2011 Wild toolkit

So, this was supposed to go up 3 months ago. And then…lots of stuff happened that occupied my attention. However, I finally had enough time to complete it, and its done! Anyway, for your reading pleasure, may I present a Competitive Toolkit.

Let me be frank, not every piece here is “broken material”... not that Oni, merchant guards, Skullcleaves, Sellswords and Wand Experts are broken, but they’re at a power level that makes playing non-Civilization unattractive for some. Below are pieces within the Wild faction that have either seen a lot of play in various tournaments, have unplayed potential that shows great promise, or have new hope due to the recent banning of the Solamith and re-tooling of the WItchknife. Anyways, here we go:

Champions

Adult Brown Dragon (Legendary Evils, Rare, 61 pts)
A versatile hitter commander. Great
defenses,incredible maneuverability, good damage output, and good CFX make this guy great for his cost. A bit pricey at 61 pts, requiring clever warband building to best take advantage of his CFX, but still a recognizable threat to any who see it on the field. Combines best with pieces that can move from out of sight and make multiple attacks, like Thrall of Blackrazor, Virtuous Charger, Blessed Hunter,Quickling Runners, or Shifter Claw Adepts.

Bralani (Dungeons of Dread, Rare, 43 pts)
The champion effects (CFX) are what sets this guy up as one of the better choices for Wild. While conditional, the blanket +4 attack can really make the difference for a lot of Wild’s other hitters, and Slowing flying enemies for a turn is an awesome defensive ability. The thing to keep in mind is that while his attack and damage output are good, his HP and Defenses are not, and if isolated can fall pretty quickly. Still, his speed, autodamage line, CFX and high Champion rating (3 in Wild is about as good as it gets)make him a great choice for a number of bands.

Cleric of Garl Glittergold (Aberrations, Uncommon, 31 pts)
Amazing defensive abilities combined with some of the best CFX in the faction make this guy highly competitive. Combined with any automiss piece (like Kenku Warriors or Xen’drik Champions), it can potentially negate a number of dangerous blast and burst attacks. The Ring of Blades ability can lay out some good autodamage,and Sanctuary can insure that he lives long enough to get his CFX off. Once his powers are spent,he’s a little more fragile but still has decent enough attack powers. Completely solid.

Hierophant of the Seven Winds (Night Below, Rare, 47 pts), Lion of Talisid (Archfiends,
Uncommon, 51 pts), Moon Elf Fighter (Archfiends, Uncommon, 49 pts), Warden of the Wood (War of the Dragon Queen, Uncommon, 46 pts.)
These four Champions are very near Tier 1 in their own ways, from CFX to battlefield control. What stopped them from being playable before was the presence of keyword-hate pieces like the Witchknife and Eternal Blade that punished bands that had matching Keywords. Now, I’d be interested in seeing how a Hierophant of the Seven Winds band supporting by a plethora of Elementals and Beasts (11-15 pt figures, of which there are lots of good ones), and going swarm crazy. Each of these pieces augments a different creature type, though of the four I’d say the Hierophant is the most powerful and easiest to build around, followed by the Moon Elf Fighter. All four are worth considering.

Ravenous Vampire (Deathknell, Rare, 58 pts)
This guy requires some finesse to play, as his most useful CFX (slide 5) requires him to maintain LOS to his intended ally. Still, this and the ability to stack damage on Evil allies (like Thrall of Blackrazor and Osyluth) combined with a nifty warband building quirk make him worth considering. His low HP is augmented by Feral Reaction, though he may not always get it off if he’s suffering from Dazed or worse. Still, his high AC and decent damage output make him worth considering in an Evil Wild warband

Snaketongue Cultist (Deserts of Desolation, Common, 17 pts)
For his cost, this guy delivers a lot of solid tech abilities. His one shot +10 dmg is great, and two Snake Swiftnesses help backup the hitters of your band. Great support piece for Titans and any other hitters. One of the best, lowest costing Champions of its faction.

Storm Silverhand (Blood War, Rare 57 pts)
Claimed to be not as good as her 1.0 counterpart, I maintain that the untyped, line 5 20 auto-damage alone makes her worth her points. This, a reliable one-shot, sight based confusion attack combined with an on-par melee attack make her worth it. Her defenses, while not the greatest, are about average for a hybrid melee/ranged blaster. What makes her really good is her CFX (which effects a number of really awesome humans and elves) and her warband building, allowing Wild to bring in such dangerous figures as Wulfgar, Skullcleave Warriors, and even useful techy pieces like the Delver Sergeant and Merchant Guards, making her one of the few ways to get anyone with the Bodyguard ability into Wild.

