View source for Azrael

{{Legbox|{{Legion}} {{Nephilim}} {{Character}} {{Heavy Warbeast}} }} [[Category: Model]]
{{4P|Ravens of War}}

''A marriage of blighted blood and Nyss flesh, Azrael is the personal warbeast of Kryssa, Conviction of Everblight and manifests the greatest qualities of the nephilim. He possesses a cunning intellect and wields more power than most of his kin. A muscular, serpentine body and full, leathery wings propel Azrael through the sky, and his ash and flame scour the battlefield of all who would oppose the Legion of Everblight.''

=Basic Info=
{{Infobox-Model
| name    = {{PAGENAME}}
| image   = Azrael.jpg
| base    = Large
| spd     = 6
| str     = 12
| mat     = 7
| rat     = 6
| def     = 12
| arm     = 18
| cmd     = 5
| fury    = 4
| thrs    = 9
| hp      = 32
| cost    = 17
| fa      = C
}}

{{Warbeast}}

===Abilities=== 
* {{Eyeless Sight}}
* {{Flight}}
* {{Immunity Fire}}
* {{Bond|Kryssa|it gains Ashen Veil}} (''{{Ashen Veil-alt}}'')
* {{It Burns!}}
* {{Serpentine}}

===Weapons === 
{|class="wikitable"
{{ranged|Thrown Spear|10|17|
* {{Continuous Fire}}
* {{Thrown}}
* {{Reload_1|be forced}}
* {{Critical Smite}} }}
{{melee|Spear|2|5|17|
* {{Continuous Fire}} }}
|}

===Animus===
{{Spellbox|
{{Vortex of Fire}}
}}

===Theme Forces===
* ''When taken by '''[[Kryssa]]'''
** {{Children of the Dragon}}. {{PAGENAME}} gains [[Unyielding]] in this theme.
** {{Oracles of Annihilation}}
** {{Primal Terrors}}
** {{Ravens of War}}

* ''When taken by '''anyone else'''
** {{Children of the Dragon}}. {{PAGENAME}} gains [[Unyielding]] in this theme.


=Thoughts on {{PAGENAME}}= 
==={{PAGENAME}} in a nutshell=== 
Azrael is an expensive beast that packs a reasonable stat line and decent abilities along with one of the highest POW guns in the game - only Colossals can hit harder at range than this beast. While the POW of the gun is mitigated somewhat by its lower range, Azrael himself has okay RAT and with SPD6 and Flight, he can probably make it in range what he wants to hit, and he has a solid chance of hitting it when he does. As usual with Legion beasts, his Eyeless Sight goes a long way to making his ranged attacks even better. Critical Smite is nice to have, but don't bank on this effect.

Not only is the POW of his spear really impressive, it also has the very valuable '''Thrown''' rule which is what really makes his package complete.He can be taken with a much larger variety of warlocks, as many of them pack STR buffs rather than general damage buffs or ARM debuffs. Finally, while his spears have Continuous Fire, they do ''not'' have fire type damage, something that is incredibly valuable when building a Legion gunline and raises his stock against factions like the Protectorate of Menoth or other lists that have easy access to fire immunity.

His animus is quite unique, though very situational. He can keep enemies within 5" of him or 8 - 12" of his warlock burning all day long. Not terribly useful against enemy jacks and beasts, but may have a place against enemies with a handful of lower ARM infantry, or a low ARM caster that you just barely failed to assassinate but did manage to light ablaze.

===Combos & Synergies===
Azrael can be a very solid gun with many casters due to it's best in class POW, Reload, and ability to be buffed by STR spells/upkeeps.

* [[Kryssa, Conviction of Everblight|Kryssa]] isn't most everyone's first warlock choice, but she does offer Azrael a lot, which is good considering he's her personal beast.
** Her feat is a STR buff which works well with his gun.
** Tactical Supremacy gives him some much needed hit and run capability to offset his shorter range.
** Ashen Veil from their bond gives her essentially two copies of the spell out, keeping him safer at range and against living melee threats, and letting her cast Cloak of Ash elsewhere in her army.

