Last Stand - Clones

In this section we will discuss the various Clones the Chaos Sorcerer can create in Last Stand.

Utility Clones

Utility Clones are the clones you want less for raw damage or performance, but rather because they have other useful abilities or unique properties:

Bloody Coliseum

• Imperial Guardsmen
  • These little guys die like crazy to absolutely everything. Useless, right? Well, not really. They have one of the largest squad sizes in Last Stand, so they actually can do pretty goddamned good damage. Worth considering if you have Robes of Unholy Fortitude or Robes of the Deathless.

• Space Marine Apothecary
  • Two of these clowns show up with the Force Commander on Wave four. They're notable for making the wave drag on, and they are armed with a Bolter. Their damage output is nothing special, but the big boon is that they can heal you with their healing ability - and even revive you in the process! They're the only clone capable of doing this prior to Wave 16, so consider grabbing one if the Force Commander isn't your cup of tea or another Sorcerer already has one.

• Tyranid Zoanthrope
  • The Zoanthrope is slow, tends to die instantly if bursted down by a group of enemies, and tends to waste energy on Warp Field. Why you bother with it is because its psionic blast attack is capable of obliterating entire clusters of high-level enemies in one go. If you have a Mekboy spamming snares or a Shas'O deploying snare traps, consider using the Zoa; it makes a good field artillery piece.

• Eldar Wraithlord
  • The Wraithlord is just plain effective. It's slow and easily isolated, but it's reasonably tough and has good damage output. It's a good alternative to the Dreads and Kanz and generally available way sooner. Consider grabbing it if nothing better is available.

• Tyranid Ravener
  • Short version: strongest ranged basic infantry. They tend to die very quickly if targetted, but their sheer ungodly damage output can help any situation. Worth considering if you need the firepower. Burrowstrike gives them some disruption and AOE damage, but also tends to burrow them right into harm's way. Nothing if not risky.

• Tyranid Carnifex
  • Tank par excellence with high damage up close, but a massive footprint and exceptionally slow. Carnifexes are extremely durable, to the point of ones made with either the Robe of Unholy fortitude or Robe of the Deathless can reliably last quite a while, especially with one of the gifts. Their main advantage is their huge size and footprint, so whip up your very own DISTRACTION CARNIFEX if you need some staying power.

• Ork Deff Dred
  • Slow but effective at any range; decent blend of durability and firepower making it a solid early tank for an enterprising Sorcerer. Its main downside is that while it's durable and has decent damage output, it's also quite slow and easy to outmaneuver. A good choice for when you need some backup, but ditch it when better is available.

• Space Marine Dreadnought
  • Ranged or Melee, doesn't matter; this is one of the finest blends of durability and damage you can get. Like the Space Marine Captain's version, it's a bit pokey and tends to wander around on its own destroying cover, but it does tons of damage and fucks up whoever it hits, unlike most other tanky clones on Coliseum.

• Space Marine First Company Terminator
  • This dick is a great offensive beatstick with a fair bit of durability. With multiple long-ranged abilities including Cyclone Rockets and Assault Cannon barrages, plus his power fist at close-range, this dude can be monstrously effective if the AI chooses to cooperate. Note that this is "if." Other times the AI will completely derp out and sit stock still firing the Assault Cannon and considering his abilities more of a general guideline than anything to use. It's all luck of the draw with this guy.

• Ork Warboss
  • The Ork Warboss is a bizarre one as a clone; he can do lots of damage, but he also has a propensity for just sitting around and shooting while accomplishing bugger all else. Sometimes this will be interespersed with ahockwaves or stikkbombs. the thing is, you're not taking the Warboss for that; you're taking him because he's hilariously durable and is probably one of the game's best tanks. Park him with a Robe of the Deathless and Gift of Sustenance or Retaliation and laugh as he never fucking dies, ever.

Anvil of Khorne

• Chaos Cultists
  • Cultists, like Guardsmen in the Coliseum, are ridiculously fragile, but have huge squad size and fairly high damage, letting them benefit well from buffs. With Robe of Unholy Fortitude or Robe of the Deathless, can surprise you with doing some monstrous damage if they focus an enemy down. Shame that they can explode from harsh looks and curse words without those necessary durability upgrades.

• Eldar Wraithguard
  • Pound for pound, a great early choice. Pins, does AOE damage, and is shockingly hard to actually kill with Clone buffs, making them pretty tanky to boot. Their main downsides are a slow movement speed and poor squad size, which makes them somewhat prone to being mobbed and interferes with how effective they'd otherwise be. This aside, a fine tank with pinning, which is always nice.

• Space Marine Assault Marines
  • Terrible squad size and never sits still, but is still useful because of being reasonably tough and reliably able to get wherever they need to. This makes them absolutely fantastic when paired with Gift of Spite and/or Retaliation, making them a solid choice for That Guy Sorcerers who eschew improved doppleganger and treat their minions as disposable.

• Imperial Guard Catachan Devils
  • Deceptively dangerous. These guys get special mention. They do pretty good damage, and periodically chuck grenades. A good squad size and knockback makes them quite versatile and surprisingly hard to kill for a guard unit, and unlike Stormtroopers they get a decent number per squad. Just plain useful with Clone buffs and frankly kind of hard to go wrong with.

• Eldar Fire Prism Grav Tank
  • The Fire Prism is the least utilitarian clone on Anvil, but good god, it's still a keeper. With high HP, long range, and a massive AOE for its main gun, it can reliably wreck faces and seriously punch the shit out of clusters of lighter units. The main problem it has is that it chooses targets poorly while mostly relying on its massive main gun; this makes it less survivable than the other tanks and lowers its performance against groups, leading it to it being more vulnerable to being mobbed.

