Mage Knight 2.0 Graphical Battle Report – Army Building Part 2
By Brook Willeford

Well, I know that this is supposed to be at least a semi-professional article, but I’d like to start by showing a bit of my fanboy side. When Kevin let me know that we’d been able to get some Starters and Boosters of 2.0 into the office this early, and that we were going to get to open them and use the contents in a battle report, I was beyond excited. Then, I realized that we would be keeping exacting track of what was in each box, and that all of the Mage Knight players out there would be watching how I did in a Sealed Box environment. Hrm…it’s not too late to get out of this, is it Kevin? I knew that I would be getting a lot of very nice pieces, even if some of them might not fit in with my playing style, so at least I’d be able to show what you can do with a pretty minimal purchase (a Starter and 4 Boosters).

My worries went away as I opened the boxes, starting with the Starter. I knew that I would have a competent ranged-combat specialist in Kierin Starsdawn (who comes with every one of this version of Starter), but so would Kevin, and his defensive abilities make him much more useful in what I’ve seen of Kevin’s style of play than in mine. I’ll note my reactions to each box’s contents after the list of their contents:

Starter
U Kierin Starsdawn
* Steam Mauler
* Apprentice Conjurer
** Amazon Scout
** Khamsin Trooper
** Crusader Priest
** Shocktrooper
*** Orc Warbeast
* Zombie Centaur
Open Terrain – D-020 (Domain)
Raider’s Bane – R-008 (Relic)

Upon opening the Starter, I was overjoyed to pull the Steam Mauler, Warbeast, and Zombie Centaur, all of which have a great potential to inflict a lot of damage, and all of which fit my high-damage style of play.

The Weak Steam Mauler not only has Bombardment, but also enjoys a good range, high ranged damage, Spell Resistance, and a strong ability to defend itself if based by some fast-moving harasser. Add in a Bow attack bonus and you have a very strong figure for a whopping 61 points with a great sculpt to go with it.

The Weak Apprentice Conjurer comes with a nice 10 inch range as well as Mage Blast and a bonus to Wand attacks. She has a relatively shallow dial, but with the ability to deliver 1-6 clicks of damage from 10 inches away, she’s worth every bit of her 27 points.

The Standard Amazon Scout comes with the new Immobilize ability most of the way down her pretty consistent dial. She can also deal 2 damage out to 8 inches away, and has a Bow attack bonus. At 24 points, she’s a good cheap supporting piece with the ability to push forward to finish off her foes or tie up larger pieces if need be.

The Standard Khamsin Trooper is very similar to the Standard Amazon Scout, but he has a slightly longer range and lacks the Immobilize Special Ability. He is, however, six points cheaper than the Scout.

The Standard Crusader Priest is another support piece along the same lines as the Weak Apprentice Conjurer, except he has a slightly better attack bonus, and he is part of the Deathspeakers sub-faction, allowing him access to the deadly Revenant ability.

Digging down to the second-to last layer of figures in the Starter, I came up with another very useful support figure, the Standard Shocktrooper. As with the Standard Khamsin Trooper and Standard Amazon Scout, the Standard Shocktrooper is a good combination of ranged combat and close-in capability. He has the same range as the Amazon Scout, but only does 1 damage at range, and comes in as the cheapest figure of those opened at 16 points.

The Tough Orc Warbeast is one of my favorite figures from 2.0. Not only does it have a huge damage potential between its 4 starting damage and Thunderblow Special Ability, it has a good attack, and a relatively high defense with Toughness. Certainly an excellent figure capable of rushing forward and inflicting some lasting damage. The only problem is that it hits Frenzy towards the end of its dial, making cautious play impossible right when you want to be a little careful. Frenzy does hold the Warbeast’s cost down a bit though, keeping it just slightly under the Steam Mauler’s.

The Weak Zombie Centaur is another of my favorite pieces in the set. This version doesn’t actually have a single Special Ability, but it does have an 8 move, 9 attack, and 3 damage starting, for only 24 points (in case you haven’t noticed, 2.0 figures tend to be a bit expensive, so 24 points is quite reasonable for a piece like the Centaur). It is also a very Surge-able piece, which is important with the new rules.

While Kierin cannot use the Raider’s Bane (since it requires a Sword attack type), it is still a very useful relic, especially against Orc figures. My final pull from the Starter was perhaps the most useful in a Constructed tournament (with the possible exception of the Warbeast)—Open Terrain. This meant that if I wanted to, I could shut down Kevin’s Terrain cards and assure that I was able to advance unhindered by anything but Weather.