Vampire Aristocrat (Archfiends, Rare 57 pts)
A pretty good package, albeit a bit expensive at its points. Still, beefy defenses, a reliable attack bonus, the ability to heal itself with its secondary attack, and some techy range that it can use as a minor action. Overall pretty versatile as a techy hitter, what makes him shine are his CFX. The blanket +4 against bloodied targets is great, but what really makes him awesome is the “Motivate” ability of his second CFX, allowing you to move key hitter or artillery pieces into position. You can now literally park a Hill Giant Barbarian in someone’s start area if you don’t mind paying 135 points to do it. Definitely worth considering.

Titans

Titans in their own right have rarely been considered to be tier 1. A titan is typically a piece that is 75 pts or more in a 200 point band, taking more than a third of the warband’s pieces. This point investment combined with the risk of debilitating a single piece with status ailments have always made playing Titans a risky proposition. In order to be considered competitive, a Titan must have phenomenal defenses to offset this weakness, as well as the ability to either do a significant amount of damage in one turn or effect the battlefield in a significant way. For Wild, the ones listed beneath come closest to this criteria.

Divine Crusader of Corellon (Angelfire, Rare, 79 pts)
Versatile as a hitter, able to inflict ranged or decent melee damage with Radiant as a damage type (a type few competitive pieces resist and that many are vulnerable to). Okay Def for cost is augmented by immunity to two debilitating conditions and decent AC. Her medium size and flight ensure a bit more battlefield mobility than a lot of the other titans. The reason she is considered is due to her Elf and Eladrin boosting ability, giving that type of theme band a more competitive edge as well as a titan to rally around. A non-cfx attack bonus is not to be underestimated, especially when combined with attack bonuses from CFX (like Moon Elf Fighter or Storm SIlverhand).

Feymire Crocodile (Lords of Madness, Uncommon, 87 pts).
On a 87 points figure, 33 AC is pretty high. His damage output is kind of low, but the ability to lock down a melee piece a turn with immobilization makes him pretty good. Combine this with his Feymire Aura, and you have a piece that disrupts the battlefield and has enough survivability to block for your other blasters and artillery pieces. What makes him good is the ability to move through difficult terrain unimpeded, a problem that often confounds larger base creatures that already have to worry about squeezing.

Fomorian (Giants of Legend, Uncommon, 119 pts)
34 AC is hard to crack in 200, and 30 def isn’t much easier. Somewhat of a low damage output at his point cost, even with Skullcracker, he seems ideally suited to occupying a VA and turtling up that area (with healing tech behind him or the healing font on the Jungle Temple map.) Keep in mind that most warbands will ignore him and go after the rest of the warband if presented with the choice, so try to use him to protect the rest of your band.

Ghaele Eladrin (Angelfire, Rare, 130 pts)
30 AC is alright, 30 Def is hard to crack in 200. For 124 points, it should be, especially considering her HP. Nonetheless, her healing abilities, fast flight and high attack values insures that she will usually be able to trade blows and come out okay.Her defensive CFX is extremely useful, her secondary one extremely conditional and potentially devastating. The biggest problem comes with building the 76 points of support around her.

Hill Giant Barbarian(Wardrums, Uncommon, 78 pts)
A versatile, well balanced titan. High damage output, high speed and the ability to lock down a piece with its secondary, stunning attack is devastating and makes it playable. Low defenses, but this is offset by its enormous HP. One of the best Titans for Wild, capable of taking out many opposing pieces by itself, it can become especially frightening when augmented by CFX , damage increasing Tech, and Snake’s Swiftness.

Sand Giant (War Drums, Rare, 79 pts)
The Sand Giant functions as a lesser version of the Fomorian for less of a point cost and with a bit more battlefield tech. Desert Mark ensures pieces that he bases suffer if they try to ignore him, and his penetrating sight works well on Hellspike Prison and Temple of the Unseeing, two fairly popular maps. Not the greatest damage output, but phenomenal defenses and a great attack bonus ensure he’ll stick around and get in a lot of hits.

Hitters

Air Archon Zephyrhaunt (Legendary Evils, 41 pts, Rare)
Great mobility and decent defenses for its cost makes this piece good. What makes it great is the ability to smack out 30 damage a on a basic attack. Though slightly conditional, the +10 damage from Loner is pretty easy to pull off. Add to that a reliable burst attack and Defensive Advantage and you have a rock solid piece.

Ambush Drake (Death Knell, 58 pts, Rare)
People tend to take notice when this piece hits the table. Maybe its the high defenses and the further benefit of Defensive Advantage, or maybe the secondary benefit or an awesome breath weapon. Most likely, it’s its ability to move up to 18 squares on its own and hit a piece for 40 damage. For some bands, this is almost like having a giant bullseye on any juicy 40hp or less target (like Wild Mages), and can seriously alter the way people play their bands. A very dangerous piece.

