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The Empire at War ... The Gamers Guild => WHFB The Electors' Forum => Topic started by: Uncle_Andrew on April 09, 2012, 05:30:55 PM

Title: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Uncle_Andrew on April 09, 2012, 05:30:55 PM
I am having a hard time deciding what to build with my kit.

I could take or leave the bound spells, one is basically a bolt thrower, but my cannons should take care of those situations, the other is a fickle stone thrower so I'm not too crazy about either.

I can't decide if +1 to hit in CC or 6+ ward save is better. If I have hatred in my units, the +1 to hit wont be a huge benefit, but the 6+ ward save won't benefit swordsmen very much.

What do you think?

Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: rothgar13 on April 09, 2012, 05:32:03 PM
Hurricanum every day and twice on Sundays. +1 to hit and Hatred is better than a 6+ save and Hatred, and more PD > more DD, with the Warrior Priest prayers and the bound spell for the contraption itself.

This is not to say the Luminark is useless or weak, because it's not. But the Hurricanum has better synergy with the army (because we commonly hit things on 4's, and have lots of stuff to cast), so I wouldn't consider the Luminark unless I already have a Hurricanum.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: mr_mich on April 09, 2012, 05:35:23 PM
I prefer the bound spell of the Luminark, but I mostly play against VC and Ogres.
I prefer the extra power dice, because I plan to use Warrior Priests and Wizards, so we'll need all the help we can get.
I prefer the +1 to hit in a vacuum, but 6++ is a neat way to add some survivability, and with Hatred the +1 isn't as big (though still awesome).

Altogether, I really like the Luminark's ability and looks to justify it over the Hurricanum.  Really depends on how you plan to play your army, the Hurricanum will need to follow your battle line if you're playing more aggressive, and will support a strong magic phase.  Luminark's great for sitting back and protecting your squishies though.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: HERO on April 09, 2012, 05:36:02 PM
Hurricanum is just amazing for what it can do.
+1 To Hit bubble is worth the points for itself, the extra PD and fun weather effects is just a bonus.  I especially like Iceshard Tempest and how it can potentially hit multiple units :)
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Bad Mojo on April 09, 2012, 05:57:28 PM
Both have their rolls, depending on how the army gets built.

Base abilities:
Luminark gives you +1 DD and a 6+ ward.  That's basically giving you parry saves in an army with no swordsmen.  If you want to hold out, a ward isn't shabby.  To take advantage, just be near a unit.
Hurricanum gives you +1 PD and +1 to hit in close combat.  Hitting is great for resolution, especially if you have high strength attacks.  Knights of all flavors like this.  To take advantage, you need to be in combat.

Bound Spells:
Hurricanum is like a Stone Thrower.  I think most people will shrug this off given that 1/3 is negligible. 1/6 is random (Hurricane) but no damage. 1/3 is a stone thrower.
Luminark is an upgraded flaming Amber Spear.  S8, d3, no AS.  That's pretty reliable.  Throwing 6 dice at the Luminark is not a bad option.  You can jam your opponent's dispel choices with it, especially if it has choice flank shots. 

In summary, try the Luminark with a gunline.  Try the Hurricanum if you are looking to get into combat by turn 2 or 3.  I'm looking to assemble a defensive army so the Luminark probably has the green for now. 
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Alleton on April 09, 2012, 06:43:14 PM
Would the kit lend itself to magnetizing? that way you could switch it out depending on your needs at the time.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Minsc on April 09, 2012, 06:46:36 PM
Celestial Hurricanum if you can only have one.
The boundspell of the Luminark is better (but not nearly as entertaining), but the abilities of the Hurricanum are better in most lists.

With that said I'm getting one of each.  :icon_cool:
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Dbunibe on April 09, 2012, 06:47:49 PM
Would the kit lend itself to magnetizing? that way you could switch it out depending on your needs at the time.

from the looks of it no.  While they do use alot of the same parts they use them in odd positions.  While I didn't get an extended look at the sprues, I did get a look.  If you were to magnatize I'd think you'd need to magnatize 5-6 parts and the magnets may be visable in 1 configuration.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: IsambardBrunel on April 09, 2012, 06:53:07 PM
Would the kit lend itself to magnetizing? that way you could switch it out depending on your needs at the time.

from the looks of it no.  While they do use alot of the same parts they use them in odd positions.  While I didn't get an extended look at the sprues, I did get a look.  If you were to magnatize I'd think you'd need to magnatize 5-6 parts and the magnets may be visable in 1 configuration.

