Introduction
After some debate the Komitatus decided that Siege was a mid-tier warcaster. This is sure to draw gasps of complaint from players who have adopted Siege as their favourite warcaster, but they need not worry: the point of this article is to try to highlight some of the possibilities he offers rather than denigrate him. He may lack some of the characteristics of the traditional top-tier warcasters (such as a reliable knockdown effect) but he’s still a strong choice and is almost a rival to the best each faction can offer.
Strengths
If You Want the Job Done Right...: As a personal combatant, Siege stands near the top of the heap for Cygnar warcasters and even warcasters in general. Stat-wise, Siege has an increased ARM value and an extra couple of damage boxes relative to other Cygnar warcasters. In an environment where most warcasters are killed after being knocked down or suffering some other DEF-reducing effect, gaining a bit of ARM for the loss of some DEF (which may be virtually ignored anyway) isn’t a bad trade.
Siege’s primary weapon, the Rocket Cannon, is really from where most of his damage output originates. It has a good POW and RNG, the latter of which balances out his lower SPD. It also gives Siege access to Groundpounder a very useful special attack. Not only can this attack be used to threaten multiple enemies but it is also very useful for sniping solos and such due to the ability to ignore many defensive mechanisms such as stealth and LoS. As his aim is reduced when making Groundpounder attacks anything that will lower the DEF of his target(s) (such as a tremor attack or black oil) is worth taking.
Shockwave is the cheapest damaging spell to which Siege has access. POW 10 is not that impressive until you consider the number of models that it can affect and its effective POW during Breach. This can be a situational spell due to the focus cost after boosting the to-hit roll and random distance the target travels so it’s entirely likely that you might go games without using it. You should always be aware of enemy infantry formations and potential charge lanes however so that you don’t miss a chance to use Shockwave in a game-shaping manner. An arc node will greatly enhance the chance of setting up a powerful Shockwave.
Army Leadership: As one of the highest-ranking warcasters fluff-wise, one would expect Siege to be a capable leader, and he is. Command Authority is an excellent special rule and is one of the great things about Siege. Being able to give leader-less units their special orders means that your units of trenchers or stormlances don’t lose a lot of their potency if their leader is killed. Be careful that the special orders don’t require the unit leader to participate (such as Arcane Storm) as this will override Command Authority.
Breach is similar to Blitz insofar as it has no intrinsic ability to damage enemy models, but has the ability to increase the potential of every last Cygnar model in an army list. Whilst it relies on other models taking advantage of the effect it generates it allows those models to deal the equivalent of very high amounts of damage. This means that you want to ensure that you have as many models as possible available to make extensive use of the halved armour. Don’t be afraid to use Breach early on if you think you can generate a good number of casualties or deal crippling damage to some key targets. It’s very tempting to save the feat until Siege can get a shot at the opposing warcaster but unless you have a clear and effective strategy to achieve this you risk delaying the feat to the point where its effect will be minimal.
If you decide that you’re more likely to use Breach as a way to improve your attrition strategy then take care to carefully consider which models will take greatest advantage of its effects. Models that generate blast markers are very potent as a POW 6-8 hit becomes quite dangerous against infantry whose ARM is now in the low teens at very best. They also allow you to hit several models at once so that more affected enemies suffer. Added to this category are effects that generate several hits, such as Shockwave or the Stormguard’s electro-leap. Ranged attacks are useful for reaching the more distant targets, as are damage rolls that don’t require LoS. Just remember that effects like Arcane Shield, shield wall etc aren’t halved (instead they are added on afterwards) so make sure you know just how hard you need to hit a target so you don’t deal only a meagre amount of damage and waste the feat.
Gun Control: Siege's spell list is packed with options to maximize your ranged firepower and minimize that of your opponent. Illuminate is a spell that may be little-used against some opponent but one that you’ll be very glad to have available to you when you need it. The ability to ignore cloud effects and stealth amongst other things means that you can choose to invest a good portion of your army’s offensive potential in ranged attacks without coming too unstuck against certain opponents. It can also be used to allow Siege to target stealthed models without lowering the RAT and POW of his ranged attacks, something which happens if he chooses to use Groundpounder. Illuminate’s reasonably cheap cost and lack of upkeep means that you can potentially cast it upon several models, allowing you to negate large amounts of cloud effects and possibly de-stealth entire units even when they’re spread out.
Explosivo is an excellent spell for its cost. It allows you to dramatically increase the anti-infantry potential of a unit or model for little cost. Its best targets are models that have special rules that add bonuses to damage rolls (such as the storm lances ‘power-up’) as this will increase the chances of blast damage being lethal. Failing that weapons that have an odd POW value are a good choice as rounding up the halved POW means that the blast damage is that little bit better. Explosivo also offers you a cheap anti-stealth option.
Foxhole and Higher Ground are the workhorses of Siege’s spell list and the backbone to most of his common strategies. Defensively they offer situational DEF boosts and in the case of Foxhole protection from blast damage, both for your more static ranged units or aggressive melee units. Offensively they allow you to alter LoS on the battlefield, which can mean previously-safe targets are now fair game. Siege may not be able to increase a model’s RAT, but he is able to let models shoot without having to move, enabling them to aim. Foxhole also allows larger combined ranged attacks to be made against small-based models. These two spells offer a huge range of possibilities and whilst they’re cheap when upkept their best use can sometimes involve them being used several time per turn so don’t rely on just upkeeping them and spend your focus elsewhere. You should also avoid becoming complacent about the protection Foxhole offers. Whilst it makes models inside immune to blast damage, sprays and non-blast AoE damage can wreak havoc if you’ve left your tightly-packed unit of Longgunners unprotected.
