Lord Azazello, The Castellan
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Lord Azazello, The Castellan |
Who’s that Farrow swinging down from the chandelier? So dashing! So daring!
He’ll sweep you off your feet, rob you blind, then disappear into the night. Off to the next adventure! Because there’s always another adventure!
At least ... there was. Then the dang world went to heck.
It wasn’t that long ago that Lord Azazello was pulling off high profile heists and capers against the elite of Ordic nobility. Life was good, coin was plentiful, and the company he kept was gorgeous. Now, this suave Farrow finds himself in a shattered world with a little less shine but a whole lot more shinies.
Basic Info
Azazello1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Riot Quest - Although this model has rules which allow it to be played in Warmachine and Hordes, it was primarily designed for the Riot Quest boardgame. RQ is set in an alternate and/or future timeline where the Infernals won the war. Some of the RQ models are slightly more goofy than their WMH equivalents.
Minion - In a 2+ caster game, he can work for Skorne, Legion, Circle, or Trollbloods.
Warlock - All warlocks come with a stack of standard special rules - most notably being awesome. Click here for a newbie-friendly recap, or click here for the full rules.
Feat: Stand and Deliver
While in Arazello's control range, friendly Faction warrior models gain +3 STR and ARM and Duelist. Stand and Deliver lasts for one round
- Duelist - This model gains +2 DEF against melee attack rolls.
Abilities
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Pathfinder
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Tough
- En Garde - While in this model's command range, friendly Faction warrior models gain Riposte (as below).
- Farrow Warlock - This model can only have Farrow warbeasts in its battlegroup.
- Henchmen [ Farrow ] - Choose one friendly Farrow unit at the beginning of the game to be Henchmen. The chosen unit gains +2 DEF and can reroll its missed attack rolls. Each attack roll can be rerolled only once as a result of Henchmen.
- Riposte - When this model is missed by an enemy melee attack, immediately after the attack is resolved it can make one basic melee attack against the attacking model.
Weapons
Wide Boar Pistol | ||||||||||||||
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RNG | ROF | AOE | POW | ||||||||||
12 | 1 | - | 12 | |||||||||||
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Mortua | ||||||||||||||
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RNG | POW | P+S | |||||||||||
1 | 4 | 10 | ||||||||||||
Spells
COST | RNG | AOE | POW | DUR | OFF | ||
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Flashing Blade
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1 | SELF | - | - | - | No | |
The spellcaster immediately makes one basic attack with one of its melee weapons against each enemy model in its LOS that is in the weapon's melee range. These attacks are simultaneous. | |||||||
Phantasm
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2 | 6 | - | - | Upkeep | No | |
When target friendly Faction model/unit is targeted by a ranged attack with RNG greater than 8, the attack suffers -5 RNG to a minimum of 8. Models are not affected while out of formation. | |||||||
Storm Rager
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3 | 6 | - | - | Upkeep | No | |
Target friendly Faction warrior model gains +2 STR, MAT, and ARM and cannot be targeted by CRA or CMA. | |||||||
Wind Rush
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2 | SELF | - | - | Round | No | |
The spellcaster can immediately make a full advance and gains +2 DEF for one round. Wind Rush can be cast only once per activation. |
Theme Forces
- Minions
- The Thornfall Alliance. He gains Rise in this theme.
- Vengeance of Dhunia. In this theme he gains Attuned Spirit [Trollblood/Minion Warbeast].
- Will Work for Food
- Other Factions
- Trollblood players can also use this warlock in the Vengeance of Dhunia and he gains Attuned Spirit as mentioned above.
Recent Changes
2021.10 Mega Update
- Lost Distraction and Range Amplifier
- Phantasm cannot reduce an attack to less than 8" range. (It used to have no limit, and could reduce them to zero).
