Difference between revisions of "Aradus Soldier"

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===Drawbacks & Downsides===
 
===Drawbacks & Downsides===
* It's painfully slow.
+
* It's painfully slow. Rush is mandatory with him, and you often want another source of acceleration.
 +
* Quite often, cheaper warbeasts like the [[Rhinodon]] will kill an heavy just as dead as an Aradus Soldier. Be wary of overkill.
 
* It can't drag huge based models, meaning that for practical purposes all gargantuans and colossals out-threat it.
 
* It can't drag huge based models, meaning that for practical purposes all gargantuans and colossals out-threat it.
  
 
===Tricks & Tips===
 
===Tricks & Tips===
 +
* Advance Deployement mean he threat farther than almost all heavies on turn 1, and farther than a lot of them on turn 2. It's a good way to mitigate the drawback of being player two against some lists
 
* It's very resistant to ranged attacks, so makes for great cover
 
* It's very resistant to ranged attacks, so makes for great cover
 
* Know what models can't be pulled.  It can be the difference between a dead heavy, and one with a few dings.
 
* Know what models can't be pulled.  It can be the difference between a dead heavy, and one with a few dings.
 
* You can snack even if at full health.  This can mess with things like High Reclaimer's feat or Grymkin corpse collection.
 
* You can snack even if at full health.  This can mess with things like High Reclaimer's feat or Grymkin corpse collection.
 +
* The 2" claw ignore shields, which mean they suddenly hit almost as hard or harder than the bite. Notable against shielded models that cannot be pushed, like the [[Dawnguard Trident]] or [[Man-o-War Shocktroopers]]
  
 
=Other=
 
=Other=

Revision as of 16:58, 17 November 2019

Skorne Logo.jpg Aradus Soldier

Skorne Aradus Heavy Warbeast

The horrific, insect-like aradus are among the most terrifying of the skorne’s warbeasts. Protected by a thick layer of chitin, aradus soldiers lash out in battle with hooked claws to drag enemies toward their vicious mandibles. The soldier grows strong from its feast, wounds closing with each mouthful.

Basic Info

Aradus Soldier
Missing Info
Aradus Soldier.jpg
COST {{{cacost}}}
UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}}
FA {{{cafa}}}
Warcaster 0
BASE Large
SPD 3
STR 11
MAT 6
RAT N/A
M.A. N/A
DEF 11
ARM 19
CMD N/A
ESSENCE {{{essence}}}
FOCUS N/A
FURY 4
THRS 9
HP 29
F. Field N/A
WJP {{{wjp}}}
WBP {{{wbp}}}
IHP {{{ihp}}}
FA U
UNIT SIZE N/A
COST 16
N/A
N/A
N/A
Warcaster 1
COST N/A
N/A
Understanding
the Statblock

Abilities

Weapons

  • Mandibles - 1" reach, P+S 18 melee weapon
  • Barbed Claw (x2) - 2" reach, P+S 15 melee weapons
    • Chain Weapon symbol.jpg Chain Weapon
    • Pull - If this model hits an enemy model with an equal or smaller base with a basic attack with this weapon, immediately after the attack is resolved the hit model can be pushed directly towards this model until it contacts a model, an obstacle, or an obstruction.

Animus

COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF
Swarm

2 SELF - - Round No
The spellcaster gains concealment. Living enemy models suffer -2 to attack rolls while within 2" of the spellcaster. Swarm lasts for one round.

Theme Forces

Recent Changes

2018.12 Exalted Errata


Thoughts on the Aradus Soldier

Aradus Soldier in a nutshell

The Aradus Soldier is a heavy melee warbeast that's almost the total package. Almost immune to incoming fire, it often reaches the target, has a long melee reach for an adequate threat range, hits hard and bites extremely hard (even for a heavy). Lastly it can remove enemies from play - and has the reach to snack on infantry. It also no-sells a lot of control effects thanks to Pathfinder, Steady, and Sturdy - but its painfully slow.

Combos & Synergies

Other than the ubiquitous Paingiver Beast Handlers the synergies for the Soldier come from two basic factors; it's painfully slow and that its attacks are harder than the Bronzeback Titan. (Oh, and it buffs the Scarab Pack). Generally it's a good all-round hard hitting beast with only a few specific synergies.

