Trencher Blockhouse

Trencher Blockhouse Cygnar Trencher Structure

Prime This model is available in one Prime Army, First Army. 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.

Blockhouses are often built to support Cygnaran trenchworks, providing girded fire bays and supporting fire in the event of an enemy overrun of the front. Able to withstand direct artillery fire from all but the heaviest enemy guns, these blockhouses return fire with salvos from their impressive cannons while acting as mustering points to reinforce embattled trencher platoons.

Basic Info

Trencher Blockhouse
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Huge SPD 0 STR 0 MAT 0 RAT 6 M.A. N/A DEF 5 ARM 20 CMD 10 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 30 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA 2 UNIT SIZE N/A COST 9 N/A N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Structure - All structures share the same set of special rules. Most notably being big fat buildings. Click here for the full rules..

Abilities

• Construct
• Forward Deployment - This model can be deployed up to 8" beyond your deployment zone.
• Girded - This model and friendly models B2B with it do not suffer blast damage.
• Reinforcements [Trencher] - During your Maintenance Phase, return to play d3 small-based friendly destroyed Trencher Grunts to play. Models return with 1 unmarked damage box. Place the returned Grunts completely within this model's command range, and completely within 3" of another model in their unit. Returned Grunts must forfeit their Combat Action the turn they are returned to play.
• Trench Network - Immediately after placing this model during deployment, you can place up to two trench templates on the table. These trench terrain features must be placed either in base contact with this model or in contact with a trench terrain feature that is in base contact with this model. These trench terrain features cannot be placed in contact with a non-trench terrain feature.

Weapons

Heavy Cannon
		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW			LOCATION
		15			1			4			15			-
High-Explosive - Blast damage caused by this weapon is POW 10. Quake - On a direct hit against an enemy model, all models hit are knocked down.
Military Rifle (x2)
		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW			LOCATION
		10			1			-			11			Left + Right one each

Theme Forces

• Gravediggers

Thoughts on Trencher Blockhouse

Trencher Blockhouse in a nutshell

It's a support piece. It shoots anything that gets near, provides cover for your troops, and returns fallen trenchers to play.

Combos & Synergies

• Your Warcaster.
  • Is there a spot where you want your Warcaster to stand? Would you like to have +4 DEF in that spot? Get a Trench from the network to that point.
• Caine2. The Blockhouse's gun is good, but not great. Fire For Effect makes it that little bit scarier.
  • Also dumping Caine in a Trench with Heightened Reflexes. DEF21 with no knockdown and no Stationary is useful.
    • Caine also values the 120mm base the Blockhouse provides for screening purposes until he’s ready to move out and attempt an assassination run.
• Snipe makes it a little harder to hide from.
• Anything that can buff its average RAT:
  • Rangers for Mark Target.
  • Haley3's Temporal Distortion bubbles.
  • Any of Cygnar's Knockdown or Slam tools.
• The Trencher Master Gunner for either the improved chance to hit or arcing fire.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Currently the only structure without access to boosting mechanism
• The model is a building and so it’s a bit plain & boring.
• A big, immobile piece on the board - poor placing can make it seem poor value for points.
  • That is especially true for the Trench templates - the last thing you want is giving away free cover for the enemy's fast and/or flanking units.
• Though models around are defended from blasts, it is still just DEF5. Other dangers, like continuous effects, electro leaps and spells like Ashes to Ashes or Spine Burst can decimate your models around.

Tricks & Tips

• You could field two of them slightly apart from one another. This would allow you to place 4 trenches in a line in front of them (other terrain permitting), to use as a battle line for your units. Trenchers in trenches!
• It is placed at the same time as your non-advance-deploying models, so use it to control the deployment of enemy advance deploying (or even distant deploying) models.
• Deploy the trenches forward instead of across to give your advancing models without Dig In some much needed cover.
• Blockhouses can reload the Grenadier - looks like the crews are really busy.
• In Steamroller games it can't score scenario points (at least not in the 2018 version of Steamroller), but it can contest them and prevent the enemy scoring.
  • Note that to contest a zone it needs to in the zone. A couple of scenarios have the zones laid out so that you could deploy it touching them, but this isn't sufficient.
  • Specifically it can contest zones or flags in Mirage and Spread the Net, and contest flags in Recon II.

