Goreshade, Lord of Ruin

Cryx Cavalry Warcaster

Unquestionably the most influential Iosan ever to have lived, the eldritch and would-be god slayer Goreshade, Lord of Ruin seeks nothing less than the salvation, restoration, and liberation of his people from the gods themselves. After turning the machinations of the Nightmare Empire to his own ends, Goreshade has come closer than ever to achieving his mission. But what Goreshade sees as the path to salvation, Iosans see as a path to damnation.

Basic Info

Goreshade3
	SPD	8
	MAT	7
	DEF	14
	ARM	17
	FOCUS	7
	HP	17
	WJP	+27
	Base Size	Large

Weapons

• Voass - 2" reach, P+S 15 melee weapon. (Still) Stolen from the Iosan god Nyssor!
  • Freeze - A model hit by this weapon becomes stationary for one round unless it has Immunity: Cold.
  • Damage Type: Magical
• Mount - 0.5" reach, POW 12 mount attack

Abilities

• 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.
• Cavalry
• Undead
• Immunity: Cold
• Spell Vortex - If an enemy model cast a spell in this model's control range last turn, this model can cast one spell without spending focus during his activation this turn.
• Error: Use {{Reposition 3}} or {{Reposition 5}} instead.

Feat - Winter's Grasp

Center 3" AOEs on any number of friendly Faction non-warcaster warrior models currently in Goreshade's control range. Enemy models within an AOE become stationary unless they've Immunity:Cold, then the models the AOEs are centered on are destroyed.

Spells

• |-

|colspan=7 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;"| |colspan=1 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;" rowspan=1| Infernal Machine ! style="border-top: 1px solid #A8A8A8;"| 2

! 6

! -

! -

! Upkeep

! No

|style="border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |colspan=8 style="text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"|Target warjack in the spellcaster's battlegroup gains +2 SPD and Murderous.

Murderous - A model with Murderous gains an additional die on melee attack rolls against warrior models.

• |-

|colspan=7 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;"| |colspan=1 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;" rowspan=1| Occultation ! style="border-top: 1px solid #A8A8A8;"| 2

! 6

! -

! -

! Upkeep

! No

|style="border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |colspan=8 style="text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"|Target friendly Faction model/unit gains Stealth. Models are not affected while out of formation.

• |-

|colspan=7 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;"| |colspan=1 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;" rowspan=1| Scything Touch ! style="border-top: 1px solid #A8A8A8;"| 2

! 6

! -

! -

! Upkeep

! No

|style="border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |colspan=8 style="text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"|Target friendly Faction model gains Dark Shroud.

Dark Shroud - While in the melee range of a model with Dark Shroud, enemy models suffer -2 ARM.

• |-

|colspan=7 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;"| |colspan=1 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;" rowspan=1| Siphon Bolt ! style="border-top: 1px solid #A8A8A8;"| 3

! 8

! -

! 13

! -

! Yes

|style="border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |colspan=8 style="text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"|When this spell hits an enemy model with 1 or more focus/fury points on it, that model loses 1 focus/fury and the spellcaster gains 1 focus point. Spellcasters without the Focus Manipulation special rule cannot gain focus as a result of Siphon Bolt.

• |-

|colspan=7 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;"| |colspan=1 style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |style="text-align:left; font-size:110%; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff;" rowspan=1| Mockery of Life ! style="border-top: 1px solid #A8A8A8;"| 2

! Control

! -

! -

! -

! No

|style="border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"| |- |colspan=8 style="text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #fff; border-right: 1px solid #fff; border-left: 1px solid #fff; border-top: 1px solid #fff;"|Return one destroyed undead Grunt to a friendly Faction unit with one unmarked damage box. Place the model in the spellcaster's control range, in formation, and completely within 3" of another model in its unit. The Grunt must forfeit its Combat Action the turn is it returned to play.

Thoughts on Goreshade, Lord of Ruin

Comparison to Mk2

The stats have remained the same. He has gained immunity cold and reposition, but has lost ghostly and terror. While the rule of terror is not existing in Mk3, the gain of reposition allows for greater maneuverability. On the other hand, the loss of ghostly is a big downside, since it restricts movement and hampers assassination runs. The spell list is the same. The only exception is Siphon Bolt which has +1 COST and +1 POW.

Goreshade3 in a Nutshell

Goreshade 3 is a highly versatile generalist caster, he's good at pretty much everything. With good armor and speed he can engage enemies with his powerful weapon that applies stationary on hit. Spell vortex increases his ability to be a powerful caster. Siphon Bolt is a strong attack spell, and with three different upkeeps, Goreshade will always have options on how to buff his army. Don't celebrate yet, Goreshade 3 suffers a little as a jack of trades. His close combat potential and survival is not as high as a more dedicated front line caster. Also, if he is closer to the front lines, you will be hard pressed to find the focus you need to both cast spells you want and keep him standing.

