Commander Coleman Stryker
From LOS Warmachine University
(Redirected from Stryker1)
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Commander Coleman Stryker |
 This model can only be used in the Unlimited game mode. You can see the other models with / without mk4 rules on this page. Note that the rest of this page is about the model's Mark III rules. |
Though Commander Stryker sees himself as just another soldier fighting for the crown, he is one of the greatest warriors of Cygnar. His young age may deceive some into believing he has not earned his rank compared to the aged generals leading the king’s army, but battlefield experience has made him wise beyond his years. A fine leader, a better soldier, and one of the most accomplished warcasters in the Iron Kingdoms, Coleman Stryker was born to be a hero of Cygnar and expects to die defending his beloved nation.
Basic Info
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Warcaster - All warcasters come with a stack of standard special rules - most notably being awesome. Click here for a newbie-friendly recap, or click here for the full rules.
Feat: Invincibility
While in Stryker's control range, friendly Faction models gain +5 ARM for one round.
Abilities
- None - The back of this model's card is blank.
Weapons
| Disruptor Pistol | ||||||||||||||
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RNG | ROF | AOE | POW | ||||||||||
| 10 | 1 | - | 10 | |||||||||||
| Quicksilver | ||||||||||||||
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RNG | POW | P+S | |||||||||||
| 1 | 7 | 13 | ||||||||||||
Spells
| COST | RNG | AOE | POW | DUR | OFF | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcane Blast
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3 | 10 | 4 | 13 | - | Yes | |
| This spell has zero special effects. | |||||||
| Arcane Bolt
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2 | 12 | - | 11 | - | Yes | |
| This spell has zero special effects. | |||||||
| Arcane Shield
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2 | 6 | - | - | Upkeep | No | |
| Target friendly Faction model/unit gains +3 ARM. Models are not affected while out of formation. | |||||||
| Blur
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2 | 6 | - | - | Upkeep | No | |
| Target friendly Faction model/unit gains +3 DEF against ranged and magic attack rolls. Models are not affected while out of formation. | |||||||
| Earthquake
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3 | 10 | 5 | - | - | Yes | |
| Models hit by Earthquake become knocked down. | |||||||
| Snipe
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2 | 6 | - | - | Upkeep | No | |
| Target model/unit's ranged weapons gain +4 RNG. | |||||||
Theme Forces
- Flame in the Darkness. He gains access to Khador and Mercenary warjacks in this theme.
- Gravediggers
- Heavy Metal
- Sons of the Tempest
- Storm Division. Stryker gains Immunity: Electricity in this theme.
Thoughts on Stryker1
Stryker1 in a nutshell
Stryker basically has two tricks up in his sleeve:
- Brick up and be invincible on feat turn
- The pop and drop assassination, using Earthquake to knock the enemy caster down before shooting the hell out of them.
The back of his card is entirely blank, making him relatively easy to learn - which is why he was the battlebox caster in Mk1 and Mk2.
Spell thoughts
- Arcane Bolt - A POW 11 zap, so you won't likely use it much.
- Arcane Blast - The AOE is now medium sized, but the focus cost just isn't worth it most of the time.
- Arcane Shield - This is a good protection spell that can save your troops from being killed and make things like Centurion nearly un-killable.
- Blur - A great protection spell against gunlines, but just remember that it won't do much for models with naturally low DEF. Put it on something with mid to high defense to make them nearly un-hittable.
- Snipe - With plenty of shooting units, you simply cannot go wrong with this one. You can also cycle it by upkeeping it on one unit, then recasting it on another once the first unit has made its shots. This is also referred to as "hot swapping".
- Earthquake - His signature spell, with numerous synergies (see army selection). Mainly used offensively, but can also ruin an assassination run.
Feat thoughts
Timing is tricky. Use it too early and the enemy will simply fall back until it wears off. Use it too late and you probably won't have much left to defend. Stryker relies on his army to get the job done, because he himself is not a big source of damage. You should either try to protect your main strike force until they reach the enemy's line or dampen the enemy's counter-attack. In steamroller scenarios, it's best to wait until you are defending or contesting capture points before you pop the feat.
Drawbacks & Downsides
- He's a "jack of all trades, master of none" support caster and has virtually nothing to boost the offensive output of himself or his army.
- With all the support duty, he's focus-strapped even with a Squire or Sylys. It will be an uphill battle against enemies with upkeep removal or anti-magic (Lamentation, Purification, Orin Midwinter, Eiryss).
- Even with all his defensive tricks, troops and jacks are susceptible to attacks which cause fixed damage regardless of ARM (e.g., Corrosion, Penetrating Strike, Sniper, Deadly Shot, Puncture, Anatomical Precision, etc.).