Blockhouse Trenches & War Table

• To place the trenches on War Table, you need to use "Add Terrain" and then "Move Terrain". But when you do that, the Blockhouse disappears. To get around this, open a second browser window and invite yourself to the game. Have the two windows fill half your screen each and have one in "Normal" view and the other in "Move Terrain" view.

Other

Trivia

• Released in the Gravediggers expansion (2017.06)
• It was the first Structure released in the entire gaming system. However rules that interact with Structures (such as Siege1's Combat Engineer rule) already existed.

Other Cygnar models

Cygnar Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warcasters	Caine1 - Caine2 - Caine3 - Constance - Darius - Haley1 - Haley2 - Haley3 - Jakes2 - Kraye - Maddox - Nemo1 - Nemo2 - Nemo3 - Sloan - Stryker1 - Stryker2 - Stryker3 - Siege1 - Siege2 - Sturgis1
Warcaster attachments	Squire (Cygnar) - Madelyn Corbeau (Merc) - Reinholdt (Merc) - Wyshnalyrr (Merc)
Other Warjack Controllers	Battlegroup Controllers: Caine0 - Nemo4 - Jakes1 - Journeyman - T. Warcaster Lieutenant 'Jack Marshals: Runewood - Strangewayes - Anson Hitch - Stormblade Captain - T. Master Gunner - Gun Mage CA - Stormblade CA - Sword Knights CA
Light	Charger - Firefly - Grenadier - Hunter - Lancer - Minuteman - Sentinel Ace - Thorn
Heavy	Avenger - Centurion - Cyclone - Defender - Hammersmith - Ironclad - Reliant - Stormclad Brickhouse - Dynamo - Gallant - Ol' Rowdy - Thunderhead - Triumph
Colossal	Stormwall - Hurricane
Units, Solos, Battle Engines, & Structures
Units	Arcane Tempest Gun Mages - Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team - Field Mechaniks - Legion of Lost Souls - Long Gunner Infantry - OoI Resolutes - OoI Vigilants - Precursor Knights - Rangers - Silver Line Stormguard - Storm Lances - Stormblades - Stormguard - Stormsmith Grenadiers - Storm Tower - Sword Knights - Tempest Blazers - Tr Cannon Crew - Tr Chain Gun Crew - Tr Commandos - Tr Express Team - Tr Long Gunners - Tr Infantry - Tr Mechaniks Special CA : Captain Jonas Murdoch (Mercenary unit) - Special WA: Morrowan Battle Priest (any unit)
Solos	Arcane Tempest Rifleman - Archduke Runewood - Captain Arlan Strangewayes - Captain Maxwell Finn - Commander Anson Hitch - Dreyfus1 - Dreyfus2 & Flubbin2 - Grand Master Gabriel Throne - Glyn Cormier, Illuminated One - Gun Mage Captain Adept - Journeyman Lieutenant Allister Caine - Journeyman Warcaster - Harlan Versh, Illuminated One - Lieutenant Allison Jakes - Lieutenant Bastian Falk - Lieutenant Gwen Keller - Major Katherine Laddermore - Major Harrison Gibbs - Morrowan Archon - Savio Montero Acosta - Squire - Stormblade Captain - Stormcallers - Tr Buster - Tr Master Gunner - Tr Patrol Dog - Tr Warcaster Lieutenant - Viktor Pendrake
Battle Engines & Structures	Nemo4 - Storm Strider - Trencher Blockhouse
Theme Forces
Flame in the Darkness - Gravediggers - Heavy Metal - Sons of the Tempest - Storm Division
Mercenaries
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Cygnar Mercenary
This index was last updated: 2021.11

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : High-Explosive      (Edit) Deadly Precision vs High Explosive (Edit) The +2 POW from Deadly Precision would not apply to high explosive POW (Infernal Ruling) Full Force vs High Explosive (Edit) If a weapon has both Full Force and High Explosive, then follow the rules for Full Force (ie full POW). (Infernal Ruling).

Rules Clarification : Quake      (Edit) If the weapon misses, then it will deviate and do blast damage as per a normal AOE (assuming it has a POW to begin with). Other effects of the attack will still occur (such as the Mitigator's auto-point of damage to all models hit). Knockdown (Edit) - Remember, knockdown only prevents what it says it does. Refer to the Knockdown page for a recap of what a model can/can't do.

