Sphinx

Sphinx Retribution Vyre Heavy Warjack

Prime This model is available in one Prime Army, 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.

Recently unleashed upon the enemies of the Retribution, House Vyre’s myrmidons were developed with distinct capabilities all their own. The Sphinx rends its enemies with twin force claws or uses its runespear cannon to shatter an enemy’s mystical defenses, making it more vulnerable to magical attacks.

Basic Info

Sphinx
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Large SPD 5 STR 11 MAT 6 RAT 6 M.A. N/A DEF 12 ARM 19 CMD N/A ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 30 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA U UNIT SIZE N/A COST 13 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

Weapons

Runespear Cannon
		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW			LOCATION
		12			1			-			12			Right
Damage Type: Magical Psychic Relay - Models hit by this weapon suffer Arcane Attraction for one turn. (Arcane Attraction - When a friendly model casts a spell targeting a model affected by Arcane Attraction, that spell gains +3 RNG.)
Light Force Claw
		RNG				POW				P+S				LOCATION
		1				4				15				Right
Open Fist
Heavy Force Claw
		RNG				POW				P+S				LOCATION
		2				6				17				Left
Open Fist

Theme Forces

• Defenders of Ios
• Forges of War. In this theme this model gains Shield Guard.
• Legions of Dawn. (1) In this theme this model 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. (2) If someone 'Jack Marshals this model in this theme, it gains Flank [Dawnguard].
• Shadows of the Retribution

Thoughts on the Sphinx

Sphinx in a nutshell

Cheapish, resilient beatstick with an alright gun. It shines alongside spell-casters but is not allowed in forges of war limiting its potential to a handful of models.

With this in mind it is easiest to get mileage out of the Sphinx if you treat it as an expendable melee heavy that happens to have a gun. 2 open fists opens up lots of power attack options and while it needs help to trade vs other heavies it does have a good defensive stat line as with the rest of the chassis.

The 2021 update hasn’t really changed how the Sphinx works you are just more likely to get a shot off with its gun before lines clash.

Combos & Synergies

• Rahn - A spellslinger who uses other spellslingers that go from range ten with most spells to range thirteen! Add that with Rahn's feat. and an extra sphinx or two and you can really bully most of the field with fifteen inch magic pew pews!
• Ravyn has Open Fire allowing it to shoot out of activation. Unfortunately she doesn’t have any spells that benefit from the Sphinx but any other model in her army Elara1, Eilish1 or Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress would benefit.
• Garryth2 he gets almost nothing from psychic relay due to witchmark. But extra shots out of activation from the feat, warpath, pathfinder and mortality are all useful on a slow jack of all trades.
• Vyros1 doesn't mind a couple of them to serve as cheap beaters that can really punch hard on feat turn. He also fixes their SPD issues.
• Sylys Wyshnalyrr - Their range bonuses on spells stack, making for an effective +5".
• Arcantrik Force Generator - A 10" gun is a bit short ranged, the AFG helps with this.
• Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress - shooting Hunters Mark 13” keeps her a bit safer than shooting it 10”, especially in Defenders of ios where she gain Repo 3"
• House Shyeel Artificer - He can marshal it, which might not be a bad idea given the Sphinx is relatively cheap and takes any of the Drives well. Its gun also increases the range of Magno Bolt.
• Helynna - A longer range Hand of Destruction is nifty and her Field Marshal makes spells more accurate, too.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• The Sphinx doesn't hit nearly as hard as a Manticore, or shoot as well as a Daemon. It's an in between kind of jack, but given it is cheaper than both of them that is okay. Your mileage with it is just dictated by your casters kit and list construction.

Tricks & Tips

• Position it for melee, ie for piece trading, rather than positioning it to shoot stuff. The gun is secondary.

Other

Trivia

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:  : Magical Damage      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

* The "Damage Type: Magical" is not inherited by "secondary" damage from a weapon. That is, stuff like arcs (Electro Leap) or hazards (Scather). (Infernal Ruling) All spells have "Damage Type: Magical" (refer errata). This is inherited by "immediate" secondary damage (such as Eruption of Spines). (Infernal Ruling) and might be inherited by "lingering" secondary damage (see below). If a spell leaves a template in play that does damage to models that walk around in it, then: if it is not described as a hazard it will do magical damage to models that walk around in it. (Example: Razor Wall) if it is a hazard then it will not do magical damage to models that walk around in it. Instead, it does whatever damage type is specified by the spell description. (Example: Breath of Corruption). (Infernal Ruling) If a weapon/spell includes Magic Damage and another kind of elemental damage it will still damage Incorporeal models. Incorporeal models are not affected by the rule "if an attack does multiple types of damage and a model is immune to at least one it is immune to the entire attack." The phrase "immune to non-magical damage" should be interpreted as "immune to damage that doesn't include Damage Type: Magical" (not interpreted as "has immunity to Corrosion and Electricity and Cold and etc.")

Rules Clarification : Psychic Relay      (Edit) Rules Clarification : Arcane Attraction - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Open Fist  (aka, Power Attack Throw)     (Edit) Throw ( Edit ) See also the Throw article for a recap of the core Throw rules. If a model is somehow thrown at itself (which can happen with Durst1's feat) it would not move, it would be knocked down, and it would take a standard power attack damage roll but it would not take an additional die for colliding with itself. (Infernal Ruling) Because you move the target model between the attack roll and the damage roll, you can get different buffs applied to the two rolls. For instance, if you throw the target in or out of a Flanking model's melee range. Incorporeal vs Slammed/Thrown models ( Edit ) Incorporeal models cannot be moved by someone trying to slam them. Slammed models can move through Incorporeal models. If they have enough movement to get past them, no dramas. If they land on them, you move the Incorporeal model out of the way as per the Rule of Least Disturbance. If the Incorporeal model cannot be moved (i.e. it's a flag) then you move the slammed model out of the way, also by the rule of Least Disturbance. For the purposes of Collateral Damage, only the model(s) you contacted before you applied the rule of Least Disturbance count as contacted. The same logic applies to Throws. Collateral Damage Collateral damage cannot be boosted and is not considered damage from an attack or model. Refer page 33 of the 2021.08 version of the rules pdf. As a result: It doesn't trigger stuff that relies on being hit by an enemy (such as Shock Field) or damaged by an enemy (such as Vengeance). It doesn't get bonus damage from stuff that adds to a model's damage roll (such as Signs & Portents or Prey). It doesn't matter if the attacker has crippled weapon systems or aspects. Throw - Power Attack When you make a Throw Power Attack, no other abilities of the Fist weapon (such as Chain Strike) are applied unless they specifically mention Throws. (Locked Thread) If you do a Power Attack Throw and you choose to throw the target directly away, no deviation is rolled to determine the final position of the model. (Locked thread) A model that cannot be targeted by melee attacks (such as Una2's feat) cannot have models thrown at them, either. (Infernal Ruling) Since throwing Model [A] at Model [B] involves making a melee attack roll vs Model [B] which is out of your melee range, it technically breaks a whole bunch of core rules. (Infernal Checking) Even though you make a "melee attack roll" vs Model [B] you don't actually make a melee attack vs it. Also, the damage it suffers is from Collateral damage, not from the original attack. So you can't trigger stuff like Snacking from damage you did to Model B.

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)