Arcadian Hippogriff (Blood War, 36 pts, Rare)
Again, pretty solid stats overall on this guy. Elude Chance is great for as a form of auto damage against AC 25 or less, and giving it the rider is quite versatile. Good defenses, decent damage output, especially with the number of competitive Evil pieces, and the ability to have a Rider makes this guy desirable as a hitter. He definitely benefits from damage increasing tech do to his Dual Talons, allowing him with the right boost to do 40-60 damage in a turn.

Aspect of Kord (Underdark, 65 pts, Rare)
Kord still hits like a ton of bricks. His defenses are okay for his points, his HP really good. Glory in Battle is very conditional, meaning he’ll most often swing for 30 damage and occasionally 40. The extra attacks from Vengeance are nice. He is kind of like a mini-Titan in his stats and playability, requiring a bit of healing or status removal tech to augment his average Def. At the end of the day, he is a speedy, high damage hitter with reach and lots of HP, which make him a good fit for some bands.

Berbalang (Dangerous Delves, 40 pts, Uncommon)
This piece is worth considering for a number of reasons: His Defenses are abnormally high for a 40 pt piece, his speed quite fast and his damage output, while a bit conditional, is average for his cost. Berbalang Duplicates is what makes this piece both amazing and terrible; the ability can turn a 40 point critical or deadly status effect into effectively a 20 hp loss from the use of one Duplicate. This effectively gives the Berbalang more HP than it has listed, though the ability to not take any further actions in the turn can keep it locked down. Still, at the least its moving 5 squares, effectively getting half a move instead of dying. The fact that a devastating attack might just be eaten up by a duplicate coupled with its high defenses make attacking it a gamble. Requires finesse, but a good piece.

Celestial Pegasus (Angelfire, 31 pts, Rare)
Not a bad fit for a number of Eladrin or Elf builds. Decent defenses for its cost, a reliable attack, and Resist 5 All gives it effectively 70+ hp and makes it immune to a number of piece’s abilities. Giving a slow elf or eladrin a mobility boost is nice (though most don’t need it), and Smite Evil, as with the Arcadian Hippogriff, is often useful against a number of competitive pieces, though will be unused some matches. Overall decent.

Cyclops Crusher (Dangerous Delves, 52 pts, Fixed Visible)
125 hp for its cost is pretty ridiculous. What sets him apart from similar high HP/high damage hitters (like Frenzied Berserker) is his decent AC and Def scores and some techy secondary abilities. His biggest issue is his attack bonus, but with Reach/Blindsight, Ferocious, and some attack boost tech and this guy can be a real monster. Evil Eye is useful for locking down artillery pieces he’s moved next to. A good 30 damage hitter, not useful in multiples due to his large base and speed of 6.

Digestor (Night Below, 39 pts, Uncommon)
Though not as terrifying to face in an Underdark build (usually backed by a Black Dragon Lurker or two), this piece stat-wise is completely solid. Great AC, decent Def, high speed, a reliable damage output, awesome secondary attacks, and hide make this piece the complete package. Great in multiples since they can breath over each other or good with other acid using pieces due to the Digesotr’s immunity.

Dire Bear Mauler (Demonweb, 45 pts, Uncommon)
Fact: Dire Bear Maulers are pound for pound one of the better Beasts in the game. Fact: These bears have been known to continually deal 40 auto-damage to an immobilized target. Fact: +14 on an attack bonus seems kind of low for its cost. False. This is to lure juicy pieces into range of the bear where it can make two attacks and usually hit with one. Great AC, decent Def, abnormally high HP and its auto-damage ability make this piece very playable, though it definitely benefits from some attack bonus tech. Bears..beats.. bloodied Bralanis.

Dire Boar (Harbringer, 23 pts, Rare)
Does +20 on a 23 point piece seem abnormally high to anyone else? Sure it’s on a charge, but add a reliable basic attack, decent AC and def, and high speed and you have a very meaty secondary hitter. Benefits from a Hierophant build.. if you really need a +25 attack for possibly 35 damage. Lack of reach seems to be the only real drawback. A decent alternative to the Thundertusk Boar, sacrificing damage output for a more reliable attack and better defenses.

Elf Dragonkith (Blood War, 38 pts, Rare)
A good secondary hitter for any Dragon band, the Elf Dragonkith gives some good tech support for beefy hitters like Adult Brown Dragon or the Greenspawn Razorfiend, allowing it to increase its threat range and speed by mounting up. Decent Defenses and HP, what makes it good besides its Dragon-tech is its a 20 damage attack that hits reliably enough at +18, sometimes hitting for 25 damage. A little slow, so requires a shorter map or a Dragon to increase his mobility.

