So I’ve gotten in a few games with all four factions over the past few weeks trying out all the new units and upgrades. I got in at least two with each army, I’ll post them all underneath. These are my initial thoughts on how well I think things did and preformed.

(Special note: all the games were “good vs evil” for thematic purposes, so we miss out on the mirror or DvL and WvU matchups)

Outland Scouts: only tried them in a 2x2 with Seasoned Pathfinder. Overall, happy with the points. What I was expecting is to be able to threaten aggressive enemy deployment and action. While it did that, I was not expecting quite so much that a smart enemy can identify what terrain you’re going to be tethered to, or at least what is most risky for them, and then deploy a minimum reserve force in such a way that they can counter and crush your scouts if you try for the “best case flank” of whatever priority target you want for them. This can lead to your scouts dancing around with either their target or it’s defender for quite awhile, so be prepared for it. If your counterpart is a 3x2 of close quarters archers that aren’t shooting, if it’s a single thresher, your wasting your time. Looking to try out a 2x2 w/ Kari next, or maybe just more conservative deployments of the scouts.

Kethra: She’s pretty awesome, as long as you can protect her somewhat. I ran a ranged build, and especially against armor, she did some work. The three health means she can get sniped out pretty quick if you’re not careful (looking at you Aliana) but where I think she really shines is in ranged support to engaged units-she can absolutely devestate high armor/low hp. Also I think it’s important to differentiate Kethra is not vulnerable the way say Ankaur Marzo is. Her earlier actions across the board, including her melee (ranged) attack means she can counter enemy threats that do enter her bubble. Didn’t ever really see an opportunity for her skill action where it was going to overpower her adding a mortal to her target, but it’s definitely a nice option to keep in your pocket. I think I’m happy with her current build, just need to get smarter about not overexposing her.

Wraiths: overall nothing super wowed me, but it was a solid 19pt filler that I had been looking for, and can definitely rack up some damage if you can get a flank, which isn’t too hard. The bigger problem was not getting obliterated to ranged attacks on the approach. Planning on trying out a build that stresses more panic, so hoping that might allow them to shine a bit more.

Darnati: I know they’re good, still trying to figure out what I think the best build is for them. I’m sold on the 3x2, because I think Latari are sorely in need of some sustainable high threat. I like LotL best on the leonx, I think it’s only beneficial on Darnati combined with wind rune, and that’s a lot to invest in trying to make infantry dance. I think right now my problem has been the Latari haven’t really had anything to be able to “tank” so far, beside tree speed bumps, and I’ve been a bit overzealous and ending up with Darnati engaged on 2+ fronts. Going for a more simplistic build next, wind rune and MoI, hoping it can just produce strong raw damage.

Other cards: Next on deck to try is corruption rune, my Daqan Alt Army has 2 3x2 spearman equipped with it, backed by 2x 3x1 crossbowmen and a 2x2 Cav, so I have high hopes. Nothing else in the packs really stood out to me to try out, but I’m sure I’ll experiment at some point. Not really looking at a melee-centric Kethra build, and this dual hero works great for Uthuk.

Excited to hear what everyone else’s experiences have been, now that we’ve had a little time to digest. I’m convinced there’s still some real gold to be uncovered, and certainly some good Uthuk answers, though I think Kethra certainly only helped the Uthuk grow stronger this wave.

What’s been everyone else’s impressions so far?

Daqan(200)

Lord Hawthorne [34] 1x1
Shield of Margath [6]
Might of Daqan [4]
Total Unit Cost: 44

Oathsworn Cavalry [46] 2x3
Forged In Battle [4]
Raven Tabards [2]
Coiled Stance [2]
Total Unit Cost: 54

Kari Wraithstalker [32] 1x1
Wraith Step [1]
Total Unit Cost: 33

Outland Scouts [32] 2x2
Seasoned Pathfinder [4]
Total Unit Cost: 36

Deepwood Archers [30] 2x2
Tempered Steel [3]
Total Unit Cost: 33

Uthuk(199)