Thoughts on Azazello
Azazello in a nutshell
Lord Azazello is, unquestionably, a warrior support ’caster. He can also mix it up himself in melee fairly well under his own feat and with Storm Rager upkept on himself - and with just Storm Rager and Wind Rush he's an assassin with a 16" non-linear threat range that hits at MAT 10 with an effective P+S 15.5.
Being a warrior-based ’caster, Azazello needs a way to deliver both infantry units and solos. First, we see his Henchmen rule, which is a permanent buff granted to a single Farrow unit at the beginning of the game. If you’re playing Azazello in the Will Work for Food theme force, this is absolutely going on a unit of Farrow Valkyries. In the Thornfall Alliance, you might want to consider putting this buff on a unit of Farrow Brigands—the reroll effect is excellent and the +2 Def stacks well with Dig in.
Azazello’s feat will increase his armies DEF in melee once engaged, but in terms of getting said army into melee, Azazello has two primary methods to accomplish this. First is the spell Phantasm, which flat reduces the RNG of all incoming shots onto a unit by 5˝. The second is Azazello’s combination of Range Amplifier with the spells of Wind Rush and Distraction. Just walking up and casting Distraction, Azazello can threaten the spell at 21˝; thanks to Wind Rush, he can also safely put himself back into a secure position.
Azazello not only has Riposte himself, but he also grants Riposte to all friendly Faction warriors within 8˝ of him. This is particularly brutal during his feat turn when most of his infantry also has Duelist, as well as +3 STR and ARM. Rushing your warriors forward to engage the enemy and popping his feat early, often Turn 3, can provide your opponent with some really unpleasant options.
Azazello's personal threat should not be underestimated. With Wind Rush he has a 16" non-linear threat range on a charge and with Storm Rager he has defensive stats of DEF 18, ARM 17 while doing so. This means he can outright end a game that went badly for you before on attrition or scenario with a cheeky assassination. Furthermore with access to Lighting Strike from a Road Hog he can mix it up in melee every turn and Sprint behind a building and be reasonably safe. He truly leads from the front, which makes him a very involved and rewarding caster to play. Force multipliers like Ride Along from Ledfoot & Tredz and the Krielstone Aura exacerbate this even further, putting his threat range to 18" and his defensive stats at DEF 20, ARM 22 on feat turn, delivering MAT 10, P+S 16 Weapon Master sword strikes ( so long as you did not leave the kriel stone aura doing this)
Feat Thoughts
Warrior models get +3 STR, +3 ARM, +2 DEF in melee. It's a feat with unquestionable offensive and defensive uses that isn't quite as good as it looks at first glance. Ideally it would be used in combination with an alpha strike, going in and wrecking things with the bonus damage, and using the bonus defense to then take the counter-attack. Unfortunately the rest of Azazello's kit doesn't support this as he has no speed buffs or ways of repositioning the enemy to make them take the alpha strike. It's also a feat much better suited for solos or Archons than it is for most Farrow as single wound Farrow warriors are mostly only boosted to ARM 17 (which means that 8s still kill with high explosive or electro-leap and charges kill easily) and at only DEF 12 even Duellist and Riposte aren't enough.
Spell Thoughts
Unusually Azazello doesn't have any sort of zap spell or ranged magical weapon for dealing with obnoxious incorporeal models.
- Phantasm is a very nice defensive spell that probably belongs on your skirmish screen. Or anything you think your opponent will want to shoot.
- Storm Rager at a cost of three is very hard to re-cast which means it should be used wisely. A good option is to use it on Azazello for CRA immunity and to use him as a super-solo while forcing your opponent to stay out of assassination range. The other option is if you have a really good melee solo (normally an Archon) make it really hard to take down and threaten a lot of work. The former is still prefered however, as Azazello really, really does not want to recast a cost 3 spell in the middle of the game after the combat solo has inevitably died, and th buffs from Storm Rager are very relevant for his survival when (not if) he plays forward and gets the job done himself.