And, of course, color choice might present an issue, since the colleges tend to look pretty different.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Uncle_Andrew on April 09, 2012, 06:54:24 PM
Magnetizing is not really an option at this point, I need to have it painted by the end of the month. Plus I think it would take a lot of magnets!
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Finne on April 09, 2012, 07:17:38 PM
Celestial Hurricanum if you can only have one.
The boundspell of the Luminark is better (but not nearly as entertaining), but the abilities of the Hurricanum are better in most lists.

With that said I'm getting one of each.  :icon_cool:

+1 lol

Have the Luminark right now, will see how it plays.  The plan was to have one of each anyways.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Delthos on April 09, 2012, 07:33:05 PM
I plan to have one of each, but I went with the Lunminark for my first one. I like the extra dispel die.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Darknight on April 09, 2012, 09:21:34 PM
I am pretty sure that if you built one (whichever one you fancied) exactly as it comes out of the kit, you could have the fancy top doohicky left over for the other one, plus a body and enough arms to build one crew member for that (there are two acolytes and one wizard) as well as various "specific" detailing bitz.

You would then just need some sort of body or other "thing" to make the cart itself. I am kitbashing and scratch-building a cart for my Hurricanum, and am mounting my Lumminark Archimedes mirror on a giant bronze bull (scratch-built) so they fit better with my army's fluff, but I considered getting a plastic toy Chimera (from JoAnn fabrics of all places - $13!) and using that for the purpose.

I think there are lots of options; mount the device on a large monster of some kind (toys are your friends!) or get a cart / wagon of some kind.

With judicious use of plasticard, I think you could replace the "base plate" of the cart with a sheet of plasticard and put on different (less-decorated) wheels and put the body on there. The base plate is detailed, but not really seen on the model once assembled.

Then, you could use the decorated baseplate and wheels on the other cart, and build a frame / support out of sprue and plasticard to lift the top doohicky up a little (to give it some height). A different animal or animals to pull it, and the job's a good 'un. I think you could very easily get two lovely models out of a single kit, some spares and a bit of thought.

Of course, people will have noticed I will have most of the body of one of these things spare . . . make me an offer :)
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: rufus sparkfire on April 09, 2012, 09:59:07 PM
Would the kit lend itself to magnetizing? that way you could switch it out depending on your needs at the time.

The laser lens weapon and the orrery both plug into the same hole on top of the wagon, so there's no issue with switching (no need for magnets even).

The only issue is that the standard construction involves having the wagon body opposite ways around for the two weapon types. But that's not actually necessary, so it only matters if it bothers you.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Robert Klemic on April 09, 2012, 10:02:16 PM
Actually I built one of these things on Saturday.  It's UTTERLY swappable.

There are 3 major pieces to the thing.  The base (which is the horses, the bottom portion of the cart and the 2 stairs).  The middle (which is everything else except for the topper)  and then the two toppers.  The middle portion hooks to the bottom via pegs and the toppers functionally only share one part and that's the thing that connects them to the middle portion so you just that base to the middle portion.  I'll see if I can get some pictures up to explain this. 

You use a couple of the gewgaws that would go on the hurricanum on the ring in for the luminark but not enough to make it look out of place. 

I'll see if I can get a couple pictures of it snapped in a little while and put up.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: rufus sparkfire on April 09, 2012, 10:05:42 PM
That's true, but a bit of a needless hassle. Why not just swap the lens array and orrery?
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Robert Klemic on April 10, 2012, 12:36:26 AM
you can do that as well ;)
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: newsun on April 10, 2012, 01:11:26 AM
Sit back stay out of combat - Luminark
Charge in and kill stuff - Hurricanum

One is defensive, the other is more offensive. I think most people like to play get in combat and will run the Hurricanum. But Empire is one of the easiest armies to do an avoid any real combat army with and pick a few units to decimate with mass shooting and magic.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: IsambardBrunel on April 10, 2012, 01:25:43 AM
For what its worth, I've had great success with this company's magnets for my Tau battlesuit weapons, and will be using them on my Demigryph Knight arms. They have an impressive array of sizes: http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Archon on April 10, 2012, 01:30:18 AM
Have a level 4? Hurricanum.

