Post by Saynt on May 18, 2015 4:15:20 GMT
I do not claim credit for any of the AotW thread, that honor goes to the original authors from the en-forums on Rackham's old website.
This one is from forum member Sithlet:
The Disciples of the Beast
First off, I’ll start off with some fluff: The Devourers were originally the wolfen Pack of the Moaning Moon. When Vile-Tis, the Beast, was cast out of the heavens by the gods, he landed in the center of their sacred circle. The god of slaughter then revealed to the pack a horrible truth about the gods – their god Yllia didn’t love them, and their savage nature was not a gift, but a curse. Blessed with the Beast’s consciousness, Vile-Tis’ disciples went forth across Aarklash…
Now that you have a general idea of what the Devourers actually are, I’ll discuss their general strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths
• Great defense on every model, great resilience on most models, good initiative on most models.
• Most models excel in most aspects.
• Great racial features: born killer on the wolfen and ambidextrous on the half-elves.
• All Wolfen cause decent fear, and the half-elves have good courage ratings.
• Wolfen are large, and thus almost always cause charging penalties and can sometimes avoid receiving charging penalties.
• Wolfen and half-elves both have great movement.
• The Huntsman is the best shooter in the game, or close to it.
• A few outstanding themes to choose from.
• Some of the sculpts are absolutely killer – check out a Master of Carnage or Nekhar the Ecstatic!
Weaknesses
• The army’s average strength is average – not what you’d expect from a wolfen-based army.
• The current range of models and profiles to choose from is somewhat small – slightly larger than Cynwall and just smaller than Drunes.
• Each model is expensive points-wise, so lists generally have few numbers – 6 to 8 miniatures is typical for a 400 point list.
• Army lists often have few models but large number of cards, so they don’t have many passes available.
• Only a few of the characters in the army are truly competitive.
• While a few models hit hard, they aren’t the biggest things in town. They’re still prey for bigger hitters like trolls, Dasyatis Clones, and other “super” monsters.
• Their magic is sub par to almost all armies – one decent mage is available, but only performs average (more on this later).
• Their faithful is pathetic – the only faithful available is a warrior-monk devout with few decent miracle options.
• Low discipline and few leadership options, so approach/tactical rolls will generally be lost. There’s no authority found in the armies naturally, and the lack of good mages or faithful don’t provide for a decent magic alternative to losing discipline-based rolls.
With all of the general introductions out of the way, I’ll launch right into the descriptions of the models! Also note, I won’t be including any Dun-Scaith specific models in this, with the exception of Rhangor.
Regulars, Veterans, and other basic troops
Voracious Warrior: The Voracious Warrior is a great troop, and one you’ll likely be fielding a lot if you end up playing Devourers. A wolfen possessing born killer, an excellent defense, above average initiative, and average strength and resilience, the Voracious is a solid troop for his cost. He’s common in Devourer armies because he’s got good stats, and is tied for the cheapest wolfen troop available. There are two blisters available with two Voracious each, for a total of four sculpts.
Fang of Vile-Tis: This is essentially an alternate profile to the Voracious Warrior. Boasting one extra strength in exchange for a point of defense, they are a decent option to be slightly more offensive. They come in a box of five and have a veteran profile included, which is next.
Marauders of Vile-Tis: This is the veteran profile of the Fang of Vile-Tis. Bordering on elite, it gains +1 INI, +1 ATT, +1 DEF, +1 RES, +1 FEAR, and the choice of Vivacity (you cannot fail initiative tests on a 1) or War-Fury (for a potential 4 combat dice along with born-killer). In exchange, it loses 1 point of strength and costs 10 more AP. All-in-all, I like the Fangs and Voracious Warriors more, because when I want a basic troop, I want one that is cheap and holds the line. While Marauders could do that, at 40 AP, they are more expensive for what they do.
Warriors of Blood: These guys get the distinction of being the first half-elves to be introduced. A good move, ATT, and DEF, these guys are the cheapest troop available to Devourers at 25 AP. They’ve got a decent courage, which should make them pass a majority of tests they’ll have to make. Their only ability is ambidextrous – the half-elf racial ability – which allows them to counter-attack an opponent if they successfully defend by 2 or more. This is a very handy ability, and with a defense of 4, it can be used against most opponents’ basic troops. However, with only an average initiative, strength, and resilience, enemy elites will tear these guys apart. Still, they are “cheap,” which is always something to look for in a Devourer list. These guys come in a blister of 3, with only one type of blister available.[/code]
Huntsman of Vile-Tis (1 and 2): I’m doing this guy first, because everyone else will have to compare to him. As far as archers go, this guy is a dream. He’s got an excellent AIM of 4, a killer bow that counts as light artillery, is STR10, and has range increments of 25-50-75, the “Instinctive Firing” ability, the “Possessed” ability, and a great resilience, defense, and fear. Instinctive Firing allows him to move his full movement and shoot with no penalty, effectively giving him range increments of 40-65-90! Possessed allows him to ignore one wound level, so he still keeps a good AIM level even once wounded. His bow is one of the strongest in the game and, as light artillery, can either kill something and continue moving at reduced strength, or, if it misses, has the opportunity to hit something behind the original target. Finally, with born killer, RES10, DEF5, and FEAR7, this guy is a real burden for an opponent to take down. He’s always a magnet for fire from the opponent, but he deserves it – he’s an absolutely awesome shooter in this game. The Huntsmen come solo in blisters, with two types of blisters available.
Headhunter (A and B): These guys have an average AIM of 3, and their Stars of the Beast are a nice STR7, but have poor range increments of 15-25-35. They’ve got an extremely high move of 17.5, and a special capacity which allows them to attempt to hit a second target within 5 cm of the first target if they miss. Unfortunately, they’re soft and squishy with DEF3 and RES6, and expensive for 35 AP. They really can’t be compared to the Huntsman, because he’s so good. They have to get too close to hit things, and are too easily killed for their cost. They come solo in blisters, with two types of blisters available.
Hunter of Vile-Tis: This is essentially a veteran profile for Headhunters. The only pertinent differences are the addition of Harassment, DEF upped to 4, and a range increase to 20-30-40. Those additions cost 9 AP, so he’s 44 AP. For only 6 more AP, you can get a Huntsman, which just blows these guys away. This model has no miniature available, but the profile is available in the Warriors of Rag'narok card pack.
Elites, Specials, and other Things-Your-Opponent-Won’t-Like-To-See
Slashers: I’ll start this off with the other half-elves available to Devourers, slashers. These troops are simply phenomenal. They’ve got ambidextrous like other half-elves, but they stack scout, war-fury, and assassin on top of that. They’ve got superb stats across the line. The Scout + Assassin + Ambidextrous combination is deadly when used properly – few models will be able to strike back effectively after your opening attack. My only real complaint about these guys is that war-fury and ambidextrous are mutually exclusive – to use one, you have to forego the other. At 37 AP, though, these guys are some of my favorite elites. They have one blister available with two models.
