Iron Lich Smeerlap

State thy name.

There are some who call me… “smeerlap”. That’s my nickname of course, but the Monty Python fans will figure it out.

From whence do you hail?

I play mostly around the country in Belgium, and sometimes travel to neighbouring countries.

How long hast thee been in the thrall of the Dragonfather?

I’ve been playing since MKI, I think about 2006. I started off with Cryx because they appealed to me and have been playing them ever since. I own a splattering of some other factions, but they never really enthralled me as our Lord Toruk has.

What glory hast thee brought to the Scharde Islands?

Like I said, I try to go to some international events from time to time and attend as many national events as is humanly possible, organizing the occasional one as well. Occasionally I manage to win one of the local ones, usually when our resident wrecking ball is not present.
I was at the very first WTC organized in Belgium and have been to every one since then. Though I must confess I missed the application deadline in 2015 and attended the Solo Masters in Ireland instead. 
I’ve also been writing a blog about Cryx since about a year. I’m not sure how useful it is to everyone, but it helps me a bit to go over my games and force me to think about what went well and what went bad. I’ve had positive feedback about people enjoying my writing style, so I’m trying to keep it up, even though my motivation has lulled somewhat lately.

Which of our glorious Warcasters pleases thee most and why?

I think it’ll be easier if I tell you which ones I don’t like/play. I’ve been playing Skarre 1 in Dark Host as my main list a lot lately, because I think it’s still one of the lists that can cover most of the fields. It’s a sledgehammer, as subtle as she is inelegant, but it works.
As for casters that I actually like a lot, Venethrax is definitely up there, but he often doesn’t cut it. Deneghra 2 is also a lot of fun and I can’t wait to play her a bunch when Asphyxious 4 releases, same for Skarre 2. Deneghra 1 is also still a staple and there have been a few others that I’ve dabbled in lately.
I should probably stop here, before it gets too long…

What is thy current pairing and why?

My current pair is basically my trusty Skarre 1 Dark Host with whatever else I feel like playing. I’m trying to find a (new) pairing to take to the WTC this year, because I don’t really want to take the same thing year after year, even though I know it works. This also gives me added incentive to paint new things, which I normally hate doing, but it’s a requirement for the WTC, so a great motivator.
I guess my last steady pair would be that same Skarre 1 Dark Host with Skarre 3 in Scourge, which I played at last year’s WTC and I would still feel comfortable with into most of the current meta.
Skarre 1 is always a force to be reckoned with and I like my current build because it doesn’t hinge on how explosive the feat turn is, because I always have some Banes to hit hard in reserve. The Skarre 3 list a is a good generalist with lots of tools and decent attrition, which I could drop when I’m not sure about Skarre 1’s chances.
If you would like to read more about those, I would suggest https://smeerlapperij.home.blog/2019/09/30/wtc-2019/ as a good place to start.

What undiscovered treasure hast thee found in the deep Mereditus?

I think Cryx has an incredibly deep pool of casters in which there are only a few duds (mostly Mortenabra and Sturgis), but even those can each serve a certain role within a pairing. The problem is usually to make something coherent that can deal with the very wide current meta in a sufficient manner.
I’ve been playing a bit of Deneghra 3 in Ghost Fleet to which I can see some potential. Our other themes are all quite popular, so not many dark horses there. Caster-wise, Scaverous has always been one of my favorite dark horses. He’s difficult to play, and has some terrible matchups, so he’s not all that popular, but damn, I love it when a plan comes together.

What forces trouble thee most and why?

The Exalted, especially lead by Rasheth, have been giving me some difficulties to say the least. I don’t get the feeling like we can often win the attrition match if the Skorne player plays it well. Bane Knights only half-work because of Spirit Walker to negate Defensive Strike, as well as the huge attrition swings the Supreme Guardian(s) can cause against a melee army. Not to mention having to play around the whole army having Vengeance, with an infantry faction.
Now, that’s not to say I can’t make a Cryx list that can beat them, but they’re immune to many of our tricks, and it feels like you need to beat them at their own game (attrition) and they’re very good at it.
After all this time, the Harbinger of Menoth continues to be my most hated matchup in the game. I would even daresay it’s gotten worse, because she doesn’t really bring chaff anymore in the lists and you need a lot of answers to deal with her. Preferably at least Grievous Wounds, but also something that can actually hit the Allegiants, as well as kill Archons, Champions, Initiates and possibly a Judicator.

What advice would thee give to new necromancers?

Honestly my main advice would be to just have fun. Like I said before, the faction is incredibly deep and there’s lot of cool casters and other models. Don’t listen too much to the naysayers and just play a list that looks fun to you. If it doesn’t work out, at least you will have found out why.
Playing your models until you know everything about them is also very useful, because it allows you to adapt to unexpected situations.
Oh, arc nodes are your friend, but generally 2, or even only 1 of them can be enough. Leave space for actual work models in your list.
Also, getting Denny 1 killed on her feat turn is an art form. It’s tempting, but it’s not an art form worth mastering.

Hast thou any other wisdom to impart to your fellow thralls?

Gimme Gaspy 4?
On a more serious note I would say it’s easiest to build a pair around 1 list you want to play and then cover that ones weaknesses.
As such, Scourge is by far our best combined arms/generalist theme, because it has so many options and tools available. Jack-heavy BI is great as a pair if gun lines are giving you trouble, and Thralls… err… exist. If you want something really, really dead, Dark Host is the way to go and Ghost Fleet has an interesting shtick, though it’s answered by a lot of things these days.
What I’m trying to say is, you can build a pair any way you like, but I find you can’t really go wrong with having at least 1 Scourge of the Broken Coast in there as your all-comers list.