  • Titan Gladiator - Rush is an excellent threat range extender
  • Morghoul1 and Xerxis2 both buff the speed of the Aradii to acceptable levels.
  • Archdomina Makeda makes the Soldier into a Shield Guard. She also has some ways of speeding the Soldier up.
  • Lord Tyrant Zaadesh gives it counter-charge, speeding it up. And the counter-charge and reach combination is always a good thing.
    • If you position right, the counter-charge + Pull can prevent the charging model from swinging on it's original target, wasting the charge attack

Drawbacks & Downsides

  • It's painfully slow. Rush is mandatory with him, and you often want another source of acceleration.
  • Quite often, cheaper warbeasts like the Rhinodon will kill an heavy just as dead as an Aradus Soldier. Be wary of overkill.
  • It can't drag huge based models, meaning that for practical purposes all gargantuans and colossals out-threat it.

Tricks & Tips

  • Advance Deployement mean he threat farther than almost all heavies on turn 1, and farther than a lot of them on turn 2. It's a good way to mitigate the drawback of being player two against some lists
  • It's very resistant to ranged attacks, so makes for great cover
  • Know what models can't be pulled. It can be the difference between a dead heavy, and one with a few dings.
  • You can snack even if at full health. This can mess with things like High Reclaimer's feat or Grymkin corpse collection.
  • The 2" claw ignore shields, which mean they suddenly hit almost as hard or harder than the bite. Notable against shielded models that cannot be pushed, like the Dawnguard Trident or Man-o-War Shocktroopers

Other

Trivia

Released in Hordes: Exigence (2014)

Other Skorne models

Skorne Logo.jpg       Skorne Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warlocks Hexeris1 - Hexeris2 - Jalaam1 - Makeda1 - Makeda2 - Makeda3 - Mordikaar1 - Morghoul1 - Morghoul2 - Morghoul3 - Naaresh1 - Rasheth1 - Xekaar1 - Xerxis1 - Xerxis2 - Zaal1 - Zaal2 - Zaadesh2
Lessers & Attachments Aptimus Marketh (Warlock attachment) - Zaadesh1 (Lesser Warlock) - Makeda0 (Lesser Warlock)
Lesser

Agonizer - Aradus Scarab - Reptile Hounds - The Terrorizer

Light Basilisk Drake - Basilisk Krea - Cyclops Brute - Cyclops Raider - Cyclops Savage - Cyclops Shaman - Razor Worm
Heavy

Aradus Sentinel - Aradus Soldier - Archidon - Chiron - Bronzeback Titan - Despoiler - Molik Karn - Rhinodon - Tiberion - Titan Cannoneer - Titan Gladiator - Titan Sentry

Gargantuans Desert Hydra - Mammoth
Units, Solos, & Battle Engines
Units

Cataphract Arcuarii - Cataphract Cetrati - Cataphract Incindiarii - Immortals - Legends of Halaak - Nihilators - Paingiver Beast Handlers - Paingiver Bloodrunners - Praetorian Ferox - Praetorian Karax - Praetorian Keltarii - Praetorian Swordsmen - Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer - Venator Catapult Crew - Venator Flayer Cannon Crew - Venator Reivers - Venator Slingers

Solos

Abidan the Keeper - Ancestral Guardian - Aptimus Marketh - Extoller Novitiate - Extoller Soulward - Hakaar the Destroyer - Immortal Vessel - Makeda0 - Mortitheurge Willbreaker - Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor - Paingiver Task Master - Tyrant Rhadeim - Venator Dakar - Void Spirit - Zaadesh1

Battle Engines Siege Animantarax - Supreme Guardian
Theme Forces
Disciples of Agony - Masters of War - The Exalted - Winds of Death
Minions
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Skorne Minion
This index was last updated: 2021.11

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Chain Weapon - None yet. (Edit)

RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification:  : Drag , Pull, and/or Catch     (Edit)
(Click Expand to read)

Timing
With respect to the Attack Sequence:
  • Pull is resolved at Step 12.
  • Enemy effects (such as Retaliatory Strike or Enliven) are resolved at Step 13.
  • Drag and Catch are resolved at Step 14.


Ranged Attack Damage (Drag and Catch only)

  • If a model is destroyed by the ranged attack, Drag/Catch does not trigger.
    • Corpse tokens, soul tokens, and etc will be generated from the model’s original position.
    • Sicne it doesn't trigger, you won't get the free melee attack from Drag/Catch (even if there's something different already in your melee range).


