Zevanna Agha, The Fate Keeper (Grymkin)

"Strands of fate I twist and weave, and many will be left to grieve."

Having released the godlike Defiers from Urcaen to suit her own ends, Zevanna Agha has many plans in motion. Only time will reveal her true goals, but for now she is content to join in the chaos the grymkin bring. Her hope is that those fated for greatness will be strengthened by the crucible of the Wicked Harvest and that the Defiers will aid in forestalling an otherwise imminent doom.

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: Hour of Reckoning

The Old Witch gains the benefit of all of her Arcane Machinery effects this activation.

Abilities

• Template:Pathfinder
• Template:Dual Attack
• Template:Old School
• Template:Repairable
• Template:Arcane Machinery
  • Template:Arcane Calibrations
  • Template:Divinator
  • Template:Hell Hole
  • Template:Range Amplifier
  • Template:Vexing Alignment

Weapons

Carrion Crows
File:Gun icon.jpg		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW			LOCATION
		12			1			Template:Star			-			Template:-
Template:Magical Damage Template:Black Wings
Stomp (x2)
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S				LOCATION
		2				3				15				1 each side

Spells

{{Category: Template:Boundless ChargeTemplate:Curse of ShadowsTemplate:RespawnTemplate:ScourgeTemplate:Windstorm }}[[Category: Template:Boundless ChargeTemplate:Curse of ShadowsTemplate:RespawnTemplate:ScourgeTemplate:Windstorm ]]

Theme Forces

• Template:Bump in the Night
• Template:Dark Menagerie

Thoughts on Old Witch3

Old Witch3 in a nutshell

Her playstyle appears to be running large numbers of cheap heavies and boosting their accuracy and hitting power.

Old Witch2 and Old Witch3 are very similar (they even use the same physical model!), with the only differences being:

• #2 is a Khador warcaster, #3 is a Grymkin warlock.
• #3 has a rule that lets it use a feat despite being a Grymkin.
• One of their spells has a different name, but it's effectively the same spell (it just swaps the word "warjack" for the word "warbeast").
• One of their Arcane Machineries is actually different:
  • #2 has Power Magnifier which gives warjacks extra focus
  • #3 has Hellhole which returns Grymkin troops to play

Oct '21 Changes discussion

Windstorm now has a minimum (boo), but Zevanna Agha gets an extra +2 warbeast points (yay) and a bunch of Grymkin models that work great with Old Witch are cheaper than they used to be (extra yay). Windstorm changing is kind of a wash, since it's a game-wide rules change any windstorm-like effects now won't affect Grymkin armies. Most Grymkin shooting is now completely unaffected by Windstorm-like effects, so overall it's mostly a plus for the faction. Extra warbeasts points synergizes nicely with the overall reduction in cost of many Grymkin models, and it should now be easier than ever to get in the necessary support to make an Old Witch list functional.

Maximising her feat & spells

Gaining all the effects will greatly simplify decisions on feat turn, even if it is not particularly inventive, but the Old Witch only has two offensive spells to begin with; Curse of Shadows and Scourge.

Her feat will allow her to cast her short RNG, high-cost offensive spells and shoot her Carrion Crows to further debuff the enemy before sending in a heavy which will now have no issue hitting its target at -4 DEF and -2 ARM.

• Boundless Charge - Boundless Charge is a great way to enhance the threat range and offensive output of your Beasts. Cage Ragers particularly like this spell, as with it they actually charge further than they run and get pathfinder too. While Boundless Charge is always a welcome addition to a caster's spell list, Zevanna uses it particularly well. With Arcane Calibrations, she can cast it for 1 fury. It's entirely possible for her to put Boundless Charge on every model in a unit of Neigh Slayers, for example. Between Range Amplifier and channeling through Cage Ragers, Zevanna has no trouble getting this spell to where it needs to go.

• Curse of Shadows - Curse of Shadows is a deceptively powerful spell. On face, it's a -2 arm debuff. This is great for cracking armor. But models afflicted with Curse of Shadows also can't make free strikes, and your models can move through them. This makes Curse of Shadows a potent solution to jam, and allows for some surprising offensive plays. With both Curse of Shadows and Boundless Charge, it can be hard for an opponent to screen key models from Zevanna's heavies. The rerolls from Divinator make Zevanna a very accurate spellslinger, and is a great combination with a do-or-die spell like Curse of Shadows. Be aware that Curse of Shadows is an upkeep, so there's no point in casting it multiple times.

