Captain Rahera, Terror of the Wailing Sea

Captain Rahera, Terror of the Wailing Sea Mercenary, & Cryx Partisan, Privateer Scharde Warcaster

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• Cryx: This model can be used in one Prime army, Black Fleet and/or Unlimited Cryx.
• Mercenary: This model can be used in one Prime army, Talion Charter and/or Unlimited Mercenaries.

For most who dwell among the Scharde Islands, the pirate's life means freedom and a chance for wealth, at least for those who are sufficiently ruthless and driven. Captain Rahera represents these ideals better than most, having risen above the riff-raff of the many pirate dens to seize her own destiny. She has somehow managed to retain autonomy while also staying in the good graces of Cryx's lich lords and considers herself beholden to no man, living or dead. She claims to know the sacrificial magics of the Satyxis - and the ships she claims certainly see their decks painted red with the blood of the fallen.

Basic Info

Rahera1
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Small SPD 7 STR 7 MAT 7 RAT 5 M.A. N/A DEF 16 ARM 15 CMD 9 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS 6 FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 16 F. Field N/A WJP +28 WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA N/A UNIT SIZE N/A COST N/A N/A N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Mercenary - Rahera will work for Cryx.

• Partisan [ Cryx ] - When included in a Cryx army, this model/unit is a Cryx model/unit instead of a Mercenary model/unit.

Tip: Since Rahera is a Partisan, she can be included in a Cryx army without it needing to be a 2+ caster game (unlike normal Mercenary warcasters).

Warcaster - All warcasters 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 : Bloodletting

Models in Rahera’s battlegroup currently in her control range and friendly living warrior models currently in her control range can immediately make one basic melee attack or ranged attack. These attacks must target enemy models currently in Rahera’s control range.

Abilities

• Parry
• Pathfinder
• Tough
• Acrobatics - This model can advance through other models if it has enough movement to move completely past their bases. This model ignores intervening models when declaring its charge target.
• Blood Weaver - When Rahera destroys one or more enemy models with a melee attack, immediately after the attack is resolved, she can cast a spell with COST 3 or less without spending focus.
• Gang Fighter - When making a melee attack targeting an enemy model in the melee range of another friendly Faction warrior model, this model gains +2 to melee attack and melee damage rolls.
• Leadership [ Privateer and Scharde ] - Friendly Privateer and Scharde models in this model's command range gain Sprint.
• Sprint - At the end of an activation in which it destroyed or removed from play one or more enemy models with melee attacks, this model can immediately make a full advance, then its activation ends.

Weapons

Hand Cannon
		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW
		12			1			-			12
Blood Axe
		RNG				POW				P+S
		1				6				13
Damage Type: Magical
Bone Cleaver
		RNG				POW				P+S
		1				6				13
Damage Type: Magical

Spells

	COST	RNG	AOE	POW	DUR	OFF
Black Spot	3	8	-	-	Upkeep	Yes
(1) Target enemy warrior model/unit suffers -2 DEF. (2) When a friendly Faction model destroys one or more affected models with a basic melee or ranged attack during its Combat Action, immediately after the attack is resolved it can make one additional melee or ranged attack. Attacks gained from Black Spot cannot generate additional attacks from Black Spot.
Bleed	2	8	-	10	-	Yes
When Bleed damages a living enemy model, this model can remove d3 damage points.
Escort	2	SELF	Control	-	Upkeep	No
Warjacks in the spellcaster's battlegroup beginning their activations in its control range gain +2" movement when advancing as part of their Normal Movement. The spellcaster gains +2 ARM while one or more warjacks in its battlegroup are within 3" of it.
Manifest Destiny	3	SELF	Control	-	Turn	No
While in the spellcaster's control range, models in its battlegroup gain an additional die on melee attack and melee damage rolls. Discard the lowest die of each roll. Manifest Destiny lasts for one turn.
Rough Seas	3	SELF	Control	-	Round	No
When a friendly model is targeted by a ranged attack while in the spellcaster's control range, the attack suffers –3 RNG to a minimum of 8. Rough Seas lasts for one round.

Theme Forces

• Mercenary
  • Soldiers of Fortune
  • The Irregulars
  • The Talion Charter

• Cryx
  • Black Industries
  • Dark Host
  • The Ghost Fleet
  • Scourge of the Broken Coast

Thoughts on Rahera

Rahera in a nutshell

Rahera was designed as a high-risk, hit-and-run style caster who dashes forward, kills a model or two to empower her spells, and sprints 7" to safety. This will get you killed if you are not extremely careful.

In a perfect world, you will charge forward with Gang Fighter, kill 2 models to proc Manifest Destiny and Rough Seas for free, and then get away clean behind a wall, building or forest while camping 2 or 3. Not as easy as it sounds. If you don't do this, you have 6 focus, 1 upkeep, a big battlegroup and an expensive spell list. So you have to take big risks in order for her to function as a normal warcaster would.

In competitive play, such risks are entirely unacceptable, and so she should only stick her neck out when she actually can get to total safety.

Her main draws are Rough Seas and her feat, which sounds like an offensive time walk allowing most of your army to attack twice until you actually try to make it work and discover how badly the control area restriction hoses things up.

She is known for massive order of activation headaches in order to get things to work correctly that must be experienced firsthand to be fully appreciated. She is one of the most poorly designed warcasters in the game and should be avoided by all but the strongest players seeking a challenge.

