So, you’ve decided to build the Ghost Fleet. There’s a number of reasons for that. Maybe you think zombie pirates are just super cool. Maybe you feel like running a dudeswarm in Cryx again and actually feel it might be effective. Maybe you had no intention of playing it at all and then walked into a place where they sold Revenant boxes at 50% (my story). Regardless, you’re here now. Welcome to the crew.
What’s In It?: Pirates, ghosts, ghost pirates and warjacks. It’s pretty inflexible even as theme forces go, allowing only 3 different units, 3 different solos and a battle engine. This means that there are only a few ways to go about building the core of the list to get the most out of the theme benefits, although you do get a bit more freedom with regards to warjack selection.
Theme Benefits: Free solos/weapon crews is a standard benefit across Mk3 theme forces and this one is no exception. But let’s be straight up for a moment: The Revenant Cannon crew is still not good. It’s slow, its threat range is predictable, it ignores no special defenses, its primary targets are the same targets your crew are already into and POW 13 isn’t enough to hurt anything else. Your free things are going to be Rengrave followed by Pistol Wraiths 99% of the time. It’s even more efficient as far as free points are concerned. +1 to the starting roll is… a thing that’s there. It’s not unwelcome, but it shouldn’t impact whether or not to play the list. Pre-nerf all jack “Winter Guard” theme, this is not.
The big one, of course, is for the pirates, changing their resurrection to d3+1. Between 3 units of pirates, you have the potential to put a whole unit back on the table every turn. Of course, an opponent isn’t usually going to be so obliging as to kill 3-4 from each unit and then stop, but the idea that engaging multiple pirate units at once is a losing strategy changes the flow of the game. Wiping out just the front line of a melee unit is no longer viable.
The Module: When listbuilding with the Ghost Fleet, it seems like the best way to approach it due to its inflexibility and reliance on spamming a lot of one unit is to create a couple of “base modules” that give you the maximum benefit of the theme force that you can just use to plug-and-play a battlegroup with potentially some Machine Wraiths as point fillers. Here are a couple examples:
Min. Revenant Crew + 3 Riflemen x3
Max. Blackbane’s Ghost Raiders
Captain Rengrave (Free)
Pistol Wraith x2 (Free)
My personal favorite, this module drops 40 models on the board including 15 points worth of freebies and asks your opponent to deal with it. The models in question total 62 points, leaving a standard list with 13 + caster warjack points to play with, which is plenty for a decent-sized battlegroup.
Max. Revenant Crew
Max. Revenant Crew + 1 Rifleman
Min. Revenant Crew + 3 Riflemen
Min. Blackbane’s Ghost Raiders
Wraith Engine
Captain Rengrave (Free)
Pistol Wraith x2 (Free)
This is more of a melee bent on the formula, giving up some battlegroup flexibility in exchange for the Wraith Engine. I have other thoughts on the Wraith Engine that I may get into at some point, but suffice it to say that it’s the only caster-independent way to get an armor debuff in this list, which gives it a niche here. This module is EXACTLY 75 points, which means a small and precise battlegroup, but it could be useful.
Casters: So the big question is, what caster and battlegroup goes best with this? I’ll be going through every caster and how they fit into the Ghost Fleet in two categories: Can they or their battlegroup cover the list’s weaknesses (low hitting power, sprays/blasts, and a little trouble negotiating terrain) and does that caster give up too many of their favorite toys by inclusion into the list? Rather than give a letter grade or something, I’ll just go with Yes (both categories fulfilled), No (neither fulfilled) or Maybe (one, but not the other).
Warwitch Deneghra: Is there anything she doesn’t make good? She’s a premier armor cracker, loves guns (which there are a ton of here), doesn’t need much in the way of support to function and even packs Ghost Walk. She works with anything, but the Ghost Fleet gets a particular benefits. Answer: Yes.
Wraith Witch Deneghra: The only Denny without Ghost Walk. Her kit is still extremely good at reducing defense and killing scads of light infantry… but the pirates are already pretty good at that. She does very little to cover their weaknesses. Answer: No.
Deneghra the Soul Weaver: I want to like her here because she has similar tools to Denny1, but the difference here (besides the huge base giving trouble for dudeswarms) is that she gives up too much herself. The only reliable ranged soul-gathering mechanic in the list are the Pistol Wraiths and you miss the Withershadow for spell-slave mortality and free Grave wind. She works for the list, but the list doesn’t really work for her. Answer: Maybe.
