Back to rseater's heroscape page.

400 point Armies:


The Greenies (400 pts) - Flexible

Syvarris (100), Airborne Elite (110), Alastair MacDirk (110), MacDirk's Warriors (80)

Record: nearly perfect for annihilation scenarios, strong in all scenarios

Theory: Be flexible and exploit weaknesses. This army has several different ways to win, so it can pick the one that best fits the current circumstance. It often has very one-sided victories either because the enemy can't handle losing the high ground and runes to the airborne elite, because they can't deal with the high attack power of the highlanders, or because they can't ever get into range to attack Syvarris.

Strategy: As soon as the airborne elite drop, focus your turn tokens on them, as they will almost certainly be getting elevation bonuses, and are vulnerable to return fire. If you are lucky enough to drop on turn 1, put them within walking+grenade range of the enemy setup zone, then toss grenades as soon as possible. With a little luck, you can wipe out his main force right away.

Until the paratroopers drop, or after they are mostly killed, focus your turn tokens on the highlanders (bonded with MacDirk). Make sure that MacDirk wounds himself at least twice (if he doesn't get wounded by enemy fire) so that your clansmen are getting 4 attack dice. Anyone who survive the clansmen's raw attack power and the airborne elite's ability to claim valuable ground will be weak and disorganized. They will be unable to dislodge Syvarris from whatever high ground he has found. If there is high ground near your setup region, spend a couple turn tokens early in the game (before the shooting starts) getting Syvarris up there. Otherwise, just leave him until he's needed.


Aura of Attack (390 pts) - Defend

Tallos the Kyrie Warrior (180), Minions of Utgar (110), Omicron Snipers (100)

Record: very strong

Theory: Really high attacks at range. Tallos's attack bonus is effectively doubled when applied to the snipers or minions. Put them on high ground and they can kill anything they touch. Even if Tallos dies, if the surviving troops keeps the high ground they will usually pull through. The minions should be used as a shield to protect the snipers, who will make most of the actual kills. Since they don't need to move to attack different targets, it's easier for the snipers to stay within Tallos's attack aura (without devoting valuable turn tokens to him).


Summon and Hold (400 pts) - Grab

Saylind the Kyrie Warrior (80), Defenders of Jandar (110), Sargent Drake Alexander (110), Syvarris (100)

Record: very strong for grab-and-hold scenarios, weak for others

Theory: Summon defensive units onto key landmarks. Useful for scenarios that require you to occupy and hold certain terrain features. Use Saylind to quickly get your troops onto the objectives, where they will be difficult to dislodge. All of these units are superb at holding their position, so get them into position as quickly as possible and leave them there. If you don't need all of them to hold the objectives, drop them on nearby highground where they can provide support.


Multi-Attack (390 pts) - Pound

Krug (120), Syvarris (100), Guilty McLeech (30), Shaolin Monks (80), Deadeye Dan (60)

Record: below average

Theory: Make lots and lots of attacks, and eventually you'll get lucky. Unfortunately, most of those attacks are low power, so it has a lot of trouble with high defense units. Deadeye Dan helps against Soulborg, who are otherwise nearly unbeatable with low attacks, and Krug can supply a heavy pounding against a single target. Unfortunately, both Krug and Deadeye Dan are vulnerable to focused counterattacks, and don't work out as well as they do on paper. All too often, a bunch of weak units gang up and take down Krug, a random ranged unit takes out Deadeye Dan, and then a high defense units tromps over the rest. This is surprising, given that (apart form the Monks) these units are normally each very dangerous.


Armor (400pts) - Methodical

Marius (100), Legionaires x2 (50x2=100), Airborne Elite (110), Gorillinators (90)

Record: Average to Strong

Theory: Be patient and methodical. The Legionaires and Gorillinators are surprisingly tough and often manage to salvage a win from an apparent route. The Airborne Elite focus on taking out high powered range units (or units which grant attack bonuses), but they will typically then be eliminated. Once you are only facing low to modest attack values, the Romans and Gorillas will eventually plow through most forces. The only thing to remember when playing this army is to keep your Romans in formation, support them with Marius for an attack bonus; the worst thing you can do is overextend yourself. It's not worth breaking formation to snag an extra attack -- better to be methodical.


Slither (400 pts) - Waves

Venoc Vipers x2 (40x2=80), Venoc Warlord (120), Armor Vipers (65), Roman Archers x2 (55x2=110), Dumutef Guard "Clyde" (25)

Record: Strong

Theory: Attack in waves. Hit with Venoc Vipers fast. They move 9 and frenzy and ignore water, so it is not so rare for them to cross the board in a single turn, hitting your opponent before he's expecting you. When this happens, they should focus on anything with low defense and low health -- they should try to get actual kills right away, rather than trying to soften up larger targets. Don't worry about the high ground; they are going to die no matter what and can't afford to wait for a good opportunity.

Once two waves of Venoc Vipers die (which won't take long), the Armor Vipers and Venoc Warloard can move into battle (since the warloard's bonuses no longer matter). The armor vipers are suprisingly effective for such a cheap unit, and they are often ignored for too long (e.g. they aren't attacked at range, since your opponent assumes that such a cheap unit won't surivive too well in combat) -- if your opponent makes that mistake, take advantage of it before he learns his lesson.

After those Venocs die, move in with your archers. Hopefully by this point the enemy squads will be scattered and incomplete, so a well organized block of archers can bring them down. How to use Roman Achers: If you have the high ground, make separate attacks. If you are even or on low ground, combine their attacks.

When all else fails, attack with Clyde the Dumutef Guard. If it comes down to him, you will almost certainly lose, but he might be able to finish off a straggler.

This army's biggest weakness is its lack of defense. Units that can attack again after a successful attack are incredibly dangerous, and shotgun-style area attacks are also a problem. However, this army can soak up a lot of losses before faltering.


Back to rseater's heroscape page.