Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters

Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters Mercenary, & Minion, & Retribution Partisan, Nyss Character Unit

Mixed How usable this model is in Mk IV depends on the Faction: Retribution: This model can be used in one Prime army, Legions of Dawn. Mercenary/Minion: This model is not (yet) available to this Faction in Mk IV in any shape or form (as of 2022.11) You can view the Mk3 models that made it into a Legacy Army at this page. Note that the rest of this page is about the model's Mark III rules.

After fleeing the blighted terror that consumed her homeland, Cylena Raefyll leads a strong band of fanatically loyal warriors against her despised foes. The skilled hunters of the Raefyll tribe are expert stalkers capable of unleashing withering fire from their compound bows and deadly harm from their elegantly curved Nyss claymores.

Basic Info

Cylena1
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Cylena / Grunts BASE Small SPD 7 STR 5 MAT 7 / 6 RAT 7 / 6 M.A. N/A DEF 14 ARM 11 CMD 9 / 8 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 5 / 1 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA C UNIT SIZE 1 Cylena 5 or 9 Grunts COST 10 or 16 1.6 pts each N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Mercenary - This unit will work for Cryx, Cygnar, Khador, or as a Retribution.

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

Minion - This unit will work for Circle, or Trollbloods.

Abilities

• Entire unit
  • Combined Ranged Attack
  • Pathfinder

• Cylena only
  • She has a better statline
  • Officer
  • Granted: Hunter - While this model is in formation, models in its unit gain Hunter. (Hunter - A model with Hunter ignores cover and concealment when making ranged attacks.)

Weapons

Nyss Bow
		RNG			ROF			AOE			POW
		12			1			-			10
Nyss Claymore
		RNG				POW				P+S
		1				4				9
Weapon Master

Theme Forces

• Mercenary
  • Operating Theater (Only if a Cephalyx Dominator is attached)
  • The Irregulars

• Minion
  • Will Work for Food

• Retribution
  • As a Mercenary unit, the Nyss Hunters can go in every Retribution theme. However, they will use up your "Up to one Merc unit" slot (most of the time).
  • Defenders of Ios. They don't use up your Merc slot in this theme.
  • Forges of War
  • Legions of Dawn
  • Shadows of the Retribution. They gain optional Take Down in this theme.

• Other Factions
  • Mercenary/Minion models can be hired by other Factions. Normally those Factions' themes will have a limit on how many models they can hire. Refer to #Other Theme Forces, below.

Thoughts on Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters

Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters in a nutshell

The Nyss Hunters do a little bit of everything, though none of it exceptionally well. They're above average melee combatants, and decent at range, mobile with a longer threat range than most things, hard to hit as units go. They are ideal for taking out enemy units in cover or concealment. Unless you can buff MAT or STR, you'll be cursing MAT 6 and/or POW 9 when it's time to send them into melee. Also they die to every blast that gets near them.

Many players considered them to be better in Retribution than in Mercenaries or minions due to dedicated support solos (Prist of Nyssor, Artificer) pre-2021.02. Now with a points decrease and many supporting Riot Quest solos (Gudrun2, Boomy2 or 3) the might win back a place in merc and minion lists.

Combos & Synergies

    Retribution    

• Falcir the Merciless - She provides them with a blanket +2/+2 on feat turn with Prey Upon, as well as re-rolls for damage rolls with Execute. Falter Courage and Confuse help deliver them and win battles at range. Flashing Steel also lets them hit twice a turn in melle, which is amazing on a 10-man weapon master unit.
• Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper covers their weaknesses with her feat and Blur.
• Ossyan has a bevvy of upkeeps they all appreciate and a feat that makes their bows more powerful
• Aelyth Vyr, Blade of Nyssor and the Priest of Nyssor are their designated support solos among the Retribution. Aelyth is their Veteran Leader, the Priest gives them another, stackable, +1 to attack rolls
• House Shyeel Artificers give them Force Barrier, for Blast Resistance. You probably don't want to run them without this.
• They are a prime source for corpses/souls for Death/Void Archons respecively.