Eye of Shadow (Beholder Collector Set, 55)
An interesting techy hitter, with decent defenses augmented by a Hide-like ability, awesome mobility and some well rounded offensive abilities. Seems like it could function as both a 25 damage hitter and a ranged blaster, especially with good use of Shadowcloak and Fade to Black. Pretty solid overall, time and play well tell if he’s worth his 55 points.

Galeb Duhr (Against the Giants, 45 pts, Uncommon)
Called by many as one of the single most annoying pieces in the game to play against, old Rocky has lots going for him. High defenses, a solid 20 damage attack, burrowing, and a rechargeable secondary attack that does 30 damage. What makes him awesome is his Stone Transformation ability, an ability that for a turn makes him immune to most pieces in the game, an ability he can use twice. Opponents always face a gamble when attacking him, since not only might their attack miss, but even if it hits, the ST will probably negate the hit. The only glaring weakness of the piece is its speed, allowing faster pieces to avoid the Galeb Duhr by simply out-maneuvering it. This can make it slightly map dependent, but still an amazing piece.

Greenspawn Razorfiend (Dragon Queen, 45 pts, Uncommon)
Quite underplayed, the Razor-fiend is a good hitter for its cost. Great defeneses, good damage output, a reliable attack, and some nifty abilities make it quite playable. Giving it a damage boost seems like a great way to augment Razorwings and Razor Frenzy, allowing him a pretty sick damage output for a turn. Prodigious Jump helps put him into place and offsets his lack of reach, and the Keen Critical ability is just gravy.

Hill Giant (Archfiends, 55 pts, Rare)
Beefy Beatstick of years old, your ability to hit medium pieces with impunity for 40 damage has not gone unnoticed. Sure his attack bonus is low for his cost, but there’s plenty of ways to offset this in Wild. Not the greatest defenses, so requires additional status removal tech or healing to offset the inevitable stun or daze scored on him. Still these two penalties are offset by a couple of huge advantages: High HP, damage output, and Cleave, which he should get to use fairly often. Sort of a trade-off for raw damage output versus defense when compared to other mini-titans of similar cost, the 35-40 damage per swing can be the difference between outright killing a piece and just bloodying as another hitter might.

Hippogriff (Dangerous Delves, 22 pts, Fixed Visible)
Point for point, this guy is incredibly efficient in terms of HP, defenses and damage output. His techy abilities are what sets this guy up as a good choice for a secondary hitter, particularly in a Hierophant build. Diving Overrun solves a dilemma of large base, non-reach figures: once you’ve charged with a piece, you’ve blocked up two squares that other pieces could’ve used to hit the same target. Diving Overrun fixes this by allowing the Hippogriff to reposition for the flank. Add the versatility of Flyby attack and Paralyzing charge and you have a very solid, secondary hitter. Benefits from an attack boost, otherwise completely solid.

Hound Archon (Harbringer, 31 pts, Rare)
One of the most mobile pieces in the game (possibly only eclipsed by Shadowjumping creatures), this striker excels at hit and run tactics, singling out vulnerable pieces and then moving away. His ability to move eight squares with phasing and then teleport another 4 squares with Dimensional step make him exceptionally mobile. Add to that a reliable 15 damage attack, decent defenses and average HP, and you have a great skirmisher, and radiant is a great damage type to pack with all of the competitive undead
and the few pieces resistant to it.

Kenku Warrior (Lords of Madness. 35 pts, Common)
Lots of reasons to use this guy besides the obvious one: Blaze of Glory. Sure, the ability to auto-negate any hit against him is pretty sweet, but besides good damage output, decent speed, and high defenses, this guy can pile up the attack bonuses pretty quick, getting up to +20 with a charge and flank. Unlike the Xen’drik Champions, this guy is packing an auto-miss coupled with high AC and Ref defenses, making attacks against him somewhat of a gamble versus softer targets and one’s that don’t have auto-miss abilities (a pyschology similiar to playing against Galeb Duhrs and Berbalangs). All around a solid, top tier piece.

Osyluth (Deserts of Desolation, 56 pts)
Osy still has lots of good stuff going for him even after all the sets developed after his inception. Great Defenses, an incredibly useful aura, immunity to two of the more common damage forms in the game (fire and poison), and a reliable attack. His damage output is a little low with the exception of Reaping Claws, though with damage augmentation he can be a real nightmare. His speed and defenses still make him one of the better hitters for his cost, especially when coupled with other pieces that attack defense over AC.

