Theme - Ravens of War: Difference between revisions
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This mk3 Theme Force is somewhat similar to the mk4 Legacy Army. If you're planning on starting a mk4 Ravens of War army you may get some use out of this article, espcially the In a Nutshell, the Theme Weaknesses, and maybe even the List-Building Tips sections. |
When speed is of the essence and the servants of the dragon must strike with stealth, they rely upon the Ravens of War. A force of swift-moving striders and grotesques, these inhuman warriors can traverse any obstacle to deliver sudden death no matter where the enemy may hide. Able to respond quickly to unexpected dangers or to pursue a fleeing enemy, these highly mobile forces can be relied upon to move with such speed that the battle is decided before their prey realizes they are under attack.
Theme Rules
- For the core rules on how Theme Forces work, see this article.
Theme Restrictions
An army made use the Ravens of War theme force can include only the following Legion models:
- Legion warlocks
- Non-character warbeasts
- Golab
- Template:Grotesque models/units
- Template:Raptor models/units
- Template:Strider models/units
- Blighted Rotwing units
- Hellmouth units
- Blight Archon solos
- Blighted Nyss Sorceress & Hellion solos
- Forsaken solos
- Spell Martyr solos
- Template:Succubus solos
- This army can also include one Minion solo and one Minion unit that will work for Legion.
- These models/units can be included even if they have the Partisan [Legion] rule.
- Minion units can have non-Ranking Officer attachments
Full model list
Requisition Points
You can spend each Requisition Point on either:
- Two Harrier lesser warbeasts
- One Legion CA
- One Blighted Nyss Sorceress & Hellion solo
- One small- or medium-based Legion solo with a points cost of 5 or less
Theme Bonuses
- Lesser warbeasts in this army gain Mark Target.
- You can reroll your starting roll for the game. Your starting game roll can only be rerolled once as a result of this special rule.
Thoughts on Ravens of War
Ravens of War in a nutshell
Ravens of War used to be Legion's "Flying Circus" theme but was changed post-Oblivion to a mixed-arms theme, which wants you to bring a mix of warbeasts and mobile, mostly ranged infantry. The reroll benefit is nice to have but no way game winning on its own. In comparison, the Mark Target benefit for lesser warbeasts and the possibility to bring two harriers as a requisition option favours ranged builds and can help make your army more accurate. However it’s not equally beneficial for the whole army:
1) Strider Scouts and Raptors already have very good RAT stats and don't really have to worry that much about high-DEF targets. Strider Deathstalkers are already pretty reliable on their own and need little support. Bringing them up to RAT 10 with a well-positioned lesser lets them go after those nasty high-DEF solos easily but it’s not essential.
2) Lesser Warbeasts are typically not much to write home about and this theme lacks the 2 support models most associated with them: The Beast Mistress & Spawning Vessel.
3.) On the other hand, most of your ranged beast have powerful weapons but dogged with a meagre RAT 5. A well placed Lesser ensures that you don't have to sacrifice your movement to aim, gaining crucial distance on your guns while maintaining accuracy. If you can combine aiming with the Lessers' bonus, your guns will provide threat even on the most elusive targets.
It's also the only theme that lets you bring grotesques. While not awful units, they can be hard to include in many lists. They have a small niche that not all casters need filled, and are hard to deliver in one piece. The loss of the ambush benefit reduces their usefulness even more. The Grotesque Assassin however is always a decent addition to a list regardless of whether you have the main units, so his inclusion is nice to see. Access to Hellmouths is always a nice thing, though.
The list of allowed solos offers you a decent selection. The Blighted Nyss Sorceress can be brought for free. Forsaken help with your fury management and make up for the lack of shepherds. Annyssa Ryvaal can support Raptors. The inclusion of succubus solos doesn't only allow the warlock attachment for some help with your upkeeps but it also lets you bring Craelix who is a powerhouse on his own even without Archers to sac-pawn.
The Blight Archon really loves the theme benefit when using assault and can be included in a cheaper way thanks to the harrier Req option. They further add to the accuracy or striders and raptors while adding to the flying circus aesthetic.
Theme weaknesses
- While Striders offer high mobility and evasiveness, and Grotesques have access to Flight, in general these infantry units lack the options and hitting power that Blighted Ogrun bring in Primal Terrors or Blighted Nyss bring in Children of the Dragon.
- Hellmouths are an incredibly strong scenario piece, but can also be taken in Primal Terrors, where they can be free.
- The only character warbeast allowed in the list without a specific Bond is Golab, which means that you are saying goodbye to powerhouses like Azrael, Zuriel, Proteus, and Typhon.
- The list lacks strong armor-cracking options, and multiple units and solos rely on Poison to be effective, meaning that the theme can struggle into Warmachine factions or construct warbeasts, and Archons in general who are not living models.
- The Blight Archon brings Veteran Leader [Blighted] to the faction, but unfortunately this doesn't benefit Striders, Grotesques, or Hellmouths. Other themes gain significantly more from this buff.
List building Tips
- Hellmouths are one of the best units in the faction, able to score circular zones and contest other scoring elements. They are hard to remove, made even harder with Fyanna2's Iron Flesh or the Blight Archon's Dragon's Blood. Depending on the list, you'll likely bring one or two. But you are heavily encouraged to bring two.
- Strider Deathstalkers are excellent at hunting rival solos, and at DEF 15 with Stealth they can be difficult for some lists to remove. A unit of Strider Scouts benefits from the Deathstalker's Leadership ability, granting them Swift Hunter to scoot back to safety after shooting.