Eclipsantes: People’s opinions vary widely on these models. So, I’ll start off with things most people agree on – they have cool sculpts. Firstly, they are relatively expensive at 41 AP. They have born killer and assassin, and, as wolfen, they can usually see over most models to get a charge off. They have an average strength, but a poor resilience of 5. Many people dislike them because, for their points, they are very fragile. However, they have three special abilities they can use, which they must announce each round when they move. First, they have the “Dance of the Eclipse,” which is available in Cry Havoc! 3. This technique gives a 50% chance to avoid damage from shots, which is good for Eclipsantes closing in on their prey. Next, the Black Veil, which comes with Eclipsante 1 and is errata’d in the rulebook, allows the Eclipsante to sacrifice a combat die for +2 DEF if she wants, and she can sustain defense even if she put more dice in attack than defense – mostly useful if facing multiple, weak opponents, or one strong opponent where the +2 DEF could really come in handy. Finally, Sabbath of the Shadows, which comes with Eclipsante 2, adds one point to each of her attack tests, and allows her to sacrifice one combat die to gain an Assassin strike, even if she hasn’t charged. This is a very specialized unit which should be used carefully and like a scalpel. Practice makes perfect! These have two lovely sculpts in two blisters.
Weapon-Mistresses: This is a veteran-profile for Eclipsantes. They have +1 ATT, +1 STR, +1 RES, and include Feint, and cost 50 AP. They have access to all the Eclipsante special abilities, and are nice if you want to form an Eclipsante-centric list or have points to spare and would like to upgrade a normal Eclipsante. Feint can be powerful with born killer by really ensuring your die superiority against opponents is put to use. This profile is found in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Flesh-eaters: These are the first of the real beastly elites. There is an offensive profile and a defensive profile. With an awesome defense of 6, high resilience, decent strength, and the “Possessed” ability, these Devourers kill nearly as well when they’re wounded as when they’re not. They’ve got a good initiative, so they’ll often go first against most non-character troops. They can go head-to-head with most other elites, and their biggest weakness is the relatively low strength for a model in their class. At 57 AP for a rock-solid model, it’s rare to find a list that doesn’t have at least one. I’d suggest actually using their defense, because you can afford to with born killer – this goes for almost all Devourer models. It’ll increase their life-spans dramatically. These guys come in two blisters of one model each, with one profile in each.
Tyrant of Vile-Tis: This is the biggest hitter other than characters in Devourer lists. Along with the Huntsman, this is one of the models many opponents will worry about facing in Devourer lists. He literally excels in every stat, and he is “Possessed” and “Fierce,” which means he’ll continue to fight until the end of a round with only a -2 penalty once he’s been killed – that means he’s still got an ATT of 4 and STR of 9. Additionally, he’s got a special capacity which makes any engagement count as a charge. This means that any engagements, pursuit movement, or disengage-and-reengagements inflict charge penalties on opponents. Even with fierce, I would again advising to defend with him early on to make him last to later rounds, and then once you know he’s close to dying, start going on an all-out offensive to bring the pain before he dies. I often pair him with a warrior-character or Flesh-eater to form a wrecking-ball of destruction. He’s got a pretty awesome sculpt, and only has one blister available.
Mages
Master of Carnage 1: I hate to say it, but I like this guy. I really do. It’s not that he performs well – he’s actually pretty terrible in my opinion. But his sculpt is just oh-so awesome. He’s a warrior-mage with a mediocre power of 2, good strength and defense, but average resilience. This version has War Fury, which would give him 4 attack dice, but his resilience doesn’t really let him go on the all-out offensive like that too often. At 60 AP without any spells, it’s hard to justify bringing this guy when you could get a Flesh-eater or two Voracious/Fangs for the same price. His main saving grace is his special capacity, called the “Path of Perfection,” which allows him to turn a gem of water into two “Fury points,” which he can give to models with “Chains” in their equipment and in base-to-base contact, but not himself without the spell “The Art of Fury.” Then, depending on their chain type, they can use these points to increase a single, certain type of roll by the number of fury points. Chains of Calamity are probably the best to have, which allow you to increase an ATT, DEF, or damage roll. This guy has one blister and includes two spells.
Master of Carnage 2: This guy is the exact same as above, but has Sequence/1 instead of War Fury, one less strength, and one more attack and defense. I find this slightly better, because it allows him to get 4 attack dice, but still defend with a decent defense of 4. I still don’t like him though – just too expensive for his performance. This one also only has one blister and includes two spells.
Half-Elf Master of Carnage: This little elf is a step in the right direction for Masters of Carnage. Why? He’s only 42 AP, and you still get the same casting abilities and the Path of Perfection. Really, you lose born killer, war-fury/sequence, and a point or two of strength, but gain a point in attack, ambidextrous, and scout – not too shabby considering his new point cost. Although few spells will likely make him worth his while, the Path of Perfection, at this cost plus his decent combat abilities, make him potentially worth the points, especially in an Impure list (where he only costs 38 AP!). His profile is found in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Warrior Characters
Zeiren: This guy is a great character, and the first Devourer, both in releases and in fluff. With his first incarnation, he was pretty good, but his second incarnation is fantastic. Good stats, great initiative, and an impressive array of abilities: born killer, implacable/1 which makes him really plow through enemy fodder, wild/10, which gives him +1 to INI, ATT, and DEF if he’s more than 10 cm away from any friendly units, resolution/2, which allows him to give +2 to just about any roll once during a turn, and a fairly irrelevant personal enemy. Additionally, his artifact, The Asterion, allows him to pull of some killer counter-attacks. Whenever you successfully counter-attack, it increases the strength of the counter-attack by the value of the attack. For instance, if an attack roll of 8 is counter-attacked, he gets +8 STR for the counter-attack. Combine this with his Resolution/2 to negate the higher difficulty for counter-attacking, and it is pretty powerful. The other artifact option, which is true for all of the warrior characters, is a Voracious Blade, which turns any critical wounds he inflicts into KOs. With STR16 master-strikes, it is definitely viable. His first profile is in his blister, and his second incarnation is in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Kalyar: Kalyar is average in stats and expensive in points. He’s what I’d expect from a character Voracious Warrior in stats, along with leadership and DIS3. Although you might take him to contend with discipline, he’ll only give you an edge against armies with really poor discipline like Acheron, and sometimes Sessairs, so it’s normally not worth it, especially since both incarnations are more expensive than Zeiren’s second incarnation, which is much superior. His biggest advantage that I can see would be handing out Marks of Savagery with his leadership. His first incarnation comes with his blister, and his second incarnation is in the “Second Incarnations, Volume II” card pack.
Ashkasa, Warrior of Blood: He’s a decent character for his price. A half-elf, he’s a warrior of blood champion, so he mostly just has improved stats over them. He’s most notable for being cheap and having leadership. Like other ambidextrous models, keeping him healthy is key to getting the most out of him. His profile comes in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Ranghor, War Chief: I’ll start off by saying this guy is bound to the Horde of Dun-Scaith, a special army found in a Cry Havoc!, so the only way to use him is to theme your force, and then re-name him to use him. That said, he’s pretty good – he’s got the stats of a Flesh-eater, the abilities of a character, and leadership. His profile comes in Cry Havoc! 4, along with the Dun-Scaith special rules.
