Today’s Privateer Insider takes us once again to the Convergence of Cyriss with a closer look at Iron Mother Directrix. Though by no means the oldest warcaster in the Convergence, her genius and ambition have allowed Directrix to rise quickly through the ranks to lead these clockwork armies to victory. Some believe her presence and guidance are the components that will ultimately draw Cyriss to physical manifestation on Caen.

I’m a huge fan of all the Convergence of Cyriss warcasters, but I have to admit Directrix has a special place in my heart. The reasons are numerous: her FOCUS stat of 8 and the giant control area this creates, her cool spell list, the ability to get those spells wherever they’re needed most (thanks to Field Marshal [Arc Node]), her ever-present Exponent Servitors, her majestic appearance, her cloak of blades, and a subtly powerful feat that makes me smile. What’s not to love?

Directrix’s Mathematical Perfection feat wouldn’t mean much to a warcaster like Kommandant Irusk and would be downright terrible for someone like Lieutenant Allister Caine, but this elegant feat makes a real difference for the Iron Mother. Mathematical Perfection reads: Directrix’s MAT and RAT are each equal to her FOCUS for one turn.

For everyone following along at home, this means Directrix’s vectors will also have MAT 8 and RAT 8 during her feat turn. Throw in the Flare effect from an Attunement Servitor or a Cipher to crank that up to an effective MAT 10 and RAT 10 against any really hard-to-hit targets. You’ll want to hold back Mathematical Perfection until the right moment to unleash a flurry of accurate attacks from Directrix and her battlegroup. Speaking of Directrix’s own attacks, that cloak of blades weighs in at P+S 11 with Reach and the Thresher special attack, while the blasts of energy she can unleash have RNG 11 with POW 15 and a 4˝ AOE. What more could one ask for?

Oh, right, with such an accuracy-oriented feat, one could ask for a way Directrix and her army could deal a bit more damage to their enemies. Well, that’s where her Exponent Servitors come into play. Directrix leads WARMACHINE’s first warcaster unit, which includes a pair of Exponent Servitors. Though these servitors do not cause damage, their RNG 10 beams have the Imperil effect, imbuing a target model/unit with susceptibility to attacks, meaning you gain +2 to every damage roll that model/unit suffers for one round.

Servitors are not the sturdiest constructs, but during her control phase Directrix can release an additional Exponent Servitor if she is currently controlling fewer than two. She can also be repaired, just like other clockwork vessels in the Convergence of Cyriss army, and has quite a few damage boxes for such a high-FOCUS warcaster.

While I wouldn’t be permitted to give away everything about this warcaster, I’ll close with a couple of the Iron Mother’s spells. Considering that she can be a bit manipulative and scheming, I’ll showcase the two spells that most closely embody those elements of her character. Directrix has Backlash (previously from Kaelyssa, Night’s Whisper or Pirate Queen Skarre) along with Domination (from Major Victoria Haley). Plus, she’s got a great offensive spell in Shrapnel Swarm and a couple of support spells to top it all off.

Son of the Mother,

-DC