• Imperial Guard Leman Russ Tank
  • Not as durable as the Predator Tanks, but has even more weapons to invest. The Leman Russ gets shit done and can easily out-damage the Predators and Looted Tanks in the short term; unfortunately its rear armor is terrible and it is thus much more vulnerable if mobbed. Still hard to go wrong with, especially in the short term. With Sustenance and Deathless it can stick around quite a while, and if it can remember to stay facing the right way, it can surprise you with how deadly it can be.

• Ork Looted Tank
  • The Orky Predator is a little weaker than its Space Marine counterparts but has the advantage of being a little more aggressive offensively. This results in better heals via Gift of Sustenance, and keeps it a little bit more prone to sticking around than the Predators in the short term, but it also has weaker armor and as a result, tends to get bursted down pretty quickly if the player isn't lucky. Beware.

• Chaos Dreadnought
  • One might think these would be a bad choice, and admittedly, they tend to not be quite as good as regular Dreads vs vehicle targets, but their autocannons have AOE, which means they'll mulch lighter infantry and heal themselves rather quickly via Sustenance as part of the bargain. Not a bad choice in the absence of better, and they're reliable enough to stick around as well.

Top Clones

These guys are the best clones you can get. Go for these above all others when possible, as the advantages they bring to the table are huge!

Bloodied Coliseum

• Space Marine Force Commander
  • Appearing on Wave 4, this guy is perfectly capable of going the distance to to Wave 16 and possibly further, depending on the quality of your teammates. He simply won't fucking die to most mooks, and that's without any major upgrades. His major drawback is that he's very vulnerable to being suppressed by Grav Platforms and the like and vulnerable to knockdown as well, since both can turn this tanky motherfucker into a sitting duck. If you can keep him alive, he'll serve you fantastically well. If you do have problems keeping him alive, though, fret not: You have other choices.

• Tyranid Warriors
  • Decent durability, armor piercing trait, and special attacks in the form of a leaping strike combine to make these bastards arguably the best clone you can make without Icon of Summoning. A strong candidate for the best early game minion (available at Wave 5), and a huge beneficiary from the Daemonic Gift scrolls. In the hands of a solid Sorcerer player, seeing these guys last until at least Wave 16 is not unheard of. They aren't the toughest minion, but between decent durability and damage output, they're hard to go wrong with.

• Player Clones
  • Wave 16 is a bitch, especially if your team has good wargear. But these clones are the only clones you can clone that will actively revive your teammates, and are some of the toughest motherfuckers you can get, period. Prioritizing the Shas'o Commander and Necron Overlord are good rules of thumb, as is the Hive Tyrant in general, followed by the Captain and then your own clone.
    • Choose carefully. Eldar clones can't use Conceal and the AI will never micro the way you need them to, but an Eldar Farseer using an offensive build will do just fine. A Rocket Run Lord General won't use his ability anywhere near as often as a player will, and a Nidzilla Tyrant won't use his feedback cheese the way a player will. Your own clone will usually die extremely quickly, but will make its presence known by cloning other units. A clone of yourself with Deathless, and the Gifts of Sustenance and Retaliation will help a lot, after all. Before the patch, it was possible for clones to clone clones and clone clones of clones (and keep doing it until it crashed the game!), but now that's been nerfed so clones can't clone other clones.

• Tyranid Lictor
  • A favorite clone on Anvil, he shows up in Coliseum as well and is just as much as a screaming claw-packing death machine. If you have Sustenance, is virtually unkillable and will murder everything in his path. Huge damage, cloaking, high HP, and aggression make this brain-eating psychopath a winner.

• Araghast the Pillager
  • Does one even need to say anything? Araghast is fucking amazing. The last boss of Last Stand makes one of the deadliest clones there is, spamming Let The Galaxy Burn, reviving teammates, and doing huge damage as part of the bargain. Throw on Sorcerer Buffs and this guy is a walking anathema to all that lives. His main downside is surviving to clone the fucker in the first place and then hoping to Christ he isn't bursted down by Araghast and his revived buddies before they can get on a roll.

Anvil of Khorne

• Tyranid Lictor
  • This favorite from Coliseum is available way earlier on Anvil and is a much better choice. Lictors are fast, tough, high damage output and will only die when the whole map gangs up on them. Their attacks count as shooting, so Sustenance will regen their health very quickly. You may be tempted to replace it with a Dread on Wave 8, but you shouldn't; the Lictor is so much more aggressive and damaging that it can keep its own.

• Chaos Bloodcrusher
  • The best melee tank clone bar none. Good speed, very tough with a very fast damage output. Attacks count as ranged, so Zealous will regen life very quickly. Your godly Bloodcrusher can solo the Swarmlord, Great Unclean One and even the Avatar. This doesn't mean it should.', mind you. Give him support and he can carry all the way to the end of the game.

• Space Marine or Chaos Predator Tank
  • Vanilla or Chaos, doesn't matter. This beast will find it very hard to die, as multiple guns will keep regenerating its health, and the main cannon will punch out mobs and bosses alike. When it gets swarmed, the huge Doomblasts will clear out mobs. If your team is lacking in firepower, this will be your best choice all the way to the end. Unlike the Leman Russ, the Predator sponsons have a 180 degree firing arc, and is much tougher than the Russ. Sit in a building and watch your tank carry the game.