Meyleen, Eclipsante: Meyleen is another decent, cheap character. Deadly, but fragile. As an Eclipsante, she shares their strengths and weaknesses, including the ability to use their special capacities. With a STR13 master-strike, assassin, and potentially a Voracious Blade, it’s hard to imagine anything surviving a charging attack from her. If you’re worried about fielding 41 AP Eclipsantes with RES5, though, I doubt you’ll feel too good about fielding a 78 AP character with RES5. Also noteworthy is her leadership ability, which allows her to distribute Marks of Savagery and roll two dice for tactical rolls. Her card is found in the Rag’narok Box Set.
Managarm the Traitoress: Another eclipsante character, who benefits from their special capacities, she is more expensive than Meyleen, but can be more brutal, survivable, and deadly. If Meyleen is like an Eclipsante, Managarm is like a Weapon Mistress. She can be deployed with The Korgan, which is a scruffy little mutt with stats comparable to a Warrior of Blood. Her first artifact, Shengul’s Fury, and comes in Cry Havoc! 3, gives the War Fury ability (average), but lets either her or The Korgan disengage even if they were charged this turn, and on any roll but a natural 1 (awesome). This will let her pick combats on a 1-on-1 basis, which is where she should really shine. Her other artifact, Y’Anrylh’s Snarl, allows her to gain ephemeral in exchange for a boost in strength, attack, and defense – an average artifact. Considering that she’s already somewhat fragile, I don’t think she needs to be inflicting herself with wounds. Managarm and The Korgan come in a box set.
Nekhar the Ecstatic: This is the Flesh-eater Champion, and until the arrival of Shurat, he is the biggest thing we’ve got. Unplayable in standard 400 AP games, Nekhar is a beast that weighs in at 210 AP, plus artifacts. With amazingly high attack and defense, it will be rare for him to fail an attack or defense. He can master-strike for STR19, and his artifact sword allows him to roll-up 6’s on damage rolls, so he has the potential to make the most of his Implacable/2. Along with his defense, he’s got RES12, hard-boiled, and possessed, so it’s difficult to wear him down. And, to top it off, he’s got DIS6 with leadership, which gives Devourers in actual chance to win some tactical rolls, and allows the distribution of Marks of Savagery to any of the standard troops. Another of his artifacts, the Mask of Savagery, gives him War-Fury and Fierce, but he can only place one die in defense ever. His final artifact, the Arch of Torment, is detailed in the C3 errata, and is very versatile. Nekhar is available in his own boxed set.
Faithful Characters
Nemetis the Sacrilegious: The only faithful available to Devourers is this awesomely sculpted warrior-monk. Unfortunately, he’s not very good. He has fairly average combat stats, he’s an iconoclast so it is more difficult for him to get TF, and his miracle selection is average. While a few combinations might be fun to play with, I don’t see how he can earn his keep when compared to some of the warrior characters like Zeiren. He is available in his own blister.
Mage Characters
Bysra, the Black Shaman: Bysra is a pure mage in his first incarnation and a warrior-mage in his second incarnation. His power is very low for a character mage (3 and 4 in his first and second incarnations, respectively), and he has average combat stats. His paths are standard for a Devourer mage (Howls, Lamentations), but he just doesn’t cut it with his lowly power. His second incarnation as a warrior-mage is especially limiting for taking multiple spells. Bysra’s first incarnation is available in his blister, and his second incarnation is available in “Second Incarnations, Volume II” card pack.
Velrys, Prince of the Impure: The only real mage option for Devourers, Velrys, the Prince of the Impure, is an interesting mage. He’s fairly strong with POW5, and masters Water and Darkness/Chthonian, Howls. He’s also got consciousness (very nice for a mage), concentration/2 for INI, ATT, or RES, and counter-attack (useful for his warrior-type build, see further down). This gives him a decent spell selection, but it’s not the destructive power of some of the Path of Light and Darkness mages. He can take Chthonian spells to manipulate play order and activation order, Howls spells to inflict penalties or indirectly wound models, darkness spells for some “Oomph,” or water spells for more healing and protection based spells. With a base cost of 97 points, though, it is difficult to find a set of spells to make him earn his keep. He’s also got fairly decent combat stats, however, and his artifact “The Fury of the Ynkaro” only makes him more deadly in hand-to-hand combat by allowing him to trade off INI for STR in addition to rolling two dice for INI, so many build focus on giving him buffing spells to make this mage a deadly combat character. All in all, the only thing holding Velrys back currently is a really powerful spell. Once the Water Elemental comes out, he might have some better water elemental spells to choose from to really prove his worth. He comes in his own blister.
Themes
All of the following themes are available in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Revelation: Armageddon – This Revelation gives some measure of control of activations with +1 to DIS rolls and gives one authority counter – not bad, but nothing crazy. The best ability is the Solo/Lord of the Apocalypse, which gives +X STR to all models within a character’s leadership range, where X is his rank. This can really help make up for the average strength of the Devourers, but ideally you’d have a rank 2 character with leadership – which means either Meyleen or Rhangor, neither of which are too common. Since this is a theme, though, you can re-name Rhangor, which would really be the most worth it with this Revelation.
Revelation:Blasphemy – This Revelation gives you a counter for every incomplete 250 AP you have, so you’ll get two counters for most games. They can use these counters throughout the game to re-roll any friendly or enemy characteristics roll – pretty cool for those critical moments in the game, but pretty limited since you’ll only benefit from them twice per game. The Idol Killer solo is decent -- +1 STR for every aura of faith you’re in, whether it is a friend’s or enemy’s. Unfortunately, you can’t really depend on your opponent having a faithful, and Nemetis, as I said, is not one of the better characters. Still, it’s worth taking if you’re using Nemetis in this list.
Revelation:Carnage – This Revelation isn’t too bad. Everyone gets +1 COU/FEAR, which can make a tyrant FEAR 8 which is pretty good, and most of your basic troops become COU/FEAR 6, which should make them pass almost always. The Fury solo makes Masters of Carnage much more useful – they can distribute fury points from 15 cm now, instead of base-to-base! That’s a huge improvement and removes a big limitation from our warrior-mages. Finally, Thirst for Blood gives Implacable/1, or +1 if they already have it – a nice solo for guys like the Tyrant and characters.
Revelation: Eclipse – This Revelation is a great one if you’re only planning on taking the Revelation ability. It allows you to target one type of enemy fighter every turn, and your whole army gains bane against that model. So if you’re going to be in frays with certain models, target them, and your whole army will be hitting harder. The other solos aren’t that great – one gives leap to RES7 or less fighters, which is alright, and the other gives Eclipsantes Scout, which is actually pretty good if you’re using them. It lets them avoid most missile fire at the least, and if you have slashers, you can form a pretty formidable scouting party.