- Assassination will be hard against targets that are immune to knockdown because the Earthquake spell is Stryker's main tricks.
Tricks & Tips
- Earthquake can prevent enemies from charging. They also aren't engage and cannot be engaged, so you can attack them with a Combined Ranged Attack.
- Knockdown a jack, then shoot it with your disruption pistol. It cannot get focus to shake the knockdown effect off, so it must sacrifice either its Movement or Action to do anything.
- If the enemy is in B2B with your Colossal, shoot the Colossal in the back with an Earthquake. The template will be just big enough to knock down everything in B2B with your Colossal.
List Building Advice
Strategy
Assassination
Stryker is an accurate brawler with a back pocket assassination, best delivered by a Lancer. He goes for tough troops, taking the hit, and then either bashing the enemy into the ground or breaking through to create a pop and drop assassination. He himself is an average fighter - though his blows tend to land accurately, his offensive output is nothing to write home about. Starting from 3 focus, after knocking down a warcaster in his class with Earthquake, the target will still likely survive if it camped at least one focus. On the defensive side, outside of his feat turn (and a possible Arcane Shield), he mainly relies on surviving via his above-average DEF. Anything that can lower or bypass it, will put him into a world of hurt without added protection.
Scenario & Attrition
Despite having the tools for a caster/warlock kill, do not get too tempted into it. Veteran players will hardly be surprised by Stryker's abilities. If you want an all-out assassin caster, instead go for Stryker2. Stryker1 can play scenario very nicely, boosting the defensive capabilities of his forces and supporting the ranged elements very well. His feat is the golden standard for an attrition caster: reduce the losses you'll receive from an enemy attack or counter-attack and outlast your opponent in the remaining turns.
Theme Thoughts
With all the support spells at his disposal, Stryker can fit into any of the current Cygnar themes.
With two instances of Arcane Shield and his feat to increase the ARM values of Warjacks, Stryker feels right at home in this theme. The gameplan is simple enough; bring a ton of warjacks and battlegroup controllers to outlast the opponent. His lack of exclusive battlegroup spell, is actually a blessing in disguise since he can put his spells on non battlegroup warjacks.
- Journeyman Warcaster - There's only one thing better than access to Arcane Shield - access to a second instance of Arcane Shield, especially so if it is attached to another source of focus.
- Lieutenant Allison Jakes - Contests zones/objectives nicely due to her high DEF and Sidekick- even more so with Blur on her.
- Journeyman Lieutenant Allister Caine - Time will tell if Caine0 will has a place in Stryker1 lists, but Fire for Effect on a ranged jack is never bad. With Ace he can hunt for contesting solos, which might be vital since brick-lists tend to be on the slow side. Also a, Caine0 is a great target for Blur.
- Archduke Alain Runewood, Lord of Fharin - Your go to source of Pathfinder when you need it.
- Storm Strider - Another brick piece, which also loves Snipe. Among the Hurricanes and Fireflys you should also have enough enough electric attacks to benefit from its Superconduction aura.
- Long Gunner Infantry - The source of quantity firepower in your list. They love Snipe and Blur. They can contribute to his pop and drop trick from afar with their Combined Ranged Attack.
- Grand Master Gabriel Throne - He brings a damage buff that Stryker otherwise lacks in his toolbox.
- He also pulls a double duty as a pathfinder/tough replacement for Rhupert, at the expense of concealment.
- This also applies to Flame in the Darkness.
Free upkeeps are wonderful with Stryker and it is nearly self-evident where your support spells need to go.
- Gun Mage Captain Adept (or Taryn di la Rovissi as free mercenary) - Both provide Shadow Fire to let his pop and drops get better lines.
- Arcane Tempest Gun Mages - Not famed for their toughness, but under Blur they are hard to take down at range by conventional troops. With Snipe they can use their other rune shot abilities on the enemy. Also, neither Arcane Bolt nor Arcane blast are much use so you can rely on them against Incorporeal targets.
Stryker likes tough troops, making them even more resilient.
- Storm Lances - Your toughest, multi wound units. Both Snipe and Arcane Shield are awesome on them, while Blur causes trouble for average troops trying to hit them. Add Rhupert's Concealment boost to the mix and they will be very resilient against gunlines.
- Stormblade Infantry - Under Iron Zeal and his feat can stand up to most things. Add in Arcane Shield, and they become ARM 26. The command attachment can also give them Pathfinder. It is not uncommon to see a list containing two full units of them with assorted support solos.
- Storm Strider - As above, but with even more electric attacks!