Iron Lich Asphyxious: I’ll say this, he tears armor down. He actually solves the list’s power issues pretty effectively. I can’t say he’s as flexible as Denny1 on the attrition game, but he lets the pirates kill warjacks and a Spectral Leech spam on a caster could let a few CRAed Riflemen units do a surprising caster kill. Answer: Yes.
Lich Lord Asphyxious: He doesn’t do enough compared to his Prime counterpart. His clouds are just okay, as you’re not terribly concerned with preserving the lives of your troops. Also, his feat gets really really sad. Answer: No.
Asphyxious the Hellbringer: He really likes warjacks and this list doesn’t really allow him to bring as many as he wants. Too few good targets for Ashen Veil and non-spammable calamity isn’t really enough. Answer: No.
Goreshade the Bastard: Here’s an interesting one! Free Banes and Shadowmancer solves the armor cracking problem, Shadowmancer means the pirates will be the only real targets for most guns, and you have plenty of Soul Gate options. He kind of misses the Withershadow Combine for free Lamentation/Hex Blasts, but I don’t consider it intrinsic to his function. Plus, you’re taking a dude swarm and adding 6 dudes. Answer: Yes.
Goreshade the Cursed: His feat can bring Rengrave back? Eh, he doesn’t really possess the tools to get the most out of it. Answer: No.
Goreshade, Lord of Ruin: You’ve got a little armor busting in Scything Touch, even MORE recursion in Mockery of Life, and a fairly reliable freeze-‘n-shoot assassination option. A bit of a different take on the list, but a workable one in most cases. Answer: Yes.
Pirate Queen Skarre: Having to cast Ritual Sacrifice on pirates herself makes her sad. We’ll be clear: You’re bringing her for her feat and nothing else in this list. Is it good enough? Maybe, if you’re bringing a Stalker swarm, though she misses Aaikos. She can crack armor really well on the feat turn and Rengrave/the Wraith Engine in particular turn monstrous. Answer: Maybe.
Skarre, Queen of the Broken Coast: She and Mortenebra are the only two Cryx casters without a strength buff or an armor debuff. She’s all wrong here. Answer: No.
Master Necrotech Mortenebra: See the armor debuff issue (rerolls aside). She could run a small Ghost Fleet as an excuse to play mostly warjacks and get the starting roll bonus and a relatively self-sufficient pirate package. I’ll put her as a maybe for now, with the caveat that she’ll probably be getting a jack-specific tier soon that she’ll straight-up like better. Answer: Maybe.
Lich Lord Terminus: Tough pirates! Sac. Pawns for days! I can’t say I believe he’s the most effective choice since his armor debuff is self-contained, but your pirates don’t get much more resilient than that and you also get to take Barathrum in the list, which is sweet. Answer: Yes.
Lich Lord Venethrax: Again, my main issue here is that Venny can support the army okay, but he leaves too many things at home that he really loves (Withershadow Combine, Erebus). Not ineffective, but you’ll feel like you could do better. Answer: Maybe.
Lord Exhumator Scaverous: If Denny3 and Venethrax felt like something was missing, Scaverous is crying in his beer for his losses. Too much synergy loss and Feast of Worms is a bit inefficient as his only armor debuff. Answer: No.
The Witch Coven of Gharlghast: They have an armor debuff, and then can protect the pirates on the way up, but do they really need protection? I’m not sure what to make of this pairing, except to say that the protective aspects of the witches seem wasted on protecting self-resurrecting cheap models. Answer: Maybe.
Sturgis the Corrupted: Oddly, I kind of like it. Similar to Gaspy1, but you trade assassination potential and Scything Touch for threat extension and Occultation. I don’t think he works as well, but this is a module where he can function and actually contribute to the battle. Answer: Yes.
Bane Witch Agathea: She does the most for solving the terrain negotiation problems and Parasite and personal Dark Shroud helps the armor problems. I’ll say she’s kind of the most straightforward and vanilla of the “yes” options, but what do you expect from a Mk3 battlebox caster? Answer: Yes.
Captain Aaikos: When I make an Aaikos list, it typically includes most or all of the following: The Withershadow Combine, 2 Warwitch Sirens, Deathjack, Barathrum. I can take none of those here and Scything Touch isn’t good enough. Answer: No.
Final Thoughts: Listbuilding with the Ghost Fleet isn’t exactly rocket science, but I’ll say that regardless of the effectiveness of the list (and it can be pretty effective), it’s fun to use. The long assumed dead style of swarming your opponents in undead chaff comes back to life in this list and I have to say, it’s pretty refreshing. I’ll call it a good tier for that reason. It’s not the apex of competitive, but it’s good enough to consider and not dismiss out of hand, which I think puts it in an excellent place as far as overall theme forces go.
Making Cryx Great Again 