Revelation: Ecstasy – This Revelation is the one that most people claim is the best, or at least the most used. The Revelation ability gives everyone Possessed, which I love, or +1 STR if they already have it (like Tyrants and Flesh-eaters). Possessed allows your troops hitting hard and accurate later in the game. The solo “Escape of the Flesh” gives Brutish Charge to a model, which allows 4 combat dice for wolfen when charging – and with their movement, they usually do get charges off. The final solo gives Consciousness, which can be good for some models, but I would normally only take with any left-over points and if everyone already had Escape of the Flesh.
Revelation: The Impure – This is a very fun theme, but still very effective. The Revelation reduces the cost of all non-Wolfen Devourers by 4 AP, but wolfen fighters may only be half (in numbers) of your force. So Warriors of Blood drop to 21 AP, Slashers go to 33, and Half-Elf Masters of Carnage go to 38, etc – everyone becomes a pretty good buy. Conveniently, many of the solos are priced at 4 AP, and can give the abilities concentration/1 (INI/ATT/DEF), which is good for your ambidextrous elves, toxic/1, which is good for slashers who can often eliminate fighters with a toxic assassin strike, and regeneration/4-6, depending on their rank, which is good to keep just about all of your fighters going. Unfortunately, they have to choose one of the solos – but I still think they are some great choices. The only thing limiting this theme right now it the very limited number of Half-Elves.
Revelation: Rebellion – This Revelation gives you +1 ATT and +1 STR if you’re in range of an enemy leader’s leadership, or, if they don’t have one, if you’re in range of your own leader’s leadership. This can be pretty good against many forces (Griffins, Dwarves, Lions, etc – lots of models with leadership in those armies), but useless against some. The solo “Subversive” allows you to give a model with leadership/10 or better the ability to give all enemy models in his leadership -2 COU/DIS, but he stops giving friendly models the benefit of his leadership. This is pretty cool – it negates enemy war-staff bonuses, and can really limit the enemy’s basic troops from charging into frays with your big guys. The next solo gives a model Disengagement/6, which, with the high initiative of Devourers, can often let you line-up 1-on-1 fights by disengaging, which is what you’re looking for. Finally, my favorite part of this Revelation – you can bring any Mercenay, Pariah, or Guild of Blades that isn’t a construct or living-dead into your army for 3 AP. This means things like Seneschals of Hod, Howling Predators, Kelt Mercenaries, etc. can be brought into your army. This is pretty nifty – it allows for a ton of variety.
Sample Lists
Zeiren (2nd Incarnation) 92 AP
-Asterion 19 AP
Tyrant of Vile-Tis 76 AP
Flesheater 57 AP
Huntsman of Vile-Tis 50 AP
2x Slashers 74 AP
Voracious Warrior 30 AP
398 AP, 7 models
This is a fairly standard Devourer list. Zeiren's second incarnation is a good fighter character, and satisfies tournament character requirements. The Tyrant provides solid hitting power, as does the Flesheater. The Huntsman places wounds where you need them, and softens up any real high profile targets from a distance. The Slashers can scout into the enemy lines if needed, or they can just deploy ahead of your main force to keep up. The Voracious Warrior provides a "low-cost" model that's still effective. You could also drop the slashers in exchange for more Voracious, Fangs, or Marauders. All in all, this type of list will do pretty well in Kill 'em All games, but only having 7 models can hurt in objective-based games.
Zeiren (2nd Incarnation) 92 AP
Fleasheater 57 AP
2x Slashers 74 AP
4x Fangs of Vile-Tis 120 AP
Huntsman of Vile-Tis 50 AP
393 AP, 9 models
This list actually has pretty good model count for Devourers. Zeiren is a strong character, and he satisfies tournament requirements for character costs. The Flesheater is the STR9 profile, and, along with Zeiren, is the anchor for the force. Slashers give versatility with scout, and the Fangs are good STR and numerous. The Huntsman allows you to soften or eliminate any high-threat models from a distance. One key to Devourer lists is to swarm – it’s hard with low numbers, but if you can get your models into single or even 2-on-1 combats, you’re likely to win. This list would likely have three fronts – one side of the field with Zeiren and two Fangs, one side with the Flesheater and two Fangs, and then the Slashers deployed elsewhere as needed. The Huntsman would likely be traveling with one of the two main groups, depending on which one needed his archer expertise. The Slashers could pick off a juicy target if it presented itself, or they could integrate into the main force.
Impure List
Ashkasa, Warrior of Blood 68 AP
-Voracious Blade, 13 AP
-Revelation: Impure, -4 AP
-Solo/Blood of the Widow, +4 AP
4x Slashers, 148 AP
-Revelation, Impure: -16 AP
-Solo/Blood of the Widow, +16 AP
3xWarriors of Blood, 75 AP
-Revelation, Impure: -12 AP
-Solo/Blood of the Dragon, +12 AP
2x Warriors of Blood, 50 AP
-Revelation, Impure: -8 AP
1x Huntsman of Vile-Tis, 50 AP
-Revelation, Impure: 0 AP
396 AP, 11 models
Another numerous list for Devourers, but it’s to be expected with half-elves. I don’t believe this list is tournament legal by the new proposed rules (too many slashers), but would be fun for casual games. It provides a strong scouting force with the Slashers, and can have up to 3 toxic dice for Ashkasa and the slashers, which is nice. The set of 3 Warriors of Blood have concentration/1, which helps them make the most of ambidextrous, and can give them a decent edge on initiative as needed. The Huntsman again fills the role of softening up high-threat targets.
General Tactics
• Defend. You have three dice and great defense scores -- the opponent's strength 20 doesn't matter if he can't hit you. With all the emphasis on strength and resilience, it can be easy to forget this.
• The key to winning combats is outclassing the opponent. Almost all of your troops beat his normal troops, so try to get as many one-on-one combats as possible.
• The Huntsman has instinctive firing -- don't be afraid to shoot into your own combats. You'll rarely hit your own guy. Also don't be afraid to have him near frays -- he's a tough fella, he can handle himself.
• Although your guys are resilient, they are just as mortal as any other model. Approach Praetorians, Trolls, Characters, etc with care -- try to team up on them as much as possible!
• Use your movement. Unless you're facing another wolfen force, you're likely more mobile than your opponent. Have models swap sides of the field and such as necessary -- it's easy to reinforce your different groups with your movement if something goes wrong.
• On a similar note, don't rush in. Many wolfen have died by running single-handedly into an army of crunchy 3 point goblins, and then gotten clubbed to death by their cute little maces.
• Use your cheaper models to break up frays -- you want your big guys fighting little guys one-on-one. This means Voracious, Fangs, and Warriors of Blood are cheap but critical members of your army.
• Form a plan based on the objectives you're playing for and stick to it unless something drastic happens and you need to change it up. Having a plan is key to winning games.
• More often than not, plan on LOSING the tactical roll. You'll usually have a DIS of 3 + 1d6, so most armies except Undead, Sessairs, Drunes, and one or two others will be beating you unless they roll a 1, or you roll a 6.