- Extending the already long range of a Khador jack with Snipe can be very potent. A Destroyer goes to range 18", the Victor even goes to range 24"!
- Alternatively, Snipe can go on a short range jack to make its range hit acceptable levels. The Decimator's gun is one of the most powerful in the game, but is hampered by its low range, but Snipe fixes that. Knocking down targets with Earthquake also fixes its abysmal RAT. Due to this Stryker is probably the best caster for the Decimator.
- Snipe has many more good targets in this theme, namely the Thamarite Archon, Legion of Lost Souls, Vigilants or Resolutes.
- Arcane Shield on a Devastator, any colossal or a units of Precursor Knights makes them very beefy.
Support models & Mercenaries - Various themes
- Squire - Extra focus, free re-rolls on offensive spells, extended control range.
- Journeyman Warcaster - Provides a second Arcane Shield and lessens your focus burden.
- Strangewayes - Eases the FOCUS burden slightly and provides repairs. Great in Heavy Metal.
Since his spell list and feat are heavily geared towards defensive buffs, Stryker has two primary weaknesses: Damage and speed. Any merc choices want to focus on enhancing these aspects.
- Lady Aiyana and Master Holt with Murdoch are available in Gravediggers.
- Ragman applies Death Field.
- Lanyssa Ryssyl offers Hunter's Mark.
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr - Free upkeeps, extended spell range, and extra dice on spells.
Battlegroup
Ol' Rowdy is his pet warjack that he can take in any theme.
- Ol' Rowdy - His extremely focus efficient character jack. As it won't lock you out of themes, take it when you need a solid brawler. The bond is more or less a trap, as it makes the jack an AOE magnet - something you want to avoid with a caster like Stryker. However, once the lines closed in, and you want to drop an Earthquake template up close, you can do it with impunity if Stryker is in B2B with Rowdy.
- Colossals offer some serious beef to the list, especially with Arcane Shield and Invincibility combined on them. Both are also potentially good targets for Snipe for some absurd ranges.
- Hurricane - Its guns offer some options before you have to spend a lot of focus on Earthquake. You can then arc an Earthquake through it if you need to.
- Stormwall - A bit more utilitarian and arguably a better choice into the the mirror match where lightning immunity can spoil your day. Lightning pods are great targets for an Earthquake and allow you to get around any high defence tech the enemy might hope to rely on. You'll want another model with an arc node to get the most from that, though.
- Lancer - Your cheaper arc node, perfect for distributing support spells on frontline troops and positioning his Earthquake. Get within 5" and the hit on the target is virtually guaranteed.
- Ironclad - A cheap and effective heavy which can save focus for Stryker by providing knockdown with its Tremor attack.
- Charger - One focus from Stryker will completely fill up his guns, making it an excellent, cost-effective way of killing or seriously wounding knocked down casters.
- Centurion - an unchargeable ARM 21 on the front is scary - now, how about buffing it up to ARM 29 for a round?
- Sentinel - It offers nothing outside of some anti-infantry dakka in terms of offensive output. However, Stryker welcomes the Shield Guard as his ARM isn't that special outside of feat turn. As he likes upkeeps around, a caught crossbow bolt from Eiryss can also save you from a lot of trouble.
First Seven Purchases
A few veteran players have put their heads together and tried to figure out the seven best things to buy for this specific caster. This is not designed to add up to a nice round points limit, nor be balanced vs other "First Seven" lists you find on this website. It is simply going to give you some of the essentials this caster needs most of the time.
- Warjack: Blockader
- Solo: Thamarite Archon
- Solo: Morrowan Archon
- Solo: Hermit
- Solo: Alexia2
- Unit: Resolutes
- Unit attachments: Morrowan Battle Priest (x3)
Other
Trivia
- Released way back in Warmachine: Prime (2003)
- He was the battlebox caster for Mk1 and Mk2, meaning thousands of players own his model.
- He was one of the main protagonists of the storyline, until (spoiler) his death at the conclusion of the Stormbreak story arc (published in 2019.11) (end spoiler)
Other Cygnar models
Video Battle Reports
- 2018.08 Not Snakes Gaming 75 points vs Vindictus1
- See also Category: Video Battle Reports for more casters with videos.
Rules Clarifications
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Rules Clarification: : Magical Damage (Edit) |
* 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)
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Rules Clarification : Disruption (Edit)
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Rules Clarification: : Warcaster (Edit) | ||||
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Rules Clarification : Arcane Blast (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Arcane Shield - None yet. (Edit)
Rules Clarification : Blur - None yet. (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Earthquake (Edit) |
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Rules Clarification : Snipe (Edit)
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