Blooded - W'adrhŭn Guide (english)

The Blooded represent ascended Braves, warriors who have proven their bravery and skill on the battlefield. As a reward for their successes, they have gained access to better weapons and have discarded their wooden shields. In the game, their role within the W’adrhŭn army is currently uncertain.

Cost

At 130 points for the regiment and 40 points per additional stand, the Blooded offer a reasonable value for money, at least at first glance.

Strengths

• High Number of Attacks: With 6 attacks, they are quite solid for line infantry, despite having Clash 2.
• Standard Bearer: The standard bearer is free and grants +1 Movement during the second movement action per round, as well as a reroll for the charge roll.
• Medium: As a Medium regiment, the Blooded are capable of scoring and can be used flexibly.
• Chants: Generates a Chant marker, supporting the W’adrhŭn mechanics and providing access to many useful abilities.
• Battlefield Role - The Tribes: The Tribes keyword allows for synergies with the Chieftain, including the valuable Vanguard ability, which facilitates early scoring.
• Officer Aberration: For an additional 20 points, the regiment can gain an Aberration, which places two markers into the pool instead of one upon activation.

Weaknesses

• Weak Defense: With Defense 2, Evasion 1, Resolve 3, and 5 wounds, the Blooded, like most W’adrhŭn units, are relatively vulnerable to enemies who deal a lot of attacks. Despite the possibility to increase Evasion by 1 with Chants, they die quickly to concentrated attacks or poor dice rolls.
• Slow Movement: With Movement 5, they are not particularly fast. While the W’adrhŭn have several ways to improve this with Vanguard and Chants, it’s questionable whether the Chants should be used on the Blooded.
• Lack of a Niche: The Blooded suffer from not really excelling in any particular role. They directly compete with the cheaper Braves, who have better defensive options, as well as the Veterans, who bring superior offensive and defensive abilities.
  
  
  

General Tactics

The Blooded want to push forward to engage in combat with their 6 attacks. They particularly benefit from the Vanguard ability from a Chieftain and the +2" from the Famine Chant or even the Cleave 1 from War. However, they are currently in direct competition with the Braves, who get additional stands 5 points cheaper and trade one attack and Evasion for Shields and Support 2. This makes the Braves generally more appealing as both a combat block and a unit for scoring, as they almost have the same number of attacks. This doesn't mean the Blooded are bad; they just currently lack a clear role where they are more useful than the alternatives.

If they were made a bit more expensive and had one of the older Officers added to their profile, granting them abilities like Fiend Hunter and Flank, in my opinion, that would be a reason to include them. As it stands, despite good item synergies and a solid Battlefield Role, it often comes down to Braves or Veterans.