How do Cryx Dread Armada play?
Welcome to the latest update for the Cryx Dread Armada FronTier! Launching October 15 on MyMiniFactory, the Dread Armada are a whole new army for everyone’s favourite necrotech lich lords, Cryx.
As well as bringing Cryx’s infamous naval power back to the table in a big way, the Dread Armada will also bring some familiar faces back into play (some of whom we’ve already encountered in Loremachine). But make no mistake: this is not a re-release of Cryx’s existing Black Fleet army.
No, the Dread Armada are a force all of their own — and one to be reckoned with, they’ll have you know. On that note, we’ve got Warmachine dev Fraser here to give us a glimpse at what major new gameplay themes we can expect from Cryx’s dreaded new fleet.
Summon the sea with dreadtides
For the Dread Armada, the sea is an ally they can bring to any battlefield, never truly fighting on dry land. They do this in two ways.
First, they have a number of ways to create and benefit from shallow water terrain. Second is their unique faction rule: dreadtides.
Dreadtides are represented physically on the tabletop and can be summoned by certain Dread Armada models. They provide two crucial functions for the army: ranged defence and offense support.
Dread Armada models that are close to dreadtides gain a variety of benefits against enemy ranged attacks. Think of it like a fleet sailing through a mist, surrounded by warping winds, in choppy waters. It’ll be challenging to land a shot on them, to say the least.
Then, dreadtides move across the battlefield. So, after using these benefits to close the distance to the enemy, the dreadtides crash into the enemy forces, stripping their defences and leaving them vulnerable. Which brings us to the Dread Armada’s second key theme…
Stacking debuffs for the swarm
The Dread Armada play as a classic swarm army, using multiple low-cost units to sweep across the battlefield. This concept extends to their warjacks, which can be less costly than their counterparts in other armies but sacrifice stat points in exchange.
None of these models will have particularly impressive individual damage output. They will, however, have the potential to collectively make multiple low, low quality attacks.
(Part of the ship, part of the… you get the picture.)
That’s where the Dread Armada’s capacity to stack effects on enemies and make them more vulnerable becomes invaluable. Combine the dreadtide debuffing effects with a variety of other individual negative effects, and each Dread Armada model starts looking far more dangerous.
Attack in waves
By combining these concepts, Cryx Dread Armada’s effectiveness in combat will ebb and flow. One moment they lack reliable output; the next their potency crests as they attack a debuffed target.
Set up your next attack wave with dreadtides — for both protection and support — then surge forward together to crash into the enemy and sweep them away.
And of course, you could always go full tidal wave, pushing a huge number of models up the table to drown your opponent’s army.
Keep a weather eye on the Warmachine channels for more Cryx Dread Armada rules previews as we sail closer to launch.
Is the pirate’s life for you? The Cryx Dread Armada FronTier launches October 15, bringing an army of swashbuckling undead to your 3D printer to print, paint, and play using the free rules in the Warmachine app.