    Minions    

• Bloody Barnabas - They are quite good at triggering Warpath at a distance. You can also pop & drop targets he knocked down with his feat.
• Midas - Battlelust for 5D6 damage dice on charge is normally enough to crack armor + minions don't have that many Weapon master models.
• Boomhowler2 - He can hand out Reposition to them, letting them back away from their target after shooting.
• Boomhowler3 on the other hand has either Hoof It or +2 to hit with shout down.
• Gudrun2 packs a very important DEF buff for them.

    Mercenaries    

• Durgen Madhammer - He offers protection against enemy AOEs with Force Field and can turn them into Mat 8 P+S 11 Weapon Masters with Primed, of feat they also get to charge and shoot, and the loss of armor isn't going to make a difference. The issue is that now you have exploding Nyss that you bought at a premium...
• Gorten Grundback - Solid Ground is what the doctor ordered for the squishy Nyss. No knock down and resistance to blast damage! He can also put up a nice bit of cover for them to hide behind in Rock Wall.
• When taken in the Cephalyx Theme Force, Operating Theater, they are given tough thanks to the Cephalyx Dominator they must be leashed to. Cognifex Cyphon is able to give them Blur for that sweet DEF 17 Against shooting, DEF 21 and Tough in cover can be really tough to remove. Make sure to keep the Dominator back away from harm if you don't want your 19 point unit stuck doing nothing but running on an important turn, or kill it early on if you think keeping Tough isn't worth the risk of being nullified for a round.
• Fiona the Black - Occultation gives them an actual defensive ability in Stealth and under her feat they become virtually unhittable. Curse of Veils ups their damage both at range and in melee considerably. They can also be her cultists (take that Nyssor!)
• Boomhowler2, Gudrun2 and Boomhowler3, mentioned above, are also merc models.
• Nemo4 (Merc/Cygnar) - He can bring back fallen Nyss.
• Asphyxious4 and Gabriel Throne - They offer damage buffs to their melee damage, which is pretty scary on weapon masters. Gabriel also offers tough and Gaspy has clouds so you should be able to deliver them.

    Other factions    

• Deneghra2 - Denny2 gives various buffs to hit an damage rolls, but Cryx lack viable ranged models, so Nyss fill a niche there. As all of her debuffs are faction agnostic (as debuffs tend to be) she makes Nyss into very respectable ranged threats, who will also hit like trucks in melee, and they can still receive support from a merc solo like Boomy3 if you choose to run them.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• They have victim stats and no defensive abilities to speak off. They will die easily to blast damage and other anti-infantry tech, meaning they will need support of any kind to fix their problems, which inflates their cost. Conversely you will likely bring the solos that make them better anyway.

Tricks & Tips

Use Boomhowler, Solo Artist to grant them Reposition 3". This helps them strike and fade.

Other

Trivia

• Released in Warmachine: Superiority (2006)
• Cylena and company are regarded as being one of the most difficult-to-assembly models in the game. Tiny contact points and loads of spikey bits mean arms and legs can fall off all the time. Oh, and they've got ugly faces.

Other Theme Forces

Cryx (Edit)

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

Khador (Edit)

• Armored Korps
• Jaws of the Wolf
• Legion of Steel
• Winter Guard Kommand

Cygnar (Edit)

• Gravediggers
• Heavy Metal
• Sons of the Tempest
• Storm Division

Retribution of Scyrah (Edit)

• Defenders of Ios
• Forges of War
• Legions of Dawn
• Shadows of the Retribution

Circle Orboros (Edit)

• Secret Masters. This theme doesn't have a limit on how many Minion units you can take.
• The Bones of Orboros
• The Devourer's Host
• The Wild Hunt

Trollbloods (Edit)

