Legio Lysanda Rules Querry?

[olsol]

The Legio Lysanda's main Legio Trait "Patience beyond measure" allows the player to deploy their entire legio first, but sacrifice the first turn in exchange for +1 to Command and hit rolls.

 

I've just found the "Dominant Strategist" princeps trait which states: "once during the battle, at the start of any phase, the controlling player can use this trait to take the Opus Titanica, becoming the First Player. If they do this at the start of the Strategy phase, do not roll off to see who takes the marker."

 

So if i were to activate this trait during the first turn, do i go first, or is it overruled by the Legio Trait? 

[Fajita Fan]

Sounds like you go first.

[olsol]

Great! but is it viable? are there real benefits to going first In games of AT? from what I've read, and tried in smaller games, it is better to be reactive rather than proactive.

[1ncarnadine]

Dominant Strategist tends to become a must-pick when picking traits, so if you're doing that you may want to actually hold it back until a later phase to seize. Otherwise you may find yourself seizing movement only for the opponent to take initiative back during the combat phase and blast you. But yeah, there's nothing to stop you seizing initiative with it when using Patience Beyond Measure. It's a very potent combo.

[olsol]

cheers! I'll keep that in mind

[Mandragola]

It works, but it's not really necessary - least of all in turn 1. If anything you want to be second on turn 1, so you can see what the enemy is up to before you move.

 

The much bigger issue for Lysander is deploying everything first. That gives your opponent a huge advantage. It's a particular problem against Warlords and Warbringers, because they can line up shots on you for first fire, knowing that they'll have priority and get to fire before you move. So actually, dominant strategist could be useful to dodge some of that, if you can.

 

FWIW I think this is a really cool trait and does give some real benefits, but it's not simple to use. The princeps trait where you can move at boosted speed without taxing the reactor is amazing.

[noigrim]

Trait supersedes legion

[olsol]

I'm currently working on making a 2000 point list comprising a Fortis battle maniple as well as a Janissary battle maniple with some cerastus knights.

 

Im going to put Vanguard Leader on the Janissary Leader to grant a large movement bonus to the more mobile aspects of my Legio. With Dominant Strategist being used on the Warlord Princeps so I can gain a tactical advantage when I need it.

[Sherrypie]

I feel Lysanda is a good base for that approach. One maniple running up a flank, one First Firing, both taking advantage of their trait. Having Dominant Strategist for the second turn where you want either a Charge or to not die is a solid back up.

[Mandragola]

FYI there seems to be a bit of variance in whether people go for 1750 or 2k as the "standard" game size. A lot of us initially went for 1750 based on the points levels in the rulebook.

 

For Lysander it's worth pointing out that knights kind of suffer. They get none of the legio benefits but still need to set up first. As a result I don't think I'd go for Janissary as Lysander. It's not a particularly strong maniple anyway compared to Ferrox, if you want to push forward and attack things. It should work ok though.

[schoon]

I'm currently working on making a 2000 point list comprising a Fortis battle maniple as well as a Janissary battle maniple with some cerastus knights.

 

Im going to put Vanguard Leader on the Janissary Leader to grant a large movement bonus to the more mobile aspects of my Legio. With Dominant Strategist being used on the Warlord Princeps so I can gain a tactical advantage when I need it.

As a former lover of the Jannisary maniple, I'd say look very closely to see if it meets your needs.

 

I've found that the advantage of activating early is more often countered by the advantage of acting late, which caused me to re-thing the use of that maniple.

 

There are times when it's appropriate, but they're few, IMO.