Happy Friday. So, this one is easy. Everybody* loves their heroes. With or without context, what are your favorite or most useful hero builds? Bonus points could be made to exist and awarded to anyone with a really unique take on a hero. Theorycrafting the new announcements is also fair game.

My favorites (not necessarily best or my own):

Ravos/Fear Incarnate/Viscera Goblet -

Hawthorne/Might of Daqan/Shield of Margath - this is the Goliath I have to conquer since my Uthuk can only generate mortals strikes reliably through one hero.

Aliana/Reaping Blade/Ambush Predator - I face this and it seems to be a superb build

*I’m sure there is somebody who doesn’t run heroes and swears by it. In that case, what Artifact would/do you put on Fallen Hero, Artifact Bearer, or death knights?**

**I’m sure there is somebody who doesn’t run heroes and plays only Latari. Please explain how you win because Jukey and I would love to hear that.

Latari with no heroes?

Totally doable, if less fun. Aliana allows you to snipe out archers/armor units/heroes. You need to field some leonx or a 6 block of archers so you can deal with that. You will never be as effiencent against armor without her, but you can get by.

I feel like I can make up for what Meagan does with more units. Not as well, but I don't feel the lack as much as when I don't have Alaina.

As an example, I feel the following list performs well. You have a high threat archers that can stun. Three leonx so at least one can flank. Lower threats, but Moi helps keep the damage up. Rally Starling to make sure the Moi are consistently available is nice.

Theres some good flex here too, Normally drop one scion to add a champion of choice to the archers and vicious roots for the remaining scion.

Coming in with the "most boring and predictable" category, it's Kari with Fortuna's. Add wraith step if you have a point to kill. We all know it, it performs well, makes problems go away, and doesn't break the bank.

Ankaur Maro [40] 1x1
Heartseeker [10]
Violent Forces [6]
Total Unit Cost: 56

I just love this maro build that allows me to keep him save, regen some trays and shoot at the thing my skeletons are fighting

I always play Ankaur Maro with Violent Forces and Fortuna's Dice. The last few games I haven't lost him, and he's put in some good work. He is expensive, but rarely do I need the extra 6 points that Fortuna's Dice takes up. It's really fun in round 8 to add 2-4 trays to an injured Waiqar infantry unit (unstable runes permitting), to put some points back on the table.

I’ve come to appreciate Maegan with Malcorne’s Bequest, in an army with multiple Deepwoods Archers with Fire Rune. Maegan doesn’t really have much on her modifier dial that’s essential to her personal attacks, usually, so it’s not a problem for her to unexhaust the artifact as needed by simply rallying. And Deepwoods Archers can do both attack/rune, or if you anticipate enemies being out of range, doing a late-turn shift or move combined with a Fire Rune attack.

Both my Latari build the same now, and as I usually don't run both heroes at once it works.

Alliana, reaping blade, ambush predator.

Meagan reaping blade, martial magic.

Alliana is an obvious candidate for reaping blade because she's already an armor buster with no threat, might as well use precise to fish for blanks. Meagan, although being a sweet ranged battery with Fdice, becomes a really nasty melee hero with reaping blade. Just make sure whatever she hits isn't above threat 2 when it hits her back.

I look forward to trying packleaders spear on Faolan.

How bout Ardus w/Ancient Technique next to a 3x2 PartyWormParty w/Combat Ingenuity and Master Crafted Weapons?

He will reliably do a massive amount of damage. Each hit and each surge =2 damage.

Th'Uk Tar and Gorgemaw with Viscera goblet.

With Protected 1, 3 defense, 5 wounds, and regeneration, I think it could be quite the tank. Add the fact that it could sit at range 1 to plink while another unit does the bulk of the damage, but it can still get another wound token on Viscera Goblet sonce range 1 is where that artifact needs you to be.

4 hours ago, Wraithist said:

How bout Ardus w/Ancient Technique next to a 3x2 PartyWormParty w/Combat Ingenuity and Master Crafted Weapons?

He will reliably do a massive amount of damage. Each hit and each surge =2 damage.

This, but Ardus' Fury.

On 6/29/2018 at 7:23 AM, Church14 said:

**I’m sure there is somebody who doesn’t run heroes and plays only Latari. Please explain how you win because Jukey and I would love to hear that.

Figure upgrades

I've dropped heroes when playing Waiqar. I've mainly played the wormstar, plus 2x 2 trays of archers with combat ingenuity, 6 trays of Reanimates with dispatch runner and a 2 tray unit of death Knights with Obcasium's Guantlet. There's not much point trying to take Maro with the worm star, and while Ardus is great, he's just too slow to do what I need him too.

That said, I had a fun build for a while that was based around Ardus with Fortnua's and Fury, but the point was really to get a six tray unit of Reanimates with Deathcaller and Support carrion lancer. Instant mortal wounds are great fun and Ardus was a good flank protector/damage dealer.

Totally unorthodox, but I played 2 games with Daqan running 2 units of 2 Rune Golems supported by Hawthorne and an uncontrolled Geomancer in a unit of spearmen. The golems ran 1 wide and 2 deep in order to get rerolls and Hawthornes inspiration was used to refresh Tempered Steel. Because they were small enough units, they were unaffected by the geomancers blasting. It was great fun and very successful.

I guess my top hero picks are more about buffing the rest of the army, rather than focusing on the hero in his/her own right.

On 6/29/2018 at 5:48 PM, Tvayumat said:

This, but Ardus' Fury. 

Good point, it's cheaper and more effective with this build. Thanks @Tvayumat

I've been running a KariThorne list -- which has its obvious combo advantage ( the 4x1 Deepwood archers).

However, for the heros themselves I'm running something non standard

Kari - Heartseeker

Hawthorne - Fortunas / Might of Daqan

Things it can do: So Kari w/ Heartseeker is an interesting combo. She can park herself behind terrain right away and start throwing damage on to things. If something enters the terrain she can engage it, and then start chucking knives all over the place as well. It makes her a big annoying threat to 'taunt' units closer, and then you can smack them with your 4x1 archers

Hawthorne with Fortunas was just something I tried recently. He doesn't have Precise, so being able to set that die-face made him really tough. He certainly picks up inspiration often when he's doing his special (since he tends to rally himself), so you generally get at least two uses out of it. So -- try to charge and get a flank with him (he has the armor to survive) and now he's doing a white-red-red with threat 2 and a fortunas on the result. It can be pretty deadly.

Wormstar is the best Waiqar hero.

Violent Maro without Fortuna's can still shoot OK, but you pay for him and then for 2 worm blockers.

Ardus stinks (duh, he's been dead for a while now)

I have begun to really look at Kethra and I’m loving the idea of Kingsbane Kethra with Shield of Margath. Also, give her unnatural growths to herself as well.

2 damage when I charge into you

2 damage when you activate

4 damage when you attack me (conditionally up to 6)

2 damage when you attack me

I want to watch this just massacre an entire archer block or 6 tray infantry. Then, because I run my heroes like they are bulletproof, it will be 47 points pissed away when I run her into a group of Death Knights.