Reckoning First Impressions
Sadly, this didn't hold up. As far as WM releases this is likely the most disappointing in living memory. Far too many Jacks, in an era where Jacks are back down to minimum numbers. Really disappointing casters(for the factions I care about at least), especially after the last batch of casters. This doesn't seem like it has really sunk in yet on the various faction forums, but I'm honestly surprised that a faction receiving two MAT 5 warjacks is taking it as well as it is.
If you somehow haven't seen any Reckoning spoilers they can be found here.
Cygnar
I'm not sure what to think yet of Hailey3. Temporal Flux is a solid spell, as is repudiate. She is incredibly focus starved, even with 12 focus. Revive is likely only going to happen once a turn due to this. I'm also unsure where Tactical Supremacy will gain some good effect(people say Trenchers but then you've spent points on Trenchers).
Beyond that I don't think you will see much of Ace and even less of the Trencher Buster. The loss of the storm pod on the Hurricane is huge. It seems alright for focusing a target down or controlling a single target. I expect to see the Stormwall more still.
Khador
eZorkova has an incredibly simple battleplan -> run greylords at enemy pop feat, win. She is another case of a caster where they gave her a spell to create an arcnode but then forgot to give her some options in what she really wanted to arc. I was expecting significantly more here.
As a faction that hates taking multiple Warjacks, the only other releases Khador received this book were Warjacks. Two of them being on the berserker chassis and stuck at MAT 5 was just the icing on the cake. Viktor is better than Konquest, partially due to being cheaper but also having a more reliable impact on the game with its guns. Lighting enemy casters on fire should at least be fun.
Mercs
It was good to see a second Cephalyx caster. He looks solid, with a workmanlike feat and a good selection of spells. From a first pass he is also the only caster with a tier list that looks worth a damn.
Eh, on the battle engine. I'm sure it will be adopted as much as any other battle engine without a focus effect. The Swamp gobbers suffer from incredibly bad stats, but are at least AD solos for Skorne.
Cryx
Denny3 is my favorite caster from this book so far. She will be heavily taxed by that huge base but her abilities with souls is incredibly potent. Gravewind will be obnoxious on the DeathJack and herself and Mostality is an incredible spell.
The soul collection solo is an excellent addition. Too many Cryx casters had soul cages that were never relevant, even if it will still take a round for the souls to turn into focus. It works with more than just the casters too. I'm not sure why Barathrum is supposed to be Terminus's jack but I'm sure he will be used as often as the other random collection of rules Cryx character jacks. Same goes with the trampling light. The Sepulcher looks to be a solid upgrade over the Kraken, especially with RoF 2 Spiker guns.
Menoth
I'm not sure Durst is bad, mostly boring. I'm also unsure of a battle plan that will want him marching close to his jacks on the front line as he goes up the field.
This is more than made up for with the Menoth releases this book. A jack with a fully boosted to hit spray, that increases fire damage, has spd 5 and reach? Sure, why not. The Impenetrable Shield TFG seems solid too. I'm not super sold on the light(its a light) or the Colossal(lack of range) but they aren't bad either.
Retribution
Retribution was really looks for an answer to Grayle I guess. Thyron has a solid feat, solid stats, I like cleave on his battlegroup but his spell list is lackluster. I just don't see much of a battleplan here outside of trying to feat to win the game. Both Onslaught and SpellPiercer are more situationally good than consistently bringing value sadly.
The new soulless and electromancers are both solid releases. Helios has been growing on me: cheaper, virtuosos and a fun little selection of buffs
Bonus
Saeryn and Rhyas seem to take it in the pants with a worse spell list, worse feat and having to be tied to each other as a character unit. I expect Rhyas to act as a super arcnode for a good chunk of the game.
Kromac, to use a term already used in this article, is workman like. Stat buff feat, stat buff spell to use early game(with maybe a primal shock or two thrown in) and then a finish based on his own pure stats plus primal howl. Letting him sprint to collect hearts for primal shocks seems fun to attempt to do some snipping.
Croak Raiders are really solid for Skorne. They've tried really hard to not give Skorne any AD worth a damn, but they have solid stats and combo well with the pain giver task master. They also combo well with Incinderaii.
eMorghoul Tier list: Still doesn't overcome the base issues with playing eMorghoul but does make him significantly better. Probably worth a play or two but it wasn't enough to overcome the base mistakes they made with eMorghoul.
Overall
I've been enjoying Ret and was eyeing Khador again. While Ret received some good new releases the casters for both those faction aren't currently impressing me. I will have to see how my impressions change after some play time. I'm curious if I can buy the parts to magnetize the Colossals I have instead of sinking more money into models that don't ever justify their price.
Menoth and Cryx seem to have come out of this mess the best with Mercs/Cygnar in second tier. While Menoth has been waning, Cryx and Cygnar didn't deserve the best releases this cycle.
It's still hilarious that CoC received nothing in the warjack book. Especially after PP teased them that they were getting something.
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