Harkevich - Theme vs. Non-Theme

Kind of a follow up on my last post, talking about trying to build a well rounded list with Harkevich. To keep it at a reasonable length, I broke it off before I started rambling about the virtues of each type of list. Picking up again with a recap of my current favorite version of a list using Harkevich's theme:

Kommander Harkevich, the Iron Wolf (*5pts)
     * Black Ivan (9pts)
     * Conquest (18pts)
     * Spriggan (9pts)
     * War dog (1pts)
Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Winter Guard Infantry (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
     * Winter Guard Infantry Officer & Standard (2pts)
Winter Guard Mortar Crew (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Winter Guard Mortar Crew (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich (2pts)

Full theme benefits, decently beefy warjack loadout (and the area where I have the most flexibility to mess around with other configurations,) and a good infantry solution with my infantry. While I wouldn't drop it against everything, it's a flexible enough list that I feel like it can deal with a variety of situations without sacrificing what makes Harkevich a unique threat (battlegroup pressure.)

At this point, I feel like I've found the version of the theme list that I like the most. Others have had success or found comfort with other configurations, but since I keep coming back to this version (or one very similar to it,) I have to admit that it's how I'm comfortable playing Harkevich and just roll with it.

So if I like this list, why move away from it? I've touched on it before, but the Harkevich theme list has some holes: it's not very focus efficient/enabling after turn 1 (which can definitely cause some headaches,) it has zero "math" gaming (ways to increase or decrease stats, or ways to remove upkeeps,) and it poaches one of the best character solos in Khador for moderate effect (WGI are always great, but Harkevich doesn't really highlight their strengths so it feels like a little bit of a waste.)

The next step is going to be trying out some non-theme list ideas and seeing if any of them strike me as more effective than the theme list. It stands to reason that if a non-theme list can offer the same or a similar experience to the theme list while providing greater flexibility, it may be where I find the "best" Harkevich list for me.

Right out of the gate, going non-theme offers several benefits for Harkevich:

1. Access to Sylas and a Koldun Lord greatly increases the focus potential of the list. Harkevich upkeeps Escort all game barring exceptional circumstances so getting it for free is a big help, and the Koldun Lord can provide the one focus that Black Ivan usually needs whenever he's shooting. As a result, you can have turns where you upkeep Escort and Fortune, still have 5 focus left over, and get a "free" fully boosted shot out of Black Ivan. Its way more flexible than in the theme list, where Harkevich is usually looking at having 4 focus to work with on a given turn which usually translates into one warjack doing work. With 5+1 focus to work with, you can potentially have all of your warjacks pulling weight on a key turn (ideally the feat turn,) and that makes the battlegroup feel way more active and useful.
2. Outriders are a cheaper (9 vs 10+ points), non-character anti-infantry option in non-theme lists. Harkevich has a spell that fixes their biggest issue (Fortune,) and they're fast enough to actually get out in front of the battlegroup to clear a path or block lanes. Their relative need of Fortune makes them a little greedier than WGI, but this can be offset by including the aforementioned focus enhancers, making it easier to cycle Fortune on a crucial turn.
3. All of those delicious Mercenary models give you access to upkeep removal, ARM debuffs, magical weapons, etc, which can be a big help in making Harkevich's battlegroup do that much more work. A lot of the mid-to-high level play in Warmachine involves influencing the math of the game as much as reasonably possible to give you the best odds of succeeding. Picking up the various "math" Mercenary models, as well as in-faction models with Ice Cage like the Koldun Lord and Greylord Ternion, can be a big help when running something as traditionally "dense" as a Harkevich list.
4. The other character warjacks become an option. One of the reasons I continuously come back to a Conquest in a Harkevich theme list is because it feels like the best way to include a hard hitting model with a gun, especially when Behemoth isn't an option. Stepping outside of the theme allows you to bring models like Behemoth and Beast-09, both of which have synergy with the warjack support package Harkevich brings to the table (Beast-09 a little less so, but still enough for it to be worthwhile.)

All of that said, there's an issue I consistently run into when I build a Harkevich list outside of the theme: juggling the size of the battlegroup with the need to run everything first turn. 

The "ideal" Harkevich first turn play is very straightforward: Cast Escort, cast Fortune on something, allocate to everything in your battlegroup to run, possibly charge him up the table to get some more distance. Those with advanced math skills will note that casting the two listed spells leaves Harkevich with a very gentlemanly (but tiny) two focus to allocate to his battlegroup in order to fuel running on turn one. This can be alleviated somewhat by including a Koldun Lord for a turn one Power Booster, and if you're bringing Black Ivan he's a fine include anyways to be a focus caddy.

And here is where the conundrum kicks in: when running a non-theme list with Harkevich, you can comfortably run three warjacks in his battlegroup before you start having to modify the turn one plan (more on the ups and downs of that in a minute.) Part of the game with Harkevich feels like tossing enough heavies at your opponent to overwhelm their ability to get through them in time (especially when combined with the feat,) so a three warjack battlegroup feels kinda thin.

An alternative is to run more than three warjacks, but just have one or two go without focus that first turn. A 6" advance is still pretty good (especially compared to the normal 8" Khador warjack run,) and if you need to get both upkeeps out first turn you don't have many alternatives. I don't really like this solution, as I feel that giving up on that extra 4" the first turn makes a difference in how much pressure/board presence you have in the following turns, and Harkevich is all about board presence. I feel like this is a stopgap measure, but not something to plan to consistently do.