The Movement

  • You cannot Drag/Pull/Catch models with a larger base size than you.
  • The movement is a Push effect, which is involuntary movement.
    • It is not an advance and will not trigger stuff like Countercharge.
    • They won't take free strikes because it is involuntary movement.
    • They will take damage from any hazards they're pushed through/into (such as Scathers).
  • You can drag your target through Incorporeal models, if there's enough space on the other side, because the rules for Incorporeal specifically allow this. (If there's not enough space, the push will stop on the far side of the Incorporeal model.)
  • You cannot drag models through Curse-of-Shadows-ed or similar models, because those rules refer to "models can advance through this model" and a push is not an advance.
  • You may drag models that you are already in melee with. However most models can't shoot while in melee, so this is pretty much limited to the Prime Axiom and Galleon (see the corner-case scenarios, below).
  • If you get to trigger Drag/Pull/Catch on a free strike (mostly just Pull), the moving model will never get out of your melee range. They have to keep advancing out and being pushed back until either they run out of movement, or you fail a free strike. (Infernal Ruling)
  • Push - General     (Edit)   [Show/Hide]
    • Pushed models do not change their facing.
    • Pushed models move at half rate through difficult terrain. Also, Pathfinder doesn't apply during pushes.
    • Pushed models stop if they contact anything - a model of any size, or any obstacles or obstructions.
    • You don't get free strikes against pushed models, because it is "involuntary movement" and therefore does not count as an advance.
    • Pushed models suffer the effects of anything they move through (such as acid clouds).
    • If you use a Push vs a charging model (via a free strike for example), this will stop the charge movement (refer core rulebook).
      • However, if the pushed model is in melee range of its charge target after the push, then it is considered a successful charge. (Infernal Ruling)
      • In that scenario, you measure whether the charging model moved 3" or less excluding the push distance. (Infernal Ruling)
    • If you push a model to a position where it regains Incorporeal (for instance you push it out of range of an Exorcist) then what happens is (Being Checked by Infernals)


The Free Melee Attack(s) (Drag and Catch only)

  • If the target model doesn't end up in melee range (whether because the ranged attack killed it outright, or something blocked the drag movement) then you don't get a free melee attack and don't get the option to buy additional melee attacks.
  • If the dragged model can't be targeted by melee attacks, you may not make your free drag attack and don't get the option to buy additional melee attacks. (Infernal Ruling)
  • For both of the above two cases, you may still complete your initial ranged attacks and buy additional ranged attacks as per normal (if you have more guns and/or Reload).
  • You may make the free melee attack against models that "cannot be pushed" (assuming you're in melee range already). The "After the model is moved" is a timing clause, not a conditional clause.
    • To pull this off, you need an ability that allows you to make ranged attack while you're already in melee, so is pretty much limited to just Colossals and/or models attacking objectives.
  • After using Drag/Catch, the attacking model may make a single melee attack without spending focus. (So Black Ogrun can make a single melee attack.)
  • After doing the free attack, you may buy additional attacks if you have a method of purchasing them. Models with Drag but no focus/fury (such as Black Ogrun) can't buy additional attacks (despite what is implied by the rule on their card) - it's just a standarised wording for Drag.


More corner-case Rules Clarifications

  • Models that can make Ranged Attacks while in melee
    • This section is pretty much limited to the Prime Axiom and Galleon who, thanks to being Colossals, can continue to shoot after dragging something into melee with themselves. It can also apply to any model shooting at a "can never be in melee" model (eg Scenario objectives).
    • When you start your activation, you still need to choose either 'initial ranged attacks' or 'initial melee attacks'. If you choose melee attacks, then you will never get to shoot your Drag weapons.
    • If you shoot a Drag weapon you need to resolve the drag move and the free melee attack, but afterwards you're still in "shooting" mode. The best way to think of it is it's "interrupting" your normal ranged attacks and after resolving it, you go back to completing your initials. So it might go:
      • Shoot the Drag weapon.
      • Drag the enemy closer.
      • Resolve the free melee attack.
      • Drag resolved. Now you finish shooting the rest of your weapons.
    • Once you've completed all your initial ranged attacks (and any free drag melee attacks) then you have the option of buying additional attacks (ranged if you have Reload, melee otherwise.
    • However, if you get overexcited and start buying melee attacks after the free drag one then you don't get to finish shooting the rest of your weapons.
    • This is because shooting the rest of your guns is completing your "Initial Ranged Attacks" but by buying melee attacks you have jumped ahead to "After Initial Attacks" (refer first sentence of "Additional Attacks" pg 36 of Prime).
  • Black Spot + Drag or Catch
    • If you trigger Drag/Catch, then any attacks you get from Black Spot can be either ranged or melee, your choice. (Infernal Ruling)
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.
  • Dual Attack & Drag ( Edit )
    • This is pretty-much limited to just the Prime Axiom under Syntherion, or the Swabber, Galleon or Prime Axiom under Aurora2
    • If you charge model A then utilise Dual Attack to make a ranged attack vs the same model, then you would get the free melee attack from Drag. The Drag attack is a charge attack. (Infernal Ruling)
    • If you charge model A then utilise Dual Attack to make a ranged attack vs a different model, then you would lose the free melee attack from Drag. Your first melee attack must be versus the charge target, and you cannot save the Drag attack for later. (Infernal Ruling)
    • If you didn't charge then ... just go nuts. There's no restrictions that I know of.
  • Assault & Drag ( Edit )
    • You determine whether a charge was successful or not before making the Assault attack.
    • If you make an unsuccessful charge but then use Drag to get your charge target into melee range, then:
      • It is still a failed charge and your activation is going to end after the Assault attack is resolved. (Infernal Ruling)
      • You will get the free melee attack from Drag as part of resolving the Assault ranged attack. (Infernal Ruling)
      • Whether or not your charge was successful, this free melee attack is not a charge attack. (Infernal Ruling)
      • You won't be able to purchase additionals (because your activation ended).


