Predator - W'adrhŭn Guide (english)

The Predator is undoubtedly one of the most aesthetically pleasing figures among the W'adrhŭn and stands out as an excellent hunter both in the lore and on the battlefield. Available as a plastic kit, it is an attraction for both players and collectors and is currently included as a demo figure in the paint sets.

Cost:

At only 100 points, the Predator is an affordable and effective combat character that excels with strong support abilities. He is, therefore, a staple in many W'adrhŭn armies.

Strengths:

• Forward Force: A non-monster regiment joined by the Predator gains Flank.
  • Flank: The regiment does not receive Reinforcement dice and can choose to be deployed automatically or held back, depending on its weight class. One of the best rules in the game.
• Ceaseless Hunt: The regiment the Predator joins gains the Fire and Advance special rule.
  • Fire and Advance: If this regiment performs a Volley action as its second action, it can immediately perform a free March action, counting toward the limit of three actions per activation.
• Fiend Hunter: The Predator can re-roll all failed attack rolls against Monster and Brute regiments.
• Armor Piercing 1: In ranged combat, his Volley attack reduces the opponent's Armor by 1.
• Deadly Shot: Each 6 on an armor roll results in two damage instead of one when making ranged attacks with this special rule. Even if the opponent has no armor, they must still roll, and any 6s cause two damage.
• Effective Ranged Combat: The combination of V3, Barrage 4, 18" range, Armor Piercing, Deadly Shot, Fiend Hunter, and Fire and Advance makes the Predator an excellent ranged support unit, especially for units like Slingers in his Warband, which benefit greatly from his support against Monsters and Brutes.
• Chants: Generates a Chant Marker and supports the W'adrhŭn mechanics, though he cannot trigger a Chant himself.
• Thrill of the Kill: As Warlord, he generates Chant Markers when an enemy regiment is destroyed (two markers if it was in a zone). However, compared to other faction Supremacy abilities, this is weaker, as Chant Markers are usually plentiful.
• Warband: The Predator has access to nearly all W'adrhŭn Dinosaurs. His focus is on light regiments like Slingers and Hunting Packs, which synergize excellently with him. Slingers, in particular, benefit greatly from his support.

Weaknesses:

• Battlefield Role - The Speakers: No synergy has been observed with characters having a Battlefield Role among the W'adrhŭn.
• Low Defense: With D2, E1, R3, and 5 Life, he is vulnerable and should avoid direct duels, despite his good offensive stats.

Warband Cults:

All W'adrhŭn characters (except the Scion of Conquest) must join one of the Cults of Famine, Death, or War when building their army list. If the character is the Warlord, they may additionally choose the Cult of Conquest. The choice of cult is a strategic and personal decision. It's recommended not to mix too many Cults, as it can be difficult to consistently benefit from the desired buffs.

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. Here are some meaningful options for the Predator:

• Cult Artifacts:

  • None

• Armors:

  • Beads of Death (20 points): Grants the Tenacious 1 rule to the regiment, which also applies if the Predator is mounted on an Apex.
    • Tenacious 1: Treats one failed defense roll as a success.
  • Death's Reach (20 points): The Predator gains +1 Attack and Cleave 1. This is something usually seen when riding an Apex Rider, giving the Predator 7 attacks, Cleave 1: and Fiend Hunter. When mounted on the Apex, the Terrifying rule applies to him, boosting the Apex's damage significantly.
    • Cleave 1: In melee, reduce the opponent's Armor by 1 with a Clash attack.

• Weapons:

  • Brood of Omgorah (20 points): The character becomes a Cavalry model and gains the Impact 4 and Brutal Impact 2 special rules. This is often used for Flank, and the mounted Predator takes advantage of Flank for Raptors.
    • Impact 4 & Brutal Impact 2: During a charge, the character makes 4 impacts with -2 Armor for the opponent. Important: Impacts do not benefit from Inspire.
  • Kiss of the Dinosaur (20 points): Opponents must re-roll all successful defense and resolve rolls against attacks from the Predator, even in ranged combat.

Optional Masteries:

While the selection of artifacts is already limited, the mastery options are even stricter, being tied to Cult, Character, or Warlord. However, there are some exceptions, and the effects are nearly all remarkably good:

• Adaptability (20 points): If the regiment this character is in chants a Battlecry from any Cult at Tier II, an Objective Marker within 6" of the regiment is immediately destroyed. This is a great ability, especially in combination with Slingers, who will want to chant anyway.
• Apex Master: The character gains the Rider rule and must choose to ride an Apex Predator in their Warband. A Predator character with this mastery can perform a Free Volley action during the Apex activation, which counts toward the three actions per round limit.
  • Rider: This character is not represented as a separate stand and must attach to a Monster regiment in their Warband. The character must be positioned somewhere on the Monster’s base. The regiment counts as two stands: one for the Monster stand and one for the Character stand. If the character is destroyed in a duel, the Monster gains the Broken status as it has lost half of its stands.The character uses the Monster stand for range measurement and line of sight. Typically, a Monster stand counts as 3 stands for scoring, with the Character stand adding to the total. Thus, a Rider model typically counts as 4 stands for scoring.

General Tactics:

The Predator is a versatile and strong hero for the W'adrhŭn, excelling particularly in ranged combat. He doesn’t need much additional equipment to be effective. Personally, I value his support abilities like Flank and Fire and Advance for Slingers more than his offensive capabilities. This means I often take a Predator to join a Slinger regiment to ensure they can safely deploy on the battlefield in the first round and still move after firing.

That said, this doesn’t mean the Predator is bad at shooting. Even though his effectiveness is slightly reduced against enemies with Hardend or rerolls in defense, his offensive potential remains high. Additionally, he benefits from the Singing Bullets of the Slingers, keeping him in optimal range and giving him +1 Barrage. More than one Hellbringer has died in a shooting phase with 4 stands of Slingers + Predator, as the Predator simply rolled 4 sixes on the defense rolls.

It's important to protect the block with other regiments, like Hunting Packs or Braves, as many will attempt to get into melee using Move & Charge. While the Predator and Slingers can hold their own with Chants, the Predator's main role is long-range shooting and supporting other units. Having a Slinger unit with Predator in the late game is quite unpleasant for most opponents and very beneficial for us.

A second, visually impressive variant that has drawn many players into the game is to mount the Predator on an Apex. With the recent update, Apex Rider now grants a free Volley action, which compensates for losing Flank and the range shooting potential of the Predator on the Apex. However, this is usually a trap, and the most common variant I play is the Predator with Death's Reach (the spear also included in the box). With this setup, you have 18 attacks with the monster: 7 with Cleave 1, 11 with Cleave 2, all benefiting from Terrifying 2. Against Brutes and Monsters, you also re-roll all hits. This setup kills nearly every MSU (3 stands) of Brutes and Monsters in one activation, with the exception of Talos and Tontorrs. And, it just looks amazing.