Greylord Outriders

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

Some Greylord neophytes with the proper aptitude are chosen to serve as outriders and act as messengers and scouts for the order. When called to action, these young mounted Greylords race across the battlefield to unleash devastating spells on Khador’s foes. They wield the icy winds of the north to protect the Motherland’s forces and cripple any who oppose her. Wherever they ride, winter follows.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:Cavalry
• Template:Cold Immunity
• Template:Pathfinder
• Template:Battle Wizard
• Template:Magic Ability
• Template:Reposition 5
• Template:Snow-Wreathed

Weapons

Rune Axe
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		1				5				10
Template:Magical Damage
Mount
File:Mount icon.jpg		RNG						POW
		0.5						10

Spells

{{Category: Template:FrostbiteTemplate:Winter's Wind }}[[Category: Template:FrostbiteTemplate:Winter's Wind ]]

Theme Forces

• Khador
  • Template:Warriors of the Old Faith. This unit gain Line Breaker in this theme.
  • Template:Wolves of Winter - This unit can potentially gain Apparition in this theme.

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use this unit in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Malakov2 is leading the army.
  • Protectorate players can use this unit in the Template:Warriors of the Old Faith theme. This unit gain Line Breaker in this theme.

Thoughts on Greylord Outriders

Greylord Outriders in a nutshell

Outriders are your fast, spell-slinging light cavalries. With near-unparalleled mobility in the faction they can provide crucial magic support for the rest of your army, and flank the unwary enemy. Reaching the enemy will never be a problem for your "spray ponies". Unfortunately, they have two major drawbacks: they are fragile (for their cost), and they're not great at hitting. Patching one or both of those weaknesses will help you get the most out of the unit.

Outriders have some awkwardly mediocre stats. Magic Attack 6 is pretty low, especially since at POW 12 their preferred targets will be light infantry (usually with DEF 13+). The good news is, since Frostbite uses spray to attack, it can ignore a whole lot of defensive measures (Stealth, Concealment, Cover, Target in Melee, and intervening models) and will likely have a chance to hit multiple models. Spells and abilities that either buff the MA or POW of the Outriders or debuff the DEF/ARM of their targets will dramatically improve their output.

Winters's Wind is your less often used trick. Since you have few models with Cold Immunity who can keep up with you, this spell will mostly target your unit members. It is mainly used to prevent the enemy from "jamming" you (running into melee to pin you down) and/or cause order-of-activation issues to the enemy - especially for ranged units.

Since they permanently gain concealment, they can stride through the battlefield with less care to the terrain patches, compared to other factions' light cavalries. Make no mistake though; they are still as fragile as other light cav. Boosted blast damages can hurt, while boosted POW10 attacks will likely bring them down. They cost as much as heavy cavalry, so they are everything but cannon fodder. For this reason, they also take defensive buffs well.

They're not a melee unit, but it's still worth looking for opportunities to charge. As cavalry models, they get boosted charge attack rolls, so even their pitiful MAT 5 can still hit dodgy targets, and boosted POW 10 will kill single-wound infantry. Then with Battle Wizard, they can cast another spell: either a Frostbite further into enemy lines, or a Winter's Wind to discourage pursuers as you use Repo 5" to position them where you want.

Combos & Synergies

Considering their mobility, plus the lack of arc nodes in the faction, Outriders will quite often need to work on their own. Still, a little help can really make the difference:

• The Wolves of Winter theme gives Apparition to two of your units. If you don't want to put it on your Doom Reavers, Outriders can get an insane threat distance right from the first turn.
• Zerkova2 - If you want eZerkova, you want a group of Outriders for sure. Swift, mobile arc nodes? Got you covered. Boosted Spray attacks? Occult Whispers is the key. Cutting a swathe through the ranks of light/medium infantries? Use her feat to get 2 sprays in a turn, combined with Reposition.
• Vladimir1 - Because they're so fast, it can be difficult keeping the unit within range of Signs and Portents. But if you do, they will get a lot more work done.
• Vladimir2 - They are an excellent Hand of Fate target, since you can put it on them before they run up the field and just upkeep it all game. They're also good targets for his feat, which lets them even get work done in melee.
• Vladimir3 - Beside his feat and Hand of Fate, Dash is worth consideration too. With it, you can cast Frostbite up to 18" away, or simply gallop 10" forward, cast Winter's Wind upon you, then Reposition into the back of the enemy, with no free strikes to worry about.
• Sorscha1 - Either her feat or Freezing Grip will help set up a high-DEF unit for some devastating sprays.
• Old Witch 2 - Scourge can knock down light targets to be hit by the sprays, or Curse of Shadows can prep harder targets to be hurt by them.
• Irusk1/Irusk2 - You cannot Battle Lust Doomreavers, but you can Battle Lust Outriders, which makes Battle Wizard much more likely to go off. For Irusk1 they are also a good Iron Flesh target, bringing them up to ARM 17 and ARM 21 against blasts.
• Malakov2 - The have an easy time getting around for Backstabs, even more so with Parry from the feat. Just remember Throat Cutter is RNG 5", so he needs to get close to them before they go in.
• Koldun Lord - If you stay in his Leadership bubble, which is easier said that done, they gain Prowl, which Snow Wreathed turns into Stealth. He can also set them up to damage harder targets with Brittle Frost.
• Hermit - If he can catch up with them, Telemetry or Master of Ruin give them +2 to attack rolls with the spray, or +2 to damage rolls with everything. Outriders love buffs!

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Vulnerable to anti-magic tricks
• Expensive, costs ALMOST as much as the Uhlans, with way less resilience and close-combat potential.
• Winter's Wind can be negated by Sprint or Reposition, and won't trigger on out-of-activation movements, like Admonition or Countercharge.

Tricks & Tips

• They have magic axes. Don't forget that when incorporeal models try to pass your lines.
• You can target your own unit members with Frostbite, if you can't target the enemy, and don't have to worry about the damage.
• It's cheaper to take a min unit not a max unit.

Other

Trivia

Released in the Warmachine: Vengeance expansion (2014)