Raptor Riders - W'adrhŭn Guide (english)

Can you feel the thunder inside?
Rapor Riders
Make a lightning crack as you ride!
Ratpor Riders
And the Star Sheriffs
*whip crack sound*

Maybe this reinterpreted Sabre Rider intro is only funny in my head, but it somehow fits. The Raptor Riders, one of the most brutal, visually impressive, and strongest light regiments in the game, consist of majestic dinosaurs ridden by warriors wearing dinosaur skulls.

Cost:

With 180 points for the regiment and an additional 60 points for extra stands, the Raptors are among the more expensive light regiments in the game and are relatively fragile.

Strengths:

• Melee Fighters: With 5 attacks, Flurry, and Clash 2, the Raptors can strike effectively in close combat. Despite their ranged capabilities with Barrage 2, Volley 3, and Armor Piercing 1, they prefer melee combat.
• Flurry: This regiment rerolls all failed hit rolls during Clash actions.
• Unstoppable: The regiment can reroll failed charge rolls.
• Mounted Hunters: The regiment can perform a free Volley action during its activation. However, keep in mind the maximum action limit of 3 and that this cannot be used in melee combat.
• Armor Piercing 1: In ranged combat, a Volley attack reduces the opponent's armor by 1.
• Fluid Formation: At the beginning or end of its activation, the regiment may perform an additional free Reform action. Fluid Formation usually increases the charge range by at least 2" when using 3 stands and allows the unit to hide behind terrain to avoid enemy fire and attacks. It also enables positioning a stand within/on a terrain piece to establish a line of sight—one of the strongest abilities in the game. Theoretically, Raptors can also use this to shoot from any side or even from the rear, but this is rare.
• Chants: Generates a chant marker, supporting the W’adrhŭn mechanic and providing access to many useful abilities.
• Battlefield Role - The Speakers: Along with the Thunder Riders, they are the biggest beneficiaries of the Thunder Chieftain Warlord.

Weaknesses:

• Low Defense: With Evasion 2, Resolve 3, and only 5 wounds per stand, Raptors are vulnerable to concentrated attacks and can suffer heavy losses quickly. They are especially susceptible to ranged attacks.
• Maximum of 3 Actions: The core rules allow only three actions per turn. This means that combining Mounted Hunters, Fluid Formation, and two regular actions is limited.
• Expensive and Does Not Score: For a light regiment, Raptors are costly and can only hold zones via a Supremacy ability. This may seem obvious, but when using expensive, high-quality light units, it's essential to ensure that there are still enough regiments available for scoring.

General Tactics:

The beautifully designed Raptor models are one of the main reasons this army found its way into my collection. Besides the fact that Fluid Formation on a Movement-8 regiment is downright audacious and opens up a variety of tactical options, the regiment itself is also quite strong and benefits significantly from Chants. Whether it's Famine Tier 2 to further extend their already considerable threat range or War Tier 2 to boost their damage, they have great synergy. Death, on the other hand, has become much less viable compared to the last book and is rarely worth it due to Evasion 2.

Currently, it's common to see three to five regiments played as MSU (3 stands), which benefit greatly from Queen Supremacy (allowing Lights to score for a turn). Alternatively, there are more elite versions where 4-stand units hunt with an attached character. In any case, ranged attacks should be used sparingly. There are usually better actions to take, and shooting should only be used when no better option is available, especially since only three actions per turn are allowed, and Fluid Formation is almost always a priority.

Which character to attach to the regiment depends on personal preference and the role assigned to them. However, it is also a valid decision to leave them without a character.

One of my favorite setups includes the Mastery Cure and/or the artifact Death’s Gaze. Cure grants the regiment Deadly Blades (enemy armor rolls of 6 against Clash attacks count as 2 wounds), while Death’s Gaze gives the regiment Impact 3. Both require the character to belong to the Cult of Death, which is already a downside in itself. Nevertheless, this is my preferred setup when I want to play a brutal, scalpel-style combat block. I often pair this with a Mounted Predator, as his warband ignores the Hindering terrain rule, maximizing Impact efficiency. Thanks to Deadly, the Raptors often don’t even need a Chant to be effective, which can be tricky to set up anyway. The only real downside is that their threat range is limited to 12-18", but in most cases, that's more than enough.

Additionally, a Thunder Chieftain Warlord can be taken to grant the Shock special rule. This provides a +1 Clash bonus on the charge, making Impact attacks hit on 3+. With 5 stands, that means 15 attacks—more than enough to wipe out lighter regiments with ease. In other words, they cosplay as the Sealed Temple.

Another strong option is a Queen on Brood of Omgorah, who brings solid offensive stats (5 attacks, Cleave 1, Brutal Impact) as well as defensive advantages like Resolve 4 and healing support. However, the Queen on Brood already comes with an artifact, limiting additional options. Because of this, I usually prefer to have her ride an Apex nearby, supporting the Raptors with healing.

Since Raptors benefit greatly from Thunder Chieftain Supremacy, and because the latest update made character movement match that of their unit, the Thunder Chieftain has become a popular choice in my Raptors. Especially since I dislike spamming 3-5 small regiments and prefer playing two large squads. One of these squads is often led by my Thunder Chieftain Warlord, so that all The Speakers models gain the Shock ability. However, this Supremacy is only active while he is on the battlefield, which, in my opinion, makes him even more attractive in a Raptor unit—though I may be in the minority with that view.

Due to the Thunder Chieftain’s high base cost, I try to keep him budget-friendly and usually only give him the Cult of Famine. With 4 Impact attacks, 6 regular attacks, Cleave 2, Brutal Impact 2, and Linebreaker, he practically functions as a one-man army, capable of wiping out entire squads on his own. For a time, I equipped him with the Horn of Ronanen, which requires Cult of War and grants the regiment +2 Trample when using War Tier 2. However, most of the time, the enemy was already dead before Trample could be useful, making the investment overkill.

Another advantage of attaching characters like the Queen on Brood, Thunder Chieftain, or Predator with Death’s Gaze is that the regiment (or even a single stand) gains Impact attacks. This allows them to shoot an objective marker, charge (Impact), and then deal a third damage instance with a Clash action. If a Thunder Chieftain is present, he can even add Trample on top of that—making objective markers extremely easy to destroy. Of course, there is also a Mastery that allows a marker to be destroyed outright, but having more options is never a bad thing.