Learning to Play - Latari List Building

Welcome back to Impact 3! In my first article of the Learning to Play series, I wanted to discuss the list building process I went through for my current Latari list. My goal in list building right now, with Regionals coming up in the next couple months, is to find a list that I like and stick to it (or something similar) so that I have the muscle memory down and comfort with the list when I head off to compete at Regionals. Below, I have included the current list I am practicing and will then cover my reasoning behind each of the units included. So without further adieu, the list:

"Impacts All Around" (200pts)
Aliana of Summersong
- Packleaders Spear
- Ambush Predator

2x Leonx Riders (2x2)
- Bull Pennon

Deepwood Archers (3x2)
- Maegan Cyndewin
- Support Aymhelin Scion

2x Aymhelin Scion (1x1)
- Vicious Roots

Basic Battle Plan

The basic plan with this list, as the name of it may suggest, is to take advantage of the Impact rule as much as possible with "Impact 2" on three of the six units (Aliana and both Leonx Riders units). With a little luck on the morale deck flips, I think the Impact rule can be game changing when played correctly. Paired with these three units, I brought a full unit of Deepwood Archers who will act as a consistent damage source in this list. By utilizing the Maegan Cyndewin infantry upgrade, the Deepwood Archers can reliably put out either a decent amount of splash damage or utilize Lethal (natural energy) to add additional damage to each attack. I then added in the 2 single Scions to help body block for the Archers and hopefully allow my Leonx Riders and Aliana to more reliably get charges off to take advantage of "Impact 2".

Additionally, you may notice that I have several small units in this list with my largest unit being the 3x2 Deepwood Archers. This is largely driven by two major factors. First off, Latari are naturally very mobile. I wanted to be able to take advantage of this as much as possible, and I find it easier to maneuver smaller units rather than larger ones. More importantly though, the current Objectives for tournament play (Confluence of Magic, Demoralize Their Forces, and Supply Raid) tend to favor having multiple small units to be able to more easily pick up objective tokens in Confluence of Magic and Supply Raid and provide more opportunities for flank charges in Demoralize Their Forces. Further, if I end up wanting to spend a turn trying to change the runes in a game playing Confluence of Magic, it does not hurt my list as badly to have Aliana or a unit of Leonx Riders sit back attempting to recast the runes for a turn or two as they are a smaller portion of my total army and thus a smaller sacrifice if they do nothing else for those turns.

Aliana of Summersong:

Overall, I think Aliana is simply an amazing champion. She is extremely mobile, puts out consistent damage (with one huge turn if Ambush Predator is saved for the late game), and has "Impact 2" built in. Since the basic idea behind the list is to take advantage of the Impact rule, Aliana was a perfect fit from the start. Additionally, Aliana also brings "Lana's Wildstalkers" to the table which is a huge benefit to this list. For those unfamiliar, Lana's Wildstalkers is Aliana's champion ability that reads "After deployment, you may remove 1 allied unit of Leonx Riders from the play area, then redeploy that unit." This is a fantastic ability that lets me get the Leonx Riders where I want them and counter-deployed appropriately against my opponent. It even has the potential to swing the game in my favor early on against less mobile armies.

The upgrades I chose for Aliana are focused around increasing her survivability until she commits and then increasing her damage output when she does finally charge in. Ambush Predator prevents Aliana from being whittled down with ranged attacks while also building to significant damage if saved for late game. Additionally, I have Packleaders Spear equipped as her Artifact to increase the damage output when Aliana gets into melee making it possible to get to Lethal 9+ if she is saved until Round 6 or later. However, I have considered swapping out Packleaders Spear for Malcorne's Bequest to help facilitate some rune manipulation for the Archers and Maegan to take advantage of, but the loss of Lethal 3 seems to be a bit much for me at the moment. I do plan to test the list out both ways though to determine which I like best.

2x Leonx Riders (2x2):

The two units of Leonx Riders is where this list really gets its name. They are fast, maneuverable, and (with the Bull Pennon upgrade) bring two more units with "Impact 2" to the table. I decided to run the Leonx Riders as two smaller units to provide better scenario play as well as options when re-deploying a unit with Aliana's champion ability. However, because points are tight in this list, and the Leonx Riders tend to die pretty easily, I decided to limit the upgrades on each unit and kept it to just Bull Pennon for the additional "Impact 1". I did consider swapping Bull Pennon out for Raven Tabards, but with the design of the rest of the list, and trying to take advantage of the Impact rule as much as possible, I feel Bull Pennon is a better fit. I am also considering testing the list out with a single 2x3 unit with Column Tactics on it for additional damage, but I'm not sure I like how much scenario pressure I lose by making this switch.

Deepwood Archers (3x2):

The Deepwood Archers in this list are here as my consistent and reliable damage source. They might not pump out a huge amount of damage in a single turn, but if played correctly, they can do consistent and reliable damage for 6-7 rounds of the game. To that end, I went with the full 3x2 unit to provide the only Threat 3 unit in the list. This is important since I need all the damage from this unit that I can get. Additionally, I added Maegan to the list to provide additional damage either through Lethal or splash damage onto other units nearby my target so I can begin to whittle them down before the Leonx Riders and Aliana charge in.

The other upgrade I included on the unit is the Support Aymhelin Scion. This upgrade was included for 2 reasons. First, if used correctly, it can help the Archers shift around after attacking to keep enemies within range and while also avoiding charges. Second, it can soak a decent amount of damage. Without counting mortal wounds or other similar effects, the Scion will take 6-9 damage to take out (depending on the number of stable runes in play). This will allow the unit to soak a little more damage and potentially remain at Threat 3 for an extra round or two. The one upgrade I was not able to include but might look to fit into the list in the future is Close Quarters Targeting. I'm not 100% confident in my ability to keep the Archers out of melee, especially against Uthuk, and this upgrade would help them remain relevant even once engaged. But I will have to test it and see how often they get engaged and whether or not it is worth trying to find the 3pts for Close Quarters.

2x Amyhelin Scion (1x1):

The Scions were probably the easiest addition to the list. I knew I wanted to fit at least two of these guys in any list featuring Deepwood Archers as a primary damage source to help keep the Archers safe as long as possible. These guys are solid roadblocks in their own right due to their ability to hand out immobilize tokens when they collide with an enemy or an enemy collides with them providing me an extra turn of shooting with the Archers. By including Vicious Roots on both Scions, I hope to be able to toss out an additional immobilize token at range before the Scions get into melee further increasing the number of rounds my Archers are able to sit back and fire at the enemy. Overall, these guys are an inexpensive roadblock with some great utility. I don't currently see a version of this list where I'm not running at least two of them.

Conclusion:
So, there you have it. My current list that I am testing and hope to refine between now and Regionals. I am sure there will be changes made to the list, but I have enjoyed the three games I have gotten in with it thus far and plan to continue testing and refining it between now and Regionals (which should be announced in 3 days). I will also be posting up a battle report from the most recent game with this list in the next couple days as well to show how it plays on the table. If you have any questions or thoughts on ways I could improve the list, please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts. Until next time, may the Morale deck always flip in your favor!