Shifter Claw Adept (Against the Giants, 31 pts, Uncommon)
Abnormally high HP for his point cost, this tank is one heck of a well pointed hitter. At the cost of defenses (which really aren’t that bad compared to other hitters), this guy has a ton of HP, high speed, a reliable attack bonus, and an amazing secondary attack. Skirmish gives him good damage output, and Claw Frenzy can easily take out any low AC piece all by itself, possibly higher ACs with an attack boost. That can make this guy a serious threat.

Thundertusk Boar (Deserts of Desolation, 24 pts, Uncommon)
While not likely to be bearing any dwarven mounts in the Wild faction, this beefy beatstick is a good choice as a secondary hitter. His attack bonuses are okay, but his charge attack at +16 for 25 damage (or +20 for 55 damage with a Hierophant and WIld Elf Warsinger) is not to be underestimated. Not the greatest defenses, but he functions great for what he is: a cheap speedy beater.

Thrall of Blackrazor (Unhallowed, 43 pts, Rare)
And then there’s this guy. Haste is still one of the best abilities in the game, and it’s easily rechargeable. The ability for his HP to balloon out of control, high speed (more so with Haste), a reliable attack, and decent defenses make him a good choice. What makes him better is his ability to mess with an opponent’s melee pieces, making any killing strike against him a possible trade-off for the killing piece. Like the Ambush Drake, people tend to take notice of this piece when it hits the table and begin to carefully count the 16-24 squares of peril that all living fodder falls in. I’ve seen 200 point games where he’s gotten up to 210 hp, and I’m sure others out there have seen higher.

Umberhulk Delver (Deserts of Desolation, 35 pt, Rare)
Weakness: Slow speed. Strengths: Good reliable melee attack, reach, burrow, blindsight, an easily rechargeable ranged attack, free-action stunning attacks, and the additional ability to get extra attacks from Prey on the Weak Minded. Oh, and its defeneses aren’t bad either. Can be map dependent due to speed, they particularly love the Mushroom Caves.

Yuan-Ti Half-Blood Sorcerer (Dragon Queen, 51 pts, Uncommon)
High AC, good Defenses, Hide, and two awesome line attacks (potentially 25 damage and dazing is pretty nice) make this guy playable. As a melee beater, he is quite on par with one glaring weakness: most of his damage is poison, an immunity that is not uncommon. Nonetheless, a reliable 20 damage attack in most cases coupled with his other abilities make him awesome enough to use competitively, if not the top tier piece in a Yuan-Ti band. Never mind that the DDM Guild has decided to make him the Top piece of all formats by giving him infinite Level, AC, DEF, and of course HP. Snakes forever!! Too bad the Harbringer Wights do infinite damage on each hit…

Xen’drik Champion (Underdark, 23 pts, Rare)
On of the most effecient beaters available for Wild, Xen’driks not only can function as a hybrid ranged attacker but can also dish out a reliable amount of damage thanks to their skirmish ability. Decent Def, their HP seem low until Blaze of Instinct is taken into consideration, one of the most powerful abilities in the game. What really makes them shine is their low cost for such a complete package of abilities. Their only weakness is their attack bonus versus other mainline hitters and titans, requiring high attack rolls to hit some of the ridiculous ACs of titans, though their low cost means they usually have lots of other, tougher pieces backing them, like Catfolk Wilders.

Artillery

Aramil, Adventurer (Giants of Legend, Player’s Handbook Heroes 13 pts, Uncommon)
Insubstantial isn’t uncommon enough that the inclusion of this guy as a cheap blaster is worth considering. His Magic Missle attack is decent enough for his point cost, and Ray of Enfeeblement can be a lifesaver against low Def pieces. Circle of Forbiddance is where it’s at on this guy, 15 autodamage or that enemy beater has to go around him. Not bad for 13 pts.

Catfolk Wilder (Deathknell, 28 pts, Uncommon)
Scary enough to play against that a lot of bands include Undead fodder just to nullify his targeting on Mind Melt (and Mind Thrust to a lesser degree). As a ranged blaster, he has only the weakness of having to target the nearest, living enemy. Otherwise, 30 damage and Stun (Save Ends) attacking Will is something that a lot of competitve pieces in 200pts have to worry about. Dazing himself for a recharge mechanic seems fair, until you include any status removal tech into your band to offset this weakness. One of the most dangerous blasters available in Wild, he functions best if other pieces are able to remove screeners against him. For 28 points, he’s pretty easy to include in a lot of bands.

Clawfoot Rider (Dragon Queen, 48 pts, Rare)
A hybrid of a ranged hitter and melee beatstick, this guy is one of the better ranged options available for a Beast band, and even he and the Hierophant are almost half the band, nailing an enemy at Ranged (with Sight as a range) for 40 damage is something to take note of. This guy has decent speed combined with the mobility of stable footing, making him hard to pin down. Decent AC, okay Def, even without a Hierophant backing him he can lay out some serious damage round after round,especially since Split the Tree recharges so easily.

