Theme - Sons of the Tempest
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Theme - Sons of the Tempest Cygnar Theme Force | |
 This mk3 Theme Force has no equivalent in mk4. However you can build a similar army in Unlimited Cygnar (if/when the models in this theme get ported to mk4 rules) |
Mobile and versatile, the Arcane Tempest are called upon to deal with situations beyond the capacity of standard military forces, particularly arcane threats that are warded against conventional firepower. Coordinated by experienced gun mages to fight in conjunction with traditional battlegroups, these strike teams can operate in any theater of war. As their ranked guns tear apart the enemy with fusillades of deadly firepower, lone marksmen pick off high-priority targets with speed and accuracy.
Contents
Theme Rules
- For the core rules on how Theme Forces work, see this article.
Theme Restrictions
An army made using the Sons of the Tempest theme force can include only the following Cygnar models:
- Cygnar warcasters
- Non-character warjacks
- Ace
- Arcane Tempest models/units
- Ranger models/units
- Mechanik models/units
- Squire solos
- Journeyman Warcaster solos
- This army can also include one Mercenary solo and one Mercenary unit that will work for Cygnar.
- These models/units can be included even if they have the Partisan [Cygnar] rule.
- Mercenary units can have attachments, but not a Ranking Officer.
Full model list
This list was last updated: 2021.10 (Edit)
Warcasters
- All Cygnar warcasters
Warjacks
- All non-character warjacks
- Ace
- Other character warjacks can be taken, but only if they have a bond and they're in their bonded model's battlegroup.
Units
- Arcane Tempest Gun Mages
- Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team
- Field Mechaniks
- Rangers
- Tempest Blazers
- Trencher Combat Engineers
Solos
- Arcane Tempest Rifleman
- Caine0 -; ("Junior Warcaster")
- Captain Arlan Strangewayes - ('Jack Marshal)
- Gun Mage Captain Adept
- Journeyman Warcaster - ("Junior Warcaster")
- Lieutenant Bastian Falk
- Squire - (Warcaster Attachment)
Mercenaries
- Up to one unit
- Up to one solo
Requisition Points
You can spend each Requisition Point on either:
- One Cygnar CA
- One small- or medium-based Cygnar solo with cost 5 or less
Theme Bonuses
- Gun Mage models in this army gain Pistoleer.
- Pistoleer - Ranged attack damage rolls made by a model with Pistoleer against a model in melee with the model with Pistoleer are boosted.
- Warcasters in this army can upkeep spells on Gun Mage model/units without spending focus.
- Note that Junior Warcasters still have to pay for their own upkeeps.
Thoughts on Sons of the Tempest
Sons of the Tempest in a nutshell
Do you want Gun Mages? Because this is how you get Gun Mages.
This theme offers:
- some nice resource management benefits with free upkeeps on your models
- plus it mitigates the greatest weakness of the Gun Mages, namely that they could do next to nothing with high-ARM targets
Beside your in-faction opportunities, you can take dedicated ARM-breaking units, like the Horgenhold Forge Guard to deal with those pesky jacks. This list's main selling point that it fares well against infantry-heavy themes. Also, 99% of your non-battlegroup shots are magical, so Incorporeal models will have a hard time locking you out of scenarios, and you are also nearly unaffected by tricks which disallow non-magical shooting attacks (Wind Wall, hymns from the Choir, Vindictus' feat, etc).
Theme Weaknesses
Despite various changes, Sons of the Tempest is considered by many the weakest of Cygnar's themes. Some of this is down to the low POW attacks available, some due to a general impression of ranged-hate becoming increasingly common in meta-defining lists.
Direct Counterplay
Gun-toting warrior-mages are particularly sensitive to anti-shooting techs (see Category:Anti-Ranged Attacks). Feats that prevent ranged attacks or damage (like Zerkova1's Howling Wind), Shield Guards, Sacrificial Pawn, or spells like Swamp Pit and Countermeasure offer counterplay into gun mages.
Upkeep dependence can leave warcasters exposed to upkeep hate like Purgation, Purification, and Dispel (see Category:Anti-Upkeep for a more thorough list).
POW 10s galore
With units firing POW 10 guns, cracking armor requires maneuvering, warcaster assistance, or assistance from solos. Alternatively, warjacks and mercenary units can provide heavier hitting weapons.
Victim stat troops
Overall, gun mage units are pretty squishy. Anything that bypasses high DEF will hurt you a lot. AoE damage and AoEs that apply continuous effects are very effective against the low ARM gun mages.
