Base a Competitive Army Around: James Murphy
 

Round V of
Base a Competitive Army Around Competition:

James Murphy
Battle for the Gunslinger

We are at the next round of army building. Today we turn to the Wild West to find our next subject. James Murphy, perhaps the least used cowboy in Heroscape (definitely the least used from Zanafor's Discovery), has become a tough cookie to field in recent times. What army maximizes this guys potential? That is for you to decide.

Remember, you can put any official unit in your James Murphy army as long as the total does not exceed 500 points. The only other requirement is that James Murphy be in your army.

With that be said:

Let the battle for the gunslinger Begin!

I do not have any armies in mind for this one. But, I have been thinking about a few combos that might work rather well.

-In HEH's battle report thread, he remarks how J. Murphy becomes a powerhouse when put next to Raelin. When you think about it, James' only real problems are defense and low life, so any body who helps counter these is good.

-Aldin made an interesting remark in another thread about how Johnny Shotgun Sullivan and Alexander Drake cover each other's weaknesses. I think the same thing would apply to James Murphy as well.

Okay, those were just some ideas to explore. Feel free to expound on them or make your own combos and strategies.

-Cheers!

James Murphy 75
Raelin 80
Nakita 120
2x G'nators 180
Total of 455

That leaves 45 points...

So either
Theracus 40
Death Reavers 40
Eldgrim 30

I know the G'nators don't get much love, but paired with Raelin and the Nakitas they can be quite the force....

That group with theracus would be quite potent, getting murphy to high ground fast and follow up with Raelin. Nice stuff. I always liked the nakitas, they are always worth thier points. G'nators, I dont know why they dont get much love, they are always an annoying force to take down when I face them.

James' point value nestles snuggly in with Jotun's, and the times that I use the not-so-jolly giant are the only times I think of using James. SO:

James Murphy - 75
Jotun - 225
Nakita - 120
Raelin - 80
TOTAL - 500

First time I saw this army mentioned it was attributed to weasel99. I still have yet to play it, but it sounds fun. Since it is called the "Protect Jotun" army, though, I guess it doesn't really feature James as much as it uses him to fill a niche.

That said, the James/Jotun pairing is brutal for 300 point games, if you ever do those.

I like that army. And don't worry, I have no qualms against fielding them at all. I am curious though. Do you plan on using Raelin to support Murphy or the G'nators?

Gunslingers

Sullivan 65
Murphy 75
Guilty 30
DW9k 140
Drake 110
Raelin 80
500 points

Man do I want to take this out against zombies!

~Aldin, living in the wild, wild west

I hadn't thought that far ahead... :)

Depending on the size of the map you could do both. Aura 4 is a pretty big area of spaces, with the G'nators range you can keep them relatively close to Raelin but still penetrate the defenses with a range of 10 spaces from Raelin. Also, the Nakita's could do a part in helping with his weak defense. I would have to try it out and see what works best...

Based AROUND Murphy eh? How about this...

James Murphy - 75
Kelda - 80
Nilfiheim - 185
Deathreavers x4 - 160

Send in the rats to hold glyphs and tie down ranged units, then you can either move in slow with James and attack from a distance (keeping him close to Kelda for first aid) or move in closer and blast away with his shotty (Loosing a few death reavers to friendly fire isn't a big loss and they get to scatter around too!) either way you got Nilfiheim with at least one Kelda healing to fall back on, not a bad ace in the hole!

It seems to me that James Murphy is good against melee squads that huddle together (romans, orcs), or medium sized melee squads high defense (Sentinels, Minions). He's better than average against medium sized heroes, but will still probably lose a head-to-head battle because of his low defense and moderate attack, even if his whip is in good form. He's not great against ranged units (unless they huddle together like the Roman Archers-- but everyone's good against them) because of his low defense... but his 5 life does give him a little bit of staying power enough to survive (at least one turn facing a full-on assault, usually).

In a team with him, I'd think you'd want a ranged unit with better defense against other ranged units (say, the Nakitas, Krav or Zettians), some sort of defense boost (Raelin, Thorgrim, or have the Nakitas do double duty), and some unit to take out tough heroes (lots to choose from here).

How about:

KoWx2...................140
Nakita Agents.........120
Raelin....................80
Finn.......................80
James Murphy........75

Probably not a great army against Braxas, but I think they'd do good against most others. The Nakita Agents boost Murphy and Raelin, and then Raelin boosts everybody. With extra defense, the KoW should be able to get close enough against most armies to do their thing, which they'll do better around Finn. Once Finn is gone, he can boost any of the remaining uniques, though probably most effectively the Nakitas, who would then be tough enough to kill off any lingering heroes. I'd expect this team to do great against swarm armies, with Murphy's shotgun and Nakitas' engagement strike, and Murphy could help make up for the Nakita's shorter ranged attack.

I love these threads, Chimpy.
When trying to think of one of your Build-An-Armies, I fall back on, "Well what is my opponent fielding?" But of course that's the unkown and I get all fumbled up deciding what to field around your showcased figure(s).

So I start with Raelin. Gotta have Raelin.
If the he Kravs get tied up, I suppose I could fire at their oppenent with Shotgun Blast and hope Stealth Dodge kicks in.
The same applies for the hefty defense knights.
With Raelin in the mix, they can stand up to a beating and possilby some magic buckshot.
Love my reasoning here? :lol:

Anyway,
Murphy 75
Raelin 80
Kravs 100
Sir Gilbert 105
Kow x2 140


OR take out the merciful Kyrie & Kravs and toss in the ladies in white to protect Murphy and DED.

Murphy 75
Nakitas 120
Gilbert 105
KoWx2 140
DED 60


*I do like that I've featured the Kow and Gilbert!




That's funny. I was thinking of this combo(sans Murphy, that is) just yesterday. If it was feasible to take Gorillanators with Raelin. How she'd keep up with them or what...
Theracus sounds interesting. It could carry one of the Nakitas ahead. The Nakita protects the mount with possible Smoke Powder. In the meantime, Gorillanators can move up next to the combo for more Smoke Powder coolness. Then if Raelin is convienently nearby, the defense makes everything that much sweeter.
I like it Nether!
Raelin assists Murphy ( and everyone within range), the Nakitas assist the 'Tough' Primadons.

Protect James Murphy!

Weaknesses: Low Defense, Low Attack

Strengths: Range 7, Shotgun Blast, 5 life

So here ya go

Army:
1 x Laglor - 110 - Give Range, etc.
1 x Raelin - 190 - Protect Nakitas, Murphy, Laglor, Bruank
1 x James Murphy - 265 - Core!
1 x Nakitas - 385 - Protect Murphy, Raelin, Laglor, Brunak
1 x Brunak - 495 - Carry Key Figure Into Position, Also Acts As A Block

5 Cards is a little excessive however Raelin/Laglor sometimes don't even need to move especially in combination with Brunak.