• Experiment -- even with the limited army choices, this army is full of flavor and fun, so have at it!
This one is from forum member Sithlet:
The Disciples of the Beast
First off, I’ll start off with some fluff: The Devourers were originally the wolfen Pack of the Moaning Moon. When Vile-Tis, the Beast, was cast out of the heavens by the gods, he landed in the center of their sacred circle. The god of slaughter then revealed to the pack a horrible truth about the gods – their god Yllia didn’t love them, and their savage nature was not a gift, but a curse. Blessed with the Beast’s consciousness, Vile-Tis’ disciples went forth across Aarklash…
Now that you have a general idea of what the Devourers actually are, I’ll discuss their general strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths
• Great defense on every model, great resilience on most models, good initiative on most models.
• Most models excel in most aspects.
• Great racial features: born killer on the wolfen and ambidextrous on the half-elves.
• All Wolfen cause decent fear, and the half-elves have good courage ratings.
• Wolfen are large, and thus almost always cause charging penalties and can sometimes avoid receiving charging penalties.
• Wolfen and half-elves both have great movement.
• The Huntsman is the best shooter in the game, or close to it.
• A few outstanding themes to choose from.
• Some of the sculpts are absolutely killer – check out a Master of Carnage or Nekhar the Ecstatic!
Weaknesses
• The army’s average strength is average – not what you’d expect from a wolfen-based army.
• The current range of models and profiles to choose from is somewhat small – slightly larger than Cynwall and just smaller than Drunes.
• Each model is expensive points-wise, so lists generally have few numbers – 6 to 8 miniatures is typical for a 400 point list.
• Army lists often have few models but large number of cards, so they don’t have many passes available.
• Only a few of the characters in the army are truly competitive.
• While a few models hit hard, they aren’t the biggest things in town. They’re still prey for bigger hitters like trolls, Dasyatis Clones, and other “super” monsters.
• Their magic is sub par to almost all armies – one decent mage is available, but only performs average (more on this later).
• Their faithful is pathetic – the only faithful available is a warrior-monk devout with few decent miracle options.
• Low discipline and few leadership options, so approach/tactical rolls will generally be lost. There’s no authority found in the armies naturally, and the lack of good mages or faithful don’t provide for a decent magic alternative to losing discipline-based rolls.
With all of the general introductions out of the way, I’ll launch right into the descriptions of the models! Also note, I won’t be including any Dun-Scaith specific models in this, with the exception of Rhangor.
Regulars, Veterans, and other basic troops
Voracious Warrior: The Voracious Warrior is a great troop, and one you’ll likely be fielding a lot if you end up playing Devourers. A wolfen possessing born killer, an excellent defense, above average initiative, and average strength and resilience, the Voracious is a solid troop for his cost. He’s common in Devourer armies because he’s got good stats, and is tied for the cheapest wolfen troop available. There are two blisters available with two Voracious each, for a total of four sculpts.
Fang of Vile-Tis: This is essentially an alternate profile to the Voracious Warrior. Boasting one extra strength in exchange for a point of defense, they are a decent option to be slightly more offensive. They come in a box of five and have a veteran profile included, which is next.
Marauders of Vile-Tis: This is the veteran profile of the Fang of Vile-Tis. Bordering on elite, it gains +1 INI, +1 ATT, +1 DEF, +1 RES, +1 FEAR, and the choice of Vivacity (you cannot fail initiative tests on a 1) or War-Fury (for a potential 4 combat dice along with born-killer). In exchange, it loses 1 point of strength and costs 10 more AP. All-in-all, I like the Fangs and Voracious Warriors more, because when I want a basic troop, I want one that is cheap and holds the line. While Marauders could do that, at 40 AP, they are more expensive for what they do.
Warriors of Blood: These guys get the distinction of being the first half-elves to be introduced. A good move, ATT, and DEF, these guys are the cheapest troop available to Devourers at 25 AP. They’ve got a decent courage, which should make them pass a majority of tests they’ll have to make. Their only ability is ambidextrous – the half-elf racial ability – which allows them to counter-attack an opponent if they successfully defend by 2 or more. This is a very handy ability, and with a defense of 4, it can be used against most opponents’ basic troops. However, with only an average initiative, strength, and resilience, enemy elites will tear these guys apart. Still, they are “cheap,” which is always something to look for in a Devourer list. These guys come in a blister of 3, with only one type of blister available.[/code]
Huntsman of Vile-Tis (1 and 2): I’m doing this guy first, because everyone else will have to compare to him. As far as archers go, this guy is a dream. He’s got an excellent AIM of 4, a killer bow that counts as light artillery, is STR10, and has range increments of 25-50-75, the “Instinctive Firing” ability, the “Possessed” ability, and a great resilience, defense, and fear. Instinctive Firing allows him to move his full movement and shoot with no penalty, effectively giving him range increments of 40-65-90! Possessed allows him to ignore one wound level, so he still keeps a good AIM level even once wounded. His bow is one of the strongest in the game and, as light artillery, can either kill something and continue moving at reduced strength, or, if it misses, has the opportunity to hit something behind the original target. Finally, with born killer, RES10, DEF5, and FEAR7, this guy is a real burden for an opponent to take down. He’s always a magnet for fire from the opponent, but he deserves it – he’s an absolutely awesome shooter in this game. The Huntsmen come solo in blisters, with two types of blisters available.
Headhunter (A and B): These guys have an average AIM of 3, and their Stars of the Beast are a nice STR7, but have poor range increments of 15-25-35. They’ve got an extremely high move of 17.5, and a special capacity which allows them to attempt to hit a second target within 5 cm of the first target if they miss. Unfortunately, they’re soft and squishy with DEF3 and RES6, and expensive for 35 AP. They really can’t be compared to the Huntsman, because he’s so good. They have to get too close to hit things, and are too easily killed for their cost. They come solo in blisters, with two types of blisters available.
Hunter of Vile-Tis: This is essentially a veteran profile for Headhunters. The only pertinent differences are the addition of Harassment, DEF upped to 4, and a range increase to 20-30-40. Those additions cost 9 AP, so he’s 44 AP. For only 6 more AP, you can get a Huntsman, which just blows these guys away. This model has no miniature available, but the profile is available in the Warriors of Rag'narok card pack.
Elites, Specials, and other Things-Your-Opponent-Won’t-Like-To-See
Slashers: I’ll start this off with the other half-elves available to Devourers, slashers. These troops are simply phenomenal. They’ve got ambidextrous like other half-elves, but they stack scout, war-fury, and assassin on top of that. They’ve got superb stats across the line. The Scout + Assassin + Ambidextrous combination is deadly when used properly – few models will be able to strike back effectively after your opening attack. My only real complaint about these guys is that war-fury and ambidextrous are mutually exclusive – to use one, you have to forego the other. At 37 AP, though, these guys are some of my favorite elites. They have one blister available with two models.
