Satyxis Blood Witches

Satyxis Blood Witches Cryx Satyxis Unit Blood Hag Command Attachment

The sadism of the Satyxis is a legend among those who sail the waters of the Broken Coast. But even among the depraved Satyxis are a few whose appetites for atrocity are greater than their sisters. The Blood Witches work their dark magic through blighted ritual blades known as Blood Razors.

The blood hags lead their sisters in the most hallowed rites: sacrificing the males born to the Satyxis, initiating the girl children into the cruel ways of the Satyxis, and conducting the auguries that steer the fate of their people.

Basic Info

Satyxis Blood Witches
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Small SPD 6 STR MAT 6 RAT N/A M.A. N/A DEF 13 ARM 12 CMD 7 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 1 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA 2 UNIT SIZE 6 / 10 +1CA COST 8 / 13 +4CA 1.5 each N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Abilities

• Entire unit
  • Stealth
  • Gang - When making a melee attack targeting an enemy model in the melee range of another model in this unit, this model gains +2 to melee attack and melee damage rolls.
• Blood Hag only
  • Dark Shroud - While in this model's melee range, enemy models suffer -2 ARM.
  • Tactics: Blessed - Models in this unit gain Blessed.
  • Granted: Side Step - While this model is in formation, models in its unit gain Side Step. (Side Step - When this model hits an enemy model with an initial melee attack or a melee special attack, it can advance up to 2" after the attack is resolved.)

Weapons

• Blood Witches
  • Blood Razor - 0.5" reach, P+S 10 melee weapon
    • Damage Type: Magical
    • Attack Type - Each time this weapon is used to make an attack, choose one of the following special rules:
      • Grievous Wounds - A model hit by this weapon loses Tough and cannot have damage removed from it for one round.
      • Blood Shadow - If this attack boxes a living or undead model, this model can gain Incorporeal for one round.
      • Death Strike - If this attack destroys a living or undead model, after resolving the attack choose a model within 4" of this model. The chosen model suffers a damage roll with a POW equal to the STR of the model destroyed by the attack.
  • Horns - 0.5" reach, P+S 8 melee wapon
    • Critical Knockdown - On a critical hit, the model hit becomes knocked down.
• Blood Hag
  • Blood Razor - 0.5" reach, P+S 10 melee weapon
    • Same abilities as above, but with a 4th Attack Type:
      • Dispel - When this weapon hits a model/unit, upkeep spells and animi on that model/unit immediately expire.
  • Horns - 0.5" reach, P+S 8 melee weapon
    • Critical Knockdown - As above

Theme Forces

• Cryx
  • Scourge of the Broken Coast. Up to one unit of Blood Witches can gain Ambush in this theme.

• Other Factions
  • Hearts of Darkness. Satyxis Blood Witches can only go in this theme if Mortenebra is leading the army. It becomes an Infernal model in this theme.

Recent Changes

No changes since 2018.01

Thoughts on Satyxis Blood Witches

Blood Hag - Command Attachment

Satyxis Blood Witches in a nutshell

Blood Witches are cheap-ish light infantry who excel at dealing with the types of enemies who specialize in being difficult to remove. Their weapons are magical to cut through incorporeal models, they have Blessed to deal with buffed models, and they have Grievous Wounds to deal with tough/regenerating models, and they have Death Strike to circumvent targeting restrictions and abilities triggered by taking damage from enemy attacks (such as Vengeance or Sanguine Bond).

Gang and multiple attack makes them very proficient at killing high defense models. If they can get the charge, their daggers have enough potential to deal significant damage to moderately armored targets, especially if the Blood Hag gets in close.

They have a fragile statline, typical for light infantry, and they rely on stealth to survive. Once there they can be made more difficult to kill via Blood Shadow (although you miss out on the more offensive dagger abilities).

It's also worth mentioning that Death Strike is effectively a 3rd attack, so a single Blood Witch can net an impressive three kills a turn on hot dice. Obviously the ideal target is high STR, low ARM models but they tend to be rarer than hen's teeth. Keep an eye out for nearly dead warbeasts, otherwise treat it as a nice extra rather than a core ability.

Thoughts on adding the CA

If you're running them in the Scourge of the Broken Coast theme, she is worth it for Dark Shroud because that theme has very few damage fixers. Otherwise, you could take her or leave her.

Combos & Synergies

Being an independent unit they don't need help to do well, but they sure will appreciate it.

• Casters who do not support infantry can add Blood Witches to their forces with comfort. They are a relatively independent unit who cover a very large number of strange situations. They are remarkably cheap for their potential offensive power.
• They make good foot soldiers for a stealth skew list.
• Blood Shadow does not RFP and can be used against friendly models. You can kill your own thralls (and bring them back same turn with a necrosurgeon) to make your witches incorporeal. This helps mitigate their short threat range.
• Satyxis Blood Witches make excellent use of armor debuffs thanks to their high accuracy and moderate damage.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• They're a special order model.
• Very low armor and only moderate defense means that Blood Witches die very easily to any aggression. Stealth will keep them safe from a good deal of attacks, but scattering AoEs will remain a problem.
• Blessed will not improve the performance of Deathstrike as it is not considered to be an attack.
• Without charging and gang, they will struggle against moderately armored units.
• Low armor, defense, and gang means that this unit can be particularly vulnerable to tramples. Pay attention to your formation near heavy warjacks.
• Getting work out of the Hag's Dark Shroud is risky. If she dies, the unit loses Side Step.
• The Dispel attack type on the Hag will remove debuffs if used. If you both want to remove buffs and benefit from a debuff, have the Hag attack last.

