First off, this is a little idea the DHC has been tossing around for a few weeks before the rule changes. With the announcements, we thought about dropping the entire thing, but decided why not just go ahead and throw it up and we’ll revise and review it when 2.0 comes out. Who knows, it might even get better… ;) And hey, why quit designing armies until November, even knowing the rules are changing? Somebody has to be playing in tourneys from now until the new rules come out. Now on to the armies…

The Assassin build centers around one or two strong sneak attack figures with either LI, swarm, or harasser/capture backup. While evaluating a strong sneak attacker, several figures pop up on the radar screen: Nightfiends, Mortis Draconum, Warpath, and Order of Uhlrik. Some nice LI figures which fit this build well include: Wind Minion, Zombie Baron, Marrow, Black Dirge, and Shadows.

A rough outline of the assassin build follows:

1) A strong central Sneak Attack or Limited Invisibility figure

2) One or two strong secondary sneak attack or LI threats

3) A small swarm formation, Mancatchers, healer, or another heavy hitter

Several armies follow, each with a brief description afterwards:


**Nightfiend - 50
Warpath - 36
***Fell Reaper - 43

*Mancatcher - 16
**Mancatcher - 19
***Mancatcher - 24
*Shade - 12

Total: 200

This army really embodies the Assassin build and is one of the stronger builds that can be fielded. The **Nightfiend and Warpath are great Sneak attack figures, the Fell is a great harrasser/secondary threat, and the Mancatchers/Shade leave the opponent with the option of being Attacked for 6 or face being captured. The Mancatchers also serve a dual bodyguard/blocker role and the entire army moves in one turn.


Wind minion 85
warpath 36
nightfiend * 39

Goblin runner *** 18
goblin volunteer * 5
goblin volunteer * 5
goblin volunteer ** 6
goblin volunteer ** 6

Total: 200

This build uses a strong central LI figure with Sneak attack backup and a swarm formation for cover/harrasser duties. The Wind Minion gives the option of shockwaving the runner into it's best click on the first turn and then the opponent faces some fearsome goblins running around the board at 13" a turn. ;)


Nightfiend ** 50
Nightfiend ** 50
Nightfiend ** 50

Black Dirge unique 35
Crystal Protector ** 15

Total: 200

Another army that makes your opponent stay on his/her toes. The 3 Nightfiends really force the opponent to be reactive and the Dirge and CP help block for, protect, and heal the 'Fiends.


Order of Uhlrik unique 88
Black Dirge unique 35
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Crystal Protector *** 17

Here is an interesting Uhlrik army designed by 1nf1n1ty. Shades tie up and block for the Uhlrik while he moves into position. Black Dirge gets bodyguard duties and the CP heals them all up.


Mortis Draconum unique 78
Whelp Master unique 40
Scalesworn Thrall * 12
Black Dirge unique 35
Marrow unique 28
Imp ** 7

Here's a Mortis Drac army which can be good if facing a lot of mounted figures in your weekly games. Mortis gets marched around at 12, gaurded by Dirge and Marrow, and the Imp ties things up.


Wind Minion - 85
2x Nightstalker*** - 60
2x Amazon Mancatcher** - 38
Crystal Protector*** - 17

Total: 200

Here is a bit different assassin army without any sneak attack back up. Instead, this army relies on the Nightstalkers and Wind Minion getting first shot on opposing figures using a lot of hindering terrain. Mancatchers go after figures which base the nightstalkers and the CP blocks and heals.

Zombie Baron- 82
Nightfiend**- 50
Marrow- 28
Mancatcher***- 24
Mancatcher*- 16

This is an intersting Zombie Baron army drawn up by Outlaw7. The Zombie Baron is really a beast when accompanied by the Nightfiend and Mancatchers. If facing a lot of big bound on a weekly basis, this army can cause quite a headache.


So there are some very different armies which all fit the outline of an Assassin build. Depending on the metagame of your area, each army has its strengths and weaknesses. If facing big bound, try out one of the Zombie Baron or Windy armies. If facing largely mounted armies or tank builds, try the Mortis Drac armies to prevent shakeoff damage, and so on.

