Morvahna the Dawnshadow

Template:Circlebox This model is playable only in an Unlimited format.

Morvahna the Dawnshadow draws her power from nature’s balance of life and death, using this cycle to manipulate the strands of fate. Her primal abilities are amplified through the blood of sacrifice, whether of her own life force or that of her allies. As she enters battle astride her skirovik mountain goat the power of life is hers to command, and those who follow her entrust their lives to her discretion. The ebb and flow of the natural order rests within Morvahna’s fingertips, and those rhythms guide her toward her destiny.

Basic Info

• This model is a Warlock.

Warlock Rules A warlock is an Independent Model. a Leader model. a Battlegroup Controller controls warbeasts. Warlocks use Fury Manipulation Uses ARC to determine how many fury points it gains each turn. Begins the game with a number of fury points equal to its ARC. Cannot exceed its ARC stat in fury points as a result of leeching. Can spend fury points only during its activation (unless a special rule states otherwise) for the following: Buy additional attacks Boost attack rolls Boost damage rolls Shake some effects Can leach fury points from warbeasts in its battlegroup in its control range. Spirit Bond allows the warlock to gain a fury for each of its dead battlegroup warbeasts. Reaving allows the warlock to pull fury points from a warbeast in its battlegroup when it dies.

Feat: Blood Sacrifice

Morvahna immediately suffers 1 or more damage points. This damage cannot be transferred. For each damage point suffered, return to play one destroyed non-character living friendly Faction trooper model completely within her Template:Control range. Place returned models in formation with their original units. Units cannot exceed the number of models they had at the start of the game as a result of Blood Sacrifice. Returned models cannot attack the turn in which they returned to play. Template:Tipbox

Abilities

• Template:Cavalry
• Template:Pathfinder
• Template:Imperishable Conviction
• Template:Reposition 5
• Template:Scales of Fate

Weapons

Equinox
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		2				7				12
Template:Magical Weapon Template:Life Trader
Mount
File:Mount icon.jpg		RNG						POW
		0,5						12
Template:Ram

Spells

{{Category: Template:CarnivoreTemplate:CensureTemplate:Death KnellTemplate:Fog of WarTemplate:Sunder Spirit }}[[Category: Template:CarnivoreTemplate:CensureTemplate:Death KnellTemplate:Fog of WarTemplate:Sunder Spirit ]]

Theme Forces

• Template:Secret Masters. In this theme she gains Sacrificial Pawn [Minion Warrior].
• Template:The Bones of Orboros. She can start the game with friendly upkeeps in play in this theme.
• Template:The Devourer's Host
• Template:The Wild Hunt

Thoughts on Morvahna2

Morvahna2 in a nutshell

Morvahna is a masochistic infantry support warlock, able to make everyone in her control area hit harder and more accurately with rerolls. She has some good spells and a feat that can exasperate enemies after all the effort they made in trying to wipe your models out. She didn't fundamentally change after the CID, but was tuned up in several ways to make her a much more competitive warlock.

Maximising her feat & spells

Her feat requires big units and you to keep a couple of models alive in those units. Since models are brought back with full health, she obviously favors medium-base units such as Tharn Ravagers or Warpborn Skinwalkers as feat targets.

• Carnivore is cheap enough to spell cycle, and keeps her alive and able to enable more rerolls, as well as a bigger feat. Being a nice accuracy buff and offering RFP is just icing on the cake.
• Censure punishes the enemy for using upkeeps, slowly sandpapering warcasters/warlocks if they choose to take damage. It's especially useful against junior warcasters/warlocks with upkeeps out, as they have far fewer boxes to burn through.
• Death Knell is a pricey AOE nuke. You won't cast it most of the time, mostly using it to punish sloppy enemy positioning. One trick is to use your own models to increase the damage Death Knell does under its AOE, and either using your feat to place your own models or bringing them back once you've killed them.
• Fog of War provides a nice defensive buff against shooting for Morvahna and her army. It also triggers Prowl, which is key for certain models like the Warpwolf Stalker and Wolf Lord Morraig.
• Sunder Spirit is a nice single target nuke spell. Use it on annoying models or warbeasts with vital support animi like Rush, such as the Titan Gladiator. With rerolls and boosts it's possible to kill unaware enemy warcasters and warlocks with no camp, or weaken them as part of an assassination run.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• She has a nasty habit of half killing herself and making your opponent's assassination run easy.
• You need to prevent units being entirely wiped.
• No damage buffs other than rerolls and hoping for a dice spike.
• Removed from Play effects cancel her feat.