Feat thoughts

Allowing your army to attack twice, and also to make extra attacks in any order, is very strong providing you can coordinate everything perfrectly, which is easier said than done. For example, you can run Devil Dogs into position and then feat to throw their nets at the opposing army. You can take Steelhead Cannons and get 2 extra quake shots, 2 disruptions from Eiryss1, 2 blinds from Gorman, etc...

With Pirates you can Money Shot Scharde Pirates with Rockbottom, assault with No Quarter, then feat and spray twice with a lot of RAT 7, POW 14's. Press Gangers can get Payday, Shanghai new Press Gangers onto the table, who could then use Rahera's feat to Shanghai even more stuff.

When you actually try to use the feat, you may find that everything you killed with it was going to die anyway mostly due to her 12" restriction on eligible targets.

Spell thoughts

• Escort is her backbone spell. +2 SPD for her jacks and normally +2 ARM for her makes her battlegroup fast moving and her herself pretty tough. Cast at the start of the game and then upkeep it.
• Bleed is her zap. It's occasionally cast, but not often - especially at Focus 6. Short range, low POW and inaccurate. It is the worst offensive spell in the game, but thematic for a blood mage. If all your other spells are in play casting this when you kill someone with a melee attack isn't awful.
  • In mercenaries without arc nodes and with less ways to reduce arm it's really not great.
• Rough Seas is cast early to deliver the army by keeping it safe from ranged attacks and work threat ranges in her favor thanks to Escort. Later in the game it keeps her from getting shot off the board as she dashes in and out.
• Manifest Destiny is a very powerful battlegroup buff that affects her of course. Effectively +2 to hit, +1.5 damage on unboosted attacks for every attack.
• Black Spot is a shooting support spell, but at Focus 6 she generally needs to boost to land this. It can be arced, when playing in Cryx, and is more frequently cast for free after she's killed someone in melee, opening up the enemy's back lines. You have to get dangerously close to the other force to use this spell without an arc node.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• 6 Focus. One almost mandatory upkeep spell. Three 3-cost spells. She can't do anything without Blood Weaver.
• DEF 16 ARM 15 with only a slight ARM buff means that she's tougher than average - but plays a lot more recklessly than most casters.
• Rahera is an astonishingly difficult caster to play. It is Warmachine on hard mode. The high cost of her spells renders her almost useless unless she triggers Blood Weaver at least once and usually twice because you'll probably want Rough Seas up most turns. So you have to take major risks with her and play mistake free just to have her perform as an average caster would. Thus she is highly unforgiving. A single positioning mistake will lose you the game.
  • If she plays back and relies on her battlegroup to do work in melee aided by Manifest Destiny she is in general worse than Magnus2 in mercs and Asphyxious3 in Cryx, both of whom have +2 movement for their battlegroup and get Field Marshal: Unyielding for a +2 ARM battlegroup buff which they don't need to spend three of their scarce Focus on.
• Her feat is harder to use than it appears because of timing issues. You want the warjacks up the board prior to the feat, but you want to cast Manifest Destiny before they go up the board. You also want your units to attack but you want them to activate first so they can move up and attack twice in a turn and if they kill everything nearby, you may not want to put Rahera far enough forward so the feat attacks can hit the next wave. You may also find that everything you could have killed on her feat could have been killed by casting Black Spot anyway. It's also difficult to get enough friendly and enemy models into her 12" bubble to get a ton of value out of it.

Tricks & Tips

• Before charging her into combat, make sure there is somewhere safe to sprint back to.
• She can charge through her own Colossals, and sprint back through them.
• If you use her feat during her Combat Action, it can potentially trigger Black Spot for herself. For everyone else, though, Black Spot and her feat don't stack at all.
• Blood Weaver:
  • Unlike many similar abilities, Blood Weaver has no "once per turn" clause. You can trigger it on every attack.
  • If you trigger Blood Weaver and Black Spot at the same time, there's a bit of a weird interaction. If you cast a non-offensive spell, you're basically fine. But if you cast an offensive one you run afoul of the "attack generating abilities can't stack" rule.
• Leadership: Sprint works on Privateer warjacks (even if they're not in her battlegroup). Note that the Escort movement buff doesn't apply to Sprints.

List Building Advice - Mercenary

Strategy

Protect your army from incoming ranged attacks via Rough Seas and leverage her feat to build an attrition advantage. Take a mix of warjacks and self-sufficient units.

Escort and Manifest destiny steer you toward warjacks. However she has nowhere near the focus to run very many unless she's playing very far forward to get Manifest Destiny cast for free. Gang Fighter makes you want to bring some infantry so she can do her hit and run thing.

She can likely run 3 warjacks competently with some help from Powder Monkeys or Steelhead Arcanists. With Empower, one or two jacks should be able to charge under Manifest Destiny in a turn so larger battlegroups should have guns to hang back and contribute.

Because she lacks focus, Powder Monkeys and Steelhead Arcanists are her best pals.