- Wind Rush is a part of the Azazello super-solo package. It gives speed and defense - and puts his assassination threat up to a substantial 16" or works as a de-facto sprint.
- Flashing Blade combos with Wind Rush, allowing you to clear out the enemy after wind rushing before your charge. It's occasionally useful otherwise but with only a 1" threat it does little more than buying another attack.
Drawbacks & Downsides
- He's not the Farrow warlock we've all been waiting for; Riposte for all warriors in his control area helps high DEF models more (and Farrow are DEF 12) and his feat is better on high ARM high DEF models with multiple wounds because single wound infantry still dies easily even with +3 ARM. He's therefore best in a Will Work for Food army with a lot of solos or a Vengeance of Dhunia army that makes use of Trollkin Champions.
- In WWFF he has a similar toolkit to Helga the Conqueror - and her feat is incredibly fun and can produce weird tricks.
- He does nothing for warbeasts unless he get to shoot a juicy target.
- He needs to shoot a juicy target to get is Beacon shot of, meaning he cannot throw down in melee at the same time.
- No zap spell means that you need to bring something else in case the opponent brought a single incorporeal solo to contest scenarios (or charge the target and then use Wind Walk to effectively sprint to safety).
Tricks & Tips
- If you are engaged at the start of your activation you can use flashing blade and still be allowed to move and perform normal actions
- The feat and wind rush put you at casual DEF 20, so depending on what you are facing you can even dodge free strikes. At ARM 19 he can probably take one to the chin even if it somehow manages to hit, anyhow. Use this to your advantage when considering assassination angles.
List Building Advice
Strategy
You will find, in many early turns, Azazello must live dangerously, keeping zero fury to himself. You’re often going to want to upkeep Phantasm and Storm Rager, then move up, take a potshot for Beacon and Wind Rush back to safety. When the time comes to commit to the battle, though, Azazello with Storm Rager on himself and under his feat is effectively a MAT 10 P+S 15 Weapon Master with DEF 18 against incoming melee attacks, possibly DEF 20 if you Wind Rushed AND he has Riposte.
Don’t be scared to commit him to the front lines when the time is right—just watch out for knock down or stationary effects that can reliably hit you. The Cargo Nets ojective is a huge boon to him, as it hand out Steady.
Theme Thoughts
Vengeance of Dhunia
Vengeance of Dhunia, VoD for short, is probably Azazello's best theme, though not by much because Will Work for Food is very good too. Here he runs a fantastic Champion boat while having access to key support models like the Krielstone and Pyre Troll.
- Trollkin Champions - They have naturally high DEF and Sanguine Bond + Riposte makes them really annoying to remove. They also take super well to the feat, granting them Duelist and +3 ARM and STR, meaing they either hit like a ton of brick as POW 16 weapon masters under the stone, or just run and be virtually impossible to dislodge from a zone on feat turn. Two units + Skaldi are the gold standard for the conventional Azz list.
- Trollkin Champion Hero - HE grants the champs Retaliatory Strike, meaning you get to make a counter punch no matter if the enemy model hit or missed.
- Boomhowler3 - Azazellos only speed buff is Beacon, which is difficult to apply for a melee monster without Dual Attack. Boomy brings Dinner Time and Hoof It to fix this and has Shout Down on top of it. He also randomly has the Champion tag so he gains Retaliatory strike from the champion, so he combines his devastating counter charge with riposte and retaliatory strike.
- Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes - A walking +2 ARM buff is essential for both Az's and his champs survival. Also makes the Valkyries that much better at their job of Shield Guarding. Use the Stone Scribe elder as your CA for a +1 STR buff and some problem solving abilities.
- Farrow Valkyries - His best Henchman option, thus you always bring one unit. Two or even three is gravy and depends on how many points you have left after the essentials are in.
- Farrow Brigands - Another excellent Henchmen uption, putting them at DEF 14 (16 when dug in or under Duelist) and giving them crucial rerolls which them make very good use of. Under feat they also hit suprisingly hard.
