2 Prime Armies, Legions of Dawn and Shadows of the Retribution. It can also be used in the Unlimited game mode. You can view the other Mk3 models that made it into a Legacy Army at this page. Note that the rest of this page is about the model's Mark III rules.

A marvel of Iosan force mastery, the Aspis is an unmistakable sight on the battlefield. The myrmidon is equipped to manipulate its own protective field dynamically and can catch bullets with it before they strike. A stalwart guardian of its controlling warcaster, the Aspis can smash even the largest enemies backward with blows of its force-enhanced fists to keep its master safe from harm.

Basic Info

Aspis
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Medium SPD 6 STR 8 MAT 6 RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 13 ARM 16 CMD N/A ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 20 F. Field 6 WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA U UNIT SIZE N/A COST 6 N/A N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Warjack - All warjacks share the same set of special rules. Most notably being big and stompy. Click here for a newbie-friendly recap, or click here for the full rules.

Abilities

• Construct
• Field Dependent - While its Field Generator system is crippled, this model loses Beat Back, Phoenix Field, and Shield Guard
• Force Fields - This warjack has an extra damage track that takes damage first. Once per turn during its activation, this model can spend 1 focus point to remove 5 damage points from its force field damage track unless its Field Generator system is crippled.
• Phoenix Field - Remove d6 damage points from this model's force field after resolving continuous effects during your Maintenance Phase.
• Shield Guard - Once per round, when a friendly model is directly hit by a non-spray ranged attack during your opponent's turn while within 3" of this model, you can choose to have this model directly hit instead. This model is automatically hit and suffers all damage and effects. This model cannot use Shield Guard while it is incorporeal, knocked down, or stationary. The Shield Guard special rule can only trigger once per attack roll.

Weapons

Repulsor (x2)
		RNG				POW				P+S
		0.5				3				11
Beat Back - Immediately after a basic attack with this weapon is resolved during this model's Combat Action, the enemy model hit can be pushed 1" directly away from the attacking model. After the enemy model is pushed, the attacking model can advance up to 1" directly toward it.

Theme Forces

• Defenders of Ios
• Forges of War
• Legions of Dawn. In this theme Aspiss can ignore friendly Dawnguard models when determining LOS, and it can advance through friendly Dawnguard models if it has enough movement to move completely past them. Also, if someone 'Jack Marshals Aspis, it gains Flank [Dawnguard].
• Shadows of the Retribution

Thoughts on the Aspis

Aspis in a nutshell

The Aspis is shield guard jack with a rock-bottom price tag. There are few lights in its point category, apart of Cryx bonejacks, and a few mercenary pieces. This one is designed to stay near models that you don't want to get hit with ranged attacks. It's Phoenix Field helps it to take that one attack per turn with little lasting damage. Once it gets into melee, it can occasionally push heavier targets out of position via beat-back or take out light-moderate armor infantry models. Don't get carried away though; this jack is as brittle as it seems. 8 points of targeted damage can shut down all of its special rules, but even so, that 8 points were likely been redirected from your more valuable pieces.

Combos & Synergies

• None, really... it does what a good, cheap Shield Guard does and protects your caster from opportunistic shots. It's self-healing, making it more likely to be able to Shield Guard effectively from turn to turn. It's worth having an Arcanist Mechanik close at hand to help repair if required (chances are, another gun-toting Myrmidon will be ahead to deliver counter shots during your turn so the Arcanist can be assigned flexibly). This also forces your opponent to invest significant resources to deal with the Aspis, or discourages any potential ranged assassination altogether.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Any drawback would probably be worth listing here will be covered by its 6 pts price tag.
• However, cheap though it is, it's role is subsumed almost entirely by the Forges of War theme, which grants Shield Guard to every Myrmidon in the list (and its self-healing ability is taken by any Myrmidon marshal'd to the House Shyeel Artificer. Almost the only reason to include it in a Forges list is because of its price, but there are often better things to spend the points on.

Tricks & Tips

• Look for targets, who just barely chip the edge of the zones - one (or two) Beat Back hit will likely push them out of position.

Other

Trivia

• Aspis is the ancient Greek term that, alongside hoplon, meant 'shield', which is rather fitting for Ret's only jack Shield Guard.
  • Also, strangely for a Ret jack, this is a historic term, rather than mythological, a feature it shares with Imperatus, if in a more straight forward way.
  • And as a third declension Greek noun, its plural is 'Aspides'.
• The Mk2 Aspis had the most hitboxes of any light warjack or warbeast in the game.
• Released in the Warmachine: Wrath expansion (2011)

