pMorghoul theorymachine (possibly a tactica)

Greetings fellow Tyrants,

In this (admittedly huge) post I will try to put together a successful play style for pMorghoul. As you might know, list-building is not everything in this game, playing it and practising it. 

I have already played two battles with pMorghoul, I've read some articles about him. That coupled with the experience I had before I started Skorne, should suffice for some theory crafting :)

I came up with the idea of theory crafting 15 points (really not a lot of points) when I figured how I could make it work. For instance, deployment: where do you deploy everything to maximise your potential. Or the first turn - often one of the most crucial, especially at 15 points -, do I want to fill the Agonizer or do I want to cast Rush and Abuse, or Rush and Admonition, or ... The possibilities are endless and the main reason for writing this is to give myself some room for writing down my thoughts - simple Word documents, and even less pen and paper, do not suffice for a world conqueror, after all!

Before I start, I must say it has always felt strange when I read a tactics article. Most of them looked at the model in a vacuum, and just stated the obvious - great for a new player, but not so much when you want to delve into some deep and hidden tactics. That is why this article will not just talk about pMorghoul, but it will look at him in a set point value (15 points) with a list. I will see if this format works.

1) The list

This is about a fairly simple and straightforward 15 points list.

pMorghoul

Cyclops Brute
Cyclops Savage
Titan Gladiator

Paingiver Beast Handlers (min)

Agonizer

2) The tactic

Skorne basic tactics are all about applying Titans or Molik Karn. You can play some other type of games of course, like control or denial, but I don't think Morghoul is an ideal caster for this (although he has some huge denial elements incorporated in his Feat and spell list, I would not consider him a denial 'lock; he's more like an axe-to-the-face warlock with some gimmicks).

Now, with some help from his friends, the Gladiator in this list really has a large threat range. With Abuse, Rush and Enrage, our armed elephant charges 11" for free, and swings at P+S 20 with three initials (one at P+S 19) and has 4 fury. This will our primary 'trick'. After your charge, you will most of the time have succeeded in killing either the opponents caster or his heavy, which, at 15 points, can be devastating.

It's really just like this

3) The Problems (and some solutions)

1. Knockdown: This problem can be solved by applying the Brute's animus, which prevents KD. On the other hand, 2 fury is a lot, and you'll have to make decisions (I talk about fury management below). When facing pKreoss, never end your turn without Safeguard on pMorghoul. Same can be said when facing pDeneghra or pStryker.
2. Retaliation: Often, your heavy who just charged is ready to get pummelled. Consider the Khador battle box for instance - killing a heavy leaves you at at least 4 P+S 17 hits in retaliation, and if he's playing Butcher, well, let's just say killing a heavy sometimes is not enough to warrant the safety of your heavies. How can we deal with that? Simple: Admonition: he walks into melee range? Just walk away. The feat is also a good tool to help this - if you catch enough of his 'jacks, they will only be attacking with their initials, and if he's playing Hordes, he won't be able to force if they venture too close to Morghoul.
3. Stationary: When facing pSorscha, remember she has a huge threat range. Screen your 'Lock accordingly. Not much that can be said, I still need to face her. 
4. being out-threatened: It is possible the other army has a way to out-threaten you. I'm thinking about a Feral Warpwolf with pKaya and a Blackclad Wayfarer. That's 13", and Kaya just zips him back to her, although the Feral does hit fairly weak (at 13", he hits at dice -4). Having played her myself, the only way to try to beat her is to play with Objectives :D . Not really sure what to do when it's just Caster Kill.. When I come up with something, I'll add it. I can say what you should not try: split up. At batllebox level, the average speed of her battlegroup is approx. 6,  she can just focus on one element and out-attrition you! (#4 might need some clean-up, I'll see what I can do about it)
5. Being Debuffed: An easy solution would be to just swap a Savage with a Shaman, but playing at 15 points with 14 points of 'support', might not be the best idea. Losing your Heavy means losing the game if the other caster is a tough nut to crack (and not-living). When you are unable to charge, a possible solution is to run to engage, and then pop feat. You limit the retaliation this way (also, when you pop your feat and you are able to catch the opponent Warcaster in it, he won't be able to upkeep the debuff! However, be careful with this, being 10" away from the opponents caster might end badly for you). Not optimal, and I'm still thinking about other possible solutions. Playing Objectives might help.
6. There are other problems, and when a new one pops up (either during playing or someone mentioning one in the comments), I'll add it to this list (or make a whole post about, who knows)

