Hordes/Tactics/Circle Orboros

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Why Play Circle Orboros

Druids, furries, animals, sticks and stones.

The Circle's playstyle is quite trolly, run up through terrain, strip off your defensive buffs, smack you really hard, then run back through terrain while creating more to pin you down. Circle frequently causes headaches for armies like Skorne and Searforge who already struggle against terrain, have issues with armies with lots of Pathfinder and then the Circle which has near universal Pathfinder and can create terrain and cloud cover because its important you can totally justify our trollface than letting them play a game with their models. That said Legion of Everblight and to a lesser extent Cryx can shrug off your terrain and cloud creation as well as some of your other tricks making those 2 factions demand a different playstyle.

Circle warbeasts come in 2 distinct flavours, Living and Construct. You can run a mix, in fact its quite useful as they cover each other's weaknesses, but its often a case where you will see Circle lists being either Howl Of The Wild or Sticks And Stones. Howl means running Warpwolves, Griffons, doggies and other beasts, it plays very rampagey, running up fast and going nuts, it does have a tendency to frenzy a lot and Living Circle beasts lack Pathfinder, both issues being non-existent with Constructs. Itrequires certain choices like the Warpworlf Stalker and the Gorax to cover things. SAS on the otherhand tends to look like a very grindy list but is actually a quite a good control and scenario archetype. SAS uses Druid units, Waystones, Sentry Stones, the Woldnoun warbeasts and a few druid solos. Its got a lot of options and

General Strategy

Run through terrain on their flanks and make them wish they too could just ignore the trees.

Unit Analysis

Warlocks

• Baldur the Stonecleaver (Epic version: Baldur the Stonesoul) - Cool old dude that is about the only level headed member of the circle and is more worried about what sneaky old everblight is up to then getting promoted. Can swing a big ass sword like it's nothing.

• Cassius the Oathkeeper & Wurmwood, Tree of Fate - The latest in a long line of druids bound to the oldest and creepiest tree in the world. If he hits you, you die and turn into a tree.

• Kaya the Wildborne - The starter kit Warlock, she's a hardass fanatic with no patience for the Circle's politicking and a tight bond with her warbeasts. Uses a staff and has a spell list loaded down with movement shenanigans. Her Epic version comes with a wolf sidekick.

(Epic version: Kaya the Moonhunter and Laris)

• Krueger the Stormwrath A pretty mobile warlock who has a nice diversity of spells and good but not great combat potential. Early on he was frequently taken with Woldbeasts but its now common to see him run a more diverse battlegroup with a Woldwarden. He's a magician too, take him to the table and watch infantry disappear with his lightning spell, take him with Woldwardens and watch as infantry will disappear from your local meta as you abuse geomancy to throw more lightning than even Cygnar can.

• Krueger the Stormlord More complicated but also streamlined, comes with flying instead of needing to buff himself to fly. Is able to push and pull things around like Rahn but without being a smug faggotty elf about it, instead being smug religious fanatic

• Mohsar the Desertwalker - Kranky old man who thinks deserts are the perfect image of nature. He was Krueger's master and taught him to hate humans more. He uses a scythe and can teleport by turning one of his own dudes into sand.

• Morvahna the Autumnblade (Epic version: Morvahna the Dawnshadow) - Taking after Hera's example from Greek mythology, she is a real bitch that just cares about power. Use to shagging Kromac using her boobs of fruitfulness until he saw her for the lying power mad witch she is. She is unable to grasp Kromac has got over her and fully expects him to come back.

• Grayle the Farstrider - This guy was just an expendable minion until he manifested druid powers, much later than normal.

• Kromac the Ravenous - Half man/half furry although this is a furry fully capable of chopping you into pieces.

• Bradigus Thorle the Runecarver - Circle's latest warlock. He builds golems and can use landslides to move around.

Warbeasts

Light Warbeasts

• Argus - Bascially a two headed dog who's alternating barks give you a headache.

• Argus Moonhound - Basically a two headed hunting dog. He will help your dudes see and hit their targets at range.

• Gorax - Your worst furry nightmare. Also, the only Light Warbeast with 4 Fury in the game.

• Scarsfell Griffon - The Griffon meant to work alone, either flanking or far ahead.

• Razorwing Griffon - He got blades on his wings and can use them to trample everything, vector strike-like.

• Rotterhorn Griffon - This bird screams loud enough to hurt. He can also make people do things at the end of their activation.

• Winter Argus - Basically a two headed dog that barks ice breath.