Tricks & Tips

• If your opponent's army derives benefits when you kill or damage their models (i.e., generating corpses for the Death Knell), you can use the damage roll from Death Strike to deny them as the damage is technically not caused by an enemy attack.
• As with many other Gang units, run models who are too far away to charge into engagement so the more isolated models in the squad can benefit from gang.
• Against models with rules or buffs that give them out-of-activation advances and attacks such as Dodge, Riposte, or Enliven, open your attack with the horns to try to knock them down and prevent their countermeasures from working.

Other

Trivia

• Released in Forces of Warmachine: Cryx (2010)
• When the Hag was first released, her Entropic Force ability prevented warlocks using transfers; but was soon errata'd by PP because it was so mean to Trollbloods, it wasn't even funny. (It's since been replaced by Dark Shroud).

Other Cryx 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:  : 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 : Attack Type and/or Arcane Savant     (Edit) If you forget to declare your Attack Type before rolling the attack, and you and your opponent can't agree on a fair fix, then the Judge's Policy is that the first listed Attack Type is the one that will be used. If your target can only be targeted by certain kinds of attack (ie a Menoth warjack with Passage), you can first choose the correct Attack Type (ie Magical Damage vs Passage) and then that allows you to target it. The Attack Type selection and target declaration both occur at Step 1 (Refer Appendix A). (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Grievous Wounds      (Edit) GW prevents "repairs" as well as "heals". It does not stop a warlock transferring damage, or stop the wounded model from being able to 'heal' someone else. Does not affect models with the Massive rule.

Rules Clarification : Blood Shadow      (Edit) If you make another attack after triggering Blood Shadow (for example, a Blood Witch making a horn attack) then you will immediately lose incorporeal.

Rules Clarification : Death Strike      (Edit) Death Strike is not a melee attack and thus will not be affected by melee bonuses. The Death Strike attack does not get any STR buffs that were on the model just killed, not even 'passive' buffs like Battle-Driven. The 4" range of Death Strike is measured from the attacker (not from the model just killed). If you have an effect that allows you to re-roll damage rolls, then you may re-roll Death Strike (even though it's not a normal sort of attack, it's still a normal sort of damage roll). Similarly for effects that buff damage rolls. The damage from Death Strike can be boosted (if the attacker has FURY/FOCUS etc) because it doesn't say it's unboostable.

Rules Clarification : Knockdown      (Edit) Knockdown (Edit) - Remember, knockdown only prevents what it says it does. Refer to the Knockdown page for a recap of what a model can/can't do.

Rules Clarification : Dispel      (Edit) Dispel can't be used versus upkeeps that are not "on" a model/unit (such as Rock Wall, Void Gate, etc), because you can't "hit" them. Because Dispel causes spells to expire on a hit, it will prevent spells that trigger on a hit from triggering at all. For instance, the defensive animus Spiny Growth causes any model that hits the target to suffer d3 damage. This damage will not occur if it's hit by a Dispel weapon. Anti-Upkeep vs a unit (Edit) If an upkeep is on a unit, then all you need to do is make it expire off any member of the unit and the spell will expire from the entire unit. It doesn't matter if the target is in formation or not. (Locked thread) However, if an upkeep is on a single model within a unit (such as Scything Touch) then you need to dispel it off that particular model to make it dispel. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Stealth      (Edit) Stealth models are not invisible and you can target them - you'll just auto-miss most of the time. You can target them with a charge. You can target them with an AOE, have it auto-miss and scatter, luckily land on top of them anyway, and that will hit them.

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 : Dark Shroud      (Edit) Dark Shroud only applies to your melee range, and this doesn't include behind you. Refer to the latest errata. The ARM debuff still applies during a free strike.

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 : Blessed and/or Creator's Wrath     (Edit) Blessed ignores spell buffs even if they're not directly on the target. (For example, Haley3's Temporal Distortion spell is cast on Haley and gives a DEF buff to everyone within 5". Blessed ignores it on everyone, not just on Haley.) (Locked thread) You only ignore the DEF/ARM buff if the spell directly adds to the stat (for example Arcane Shield gives +3 ARM). Whereas a spell which grants an ability, and the ability gives a DEF/ARM buff, would not be ignored by Blessed (for example Cloak of Ash gives a model concealment, and concealment gives +2 DEF). (Infernal Ruling) If a spell buffs DEF/ARM and [something else] then you ignore the buff but not the [something else]. (For example, the spell Death Ward grants +2 ARM and the defender chooses which column suffers damage. You would ignore the ARM bonus, but the defender still picks the column.) This ability only ignores buffs from spells, not buffs from feats (such as Stryker1's Invincibility +5 ARM) or abilities (such as Protective Aura's +2 ARM).

Rules Clarification : Side Step      (Edit) You can't trigger Side Step by hitting friendly models. You can't trigger Side Step from additional attacks that you buy, or out-of-activation attacks (such as free strikes). If you have multiple initial attacks, you have to step after each one. You can't "save up" all your side steps then get a single big 4" or 6" move.

Note to Editors To edit the Hag's tagged abilities, Click here