- The Blighted Nyss Sorceress & Hellion can be taken as a free requisition option, and brings numerous benefits to Ravens of War. Aerial Coordination allows flying beasts to charge for free, which helps improve the Fury-efficiency of pieces like the Neraph and Golab. Blight Storm ensures that your Raptors and Strider Scouts can clear opposing infantry even if they don't have the ability to crack armor. And finally, Wind Ravager can sometimes be crucial in shutting down key firing lanes for enemy guns, useful whether you're running a gunline of your own or trying to set up a strong alpha with fragile beasts like the Neraph.
- Blighted Nyss Raptors offer unparalleled mobility and threat range, able to move 9" and shoot 12" before repositioning back 5". If you take advantage of the Mark Target theme benefit as well as Veteran Leader from either Annyssa Ryvaal or the Blight Archon, they can shoot with effective RAT 10.
- Blighted Rotwings move quickly and can jam enemy lines while you maneuver the rest of your list into position. They can gain Veteran Leader from Golab or a Blight Archon, which combined with Sitting Vulture can easily bring them up to Mat 7. Sitting Vulture is also useful for setting up a reliable strike from your melee beasts, especially useful for the Angelius' armor-piercing special attack.
- Grotesque Raiders match the Rotwings in terms of maneuverability, with SPD 7 and Flight. Gang brings them up to Mat 7 and P+S 12, meaning any additional buff can help them do good work. The Grotesque Assassin pairs well with them, granting the unit Stealth within his CMD 8 bubble, and offering a source of Grievous Wounds where needed.
- There are a large number of Stealth options in Ravens of War: Strider Deathstalkers, Strider Scouts, Strider Blightblades, Grotesque Assassins, Grotesque Raiders when paired with the Grotesque Assassin, and Raeks.
- There are also numerous solutions to Tough and healing: Grievous Wounds on the Grotesque Assassin, Critical Grievous Wounds on the Strider Blightblades, and Entropic Aura on Golab.
Starting a 25 point Brawl list
In 2021.01 Phillip Melvin, one of the LOS authors, put together this list for the Brawlmachine format. He even wrote about it's playstyle and expanding it beyond 25 points, which you can read here.
- Rhyas1: [+30 WBP]
- Golab: [17 pts]
- Zuriel: [17 pts]
- Mekanoshredder: [4 pts]
- Craelix, Fang of Everblight: [Free] Template:Grey
- Grotesque Assassin: [4 pts]
- Strider Deathstalker: [4 pts]
- Feralgeist: [2 pts]
- Blighted Rotwings (Min unit): [7 pts]
Total RRP: USD $212 (based on PP's online store prices 2021.05)
Warlock thoughts
All said, there are a few warlocks who can successfully utilize Ravens of War.
- Fyanna, Torment of Everblight works very well in Ravens of War. Striders are already high defense, and so benefit immensely from her feat, bringing them up to DEF 18 with Dodge, plus they are fast and have Advance Deployment so they can take a favourable shooting position and use the feat to stay there. Fyanna loves the high defense and maneuverability of the flying beasts (especially Golab, Neraphs, and the Angelius), and being able to take a Blighted Nyss Sorceress & Hellion as a requisition option complements this list-building approach thanks to Aerial Coordination.
- Fury helps Neraphs crack armour, and can make Golab or an Angelius terrifying. It can also bring some hitting power to a cheap skirmish unit like Strider Blightblades or Grotesque Raiders, but the real threat are Blighted Rottwings who hit at P+S 12 with Finisher under Fury.
- Iron Flesh is excellent in this theme as well. It can be used to make a Hellmouth even harder to remove, add some staying power to expensive Raptors, or protect a stealth unit like Striders or Grotesque Raiders under the leadership of a Grotesque Assassin from stray blast damage.
- Bethayne, Voice of Everblight isn't a bad choice for this theme as well. Blood Thorn can pair with the Mark Target theme benefit to create highly lethal ranged output. Disintegrate helps Ravens of War break armour, something it can struggle with innately. Deceleration will help you survive a showdown between two ranged armies, increasing the resiliency of Hellmouths, Raptors, and squishy beasts.
- Bethayne, Pride of Everblight - She absolutely loves free Harriers as mobile Arc Nodes and Mark Target also helps her hit her debuff breath attack more reliably. Dissolve on any of the units, but especially Raptors who can use it at range or in melee (even their impact attacks benefit from it) makes them real threats, while Transmutation on Rottwings or Golab makes them real threats in melee whle also pushing their DEF values very far.
- Lylyth, Reckoning of Everblight works well in this theme, as the Mark Target theme benefit helps her stationary high-defense targets on her feat turn, and generally supports a gunline-oriented playstyle. Some screening infantry in the form of Strider Scouts may be appreciated.
- Raptors can tag models with Stationary and then reposition to 17" away during Lylyth's feat turn.
- Lylyth, Herald of Everblight can definitely run Ravens of War, as parasite turns her list up to 11. Similar to Fyanna and Fury, Parasite will allow Angelius to sustain their damage after the Armor Pierce, and lets Raiders hit outside their weight class.
- Kallus, Wrath of Everblight gets a special mention for those who wish to make his feat very, very annoying. Grotesques and Rotwings are cheap at 11/9 points for 10 models respectively, fast, and can get to annoying places with SPD 7 and Flight. Don't underestimate the power of an Incubus jammed deep in the back lines.
- Rhyas, Sigil of Everblight likes fast lists with a mix of infantry and beasts, though she may struggle with armor when running this theme.
- She can bring Zuriel without breaking theme, who may help secure attrition wins since you're likely to be bringing a Grotesque Assassin who can tag his targets with Grievous Wounds.
Other
Trivia
Released in the Themopocalypse (2017.09)
Other Legion models