Eclipsantes: People’s opinions vary widely on these models. So, I’ll start off with things most people agree on – they have cool sculpts. Firstly, they are relatively expensive at 41 AP. They have born killer and assassin, and, as wolfen, they can usually see over most models to get a charge off. They have an average strength, but a poor resilience of 5. Many people dislike them because, for their points, they are very fragile. However, they have three special abilities they can use, which they must announce each round when they move. First, they have the “Dance of the Eclipse,” which is available in Cry Havoc! 3. This technique gives a 50% chance to avoid damage from shots, which is good for Eclipsantes closing in on their prey. Next, the Black Veil, which comes with Eclipsante 1 and is errata’d in the rulebook, allows the Eclipsante to sacrifice a combat die for +2 DEF if she wants, and she can sustain defense even if she put more dice in attack than defense – mostly useful if facing multiple, weak opponents, or one strong opponent where the +2 DEF could really come in handy. Finally, Sabbath of the Shadows, which comes with Eclipsante 2, adds one point to each of her attack tests, and allows her to sacrifice one combat die to gain an Assassin strike, even if she hasn’t charged. This is a very specialized unit which should be used carefully and like a scalpel. Practice makes perfect! These have two lovely sculpts in two blisters.
Weapon-Mistresses: This is a veteran-profile for Eclipsantes. They have +1 ATT, +1 STR, +1 RES, and include Feint, and cost 50 AP. They have access to all the Eclipsante special abilities, and are nice if you want to form an Eclipsante-centric list or have points to spare and would like to upgrade a normal Eclipsante. Feint can be powerful with born killer by really ensuring your die superiority against opponents is put to use. This profile is found in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Flesh-eaters: These are the first of the real beastly elites. There is an offensive profile and a defensive profile. With an awesome defense of 6, high resilience, decent strength, and the “Possessed” ability, these Devourers kill nearly as well when they’re wounded as when they’re not. They’ve got a good initiative, so they’ll often go first against most non-character troops. They can go head-to-head with most other elites, and their biggest weakness is the relatively low strength for a model in their class. At 57 AP for a rock-solid model, it’s rare to find a list that doesn’t have at least one. I’d suggest actually using their defense, because you can afford to with born killer – this goes for almost all Devourer models. It’ll increase their life-spans dramatically. These guys come in two blisters of one model each, with one profile in each.
Tyrant of Vile-Tis: This is the biggest hitter other than characters in Devourer lists. Along with the Huntsman, this is one of the models many opponents will worry about facing in Devourer lists. He literally excels in every stat, and he is “Possessed” and “Fierce,” which means he’ll continue to fight until the end of a round with only a -2 penalty once he’s been killed – that means he’s still got an ATT of 4 and STR of 9. Additionally, he’s got a special capacity which makes any engagement count as a charge. This means that any engagements, pursuit movement, or disengage-and-reengagements inflict charge penalties on opponents. Even with fierce, I would again advising to defend with him early on to make him last to later rounds, and then once you know he’s close to dying, start going on an all-out offensive to bring the pain before he dies. I often pair him with a warrior-character or Flesh-eater to form a wrecking-ball of destruction. He’s got a pretty awesome sculpt, and only has one blister available.
Mages
Master of Carnage 1: I hate to say it, but I like this guy. I really do. It’s not that he performs well – he’s actually pretty terrible in my opinion. But his sculpt is just oh-so awesome. He’s a warrior-mage with a mediocre power of 2, good strength and defense, but average resilience. This version has War Fury, which would give him 4 attack dice, but his resilience doesn’t really let him go on the all-out offensive like that too often. At 60 AP without any spells, it’s hard to justify bringing this guy when you could get a Flesh-eater or two Voracious/Fangs for the same price. His main saving grace is his special capacity, called the “Path of Perfection,” which allows him to turn a gem of water into two “Fury points,” which he can give to models with “Chains” in their equipment and in base-to-base contact, but not himself without the spell “The Art of Fury.” Then, depending on their chain type, they can use these points to increase a single, certain type of roll by the number of fury points. Chains of Calamity are probably the best to have, which allow you to increase an ATT, DEF, or damage roll. This guy has one blister and includes two spells.
Master of Carnage 2: This guy is the exact same as above, but has Sequence/1 instead of War Fury, one less strength, and one more attack and defense. I find this slightly better, because it allows him to get 4 attack dice, but still defend with a decent defense of 4. I still don’t like him though – just too expensive for his performance. This one also only has one blister and includes two spells.
Half-Elf Master of Carnage: This little elf is a step in the right direction for Masters of Carnage. Why? He’s only 42 AP, and you still get the same casting abilities and the Path of Perfection. Really, you lose born killer, war-fury/sequence, and a point or two of strength, but gain a point in attack, ambidextrous, and scout – not too shabby considering his new point cost. Although few spells will likely make him worth his while, the Path of Perfection, at this cost plus his decent combat abilities, make him potentially worth the points, especially in an Impure list (where he only costs 38 AP!). His profile is found in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Warrior Characters
Zeiren: This guy is a great character, and the first Devourer, both in releases and in fluff. With his first incarnation, he was pretty good, but his second incarnation is fantastic. Good stats, great initiative, and an impressive array of abilities: born killer, implacable/1 which makes him really plow through enemy fodder, wild/10, which gives him +1 to INI, ATT, and DEF if he’s more than 10 cm away from any friendly units, resolution/2, which allows him to give +2 to just about any roll once during a turn, and a fairly irrelevant personal enemy. Additionally, his artifact, The Asterion, allows him to pull of some killer counter-attacks. Whenever you successfully counter-attack, it increases the strength of the counter-attack by the value of the attack. For instance, if an attack roll of 8 is counter-attacked, he gets +8 STR for the counter-attack. Combine this with his Resolution/2 to negate the higher difficulty for counter-attacking, and it is pretty powerful. The other artifact option, which is true for all of the warrior characters, is a Voracious Blade, which turns any critical wounds he inflicts into KOs. With STR16 master-strikes, it is definitely viable. His first profile is in his blister, and his second incarnation is in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Kalyar: Kalyar is average in stats and expensive in points. He’s what I’d expect from a character Voracious Warrior in stats, along with leadership and DIS3. Although you might take him to contend with discipline, he’ll only give you an edge against armies with really poor discipline like Acheron, and sometimes Sessairs, so it’s normally not worth it, especially since both incarnations are more expensive than Zeiren’s second incarnation, which is much superior. His biggest advantage that I can see would be handing out Marks of Savagery with his leadership. His first incarnation comes with his blister, and his second incarnation is in the “Second Incarnations, Volume II” card pack.
Ashkasa, Warrior of Blood: He’s a decent character for his price. A half-elf, he’s a warrior of blood champion, so he mostly just has improved stats over them. He’s most notable for being cheap and having leadership. Like other ambidextrous models, keeping him healthy is key to getting the most out of him. His profile comes in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Ranghor, War Chief: I’ll start off by saying this guy is bound to the Horde of Dun-Scaith, a special army found in a Cry Havoc!, so the only way to use him is to theme your force, and then re-name him to use him. That said, he’s pretty good – he’s got the stats of a Flesh-eater, the abilities of a character, and leadership. His profile comes in Cry Havoc! 4, along with the Dun-Scaith special rules.