• Respawn - Beware Grievous Wounds and RFP effects which prevent this from triggering. Respawn triggers on disabled, so it is not prevented by abilities like snacking that trigger on boxed. Respawn places the beast anywhere completely within 3", which is often enough distance to get out of melee with whatever just disabled it. When combined with any of the Grymkin's anti-shooting abilities, it can be very difficult to kill a heavy with Respawn. As such, this spell can be used to set up advantageous trades. By putting a heavy with Respawn in threat range of the enemy, you offer your opponent a very difficult choice: if they ignore it, it will charge them next turn. If they engage, they may fail to kill it and lose one of their heavies in return.

Zevanna is also uniquely well equipped to use Respawn because she can spend corpses off of Cage Ragers to upkeep it for free, and she can recast it for 2 fury with Arcane Calibrations. While Respawn and Reconstruct are not usually as strong in practice as they appear to be on paper, the ease at which Zevanna can cast and maintain Respawn late into the game makes it a potent tool in her arsenal.

• Scourge - Any model hit by Scourge is knocked down. It doesn't have to be directly hit, and it doesn't have to be an enemy model. With Divinator and her gun, Zevanna has the most accurate Scourge in the game. With Range Amplifier and her natural mobility, Scourge has an extremely long threat range (6" walk, 13" cast for 19" total range, or 22" with a charge, or 24" with a Boundless Charge charge). With Arcane Calibrations, Zevanna can cast Scourge twice, or cast Scourge, boost to hit, and follow up with a Curse of Shadows. Any caster that can be knocked down has to have a plan for surviving a Scourge on Zevanna's feat turn.

• Windstorm - This spell shuts down guns. Because of her huge base, Zevanna's windstorm covers a truly impressive amount of the board. With Vexing Alignment, all enemy models within 18" of her get -5 range to their non-spray guns. You also get to choose the direction of any enemy AoE deviations. To deal with this, enemies either have to come in close to get into their reduced range, or try to back up out of the Windstorm. The former tactic puts them into reach of the melee-centric Grymkin, while the latter puts you in an advantageous spot on scenario. Projecting Windstorm forward is one of the key reasons to play Zevanna as a front-to-midline caster. Most games, Zevanna is going to cast Windstorm every turn, and she'll use Arcane Calibrations to make it more affordable.

Windstorm combos very well with other control elements, like Arcane Vortex on the Cage Rager.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• She is on a huge base and has very low DEF for a caster; Windstorm will shorten enemy ranged threat ranges, but she is a sitting duck to either RNG 15+ guns or ones that get close enough.
• Her RAT and MAT is very low meaning getting hits with her will rely on Divinator failed attack rerolls and her Carrion Crows' Blind effect.
• Of all the current Grymkin warlocks she is the only one who doesn't get to use the Arcana, the most characterful trait of the faction.

Tricks & Tips

• Curse of Shadows allows cavalry models to continue moving through enemy models that they failed to kill with impact attacks.
• Despite the Repairable and Battle Engine rules, she's still a living model, and thus affected by rules and abilities which interact with such models (Life drinker, Bleed, Butcher 3's feat, Poison, Annoyance, Burning Ash, etc.).

List Building Advice

Strategy

Zevanna Agha is flexible enough to support attrition, scenario, or assassination based strategies. Broadly, there are two types of Zevanna lists: ones that play in Dark Menagerie and ones that bring Lord Longfellow.

Theme Thoughts

Template:Header Zevanna runs a very tough beast brick and plays an attrition-centric game. If you can restrict your opponent to a melee-on-melee fight, your cheap Grymkin heavies will usually carry the day. If your opponent attempts to backup to keep shooting outside of Windstorm, scenario becomes an option. Zevanna will often find her beasts outnumbered or swarmed by cheap troops. When this happens, ARM 21 will keep her army safe as it slowly and methodically dismantles the enemy. Zevanna's gun is excellent at controlling units, and Curse of Shadows allows her army to move around or through them in safety. Between Boundless Charge and Curse of Shadows, it's easy to catch an opponent off guard by charging long distances through huge swaths of their army.

• See also the #Battlegroup section, which is applicable to both themes but more relevant for this one.