Other Retribution models

Retribution Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warcasters	Elara2 - Falcir1 - Garryth1 - Garryth2 - Goreshade4 - Helynna1 - Issyria1 - Kaelyssa1 - Ossyan1 - Rahn1 - Ravyn1 - Thyron1 - Vyros1 - Vyros2
Warcaster attachments	Fane Knight Guardian (Retribution) - Sylys Wyshnalyrr (Retribution) - Madelyn Corbeau (Mercenary)
Other Warjack Controllers	Elara1 (BGC) - Sentinel Scyir ('Jack Marshal) - Artificer ('Jack Marshal)
Light Warjacks	Aspis - Chimera - Gorgon - Griffon - Harpy - Siren Moros
Heavy Warjacks	Aeternae - Banshee - Daemon - Discordia - Hemera - Hydra - Hypnos - Imperatus - Manticore - Phoenix - Sphinx
Colossal	Hyperion - Helios
Units, Solos, & Battle Engines
Units	Cyelna & Nyss Hunters - D Destors - D Invictors - D Sentinels - Heavy Rifle Team - H Halberdiers - H Riflemen - HE Swordsmen - HE Wardens - HS Arcanists - HS Battle Mages - HV Electromancers - MH Infiltrators - MH Strike Force - Ryssovass Defenders - Spears of Scyrah - Stormfall Archers Special: Eiryss3 (CA) - Soulless Escort (WA)
Solos	Aelyth Vyr - Arcanist Mechanik - D Destor Thane - D Sentinel Scyir - Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios (1) - Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (2) - Eiryss, Fortune Hunter of Ios (4) - Elara, Tyro of the Third Chamber (1) - Fane Knight Guardian - Fane Knight Skeryth Issyen - Ghost Sniper - Hermit of Henge Hold - HE Warden Executioner - HS Artificer - HS Magister - Houseguard Thane - Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress Lys Healer - MH Assassin - Narn, Mage Hunter of Ios - Nayl - Priest of Nyssor - Scythe - Soulless Voidtracer
Battle Engines	Arcantrik Force Generator - Dawnguard Trident
Theme Forces
Defenders of Ios - Forges of War - Legions of Dawn - Shadows of the Retribution
Mercenaries
Refer to Category: Retribution of Scyrah Mercenary
This index was last updated: 2021.04

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Warjack      (Edit) The Cortex/Induction core rule means a warjack cannot have more than 3 focus at any time (maybe 4 if they're really special). Many abilities give out focus and don't state an upper limit (such as Convection and Empower). Despite not stating an upper limit, they are always "hard-limited" by the core rule. A warjack can have more than 3 focus during a turn, though. For instance, a knocked down warjack can Power Up and be Allocated 2 focus, then spend 1 to shake knockdown, then another model could Empower it back up to 3. Warjacks cannot spend focus outside of their activation. For instance, they can't boost free strikes or trigger Powerful Attack on Broadsides. (Infernal Ruling) Inert warjacks Abilities that say they cannot be used if the model is stationary (such as Shield Guard) cannot be used while a warjack is inert, either. Refer "Warcaster Destruction", page 59 of the core rulebook.

Rules Clarification : Construct - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Shield Guard and/or Shadow Guardian     (Edit) You can't use this ability vs spells. You shift all effects onto the new model, including stuff that triggers on "when this attack hits". When you use this ability vs an AOE attack, the template moves too. Because, with reference to Apdx A, the hit 'moves' at Step 6 and the template placement is determined at Step 7. This ability doesn't work vs Point Blank attacks. Because Point Blank attacks are melee attacks that are made using a ranged weapon. On the other hand, it will work vs Gunfighter attacks. Shield Guard only Since Shield Guard specifies "opponent's turn", it can't be used against stuff that shoots in your own turn (such as Watcher or Counterblast). The Shield Guard does not necessarily need to be in the attacker's LOS or range. The Shield Guarder is always hit even if they have an ability that makes them automatically get missed, such as Stealth. (Automatically missing is determined earlier in the timing sequence than the Shield Guard moving the hit.) (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Beat Back      (Edit) You cannot use Beat Back if you destroy the target; because you can't advance towards a model that is no longer on the table. (Infernal Ruling) You can trigger Beat Back even if the model is no longer in your melee range after the attack. For instance, if you used a Pitch to throw it away, you can still Beat it Back. (Locked thread) The free advance doesn't depend on the target being pushed, but it is dependent on you trying to push them: If you try to push something which Cannot Be Pushed (such as a Colossal), then it won't move and then you can advance directly towards it. If you choose not to push your target, then you choose not to trigger Beat Back, so you don't get to advance. (mk2 Ruling) Beat Back can be used to push larger models. Push - General     (Edit)   [Show/Hide] Pushed models do not change their facing. Pushed models move at half rate through difficult terrain. Also, Pathfinder doesn't apply during pushes. Pushed models stop if they contact anything - a model of any size, or any obstacles or obstructions. You don't get free strikes against pushed models, because it is "involuntary movement" and therefore does not count as an advance. Pushed models suffer the effects of anything they move through (such as acid clouds). If you use a Push vs a charging model (via a free strike for example), this will stop the charge movement (refer core rulebook). However, if the pushed model is in melee range of its charge target after the push, then it is considered a successful charge. (Infernal Ruling) In that scenario, you measure whether the charging model moved 3" or less excluding the push distance. (Infernal Ruling) If you push a model to a position where it regains Incorporeal (for instance you push it out of range of an Exorcist) then what happens is (Being Checked by Infernals)

Rules Clarification : Phoenix Field - None yet. (Edit)
Rules Clarification : Field Dependent - None yet. (Edit)