Tricks & Tips

• She has surprisingly good melee potential thanks to Ram and Life Trader. Combined with rerolls from Scales, it's not uncommon for her to cripple heavies or finish off already wounded ones.
  • Remember though that Ram does not work on impact attacks, so when you charge you have to make impact attack(s) first, then your initial Equinox melee attack and after that you can buy an additional mount attack if you still need the knockdown.
• Be sparing with Scales of Fate. You'll kill Morvahna otherwise.
• Under new wording Scales does more for her beasts than her infantry, as the attacks are bigger.

List Building Advice

Strategy

Morvahna is a fairly hardcore attrition warlock, handing out rerolls to make her models attack better, and bringing back models from the dead. Although she primarily improves the offensive capability of her army, she can also do a fair amount of damage on her own. You need to play a fine line between keeping models in her control while keeping her safe; with the ability to bring back and support her army via damaging herself, lots of opponents will just try to assassinate her.

Theme Thoughts

She's obviously strong in the Tharn theme if it works well - good models to bring back with her feat. She also works well with Blackclads as they can act if brought back even if they can't attack by the current feat wording.

• Tharn Bloodweavers - They can't attack when they return to play but can be placed nicely to trigger Gang for the rest.
• Tharn Blood Pack After the Tharn CID also do really well with her Fog of War, as Hunter lets them ignore the concealment bonus the enemy might have.
• Tharn Wolf Rider Champion - Prowl + Fog of War. Also helps regular Tharn Wolf Riders.
• Tharn Ravagers - Besides being nice beefy targets to return with her feat, they have good native hitting power and greatly benefit from concealment via Fog of War. Scales of Fate means an Overtake chain is less likely to fail from a bad attack or damage roll.
• Ghetorix - A powerful and durable self-sufficient warbeast. Spiny Growth can also keep Morvhana safe(r) from accurate low-POW shooting.
• Loki - A durable Shield Guard whose offensive potential gets much better with Scales of Fate, especially on his chain. His animi, Elusive, can also help keep her alive (although not getting hit in the first place is better).

• Warpborn Skinwalkers - The toughest things you can bring back with your feat. You can also place them in a more advantageous position to mini-feat.
• Reeves of Orboros - The Hunter/Fog of War combination is awesome. Rerolls means your bigger CRAs are less likely to flounder.

• Druids of Orboros - They might not be able to attack the turn they return to play but they can still cloud wall

• Shifting Stones - Any kind of extra healing is appreciated with Morvahna. Combined with Reposition 5", her native SPD, and potentially Sprint, the Stones can give her even more mobility.
• Gatorman Bokur & Bog Trog Swamp Shamblers - Although you don't have limitless recursion like Morvhana1, the amount you do have will still probably end up giving the Bokur plenty of corpses. Fog of War ups their defense against shooting, although they'll still be picked off by average RAT shooting models.
• Well of Orboros - Morvahna really appreciates the extra 2" of CTRL, and the well likes rerolls on the sole shot it gets a turn, and it ignores Fog of War's concealment due to Eyeless Sight.

Battlegroup

File:Brennos the Elderhorn.jpg

Brennos is her pet warbeast that she can take in any theme.

Although Morvhana is primarily an infantry warlock, she supports warbeasts fairly well via Scales of Fate, Fog of War, and Carnivore. Just because most of her army will be infantry doesn't mean you should ignore her battlegroup.

• Feral Warpwolf or Gorax Rager - She needs a damage buff from somewhere.
• Brennos the Elderhorn - Has a bond with her so she can take him in any themes and is a generally good toolbox. Channeling and keeping her safe from enemy channeled spells is also a nice benefit.
• Gnarlhorn Satyr - A cheap defensive heavy warbeast whose animi can help keep Morvahna alive.
• Storm Raptor - The Raptor's gun becomes much better with rerolls, allowing you to focus on boosting damage rolls instead of the initial shot. Scales also works to bring up its relatively mediocre damage potential, and Carnivore helps when you go into living enemy warbeasts.
• Warpwolf Stalker - Fog of War essentially gives the Stalker Stealth on demand. As a powerful offensive warbeast, Scales of Fate allows you to really maximize its damage potential. Sprint on Morvahna also allows you to use her more offensively and give her greater mobility. Carnivore is a great buff for when you want to go into high-DEF living infantry. Finally if you risk berserk hitting your allies scales of fate can help you miss and prevent murdering the wrong guy.

Other

Trivia

• Released in Hordes: Gargantuans (2013)
• Nicknamed "goatvahna".

Video Battle Reports

• 2018.09 Deathclock Dave 75 points vs Ossyan
• Template:VBR