Template:Header Zevanna's assassination game becomes much stronger. With access to Lord Longfellow, Frightmares, and Hollowmen, Zevanna can put out a lot of damage at range. On feat turn, Zevanna can knockdown and/or blind almost any caster. Longfellow can follow up with 2 Finisher, Fortune Hunter shots. Longfellow's Finisher ability puts the enemy in a particularly bad spot - if they don't soak or transfer the damage from Scourge or any incidental shooting before Longfellow activates, Longfellow will be rolling 4D6 for damage.

Between Curse of Shadows and Wraithbane, it's possible to run Zevanna in Bump in the Night without missing Enrage too badly. When she does, she can get Lord Longfellow and Trapperkin for free. Witchwood is also a tempting solo to get for free so that you can line up models for perfect Carrion Crow placements.

• Hollowmen have a particularly strong synergy with Zevanna. Because they have Eyeless Sight they can't be blinded by Carrion Crows and they see through the cloud, so they don't have to be taken into account when firing Zevanna's gun. Unfortunately, Zevanna needs to directly hit an enemy model for the 4" AoE to be placed, so don't try to shoot your own Hollowmen in the back. Windstorm also makes it much harder for the enemy to scalpel out the Lantern Man, so the Hollowmen can keep adding to their number as the game goes on.

• Piggybacks are also very strong with Zevanna. Windstorm allows them to run in early turns without fear of being shot to death, and Hellhole returns them to play if your opponent manages to kill them. Between Zevanna and the Twilight Sisters, you return 4 piggybacks on the average turn.

• Trapperkin can make surprising plays with Zevanna. Windstorm protects them while they get into position, and Curse of Shadows allows them to walk through or around models to get to back arcs. With Boundless Charge, the Trapperkin threats 12.5". Remember that while Curse of Shadows makes it much easier to charge someone in the back, you can't charge directly through someone, then turn around to stab them.

• Because Zevanna can cast up to 7 Boundless Charges a turn, her Dread Rots and Neigh Slayers are also particularly threatening. One interesting strategy is to charge with 3 of your Neighslayers, reposition away and then have your hollowmen shoot them in the back. Then Zevanna activates Hellhole and brings 1d3 back, and the Twilight Sisters bring back the rest.

Battlegroup

• Cage Ragers get a lot out of Boundless Charge, and Zevanna likes having a reliable channeller. The combination of the control elements of Windstorm and Arcane Vortex is difficult for most armies to deal with. When the enemy closes, Zevanna and her Cage Ragers are all at ARM 21 under the Death Knell's aura. Wraithbane and Curse of Shadows stack, in the sense that both can be relevant to the same attacks, and Zevanna's birds or Scourge can help fix the Cage Ragers' mat.

• Skin and Moans are also turned up to 11 with Zevanna. With Boundless Charge they threaten 12" and they don't have to force for Lurker to gain Pathfinder. Zevanna sometimes likes to have Lurker as well, so she can hit a key target with her guns and then back up to safety.

• Gorehounds deserve a mention because with Arcane Calibrations Zevanna can put Lightning Strike on herself for free. Scrapjack's stomps hit surprisingly hard (pow 15) so if you can find a target that mat 5 can hit, it's not too difficult to set up hit and run plays.

• Frightmares are an excellent addition to Zevanna's army. She can cast their animus, See in the Dark, for free with Arcane Calibrations and she appreciates the help in landing Carrion Crows. Fightmares also add a boostable gun that helps deal with infantry and enable the assassination.

• One or two Crabbits are never a bad idea, but most of the time Windstorm will keep Zevanna safe so you can take free Gremlin Swarms instead. If you expect to play into extremely long range shooting, however, even one Crabbit can make a big difference.

Other

Trivia

• Released with the Grymkin Faction launch (2017.06). She was released simultaneously with Old Witch2, who is a Khador warcastee. In fact they use the same physical model and 95% the same in-game rules.
• Although she isn't the first character to change factions, she is the first (and so far only) one to jump between the Warmachine rules set and the Hordes rules set.

Video Battle Reports

• 2019.10 Arcane Assist, vs Xerxis2
• 2019.09 Desperate Pace, vs Lylyth3
• 2018.11 Deathclock Dave, vs Nemo3
• 2018.09 Deathclock Dave, vs Orion1
• 2018.05 WarGamerGirl, vs Xerxis1 (50 points)
• 2018.04 Deathclock Dave, vs Madrak1
• Template:VBR