His generalist identity can cause difficult decisions on how use focus to craft his army as well. Infernal Machine encourages Heavy Warjacks, but his focus is stretched very thin for all his options. Mockery of Life encourages that you take powerful undead warriors such as Bane Riders, but his feat works best off of cheaper more disposable troops.

Maximising his feat & spells

His feat is a great solution to high DEF infantry spam, or it can simply be used to reduce the enemy warcaster to DEF 5 before wailing on them with attacks.

It is best to use something expendable (like Mechanithralls) to create the AOEs, but don't overlook the benefit of having an Incorporeal model run through the enemy before triggering the cloud in the opponent's backlines. In this respect, Blackbanes Ghost Raiders are a good choice.

Typical army & strategy

• Blackbane's Ghost Raiders - This is a high speed incorporeal unit, making them singularly effective to walk through the enemy line so that Goreshade can use his feat on models that would otherwise be unreachable.
• Bane Riders - Being powerful well armored and very expensive troops, they make some of the best candidates for use of the Mockery of life spell. Also, Cavalry tends to attract a great deal of firepower for their ability to cross the field so easily, this makes Occultation a highly valuable spell for this unit.
• Soulhunters - They are a strong flanking unit able to get deep into the enemy lines with their impact attacks and their ability to become incorporeal. This may open a gap to the enemy caster for pot shots or an assassination run.
• Kraken - One of the most grateful recipients of the Infernal Machine spell, this model is nearly guaranteed to make good use of the speed buff as well as the murderous so it can collect those corpses. Once you have stationary targets, enemies in the range of it's considerable firepower will have something to worry about.
• Harrower - If you can't find the room for a Kraken, then a Harrower is not a bad substitute. With Pathfinder and Reach, the only thing holding it back is the lack luster speed. Once it receives it's buff from Infernal Machine, it's murderous thresher will murder thresh.
• The Withershadow Combine - With three upkeep spells, Admonia's free upkeep is very important. When attempting to charge in then reposition to safety with Goreshade, you can secure the stationary from your first attack using Puppet Master. Beyond that, they will be a gunline for you occasionally tearing focus off of the enemy with spell slave.

Drawbacks, Downsides, & Bad Match-Ups

• Large base is easy to shoot. Depending on your opponent's available firepower, he may be required to keep Occultation on himself just to stay alive.
• Relative to other Cryx casters, he is tied for lowest defense.
• With only one offensive spell, he might have a bad match up vs Incorporeal spam.

Tricks & Tips

Given his highly versatile spell list and set of abilities, Goreshade has a unusually large amount of tricks available to him.

• One your first turn, walk your Mechanithralls forward. Have the back line kill 2 members of the front line. Use a Necrosurgeon to replenish the losses. Then have Goreshade return the destroyed models back to play. You will have more troops than you started with. You can do this with 3 models, but it is not recommended as you will probably want to cast a few of your upkeep spells as well.

• Mockery of Life casts before your feat essentially allow for stationary on demand. This can allow your normally inaccurate units like Mechanithralls to land their powerful combo strikes.

• Using feat, you can make a swath of troops stationary. If you move a Harrower loaded up with focus into a squad of stationary troops, elect NOT to use Thresher. Instead buy each individually killing up to four enemies. As Stationary enemies do not have melee ranges, quick work will activate off of each kill. 4 fully boosted ghost shots is a lot of firepower.

Other

Trivia

• Released in Warmachine: Vengeance (2014)
• Goreshade 3 is one of the few models to keep the exact same weapon between multiple incarnations. Maybe it's frozen to his hand (like when your tongue gets stuck to an icy pole)?

