Cynwall Army Analysis

Faction Overview

Overview of Cynwall:

Advantages

• Good discipline – with typical character DIS ratings hovering around 6, with our without leadership, the Cynwall stand a reasonable chance of going first unless they are facing an extreme high DIS army such as Griffins or Dwarves.
• Good magic – The Republic of Lanever really shines when it comes to spell buffs.
• Good initiative – Most Cynwall units either have an INI of 4, or can boost their INI to 4 with Concentration.
• Above average speed (12.5) – While not exceptional, their speed of 12.5 means that they have a distinct advantage over most of the other armies in the game in this regard – particularly against Dwarven armies and against Acheron.
• Highly synergistic – Most units have useful special abilities, and when used in tandem, become much more powerful than they would be otherwise.
• High numbers of shooters – Cynwall have five separate shooter troops that run the range of troop types, from basic all purpose cannon fodder to elite melee to elite ranged.
• High resistance to FEAR – Typically, FEAR will be a non-issue for this army, lacking some really bad rolls. Much of the army is actually outright immune to FEAR.
• Versatile – With an extremely wide range of skills and abilities, about the only thing the Cynwall can’t do is simply bull rush their way through an enemy force.

Weaknesses

• Highly synergistic – The flip side of great synergy is that you actually have to attain this synergy, or your army isn’t anywhere near as effective as it otherwise would be. Cynwall don’t play like most armies; they take an annoyingly long time to figure out. When you are first starting with this army, be prepared to lose. A lot.
• Strictly average combat stats – The strength of the Cynwall fighter tends to be in its abilities, and not in its STR or RES. Short of the Dragon, the closest thing the Cynwall have to a beat-stick is the Nova with a STR of 9 and a RES of 10 for 62 AP.
• Expensive units – These elves tend to be expensive. Their basic troops start at 17 AP, and it only goes up from there. Akhamials are cheaper, but they pay for it in stat hits.
• Glass-jawed characters (some exceptions apply) – Only one Lanever hero has a RES higher than 7. Most of their heroes, while very skillful, cannot take a hit.

