Sorcerer - Sorcerer Kings Guide (english)

Sorcerer

The major supporter of the faction with buffs and debuffs that I've always wished for in the Hundred Kingdoms.

Cost:

• At 100 points, she is a bit pricey, but the spells are solid.

Strengths:

• Arcane Conduit: Every character of the Sorcerer Kings in a zone at the end of the round gives us a Ritual Marker.
• Wizard (7): Every character of the Sorcerer Kings, except the Sardar, rolls 7 dice for spells.
• Rituals: The character stand has access to the Elemental Rites action and rituals. I explained that here: Sorcerer Kings Rituale.
• Omnipotence: When the Sorcerer is Warlord, she can cast on any enemy regiment in contact with friendly regiments with the Born of Flame or Born of Air special rule, regardless of range or line of sight. Cool, but we need rituals and the Maharajah generates more markers.
• Court of Flame or Court of Air: The Sorcerer can choose between the Courts of Fire and Air, enhancing versatility and adaptability. Accordingly, she and her regiment gain the special rules Born of Flame or Born of Air.
• Born of Flame: When a friendly wizard casts a fire spell on the regiment, it immediately heals 2 wounds. Also synergizes with other faction abilities.
• Born of Air: When a friendly wizard casts a wind spell on the regiment, it immediately heals 2 wounds. Also synergizes with other faction abilities.
• Flexible Warband: All Wizard character stands of the Sorcerer Kings have the option to choose Rajakur, Dhanur, and Ghols as Mainstay and to use up to 5 regiments in the Warband. However, one of them must be Dhanur or Rajakur. Depending on the chosen Court, all fire models are Mainstay or restricted.
• Barrage 3 with Range 14: Rarely relevant and too short-ranged, but still Volley 3 and occasionally interesting.

Weaknesses:

• Limited Mobility: With a movement range of 5, the Sorcerer is not particularly fast and can slow down Dhanur or Elementals if she joins them.
• Weak Defense: With D2 R3 and W4, she is rather susceptible to everything. Evasion 2 helps a bit, but duels should be avoided with her.

The Power of Magical Courts:

The Sorcerer must choose a Court of Magic and knows all spells of the corresponding lore. Both are useful and good.

Court of Fire:

• Cauterize (Range: 12", Attunement: 3, Scaling): Prevents the target regiment from healing until the end of the round. Nice, but nothing more.
• Ignite (Range: 12", Attunement: 3): The target's command stand counts as +2 when contesting zones. Regiments with the Born of Flame special rule also gain Aura of Death (2) until the end of the round and naturally heal by two. Very strong and one of the options for scoring in round 2.
• Aura of Death 2: Automatically inflicts 2 hits per stand with this special rule against enemy units in contact with the regiment when activated.
• Searing Sandstorm (Range: 12", Attunement: 3): Reduces the defense of the target regiment by 1, to a minimum of 1. If the target is in contact with a friendly regiment with the Born of Air special rule, it also reduces Evasion by 1. The main reason to purchase her and a spell that I believe is crucial for the faction because otherwise, we simply do not deal enough damage.

Court of Air:

• Air Step (Range: 12", Attunement: 3, Scaling): Grants a friendly regiment an immediate free Reform action. If she is from the Court of Air, she naturally heals by two. Very strong and enables all Fluid Formation tricks with any regiment. Also a way to push a regiment into a zone in round 2.
• Tailwind (Range: 12", Attunement: 3, Scaling): Grants a friendly regiment the Unstoppable special rule or forces enemy regiments to reroll successful charge rolls until the end of the round. If the enemy is Unstoppable, the effects cancel each other out. Good, but often too slow compared to most buffs.
• Wildfire (Range: 12", Attunement: 3, Scaling): Inflicts one hit per success on a target regiment. Additionally, the target regiment cannot contest zones if it is in contact with a friendly regiment with the Born of Flame special rule. I've won more than one game with this spell. It requires setup, but it's not necessary for the Born of Flame unit to be in contact with the enemy when casting the spell.