Battlegroup

There are several strong candidates:

• Mangler: She is the best choice to run the Mangler, and it has significant synergy with her. It threats 12" with a free charge and under Manifest Destiny can wreck a lot of shop with a Thresher. In Soldiers of Fortune, the Ironhead can get it 14" up the board.
• Mariner: Similar to the Mangler, though without the free charge and 1 less POW it is less dangerous to opposing heavies - but the cannon lets it do work closing in and be more of a threat to infantry. With Powder Monkeys and her feat, they can shoot a lot, though it will be unboosted and low RAT. She also grants it Sprint if it kills a model while in her CMD range, though 5" may not be enough to save it. The Mariner capitalizes on all her abilities. With Escort, and Double Powder Ration, they shoot targets up to 24" away, and Rough Seas hinders incoming fire forcing models into charge range. They can also contribute boosted shots from safety while you send others into melee to finish targets.
• Galleon: The Harpoon is great with her feat, and the Power Lifter can get her the extra 2" towards melee that lets her get a free spell. Further Black Spot plus Drag and her feat offer a lot of very-difficult-to-pull-off combos. Kill a model in the Black Spot unit with a blast, fire the Harpoon at a heavy, rinse, repeat. That's the theory anyway.
• Blockader: Rocket Fists are far more dangerous under Manifest Destiny and it threats 14" while not getting shot on the way in. She also gives it an extra spray with her feat. A very strong choice.
• Scallywag: With Gang Fighter and Manifest Destiny, he can punch above his weight class but choose his target wisely because he won't get two turns to attack.
• Freebooter: Like Scallywag, it can do well under Manifest Destiny, and it's extra fast under escort with Jury Rigged. If it uses Jury Rigged, it can Sprint 7" at the end of its activation.

Less Popular, but still viable picks:

• Swabber: It won’t do the work of a Galleon - EVER - but the same theory of Drag, black spot, feat and monkeys applies. It also offers greater protection to Rahera, by preventing knockdown and blast damage while in base contact. If you pick your targets correctly you will even get to Sprint from your drag shot.
• Rover: Manifest Destiny helps models with a higher volume of melee attacks, as Rahera rarely has the focus to fuel them to full. Fortunately point blank makes his gun melee not ranged

Theme thoughts

    The Talion Charter    
Lots of potential here with the Powder Monkeys and pirate synergies.

• Privateers tend to be squishy and shootable; Rough Seas protects them.
• Doc Killingsworth and Bosun Grogspar make her 4+ tough and immune to knockdown.
• She gains focus or ancilliary attacks for her jacks from the dirt cheap Powder Monkey - and Scharde Dirge Seers can get her jacks through stealth and cloud walls.
• Lord Rockbottom makes Scharde Pirates POW 14 to really clear away enemy infantry. With her feat you can run the Pirates on their turn and then use the feat to spray absolutely everything down at RAT 7 POW 14 - or get two lethal sprays in a turn.
• Scharde Pirates have a natural synergy with her feat. Because of Money Shot, Assault and No Quarter, they are one of the few units that can rush forward while attacking and then deliver an equally-effective second attack as all their sprays will be at minimum RAT 7 and POW 14.
• Press Gangers and Sea Dog Pirates are very cheap, more dangerous with her feat, and gain boosts from the various pirate solos.
• Lady Aiyana & Master Holt provide an extremely handy ARM debuff
• The Commodore Cannon does not benefit from her feat and may not fire due to its rules.

    Soldiers of Fortune    
Soldiers of Fortune allows different compelling options.

• Rocinante is very focus efficient and gets on well with her feat. And he has Guard Dog, just in case someone melees her.
• Eiryss1 is very effective with her feat; either two disruptor bolts or even run and disrupt to shut down the enemy's focus next turn.
• Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist, the Steelhead Cannon Crew, and the Steelhead Mortar Crew (especially when backed by the Steelhead Gunner) love her feat. Mark the Target helps improve the low accuracy of the guns as well.
• Steelhead Riflemen with Mark the Target and/or Black Spot should get enough work done to justify their cost before they get melted - if you're facing infantry anyway.
• Stannis Brocker and Steelhead Cavalry can get extra 3d6 POW 12 attacks if all goes well
• Sylys Wyshnalyrr and the Steelhead Arcanist provide focus and Black Spot range extension.
• Alexia2 provides anti-magic protection.
• The Steelhead Ironhead plays with threat ranges, bringing her melee game more into play.
• The downside is Steelhead Halberdiers are awful with her feat swinging at MAT 5.

    The Irregulars    
Irregulars offers the widest variety of solo choices and a bunch of ranged units with Prey, but lacks some of the synergies and boosts of Taliion and SOF.

• Idrian Skirmishers, Dannon Blythe & Bull and Croe's Cutthroats can leverage Prey on her feat turn.
• You can bring the Devil Dogs which you can run and then feat for a 16" knock down threat, and every character solo in the faction (including Eiryss1 and Gorman1) to get the most out of her feat.
• Sylys Wyshnalyrr and Balthazar Bamfist provide focus support. But that's less than is possible in either other theme.
• Widget offers another out of activation attack (of which manifest destiny will still effect if in melee & rough seas stacks with flying high.
• You can get damage buffs from Aiyana & Holt, Gorman1, Ragman, and Grand Master Gabriel Throne in this theme, which is really good for any caster without damage buffs themselves.
• The Hermit is another damage buff and since her units will most likely ranged based, they can stay outside his ARM debuff bubble. Telementry can be combined with Sylys's Arcane Secrets for some very accurate Black Spots.
• Models with powerful guns, and/or guns with control effects, so Alten Ashley, the afomentioned Eiryss, Dez, Gorman1, Gorman2, Harlan Versh, Harlowe Holdemhigh, Hutchuck, and Kell Bailoch, go very well with her feat and Black Spot.
• If your list is primarily ranged based, it can be a good idea to bring Lynus and Edrea for cloud mitigation. Being able to pick columns is also very powerful for a gunline.