4) The real problem: Fury Management with pMorghoul

Reading the above list, you might want to criticise that Morghoul can't do all those things in the same turn and still have fury left for transfers. That's true, and that's why I have made a whole additional chapter about it :)

As you might have noticed, a lot of the above problems can be solved by casting spells - Retaliation can be lessened by good use of Admonition, and you can't be knocked down when you have the Cyclops's animus up. However, just casting those two will leave you at 0 Fury, one if you Maltreated. And you won't have casted Rush or Abuse, nor will you have filled the Agonizer. How do we solve this? On the other hand, after a good turn of having cast safeguard with the Brute, and having had a good time with the Gladiator and the Savage, you have 9 fury on the table, and Morgoul can only leach 5 (4 if he left one for transfers). Now you risk losing out on an activation of one of your beasts! Fury Management is no doubt the most important  dogma in Hordes. This puny mortal will try to cover it with pMorghoul (note this is subject to change - opinions change over time, and I will acquire new insights over the next few months). Later on, I will try to post about the dogma of fury management in general.

1. What does pMorghoul want to do with all his fury?
1. Cast Abuse (Most plausible thing you are going to do)
2. Cast Admonition (Often a really good choice - moving your models his turn is nerve-shattering)
3. Cast animi (See 2.5 for sometimes the best option for this)
4. Spend on extra attacks or boosts (pMorghoul should only do this later in the game though)
5. Fill the Agonizer with it (Turns 1 & 2, later on your fury might be better spent - or you agonizer is dead)
6. Cast Torment (Most of the time, your fury is better spent)
7. Keep them for Transfers (consider it an insurance, and try most of the time that he won't be able to reach you)
2. What enables/helps him to do all of that?
1. His meagre 5 fury (leaching)
2. Maltreatment (needs beasts as well)
3. [Aptimus Marketh (3 point investment)]
4. [Cyclops Shaman (5 point investment)]
5. Letting his beasts cast their animus themselves
3. How does he keep his Beasts at bay (the other spectrum of Fury Management)
1. He can leach up to 5 Fury himself
2. The previous turn, he can maltreat a beast for 1 fewer fury
3. The previous turn, paingiver beast handlers can Condition warbeasts so they drop to the desired amount of Fury

(Some options are in brackets: that is because although we have those options, I do not have them in my current list. 15 points doesn't allow for much :p)

So, how does a turn of pMorghoul proceed. He'll have 5 fury, 6 if he opts to maltreat.

I realize this might be a little straightforward for the most, if not all of you because in fact I am stating the obvious - I am however, doing more than that: I am stating the options. With these in the back of my head, it's easier to go over my turn - might just be me, but schematics do help us remember :)

5) How does a turn look like

So, in the previous chapter I went through all the things Morghoul can possibly do in one turn. The best way to illustrate fury management (and to be honest, the reason I started thinking about a tactica) is to imitate the opening turns of the game. We have some decisions to make then

• Do we want an Agonizer filled with Fury?
• Do we want our beasts halfway up the board?
• Do we want Admonition on the field?

Obviously, you can't do them all at once. 

Turn 1.

We have different possibilities here. Sometimes you feel that you need to fill that agonizer quickly, for instance against Warmachine armies, and sometimes you need to go up the board quickly, so you don't lose momentum (this is especially true if you are going first) Here are some possible paths I suggest:

Cast Admonition on either the Gladiator or Morghoul himself (would advise the Gladiator, but only if you keep Morghoul in the back) and then put the remaining fury on the Agonizer. In SR2013, when you go first, that will put your Heavies at 15", 9" from the middle of the board.

When you are up against a Purification Caster, Admonition usually isn't the best choice, because you have so low fury. I would then cast abuse 2 times  and put the remaining fury on the agonizer. This is also viable if you feel you need to rush op the board!

Now your heavies go up the field faster ( If you are going first, 6" away from the middle line).

Obviously, you could also cast Admonition, Abuse and then put the remaining fury on the agonizer. I would advise using this one most of the time. You have your upkeep up, you have a heavy far up the field, and you have started filling the Agonizer! Now your heavy of choice will be 12" further. 

6) epilogue

I feel this post is a little strange and I feel I should have stayed on course. I will just post this up and take note of any remarks, and upon rereading this and after playing some more games with Morghoul, I will change it accordingly.

Thank you for reading this, and see you next time,

The Archdominar