Warcry- Untamed Beasts Discussion

[Wazzuli]

I've had good luck/usage with the beast speaker. I've been thinking about the 2 first fangs as well I may try it my next game I'll let you know how it goes! 

[Acid_Nine]

2 hours ago, Wazzuli said:

I've had good luck/usage with the beast speaker. I've been thinking about the 2 first fangs as well I may try it my next game I'll let you know how it goes! 

Really? I found she is the weakest link so far in terms of damage output. Her whip and dagger seem cool, but they never seem to connect, and when they do it,s super minimal damage. I think I would rather use a second first fang or something else. Really the only time I found use for her was letting the lion attack after a double move.

[Wazzuli]

@Acid_Nine that's where most of her usage has been for me. I've been running 2 Rocktusks so she helps them really melt faces lol. Her Whip has helped finish a fight off here and there, but a lot people panic once she lets the Rocktusks go and gun for her so that's less attacks on better fighters is how I've been looking at it. 

[tom_gore]

Beastspeaker is golden in finishing off those pesky 1-2 hp left models. She can do that from 9" away and still be able to command the Prowler to attack again (which is why you include her in the first place).

I often move her up, command the prowler to attack and if the target survives with 1-2 hp, finish it off with the whip.

Edited September 11, 2019 by tom_gore

[Maddpainting]

Hello everyone! My group got heavily into Warcay (10-12 of us in the league and a few more for 1 off games).

I picked 2 Warbands (Untamed Beasts and Unmade), i have 14 games in now between those and a few IDK games. I know it isnt much, but i think i like the Beasts the best so far out of all the games i played and went against. Really quick, Unmade are IMO one of the strongest warbands, but also not fun to play. With 9 1/4 damage fighters that can lower toughness and 2 AoE bomb fighters to hurt hordes (can do it every turn, sometimes 2 in a turn or more, i had a game i waited - Bombed then  had the other fighter bomb as well, dealing a total of 30 damage between 5 other fighters, it was a 3  and a 6 damage abilities, the 6 damage one hit 3 fighter, and the 3 damage one hit 4 fighters, 3" in a full aoe on a 32mm base is very large), i havent lost with them yet, tho its only been 5 games.
But the Untamed beast tho are by far the most fun to play so far, and for this Campaign i decided to pick them.

What i see value in the warband and what i will take and why, i'll also show my 2 play styles.

Plains Runners - IMO at least 3 are a must, you really want more activation's and some throw away bodies for other fighters that can over kill and 1 shot your important units, also just to get in the way to lessen their actions. You can even do 5-6 but I feel other options outweighs them.

First Fang - I like him a lot, his pull is extremely good, moving twice then pulling something is very important to chasing down fast runners or taking them out of zones, etc.. it has won me games, he has a total reach of 16". There is good argument for taking 2 of these guys and a lot of Runners, if your runners dont need to.. run things down and you get full attack actions you can do so really good damage quickly. 

Beastspeaker - Wonderful if you are take a Cat or 2, only b.c you can wait use her ability, then activate to use her ability again, she will give you 2 free cat attacks. but she herself isnt very good, you are basically taking her to hit a couple 1 wound left targets and to give your cat more attacks. You dont need her, and you can make strong lists without her even with the taking a Cat or 2.

Prowers - IMO they are extremely good, with 8" movement, T4 and 20 wounds, you for sure want 1, maybe even 2. I will always take 1 for sure.

Preytakers - Sword is just better in almost every way, if you really want Str 4 just take a Cat, the sword is nice b.c it is 4 2/4 damage attacks. I can see a list being 4 of these guys

Heart Eater - Leader, must take, enough said, but he has a good ability, try to keep a double for him if you can, have him hunt down weaken units, 4-6 wounds left at the most to get him an extra action.

I try to not go below 8 fighters for any reason, unless that warband is meant to do that with extra movement, more actions, etc..


My couple list i have tried and really like

Thunder Cats
Leader
Cat
Cat
First-fang
Runners x5
9 Fighters
Im 45pts short, but im ok with that, i have done 3 runners and Cat lady, they both worked about the same, but i'd rather have the 5 runners for more serious games

Big Weapons
Leader
Cat
First Fang
Sawtooth x3
Runners x3
10 Fighters
This one is just pure numbers of damage with the cat for movement, the first-fang for abilities.