List Building Advice - Cryx

Strategy

Her strategy remains the same as above, it's just her tools that change.

Cryx theme thoughts

    Scourge of the Broken Coast    

This is her main Cryx theme, as it provides her with masses of living warrior models for her feat, many of whom have good guns, and also gives her jacks Gang Fighter which, combined with Manifest Destiny, makes them into very scary melee fighters.

• Satyxis Blood Priestess - A free upkeep is always appreciated. However the Priestess' other two most useful abilities (Sucker and a free spell) are harder to leverage with Rahera. She's a nimble caster who might not stay within 3" of the Priestess for Sucker, and the only free spell the Priestess can cast is Bleed which is so-so.
• Satyxis Gunslingers and Severa Blacktide - Excellent guns that you get to shoot multiple times thanks to blackspot and the feat. All good.
• Satyxis Raiders - At 2" melle range thaey are excellent at setting up Gang Fighter.
• Axiara Wraithblade is a must have for anyone running living troops in Scourge.
• Blighted Trollkin Marauders - They combine 1" melee range with good guns and as such are very good with her.
• Warwitch Sirens and Misery Cages provide her with more focus efficiency, which she always appreciates.
• Warwitch Initiate Deneghra - She has an ARM debuff. Rahera doesn't. Thus fielding her under Rahera is strongly recommended.
• Kharybdis under Escort and Pathfinder he becomes a very mobile heavy warjack. His tendrills become deadly under Manifest Destiny and Gang Fighter and he's got a neat gun for the feat and Blackspot.
• Scharde Pirates, discussed in the Mercenary section, are also in this theme. Unfortunately in this theme they can't benefit from Rockbottom's Money Shot ability and losing that makes them a lot less appealing. Still, if any Cryx caster wants them, it'll be Rahera.

    Black Industries    

BI lets her stack Carapace on her Rough Seas, which could be said to be overkill. The main draw is the abundance of character jacks she can bring, and the main anti-draw is the lack of living troops. All you get are the Cephalyx, the Ironmongers, and a handful of solos.

• You can field the aforementioned Sirens here too, including Denny, for focus efficiency.
• Cephalyx Overlords are good at contesting and pack a mean spray.
• Malice - She generates her own focus and Manifest Destiny makes her less flimsy in melee. Also a drag gun is neat for Rahera's feat and Black Spot. If you manage to get souls onto her early, she can be a real headache to remove under Rough Seas, Carapace and Ghost Shield.
• Erebus- Similar to Malice, he gets deadlier in melee with Manifest Destiny, and even more difficult to remove under Rough Seas. Also he leaves enemies he got his claws on stationary, which makes them prime targets for Rahera.
• Cankerworm - Stacking Escort on top of AD, Pathfinder and Parry makes him extremely mobile and pretty much able to go where ever it wants. Manifest Desiiny becomes very interesting depending on which weapon it is able to steal (Try to get a thresher weapon if you can.) Armour Piercing also goes well together with it Manifest Destiny, of course.
• Nightmare just plain wrecks things and that is even before Manifest Destiny. Ghostly and Escort is also really nice together for mobility.

Battlegroup

As a combined-arms battlegroup warcaster no single Cryx jack provides everything she wants.

• Manifest Destiny gets ugly on a Harrower on the Thresher attack. Also, if you have souls on it when you feat, it can use that soul to fully boost the feat attack which is nice.
• Escort works well on a Seether; it is melee dedicated and doesn't put too much strain on your supply of focus thanks to Aggressive.
• A Desecrator can put an extra hazard into play on feat turn.
• Reapers can be hilarious with their drag guns and Black Spot.
• Kraken
  • Black Spot turns its shooting up to 11, letting them fire their main gun every time they get a kill with their secondary guns.
  • The feat lets it fire its big gun an extra time.
  • Escort and Rough Seas helps the Kraken get across the board intact.
  • On the other hand, the Kraken is a points sink and her feat wants her army to have more models so it generates more attacks.
• If you're going to take an arc node (which Rahera likes to have to put Black Spot into play), pay an extra point for a Nightwretch. On feat turn it can shoot its gun after running into position.
• Barathrum can potentially charge 12", trigger Drag Below, move another 6", then get another attack via the feat. Rahera's control range is going to be the main constraint to that tactic.

Other

Trivia

• Released in the Talion Expansion (2019.06)
• Rahera underwent multiple changes during her CID and she almost came out strong until it was pointed out that her feat allowed Eiryss1 to run and shoot the opposing caster top of 1, which resulted in the crippling control area restriction. Also the range penalty on Rough Seas dropped from 5" to 3". Her original feat was Blood Bound and Critical: Decapitation to warrior models, which was extremely awful. She never really found her way from concept to a playable kit.

Which warjacks can she take?

When she is included in a Cryx army Rahera has access to the full range of Cryx warjacks, but she cannot include any Mercenary warjacks in her battlegroup.

When she is included in a Mercenary army Rahera has to choose from the "Human" Mercenary warjacks shown below, but she cannot include any Cryx warjacks in her battlegroup.

Mercenary Warjacks (Human)   (Edit)
Light	Buccaneer - Renegade (Magnus only) - Scallywag - Swashbuckler - Talon - Vanguard
Heavy	Freebooter - Gallant - Mangler - Mariner - Mule - Nomad - Rocinante - Rover - Toro - Swabber
Colossal	Blockader - Galleon

Video Battle Reports

• Cryx
  • 2019.08 Desperate Pace, vs Thagrosh2

• Mercenary
  • None yet

• See also Category: Video Battle Reports for more casters with videos.