Demonic Gnoll Archer (Dragon Queen, 40 pts, Uncommon)
Okay, like a lot of ranged blasters (with the exception of the banned Solamith) this guy’s got low HP and AC, though this is offset by his resistances and decent Def. What makes him good as an artillery piece is the fact that

1. his damage is untyped
2. his attack bonus and damage output are rocking and,
3. his attack is a sight-based radius attack, allowing targeting of pesky critters with hide or clusters of enemies.

A reliable enough blaster threat that opponents can’t ignore him when he’s on the table. In a themed Gnoll band (where a Demonic Gnoll Priestess can give him a further damage and attack buff… 30/25 damage on a radius attack is nasty), he’s an utter house.

Elf Arcane Archer (Against the Giants, 47 pts, Uncommon)
Holy Crap, are these guys annoying to play against. It’s like your whole warband gets put on a damage timer while the elves run around, sniping off your pieces. A warband featuring multiples runs the risk of map dependency, but even the presence of one can dramatically alter an opponent’s play style, especially when he knows that he can’t rely on hiding any piece since a couple Phase Arrows will typically take out the juicier tech and artillery pieces. Hail of Arrows is useful for when the Archer inevitably gets pinned down by multiple melee pieces. High AC, Def, and all around solid stats makes this guy a piece to watch out for; a band featuring a couple can easily get up on points in the opening rounds of the game.

Elf Stalker (Underdark, 15 pts, Uncommon)
Not bas as a secondary artillery unit. Hide on a piece with sight-based range attacks is always an effective combo. Otherwise, decent HP, Def, and okay melee attack. This guy can easily beefed up to do a surprising amount of damage; on his own, he does a fairly respectable amount.

Free League Ranger (Blood War, 25 pts, Common)
Lots of reasons to use this guy. Raising one of your Champion abilities for starters is one of the few ways to effectively get< a Champion 4 in Wild. That aside, this guy functions as a hybrid beater/artillery piece. Free League Training will give a bonus more often than not. Keep in mind that his low defenses make him a juicv target, so despite hitting for 20 damage, its best to keep him back and use the higher-attack-bonused ranged attack, especially since its sight based.

Greycloak Ranger (Archfiends, 15 pts, Common)
Similar in power level to the Elf Stalker, this guy has lower defense and less damage output in favor of a few neat tricks: increasing your warband size by one, the ability to heal a beast fodder piece, and a very conditional damage increaser for this guy, letting him sometimes hit in melee for 20 damage. Which piece is better depends on the warband.

Howling Hag (Dungeons of Dread, 22 pts, Uncommon)
Still pretty good as an artillery piece. Average HP, Def, AC for a blaster of its points. What makes her worth considering is the fact that her radius and cone attacks (both of which are multi-usable) are untyped damage. Compliment that with the ability to get away with Earthwalk, and you have a good piece. What can make it great is the conditional damage output of Shriek of Pain. A Hag that’s hanging on at 5 hp can unleash a 35 damage blast. The fact that it’s half damage on a miss and reusable make her an effective source of autodamage.

Mephling Pyromancer (Wardrums, 38 pts, Uncommon)
Bonded Fire Summoner does the same thing and he’s not mentioned here. Why? For one thing the Mephling has some serious mobility for setting up his blasts. For another, he can be paired with the Hierophant to nail something in a radius for 40 damage (Which in the absence of the Solamith is pretty good.) Combine that with some high attack bonuses on his other attacks and you have a decent ranged blaster that functions as a secondary, short range blaster/beater.

Renegade Warlock (Deathknell, 30 pts, Uncommon)
Radius 2/ Sight/ 20 damage and Stun (Save Ends) to start. Conceal, high mobility, decent defenses are next but best of all, he can always autodamage something, if not hit it for 15 (and within sight, no less). Highly effective as a ranged blaster, a well placed and/or well rolled Thunder Burst can win a match.

Tomebound Arcanist (Against the Giants, 63 pts, Rare)
Speaking of debilitating radius 2 attacks, this guy has it in spades. Capable of locking down a piece or more a turn, the fact that Confusion is reusable, within sight, and at a high attack bonus and you get a piece that can lockdown an entire warband if they setup poorly or cluster together too much. Still pricey to use, especially with its HP, a bit of a gamble to play with and definitely not for beginners.

