Grotesque Banshees

Swooping out of the darkness, the terrifying grotesques unleash misery on those who stand against Everblight. Grotesque raiders speed across the battlefield on powerful wings before descending en masse to tear apart their prey. Grotesque banshees let loose piercing cries that liquefy organs and drown out the thoughts of spellcasters, rendering their powers useless. Together these twisted creatures spread the horror of the dragon’s blight across the land.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:Flight
• Template:Gunfighter
• Template:Force Barrier

Weapons

Piercing Screech
File:Gun icon.jpg		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW
		SP6			1			Template:-			12
Template:Brain Damage

Theme Forces

• Template:Ravens of War

Thoughts on Grotesque Banshees

Grotesque Banshees in a nutshell

Banshees are the ranged versions of the Grotesque Raiders. They are fast skirmishing units, with Flight and a good basic SPD, while Force Barrier will help them to survive attentions from the enemy's guns and blasts. They sport an OK spray attack which can threat up to 13" on their own by simply moving and shooting (or 16" with charging and Gunfighter, if the enemy positioned their models carelessly). Among spray-wielding units they sport a respectable RAT6, which along with the Ravens of War's theme benefit on lesser beasts may result in extremely accurate sprays - and sprays also ignore a whole lot of defensive measures.

Banshees are by no means a must-have choice in a Legion army, but can contribute greatly to the aggressive, hit and run playstyle of the faction, tying up initial waves, freeing jammed models with sprays, and generally be just a nuisance, if the enemy lets them roam around freely. Brain Damage can also be crippling against warcasters, warlocks and their lesser kins, as well as utility beasts, or those who have powerful animi to cast around.

Combos & Synergies

• Seraph - The Flare on its gun is an ubiquitous RAT fixer, shoring up your chances against elusive targets from afar.
• Rotwings - Since you ignore the target in melee DEF penalty, feel free to fly up with a Rotwing near your target to further lower its DEF.
• For Banshees, the inclusion of a Grotesque Assassin is an excellent choice. Thanks to Force Barrier a missed AoE will have to deal with their effective ARM 17, while enemies without access to anti-Stealth techs will have to come dangerously close to cancel your Stealth protection - usually within your spray range.
• The Blightbringer's Withering Ash breath can lower DEF in it's AOE. He can also buff the Bashee's ARM on the way up the field.
• * Blighted Nyss Sorceress - Use her Blight Storm aura to trigger Brain Damage even on the toughest target.

Warlocks

• Vayl1 - Incite is excellent fixer for the entire army, and the Banshees are no exception. Adding Frost Field will make them effectively RAT 10 POW 14. Vayl2 also offers RAT improvement via Icy Grip, but not much beyond that.
• To little surprise, Lylyth likes Banshees in almost every incarnation:
  • Lylyth1 - Parasite will often result in very dead targets with POW15 templates, and her feat will solve accuracy issues.
  • Lylyth2 can give them 20 sprays on her feat, and Pin Cushion helps them hit a little harder and more reliably.
  • Lylyth 3 - Banshees like Lylyth3 mostly due to her feat. If another gun can hit the Banshees' target before them, they can cause some considerable carnage against lighter armoured models. Vice versa, they can tag a lot of models to invoke stationary, before the more quality shots start falling in. As a bonus, they're fast enough to keep up with Lylyth and can reasonably fit inside her Wind Wall for extra shooting safety.
  • Lylyth4 fixes just about everything with Mortality, and though her feat does not give extra range, fully re-rolled sprays are downright brutal. DEF17 Banshees with Deflection can also make lots of gunline lists run for their money.
• Marked for Death from The Twins can pair well with the Banshees, and an Assassin on top can be part of a stealth heavy army with them.
• Bethayne1 can put Blood Thorn on the Banshees, giving them POW14 sprays with Continuous Corrosion.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Die to trivial melee (counter) punch. They can get to the front line first but they won't last long.
• They're cheap, but are often "taxed" the cost of the Grotesque Assassin solo.

Tips & Tricks

• Since sprays ignore the "target in melee" penalty, don't be afraid of spraying into close combat. Look for angles where you can unjam your engaged troops without hurting them.
• Keep in mind the Brain Damage; it only gets triggered upon damaging the opponent, but the POW is high enough to reliably threaten even warcasters/warlocks.
• Power attacks can be another good way to knock enemies over and increase Banshee accuracy without relying on your warlock's resources.
• Transporting the physical models can be a challenging task. Just like Raiders, Banshee models are bag space hogs due to the large wings and their posing. They will also want extra weight in their bases as they are prone to tipping on softer play surfaces.

Other

Trivia

Released in Hordes: Devastation (2015)