Other Faction models

Cryx Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warcasters	Agathia - Aiakos2 - Asphyxious1 - Asphyxious2 - Asphyxious3 - Coven - Deathjack2 - Deneghra1 - Deneghra2 - Deneghra3 - Goreshade1 - Goreshade2 - Goreshade3 - Mortenebra1 - Mortenebra2 - Rahera - Scaverous - Skarre1 - Skarre2 - Skarre3 - Sturgis2 - Terminus - Venethrax
Warcaster attachments	The Withershadow Combine - Satyxis Blood Priestess - Skarlock Thrall - Doctor Stygius (Partisan) - Madelyn Corbeau (Mercenary)
Other Warjack Controllers	Jack Marshals: Iron Lich Overseer       "Junior Warcasters": Aiakos1 - Asphyxious4 - Deneghra0
Light	Cankerworm - Deathripper - Defiler - Helldiver - Nightwretch - Ripjaw - Scavenger - Shrike - Stalker
Heavy	Barathrum - Corruptor - Deathjack1 - Desecrator - Erebus - Harrower - Kharybdis - Inflictor - Leviathan - Malice - Nightmare - Reaper - Seether - Slayer
Colossal	Kraken - Sepulcher
Units, Solos, Battle Engines, & Structures
Units	Asphyxious4 - Bane Knights - Bane Riders - Bane Warriors - Bile Thralls - BO Boarding Party - BO Ironmongers - BO Smog Belchers - Blackbane's Ghost Raiders - Bloodgorgers - Marauders - Carrion Thralls - Cephalyx Drudges - Cephalyx Overlords - Mechanithralls - Necrosurgeon - Revenant Cannon - Revenant Crew - Satyxis Gunslingers - Satyxis Blood Witches - Satyxis Raiders - Scharde Dirge Seers - Scharde Pirates - Soulhunters - The Devil's Shadow Mutineers - The Withershadow Combine
Solos	Aiakos1 - Agrimony - Axiara - Bane Lord Tartarus - Bloat Thrall - BTO Mobius - Captain Rengrave - Darragh Wrathe - Doctor Stygius - Deneghra0 - Gerlak - Hellslinger - Iron Lich Overseer - Machine Wraith - Master Gurglepox - Misery Cage - Necrotech - Ol' Grim - Pistol Wraith - Satyxis Blood Priestess - Satyxis Raider Captain - Scrap Thrall - Skarlock Thrall - Severa Blacktide - Soul Trapper - Warwitch Siren
Battle Engines & Structures	Wraith Engine
Theme Forces
Black Industries - Dark Host - The Ghost Fleet - Scourge of the Broken Coast
Mercenaries
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Cryx Mercenary
This index was last updated: 2021.11

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification:  : Partisan      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

Which Faction am I? Partisans are Mercenary (or Minion) models unless they're taken in their "Home" Faction. For example, a Mercenary model that is Partisan [Cygnar]: When used in most armies it is "friendly Faction" only to other Mercenary models. When used in a Cygnar army it is "friendly Faction" to Cygnar models ... and stops being "friendly Faction" to any other Mercenaries in that Cygnar army. In a multi-caster game, Partisans count as the main army's Faction and not as a Mercenary models (if playing a Faction other than Mercaneries). (Infernal Ruling) Attachments If a Partisan unit can get a special attachment from their Partisan Faction (for instance a Soulless Escort or Trollkin Sorcerer) then they can only get that attachment when they're in the Partisan Faction. They can't take it when working as a regular Mercenary. (Locked thread) When taken in their Partisan Faction, they can't have a Ranking Officer attached. Partisan warcasters If you have a Partisan caster, you must choose whether your army is a Mercenary force or a [Partisan Faction] force. What warjacks the caster can take are then limited by your choice. Partisan casters can be taken in [Partisan Faction] theme forces. Refer to the main rulebook. Partisan casters can be fielded in multiple-caster games. (Locked thread) See also the Category: Partisan for what happens if you mix and match Partisan casters and Merc casters in multi-caster games. Partisans & Theme Forces (Edit) Partisans are Mercenary/Minion models, so there are two ways you can add them to a theme force: Freely: If the Partisan is on the list of allowed models, then you can take as many as you want plus another Mercenary unit/solo. (Infernal Ruling) They can be explicitly allowed (for example Jaws of the Wolf allows "Kayazy models/units" so Partisan Kayayz can be used freely). They can be implicitly allowed (for example Scourge of the Broken Coast allows "living Cryx models/units" and Partisan Cephalyx fit that criteria, so they can be used freely). (Infernal Ruling) Limited: If the Partisan isn't on the list of allowed models, it does use up your "Up to one Mercenary/Minion" slot, so you can only have the one. Whether you used option 1 or 2 above, once they're in your theme force they count as a Faction model and so: They can be taken as a Requistion Option (if they fit the Requistion description). For example Lanyssa can be taken as a free solo in the Legion of Dawn theme. (Infernal Ruling) They will get any theme benefit that they fit the description for. For example Storm Division gives all Cygnar models Immunity Electricity, so Partisan Mercs in that theme get immunity too. For example Nemo4's Mechaniks get Reposition [3] in Heavy Metal. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification:  : Warcaster      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

