Thyrielle's Zephyrites
Welcome to our rundown of Thyrielle’s Zephyrites. Make sure you catch our podcast coverage of the release. For everything out with this release window, follow these links:
Thanks go to GW for providing a review copy to make this content possible.
Introduction
[D]AVY, [P]hil & [Z]ach
P: Like a sudden storm the Zephyrites have finally blown in. Let’s see if they will glide gracefully upon the wind or be more of a chaotic cyclone.
WARSCROLl
D: Requiring a successful attack with particular positioning is potentially challenging, but this isn't a warband universally begging to get inspired.
Z: 3/4 fighters have a range 3 attack, so the positional requirement shouldn't be too bad. The only struggle then is needing to hit, but these fighters aren't inaccurate and there's a built in way to bump them up. If it's important to your gameplan, you'll find away.
D: A big how-to on Tzul. Pretty exciting to see a "pet" having such a pivotal role in the warband rather than the usual throwaway fighter role. It almost goes without saying that being able to set the board to take full advantage of this is going to be a big deal. When in doubt, a more central position is going to give more occasions where it will be incidentally useful. There's a lot of demands on this- benefits to fighters before or after they move and against enemies caught in the lines. But I don't want to overlook that Tzul's space counts as occupied. Which means you can block off routes or landing spots for enemy fighters. HUGE!
Z: There is no Spinefin, ONLY TZUL! (IYKYK) Not quite the same, but still reminiscent of the v1 version of our favorite fish. A bigger area to impact to balance reduced mobility, but this still brings back good memories. Being placed at the start of the first action step means you can decide after knowing who goes first whether you want to position this
D: Uhhh, some of these dudes have 2 defense dice, so you can bump to three by being in the right place?! Or get a less impressive one save up to two? Yes please.
Z: Wow, alright, that's pretty spicy. You should be able to set up to have at least two tokens you want to hold covered by this fairly consistently. There's mot many things in this game to get 3 defense dice and they have it baked in to the warscroll.
D: Less brute-force attractive than Zephyr Dance, but great for setting up big dives into the backfield. Or retreats elsewhere.
Z: Sometimes, this will be absolutely clutch, and other games this will do absolutely nothing. Being that they're all 4 speed Aelves anyway, I'm guessing the latter more often.
D: Really reach out with some flanked from range with this. Could help out the inspires too.
Z: I like that there's a reason for your opponent to have to worry about windblown positioning too. Flanking without needing another fighter next to the target is super nice for a 4 fighter warband that needs to hit to inspire.
D: Hoo boy. Playing against this, I'm definitely waiting for this to go away. Played in your power step means that it's probably most obviously effective at putting Tzul in a blocking spot, or shoring up the defense of a fighter at risk. Really opens up some flexibility.
Z: Did your opponent counterplay Tzul's current position? That's okay, just move him somewhere else. I could also see baiting a fighter onto a 'safe' token and then using this to wail on that fighter the rest of the round.
D: I love the ability to retreat or advance an important fighter with this. Can get you on a token too, which is always welcome. A little less useful for surprise charges because of the timing (your power step), but especially nifty for retreats.
Z: On demand multi hex push will always be a welcome sight. Combine this with the extra defense die, and you got the makings of a hold strategy.
FIGHTERS
Uninspired
D: Two defense is very welcome. Crit grapple is weird, but a rarity at range. The starting damage of 2 in melee makes Thyrielle one of the better spots to place your Great Strength, especially...
P: Certainly a solid leader profile, but likely one of your most important pieces in a warband that starts a bit squishy so careful positioning early might be important.
Inspired
D: ...once your leader is inspired and all the more accurate. Now with full grapple, great for setting up windblown situations.
P: Grapple at range is quite the ability, and on 3 hammers at that. I expect some tricky plays from Thyrielle.
Uninspired
D: Uh-buh-wuh?! Crit grievous at range? Thundrik so jealous. That's a spicy meatball.
P: Pretty sweet to see a ranged focused warband have access to some extra damage at range. Just be careful with 1 doge and 2 bounty!
Inspired
D: Aaaand a weird inspire. Oh, so slightly less accurate, but more importantly, less likely to pop off that crit grievous at range. Very low priority inspire. Watch that 2 bounty as well.
P: Definitely weird to reduce the number of dice for a fighter that is relying on crit abilities. Honestly might hope you never have to inspire her, rather than making it a low priority.
Uninspired
D: Fine enough here, but a second source of a potential 2 damage at range is wild. Another 2 bounty, one defense dice fighter is something to stay wary of.
P: And without 3 dice, a bit less reliable for that damage as well.
Inspired
D: This is an inspire to strive for! Three hammers at range is nice enough, but with crit grievous?!
P: Wow, that is more like it. Definitely my first fighter I want inspired. That extra defense dice in combination with the windblown bonus should make for a pretty tough fighter to hit while they constantly plink you with crit arrows.
Uninspired
D: Ooo, I was half expecting this spear to have range 2, but I think with a placeable occupied hex (hi Tzul) that would be too much. Two damage, but needing the on-card grievous to get there.
P: Feels a bit like the clean up piece. too squishy to send in early but having reliable 2 damage should let him knock down some weakened enemies. The bonus speed from windblown should help here.
Inspired
D: I'd rate this a pretty worthwhile inspire. Good accuracy bump and drops grievous, so Great Strength can step up to the plate.
P: Yeah definitely continues to be the cleanup piece. Just have to watch out for no defensive boost and only 3 health.
Summary
P: So there we have it, perhaps more controlled chaos than graceful glide but they should be able to adjust on the fly like a changing wind. I expect to see a whole host of game plans for this warband since they seem well suited to do a bit of everything. Can’t wait to see what all of you cook up with these Aelves and their trusty wind fox!