Meyleen, Eclipsante: Meyleen is another decent, cheap character. Deadly, but fragile. As an Eclipsante, she shares their strengths and weaknesses, including the ability to use their special capacities. With a STR13 master-strike, assassin, and potentially a Voracious Blade, it’s hard to imagine anything surviving a charging attack from her. If you’re worried about fielding 41 AP Eclipsantes with RES5, though, I doubt you’ll feel too good about fielding a 78 AP character with RES5. Also noteworthy is her leadership ability, which allows her to distribute Marks of Savagery and roll two dice for tactical rolls. Her card is found in the Rag’narok Box Set.
Managarm the Traitoress: Another eclipsante character, who benefits from their special capacities, she is more expensive than Meyleen, but can be more brutal, survivable, and deadly. If Meyleen is like an Eclipsante, Managarm is like a Weapon Mistress. She can be deployed with The Korgan, which is a scruffy little mutt with stats comparable to a Warrior of Blood. Her first artifact, Shengul’s Fury, and comes in Cry Havoc! 3, gives the War Fury ability (average), but lets either her or The Korgan disengage even if they were charged this turn, and on any roll but a natural 1 (awesome). This will let her pick combats on a 1-on-1 basis, which is where she should really shine. Her other artifact, Y’Anrylh’s Snarl, allows her to gain ephemeral in exchange for a boost in strength, attack, and defense – an average artifact. Considering that she’s already somewhat fragile, I don’t think she needs to be inflicting herself with wounds. Managarm and The Korgan come in a box set.
Nekhar the Ecstatic: This is the Flesh-eater Champion, and until the arrival of Shurat, he is the biggest thing we’ve got. Unplayable in standard 400 AP games, Nekhar is a beast that weighs in at 210 AP, plus artifacts. With amazingly high attack and defense, it will be rare for him to fail an attack or defense. He can master-strike for STR19, and his artifact sword allows him to roll-up 6’s on damage rolls, so he has the potential to make the most of his Implacable/2. Along with his defense, he’s got RES12, hard-boiled, and possessed, so it’s difficult to wear him down. And, to top it off, he’s got DIS6 with leadership, which gives Devourers in actual chance to win some tactical rolls, and allows the distribution of Marks of Savagery to any of the standard troops. Another of his artifacts, the Mask of Savagery, gives him War-Fury and Fierce, but he can only place one die in defense ever. His final artifact, the Arch of Torment, is detailed in the C3 errata, and is very versatile. Nekhar is available in his own boxed set.
Faithful Characters
Nemetis the Sacrilegious: The only faithful available to Devourers is this awesomely sculpted warrior-monk. Unfortunately, he’s not very good. He has fairly average combat stats, he’s an iconoclast so it is more difficult for him to get TF, and his miracle selection is average. While a few combinations might be fun to play with, I don’t see how he can earn his keep when compared to some of the warrior characters like Zeiren. He is available in his own blister.
Mage Characters
Bysra, the Black Shaman: Bysra is a pure mage in his first incarnation and a warrior-mage in his second incarnation. His power is very low for a character mage (3 and 4 in his first and second incarnations, respectively), and he has average combat stats. His paths are standard for a Devourer mage (Howls, Lamentations), but he just doesn’t cut it with his lowly power. His second incarnation as a warrior-mage is especially limiting for taking multiple spells. Bysra’s first incarnation is available in his blister, and his second incarnation is available in “Second Incarnations, Volume II” card pack.
Velrys, Prince of the Impure: The only real mage option for Devourers, Velrys, the Prince of the Impure, is an interesting mage. He’s fairly strong with POW5, and masters Water and Darkness/Chthonian, Howls. He’s also got consciousness (very nice for a mage), concentration/2 for INI, ATT, or RES, and counter-attack (useful for his warrior-type build, see further down). This gives him a decent spell selection, but it’s not the destructive power of some of the Path of Light and Darkness mages. He can take Chthonian spells to manipulate play order and activation order, Howls spells to inflict penalties or indirectly wound models, darkness spells for some “Oomph,” or water spells for more healing and protection based spells. With a base cost of 97 points, though, it is difficult to find a set of spells to make him earn his keep. He’s also got fairly decent combat stats, however, and his artifact “The Fury of the Ynkaro” only makes him more deadly in hand-to-hand combat by allowing him to trade off INI for STR in addition to rolling two dice for INI, so many build focus on giving him buffing spells to make this mage a deadly combat character. All in all, the only thing holding Velrys back currently is a really powerful spell. Once the Water Elemental comes out, he might have some better water elemental spells to choose from to really prove his worth. He comes in his own blister.
Themes
All of the following themes are available in the “Revelations of the Beast” card pack.
Revelation: Armageddon – This Revelation gives some measure of control of activations with +1 to DIS rolls and gives one authority counter – not bad, but nothing crazy. The best ability is the Solo/Lord of the Apocalypse, which gives +X STR to all models within a character’s leadership range, where X is his rank. This can really help make up for the average strength of the Devourers, but ideally you’d have a rank 2 character with leadership – which means either Meyleen or Rhangor, neither of which are too common. Since this is a theme, though, you can re-name Rhangor, which would really be the most worth it with this Revelation.
Revelation:Blasphemy – This Revelation gives you a counter for every incomplete 250 AP you have, so you’ll get two counters for most games. They can use these counters throughout the game to re-roll any friendly or enemy characteristics roll – pretty cool for those critical moments in the game, but pretty limited since you’ll only benefit from them twice per game. The Idol Killer solo is decent -- +1 STR for every aura of faith you’re in, whether it is a friend’s or enemy’s. Unfortunately, you can’t really depend on your opponent having a faithful, and Nemetis, as I said, is not one of the better characters. Still, it’s worth taking if you’re using Nemetis in this list.
Revelation:Carnage – This Revelation isn’t too bad. Everyone gets +1 COU/FEAR, which can make a tyrant FEAR 8 which is pretty good, and most of your basic troops become COU/FEAR 6, which should make them pass almost always. The Fury solo makes Masters of Carnage much more useful – they can distribute fury points from 15 cm now, instead of base-to-base! That’s a huge improvement and removes a big limitation from our warrior-mages. Finally, Thirst for Blood gives Implacable/1, or +1 if they already have it – a nice solo for guys like the Tyrant and characters.
Revelation: Eclipse – This Revelation is a great one if you’re only planning on taking the Revelation ability. It allows you to target one type of enemy fighter every turn, and your whole army gains bane against that model. So if you’re going to be in frays with certain models, target them, and your whole army will be hitting harder. The other solos aren’t that great – one gives leap to RES7 or less fighters, which is alright, and the other gives Eclipsantes Scout, which is actually pretty good if you’re using them. It lets them avoid most missile fire at the least, and if you have slashers, you can form a pretty formidable scouting party.