We might have a few more armies up here within the next few days. All feedback and comments appreciated, and thanks.

On a brief side note, I'd like to point out that with the new 2.0 rules, perhaps the Assassin will become even stronger. As many people have already pointed out, sneak attack figures being able to surge and attack makes **Nightfiends, Mortis, and Uhlrik particularly deadly. We will definitely look over and revise this build after the new rules are out.

- The Draconum High Council

Edit: Right now, we have focused on 200 pt builds. However, several members have been in the process of 300 builds and they will be posted up by next week.

Although I personally hate this piece, wouldnt Seeker Mock be good?

To be honest Sneaky, Seeker Mock wouldn't do very well with the Assassin build. For 83 points, you get a figure with only a 10 attack and 2 damage. Both the Nightfiends, Mortis, and Warpath can all do almost twice the damage Mock does when sneak attacking. When evaulating a good sneak attack threat, look for figures that do 3 or more base damage.

Here's a build of mine from a while back that fits your mold:

Order of Uhlrik - 88
Wraith - 61
**Shadow - 36
**Crystal Protector - 15

Total: 200

Terrain: Large hindering pieces.

Strategy:

Begin by moving the Wraith into hindering terrain, and keep Uhlrik right behind it. While the terrain may slow down the Wraith, it will allow you to close in on the enemy without risking getting shot. In hindering, Uhlrik has a stellar defence vs. ranged attacks, having 18 + Battle Armour + Hindering Terrain modifier.

I usually keep the Shadow out of the hindering terrain, and just move him alongside to provide bodyguard duties. Both the Shadow and the CP can provide extra blocking duties against ranged figures.

In playtesting, the army works very well, though a smart opponent will simply stay away from the hindering terrain. However, Shadow and the CP are excellent blockers if that's they way you are forced to play it. Autodamage and Charge are two of the biggest hazards this army must face. However, the Wraith can hit back strongly, holding 4 damage for a good long time. And Uhlrik has Vampirism to keep him going...

Hope you like it!

Thats y I said I personally hate it. I have been playin Sneak Attack for since I started. But it just worked exactly with wat you described lol. LI and SA.

Teloric, that is indeed a very nice Assassin army. The Wraith really fits in well to the Assassin build. The same can be said for other strong figures with Stealth, namely ***Nightstalkers - the true 'Assassins' of MK. ;) Hopefully, with the addition of some new terrain in 2.0, we'll have a piece that stealth figures can move through at regular speed, but it still acts like hindering terrain for purposes of ranged fire... or something like that (I need to read up a bit more on 2.0 :)). With the addition of this terrain piece, stealth figures will really get a tremendous boost in the Assassin build. Thanks for the input!

I'd like to note that if you have the points to spare, Nightfiend*** is worth the extra 16pts. Its stats are significant better that the **. For those 16pts. you get a higher defense, along with an additional rank of both SA and Vampirism. The *** is also has a lot more stable dial, with 2 more ranks of non-demoralized life.

yes i agree with outlaw the ***'s are really so much better. you could use them like

2x *** nightfiends-66

Zombie baron-82

1x *** fell reaper-43

black dirge-35

*** imp-8
total-300

got LI with sneak attack, not to mention the old m/l sneak attack and you also got a nice deep threat.

Anyone think about adding in the Council Lord Jamus? He is a great assasin too.

I'll post an army I used with much success at a money man tournament:

Formation:
x2 Spirit Takers*
($)Nightfiend***

Mortis Drac

Wraith

CP***

Black Dirge

Imp**


or something like that.



The Cheat: Nightfiend accomplishes all that Jamus does for a quite a bit less.

Well Cheat, like Outlaw said, the Nightfiend is just as good as Jamus for almost half the points (depending on which version you use). Besides that, I simply hate Jamus. I can not emphasize enough how much I detest this figure.

On a weird side note, your sig makes absolutely no sense.

300 pt armies should be up tonight or tomorrow.

What would your strategy be against armies comprised mostly of bounders/chargers/mounts and other such easy breakers?