Khador is fortunate enough to have access to some warjacks that can run for free, and they may be a decent solution to the issue. Of the three currently available - Beast-09, Berserker, and Kodiak - Beast-09 is the most desirable in a Harkevich list thanks to his solid innate threat range and melee versatility. However, Beast-09 is also the most expensive of those three options and is a character model, so there are considerations above and beyond early game efficiency.

Finally, there's the semi-obvious solution: don't cast Fortune turn one. That leaves you with 4 focus to allocate, which makes running a four (or five) warjack battlegroup on turn one doable. It will be necessary to ensure that you can get Fortune on whatever you want it on the next turn (likely the Outriders or something similar,) but between unit coherency and Sylas' magical range extension it probably won't be a huge issue.

My reservation with this solution is that you end up trading running turn one for activation flexibility and one focus on turn two. Instead of being able to upkeep Fortune, you have to cast it that turn, so if you want your Fortune target to do work you'll probably need to activate Harkevich early in the turn. This also precludes upkeep-cycling Fortune that turn, though that isn't such a big concern. The biggest drawback is that if you don't have Fortune out on turn two and need to cast it, that cuts Harkevich's focus pool down to 4 for that turn, which may or may not be an issue (though on average I like to keep "expected" focus high.)

The solution to the "turn one problem" with running Harkevich non-theme isn't one that is straightforward to answer. Part of it of course depends on your list comp (not an issue if you only have three heavies,) and the rest is determined by a myriad of factors: are you going first or second, how has your opponent moved/how do you think they will move, what does your battlegroup need to be doing, where does your battlegroup need to be in a turn or two, etc. I think there are a lot of moving parts in this issue, and I don't know that one solution covers everything (especially since some players may view some concerns with more weight than others.)

That issue is one of the main reasons I have trouble settling on a non-theme list for Harkevich. The other reason is that Harkevich doesn't do a lot for infantry models, so if I'm going to run a "small" battlegroup of only three warjacks, filling out the rest of the list satisfactorily gets kind of tricky. Here are three of my more favorite attempted solutions:

Behemoth Four Warjack Battlegroup:

Kommander Harkevich, the Iron Wolf (*5pts)
* Behemoth (13pts)
* Black Ivan (10pts)
* Juggernaut (7pts)
* Juggernaut (7pts)
* Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2pts)
Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Greylord Outriders (Leader and 4 Grunts) (9pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)

This list runs smack into the "turn one problem", but otherwise I like it. Behemoth is a very solid mix of shooting and melee, it's a great Fortune target (which opens up more assassination opportunities,) and he can still pull solid anti-heavy duty thanks to Armor Piercing fists. The two Juggernauts are there to be the front line and start the trade, though mostly I just wanted more warjacks to toss into the mix.

The infantry/solo options are pretty standard for what I reach for when I'm looking to play Harkevich non-theme. They bring to the table everything I'm interested in having access to, and it seems to be a pretty easy "module" of models to fit into most non-theme Harkevich lists once I get the battlegroup where I like it.

Beast-09 Four Warjack Battlegroup:

Kommander Harkevich, the Iron Wolf (*5pts)
* Beast-09 (11pts)
* Black Ivan (10pts)
* Juggernaut (7pts)
* Juggernaut (7pts)
* Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2pts)
Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Greylord Outriders (Leader and 4 Grunts) (9pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)

This list side-steps the "turn one problem" thanks to Beast-09's Heavy Boiler. It's also a much more melee focused battlegroup, which isn't necessarily a bad thing; some of the most positive reports I've heard about Harkevich in the competitive Con going scene are of melee oriented battlegroup lists. 

Gorman gets picked up from the 2 points "saved" off of Behemoth. Realistically those 2 points can turn into anything, but I figure why not throw another power solo in there?

"Small" Battlegroup:

Kommander Harkevich, the Iron Wolf (*5pts)
* Black Ivan (10pts)
* Conquest (19pts)
* Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2pts)
Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Greylord Outriders (Leader and 4 Grunts) (9pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)

This battlegroup is smaller than the previous ones, which also cuts out the "turn one problem." Conquest is roughly equivalent to two warjacks, though it obviously lacks the ability to be in two places at the same time (and the other weaknesses that a colossal has in terms of density of points.) Still, I kind of like this list: Conquest is a big, tough anchor model that brings at least one solid gun (and two situationally good guns) to the table. It's a good model to toss Fortune on, so Fortune cycling can yield fair dividends, and it gives Broadsides some possible utility (though as always, it's never a priority.)

The points "saved" on the extra heavies go into making the army a little more autonomous and able to spread out. I fell in love with paired Eliminators when I was running them with Irusk2; they're surprisingly damaging and dangerous models that require no support to run off and do their job. They have similar weaknesses to Kayazy Assassins, but they have an edge by being a little faster and more able to spread out to mitigate templates (plus wounds to give you a sliver of hope of surviving errant templates.)

The idea behind this list is that the battlegroup gets all of Harkevich's focus, and the infantry are there to sweep the table or jam up anything that could mess with the battlegroup. My biggest reservation is that this list may have big issues getting through a larger number of opposing heavies (thinking most likely Skorne, Legion, or Menoth, with Convergence as a growing possibility) since I don't have a lot of redundancy in hitting power. But I'd be interested in seeing how it plays out (since those armies also frequently rely on support that I can probably clear out with Outriders or Elims.)

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As is usually the case with a set of theoried lists, I have no clue when the hell I'll be able to test all of these now that our group is split pretty evenly between wanting to play Malifaux and WM/H. I will try them out when I get the chance, and if anyone gets the opportunity to try these lists out, I'd love to hear how they do!