Wild Mage (Night Below, 29 pts, Uncommon)
For his points, this fellow can still lay out the damage turn after turn. He’s a great answer for those pesky targets with Hide since his radius attack can slide them out of their terrain or Stun them. The fact that he can possibly get off a sight based Stun attack every turn makes him a piece to be wary of. Almost every form of damage that he inflicts with his radius will be useful in a match. Be careful, his HP and AC make him a very juicy target one’s he’s out there, and it may be worth considering Ancestral Wings (Epic Arcana) as a boost.

Tech

Earth Shugenja (Underdark, 17 pts, Uncommon)
Very useful piece. A decent secondary hitter with the further benefit of possessing the ability to boost one of your piece’s melee
damage output for a turn. Add the further addition of a one shot 15 pt heal and a decent short range attack and you have a highly effective piece that is ultimately cheap enough to fit into a number of bands.

Elemental Wall (Wardrums, 33 pts, Uncommon)
This is a very canny piece, definitely not for beginners. The ability to alter the way LOS works on a battlemap is extremely useful and with Hide, high defenses and Resist 5 All, this piece will most likely do exactly what its supposed to for good duration of the match. Its damage output is somewhat conditional, requiring some finesse to use it as a beater.

Harpy (Dangerous Delves, 20 pts, Rare; Dragoneye, 15 pts, Uncommon)
No matter the incarnation, this is an extremely dangerous piece. Neither blaster nor beater, this is another battlefield control piece capable of wrecking bands that rely on a Swarm approach to their build (lots of low cost pieces like Sellswords, Xendriks). Range 10 burst is pretty ridiculous as far as range goes, just be sure to protect her because of low HP and defenses.

Healer (Archfiends, 12 pts, Uncommon)
Cheap, unlimited healing and a one shot, mass status removal effect for 12 points? Quite playable if not downright useful.

Rashemi Witch (PHH2, 43 pts)
One of the more expensive tech choices, the witch functions as a hybrid blaster/beater with a couple strange abilities found nowhere else. Drawbacks: She is under-par on damage output in terms of melee and ranged and her defenses are just okay. Strengths: 15 autodamage every turn to creatures trying to gain VP can be pretty powerful, especially when she doesn’t need LOS to do it. Rashemi Homeland will always be a useful ability as well. In a point denial band (like one featuring Elf Arcane Archers), she can really up the early points advantage since the majority of tile-grabbing fodder won’t survive her autodamage.

Rot Scarab Swarm (Deserts of Desolation, 19 pts, uncommon)
This piece, more than any other, is the reason Titans are not played. Trading a 19 point piece to lock down a 75+ pt piece for 2 turns is extremely effective, and having effectively 70 hp in most situations will ensure its going to stick around and possibly stun other creatures. Nasty piece.

Runecarved Eidilon (Dungeons of Dread, 52 pts, Rare)
IMO, the most expensive yet playable piece of tech available in Wild, the Eidilon best compliments bands with Swarm-like builds in order to best take advantage of its blanket damage buff. On its own, the piece is something of a glass cannon, with a high damage output but low HP. Still, an unlimited use damage buff cannot be underestimated, especially with the right build.

Satyr (Underdark, 15 pts, Uncommon)
Much like the Earth Shugenja, this piece is a multifunctional hitter/ artillery piece with some good tech abilities. Leaping Stag, Song of Freedom, and Distracting Melody are all useful abilities, making him an extremely versatile piece of tech.

Unicorn (Dangerous Delves, 21 pts, Fixed Visible)
One of the best pieces of tech available for wild, the Unicorn has the best status removal ability in the game. It’s Healing Horn is unlimited in use, is only a minor action, and even if not removing dangerous effects can provide an unlimited font of healing. Add to that good speed and damage output and you get a highly effective piece. Aura of Protection from Evil is just gravy.

Wild Elf Warsinger (Unhallowed, 9 pts, Common)
Almost an auto-include in every Wild band. Since so many attacks utilize charges, it’s pretty easy to get the extra +10 damage the WEW gives. In terms of point efficiency, she is the best blanket-damage buff piece in the game, turning even that lowly Timber Wolf into a 20 damage beater.

Windsoul Genasi Paladin (PHH2, 34 pts)
A great battlefield control piece that functions as a secondary hitter. Obscuring mist is a great way to negate and mess with LOS for charges and radius effects, and its an unlimited use. If you’re expecting to be in a meta filled with lots of radius effects (and feel that an Eversmoking bottle will only save you the first round) this guy’s a good choice. Best when built with pieces that can see through Smoke terrain.