Limited Pathfinder
Apart from the Black 13th and the Tempest Blazers units may struggle with difficult terrain.
List Building Tips
There are two main ways to look at this theme: all-in on Gun Mages, or cherry-pick the good bits (typically the solos and Black 13th) and fill the rest with warjacks or mercenaries. Under certain circumstances, gun mages become vulnerable to attrition due to their low armor. Solutions to the low ARM problem include leaning into the defense skew, or bringing more resilient models such as warjacks, or mercenaries to provide a jamming unit like Legion of Lost Souls, or other partisan units.
Tip: The theme bonuses apply to Mercenary Gun Mages, too. Notably Harlowe, Taryn, and Thorn Gun Mages.
About the units
- Although gun mages top out at POW 10, their pistoleer shots provide a significant boost to damage output while in melee.
- The Arcane Tempest Gun Mages Thunderbolt round improves the unit's effectiveness against Shield Walled / Wall of Steel units. The push is triggered on a hit. If the model pushed remains in melee with the gun mage, but is no longer base to base with another member of its unit to provide Shield Wall, it receives a 3D6 POW 10 without the +4 to its armor. If pushing isn't possible, Supporting Attacks can help fish for Critical Brutal Damage magelock pistol shots by allowing an extra die on the attack and letting the player determine which of the dice rolled gets removed.
- The B13 have been known as the hands down best unit in the theme for a very long time. They are quite devastating with Brutal Damage shots.
- Tempest Blazers bost high speed, reposition, and a versatile magelock pistol that can be used to break armor at close range, due to Pistoleer, or breaking into support pieces behind enemy lines with Electro Leap.
- Field Mechaniks or Trencher Mechaniks can be helpful when running multiple warjacks, or to serve as a throw away unit to hold down zones.
- Rangers should not be overlooked. While most gun mages don't need help with hitting at range, some warjacks do. A unit of rangers could be the answer to other high defense skew lists.
About the Solos
The average Sons of the Tempest list tends to run solo heavy. The solos either perform admirably in combat, or offer valuable support to enhance the gun mage units.
- Falk brings a crucial damage buff into this theme. If you just go for a single free card, you probably want to consider him, or Caine0. Falk's damage buff also stacks with all other damage buffs available to you, such as Hermit and Death Shroud.
Warjacks in Sons
Sons of the Tempest offers some synergy with ranged warjacks.
- The Cyclone offers multiple ranged attacks for the Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officers to enhance. It greatly increases the damage output of the army, reaching POW 14 when aiming. They can also lay down Covering Fire, which brings a control aspect to the theme. The template may be placed to set up a Thunderbolt shot to push enemy models into it.
- The Charger doesn't benefit from its Powerful Attack under marshal, but Captain Arlan Strangewayes can empower the jack. It's better off under a warcaster or journeyman.
- The Minuteman starts with two POW 14 guns which can be increased to an 8-inch range under the officer.
- The Hunters and their long arm cannons seriously threaten heavies.
- The Sentinel is a cheap shield guard that can protect important solos, and provide more POW 10s.
A janky string of buffs can bring a boosted warjack shot with a +4 damage buff.
- Bastian Falk sprays a target with a Rune Marked shot.
- A warjack marshalled by a Gun Mage Officer aims and fires. The Rune Shot on the officer grants magical damage, and the Take Aim order kicks the warjack's output up by 4 damage.
- Before the 'jack shoots, Strangewayes gives the warjack a point of focus. So it boosts the damage roll. Alternatively, Caine0 casts Fire for Effect on a jack, to automatically boost the attack and damage roll.
Some melee jacks also work well in the army, providing relief from trampling enemy jacks and beasts. The Centurion and Ironclad offer hard hitting melee weapons, and the Defender offers an excellent combined ranged/melee platform.
Mercenaries in Sons
- Thorn Gun Mages, Harlowe Holdemhigh and Taryn are Mercenary Gun Mages and do gain Pistoleer, free upkeeps on them and even Veteran Leader from GMCA because all of those rules require "friendly" over "friendly faction". Saldy they don't really bring anything to the table that the in-faction options donn't do, so they are of dubious value.
- Eilish Garrity, the Occultist offers Puppet Master, for Critical Brutal Damage fishing.
- Gorman Di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist and Hutchuk, Ogrun Bounty Hunter can add an additional +2 to effective POW by rusting enemy construct armor.