- Dhunian Archons - The negate damage and heal your models back up to make them that much more infuriating to remove. Under feat they can even do some serious work themselves.
- Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew - Their clouds block charge ranges and hand out concealment for more DEF.
- Swamp Gobber River Raider -Are just annoying little buggers as they can easily reel into the back arc of something, Weaken it and benefit from Duelist for DEF 16. A 1 point filler with a damage buff against constructs and undead or a DEF debuff against the living is pretty insane.
- Gudrun the Wasted - He contributes even bigger DEF numbers against shooting and is a capable melee solo in his own right. Parking something in the Aura and in one of the Trenches granted by the theme makes them virtually impossible to hit at range.
- Ledfoot & Tredz With feat and stone they become pretty beefy and Ride Along and Bull doze are really important abilities to Azazello for threat ranges and getting to safety after doing work.
- Pyre Troll - Flaming Fists is a very important damage buff to Az and his many combat solos. You get to cast it for free once per turn thanks to the theme benefit, as well. One of the main reasons to play the theme is this model in particular so don't leave your house without it!
- Troll Bouncer - Another Shield Guard and the Earth's Blessing animus which basically removes any worry you might have about the enemy knocking Az down and assassinating him with his DEF reduced to 5. That being said Az is already swapping Animi from Flaming Fists to Lightning Strike every turn while casting Wind Rush and trying to get work done. Another animus for him gets expensive real fast and is usually overkill, as sprinting behind a house and into the Krielstone aura is usually enough to keep him safe.
- Earthborn Dire Troll - With the right buffs it hits like a real workpiece heavy and packs Earth's Blessing as well, should you ever need it, so it's an okay alternative to the War Hog.
- Troll Basher - It hits astoundingly hard for a light warbeast after buffs and Chiller is another way of hitfixing, which Az lacks a reliable way to do.
- Dreyfus & Flubbin - SPD 7, Flight, DEF 13 with Flying High, a hard hitting lance and Brutal Damage bombs with Dual Attack. They are very good at hunting Archons thanks to Dog Fighter.
Thornfall Alliance
His worst theme. His kit works better with multi wound infantry and solos, because ARM buffs aren't going to save SWI from dying. If you still want to run him here for hoots and hollers consider:
- Farrow Brigands are here too.
- Consider running the full Field Allowance of Farrow Valkyries. He works really well with Valkyries, and they help keep him alive, given how close he likes to get to the action.
- Slaughterhousers will love the +3 STR part of his feat and beacon for extra speed. As his gun is POW 12 he will likely also damage anything he applies beacon on, setting up their Finisher ability. Phantasm is also good on these guys as unlike the brigands they can’t protect themselves with dig in and unlike the commandos they don’t have ambush to get to melee faster. They are ridiculously cheap, so bring them at max field allowance.
- Maximus - Grants Unyielding to the Housers.
- Farrow Commandos will threaten 13.5" turn one against beacon'd targets.
- Targ - A free upkeep for Az and Herding means you can send a Road Hog in deep and still force it to do work. Ancialliary Attack gives the Hog anaother spray.
Will Work for Food
You run him in this theme because you can bring up to 6 archons which take REALLY well to his kit and are very strong models. Season with Valkyries and solos to taste.
- Void Archons - Great at infantry clearing, love Storm Rager or Phantasm as they are weak to guns, debuff enemy ARM and take super well to his feat.
- Dhunian Archons, Gudrun the Wasted, Ledfoot & Tredz, River Raiders, Targ, Dreyfus&Flubbin, Valkyries and Bellows Crews are in this theme, too.
- Primal Archon - With Counter Charge, Riposte and Knock down on their attacks they are (un)holy menaces. On feat turn they are also hilariously bricky and they love Beacon for extra speed.
- Taking Wrong-Eye can also be a good idea so you can stack his DEF buffs and Riposte with Star Crossed, while the duo themselves benefit from his ARM buff and healing from Dhunians. He's expensive, though.
