Anti-Cryx 101: Part 1 - Denial

I play against Cryx. A lot. So much so that I feel sometimes I overcompensate for that match up in my lists. One of my primary opponents is a fairly good Cryx player, while another semi-regular opponent is probably one of the better players in my area, and his usual faction is Cryx. I even have a Roommate who plays Gators and, you guessed it, Cryx.

I would say that the only faction I know as well as my Skorne is Cryx. At least from the prospective of seeing it across the table from me, over, and over, and over.

I used to absolutely despise Cryx, but after a solid 6 or 7 months of seeing every Cryx caster across the table from me and adjusting my lists (especially picking up some critical pieces), I now feel comfortable in almost any Cryx match-up. Even power casters like eSkarre, eDenny, and the most hated eLich. I can't say I will win the match-up every time (seriously, who can) but I will say that I can go into those match-ups with confidence that smart play and a little luck will pull me through.

So I though about putting together a series of articles on the lessons I learned. You can take what you will from them.

First of, Denial.

There are generally three ways in which we can bring denial against Cryx; Soul Denial, and Magic Denial.

Soul Denial


"I wants your souls"

You are not close enough for that soul:

More so than any other faction, we have models with abilities that allow us to grab souls from recently deceased friendly models and use them for buying and boasting. On the other hand, Cryx has the most models of any faction that can actually get power from the death of our models by stealing their souls and using them as power.

It gives us a very interesting interaction when our two factions collide, and the important thing to remember is the proximity rules. Essentially, when two models are eligible for soul collection, the closest one gets it. One of the things that is surprising to me, once I really explored it, is how many Cryx items do not override this rule. It's a big deal to remember, as most Cryx players are not used to being in contention for those souls, and they might, understandably, assume they get it. Something as simple as an Ancestral Guardian in the middle of an infantry unit might deny eLich any souls to use for excess focus.

Unfortunately, that doesn't stop a model like the Deathjack from getting souls with his fists which leads me to...

Make the Unit Undead:

This is a little less common, but a valid option.

Including a Gatorman Witch Doctor can be a fairly good option for our army lists that may not be using much or any of our Soul Power models. Zombiefing , say, Swordsmen in an eMakeda list not only gives us the benefit of tough infantry, but also takes away a lot of Cryx's options. Not only are they not getting Souls, Tartarus isn't Death Tolling either.

There is a little bit of Skornergy with the Witch Doctor, as we don't get the soul either, but it is worth exploring in the more Martial Themed armies. Upside to the Witch Doctor? It isn't an upkeep spell, so Cryx has no way to knock it off of you.

Also, Mordikaar has Hallow, which provides roughly the same effect. Unfortunately, this is an upkeep spell, so make sure Admonia dies, quickly, in order to continue to enjoy the effect.

Field Zaal:

Obviously, this is the simplest option. Zaal denies soul collection from his control area. I listed him last simply because of the format of a lot of tournaments, having him as a caster option, might not be available. He denies souls, but he doesn't have any undead creation abilities, nor does he want them, as he needS his Ancestral Guardians up and running. So to me, taking Zaal against a Cryx opponent isn't necessarily a "no brainer". Though his is still a great option.

Magic Denial


"For some reason, the boys stopped calling."

Oh, you put an offensive upkeep on my unit, that's cute:

Here is where I sing the praises of the Cyclops Shaman. Granted there are several things to like about his already impressive abilities. He casts other beasts animi, which is critical for juggling animi, or freeing up activation order. He has ghost shot and a ranged attack, which can let him snipe support pieces buried in enemy lines. And he isn't too terrible in melee.

But against Cryx, his animus is golden. Knocking off the negative effects of Cripling Grasp, Parasite, etc. at a critical time can be the difference between winning and losing a game.

Mordikaar's Banishing Ward, Zaal's Hex Blast, and a Thrullg can all do it as well. Some of those options require you to risk killing your own models, some require caster resources. The Shaman's animus is a quick easy answer from a beast that is very justified to be in your list to begin with.

How about no, you crazy undead bastard:

Another option is to just deny their casting period. There are several ways to do this.

The obvious one Mordikaar's Banishing Ward. Granted, it is an upkeep spell which Admonia can knock off, but, a quick casting on this, and your Cryx player really has no way to pull their tricks off, at least at a distance. This does require smart play on your part. You need to be sure that the Cryx player can't knock it off with Admonia, and you have to be careful which unit gets Banishing Ward, as you can only have it on one unit at a time. A smart Cryx player will just focus on another unit to pull of their tricks (especially with spells like excarnate).

Tyrant Vorkesh also offers straight immunity. Because I play against Cryx so often, usually when I field Cetrati, I run with Vorkesh. Their slower nature just screams "please hit me with a debuff, please pull me out of formation" to your opponent. That is why Vorkesh is so good about just flatly denying your opponent's ability to do so.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Agonizer. While he doesn't offer spell denial, he does mess with a Cryx player's ability to arc. Proper positioning and enough fury on him can really mess with your opponent's ability to get that proper angle to place that spell.

EDIT: I would also like to make a mention towards Orin Midwinter in this department. His Null Magic ability for models within 12" is fairly good, but I do not like him in the match-up with Cryx, for a few reasons. He doesn't prevent Arcing, so a Cryx caster can easily measure to be right outside and arc spells as much as they want. Yes this can be paired with the Agonizer, but in my experience, a 14" running Arc node from a good player can still get it right where they need it to arc. Also, he is fairly squishy with no stealth the turn he nulls magic. A single Cryx shot from a Harpoon jack can pop him and the player can go about his merry way. I am much more impressed with Orin when you are talking about magic based infantry, or better yet, what his chain lighting does to caster that traditionally struggle with defense, but as straight Cryx denial? I am not a fan, which is why I didn't include him originally.


In all of this though, you need to make sure you recognize the potential threats your opponent could throw your way. Popping Banishing Ward on an infantry unit against an eSkarre player to avoid Black Spot, or making an infantry unit undead against Terminus' Undead sea of models, are all valid tactics to prevent Cryx Tricks from ruining your chances at success.

Future installments will cover support solo killing, strategies against specific casters, and more.