The new Warhammer Underworlds warband – Thyrielle's Zephyrites – are masters of the wind. See how they’ll blow their opponents away.
Thyrielle's Zephyrites are a Lumineth Realm-lords warband built around the Mastery archetype, which means you need to do a lot of forward planning to get the most out of them.* Their whole playstyle centres around the vulpine spirit Tzul – in each battle round, you must place them in an empty hex as you use the ability The Living Gale.
THE LIVING GALE
At the start of the first Action step in the first battle round, place a friendly Tzul model in an empty hex that does not contain a feature token. At the start of the first Action step in each other battle round, you must remove that model from the battlefield and then place it in a different empty hex that does not contain a feature token. A hex that contains a friendly Tzul model is an occupied hex.
While a straight line can be drawn from the centre of a friendly Tzul model’s hex, through the centre of an adjacent hex and all the way to the centre of an edge hex without touching any blocked hexes, any fighters in hexes that line crosses are windblown.
Any fighters in a straight line from Tzul to the edge of the board are windblown – which is great for you and, even better, not so good for your opponent. For example, if your fighters are windblown before they Move, they get the flying runemark AND +1 Move, meaning those treasure tokens, waystone hexes and Aqua Ghyranis feature tokens in enemy territory might no longer be out of reach. It’s also especially handy for getting out of danger when you need to.
ZEPHYR LEAP
Carried by the wind, the Zephyrites perform gravity-defying leaps right over the heads of their enemies.
Friendly fighters have the flying runemark and +1 Move if they are windblown when they start that Move.
HURRICANE AID
A roaring gale whips around the Lumineth’s enemies, lending the Zephyrites vital support.
Enemy windblown fighters are Flanked.
Enemy fighters will feel a chill in the air thanks to Zephyr Leap, finding themselves Flanked while windblown, which makes your attacks more accurate. The Zephyrites don’t have a high damage profile fighter, so this bonus accuracy is vital to ensuring your attacks land.
With a pair of archers – Anara of the Unseen Path and the sightless Orieth the Guided – you should be able to easily take advantage of Hurricane Aid and rain down volleys of deadly accurate fire upon your foes.
Fighters who end a Move or a Charge in line with Tzul are also windblown. Thanks to the Zephyr Dance, this can make them harder to hit.
ZEPHYR DANCE
Hurakan acolytes move with such dizzying speed that their foes can barely land a blow against them.
Friendly windblown fighters with any Move and/or Charge tokens have +1 Save dice.
Both Thyrielle the Howling Gale and Sirikith the Seeker can make use of this after charging and attacking with their melee weapons.
So, you’re trying to find a place to put Tzul from which they can make your fighters windblown before they move, to make them faster. This will also cover where enemy fighters will Move to, making them easier to hit, and where your fighters will Move or Charge to, improving their Save. Of course, you don’t need to do all three, all of the time, but that gives a feel for just how many moves ahead you’ll need to think.
Thankfully, if you get your positioning of Tzul wrong, you have an ability that can be used once per game to reposition them.
ONE WITH THE WIND
Tzul can become a gust of wind to evade foes.
Use this in your Power step. If your leader and a friendly Tzul model are on the battlefield, you can remove that Tzul model from the battlefield and place it in a different empty hex that does not contain a feature token. You can only use this ability once per game.
CYCLONIC PULL
Tzul summons a sudden whirlwind, pulling a distant ally towards him.
Use this in your Power step. Pick a friendly windblown fighter. Push that fighter any number of hexes in a straight line towards a friendly Tzul model. You can only use this ability once per game.
On the flip side, if one of your fighters finds themselves out of position, then Tzul can summon them while they’re windblown.
Windblown is also a vital component for the warband’s Inspire condition. If a windblown friendly fighter makes a successful Attack, they become inspired.
As a Mastery warband, they pair well with a Mastery deck. Countdown to Cataclysm would work especially well** and Thyrielle's Zephyrites movement and ranged attacks could also get some use out of Wrack and Ruin. Deadly Synergy could work, too – Hurricane Aid makes scoring cards such as Tandem Assault easier, and Out of Nowhere operates well with Flanked foes.
Thyrielle's Zephyrites will be available to pre-order from Saturday. Take a look at the range of Rivals decks and start formulating your plan to bring peace and harmony to Embergard and the Spitewood.
* Not like those point-and-charge Strike-style warbands.
** Which warband doesn’t Countdown to Cataclysm work well with?!