RC symbol.png

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

See also the Warbeast page for a recap of the core warbeast rules.
  • Forcing
    • If an ability doesn't specify how much it costs to force, it costs 1. (Infernal Ruling)
  • Animi
    • A single Animus can be on several models at the same time. (Infernal Ruling)
    • Unlike in Mk2, in Mk3 if a model has an animus on it from any source and then another animus is cast on that model, it will lose the first instance of an animus and will be replaced by the second. It does not matter if either the first animus or the second animus is from a warlock or warbeast. (Infernal Ruling)
    • An animi cast by a warlock is an animi and a spell. (Infernal Ruling)
  • Transferring Damage
    • If both the warlock and the warbeast are damaged by the same attack (such as an AOE), then you need to apply the 'normal' damage to the warbeast before the transferred damage. This distinction can be important when you're working out who/what actually destroyed the beast. (Infernal Ruling)
  • Frenzy (Edit)
    • You cannot trigger optional abilities (such as Cleave or Sprint). (Infernal Ruling)
    • You must trigger compulsory abilities (such as Consume) ... except for compulsory abilities that also generate an extra attack (such as Berserk). In that case, you don't get the Berserk attack. (Infernal Ruling)
    • A warbeast may not make an Assault shot as part of a Frenzy activation.
    • If the closest target to a warbeast resolving a Frenzy cannot be charged, then the warbeast will forfeit movement and action (as per the rules of having to charge and not being able to). (Infernal Ruling)
    • If a frenzying warbeast can't reach its charge target (because the charge lane is blocked by terrain, etc) then it will make a failed charge and end its activation. (Locked thread)
    • If a frenzying warbeast has two melee weapons with the same POW, it can choose which one to use. (Infernal Ruling)
RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Advance Deployment      (Edit)

  • Sometimes you can attach a WA or CA that doesn't have AD to a unit that does have AD. If you do, the attachment effectively gains AD and they can all advance deploy together. (Locked Thread)
RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Pathfinder      (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Carapace - None yet. (Edit)

RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Snacking      (Edit)

  • You can use Snacking to RFP your target even if you're at full health. (Locked thread)
  • Snacking occurs at boxed, and thus:
    • Doesn't prevent abilities that trigger at disabled (such as Tough, Self-Sacrifice, etc).
    • Might prevent abilities that trigger at boxed, depending on who the active player is and whose model the ability triggered on. Refer the 'Triggers' section (pg 10 of the pdf)
    • Does prevent abilties that trigger at destroyed (such as collecting soul tokens, etc)
  • You can snack friendly models.
  • You may choose where each individual point of healing goes.
  • If you kill multiple models with a single attack (such as trampling over them) then you get to heal once for each model killed.
RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Steady      (Edit)

  • If you are hit by a knockdown effect during your own turn then ... nothing happens. Unless it was a Slam or a Throw that knocked you down.
    In that situation, there is a core rule that says "models immune to knockdown that become knocked down from a slam or throw must forfeit either movement or action when they activate". But that core rule doesn't apply to other knockdowns (lots of players assume it does)
  • Steady models are still susceptible to other effects of knock-down attacks (if there are any). For instance, a Head Butt attack causes damage and knockdown - a Steady model would still take the damage.
  • A knocked down model that gains Steady will remain knocked down, because the "cannot be knocked down" is not retroactively applied.
  • Steady models who make a tough check during an advance can continue advancing. (Locked Thread)

Rules Clarification : Sturdy - None yet. (Edit)


RC symbol.png

Rules Clarification : Ashen Veil and/or Swarm     (Edit)

  • The concealment bonus and the attack roll penalty stack with each other. If a living model targets you with a gun/spell, and they're within 2" of you, they effectively suffer -4 to the attack.
  • The attack roll penalty applies to all types of attacks.
  • The attack roll penalty applies even if the enemy model is trying to target something completely different.