Optional Patron's Gifts:

The Sorcerer Kings have a small selection of equipment, roughly one-third of which is useful. The Sorcerer can use one. I'll mention only those that I find meaningful:

• Banners:
  • Banner of Elemental Dominion (30 points): Regiments with the Elemental rule within 10" of this character stand gain the Unstoppable special rule. Ghols appreciate this, but due to the limited range, it's rarely worth the 30 points.
• Weapons:
  • Dancing Scimitar (30 points): The character stand gains the Dancing Scimitar Draw Event. This allows inflicting 3 automatic hits with Armor Piercing (2) special rule on an enemy regiment or target marker within 12", without triggering Resolve Tests. Very strong but expensive. If points allow, both the Scimitar and the Khanjar are solid options.
  • Prijm Khanjar (30 points): The character stand gains the Prijm Khanjar Draw Event. This causes 5 hits on an enemy regiment in contact with this character stand, though these hits do not benefit from any special rules of the character stand, but Moral tests must be made. Very strong but expensive. If points allow, both the Scimitar and the Khanjar are solid options.
  • Shu'laat (20 points): The character stand can always start rituals with two markers instead of one. A must-pick, ideally worn by the Maharajah Warlord. Additionally, the stand also gains Blessed, which only helps it in the Clash.
• Arcane:
  • Jadoo Kavach (30 points): When the wizard successfully casts a fire or wind spell, all regiments of the corresponding Courts reroll 6 on all attack dice. All. If we have a pure fire army, our entire army can simply reroll any sixes on attack rolls. Sounds good? It's better and optimal on a Court of Fire Sorcerer.
  • Eye of the Blazing Tempest (30 points): Heals all friendly regiments with the Elemental rule within 8" by 3 wounds after an Elemental Rites action. A bit expensive but provides a pulse heal. Overall, good.
  • Niyantran (20 points): Grants Wizard (+1) and reduces the scaling for targets by 3 stands. Can be useful, but points for this are rarely available.

Optional Masteries:

• Best Money Can Buy (30 points): The infantry regiment to which this character stand belongs gains the Hardened (+1) special rule. Rajakur become Hardened 2 and Dhanur become Hardened 1. Very strong, but only if the infantry regiment condition is met. Currently, it's a "nice to have" when points are available.
• Bound to the Elements (40 points): The character stand becomes a Brute and gains the Elemental special rule. If a member of the Court of Fire, it must join a regiment of Efreet Flamecasters or Efreet Sword Dancers. If Court of Wind, then Windborne Djinn or Steelheart Djinn. Cool, but too expensive. Also reduces the movement of the corresponding regiments.
• Elemental Projection (30 points): Increases the range of all spells by 3". Really good, but also really expensive. Our dear Sorcerer and the Maharajah would want this if they belong to the Court of Fire, but for 30 points, you could also get Jadoo...

General Tactics:

Before the latest update, a key aspect of her tactics was using the Supremacy ability "Omnipotence," which allows attacking enemy regiments in contact with units with the Born of Flame or Born of Air special rules. This could spread Sandstorm across the table. It's still good, but it sets us back significantly in rituals, which is why the Maharajah is currently by far the most popular Warlord.

Nevertheless, her support spells are very good. Except for Wildfire, we don't need line of sight for any of them, making the loss of Omnipotence bearable. Due to the current ritual selection, you mostly see a Court of Fire Sorcerer, as she is the perfect carrier for Jadoo. Early Sandstorm on an opponent is always desirable, whether through Conflagration or directly by the Sorcerer. Since regiments with the Born of Flame rule are currently in the majority, this is also a reasonable plan. There can be a debate on whether she is better suited in Rajakur or Dhanur, as she almost always wants an opponent within 12". Personally, I prefer Dhanur because the Sorcerer doesn't need line of sight for Sandstorm.