Veterans - W'adrhŭn Guide (english)

W’adrhŭn Veterans are the elite and have even received metal shields and weapons from the Cult of War. Some of them look rather rough, but the box offers great opportunities for conversions.

Cost

With 170 points for the base regiment and 50 points per additional stand, Veterans are expensive. However, thanks to their synergy with the Chieftain, they offer good value for their cost.

Strengths

• Flurry (only in the Chieftain Warband): The regiment rerolls all failed hit rolls during Clash actions.
• Vanguard (only in the Chieftain Warband): Allows an additional March action when entering the battlefield from Reinforcements, provided no enemies are within 8". This means the Veterans can move 16" onto the battlefield, reaching most zones immediately.
• Standard Bearer: The standard bearer is free and grants +1 Movement on the second movement action per round, as well as a reroll for Charge rolls.
• Medium: As a medium regiment, Veterans can score objectives and enter the battlefield from round 2.
• Chants: Generates a Chant Marker, supporting the W’adrhŭn mechanic and granting access to many useful abilities.
• Forged in Battle: When activated, this regiment places an additional Chant Marker into the pool. This can be either for its own Cult or a Conquest Marker instead.
• Battlefield Role - The Tribes: The Tribes keyword allows synergy with the Chieftain, including the valuable Vanguard ability, which enables early scoring.

Weaknesses

• Moderate Defense: With a Defense of 2 (+Shield) and Resolve 3, Veterans are not exceptionally durable, though their 6 Wounds provide some compensation.
• Slow: With Movement 5, their mobility is limited, and Chants only partially offset this. However, unlocking Vanguard via a Mastery or the Chieftain makes a huge difference, as this is one of the top 3 rules in the game.
• Chieftain Dependency: Outside of a Chieftain Warband, they lack access to crucial buffs like Flurry, making them significantly less attractive.

General Tactics

Veterans can be used similarly to Braves, but they benefit more from Crushing Force and the Chieftain. Compared to Braves, you pay significantly more points for +1 Clash, +1 Wound, +1 Evasion, and the Forged in Battle ability, which is a stronger version of Aberration. They truly shine when paired with a Chieftain, as Flurry makes their 5 Attacks at Clash 3 extremely reliable.

Two MSU (3 Stands) Regiments

A favorite setup of mine is running two MSU (3 stands) regiments. This allows for early scoring thanks to Vanguard while providing an efficient melee unit. They are resilient enough to withstand light shooting and isolated melee attacks. With War Tier 2 or Famine Tier 2, they can sometimes strike first and deal effective damage while generating useful Chant Markers. However, Braves can often perform a similar role just as well.

Larger Regiments (4-5 Stands)

Another strong option is running larger regiments (4-5 stands). This increases their durability and melee damage output. While the wound-to-cost ratio is better for Braves, Veterans deal significantly more damage. With an attached Chieftain, they become sturdier or can focus on Impact Attacks. Since Crushing Force and Death’s Gaze stack, they can achieve up to 5 Impact Hits per stand when charging.

The downside is that they are tied to the Cult of Death, which limits their mobility and flexibility, as Death Chants do not provide movement buffs. However, this remains a powerful option, as they can immediately benefit from Chants and maximize their Impact Attacks without much setup.