- Underchief Mire can bring a Blackhide Wrastler, so Rage can buff his beasts. A War Hog becomes terrifying with it. And Mire can put out some clouds too.
- Barnabas, the Conqueror - Baby Barney with a Swamp Horror is a very nice packagae, especially because they hit so accurately with Murderous. The Horror can put Elasticity on Az for 2" Flashing Blades.
- The Wastelander loves the feat and Riposte. He also helps the army on the approach and is a fine target for Storm Rager.
- Hermit of Hengehold - Loves the healing Dhunian Archons provide and offers his usual buffing abilities.
- Bone Shrine - Extra fury, but the Curse can be devastating to him and the Arc Node only makes cycling his upkeeps more flexible
- Thrullg - They are an absolute steal for a solo with 3 initials which start to get really dangerous under feat. They also have Disruption on the tentacles, which can really screw over Warjacks.
- Death Archon - Hard hitting, accurate, monbile and Mortal fear makes the whole army harder to take down. They mkae for great Storm Rager targets, too.
- Boil Master & Spirit Cauldron - Puppet Master can be crucial for assassinations and the pot can fuel Death Archons.
- Kogan the Exile - Another good Storm Rager. he benefits from the presence of the croc pot.
- Swamp Gobber River Raider - Great point fillers! and they have relevant debuffs on their hand weapon.
- Underchief Mire - He brings a cloud wall and gives you access to a free Rage casting from a Blackhide Wrastler, which Farrow Warbeasts don't have access to otherwise.
- Gatorman Witch Doctor - Ghostly is a very useful spell for the solos and beats Az runs. Casting it on him lets charge from behind a building, get to killing and Sprint back behind it.
Battlegroup
Azazello does nothing for his battlegroup except being able light up enemy models with his Beacon gun, meaning they occasionally can get a free charge and +2" movement on it.
- War Hog - It needs no help hitting hard, so it is a reliable workhorse, er... pig.
- Road Hog - It gives him the Lightning Strike animus, which is essential for him to back up after contributing personally to the battle.
- Battle Boar - Primal on a stick and it can clear some chaff
- Gun Boar - It's got a neat gun and does not need much input. A Road Hog, Battle Boar and Gun Boar fill his warbeast points exactly, so that is usually the reason you see it.
Other
Trivia
- Released 2020.06
Other Minion models
Rules Clarifications
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Rules Clarification: : Warlock (Edit) | ||||
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Rules Clarification : Duelist - None yet. (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Pathfinder (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Tough - None yet. (Edit)
Rules Clarification : En Garde - None yet. (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Farrow Warlock (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Henchmen - None yet. (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Riposte (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Beacon - None yet. (Edit)
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Rules Clarification: : Magical Damage (Edit) |
* The "Damage Type: Magical" is not inherited by "secondary" damage from a weapon. That is, stuff like arcs (Electro Leap) or hazards (Scather). (Infernal Ruling)
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Rules Clarification : Weapon Master - None yet. (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Flashing Blade (Edit)
Some have Infernal Rulings that pertain only to themselves, but the clarifications below are applicable to all of these abilities: [Show/Hide]
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Rules Clarification : Phantasm (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Storm Rager - None yet. (Edit)
Rules Clarification : Wind Rush - None yet. (Edit)
- Minion
- Farrow
- Model
- Riot Quest
- Skorne Minion
- Legion of Everblight Minion
- Circle Orboros Minion
- Trollblood Minion
- Warlock
- Duelist Feat
- Pathfinder
- Tough
- En Garde
- Farrow Warlock
- Henchmen
- Riposte
- Beacon
- Magical Damage
- Weapon Master
- Flashing Blade
- Phantasm
- Storm Rager
- Wind Rush
- The Thornfall Alliance
- Vengeance of Dhunia
- Will Work for Food