General Damage from a feat is neither an attack nor Damage Type: Magical (unless the feat says it is). FOCUS (uppercase) is the stat printed on the warcaster's card. Focus (lowercase) refers to focus points a model currently has. Your CTRL area is double your FOCUS stat, not double your focus points. (Infernal Ruling) Casting spells or using feats is an anytime ability with the added restriction that you can't use them on the same turn you run even before you run. See also the clarifications on Any Time abilities (below). Some warcasters are also Battle Engines and thus follow all the Battle Engine special rules. There is no particular interaction between the Battle Engine rules and the Warcaster rules. Work out all damage modifiers (such as Decapitation doubling the damage that exceeds ARM) before reducing it with the Power Field. (Infernal Ruling) Restrictions on "Any Time" abilities     (Edit)         [Show/Hide] "Any Time" abilities can be used at any time during a model/unit's activation, except: Before any compulsory forfeiture of movement/action. See step 2 of the activation sequence, appendix A. After the model with the "Any Time" ability has had their activation end "prematurely". By this I mean you resolved something which includes the phrase "its activation ends". Examples include: Running, failing a charge, or failing a slam. Abilities that include "then its activation ends" (such as Reposition and Teleport). In between declaring your charge target and making your charge movement. (Infernal Ruling) In between completing your charge movement and determining whether it was a successful charge. (Infernal Ruling) When you're in the middle of moving. (Note: Impact Attacks count as being in the middle of movement). When you're in the middle of an attack. Which also includes effects that occur "after the attack is resolved". (Although the attack is "resolved" at Step 11, in terms of using an "Any Time" ability the attack is not "finished" until after Step 14. Refer to the first paragraph of Apdx A.) Your opponent interrupted your activation to trigger one of their own abilities (such as Countercharge). Warcasters/warlocks/etc can normally cast a spell or use their feat "At any time". However, there is a core rule saying they cannot do so on the same activation that they run. So, they are subject to all the same restrictions listed above, plus they can't cast/feat before running. Units: See below. In general you can use "Any Time" abilities while you're knocked down or stationary (except Spells and Feats which specify you can't). If you have a gun with a random ROF, you can use an "Any Time" ability inbetween rolling the number of shots and actually making the first attack. (Infernal Ruling) Units with "Any Time" abilities You cannot use an "Any Time" ability before issuing/receiving orders. See step 1 and 2 of the activation sequence, appendix A. A model in a unit can't use an "Any Time" ability after they run (Infernal Ruling) or fail a charge. Because that makes that specific model's activation to end even though the unit's activation is still ongoing, and you can't use abilities on models that are not active. You can use an "Any Time" ability before running, however. A model in a unit can't use an "Any Time" ability after anyone in the unit has begun a Reposition move. (Infernal Ruling) Warcaster/Warlock Cavalry ( Edit ) Warcasters/Warlocks can't cast spells or use their feat while resolving Impact Attacks. Because Impact Attacks occur during movement - you can use spells or feat before moving, or after moving, but not during movement. Exception: If your Impact target(s) include your charge target, then your movement has ended (refer rulebook, last paragraph of 'Impact Attacks') and thus you're fine to use "any time" abilities before starting the Impact attacks. Rules Clarification:  : Warcaster Unit or Warlock Unit     (Edit) (Click Expand to read) This summary is specific to Warcaster/Warlock units. You may also want to check the Warcaster and Warlock pages respectively, for the "regular" rules clarifications. All models in the unit count as part of the battlegroup. So, for instance, Butcher3's argus can be moved via his Energizer spell. Warcaster units can have attachments. They can even attach units (such as the WSC). (Infernal Ruling) The non-caster models are trooper models but are not normally Grunt models. Therefore they're not normally eligible for stuff like Revive. If any member of the unit start to do their reposition movement, the warcaster or warlock in the unit would no longer be able to feat.(Infernal Ruling) Press Forward Order vs Spells cast at Any Time (Edit) You must issue orders before anything else. If you issue a Press Forward order, you must run or charge. If you cast spells before moving, you can't run so you must charge. If you cast spells before moving, then start the spellcaster's Normal Movement but have no valid charge targets, you are in a situation where you must charge but cannot charge. In this situation the spellcaster must either: forfeit their Combat Action, use their Normal Movement to make a full advance, then their activation ends. (Note that you cannot cast more spells after the full advance). forfeit their Normal Movement, then their activation ends. (Infernal Ruling) Steamroller 2018 The non-caster models can contest scenario zones & flags. The caster model cannot contest. The caster model can control zones and flags by itself, but: to control a zone, the entire unit remaining in play needs to be in formation. to control a flag, the entire unit remaining in play must be within 4" of the flag. Units Buying Attacks (Edit) If you make attacks with model [A], then start making attacks with model [B], you cannot 'go back' and buy more attacks with [A]. Because: A model can only buy additional attacks during its Combat Action. A model in a unit must complete its Combat Action before the next model starts theirs (with some exceptions, like CMA). Rules Clarification : Unit of Warcasters or Warlocks     (Edit) Even though they're warcasters, if they're out of formation they suffer the normal penalties (can't make attacks, actions, spells, etc). They can't upkeep each other's spells. They can only dominate one SteamRoller scenario element at a time. Each warlock/warcaster can have different upkeeps on them if those upkeeps are "target SELF" or "target model". If you cast an upkeep that is "target model/unit", that is the only upkeep any of them can have. Units Buying Attacks (Edit) If you make attacks with model [A], then start making attacks with model [B], you cannot 'go back' and buy more attacks with [A]. Because: A model can only buy additional attacks during its Combat Action. A model in a unit must complete its Combat Action before the next model starts theirs (with some exceptions, like CMA). The Legion Twins Rhyas cannot dominate a zone while out of formation. Rhyas can use the feat while out of formation. Haley3 Only Haley Prime is an 'actual' warcaster model, and as such she is the only one that can dominate a scenario element. The echoes can Control/Contest scenarios like a normal unit. Haley Prime can dominate an element even if the echoes are out of formation.