This list i want to try but havent yet, i will for sure in the next week or two, i feel it might work really well.
Cant run from me
Leader
First-fang
First-fang
Runners x9
12 Fighters
Just pure activation's, use the Spears to pull to not have as many movement actions from the runners, use the basic ability and quad ability every change i get after i do some pulls.


My "Fun" list when i dont want to be "that guy"
Leader
First fang
Cat
Cat lady
Sawtooth EDIT: x2
Runners x3
8 Fighters (less than i like) but its for players not to used to the game, so they can see everything i can do.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Maddpainting

[tom_gore]

16 hours ago, Maddpainting said:

My "Fun" list when i dont want to be "that guy"
Leader
First fang
Cat
Cat lady
Sawtooth
Runners x3
8 Fighters (less than i like) but its for players not to used to the game, so they can see everything i can do.

You can add another preytaker to this list and bring it to exactly 1000 pts.

[Maddpainting]

Oh it is 2, i didnt type the 2nd one, b.c its 1k on the dot, thanks for noticing that for me.

Edited September 12, 2019 by Maddpainting

[Keith]

my first game with my Untamed Beasts , I have now added a 2nd first fang which seems better , but more experimenting to do.

[Acid_Nine]

So I decided to give this list a try today in a few casual games:

Heart-eater

First Fang

beast-speaker

rock-tusk

 x3 plain runners

slaughterpriest with flail and sword

I thought I would miss the prey takers, but I really didn’t. The slaughter priest can really hold his own (at least in the games I played) and deal a crud ton of damage between the blood boil and sword attacks. I really liked how durable he is. It’s a lot of wounds to chew through, and gives the warband a third heavy hitter beside the prowler and heart eater. Even when he only has a double, you can pretty reliably use blood for the blood god to swing an extra time or move before swinging.

 

i May try a list without the beast speaker and one plains runner, but that may be too focused on heavy hitters?

Edited September 15, 2019 by Acid_Nine

[Wazzuli]

I still haven't seen the Monsters and Mercs book, so I can't give any advice on that part of it. The list you ran does look super fun though! @Acid_Nine

[Acid_Nine]

23 minutes ago, Wazzuli said:

I still haven't seen the Monsters and Mercs book, so I can't give any advice on that part of it. The list you ran does look super fun though! @Acid_Nine

It was! Best part is the slaughterpriest hits like a ton of bricks in Close Combat, and he also has a Harpoon snag like ability to draw someone closer. He could really rock someone's day if you pull a guy right into him and swing with two activations. Blood Boil is also a great damage ability for what it's worth.

 

[Keith]

Latest Battle Report- this time I tried two First Fangs  , they went OK , but the FAQ means they wont be as good as they are in this battle.

 

Splintered Fang vs Untamed_Beasts

https://youtu.be/BNRhxxoUM0g

[Wazzuli]

Nice! Im excited to watch the vid! The FAQ didn't hit our 1st double though right? The +1 move/+1 attack for the next of each? Might help just for that one activation. 

Edited September 19, 2019 by Wazzuli

[Keith]

39 minutes ago, Wazzuli said:

Nice! Im excited to watch the vid! The FAQ didn't hit our 1st double though right? The +1 move/+1 attack for the next of each? Might help just for that one activation. 

Hmm yeah I think you might be onto something there

This would give the first fang a decent ranged throw of the spear , move 5” now and then throw 8” with 3 dice. ,13” range. Then another two shots if that was your first action.

[Acid_Nine]

Man, can I say that the hunt for firescar’s first convergence mission is tough as heck? Tried it twice today, and got stomped on the first try (mirror match against untamed beasts )and barely lost on the second (bloody skeletons)!

 

Getting to the objectives is a pain in the ****** if the person knows what they are doing, and the twist dead of night is the biggest kick in the balls I seen. I brought a slaughter priest and the first fang, and would have been able to pull enemies off objectives if I didn’t have the 3” limit on range. May have to drop that quest because of it, as I just don’t see a good way to win

[Wazzuli]

@Acid_Nine oh man! Im on the other campaign quest and the first convergence was pretty rough for that as well, I got lucky my opponents dice took a nap lol. Maybe try running lots of bodies? 