Other Cryx models

Cryx Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warcasters	Agathia - Aiakos2 - Asphyxious1 - Asphyxious2 - Asphyxious3 - Coven - Deathjack2 - Deneghra1 - Deneghra2 - Deneghra3 - Goreshade1 - Goreshade2 - Goreshade3 - Mortenebra1 - Mortenebra2 - Rahera - Scaverous - Skarre1 - Skarre2 - Skarre3 - Sturgis2 - Terminus - Venethrax
Warcaster attachments	The Withershadow Combine - Satyxis Blood Priestess - Skarlock Thrall - Doctor Stygius (Partisan) - Madelyn Corbeau (Mercenary)
Other Warjack Controllers	Jack Marshals: Iron Lich Overseer       "Junior Warcasters": Aiakos1 - Asphyxious4 - Deneghra0
Light	Cankerworm - Deathripper - Defiler - Helldiver - Nightwretch - Ripjaw - Scavenger - Shrike - Stalker
Heavy	Barathrum - Corruptor - Deathjack1 - Desecrator - Erebus - Harrower - Kharybdis - Inflictor - Leviathan - Malice - Nightmare - Reaper - Seether - Slayer
Colossal	Kraken - Sepulcher
Units, Solos, Battle Engines, & Structures
Units	Asphyxious4 - Bane Knights - Bane Riders - Bane Warriors - Bile Thralls - BO Boarding Party - BO Ironmongers - BO Smog Belchers - Blackbane's Ghost Raiders - Bloodgorgers - Marauders - Carrion Thralls - Cephalyx Drudges - Cephalyx Overlords - Mechanithralls - Necrosurgeon - Revenant Cannon - Revenant Crew - Satyxis Gunslingers - Satyxis Blood Witches - Satyxis Raiders - Scharde Dirge Seers - Scharde Pirates - Soulhunters - The Devil's Shadow Mutineers - The Withershadow Combine
Solos	Aiakos1 - Agrimony - Axiara - Bane Lord Tartarus - Bloat Thrall - BTO Mobius - Captain Rengrave - Darragh Wrathe - Doctor Stygius - Deneghra0 - Gerlak - Hellslinger - Iron Lich Overseer - Machine Wraith - Master Gurglepox - Misery Cage - Necrotech - Ol' Grim - Pistol Wraith - Satyxis Blood Priestess - Satyxis Raider Captain - Scrap Thrall - Skarlock Thrall - Severa Blacktide - Soul Trapper - Warwitch Siren
Battle Engines & Structures	Wraith Engine
Theme Forces
Black Industries - Dark Host - The Ghost Fleet - Scourge of the Broken Coast
Mercenaries
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Cryx Mercenary
This index was last updated: 2021.11

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Freeze      (Edit) Remember Stationary only prevents what it says it does. Refer the page on Stationary for a refresher.

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.")

• Warcaster/Warlock Cavalry ( Edit )
  • Warcasters/Warlocks can't cast spells or use their feat while resolving Impact Attacks. Because Impact Attacks occur during movement - you can use spells or feat before moving, or after moving, but not during movement.
    • Exception: If your Impact target(s) include your charge target, then your movement has ended (refer rulebook, last paragraph of 'Impact Attacks') and thus you're fine to use "any time" abilities before starting the Impact attacks.

Rules Clarification : Undead - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Spell Vortex      (Edit) Spell Vortex doesn't stack. You get only one free spell, no matter how many times enemies cast spells last turn.

Rules Clarification : Reposition      (Edit) Models out of formation cannot move via Reposition. Refer to the "Out of Formation" rules in the core rulebook. End of Activation (Edit) You cannot resolve two end-of-activation movement effects (refer to "End of Activation Movement" in the core rulebook). For EOA stuff that doesn't involve movement, though, it gets a bit more murky: Some EOA abilities explicitly state your activation ends as part of resolving the ability (like Reposition), and some don't (like Refuge). Whether it is explicit it or not, by definition an EOA ability is the last thing you can do for that activation. For instance, if you resolve Refuge and then continue your activation to cast more spells, then you have not used Refuge at the end of your activation. You cannot do an "at any time" ability during or after triggering an EOA ability; you cannot cast spells, purchase additional attacks, use a mini-feat, etc. If you start resolving an EOA movement (such as Reposition) then you cannot trigger abilities that occur "at any time" (such as Go To Ground). Because you can't trigger it while resolving the EOA movement, and after the EOA movement your activation has ended. (Infernal Ruling) For units: if any model in the unit starts resolving the unit's EOA movement, then no model in the unit can trigger an any-time ability. (Infernal Ruling) See also the training article: LPG - End of Activation.

Rules Clarification : Infernal Machine      (Edit) Rules Clarification : Murderous - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Occultation      (Edit) Rules Clarification : Stealth      (Edit) Stealth models are not invisible and you can target them - you'll just auto-miss most of the time. You can target them with a charge. You can target them with an AOE, have it auto-miss and scatter, luckily land on top of them anyway, and that will hit them.

Rules Clarification : Scything Touch      (Edit) Rules Clarification : Dark Shroud      (Edit) Dark Shroud only applies to your melee range, and this doesn't include behind you. Refer to the latest errata. The ARM debuff still applies during a free strike.

Rules Clarification : Siphon Bolt and/or Energy Siphon     (Edit) The focus/fury is stolen on "Hit", before they have a chance to spend it to reduce/transfer damage. If you hit something which can't have focus reduced (ie Egregore) then you still get +1 focus, and they ignore the -1 focus. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Revive and/or Raise the Dead and/or Mockery of Life     (Edit) This spell can be used on models that cannot be targeted by spells (such as models with Spell Ward), because the spell doesn't 'target' anybody. Anti-spell stuff that triggers on 'target' (such as Arcane Vortex) doesn't work vs these spells, because of the same logic. However anti-spell stuff which prevents all spell-casting (such as Bestial) does work vs this spell. 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'.