• Band of Heroes
• Kriel Company
• Power of Dhunia
• Storm of the North

Other Faction models

Retribution Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warcasters	Elara2 - Falcir1 - Garryth1 - Garryth2 - Goreshade4 - Helynna1 - Issyria1 - Kaelyssa1 - Ossyan1 - Rahn1 - Ravyn1 - Thyron1 - Vyros1 - Vyros2
Warcaster attachments	Fane Knight Guardian (Retribution) - Sylys Wyshnalyrr (Retribution) - Madelyn Corbeau (Mercenary)
Other Warjack Controllers	Elara1 (BGC) - Sentinel Scyir ('Jack Marshal) - Artificer ('Jack Marshal)
Light Warjacks	Aspis - Chimera - Gorgon - Griffon - Harpy - Siren Moros
Heavy Warjacks	Aeternae - Banshee - Daemon - Discordia - Hemera - Hydra - Hypnos - Imperatus - Manticore - Phoenix - Sphinx
Colossal	Hyperion - Helios
Units, Solos, & Battle Engines
Units	Cyelna & Nyss Hunters - D Destors - D Invictors - D Sentinels - Heavy Rifle Team - H Halberdiers - H Riflemen - HE Swordsmen - HE Wardens - HS Arcanists - HS Battle Mages - HV Electromancers - MH Infiltrators - MH Strike Force - Ryssovass Defenders - Spears of Scyrah - Stormfall Archers Special: Eiryss3 (CA) - Soulless Escort (WA)
Solos	Aelyth Vyr - Arcanist Mechanik - D Destor Thane - D Sentinel Scyir - Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios (1) - Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (2) - Eiryss, Fortune Hunter of Ios (4) - Elara, Tyro of the Third Chamber (1) - Fane Knight Guardian - Fane Knight Skeryth Issyen - Ghost Sniper - Hermit of Henge Hold - HE Warden Executioner - HS Artificer - HS Magister - Houseguard Thane - Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress Lys Healer - MH Assassin - Narn, Mage Hunter of Ios - Nayl - Priest of Nyssor - Scythe - Soulless Voidtracer
Battle Engines	Arcantrik Force Generator - Dawnguard Trident
Theme Forces
Defenders of Ios - Forges of War - Legions of Dawn - Shadows of the Retribution
Mercenaries
Refer to Category: Retribution of Scyrah Mercenary
This index was last updated: 2021.04

Rules Clarifications

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

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 : Combined Ranged Attack      (Edit) CRA cannot target models in melee ... unless the target is a huge-based model or the attacker has War-Tempered. If you give the attack-leader a buff to their attack (such as Guidance) then that buff applies to the combined attack (even though the other participants don't have the buff). (Locked thread) Assault & CRA (Edit) You cannot mix Combined Range Attacks with Assault shots, as CRA works during your combat action and Assault shots occur before it. (Infernal Ruling)

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

Rules Clarification : Officer      (Edit) Even if they're not on the Officer's card, an Officer can give (and benefit from) any non-standard orders that are on the unit's card (such as Shield Wall). Refer main rulebook. A Ranking Officer can't do this, though. When the Officer dies, the Leader model becomes the new Unit Commander (you don't get to choose). But if your unit doesn't include a Leader model, then you do get to choose any of the remaining models to be the new Unit Commander. You don't swap the model, but it may be worth putting a token down so you can tell that grunt apart.

Rules Clarification : Tactics vs Granted     (Edit) Granted = The unit loses the ability as soon as the model that grants it is taken off the table. (think "G for Goes away") Tactics = The unit keeps the ability for the entire game, regardless of who dies. (think "Tac-Tick = K for Keeps")   Granted [ Vengeance ] If the model granting Vengeance dies, the unit will not get any Vengeance attacks. It is "If you have Vengeance, and you were damaged last turn, you get a move+attack." It is not "If you get damaged, you get Vengeance next turn." If you lose Vengeance halfway through resolving Vengeance, then you stop resolving Vengeance immediately. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Hunter      (Edit) Although you ignore cover/concealment, you don't ignore "secondary" bonuses a model gets from it. For example, a model with Prowl will still gain Stealth from their concealment. (Infernal Ruling)