- Hermit of Henge Hold and Ragman can each offer a -2 ARM debuff to help crack armor.
- Morrowan Archon helps lean into the defense skew, by lowering enemy attack rolls by 2.
- Order of Illumination Resolutes offer high armor, in comparison with gun mages, as do Legion of Lost Souls, and have the benefit of also being Cygnar units when in Sons. Resolute also have magical guns, so they benefit from Falk's Rune Marked
- Order of Illumination Vigilants offer a nice, fast skirmishing unit, that is also very competent in melee. With magical weapons they love Falk. Glyn Cormier makes it so that at least this part of your army is not impeded by clouds.
- Lynus & Edrea - Some much appreciated anti cloud tech and targeting damage lets your Gun Mages carve out cortex/spirit aspects or warnouns, then knock them down with Thunder Bolt while they can no longer shake.
Starting a 25 point Brawl list
Written by Phillip Melvin, the accompanying strategy article can be found on the main LOS site. This list has the correct points cost as of 2022.01.
- Caine2: [+27 WJP]
- Centurion: [16 pts]
- Ace: [10 pts]
- Hunter: [10 pts]
- Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator: [3 pts]
- Gun Mage Captain Adept: [Free] (4 pts)
- Lieutenant Bastian Falk: [3 pts]
- Arcane Tempest Rifleman: [3 pts]
- Black 13th Strike Force: [7 pts]
For more Brawlmachine list ideas, see Category: Brawl List
Casters - The Most Wanted
Captain Jeremiah Kraye
He actually forgoes most of the Gun Mage stuff in the theme and opts for a repositioning, countermeasure-d polarity field with Centurions. Strangeways then hands out magical damage, so you got yourself a 4 point damage swing with Falk and Ragman. He typically likes the solos and Black 13th for their ability to ignore stealth and easily apply his feat.
Siege1
Siege offers multiple tools that iron out their weaknesses. Foxhole is superb for your squishy infantry to hang out in, his feat really ups their damage and becomes outright frightening with Pistoleer shots and Tempest Blazer can really exploit the possibilities of the Breach feat with their Brutal Damage shots. If you add in Fire for Effect from Caine0 on his units or for his Ground pounder and you got a list with crazy damage potential. Additionally you can upkeep Explosivo on a jack so it gains the damage buff from Falk.
Haley1
Deadeye is the Crit Fishing spell for Gun Mages, whether for brutal damage, or Thunderbolt. Temporal Barrier is an universal RAT fixer, enabling crit shots to happen all the more reliably.
Haley2
Preventing AOE's from landing on gun mages solves the easiest way for them to die. And she works very well with a ATGM Bonded Jack, as two Sniped Defender rounds are better than one.
Casters - Also ran
Maddox
A free Snipe leaves you more room for other attack types, and Dauntless Resolve is, again, another way to have your Mages not die to stray blasts... hopefully.
Sturgis1
The same as with Maddox, save that his feat is a bit more useful to them, than Maddox's +3 STR.
Jakes2
Bullet Dodger rewards you with highly elusive mages, especially with her feat. Being mainly a battlegroup caster however, this will not be the first theme you'll be looking for.
Siege2
Siege2 brings some nice tools to the gun mage party.
- With a lower number of models, you can actually have space to trigger Hallowed Avenger effectively without getting jammed up.
- High Ground tips their DEF into the irritating category.
- His feat improves their DEF and gives them blast immunity which Gun Mages absolutely love. The 3" move also gives them a nice threat extension or reposition depending on what you have in mind.
Other
Trivia
- Released 2017.02
- In Mk2 "Sons of the Tempest" was the name of Caine1's theme list.
Other Cygnar models
Rules Clarifications
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Rules Clarification : Pistoleer (Edit)
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Rules Clarification: Theme Forces (Edit) Themes that change a model's Faction [Show/Hide]
Rerolling the starting roll [Show/Hide]
Warjacks/Warbeasts with bonds [Show/Hide]
Including Mercenaries [Show/Hide]
Number of Mercenaries
Mercenaries and Ranking Officers
Other
Including Partisan Mercenaries [Show/Hide]
Partisans & Theme Forces (Edit)
Requisition Points [Show/Hide]
Free models and Specialists (ADR) [Show/Hide]
Unit Attachments [Show/Hide]
When to apply theme benefits [Show/Hide]
See also these Theme-Specific Rulings [Show/Hide]
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