Lich Lord Asphixious - Spell and Feat Analysis

"I do like me some eGaspy. I just wander him around the battlefield, limp wristed with contempt regarding my opponent's ability to kill him, reaping souls, and EXCARNATING everything that I see as a good target (which is everything)." - Darknesse

I've always loved Lich Lord Asphixious. Why? Because his arrogant demeanour and cool moves have made him a fan favourite. Plus, his striking resemblance to David Lo Pan also helps. I've started on a 300 page epic about my time with him during 1921. The book is called "My Summer with Lich Lord Asphixious." and should be out some time in 2041. At first glance he seems really odd, until you get his schtick. Lich Lord Asphixious loves attrition and being nigh impossible to kill. So let's have a look at what he's got to offer in his spell list.

Caustic Mist: This spell is amazing for it's low cost of two focus. With the ability to place anywhere completely in his control area, Asphixious can close down charge lanes and even place it and then move away. Another nice part of the spell, is the automatic point of corrosion damage it causes. Single wound models such as Iron Fangs will not be able to move into or end their activation within this spells' area-of-effect without risking death. For the cheap sum of four focus, Asphixious can close off line of sight with a distance of 6" anywhere within his control area. If he want's he can even pay two more and close off 9". That's lovely. Great spell.

Death Knell: While Death Knell is expensive, the damage it can do is severe. By firing it at a unit of Shieldwall infantry, you can quite definitely kill every model under the template. Though the blast damage will be halved, the number of models will add to the POW of the spell. So four models under the template is a POW 9 blast damage roll. That's pretty damn dangerous if six or models are under the template. Also 4" arced spells aren't very common, so give it a go if someone gets overzealous with their model grouping. In fact, by using some of your own models to run into a nice tight grouping with the enemy you can get this spell up to very high POW blast damage such as 12 or 13. A nice trick if you fire the spell at an offending Mechanithrall in the first place. Hell, double dip and throw Daemortus over the offending unit to reap their souls too. :D

Excarnate: A long range, high POW spell that removes model from play after boxing. As an added stipulation, add an additional Grunt model to a small based unit. While it does need to be placed within 3" of the target and in formation, the ability to place models onto the battlefield is priceless. Especially if it's a nice free Bane Knight. Best thing, is that if you use it carefully you can clear charge lanes and add more models to a unit to clear more charge lanes. An excellent but expensive spell.

Hellbound: The premier Fuck-Off spell in Warmachine. Makes Asphixious non-targetable by charges and also makes 5" around him Rough Terrain. Now 5" doesn't seem like much but as it's a radius, essentially that's 10" of Rough Terrain. And the bastard can't be targetted by charges. Upkeeping it against melee heavy armies makes it a no brainer for keeping him alive. Beware models with large non-charging threat ranges such as Drakhun under Blood Legacy, Stormclad under Full Tilt or other fast and dangerous models. Taking the Withershadow to upkeep this spell for free seems like a good idea. Most enemy models will love to try shoot Asphixious instead so careful placement of clouds and floating around 14" from the front lines should keep him alive.

Parasite: One of the spells Asphixious kept from his non-epic incarnation. It is good and can really help out against hard targets but should be cast and then upkept. Almost certainly through an Arc Node. This upkept on an Ironclad takes it down to a managable ARM 15. Even the Pistol Wraith is at -3 to roll damage against it at that value. Used on a unit before a charge means it's usually gonna die. ARM 13 Demolition Crops aren't really that intimidating. If upkept from a previous turn, using Death Knell and Soul Reaper you can make a triple whammy of nuking the enemy unit in question and giving the Lich Lord souls very easily. Due to the wording of Parasite, it works better on units as the more models that are affected by it's debuff the better it works out for your army. Beware upkeep hate available in some factions so try cast it ahead of when you'll need something to die if they lack upkeep removal or on the turn you want them to die if they do have access to something like that.

Teleport: Yet another spell to make the Lich Lord hard to kill. With his ability to arc spells from the back lines, block off line of sight, be non-targetable by charges and Teleport, killing the bastard is one hell of a challenge. As stated earlier, he can drop smoke, throw Daemortus and then Teleport away. Meaning he doesn't even need to be near the front line to gain the benefits. Making him hard to kill is the ultimate bonus for Lich Lord Asphixious and if you go after killing off his army you're playing into his feat.

Feat - Spectral Legion: This feat is amazing. It allows you to return up to ten destroyed non-warcaster warrior models to play within 3" of Asphixious. As it's within and not completely within you can wangle an extra inch by placing they back of the base within the distance. As they become Solo's they don't have to activate immediately and as they are Incorporeal Asphixious can waltz through them to safety.

Ideally this feat is used to set up a crushing charge with some seriously dangerous models. Tartarus can still Death Toll enemy models when he comes back and Gerlak can munch through enemy units. As the models can't be damaged during their last appearance, it allows you to ignore anything that would provide free strikes. Pistol Wraiths charging with this feat and Gunfighter have become a common sight. Warwitch Siren's are great for dropping the Defence of enemy models on their way out and thanks to their high speed and Reach they can also Shadow Bind key models so your opponents next turn is neutured. Bane Knights still hit as hard as they did during their unlife and benefit from Tartarus' Curse. Most people use Soul Hunters with Darragh as the feat allows them to charge, collect souls and then move away so other models can get in on the action. Tall in the Saddle and Cavalry Charge allow them to attack over and see targets with ease and this makes them very useful.

The best thing, is that this feat discourages your opponent from killing key models, again playing into Asphixious' hands. A very multi-purpose and dangerous feat. Excellent for killing of the remainder of your opponents army after grinding them down. One thing to note, is that while the feat allows you to become Incorporeal and charge through models it does not allow you to see through models. This can be quite limiting as Asphixious has no way of clearing line of sight for his army.