Factions

The Cynwäll Ways

The Cynwäll Ways
The Army of the Republic For 0 AP, this Way allows you to field up to six regulars or veterans per card provided at least 50% of your force is made up of regulars and/or or veterans. Two solos are selectable here. The first is called Republican Pool. It costs 3 AP, and allows you to choose between Artifact / 1, Loyal / 1, and Fine Blade (you must choose one at the beginning of the game). The other solo is called Brother-in-arms, costs 1 AP, and gives Survival Instinct.
The Blade of Truth Here's the one everyone likes to talk about, and it's every bit as good as people say. For 1 AP per fig, you gain the potential to gain +1 concentration for every Cynwall with the ability in your army. The catch? Before the match begins, you must offer your opponent the chance to surrender. So long as you remember to do so, everyone with the ability gains +1 concentration. As if that were not enough, the solos bring this Way well into the realm of awesome. The first, Ire (2 AP), gives Implacable / 1 to whoever you give it to, which is cool in Confrontation, but downright amazing in Rag'narok. This is particularly evil to give to Quasars. They will usually kill their target, and having an additional pursuit move can be exactly what you need in a combat situation. The second, Determination, is the one most people talk about. For 2 AP, you can put your Concentration into any stat except for POW or Aspects. In case you weren't paying attention, this is the solo that lets you have Azure Hunters with an AIM of 6. Finally, this Way changes the Cynwall rules of alliance. Instead of the normal '30%' rules, a Blade of Truth army can take up to 33% of its army as Griffins, and 33% of its army as Lions. The remaining 33% must be made up of Cynwall bound to the Blade of Truth. Blade of Truth armies cannot include other allies, save for Elementals or Immortals. People talk a lot about Azure Hunters who can hit on a roll of a 1 at medium range (up to 40 cm away), but for my money, Khidaryms with Concentration / 3 is where it's at. With STR 11, they are downright impressive as heavy hitters; with DEF 8, there is little they cannot block, and you can succesfully perform a sustained defense against all but the most skillful enemy fighters. Be strategic about who you give Determination to. Azure Hunters is a good bet, but not the only good bet. Varsym Killers with a pumpable RES (and 3 points they can put into it) can go a long way towards making the unit more survivable, and the same goes for Nelphaell. Nelphaell with RES 5? Not so impressive. Nelphaell with RES 8? Now that's more like it. On the other hand, a Nelphaell with an AIM of 8 is going to send shivers of fear up most people's spines. Conversely, giving Determination to Sylann gives you a potential DIS as high as 11, and that's without a War-Staff! Be creative. You are limited only by the current pool of Cynwall units in release.
The Elders' Legacy Another good, solid theme. This Way costs 1 AP per nonconstruct fig you include in the army, and at least 50% of your force must be made up of Constructs. In return for paying this cost with every nonconstruct, every Construct becomes 3 AP cheaper. For 2 AP, you can give Resolution/2 to any construct. For 4 AP, you can give Recovery/3 to any Cynwall magician who masters Solaris magic. Finally, for 3 AP, you can give any Akhamial +2.5 MOV and Scout. This last point is worth underlining. +2.5 MOV and Scout for 3 AP. And for including them in the force, they cost 3 AP less. There's no reason not to do this. Obviously, with this theme, it is best to focus on a construct army supported by spellcasters. Someone had to state the obvious, right? Consider it stated. Still, don't be afraid to mix in some non-construct fighters (so long as you meet the 50% construct minimum). Scouting Akhamials can cause some serious nightmares for an enemy force, but don't get carried away - Akhamials, though amazing units, are very easily overwhelmed if you send them out unsupported against any but the most vulnerable targets. Unless your intent is a suicide run, the usual rules for scouts apply. I like to use my upgraded Akhamials to get off free charges to tie up enemy heavies for a round while the rest of my force pounces on their support. The 3.5 changes have been particularly helpful in this regard, giving them an assault fire shot on top of their already fear-immune charge. Sacrificing 14 AP to tie up and possibly wound a Predator of Blood, or a Tyrant, a D-Clone, or the like? I'll take that trade.
The Equanimous Monasteries Widely argued to the best of the Cynwall Ways point for point. For the cost of two AP per fig, provided you have at least one Cynwall Warrior-monk per slice of 200 AP (even incomplete) that you field, all friendly fighters gain Sequence/1 (+1 to their Sequence value if they already have the ability) and +1 INI. Now, that in itself is amazingly good, but what really brings this theme into the realm of sheer awesome is the solos. One of them is just OK. For 2 AP, you can give a fighter Loyal/1. The other, Martial Teacher, is downright jaw-droppingly amazing. For 4 AP, you can give an Equanime a solo that gives Counter-attack to every friendly fighter (apart from Constructs) inside his aura of faith. Add some divine spells on top of that, and this theme becomes pure win. With this theme, it is helpful to go for models with high attack and defence scores. Most Cynwall have that, naturally, but some are higher than others. If you are paying for the Martial Teacher solo (and it is always, always worth it), it is helpful to prioritize units that can put Concentration into Defence to help you get those Counter-Attacks.
The Light Dragon For 1 AP per fig, and provided that at least 30% of your strategic value is made up of Dragons (Cynwall Dragons or Wyrms), not only do the dragons acquire scout, but a number of Cynwall units equal to the combined Force of your dragons also gain the ability. There are two solos available, one of which buffs the Dragon aura ability (allowing it to stack up to three times), the other of which gives Consciousness. This theme is not entirely practical for a 400 point game, but can be made to work, provided you don't mind having a frighteningly low model count. This theme can really shine in 600 AP+ games, but Ragnarok is where it really comes into its own. If you insist on using this Way in Confrontation, make good use of your Scouts. Be creative. Try to give scout to models that would horrify you to face as scouts. A scouting dragon teamed up with a scouting Echahim and Khidarym can make for an amazing strike force, and a scouting Nelphaell is just wrong on many different levels.
The Way of the Trihedron The Way of the Trihedron requires that you form at least one group of three Cynwall units to be a trihedron. You can actually include as many trihedrons as you please, though. It costs 1 AP per fig to bind it to this theme. In return, each trihedron is activated on its own card (even if each fig in the trihedron is different), and every trihedron member gains Survival Instinct if they are within 10cm of another member of the trihedron. In Trihedrons that contain a Faithful and at least one fig which (not the Faithful) has a piece of Helianthic equipment, then each survival instinct roll each member of the trihedron makes can be rerolled once. The solos for this Way are interesting. The first, geared towards Dogs of War, (1 AP) allows you to exchange renown for resource points at the end of every scenario at a 1 to 1 ratio. The second can be given to any character who is part of a trihedron, and gives that character leadership/10 (or +10 cm to their leadership range) at a cost equal to either their COU or their DIS, whichever is higher. The last solo gives Scout for 3 AP to any fig with a RES less than or equal to 10. The Way of the Trihedron is one that I have been doing much experimenting with as of late, and I find that I like it almost as much as I like the Equanime Monestaries. The theme drastically changes the way you design your army: you need each Trihedron to be able to function on its own as well as within the larger context of your army, and once this is accomplished, it becomes something like playing three (or more, or less) seperate Dogs of War squads simultaneously and in support of each other. ry to put together into the same trihedron units that have synergies with each other. A trihedron that consists of an Equanime, a Khidarym, and a Kestrel, for example (Kestrels and Khidaryms work well together, Sequence + Feint is always a winner, and while he's at it, the Equanime can toss Lethal Vision onto the Khidarym). Another trihedron that has brought me much success is an all scouting Trihedron that consists of Nelphaell, an Azure Hunter, and an Asadar bodyguard. Maelyn (with helianthic masterpiece and solar power) is best put into a trihedron that can make use of her helianthic buffs, and so on. With this theme, it is probably best to substitute Echahims for Varsyms and Varsym Killers: the Echahim's mobility is not going to be as useful when it is compelled to remain within 10 cm of its fellows lest it break the trihedron.