• Woldwatcher - Bodyguard golem, can shield people from arrows and bullets and harden itself.

• Woldwyrd - Floating golem that shoots lasers. Does his stuff better against enemies loaded with magic.

Heavy Warbeasts

• Feral Warpwolf - You will learn to love this guy, or play pure construct, definitely the workhorse heavy beast of the Circle

• Gnarlhorn Satyr - He's a ram, so he loves to charge things headfirst to slam them away. So much in fact he can do it during your opponent's turn.

• Pureblood Warpwolf - Usually run with a Feral at the least, a very common sight.

• Riphorn Satyr - The bodybuilder Satyr. Tough and strong, he can push people around.

• Shadowhorn Satyr - Light Satyr, he knocks down people who miss him in melee and can jump around.

• Warpwolf Stalker - Usually taken with a Pureblood, a Feral or complementing a Gorax and Argus. This werewolf uses a bigass sword and can go berserk on people with it, or hide really well in the woods. Considered the best non-character heavy currently.

• Wold Guardian - The big brother golem bodyguard. Slow, but hits hard, immune to explosions and can become impervious to ranged attacks.

• Woldwarden - Basic big golem that can cast his Warlock's spells and grow forests.

Character Heavies

• Ghetorix - Boss Werewolf. He used to be one of the half-furry people but became so angry he turned full-time werewolf on their ass. He was pounded into submission by Kromac.

• Megalith - Stupidly effective with Baldur, the amount of healing makes them fairly difficult to finish off and can drag out games where your opponent went for an assassination run and gets stuck unable to off him.

Gargantuan

• Woldwrath - Huge golem that shoots lightning from his eyes. One punch knocks everyone around on their ass.

Units

• Druids of Orboros - Magical tricksters: they heal warbeasts use magical smoke grenades, push or pull things around and their boss can stop enemy magic around them. People either love them of hate them.

Potential attachment - Overseer: can make the unit immune to most elemental effects.

• Druid Stoneward & Woldstalkers - a druid with his pet laser-shooting golems. A good ranged unit.

• Reeves of Orboros - Hunters with double-shot crossbows. Considered poor for their cost.

Potential attachment - Chieftan & Standard Bearer: generally considered the most useless unit attachment in the whole game.

• Sentry Stone & Mannikins - wood golems and their control tower.

• Shifting Stones - Magical stones that heal or teleport things

Potential attachment - Stone Keeper: hide the stones to protect them, allows them to spread more.

• Tharn Blood Pack - Furry lovers who decided bows are cool.

• Tharn Bloodtrackers - Women who are really good at throwing javelins on people.

Potential attachment - Nuala the Huntress: Tharn queen, allows the Bloodtrackers to hit and run.

• Tharn Bloodweavers - the Tharn priestesses, they gut people to do magic.

• Tharn Ravagers - Furry lovers who took things too far. Now look like monster movie rejects.

Potential attachment - Tharn Ravager Chieftain Potential attachment - Tharn Ravager Shaman

• Tharn Wolf Riders - Bloodtrackers on wolves to go faster.

• Warpborn Skinwalkers - Man-sized werewolves. They are tough and go faster when you hurt them.

Potential attachment - Warpborn Alpha: makes the skinwalkers be able to attack twice and eat their enemies to regenerate.

• Wolves of Orboros - Basic grunts and all around expendable troops. Cheapest infantry in the faction.

Potential attachment - Chieftain & Standard: can make the Wolves of Orboros very effective in melee one turn per game.

Solos

• Blackclad Wayfarer - This dude can warp to shifting stones anywhere on the board, or make your dude charge from further away. Immune to most elemental effects.

• Druid Wilder - Druid apprentice learning the job.

• Reeve Hunter - Reeve boss, teaches the others reaves to use camouflage.

• Tharn Ravager White Mane - Old tharn man who fought a lot of battles and lived to tell stories about them.

• War Wolf - Trained wolf. Can charge things Reeves put bolts in.

• Gallows Grove - teleporting trees that prevent healing around them. Warlocks can channel their spells through them.

Character Solos

• Lord of the Feast - The manifestation of an old, angry god. Called that because he feasts on enemy infantry.

• Wolf Lord Morraig - A general for Wolves and Reeves of Orboros. Mounted on a big wolf, he hits fast and hard.

• Una the Falconeer - A lesser Warlock who can only take Griffins, though at a discount.

Battle Engines

• Celestial Fulcrum - Giant weather machine able to cause floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Do not leave on.