Rules Clarification : Structure      (Edit) The main differences between structures and the other huge bases are: Structures can't aim. Structures can't forfeit their Normal Movement (because they have none). If they're hit by an effect that makes the target "forfeit either Normal Movement or Combat Action as it's controller chooses" (such as Stranglehold) then the structure must forfeit its Combat Action. Unlike Colossals and Gargantuans, your opponent can take control of your structure. There are very few such abilities that work on this model type, though. Huge Base (Edit) You can draw LOS from your Left arc to a target in your Right arc (and vice versa). See also this diagram Huge-based models get bonus distance if they do a Power Attack: Slam or Power Attack: Power Strike. But this bonus doesn't apply to slams triggered by normal attacks (such as Critical Smite or the Hurricane's Thunder Charge ability). Also, simply being on a huge base triggers a bunch of rules scattered throughout the rulebook, click to read them.   [Show/Hide] From the 2020.02 edition of the core rules (Edit) Fields of Fire Page 37 A huge-based model’s front arc is marked on its base. Its front arc is further divided into two 90° fields of fire. These fields of fire determine which models a huge-based model can target with its weapons, depending on the location of those weapons. Weapons located on a huge-based model’s left side (L) can be used to target only models in its left field of fire, and weapons located on its right side (R) can be used to target only models in its right field of fire. Weapons with locations “S,” “H,” or “—” can be used to target models in either field of fire. If any part of a model’s base is on the line separating the left and right fields of fire, the model is considered to be in both fields of fire. Concealment, Cover, LOS Page 49 Concealment & Cover - Huge-based models never gain the DEF bonuses from concealment or cover. Page 60 Clouds - Cloud effects do not block line of sight to huge-based models. Page 87 Forests - Forests do not block line of sight to huge-based models. Huge-Based models in melee Page 54 - Huge-based models never gain the Target in Melee DEF bonus. Page 65 - Combined Ranged Attacks cannot target a model in melee unless it has a huge base.

Rules Clarification : Construct - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Forward Deployment      (Edit) This model is placed at the same time as your normal deployment, not with your advance deployment models. A model that is deployed touching a scenario zone does not count as within that zone, so won't contest/control it. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Girded - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Reinforcements      (Edit) Reinforcements is resolved at Step 3 of the Maintenance Phase "Resolve all other effects". This is simultaneuous with stuff like Vengeance or the 2019 Steamroller healing objective, so you get to choose the order. Although Reinforced models have to forfeit their Combat Action, they can still have out-of-activation attacks. Such as Vengeance. Return/Add to Play - Typical (Edit) If you're returning/adding multiple models simultaneously, they are placed sequentially. Often this will let you leapfrog the "within 3" of [x]" requirement. If you're adding models to a unit, then typically there is no limit and you can go over the unit's starting size. However, some abilities do have a limit (such as Stir the Dead) If you're returning models to a unit, then you're limited by how many there are in the "dead but not removed from play" pile.     (See Add, Return, and Remove From Play for further detail.) If you're adding more models than you started with, then in a Tournament you must physically own the correct models - proxies are not allowed in tournaments. (Locked thread) Return/Add to Play - Other Units (Edit) "Return to Play" and "Add to Play" are quite simple if you only return models to your own unit (like Blood-Bound) or only return independent models (like Thagrosh1's feat). But if you're returning/adding models to other units, then click to read more.   [Show/Hide] If you can return multiple troopers at once, they don't all have to be the same unit. Spread the love around. Troopers must return to their original unit. Even if you have two units of the same type (such as two units of Convergence Eradicators) then you can't have 4 die from unit [A] and return them all to unit [B]. If your rule is something like "return d3 models to units within CMD range" (Old Witch3) then it is d3 models total, not d3 models to each and every unit. If your rule is something like "spend 1 soul to return 1 Grunt" (Enigma Foundry) then it doesn't matter where the souls came from originally. Think of them like currency, in this case. You can Return models even after a unit is reduced to just Attachments (Weapon or Command) If your Return ability lets you return a Leader or Officer model, then they will immediately become the unit commander and redefine the "in formation" bubble. If your Return ability only allows Grunts, then the Grunt will not be field promoted when he arrives. This means that, in the unusual scenario where the Leader model has different wargear to the Grunts (such as Cygnar Stormguard), then that wargear is effectively 'lost'.

Rules Clarification : Trench Network - None yet. (Edit)