Mounted Predator - W'adrhŭn Guide

Like the foot model, the mounted one is an excellent hunter. Unfortunately, it is only available as a resin kit, but it is easy to build from a Raptor kit.

Cost: With only 100 points, the Mounted Predator is quite affordable for a mounted character.

Strengths:

• Expert Hunters: Speakers regiments in his warband ignore Hindering, Dangerous, Broken, and Perilous terrain. In other words, they can make impacts through terrains like forests.
• Fiend Hunter: The Predator can reroll all failed attack rolls against Monster and Brute regiments.
• Armor Piercing 1: In ranged combat, we reduce the opponent's armor by 1 with a Volley Attack.
• Deadly Shot: Any armor roll of 6 results in two damage instead of one for ranged combat attacks with this special rule. Even if the opponent has no armor against the attack, they must still roll and for every 6, they take two damage.
• Effective Ranged Combat: The combination of V3, Barrage 4, 18" range, Armor Piercing, Deadly Shot, and Fiend Hunter is good, but the Raptors he prefers to travel with rarely want to shoot, despite the free shooting action.
• Chants: Generates a Chant Marker, supporting the W’adrhŭn mechanic, but cannot trigger a Chant itself.
• Thrill of the Kill: As a Warlord, we gain Chant Markers when an enemy regiment is destroyed (two markers if it was in a zone). However, this supremacy ability is weaker compared to others in the faction because Chant Markers are usually not scarce.
• Warband: A significantly more limited warband than its foot counterpart, but due to Expert Hunters, it can be quite interesting in some builds.

Weaknesses:

• Battlefield Role - The Speakers: I haven’t noticed any synergy with characters having the Battlefield Role with the W’adrhŭn.
• Low Defense: With D2, E1, R3, and 6 health points, he is vulnerable and should avoid direct duels despite his good attack values.

Warband Cults: All W'adrhŭn characters (except the Scion of Conquest) must join one of the Cults of Famine, Death, or War when building the army list. If the character is a Warlord, they can also choose the Cult of Conquest. The choice of Cult is a strategic and personal decision. It is recommended not to mix Cults too much to use the desired buffs consistently.

Optional Artifacts: The W'adrhŭn have a limited selection of artifacts, many of which are cult- or character-specific. With the exception of the Winglord Predator, each character can equip only one artifact. Useful options for the Predator:

• Cult Artifacts:

  • Death’s Gaze (25 points): Can only be chosen if the character follows the Cult of Death. The regiment the character joins gains the special rule Impact 3. This is cumulative with Crushing Force and allows for an absurd number of hits, for example, against Veterans.
    • Impact 2: On the charge, the regiment makes 2 attacks without Inspire.
  • The Horn of Ronan (30 points): Can only be chosen if the character follows the Cult of War. The regiment the character joins gains the special rule Trample 2 if they chant Tier 2 of the Cult of War.
    • Trample 2: At the end of the activation, an opponent in the front receives 2 auto-hits per stand with this rule. These do not cause Resolve tests and do not benefit from Linebreaker or other special rules.

• Armors:

  • Beads of Death (20 points): Grants the regiment Tenacious 1.
    • Tenacious 1: Treats 1 failed defense roll as a success.
  • Death’s Reach (20 points): The Predator gains +1 attack and Cleave 1. This gives the Predator 7 attacks with Cleave 1 and Fiend Hunter.
    • Cleave 1: In close combat, we reduce the opponent's armor by 1 with a Clash attack.

• Weapons:

  • Kiss of the Dinosaur (20 points): Opponents must reroll all successful Defense and Resolve rolls against hits from the Predator, even in ranged combat.

Optional Masteries: While the selection of artifacts was already limited, the choice of Masteries is even stricter, being limited to Cult, Character, or even Warlord. However, there are some exceptions, and the effects are almost all quite good.

• Adaptability (20 points): If the regiment this character belongs to chants the Battlecry of a Cult at Tier II, a target marker within 6" of the regiment is immediately destroyed. A great ability, especially in combination with Slingers who already want to chant.
• Cure (15 points): Only for characters following the Cult of Death. The regiment the character joined gains Deadly Blades.
  • Deadly Blades: Any armor roll of 6 results in two damage instead of one for attacks with this special rule. Even if the opponent has no armor against the attack, they must still roll, and for every 6, they take two damage.

General Tactics:

After the release of the update, I extensively tested the Mounted Predator, as I think it offers an excellent opportunity to support the nice Raptor models. Also, I built my own from a Raptor kit last year or the year before. However, there are some challenges to consider. One major disadvantage is that many of the items and Masteries of the W’adrhŭn are strongly tied to the Cults. This often requires compromises that are not always ideal, especially when pursuing a specific playstyle. It’s important to have a clear plan to use the Mounted Predator effectively, as Raptors can function well without him, and we need to invest a lot of points.

In my test games, I found The Horn of Ronan useful, but the need to chant regularly to activate the effect quickly became annoying. However, there are players in my group who appreciate this effect very much. The guaranteed additional hits and Cleave 1 significantly increase the damage of the Raptors, especially against moderately armored regiments. One variation that I personally really like requires the Thunder Chieftain Warlord and the artifact Death’s Gaze. This can also be expanded with the Mastery Cure. Cure grants the regiment Deadly Blades, meaning enemy armor rolls of 6 count as 2 wounds in Clash attacks (but not with Impacts). Death’s Gaze gives the regiment the special rule Impact 3. Both effects are good but require the character to belong to the Cult of Death, which already presents a disadvantage. The advantage, however, is that we do not have to chant to activate these effects. With Deadly Blades, I can generally skip offensive chants like War and might have the option for Famine. This results in absurd ranges, charge angles, and fun. Don’t forget that Fluid Formation and Impacts together create an absurd number of tactical possibilities, especially if we can ignore Hindering terrain. Charging opponents across half the board into their flank is just one of them.

Even if we don’t use Fluid, there are options. With Impacts, I can run 8", shoot, and then charge. So, I can move damage across a safe 17" without Chants. With an MSU Raptor unit (3 stands) with a character, that’s about 4-5 ranged hits and 6 impact hits. That’s enough to wipe out most shooting regiments.