* [[Thagrosh1]] can buff his STR with Draconic Blessing
** His feat can bring Azrael back and allow him to still shot something. Remember that you can't reload to make another shot, as feat prohibits forcing.
** Fog of War gives concealment to all models in Thags CTRL range. Azrael can benefit from it while completely ignoring FoW bonus on enemy models thanks to Eyeless Sight.

===Children of the Dragon Combos===
Any model can take {{PAGENAME}} in this theme, which opens up a few more combos:
* [[Saeryn, Omen of Everblight|Saeryn1]] makes Azrael an impressive zone-denier during her feat.  Even though sitting at 21 Arm with a nasty P+S 17 Retaliatory Strike, the enemy will have no choice but to engage him or face numerous warlock-threatening shots during his next turn.
* [[Thagrosh, Prophet of Everblight|Thagrosh1]] keeps Azrael safer in melee and against shooting, and can get his spears to POW19 with Draconic Blessing. He's also pricey which lets you get more value out of the feat.
* [[Fyanna, Torment of Everblight|Fyanna2]] works very well with Azrael, as Serpentine pairs perfectly with her DEF feat, making him hard to hit and impossible to knock down. The Dodge aspect (and/or Admonition) can allow him to disengage from melee for more shooting if so desired (though at that point you may be better off meleeing your enemy).
** Unfortunately, Fury is only a buff to melee damage rolls, so it doesn't buff his ranged attacks. If he has to commit to melee he is certainly a decent target for the spell.
* [[Lylyth, Herald of Everblight|Lylyth1]] offers him the option of effective POW20 (Parasite -3ARM), and saves him FURY on boosts with her feat or lets him hit very evasive targets if he also boosts during the feat. Four dice to hit (feat + boost) is actually decent odds at landing Critical Smite as well.
* [[Lylyth, Shadow of Everblight|Lylyth2]] gives Azrael a much welcomed accuracy and damage boost with Pin Cushion, and lets him fire three times on the feat (with Gunfighter to boot, if he's been jammed up).
* [[Kallus, Devastation of Everblight|Kallus2]] loves Azrael's automatic continuous fire and Reload[1] to ensure a few targets are burning for his feat.
** Overrun lets him move up and shoot something twice from 16" away, and move back if he or another battlegroup friend kills something else (depending on who the spell is cast on). This gives him impressive hit and run capabilities.
* [[Absylonia, Daughter of Everblight|Abyslonia2]] can't buff his RAT, but her feat is a STR buff if you want to have a decent ranged presence in your list. Despite one initial melee, he's not a complete waste in close combat if you need it on feat turn as well.
* [[Absylonia, Terror of Everblight|Absylonia1's]]  - Azrael is often dogged by his short range on his otherwise formidable gun. Not with Refuge, any more. If you don't have to worry about retaliation, try to exploit the possibilities with Playing God's +2 STR and an effective 17" threat range. You can even replicate its bond with Kryssa for "free". Azrael is the cornerstone of the Children of the Dragon theme, consider bringing a Sorceress for Fury management.

===Drawbacks & Downsides=== 
* High points cost
* Only one initial melee attack.
* Serpentine is a boon and a bane, as it prevents him from slamming.
* Fury hungry. If you're firing twice you'll max out his stack if you try to boost everything.

===Tricks & Tips===
* If you get Critical Smite by chance on your first shot, you can choose to let it not trigger. This way you don't slam your target out of shooting range by accident.


=Other=
===Trivia=== 
* Released 2017.02
* "Azriel" is the name of an angel in Jewish and Muslim tradition who separated the soul from the body upon death. He is sometimes referred to as the Angel of Death.

===Other Legion models===
{{Index Legion}}

===Rules Clarifications===
{{RC Thrown}}
{{RC Fire}}
{{RC Reload}}
{{RC Smite}}

{{RC Warbeast}}
{{RC Eyeless Sight}}
{{RC Flight}}
{{RC Serpentine}}
{{RC It Burns!}}
{{RC Bond}}
{{RC Ashen Veil}}

{{RC Vortex of Fire}}