Fodder

Celestial Dire Badger (Deathknell, 9 pts, Common)
Not a bad package for 9 points. Good Resistances, great damage output and the Persistent ability make this guy shine. Burrow makes him even better. His downside is that his attack bonus is a little low, but for a flanker/tile grabber, he fits the bill quite nicely

Changeling Rogue (Unhallowed, 8 pts, Common)
Again, another solid flanker/tile grabber. This piece may spend entire matches invisible while your opponent goes after pieces that don’t have the miss chance. Once he attacks, his damage output is pretty good, usually hitting for 20 damage, or even 30 under a Wild Elf Warsinger. Decent stats all around.

Darkmantle (Night Below, 6 pts, Common)
Very undercosted for what it does. Sure, its a wandering monster, but on most maps, its going to be able to grab first round victory points, especially with flight and hide. Combine this with Blindsight, an awesome secondary attack, and decent defenses and you have one of the best tile grabbers of the faction.

Elf Archer (Harbringer/Dungeons of Dread. 5 pts, Common)
Fragile but quite effective as a ranged fodder piece. While for 1 more point, Kenku Sneaks are usually a better choice, a couple of things may warrant this piece’s inclusion: Having only 5 points left (and not needing a tile grabber like the Timber Wolf) or their presence in an Elf Band. Either way, +9 with a range of sight is pretty good on a 5 point piece.

Elf Warrior (Aberrations, 4 pts, Common) Much the same role as the Elf Archer, the Warrior counterpart does what the Elf Archer does a little less effectively than the Elf Archer does for 1 point less. Again, the build of certain bands might make this piece worth consideration.

Fiendish Snake (Blood War, 5 pts, Common)
It’s conditional, but the auto-damage ability of this piece makes it quite useful when paired with other Poison using critters. Otherwise, you hace nice tile grabber with solid stats all around.

Gnoll (Harbringer/Aberrations, 3 pts, Common)
If you gotta fill out with cheap activations and are looking at the more offensive end of fodder, this guy is the best choice. Great damage output and the ability to take more than 1 hit from most other fodder make him a good choice for filler.

Gnoll Archer (Archfiends, 7 pts, Common)
Other ranged fodder units (like the Kenku Sneak) are considered a little above this guy, yet at 7 points he still is worth a look. Great HP, a decernt ranged attack, and a nice secondary ranged attack are a couple benefits, and he particulary shines when back by a Demonic Gnoll Priestess. Not bad at all.

Gnome Recruit (Harbringer, 3 pts, Common)
A more defensively minded piece than the Gnoll for those looking to fill out their band, this guy has the added benfit of gaining Hide while in difficult terrain, a great way to protect a piece that typically for its points is simply being used for activation control.

Hellwasp (Against the Giants, 9 pts, Uncommon)
Interesting tech on this guy. The ability for a 9 point piece to negate any opportunity attacks on a much higher pointed cost figure cannot be underestimated. Beyond that, overall solid stats and decent mobility make him another good tile grabber/flanker.

Hunting Cougar (Wardrums, 9 pts, Common)
Great mobility, good HP, and awesome potential damage output make this guy shine. One of the better fodder beasts available, especially when combined with other pieces like the Hierophant and the Wild Elf Warsinger. Great piece.

Kenku Sneak (Deathknell, 6 pts, Common)
This piece qualifies as one of best ranged fodder units in the game for a couple of reasons: Hide and a relatively high attack bonus when it gets combat advantage (a highly probable situation). Quite effective as a ranged harrier and good for taking out screening units, setting up more powerful ranged units for their attacks.

Krenshar (Night Below, 7 pts, Uncommon)
Auto-dazing is pretty awesome and combines well with many other pieces. Good speed, decent defenses and alright damage output make it a nice pick for a techy, tile-grabber.

Mialee, Elf Wizard (Archfiends, 6 pts. Uncommon)
Ranged autodamage is hard to pass up, and Mialee’s ability to deliver it once makes her more than worth her points. Great as a ranged fodder unit, especially since her autodamage can make all the difference in many instances.

Ravenous Ghoul (Deserts of Desolation, 8 pts, Uncommon)
For its points, this guy’s got a lot going for him. Good speed, decent defenses, great HP for its cost and some techy attacks make him worth his salt. He’s also good for screening against pesky Catfolk Wilders and other pieces that require living targets.

Stirge Drone (Demonweb, 6 pts, Uncommon)
Again, autodamage is hard to pass up, and short of having unique flavor like Mialee, this is as good as it gets for 6 pts. Sure, its a tradeoff of 6 points to do so, but the autodamage can again make all the differences in some instances.

Timber Wolf (Deathknell, 5 pts, Common)
Still one of the better choices as a tile grabber, wolves still have a lot going for them. Still packing some great speed and nice HP, they also have a nice secondary attack and some great synergy with other pieces (most notably themselves, but also the Hierophant and the Ravenous Vamp). Great piece.