Ravos the Everhungry [40] 1x1
Insatiable Hunger [3]
Total Unit Cost: 43

Spined Threshers [28] 2x1
Scuttling Horror [3]
Total Unit Cost: 31

Spined Threshers [18] 1x1
Total Unit Cost: 18

Berserkers [50] 3x3
Frontline Spined Thresher [7]
Warsprinter [3]
Aggressive Shrieker [5]
Total Unit Cost: 65

Kethra Alaak [34] 1x1
Bonecaster [8]
Total Unit Cost: 42

Waiqar(199)

Reanimate Archers [45] 3x2
Tempered Steel [3]
Raven-Standard Bearer [3]
Total Unit Cost: 51

Carrion Lancers [46] 2x2
Total Unit Cost: 46

Reanimates [35] 3x2
Trumpets [2]
Total Unit Cost: 37

Death Knights [42] 2x2
Reaping Blade [4]
Total Unit Cost: 46

Wraiths [17] 2x1
Faces of the Fallen [2]
Total Unit Cost: 19

Latari(200)

Aliana of Summersong [33] 1x1
Reaping Blade [4]
Ambush Predator [3]
Total Unit Cost: 40

Leonx Riders [30] 2x2
Raven Tabards [2]
Lay of the Land [4]
Total Unit Cost: 36

Darnati Warriors [43] 3x2
Blackthorn Assassin [7]
Warsong Herald [3]
Total Unit Cost: 53

Deepwood Archers [42] 3x2
Maegan Cyndewin [10]
Close Quarters Targeting [3]
Total Unit Cost: 55

Aymhelin Scions [14] 1x1
Raven Tabards [2]
Total Unit Cost: 16

I still need to try ranged Kethra. I got to play a game the day I bought her, but nothing since then. I ran her with Kingsbone Armor and Shield of Margath plus she gave herself Unnatural Growths. It was very disgusting, especially since she was accompanied by a 3x2 Berserkers unit that was specializing in Lethal damage (Cacophony Reaver, Serrated Spines, their innate ability). I also had Ravos with his end-of-round eating ability and it all added up to quite a bit of dice-independent direct damage throughout my list. I enjoyed it.

Yeah I think she is really strong, very glass cannon, but a glass cannon who almost always shoots first. She can also be a great anti-ranged, with that init8 2-shift, she can close in to range very late, and undershoot all other archers (including raven reanimate archers) except for Kari that next round. Similarly she can shoot before a large amount of melee attackers can charge, and the fact to Bonecaster is either/or, means that init3 attack is never wasted regardless, just have to make sure you survive the first attack.

Im actually really enjoying the wraiths. I like to run them with Ardus and as 3x1 with Trumpets and Raven Tabards and undying hate.

They're super fast that way and can pull off so many different types of moves with their ability to go through anything and they really keep the enemy guessing which is nice to have.

I also like to put them against things that do not have many dice to roll in melee (so basically any infantry or heroes that lack rerolls) because their ability to make the attack reroll dice has helped me on more occasions than not, although there have been times where I've gambled and made things worse for myself.

Getting flanks with them is also not to difficult, although I think once this wave has been out for a while, people will start to probably wise up to things, although Undying Hate can create some sort of mind games with the opponent and force them to deploy in a way that they may not like, due to avoid wraiths as much as possible (which is already quite difficult).

Getting a flank with 2 Reds and 1 White (with undying hate) against Infantry or a hero with threat 3 is pretty nice, if you don't roll bad!

Maybe I've just been kind of lucky with them because I've managed to pull off the attack 6 and then bonus attack a few times, due to their ability to make the enemy re roll dice and making them do less damage/miss. That is risky however as they're pretty squishy.

With Demoralise their forces also in tournament play at the moment, they're kinda highly recommended!

I also really like the Darnati, you have so many build options with them and their dial is just awesome.

Yeah originally I was going to wait or skip wraiths entirely, but I’m definitely glad I picked up at least one, probably will get another after Vorunthul, when I’m closer to having two stand-alone Waiqar armies.

like I said they haven’t been super wow, yet (maybe because I’m only using a single 2x1) but they’re very mobile, and cheap enough they can be a great extreme flanker, force those though decisions.