No level 4? Luminark.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Arfa on April 10, 2012, 03:48:30 AM
Always Hurricanum for me. The 'gun' on top of the Luminark is a bad cannon, where as the Hurricanum is a more effective mortar. Those aside its the buffs to your army that you should be looking at. 6+ ward saves are gimmicky and pretty meh, the only thing I can see that they would be useful for is for a unit containing a Witch Hunter, as they'd get a 4+ward against magic missiles/direct damage spells, which is kinda cool. It could be hillarious if one of your warmachines managed to bounce an enemy cannonball thanks to a 6+ ward but we all know the chances of that happening are very unlikely. That said +1 to hit is always useful (on a combat unit), especially with the hatred buffs that the priest and war altar give. Unlike the priests hatred however the hurricanum's +1 to hit (and the hatred given by the war altar, co-incidentally) transfer to characters, so its not just your rank and file who get the bonus but also your runefang wielding lord! Both suck in close combat, but you can still throw them in turn 5 or 6 if (somehow) theyre still alive for some extra S5 impact hits. The last difference is power dice VS dispel dice. Power dice all the way for me, you can get defencive magic options easier elsewhere (scrolls) but getting an extra power dice this edition is pretty damn hard, and considering the number of bound spells we're going to be throwing around this edition even before you take a Lvl4 I think the more dice you have the merrier!

Arfa da Grate
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Porkix on April 10, 2012, 05:36:46 AM
Hurricanum seems better for the following reason:
- the +1 hit is not overkill with hatred.
1st round: hit on 4+ 50%, hatred 75%, hatred +1 to hit 88% and the bonus applied of +1 applies for all round of combat, not the 1st one.
- I play hordes halberds for the grind so more hits = more kill = better for me (and I seldom win my combat in one round)
- +1DD will not make a lot of difference for your dispel, +1PD is on more spam of prayer in the turn
- the bound bolt thrower spell is predictable, the bound meteor is potentially pivoting the deathstar around or smashing it with S8 D6 wounds template. I don't think a wise general will take the risk to see his "shinny-toy" deathstar and he will dispel it.

I think the luminark is good if you go bus of spears to hold the line

I see 2 types of build in my armies:
- blocks of spears with Captains and Luminark to hold in place, deny CR and slam the flank with killy stuff
- blocks of halberds with WP and Huricanum for bonus stacking grind fest

Porkix
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Rommel44 on April 10, 2012, 05:47:55 AM
Celestial Hurricanium is by far the better choice in my personal opinion, as the +1 to hit and the extra Power Dice go a long way in making our State Troops better in CC, which is even more vital now with the changes.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Athiuen on April 10, 2012, 06:24:07 AM
Don't forget that a WP can give a unit a 5+ ward making the 6+ luminark save redundant.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: warhammerlord_soth on April 10, 2012, 01:11:45 PM
Luminark vs. undead and deamon armies.


Hurricanum for all comers'.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Fandir Nightshade on April 10, 2012, 01:13:26 PM
That's true, but a bit of a needless hassle. Why not just swap the lens array and orrery?

Because the luminarks lazor beam is mounted on the back of the chariot you need to magnetize that one too.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: rufus sparkfire on April 10, 2012, 01:30:11 PM
That's true, but a bit of a needless hassle. Why not just swap the lens array and orrery?

Because the luminarks lazor beam is mounted on the back of the chariot you need to magnetize that one too.


No, it isn't.

The thing that projects the beam is integral to the lens array.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: mr_mich on April 10, 2012, 01:31:41 PM
I was under the impression that the bulbs on the Lens array were also the planets on the Plane'arium.  Is that not the case?  Do you actually have enough bits to build a full lens array AND a full planetmobile?
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Robert Klemic on April 10, 2012, 01:32:56 PM
no.  you're 4 planets short  That being said,  you can spread them out enough that it still looks good without all 10 holes on the hurricanum filled.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: mr_mich on April 10, 2012, 01:34:51 PM
Thanks for that.

It's probably not a big deal to GS up some bulbs...or I may just leave them off the Lascannon because I think they look kind of out of place.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: rufus sparkfire on April 10, 2012, 01:36:18 PM
If you follow the directions exactly, you are supposed to stick four planets onto the back of the lens array. But you don't actually have to, and I think it looks better without them. Or you can stick some of the various extra things in the kit in their place if you want.

So yes, you can build a perfectly serviceable lens array as well as a complete orrery.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: Fandir Nightshade on April 10, 2012, 01:39:23 PM
I think I will do the orrey without any planets anyway....they are just a bit too much for my taste and I like the Rings alone enough.
Title: Re: Luminark of Hysh or Celestial Hurricanum?
Post by: jaggedjimmyj on April 10, 2012, 01:41:06 PM
I'm going out on a limb here and stating that: Miasma + Hurricanum = winwin

In your magix phase:
- Step 1, livin on a prayer: One dice prayers for DD disposal
- Step 2, this or that: Now you can toss something nasty with your lvl4 light. Either speed of light or bironas. Your foe will surely dispell this. If not: It's the same as miasma more or less....
- Step 3, keep on tossing: Miasma (basic lvl should do to drop ws so you're hitting on 2+, 2++ with hatered)