Rules Clarification : Parry - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Pathfinder      (Edit) Pathfinder (Edit) - Pathfinder does not apply to involuntary movement (pushes & slams). (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Tough - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Acrobatics      (Edit) Charging through models (Edit) You can't charge all the way through your charge target, with the intention to turn around and face them once you're on the other side. Because you aren't able to satisfy the "must keep the charge target in melee range" clause at the point after you are through the model but before you turn to directly face. At that point the target is behind you, not in your front arc, and thus not in your melee range. Your melee range only extends to your front arc. Refer to the latest errata. You can still "skim" through the edge of their base, if you're careful and smart with your positioning.

Rules Clarification : Blood Boon and/or Rites of Blood and/or Ritual Slaughter and/or Soul Food and/or Blood Weaver and/or Meat for the Beast and/or Reckless Arcana     (Edit) General The free spell doesn't interact with abilities that change the COST of a spell. (Infernal Ruling) For instance, if you trigger it while being affected by Lamentation then you can still cast a COST 3 spell (even though if you spent focus to do the same thing it would cost you 6 focus/fury). (Rites of Blood only): The Priestess doesn't need to be in the caster's CTRL range to use her ability. (Blood Weaver only): It's not tied to a specific weapon, and it can be triggered multiple times per turn. (Reckless Arcana only): You can trigger it once during your turn, and a second time during the opponent's turn (via a free strike, countercharge, etc) The model doesn't need to be in your control range to trigger it. Timing With reference to other abilities that occur "after the attack is resolved", the timing sequence is: If you choose a non-offensive spell then it's resolved at Step 12. If you choose an offensive spell then it's resolved at Step 14. If you have another ability that triggers at Step 12 (such as Iona1 having Overtake), you can either cast a non-offensive spell and resolve both things at Step 12 in any order, or you can resolve the other ability at Step 12 then cast an offensive spell at Step 14. Note that you cannot cast an offensive spell at Step 14 then go back to Step 12 to resolve the other ability. (Infernal Ruling for all of the above) Multiple Attacks If when you destroy the model, you get a free melee/ranged attack as well as the free spell (for instance you cast Black Spot on them), then you need to follow the "attack-generating abilities" rule in the core rulebook and make sure you only make one bonus attack: You can cast a non-offensive spell (step 12) then get the free melee/ranged attack (step 14); or You can cast an offensive spell (which is an attack) and forgo the free melee/ranged attack. (Locked Thread) If the model that triggered the free spell has Berserk and something is in its melee range, you don't get a choice of offensive spell or non-offensive. You have to choose either a non-offensive spell plus the compulsory melee attack, or no spell at all plus the compulsory melee. (Locked Thread) Spells outside of caster's activation Some versions of this ability let the caster get a free spell when something else kills something. In this case: The caster can channel the spell if they want. (Infernal Ruling) The spell is cast during the other model's activation, so that model can potentially trigger any of their own activation-only abilities. Specifically, if one of Deathchev's warjack triggers Meat for the Beast, and Deathchev casts Abattoir for all warjacks to get a free attack, then the active warjack can boost the Abattoir attack, use Overtake, etc. (Infernal Ruling) For similar logic, spells that "can only be cast once per activation" (such as Abattoir) can be cast twice per turn via this sort of ability. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Gang and/or Gang Fighter and/or Tag Team and/or Team Effort     (Edit) You can gain the Gang bonus on free strikes, but generally only the first "Ganger" will get it. For example, if a target is engaged by two models with Gang, when it leaves the melee range of the first Ganger it suffers a free strike with the Gang bonus. Then it leaves the melee range of the second and suffers a normal free strike.

Rules Clarification : Leadership      (Edit) If you have two Leaders handing out the same buff, then sometimes they stack (Bronzeback) and sometimes they don't (Exemplar Bastion). (Infernal Ruling) See specific models for case-by-case Infernal Rulings. If you have two Leaders handing out different buffs (such as Iona's Leadership giving Dodge, and the Wolf Rider Champion's Leadership giving Prowl) then the benefits do stack - they'll get both Dodge and Prowl. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Sprint  and/or Run & Gun     (Edit) You cannot use this ability after an out-of-activation attack (such as Countercharge), only during real activations. (Locked thread) Run & Gun won't trigger if you RFP the model, but Sprint will. End of Activation (Edit) You cannot resolve two end-of-activation movement effects (refer to "End of Activation Movement" in the core rulebook). For EOA stuff that doesn't involve movement, though, it gets a bit more murky: Some EOA abilities explicitly state your activation ends as part of resolving the ability (like Reposition), and some don't (like Refuge). Whether it is explicit it or not, by definition an EOA ability is the last thing you can do for that activation. For instance, if you resolve Refuge and then continue your activation to cast more spells, then you have not used Refuge at the end of your activation. You cannot do an "at any time" ability during or after triggering an EOA ability; you cannot cast spells, purchase additional attacks, use a mini-feat, etc. If you start resolving an EOA movement (such as Reposition) then you cannot trigger abilities that occur "at any time" (such as Go To Ground). Because you can't trigger it while resolving the EOA movement, and after the EOA movement your activation has ended. (Infernal Ruling) For units: if any model in the unit starts resolving the unit's EOA movement, then no model in the unit can trigger an any-time ability. (Infernal Ruling) See also the training article: LPG - End of Activation.

