That being said, the (March) release of the new RoS Jacks from the Wrath expansion has got me (and many, many others) excited despite me firmly holding my wallet closed. A common criticism I see levelled at RoS on the Privateer Press forums is that they feel incomplete and they certainly do lack some of the options other factions have available (i.e. number of casters). The release of these new Myrmidons should help that I feel.
Anyway, I'm going to do a brief noobie look at them since I'm so excited about them with all their shiny pictures. I imagine, though I have heard nothing to support this, that the kit will be an interchangeable plastic kit with all three of the basic Vyre designs available in one box - much like the current RoS Myrmidon Heavy kit. Beyond anything else, this is a great move by Privateer Press as it gives their customers options whilst limiting their outlay in terms of product design, etc.
The Stats
Vyre Myrmidons are all Heavies with 30 damage boxes. Compared to Shyeel Myrmidons, this puts them a bit below in terms of absolute damage taken before deactivation thanks to the Field boxes Shyeel Myrmidons have (total of 32 for the Hydra and Manticore, 34 for the Phoenix and Discordia). These Fields can be repaired with Focus and provide special abilities to the Shyeel Myrmidons and can help protect Jack systems from destruction. However, Arcanists cannot fix Field boxes and if the Field Generator is disabled, the Myrmidon loses the ability to repair their Field boxes and any benefits the Field provided them. Vyre Myrmidons are more traditional without the Field boxes but have less boxes overall. This can make them a little less Focus dependent (no Field based Focus actions). They compensate for this with an increase in Armor for a DEF/ARM of 12/19 - pretty good as RAT5 weapons need at least average rolls to hit. Vyre Myrmidons also lose one Speed stat, otherwise the two styles are exactly the same in terms of RAT/MAT and STR.
What's great about RoS Heavy Myrmidons is they always (so far) come with two melee weapons and a gun. This is in contrast to most other Warjacks in the game which have a maximum of two melee weapons and/or guns (though there are some exceptions). Furthermore, on the Vyre Myrmidons, the guns cannot be disabled - they are always going to be fully operational until the Myrmidon itself isn't. Shyeel Myrmidons however, can have their gun disabled (along with other special abilities) when the Field generator is disabled. For both Myrmidons, this is a very nice advantage over other Warjacks as it gives the RoS army a lot of flexibility on the table - their Myrmidons can both shoot and melee with high effectiveness. For Vyre Myrmidons this is even better as their guns are always going to be fully operational until they themselves are gone.
All in all, between the two types the basic stats are pretty comparable. There are advantages and disadvantages to both but I wouldn't say one chassis type is clearly better than the other.
Of the three Vyre Myrmidons (excluding the Hypnos Character Myrmidon), I think the Banshee takes the cake in terms of what it brings to the table. It is however the most expensive at 10 points! The Banshee brings the passive Wailing ability which is a great denial AOE - enemy models within 5" of the Banshee cannot give/receive orders or cast spells. That can be a real pain to any infantry based or magic based armies. The Banshee comes with the usual two melee weapons, one at P+S 17 and the other at P+S 14 - pretty good, especially with the Arcanist boosting ability and certainly capable of doing significant damage. Both are Magic Weapons and have Critical Grievous Wounds which can help a bit against Hordes but isn't something to be relied upon. The more powerful of the two weapons has reach which is always nice with RoS to hit over certain infantry (i.e. Invictors) to generate the Flank bonus whilst not exposing the Myrmidon to the opponent.
The Banshee also comes with the Force Cannon which basically makes a POW 14 slam attack with the major difference being a D3 slam move instead of D6. This is especially effective against large based models as it Knocks them down and because of the reduced slam distance, this is more likely to be taken advantage of by the rest of the RoS army. Regardless, the damage inflicted on multiple models is nice but the ability to move opposing models is always a huge asset - add in the Knockdown against large targets and ya, that's pretty sweet.
All in all the Banshee gives you a bunch of options to just screw around with your opponent. Extra movement shenanigans against your opponent with knockdown against large targets is fantastic - there are so many uses for this. Combine this with a denial zone of casting magic and giving/receiving orders and you've got a bunch of utility on a heavy jack with two decent to high P+S weapons (when combined with an Arcanist). Expensive but oh so many uses.
Movement shenanigans at range are great - movement shenanigans at range which acts as an AOE but isn't an AOE? Sounds like a great way to clear infantry and disrupt your opponent as well (whilst also potentially moving your own models?). Being able to move your opponent's models in certain ways has tons of uses. Some basic ones which jump to mind are clearing charge lanes or bringing support models into range of the blast to get hit (i.e. Choir, Druids, etc.). Hell, just clumping infantry and then hitting them with blasts from other units like Stormfall Archers has some merits. At 9 points the Daemon is expensive like most RoS Myrmidons but the ability to throw out a movement affecting AOE which always inflicts POW12s on models underneath it is pretty good. Range 10 is limiting but with snipe (+4" range) or other spells to increase movement (i.e. Locomotion), things can get very interesting.
Daemon also comes with two Magical and Blessed Open Fists, one at P+S 15 and the other at P+S 13 - a bit weak for a Heavy but still capable of putting the dent into something. Remember as well the Arcanist can boost this by two to make it more respectable at P+S 17 and P+S 15. The lack of Reach on any of its weapons is a bit disappointing as it becomes more vulnerable to being engaged by your opponent so use of supporting spells to keep the Daemon from being charged I think will be a major component of getting the most out of this Myrmidon.
Being able to clear and move infantry at range is very nice - like the Banshee any movement shenanigans at range are awesome to have and can setup a bunch of other options in your army. There's less combat potential behind this ranged movement option but the ability to tear apart enemy support pieces is worth that loss.
It's a 7 point heavy. Enough said. RoS Myrmidons aren't cheap and range from 8-10 points (with only one 8-pointer in the Manticore). Whilst it's not a 6 point Heavy, just having the option of a 7 point heavy for RoS is a great bargain, particularly with DEF/ARM of 12/19. This includes two open fists - one P+S 16 with reach and the other P+S 14 which gives the Sphinx some nice options in combat with throws, etc. and can put a pretty big dent in other Heavies with Arcanist support. The Runespear cannon works great with any RoS army fielding lots of magic users as any model hit by the Runespear cannon suffers -2 DEF against magic attack rolls - great for dropping heavy targets or a caster with magic. Range 10 and POW 12 on the gun though are moderate but can again be augmented by spells from casters.
All in all, I feel like the Sphinx is okay and will be best utilised in armies where the Runespear cannon's utility is going to come into play. Beyond that though, it's a 7 point heavy and cheap heavies can always find a use. It's a very nice option to have available, particularly in a Faction with generally expensive Myrmidons.
Conclusion -
I like all three of the new Myrmidons though I think the Banshee really is the best of the lot, it just brings so much utility. The Sphinx on the other hand is a pretty cheap Heavy with some excellent utility for magic users and the Daemon brings infantry clearing with important movement shenanigans. The models themselves are okay but will be a nice set if they all come in one like the Shyeel Myrmidons before them.
Now all Retribution need is Hypnos...