Booster 1
* Magestone Golem

** Ub-Khan
* Steam Knight
*** Atlantean Swordmage
Storm Gale – D-006 (Domain)

This Booster was absolutely spectacular. Not only did I pull a pair of Golems, but the most excellent Ub-Khan and *** Atlantean Swordmage as well. A quartet of figures I would be happy to field any day (the fact that just those four figures are over 150 points doesn’t have anything to do with it… really).

The Weak Magestone Golem is, as Kevin said in his article, a close combat powerhouse with Thunderblow, a high attack, Toughness, and good defense. It can also fire out to 10 inches for 2 damage, making him a very versatile piece for 48 points.

The Standard Ub-Khan is a great figure any way you look at it. Besides the Lurk sub-faction ability, he has an 8 attack rating with a ranged combat damage of 2. Close in, and he can use his substantial Sword attack bonus and really cut loose, protected by Lurk and Counterattack, and bypassing those pesky defensive Special Abilities with Crushing Blow. All of this in a tight little package with a great sculpt (including an elf-head on a spike) for only 53 points.

The Weak Steam Knight is another great close combat figure with ranged capabilities. Not only does it start with Toughness and 3 damage, but for 46 points it can Surge into Smite, and can inflict a constant 3 damage out to 10 inches away.

The Strong Atlantean Swordmage is another great piece for only 28 points. Although his ranged combat attack is nothing spectacular, it gives him another option if he doesn’t want to Surge into Weapon Master. In addition to all of this, his membership in the Imperial Legion allows him to recover from being Demoralized, as well as eliminate captives for free.

In addition to these stellar figures, I pulled Storm Gale. If you’ll recall, I tried to use this card to shut down the firepower of Kevin’s Atlantean army while playing as the Mage Spawn, but it was cancelled by Clear Weather. He certainly wouldn’t be expecting it with our limited amount of product. This booster really exemplifies just how excellent the pulls from the new Mage Knight can be; in one booster, I pulled four figures that can inflict damage at range or close in, and have a very useful variety of Special Abilities and sub-faction abilities.

Booster 2
*** Vampire Archer
* High Elven Warrior
*** Harka Orc
** Dark Crusader
Canvas Pavilion 1 of 3 - CT-019A (Constructed Terrain)

While receiving “Canvas Pavilion 1/3” was a little disappointing compared to Storm Gale, I had seen how powerful Constructed Terrain could be (especially with a figure like Anunub—or Kierin Starsdawn—atop it), and was hoping that I would pull the rest of the terrain piece. The figures were a nicely weighted towards the Dark Crusaders and Orc Khans, just how I like them.

Not only does the Strong Vampire Archer have the Wing movement type, allowing him to soar, but he has Bound, then later Charge, to give amazing options. Hitting for a constant 2 damage with an effective range of 16 inches in addition to his close combat prowess, the Vampire Archer is a somewhat frightening piece. Add to that the constant Vampirism from being a member of the Order of Vladd and a touch of Ghostform on his last click to keep him alive a bit longer, and the Vampire Archer is a monstrosity at 62 points.

The Weak High Elven Warrior differs from the other support figures in that it is solely a melee figure. It also has a more stable defense, attack and damage than the Standard Shocktrooper, in addition to having an extra click of life, one less click of Demoralized, and the same points cost, and you can see why it would be a useful bodyguard for a ranged figure.

The Tough Harka Orc deals 3 clicks of Crushing Blow damage, and continues to do so for 2 more clicks. Even on its last click before Demoralization, it is still dealing out 2 clicks of damage. Coupled with its relatively high attack and the Reckless sub-faction ability, for 34 points, this is a figure that can dish out serious damage.

The Standard Dark Crusader depends heavily on terrain to get close and cause damage. Her Stealth Special Ability allows her to get close to ranged combatants without taking damage, and her Order of Vladd sub-faction ability insures she’ll stay in the fight even if they do manage to hit her. Twenty-five points may seem a little pricey for a figure with a Defense of 15, but Stealth should see her through to where the dangerous Bow and Wand attackers lose their precious attack bonuses.

Already I was starting to see two themes rising out of these pulls: dark scary guys (Orc Khans and Dark Crusaders) and Golems. Either one of them fits quite nicely into what I like out of an army, and I probably could have made a wonderful army or two out of just what I had so far, but there were still two boosters left to open…

Booster 3
* Khamsin Artillerist
* High Elven Warrior
** Apprentice Conjurer
** Vampiric Skeleton
Haunted Graveyard – D-018 (Domain)

The Khamsin Artillerist’s weapon is a big bazooka, allowing devastating direct-fire attacks. Stormfire allows the Artillerist to inflict damage to massed ranks, while the constant 3 damage at range allows the Artillerist to punish single figures. If I decided to go for the Golem force, this lady would make a great ranged-combat figure for only 24 points.