[Acid_Nine]

38 minutes ago, Wazzuli said:

@Acid_Nine oh man! Im on the other campaign quest and the first convergence was pretty rough for that as well, I got lucky my opponents dice took a nap lol. Maybe try running lots of bodies? 

Well, I also realised last night that I could have grabbed a fury as well for my guys to have eeked in one more body, which I think I may try next time. I like the slaughter-priest and I just got myself an aspiring death bringer, both of which add some extra strong toughness but both cost pretty high. Other problem is, against skeletons the prey-takers may as well be plains-runners.

[Wazzuli]

@Acid_Nine I feel the same about the prey takers lol. I was going to suggest the Deathbringer for that insane quad! I've noticed we are not a strong objective holder army, the games where that was the victory condition I've lost or just barely squeaked out a win. It could be bc I tend to have my list more on the elite side too though lol

[Nevar]

Hey guys, I am going to be starting a Warcry campaign with friends soon, and to be honest... I am not really super stoked with -any- of the factions in the initial Warcry release.  I normally play Nighthaunt, but none of my favorite models were included.  No free people, no Seraphon, no Sacrosanct or Warrior Chambers, no Vampires, etc.  So... I have decided to make a 'counts as' Seraphon warband.  Instead of making custom rules though I am just going to use stand ins and Untamed Beasts seem like the best option.  A lot of models in the Untamed Beasts, as well as their abilities and names translate pretty seamlessly over to the vicious dinomen.  I have an unbuilt Carnosaur kit, so I intend to take the riders off the beast as characters in the warband, and then have the unmounted dino as a stand in for one of the chaos monsters.  Feral Troglodon or Carnosaur, depends on which can fit onto a chaos beast easiest.  Anyways, the list I have in mind looks like this.

Heart-Eater (Leader) - Using the Saurus Oldblood

Beast Speaker - Using the Troglodon Rider Skink

Rocktusk Kitty - I have scourge runner cold ones laying about, raptors as kitties ftw.

Rocktusk Kitty2 - Cold One

Plains Runner - Skink!

Plains Runner

Plains Runner

Plains Runner

 

I worry it has too few bodies, and no prey-takers or javalin guy.  Two Cold Ones (rocktusks) might be overboard.  Do I need two Beast Speakers? Is it a bad idea to run with no Prey-Takers?  Normally I like 'elite' lists, but until the Lizardman Blood Bowl team is released for Saurus conversion fodder I have to stick to as many skinks (plains runners) as possible for now.  Anyone tried double rocktusks?  Could three kitties do well?  How much support do the cats (raptors) need from beast speakers?

[Maddpainting]

Hey guys, want to chime in a a sec and let you know that i no longer will play a First Fang, i now will only play a Great Bray Shaman, IMO they are just better in every way. There are Pros and Cons to swapping each out for each other, some will like the First Fang more and others wont, there is no "real" winning, but both are different play styles.

The shaman is 25pts more, but has 10 more wounds, and its ability is a Double.
[Double] Devolve: Pick a visible enemy within 14". That fighter makes a bonus jump directly towards this figher, equal to the value of the dice. Note i shorten the text a bit.

So unlike the First Fang where he gets an attack action with it, the shaman ranges is nearly double, 14" to pull something a D6 amount (which b.c it is a double very easy to get a 5 or a 6" jump)

As for its weapon stats.

3-7", A2, S3, D3/6 
2", A3, S4, D1/4

As you can see the melee attack is the same execpt it is 2" instead of 1" that is better, the range attack is 1" shorter and 1 less strength but it is 1 more damage adn 1 more crit, the strength can matter to some players, to me it doesnt matter as much as damage and attacks.

IMO it is better for 4 reasons
1) it has more wounds
2) Its ability is a double, very easy to get and to use
3) its damage is equal without abilities, and the melee reach is a plus
4) The ability is cheap and long enough to be able to use twice if you wait first, this has won me games already.


With only 3 games with the Shaman (and over 10 with First Fang) i already like the shaman more than First Fang, b.c i no longer need the triple from First Fang i can use it with our Cats, a free spike for 4-6 damage is really nice, or the universal ability which can be good.

