Strike Force: Lucius army list tactics

Being relatively new Lucius player I remember playing Lucius for the first time though my list was rather rubbish on second glance and even though I won my match I saw the great potential in Lucius. Here goes a leader that makes his crew run like a welled oiled machine but only BETTER, manipulating his crew to higher feats.

With that goal in mind I looked at his very short list of available minions at his disposable:

Ryle, Guild Guard, Guild Guard Captain, Austringer, Guild Hounds and the Lawyer. With the limited selection (at the time) I went with the following:

Guild Crew - 35 - Scrap

Lucius -- 4 Cache

Governor's Proxy [2ss]

Guild Austringer [5ss]

Guild Austringer [5ss]

Guild Guard [4ss]

Guild Guard [4ss]

Guild Guard Captain [7ss]

Ryle, Guild Pawn [8ss]

Lucius- you usually run up Lucius first turn and cast "Reinforcements" to move any model 4" in front of him. My two favorites are either the Captain (since he is slow) or the Austringer for positioning. "Advanced Training" to give all models in the 8" aura +2 cb, followed by an "Issue Command" on your Austringer makes it a healthy 9cb strike... Let that sink in.. how many non master models can dodge a 9cb strike BEFORE any flips?

With Lucius you should be get into a good position and start spamming out "Issue Command" as many times as possible. Hopefully to make strikes just so you get more mileage out of "Advanced Training", all else fails use it to get better positioning on an enemy by moving around your models who have not yet activated.

Governors Proxy- I use this model solely because its higher CA of 5 with suited ram, that means he casts Lucius' signature spell "Issue Command" on a 9+. An added bonus is the +2wp he gives friendly Guild models, yes it does come with a downside... Do not fail a morale duel while within line of sight of this model. Honestly I have only ever lost a total of one model due to this, smart positioning can largely avoid this. If you see a terrifying enemy and you do not want to waste high cards passing the duel, simply walk your proxy out of line of sight.

Austringers- I will admit when they first were introduced I looked at their damage spread and thought nothing of t hem... But after playing Guild for a while I noticed their other skills which make them worth their weight in gold. Their best skill is their attack which ignores line of sight AND cover... this is VERY big in a game like malifaux where more terrain is encouraged.

I can't hammer in the fact enough to cast "Issue Command" on the Austringers of all the models in your crew. Just hide them in a building that only has one entrance and start harassing enemy models. Regardless of actual damage caused your enemy will be so frustrated he will go out of his way JUST to get rid of them. Park them close to an objective where they cannot be attacked directly and the enemy HAS to go after them or lose his crew one way or another..

Did I mention how useful "Deliver Orders" is? It is a 24" set up for an alpha strike and it is the Austringers only 0 action so don't feel bad about using it just to "burn" a card. If it actually goes through you keep going with your momentum. I tend to "Deliver Orders" to another Austringer who is hiding in same room.

Guild Guard- Tend to be the fodder I send to actually get the objectives, one always stays next to Lucius so that he benefits from his "Secret Service" rule. Also the Guardsmen hit harder under "Issue Command/Advanced Training" in addition they have critical strike. Armor tends to keep them around longer annoying your opponent to no end.

Guild Guard Captain- he has companion (master) to even further your alpha strike if that is a valid option during the turn. I never actually use his pistol as most times I rather move/protect Lucius at all costs. He is actually pretty hand in a melee fight with "Hard to Wound:1" and armor he can withstand quite a few hits. In addition he has access to critical strike with a ghosted ram, which means when he hits the enemy with a ram suited card he will do minimum 4 damage.

He has two decent 0 actions, one of them lending the idea of alpha striking even more so and the other giving all friendly nearby Guild models a bonus to their morale duels. I tend to use his alpha strike set up more than I use the morale duels 0 action but that is more personal preference than anything else.

Ryle- the beast from the east... or from somewhere else equally imposing! Ryle has always been a great model to have, yes even if I cannot "Issue Command"! His gatling gun has made swiss cheese out of just about everything I point it at without even intending to kill the victim. I tend to "cheat down" just to tie things up and pull off the "fully automatic" trigger, which tends to work in my favor most times. His close combat abilities are nothing to be scoffed at, just because his ranged weapon is a great doesn't mean he can't hold his own in close combat. In fact his damage output in close combat is VERY high. If he catches an enemy with a ram suit card and hits them for severe damage, say hello to 8 damage.

"Socially Repressed" is a great movement ability for Ryle, need to escape combat? Attack enemies who thought they were safe from your gun? The applications for this ability are great, simply because its "closest living model". If you are facing undead or constructs just move one of YOUR models in a way where the push away is favorable to you. This ability gives Ryle a 28" threat range with his gatling gun.. yup you just did that.

This post will be edited heavily in the next coming weeks as I go even more depth of all the tricks you can do with Lucius and his minions. Till then good sirs.

last edited: 08/20/11