Well Moose, that is certainly the most difficult match up for an Assassin type build. If that is something frequently seen, then go with a Mortis army for his toughness. Keep the mounteds on the defensive by basing back arc with Mortis and basing other chargers/bounders with Mancatchers or whatever else you can throw at them to keep them from being able to charge and/or bound. In 200, it would be very hard to pull off, in 300, I think it gets a bit easier. And the 300 armies are coming now...

Alright, here are some very varied and different 300 point assassin armies. I just took everything anyone submitted and tossed it on here, so if some of them seem a bit... strange... *shrug* just let me know and I'll tell you if/how it fits in with the build. If it doesn't, it got past the filter. ;)

Mortis Draconum unique 78
Chainbreaker LE 58
Vampiric Draconum unique 87
Whelp Monk *** 30
Whelp Monk *** 30
Crystal Protector *** 17
300

Mortis Draconum unique 78
Chainbreaker LE 58
Vampiric Draconum unique 87
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Amazon Mancatcher *** 24
Crystal Protector *** 17
300

Mortis Draconum unique 78
Whelp Master unique 40
Whelp Monk * 23
Fell Reaper *** 43
Nightfiend ** 50
Marrow unique 28
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Grave Robber * 14
300

Wind Minion unique 85
Black Dirge unique 35
Nightfiend ** 50
Nightfiend * 39
Nightfiend * 39
Grave Robber * 14
Crystal Protector *** 17
Stalking Skeleton * 21
300

Order of Uhlrik unique 88
Nightfiend ** 50
Nightfiend ** 50
Spirit Taker ** 23
Spirit Taker ** 23
Spirit Taker ** 23
Shade * 12
Amazon Mancatcher * 16
Crystal Protector ** 15
300

Zombie Baron unique 82
Grave Robber ** 16
Marrow unique 28
Black Dirge unique 35
Seref LE 27
Stalking Skeleton ** 23
Stalking Skeleton ** 23
Stalking Skeleton ** 23
Fell Reaper *** 43
300

Order of Uhlrik unique 88
Zombie Baron unique 82
Fell Reaper *** 43
Marrow unique 28
Black Dirge unique 35
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
300

Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
300

Order of Uhlrik unique 88
Amazon Mancatcher * 16
Amazon Mancatcher * 16
Amazon Mancatcher * 16
Amazon Mancatcher *** 24
Amazon Mancatcher *** 24
Amazon Mancatcher *** 24
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Shade * 12
Crystal Protector ** 15
Crystal Protector *** 17
300

Black Dirge LE 35
Lord Fell LE 46
Vyre LE 49
Rax Coldstone lvl 65
Marrow LE 28
Warpath LE 36
Nightwitch ** 41
300


Order of Uhlrik unique 88
Fell Reaper *** 43
Fell Reaper *** 43
Fell Reaper *** 43
Seref LE 27
Crystal Protector *** 17
Crystal Protector *** 17
Crystal Protector *** 17
Imp * 5
300

Baron Skullcracker lvl 5 100
Spirit Taker ** 23
Spirit Taker ** 23
Spirit Taker ** 23
Marrow LE 28
Stalking Skeleton *** 27
Stalking Skeleton *** 27
Nightwitch * 32
Crystal Protector *** 17
300

Rax Coldstone lvl 5 97
Order of Uhlrik unique 88
Nightfiend ** 50
Nightfiend * 39
Grave Robber * 14
Shade * 12
300

Wind Minion unique 85
Fell Reaper *** 43
Fell Reaper *** 43
Black Dirge unique 35
Nightwitch *** 43
Marrow unique 28
Stalking Skeleton ** 23
300

Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightstalker *** 30
Nightfiend ** 50
Nightfiend ** 50
Black Dirge unique 35
Crystal Protector ** 15
300

I'm not going to go into every army, but they all follow the same basic ideals as their similar 200 pt counterparts. If anything looks particularly interesting, bring it up and we'll discuss it. :)

D

how bout this army....

zombie baron... for sniping..

order of uhlrik... as the asssasin..

hitash levat... for back-up and a heavy hitter..

astrus.. for healing... and good for capture..

my assasin army...

for 300 points..