Grim Angus Tactics

After having played a few games with Grim, I have decided to write a tactics post. I have further updated my Grim Angus list after this post.

So much Tough infantry... what to do?

Grim Angus (35 pts)

Who cannot love Mr. Front 242 himself?

So, I've selected Grim Angus for this list. I need something that covers for the other list's weaknesses. Among these are denial, and high defense or weapon master infantry lists. I know some of my opponents will be running Iron Flesh spam and jammy Cryx lists. Grim is a very good caster for dealing with these things. His feat is great for counter-feating against the really awesome control feats.

One of the fun things about Grim is that all his spells are Friendly or debuffs on the enemy. This allows him to bring, well, pretty much anything. Trolls have some issues with the ranged game, since there are few ways to make your troops shoot better, but Grim has that in spades.

This also makes it hard to write a generic tactical article on Grim... he can really use anything, including minions.

Army list

Grim (+6)
- Earthborn (10)
Fell Caller Hero (3)
Janissa Stonetide (3)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2)
10 Kriel Warrior + 2x WA + UA (10)
10 Pyg Burrowers (6)
6 Scattergunners + UA (7)

Models

Janissa and the Earthborn are there to allow Grim to play up the board. Grim and an Earthborn bullet is a very potent threat, so I do not want Grim to hang back and snipe with an Impaler buddy. Also, keeping Grim back means losing a lot of the things that make him good, like a killer Feat, Marked for Death, and a couple of extra Lock the Target for the assassination run.

I have to play very carefully with this list. Losing the Earthborn or Janyssa will give me a lot of problems, since I don't have any other Warbeasts or other defense tech. Fortunately Grim usually can get by without using so much Fury... I usually have him hanging onto 2 Fury and the Earthborn on 4.

One thing I will try is to replace the Kriel Warriors with Fennblades + UA. The increased threat is good with Grim's feat, and since I'm not packing a Stone the reduced ARM doesn't really matter. The Scattergunners are another unit that can could be replaced with another ranged unit, like Bushwhackers (for a stronger assassination threat) or Sons of Bragg (for a strong second wave punch, which is something this list lacks).

I would also have liked to replace the Earthborn with Rök for a stronger assassination potential and for more beatstick... unfortunately Rök with Goad is completely awesome with Hoarluk Doomshaper, so he will go into that list. After all, this is my backup list, and I'm  a firm believer in making my main list as strong as I can.

Cuba is planning Grim's grim fate...

Feat: Spread the Net

Grim's feat is maybe not as good as the most ballbusting Warmachine feats, but it's pretty strong. The DEF debuff makes all our troops shine. The SPD debuff is even better. This feat can give you the alpha strike, it can be used to counterfeat against the really awesome control feats, it can allow you to chew through high defense infantry - against slower opponents it can even let you alpha strike twice, by hitting them, wiping out the front line, and preventing their second line from engaging.

It is also a very potent assassination threat against low to medium armor casters. Feat, shoot the caster, spell him, and have your ranged units (or Earthborn) tear him to shreds

With the list set up as it is, with a mediocre ranged component, it doesn't have the best assassination threat... but it's something your opponent cannot ignore, either.

Ability: True Sight

Allows you to pick out Stealth solos that wander too close with ease.

Ability: Bait the Line

Another 2" for the Earthborn Bullet can help with alpha striking.

Spell: Cross-Country

I often start out with putting this on Grim to aid him in picking out key solos. Makes ranged troops better, and also allows melee models (Earthborn!) to charge through forests at the enemy. This spell is very dependent on terrain... try to pick the side which will give you forests to hide behind!

Spell: Lock the Target

The low POW makes this spell very risky for its main goal - stopping enemy beatsticks from charging stuff. If you are close enough to cast it on a dangerous target, and fail, then they are close enough to stomp Grim into the ground. I usually use it on the assassination run for an extra boosted attack, or to clear out an annoying infantry model blocking my lanes. With Hunter it can also be used to pick out enemy solos hiding behind forests. Not a very strong spell. 

Spell: Marked for Death

This spell is a silver bullet for many Cryx units and abilities, but is quite decent for the -2 DEF debuff as well. It's easiest to land on high defense stuff on the feat turn. Feat first, cast Marked for Death, and with the Fell Caller you've got an effective +7 MAT (or +5 RAT). Not even Iron Flesh Kayazy are safe against this.

Spell: Return Fire

Very situational. I throw it on Grim or maybe the Fell Caller if I have Fury to spare. It will be of more use in a ranged Grim list, but since it gets its effect depending on what the opponent does, it loses its value somewhat against skilled opponents. It's better than discarding Fury, anyhow...