Cygnaran Storm rumbles along covering Cygnar’s drunken caster: Lieutenant Allister Caine.

At first glance Caine1 may appear to be an offensive super-solo who will win the game by himself while his troops are left to fend for themselves. But a closer look at his spell list shows that he’s actually a cleverly disguised support caster, that also happens to be able to kill an untold number of infantry models in a single turn.

Offensive Support Caster

Aside from Blur, which Caine will typically keep on himself, Caine has two army-supporting upkeeps: Deadeye and Snipe. Deadeye makes him an excellent caster to pair up with ranged units, particularly the Arcane Tempest Gun Mages for increasing the odds of getting a crit for Critical Brutal and Knockdown on Thunderbolt. Combine Deadeye and Snipe (since Deadeye is not an upkeep) on the Stormblades with UA to get a long-range assault that is very likely to hit the target.
While Caine is decent at keeping his troops supported, he’s not so great and fueling a lot of ‘jacks. Often Caine will take a single ‘jack to burn his Warjack points, letting ‘jack marshals and Jr. deal with additional jacks so he can keep his focus for himself.

Feat

pCaine’s feat is the ultimate in infantry clearing. Caine takes a normal ranged attack at every enemy model in his control area. Keep in mind the “normal ranged attack” part, this feat doesn’t circumvent normal targeting rules like Stealth or LOS (though you can ignore intervening models). You also have to take a shot at every enemy model, even if they are engaged with your own models, giving them the +4 in-melee bonus.
At RAT 8 (10 standing still), Caine is going to hit most infantry models and average dice. At POW 12 he’s going to kill a lot of them too. Use this to clear the way to the caster or empty out some control zones.
There is some risk vs reward built into this feat. To cover the most infantry in his 12″ control area Caine will need to be farther forward, but this is risky given Caine’s low ARM. A common tactic is to combine the Squire and Snipe to get Caine’s feat to cover 14″.

Spells Blur - Maybe give it to a unit for the first turn to get them up the field, but often this remains on Caine himself, keeping him at DEF 20. Deadeye – Increase the accuracy, but also the critical hit chances of your ranged units. Especially useful on ATGM or assaulting Stormblades. Snipe – Caine can shoot 16″, or combine with Deadeye on the Stormblades for a long range assault. Even if they don’t reach melee, they still get a sniped shot. Also good on any of the ranged ‘jacks Caine will typically bring like the Defender or Hunter. Teleport – Move Caine forward, take some shots, then teleport back to safety. Activation ends after teleporting, so you can’t use it to increase your threat range. Thunderstrike – Very expensive spell that can occasionally see situational use, maybe for clearing out a zone or knocking something over a caster. Weapons Spellstorm Pistols – Two pistols, each with ROF 2, giving Caine 4 possible shots (5 with Reinholdt). To make all these shots, Caine will need to reserve two focus to buy his additional two shots. Combine that with two for teleport and Caine only has two left, which he may have already spent on upkeeps for Snipe and Blur. Sword – No Gunfighter means Caine needs a sword for melee. MAT 4, P+S 8, but the time you draw the sword you are in serious trouble. Warjacks

Given Caine’s many uses for focus, it’s easy to see why he wants to bring along focus efficient ‘jacks who will let him keep his focus for making attacks and up keeping spells, and of course teleporting.

Hunter – Not only is he focus efficient, the Hunter’s extended control range won’t keep Caine tied down. Defender – Nearly as efficient as the Hunter, plus he can double as a melee bodyguard if need be. Ol’ Rowdy – No ranged attacks, meaning he won’t need any focus to hang out with Caine in the early turns. Free running and charging, plus counter charge will keep him near Caine without imposing on his limited focus reserves. Sentinel – With recent improvements to Shield Guard, the Sentinel can take a hit to protect Caine’s low ARM. The Sentinel’s chain gun is best at taking out infantry, but Caine is a lot better. Units

Arcane Tempest Gun Mages – Deadeye makes these guys shine, and Snipe won’t hurt either, freeing them up to use a different kind of shot. Combine with the UA for stealth mitigation and the ability to pair up with a ‘jack, so Caine doesn’t have to take one. Rangers – Spread them out before feat to make sure to hit even more infantry. Precursors – Combine with the UA to give Caine a Shield Wall to shoot through that can’t be target by spells. While Caine takes out the infantry keep the Precursor’s mini-feat for cracking high ARM targets. Stormblades – The combination of Snipe and Deadeye with their UA for assault gives the ‘blade extra utility. Think about marshaling a Stormclad to the UA, he’ll get the free focus, a ‘jack marshall point and throw in Strangewayes for another focus to get a killer heavy without draining Caine’s focus. Solos

Reinholdt – A common pairing to give Caine a free extra shot. Journeyman Warcaster – Use Arcane Shield to bolster Caine’s weak ARM and fuel a warjack to keep Caine’s focus for himself. Arlan Strangewayes – Speaking of focus efficiency, how about a solo that can marshall his own ‘jack or provide free focus for other jacks? Eiryss – Caine takes out the infantry while Eiryss keeps ‘jacks disabled.

Lt. Caine is a solid infantry supporting and infantry killing caster who loves his focus and is reticent to share them. Pair him with some ranged infantry, a focus efficient  warjack and set him loose on the battlefield.

-DieselDM

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