[Wazzuli]

@Nevar I almost always run 2 Rocktusks and I really like it, they freak people out and are super fast! @Maddpainting I like where you're going with this! I think I'm going to try it my next game! 

[Acid_Nine]

2 hours ago, Maddpainting said:

Hey guys, want to chime in a a sec and let you know that i no longer will play a First Fang, i now will only play a Great Bray Shaman, IMO they are just better in every way. There are Pros and Cons to swapping each out for each other, some will like the First Fang more and others wont, there is no "real" winning, but both are different play styles.

The shaman is 25pts more, but has 10 more wounds, and its ability is a Double.
[Double] Devolve: Pick a visible enemy within 14". That fighter makes a bonus jump directly towards this figher, equal to the value of the dice. Note i shorten the text a bit.

So unlike the First Fang where he gets an attack action with it, the shaman ranges is nearly double, 14" to pull something a D6 amount (which b.c it is a double very easy to get a 5 or a 6" jump)

As for its weapon stats.

3-7", A2, S3, D3/6 
2", A3, S4, D1/4

As you can see the melee attack is the same execpt it is 2" instead of 1" that is better, the range attack is 1" shorter and 1 less strength but it is 1 more damage adn 1 more crit, the strength can matter to some players, to me it doesnt matter as much as damage and attacks.

IMO it is better for 4 reasons
1) it has more wounds
2) Its ability is a double, very easy to get and to use
3) its damage is equal without abilities, and the melee reach is a plus
4) The ability is cheap and long enough to be able to use twice if you wait first, this has won me games already.


With only 3 games with the Shaman (and over 10 with First Fang) i already like the shaman more than First Fang, b.c i no longer need the triple from First Fang i can use it with our Cats, a free spike for 4-6 damage is really nice, or the universal ability which can be good.

I been playing with a slaughter priest instead of beast speaker, and I think he's better than the first fang as well for like, 60 points more. Comes with a harpoon snag ability too, and he can back it up with a hard punch to the face  when in close combat, unlike the first fang. 

Honestly the first fang does fairly well for me usually, and surprised out of everyone that's the one you want to replace

[Maddpainting]

Yeah, i need to look at those other models more, but i have a large amount of AoS already and was trying to use what i have, looking at the others, i think 2 of the Khorne guys are almost a must take. Slaughter Priest and Aspiring Deathbringer. The Aspiring Deathbringer is so damaging, S5, is good but with 5 attacks its crazy, if you get 2 attack actions and his ability [Quad] is just insane, everything gets +X damage on hits/crits within 8" if you are running a lot of value of attacks (like everyone does) you could double you damage of multi fighters.

But i think my favorite is the Chieftan, 5 str 5 attacks with his double is so good "Add the value of this ability to the damage points allocated to enemy fighters by each hit or crit from the next attack action" If you get a double 6, you will have 5 attacks doing 8/11 damage.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Maddpainting

[Acid_Nine]

2 hours ago, Maddpainting said:

Yeah, i need to look at those other models more, but i have a large amount of AoS already and was trying to use what i have, looking at the others, i think 2 of the Khorne guys are almost a must take. Slaughter Priest and Aspiring Deathbringer. The Aspiring Deathbringer is so damaging, S5, is good but with 5 attacks its crazy, if you get 2 attack actions and his ability [Quad] is just insane, everything gets +X damage on hits/crits within 8" if you are running a lot of value of attacks (like everyone does) you could double you damage of multi fighters.

But i think my favorite is the Chieftan, 5 str 5 attacks with his double is so good "Add the value of this ability to the damage points allocated to enemy fighters by each hit or crit from the next attack action" If you get a double 6, you will have 5 attacks doing 8/11 damage.

I'm almost afraid these mercs will be nerfed, but so far I am very happy to have these guys as well. I may look at the spell casters more closely now after this!

[Wazzuli]

@Acid_Nine I thought I was crazy bc I kept thinking of pitching the 1st fang for other stuff as well bc he's been either the best or the worst fighter for me lol. Even crazier bc I really like the beast speaker (even if I dont run 2 Rocktusks) but I'm stealing your guys ideas! So thanks to both you and @Maddpainting!