Monday 8 February 2016

Unit showcase - Zombie Werewolves

In life, the Vampire Lord had loved to hunt boars and other wildlife in the forests surrounding his castle. In death, his pursuits translated into a crazed bloodlust upon the field of battle, tempered with a cold pragmatism from centuries of self-preservation. When you are essentially immortal, barring a few key weaknesses, one tends to take those weaknesses rather seriously and work to avoid them. Yet even still, sometimes the thrill of the hunt was too much to ignore. Sometimes to truly feel alive in undeath you had to take risks. You had to hunt the most dangerous prey.


When enemies were scarce and his small barony in relative peace, the Vampire's bloodlust still flared. Deep into the forest he would delve this night, seeking prey more fierce than any boar. By the moonlight he would stalk, more beast than man himself. The tracks he would find, the scents he would heed. Deeper still into the very heart of the forest, where the Mother's spirit was felt strongest. There he found a small pack: a triad of Lycans. Half man, half wolf. The power of the Mother coursing through their bodies, giving them preternatural strength and speed. At any other time they would be the ultimate predators, yet tonight they were the prey. Slipping between shadows, skittering among the trees, the Vampire's blade flashed and flickered. One by one the children of Kyron fell. They fought, they growled. Their claws flashing, tearing at pale, cold flesh. But the Vampire was faster and stronger than any one Lycan, and without a clear place to converge, trees all around, their natural habitat worked against them. They were unable to use their few numbers to their advantage, unable to work as a pack. The Vampire's hunt was not easy, The Mother's call closing Lycan wounds so they may continue to serve, to nurture, to protect. But the wounds upon them were too many, too fast. And the wounds they returned were too few, too slow. Soon there was only one left, and soon after that, none.

Roping the corpses together, the Vampire dragged his trophies back out of the forest to his home. These trophies were not for walls, nor for mantles. They were for his Necromancers. Arcane arts purging the spirit of The Mother from the Lycans' veins, replacing it with the cold spirit of death; lifting their arms, hauling them to their feet. Dark Kyron's influence still lingered in their brains, their tendons, keeping them alert, swift and violent. But where once their will to protect would stitch torn flesh closed, now the fleeing spirits of defeated foes would do the same. Their howls echoed out into the dawn. The Werewolves, bound to the will of their new master, would now hunt as a pack of Zombies.






For my Werewolf Regiment I chose to use Reaper's metal Zombie Werewolves, to fit in with the theme of the army. Plus that middle one just looked so cool I wouldn't resist. I went with the fluff of Dark Kyron still keeping them cognisant, fast and vicious, to excuse them from having a wavered nerve score and not having Shambling, even though they're Zombies.

Sp: 9, Me: 3+, De: 5+, Att: 9, Ne: 12/14, Pts: 160. Crushing Strength (1),  Lifeleech (1), Nimble.

As they're fast and nimble, I use them as flankers. The Vampire Lord himself, with his similar Speed stat, usually runs with them; providing his Inspiring and helping them to chew through softer opponents. In my first few games I was too hesitant to commit them, and they didn't do much. In my middle few games, I committed them too soon to front chargers, and they were wasted. They really need to be held back out of the way taking advantage of their superior Speed, or pushed up past the opponent's line At The Double to make flank and rear charges where their Speed and Nimble help them with positioning, and their Crushing Strength really shining with the multiplied attacks from the flank or rear charge bonus.


2 comments:

  1. Hey, a very nice blog you have here! The story driven and game focused content is really fun to read. Keep it up mate! And best of luck to the following games.

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