Revelation: Ecstasy – This Revelation is the one that most people claim is the best, or at least the most used. The Revelation ability gives everyone Possessed, which I love, or +1 STR if they already have it (like Tyrants and Flesh-eaters). Possessed allows your troops hitting hard and accurate later in the game. The solo “Escape of the Flesh” gives Brutish Charge to a model, which allows 4 combat dice for wolfen when charging – and with their movement, they usually do get charges off. The final solo gives Consciousness, which can be good for some models, but I would normally only take with any left-over points and if everyone already had Escape of the Flesh.
Revelation: The Impure – This is a very fun theme, but still very effective. The Revelation reduces the cost of all non-Wolfen Devourers by 4 AP, but wolfen fighters may only be half (in numbers) of your force. So Warriors of Blood drop to 21 AP, Slashers go to 33, and Half-Elf Masters of Carnage go to 38, etc – everyone becomes a pretty good buy. Conveniently, many of the solos are priced at 4 AP, and can give the abilities concentration/1 (INI/ATT/DEF), which is good for your ambidextrous elves, toxic/1, which is good for slashers who can often eliminate fighters with a toxic assassin strike, and regeneration/4-6, depending on their rank, which is good to keep just about all of your fighters going. Unfortunately, they have to choose one of the solos – but I still think they are some great choices. The only thing limiting this theme right now it the very limited number of Half-Elves.
Revelation: Rebellion – This Revelation gives you +1 ATT and +1 STR if you’re in range of an enemy leader’s leadership, or, if they don’t have one, if you’re in range of your own leader’s leadership. This can be pretty good against many forces (Griffins, Dwarves, Lions, etc – lots of models with leadership in those armies), but useless against some. The solo “Subversive” allows you to give a model with leadership/10 or better the ability to give all enemy models in his leadership -2 COU/DIS, but he stops giving friendly models the benefit of his leadership. This is pretty cool – it negates enemy war-staff bonuses, and can really limit the enemy’s basic troops from charging into frays with your big guys. The next solo gives a model Disengagement/6, which, with the high initiative of Devourers, can often let you line-up 1-on-1 fights by disengaging, which is what you’re looking for. Finally, my favorite part of this Revelation – you can bring any Mercenay, Pariah, or Guild of Blades that isn’t a construct or living-dead into your army for 3 AP. This means things like Seneschals of Hod, Howling Predators, Kelt Mercenaries, etc. can be brought into your army. This is pretty nifty – it allows for a ton of variety.
Sample Lists
Zeiren (2nd Incarnation) 92 AP
-Asterion 19 AP
Tyrant of Vile-Tis 76 AP
Flesheater 57 AP
Huntsman of Vile-Tis 50 AP
2x Slashers 74 AP
Voracious Warrior 30 AP
398 AP, 7 models
This is a fairly standard Devourer list. Zeiren's second incarnation is a good fighter character, and satisfies tournament character requirements. The Tyrant provides solid hitting power, as does the Flesheater. The Huntsman places wounds where you need them, and softens up any real high profile targets from a distance. The Slashers can scout into the enemy lines if needed, or they can just deploy ahead of your main force to keep up. The Voracious Warrior provides a "low-cost" model that's still effective. You could also drop the slashers in exchange for more Voracious, Fangs, or Marauders. All in all, this type of list will do pretty well in Kill 'em All games, but only having 7 models can hurt in objective-based games.
Zeiren (2nd Incarnation) 92 AP
Fleasheater 57 AP
2x Slashers 74 AP
4x Fangs of Vile-Tis 120 AP
Huntsman of Vile-Tis 50 AP
393 AP, 9 models
This list actually has pretty good model count for Devourers. Zeiren is a strong character, and he satisfies tournament requirements for character costs. The Flesheater is the STR9 profile, and, along with Zeiren, is the anchor for the force. Slashers give versatility with scout, and the Fangs are good STR and numerous. The Huntsman allows you to soften or eliminate any high-threat models from a distance. One key to Devourer lists is to swarm – it’s hard with low numbers, but if you can get your models into single or even 2-on-1 combats, you’re likely to win. This list would likely have three fronts – one side of the field with Zeiren and two Fangs, one side with the Flesheater and two Fangs, and then the Slashers deployed elsewhere as needed. The Huntsman would likely be traveling with one of the two main groups, depending on which one needed his archer expertise. The Slashers could pick off a juicy target if it presented itself, or they could integrate into the main force.
Impure List
Ashkasa, Warrior of Blood 68 AP
-Voracious Blade, 13 AP
-Revelation: Impure, -4 AP
-Solo/Blood of the Widow, +4 AP
4x Slashers, 148 AP
-Revelation, Impure: -16 AP
-Solo/Blood of the Widow, +16 AP
3xWarriors of Blood, 75 AP
-Revelation, Impure: -12 AP
-Solo/Blood of the Dragon, +12 AP
2x Warriors of Blood, 50 AP
-Revelation, Impure: -8 AP
1x Huntsman of Vile-Tis, 50 AP
-Revelation, Impure: 0 AP
396 AP, 11 models
Another numerous list for Devourers, but it’s to be expected with half-elves. I don’t believe this list is tournament legal by the new proposed rules (too many slashers), but would be fun for casual games. It provides a strong scouting force with the Slashers, and can have up to 3 toxic dice for Ashkasa and the slashers, which is nice. The set of 3 Warriors of Blood have concentration/1, which helps them make the most of ambidextrous, and can give them a decent edge on initiative as needed. The Huntsman again fills the role of softening up high-threat targets.
General Tactics
• Defend. You have three dice and great defense scores -- the opponent's strength 20 doesn't matter if he can't hit you. With all the emphasis on strength and resilience, it can be easy to forget this.
• The key to winning combats is outclassing the opponent. Almost all of your troops beat his normal troops, so try to get as many one-on-one combats as possible.
• The Huntsman has instinctive firing -- don't be afraid to shoot into your own combats. You'll rarely hit your own guy. Also don't be afraid to have him near frays -- he's a tough fella, he can handle himself.
• Although your guys are resilient, they are just as mortal as any other model. Approach Praetorians, Trolls, Characters, etc with care -- try to team up on them as much as possible!
• Use your movement. Unless you're facing another wolfen force, you're likely more mobile than your opponent. Have models swap sides of the field and such as necessary -- it's easy to reinforce your different groups with your movement if something goes wrong.
• On a similar note, don't rush in. Many wolfen have died by running single-handedly into an army of crunchy 3 point goblins, and then gotten clubbed to death by their cute little maces.
• Use your cheaper models to break up frays -- you want your big guys fighting little guys one-on-one. This means Voracious, Fangs, and Warriors of Blood are cheap but critical members of your army.
• Form a plan based on the objectives you're playing for and stick to it unless something drastic happens and you need to change it up. Having a plan is key to winning games.
• More often than not, plan on LOSING the tactical roll. You'll usually have a DIS of 3 + 1d6, so most armies except Undead, Sessairs, Drunes, and one or two others will be beating you unless they roll a 1, or you roll a 6.
• Experiment -- even with the limited army choices, this army is full of flavor and fun, so have at it!