Im still trying to figure out which Darnati build I’ll like best, but I think I’m leaning more toward a strong/effiecent build than a cutesy dancing build. IMO you just have to invest too many point to really make that build work. But I’m convinced they’re good, just have to keep experimenting

Played first game with Bonecaster Kethra tonight and it was really underwhelming. She ended up almost doing more damage in her single melee attack with the surge bonus than in her 4 ranged attacks or so. Given that isn’t the general consensus so far, I will need to try it more. NOTE: We are assuming her surges don’t apply to ranged for the time being as it is the weaker interpretation

Her skill is so craphazard. I will give it more tries but it was actually less than useless in this game. Dialing in mortal strikes would have done more

Her army buff buff is about as strong as we thought. Good, but not staggering. Punishing against low armor.

5 hours ago, Church14 said:

Played first game with Bonecaster Kethra tonight and it was really underwhelming. She ended up almost doing more damage in her single melee attack with the surge bonus than in her 4 ranged attacks or so. Given that isn’t the general consensus so far, I will need to try it more. NOTE: We are assuming her surges don’t apply to ranged for the time being as it is the weaker interpretation

Her skill is so craphazard. I will give it more tries but it was actually less than useless in this game. Dialing in mortal strikes would have done more

Her army buff buff is about as strong as we thought. Good, but not staggering. Punishing against low armor.

Have you tried dragon jaw on her as well? I find it helps mitigate those times the white dice doesn't play ball

2 hours ago, Evil Doctor T said:

Have you tried dragon jaw on her as well? I find it helps mitigate those times the white dice doesn't play ball

Dragonjaw didn’t do a single thing, but I believe I didn’t apply it well this game. I need to give that more tries as well.

9 hours ago, Church14 said:

NOTE: We are assuming her surges don’t apply to ranged for the time being as it is the weaker interpretation

Ok yeah I had been playing with the reverse, didn’t even realize people were interpreting it as NOT applying, totally missed that argument. My interpretation of the rules would make me of the opinion it applies, but it not applying makes her MUCH more balanced.

Without that ability her power level would drop substantially. With it she’s awesome at both armor-defeat as well as high damage to infantry, like Kari but to a single unit. In my games she took out 5x 2 armor oathsworn in one attack, 2 trays of unarmored spearmen in one attack, etc(her attack goes off so early virtually no one even has time to armor up if they have the option).

without that surge for the ranged attack I could actually see the choice of not taking her, though I still think she’d probably be worth her points compared to a non-DS 2x2 of rippers (which is my Uthuk alternative ATM)

2 hours ago, jcshep19 said:

Ok yeah I had been playing with the reverse, didn’t even realize people were interpreting it as NOT applying, totally missed that argument. My interpretation of the rules would make me of the opinion it applies, but it not applying makes her MUCH more balanced.

Without that ability her power level would drop substantially. With it she’s awesome at both armor-defeat as well as high damage to infantry, like Kari but to a single unit. In my games she took out 5x 2 armor oathsworn in one attack, 2 trays of unarmored spearmen in one attack, etc(her attack goes off so early virtually no one even has time to armor up if they have the option).

without that surge for the ranged attack I could actually see the choice of not taking her, though I still think she’d probably be worth her points compared to a non-DS 2x2 of rippers (which is my Uthuk alternative ATM)

I think the surges are meant to work at ranged, but our gaming group’s tradition has been to use the weakest interpretation of a card until ruled otherwise. If it is close, favor the defender.

I was actually using using her to attack armor (Martial Maegan) and she wasn’t good at all. Again, since this doesn’t jive with the communities experiences, I’ll try a few times to see what I missed.

I did like being able to dial a melee and not worry if I got charged or not.

All this is an evaluation of Bonecaster Kethra. I think Kingsbone Kethra is going to be the much better version.