My next pull was another High Elven Warrior, which would turn out to be my only duplicate figure. This brought my total of Elven Lords to four, which would rise to six by the last of my pulls.

Next came the fifth of my Elven Lord figures, the Standard Apprentice Conjurer. At only 30 points, but with the Free Armies sub-faction ability Forced March and a speed of 10, she could keep the rest of her Elven Lord compatriots moving along at a brisk clip. While 30 points may have been quite a bit for only the Forced March ability, the Standard Apprentice Conjurer also includes Spell Resistance and Stormfire, allowing her to ravage formations while staying safe from fellow magic-users.

The final figure in this booster was the topper for me—the Standard Vampiric Skeleton. Beyond the incredible sculpt, for only 29 points, this figure can drop 4 damage with Crushing Blow on anyone foolish enough to base it, and can use its Vampirism to return to its starting click if damaged or forced to push.

The Domain card that I pulled from this Booster is one of my favorites. Haunted Terrain was one of the Sneak Peaks, so I’m sure you’ve all seen it, but the flavor text is just awesome, and the game effects are somewhat subtle, but could be telling.

Booster 4
*** Apprentice Conjurer
* Amazon Scout
* Dwarven Mechanic
** Infantry Golem
Canvas Pavilion 2 of 3- CT-019B (Constructed Terrain)

The Tough Apprentice Conjurer finished off my collection of Apprentice Conjurers, and provided some longer-ranged magical support to my collection with her 12” range. At only 2 points more than the Standard Apprentice Conjurer, this lady’s extended range and her ability to Immobilize any attackers who get close to her more than merit the slight increase in points.

The Weak Amazon Scout provides a very different type of support than the Standard one I pulled from my Starter. This Scout has the Pathfinder Special Ability, allowing her to lead formations of Revolutionaries through Hindering Terrain as if it weren’t there at all. Along with her Sword Attack Bonus, this ability would more than pay for her 17 points if I decided to organize a Golem force.

The next piece out of the Booster also fit perfectly into the Golem-heavy force I was contemplating—a Weak Dwarven Mechanic. One of the first new pieces to have the new Special Ability Tinker, the Dwarven Mechanic would keep my Golems in tip-top condition and able to pound on the enemy. He also has a high attack for a Healer, ensuring that even the most complex of Golems can be repaired.

My final pull was a Standard Infantry Golem, another medium-ranged support piece with both Melee and Ranged-Combat ability. Nothing glamorous, but certainly a useful piece, especially if I ended up using a Golem-heavy force with the Dwarven Mechanic backing them up.

Additionally, I pulled piece 2 for the Canvas Pavilion (and don’t worry, 3 pieces is the most that any Constructed Terrain takes), bringing me that much closer to finishing that piece of terrain (I believe one of my co-workers pulled a booster from the same case… looks like it’s time for a trade). Another most satisfying Booster.

Putting it All Together

All in all, I pulled together the forces into two armies, one based around the quartet of Golems I pulled, with Black Powder Revolutionaries and (obviously rogue) Atlantean figures supporting them, a very balanced force with close combat specialists, ranged combat specialists, and generalists supporting both types; and the other based around Orc Khan and Dark Crusader figures, built around inflicting massive damage and slaughtering the enemy. Both forces consist of two factions only, with no exceptions. I tend to play single-faction when I can, and when I can’t, I really don’t like to go for more than two.

I pondered back and forth, and then went with my gut feeling: more Damage is better. I was loath to drop the Steam Mauler and its Bombardment ability, but damage is good, and I wanted to inflict lots and lots of it on Kevin’s force. That being said, my force was composed of the following:

** Ub-Khan
*** Vampire Archer
*** Orc Warbeast
*** Harka Orc
** Crusader Priest
** Vampiric Skeleton
* Zombie Centaur

I decided to use the Open Terrain Domain card simply because I didn’t want any tricksy Domain cards messing with my strategy of rushing up and beating Kevin’s figures over the head with massive amounts of damage. I would have used Storm Gale just to shut down his ranged combat (since he tends to like it a lot), but I have a pair of figures that are based almost completely around ranged combat. We’ll see how it works…