Rules Clarification:  : Magical Damage      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

* 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) All spells have "Damage Type: Magical" (refer errata). This is inherited by "immediate" secondary damage (such as Eruption of Spines). (Infernal Ruling) and might be inherited by "lingering" secondary damage (see below). If a spell leaves a template in play that does damage to models that walk around in it, then: if it is not described as a hazard it will do magical damage to models that walk around in it. (Example: Razor Wall) if it is a hazard then it will not do magical damage to models that walk around in it. Instead, it does whatever damage type is specified by the spell description. (Example: Breath of Corruption). (Infernal Ruling) If a weapon/spell includes Magic Damage and another kind of elemental damage it will still damage Incorporeal models. Incorporeal models are not affected by the rule "if an attack does multiple types of damage and a model is immune to at least one it is immune to the entire attack." The phrase "immune to non-magical damage" should be interpreted as "immune to damage that doesn't include Damage Type: Magical" (not interpreted as "has immunity to Corrosion and Electricity and Cold and etc.")

Rules Clarification:  : Black Spot      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

* Black Spot only triggers from basic attacks. Power Attacks, (★ Attack)s, and Chain Attacks will not trigger it. If you destroy multiple models in an attack (such as with a spray or AOE) you only get one free attack, due to the "destroyed one or more" wording. In a CRA, only the attack leader is actually making an attack, so only he will gain a free attack from Black Spot and all the other participants gain nothing. The free attack he gains is a normal attack, not a free CRA (although he can use the free attack as part of a whole new CRA with different participants, if you want.) The type of attack that is generated by Black Spot The wording of "make one additional melee or ranged attack" is a bit unclear on what the intent is, but the Infernal Ruling is: Essentially, Black Spot doesn't impose any restrictions on the type of attack you make ... but neither does it lift any restrictions you already have. Thus a model can be in one of these cases: If you have a special rule that lets you make both ranged and melee attacks in the same activation, and as many as you like (such as Dual Attack) then any Black Spot attacks you get can be either ranged or melee, your choice. If you don't have a special rule allowing unlimited amounts of both, then any Black Spot attacks you generate have to be the same type as what you started with. Special cases: Abilities that let you make a single attack of the opposite type to your normal attacks (eg Kill Shot, Quick Work, Assault, etc). Because they only allow 1 opposite attack, these abilities count as case #2. For example, you make an initial melee attack, trigger Kill Shot, and get a free ranged attack. This ranged attack then kills a Black Spotted model and you get another free attack. The Black Spot free attack has to be another melee attack. Abilities that let you make unlimited attacks of the opposite type (eg Drag). If you successfully trigger Drag, it counts as case #1. If you're unsuccessful, it's case #2. Gunfighter and Point Blank are case #2. Black Spot plus Drag - Infinite Attack combo (Edit) This combo can lead to an infinite number of attacks, but it depends on your dice. Case A (Fail): Make initial ranged attack, destroy the target with the ranged attack. Drag does not trigger. Black Spot does trigger, and the free BS attack must be a ranged attack because you don't have any rule that gets around the core rule "models cannot make both ranged and melee attacks during the same activation" (unless you have Dual Attack). The free BS attack cannot generate any more free BS attacks. Case B (Success): Make initial ranged attack, damage the target with the ranged attack. Drag triggers, and now you have gotten around the core rule about mixing attack types. (Infernal Ruling) Destroy the dragged model with a melee attack, and trigger Black Spot. The free BS attack can be either ranged or melee. So you make a ranged attack and try to Drag another one to restart the sequence. Theoretically, if you keep managing to damage + Drag targets with the free ranged attacks, and destroy + Black Spot them with the free melee attacks, you never run out of free attacks. Attack-Generating Abilities (Edit) From the core rulebook: When a model is granted more attacks as a result of an attack it made, it gains only one. If two or more special rules would grant the model another attack as a result of making an attack, its controlling player chooses which special rule to apply. If you trigger two attack-generating abilities (such as Black Spot and Kill Shot) you choose to resolve one and "lose" the other (unless you trigger it again later). If you trigger two attack-generating abilities, and one of them is compulsory (such as Black Spot and Berserk), you must choose to resolve the compulsory one. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Bleed - None yet. (Edit)
Rules Clarification : Escort and/or Battle Host - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Hand of Fate and/or Manifest Destiny and/or Signs & Portents     (Edit) This buff affects any damage roll that is caused by a model, not just normal attacks. For instance, it can affect the damage roll when a Berserker explodes via Unstable. (Infernal Ruling) Discard Die (Edit) If you're discarding lowest or highest, you have to discard even if you want it for a critical hit. For instance: if you discard "the lowest die", need 6+ to hit, and roll a 3, 3, and a 4 ... then you must discard one of the 3s, and you'll end up with a non-critical hit with the 3 + 4.

Rules Clarification : Rough Seas - None yet. (Edit)