4 hours ago, jcshep19 said:

With    it she’s awesome at both armor-defeat as well as hig  h damage to in  fan  tr   y  

But her surge ability is not surge+, so even if it does work with her ranged attack, she still may have trouble with armor. Say she rolls 2 surges and 2 hits. Against infantry that's two trays, but against anything armor 3-4, it's a single wound. That's because each surge is resolved independently before you activate the next one, so you would do 2 damage, then another 2 damage, then 4 (2 hits with Brutal 1). So even with the surge ability, she's not a complete armor-buster. Even still, Brutal 1 and Precise 1 can still make her potent.

2 hours ago, Budgernaut said:

But her surge ability is not surge+, so even if it does work with her ranged attack, she still may have trouble with armor. Say she rolls 2 surges and 2 hits. Against infantry that's two trays, but against anything armor 3-4, it's a single wound. That's because each surge is resolved independently before you activate the next one, so you would do 2 damage, then another 2 damage, then 4 (2 hits with Brutal 1). So even with the surge ability, she's not a complete armor-buster. Even still, Brutal 1 and Precise 1 can still make her potent.

True but I’m accounting for it not being surge+, and in most cases, it doesn’t matter. Maybe I’m too loosely using the term “anti armor”, but in my book 2 wounds per turn very early and highly reliably is anti armor.

Basically my thought process is this: 2 armor and below: dial in the atk and surge, that’s virtually garaunteed 4 damage, spikes to 10, and highly probable 6-8 damage, that’s two trays with most “low armor” units, and very early on so before most units with armor modifiers can apply them. If the enemy is 3+ armor, use the mortal strike, and rolling two hits is not hard with 2W w/reroll, that’s two wounds. Death Knights are the only real hard counter to this.

this is all predicated on the surge working with the ranged attack, as my counter argument to if it only works in melee is you can burn her down quick w/o kingsbane.

@Church7 assuming the surge ability would work at range, is there another reason why you think Kethra is stronger in a kingsbane melee build? Aside from the SoM build? Which I feel like you’re REALLY paying for between KB and SoM

6 minutes ago, jcshep19 said:

@Church7 assuming the surge ability would work at range, is there another reason why you think Kethra is stronger in a kingsbane melee build? Aside from the SoM build? Which I feel like you’re REALLY paying for between KB and SoM

If surges don’t work at range: You can shave 8 points and run a 34 point unit that averages something like 7-8 1/1 infantry dead per attack. Her ranged attack nets 5 dead or so on average. She can also take her own army buff to add to the pain in melee.

Kingsbone by itself adds armor and a lot of little auto damage. To the point where she starts comparing favorably to Threshers (the melee standard nowadays). If she wins the charge, she can reliably deal 5-6 wounds to a thresher unit before it attacks and the thresher take 1 more for attacking. She then kills a 2 tray before it activates the next turn.

Add in SoM and she starts wrecking threshers, Leonx, and all other 2 or less armor targets.

52 minutes ago, jcshep19 said:

Basically  my thought process is this: 2 armor and below: dial in the atk and surge, that’s virtually garaunteed 4 damage, spikes to 10, and highly probable 6-8 damage, that’s two trays with most “low armor” un  its, and very early on so before most units with armor modifiers can apply them. If the enemy is 3+ armor, use the mortal strike, and rolling two hits is not hard with 2W w/reroll, that’s two wounds. Death Knights are the only real hard counter to this.  

I forgot she could dial in a mortal strike.

Finally got some decent mileage with darnati. I like what they do.

While not being a super great aggressive frontline unit, they serve very nicely as a hefty roadblock, freeing up archers to rain **** on the opponent.

They seem best when played defensively, as they get really squirrelly in close proximity. Between avenger allowing auto attacks with dialed in charges, along with twisting gale allowing facing to not matter much, they dish out a lot of damage with good staying power.

They do melt fairly fast, but make the opponent pay for what they take.

I've tried 1x2, 3x2, and 3x3. Each had it's own skill sets and uses. Curious to try 2x2 but not sure how well that one will work for its points.

Overall impressed.

Oh ya, firstblade and raven taberds is hilarious and awesome. I will be revisiting that one.