Weaknesses
Aspiring to Average: Beyond his high ARM, Siege’s stats are, for the most part, quite average. His MAT, RAT, STR, CMD and FOC are all within the boundaries of reasonable, although his SPD and DEF are slightly lower than those of most other Cygnaran warcasters. His lower SPD means that his threat range for anything other than ranged attacks is quite small and he really needs to push forward to make best use of his feat as it affects enemy models rather than friendly models. His average focus means that he struggles to run more than a couple of warjacks and he really needs to boost any offensive spell attack rolls, which means that he doesn’t have any cheap magical attacks. He is dependant on his Rocket Cannon and so can suffer against anything that prevents or disrupts ranged attacks.
His melee options are limited, further forcing him to rely on his ranged prowess. Siege’s melee weapon, Havoc, isn’t bad: P+S 14 and critical slam make for a quite impressive combat option. His lower SPD and lack of reach mean his threat range is quite low, especially for a warcaster and the slam effect is more of a hindrance if you wanted to repeatedly strike a target. As a back-up option this is a fine weapon, but seeing it as anything more is hopeful at best.
Whilst Siege can survive traditional assassin attacks better than most other Cygnaran warcasters his lower defence can mean that he is hit more often from enemy pot-shots throughout the game. If you’re not careful these can add up quite quickly and negate any advantage those extra damage boxes provided. View his resilience as an extra layer of defence against certain forces rather than an excuse to expose him just so he can take a shot that probably isn’t that important.
No Direct Buff Spells: For a ranged warcaster Siege lacks all the traditional support spells that fit such a role. Affecting LoS and cloud effects is great, but there are times when the raw power of Snipe and Deadeye are just better. Make sure you factor this into your army selection: your units need to be able to mange without the comfortable support offered by other Cygnaran casters. You may really like gun mages and Foxhole may be a great way to save them from rogue AoEs, but are they really likely to perform without Deadeye to give you those critical hits?
Army Composition
Like every other warcaster there are some models that work better than others with Siege. This is not an exhaustive list but should hopefully highlight some of the stronger choices. Between his Rocket Cannon and the odd spell or two Siege can find himself strapped for focus which means that he doesn’t function best with a large battlegroup. Ideally he’s better suited to jacks that are either focus-efficient or better yet need no focus to fulfill their battlefield roles.
Light Warjacks: Cygnar's light warjacks tend to be very hit-or-miss with Siege. A Lancer can really help make best use of Shockwave and Illuminate but you may also find that in an equal number of games it does very little: unless you intend to rely heavily on Shockwave you can usually get by without an arc node in 500pts or less. A Grenadier is quite useful as its boost-able shot(s) have arcing fire so you can use it to strike at targets out of sight without having to move Foxhole and/or Higher Ground. It can generate multiple shots without costing you any more focus and is also reasonable inexpensive: all-in-all a jack worth trying.
Heavy Warjacks: Centurions are good defensive buffers (needing little more than a turn or two of running to get into position) and offer some effective melee punch, but to do so they need a lot of focus so plan your turn carefully. An Ironclad makes a good mobile reserve model and with its higher MAT of 6 can help any focus it receives go further. It also offers a free tremor attack which works well in combination with Groundpounder.
Units: Longgunners, Rangers and especially Trenchers are all excellent ranged units for Siege and all perform solidly with or without his support. Each also offers a different set of options for Siege, providing a mix of complementary offensive and defensive abilities: the rangers’ ability to mark targets becomes incredibly useful when your warcaster can give any ranged attack a blast marker. Siege also works well with a unit of Stormlances. Able to shoot and fight in melee they can fulfil a variety of offensive roles and each of their abilities in enhanced by Siege: he can order frontal assaults, Explosivo allows their ranged attacks to scythe through weaker enemies and Breach means that even the toughest of warjacks will take significant damage from a charging stormlance. Indeed, with a mix of Trenchers, Stormlances and Stormguard the basis of an aggressive close-assault force is a reality.
Solos: All the Cygnaran solos work well with Siege as they all either offer him something he doesn’t already have (such as Arcane Shield) or can perform their duties without demanding excessive support and yet at the same time benefit greatly from Breach. Stormsmiths are a great example: their skill check allows them to target high-DEF models without needing their target to be knocked down first and their ability to ignore LoS allows them to damage models that would otherwise escape the effects of Breach. In return Breach means that their POW10 blasts become very damaging for enemy solos, unit leaders etc.
Mercs: Like the Cygnar solos Siege works well with many of the mercenary solos. Reinholdt gives Siege a huge boost to his personal offensive options and with the ability to shoot twice thanks to Reload Siege can easily provide enough ranged support to make a defender a redundant option. Gorman offers a lot of de-buffs, something lacking from Siege’s spell list and Foxhole negates one of the main weaknesses of stealth. Bokurs are another excellent option. These solos hit like a heavy warjack and can take full advantage of models affected by Breach. They are also durable and so don’t need a lot of support. Their Achilles heel however, is their client, so be careful to keep them safe. High-DEF clients such as Gorman or Eiryss are good choices (due to their safety in Foxhole) or resilient solos (such as Finn) who can weather a bit of firepower before the bokur hits. Alexia is as good with Siege as she is with any other Cygnaran warcaster. She can hunt down wraiths saving Siege the focus and he can protect the risen from mortars and deliverers with Foxhole.
Summary
Siege is an excellent support warcaster who can also offer some effective direct hitting power. Whilst he doesn’t offer the traditional Cygnaran buffs he brings several completely new options to an army and can offer an interesting twist on some of the more-established strategies. Many players seem to have decided upon one or two simple archetypes for their Siege forces and espouse these as his definitive strategies. It’s worth experimenting with list design however. Look past the supposed ‘standards’ of a defender and longgunners: examine other options and make sure that the best list you can field is ultimately determined by your own experience.
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