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Unit Strategy Review
Unit: Anubian Wolves
Author: Jexik (with thanks to the other circle members)
“If it weren’t for those lousy Wolves, Wave 2 would be all good units!” How many times have you heard this statement thrown around? Although many die-hard tournament-minded players frown upon the unreliability of the Anubian Wolves (especially compared to the 4th Massachusetts Line, introduced in the same pack), they are far from useless. If anything, the weakness of those Yankees is that it’s no fun to root for them, and they are perhaps
too predictable. The Anubian Wolves are the underdogs of Heroscape: their unpredictability and ravenous hunger for victory are their greatest assets. These relentless devourers want it!
Analyzed Statistics
Cost - 75 - Bishop Class Unit
Size - Medium - Vulnerable/Concealable
Members - 3 Common Squad
Move - 6 – Fast
Range - 1- Melee
Attack - 1* - Unpredictable
Defense - 4– Average
*
Unleashed Fury- Before moving, roll the d20 to determine the Attack value of the Anubian Wolves. (If using Khosumet or standing on a glyph of Lodin, look at the parenthetical parts):
Odds of having 2 Attack or greater: 95% (100%) -Reliable
Odds of having 3 Attack or greater: 70% (75%)- Probable
Odds of having 4 Attack or greater: 45% (50%)- Semi-Reliable
Odds of having 5 Attack or greater: 25% (30%)- Sub-Reliant
Odds of having 9 Attack: 5% (10%)- Longshot
In-Depth Analysis
Each unit is complex, and must be well analyzed to be truly understood. For Anubian Wolves let’s begin with their cost. By cost, we refer mostly to the value in points, but also to its importance in your army. To simplify analysis, Agatagary has created several categories of cost, based off of chess, for comparison and nomenclature. For reference,
Pawn class (expendable, units that can be useful, but are not worth enormous trouble to protect)
Bishop class (more useful than a pawn, but still somewhat expendable)
Knight class (units that are interestingly powerful and can have a significant impact on the game in of themselves. It is advisable that they be kept alive, but if absolutely necessary they may be sacrificed)
Rook class (units that almost inevitably have a significant impact on the game, and whose death should be avoided as much as possible)
Queen class (devastatingly powerful or important units that should be protected at all costs)
Class:
Anubian Wolves are a Bishop Class unit. They are Common and slightly unreliable, and therefore they are not a unit to put too much faith in. This makes them rather expendable. However, if the full moon rises at the right time, they can be utterly devastating to your opponent- this factor combined with their fairly high cost of 75 points per squad fixes their status as a Bishop Class unit.
To examine Anubian Wolves’ core stats, we will break them up into two categories – offensive ability and survivability.
Offense:
The offensive power of the Anubian Wolves is extremely variable. When they have 1 or 2 Attack, they only have enough power to reliably kill a few ranged squad members. When they have 4, 5, or even 9 Attack, even the most stalwart heroes should quake in fear. With a solid Move of 6 and a threat range of 7, they should be able to close the distance to enemy ranged units fairly well and since the squad consists of just 3 units, it is imperative that you try to make each attack count.
Survivability:
With 4 Defense and 3 figures for a melee squad, the Anubian Wolves have average survivability. Any enemy figure with an Attack of 3 or more stands a decent chance of killing them. As Medium squad figures, they are susceptible to many special powers such as Poisonous Acid Breath and Chomp.
Their Move of 6 should be used not only to close the distance quickly, but also to get them onto height when it is impossible to engage your foes. When facing a weak ranged squad such as Aubrien Archers for example, 2 Attack versus 5 Defense is preferable to surrendering height advantage and giving them 3 Attack versus 4 Defense.
Strategy:
The result of the Unleashed Fury roll will largely determine what one should do with a turn using the Anubian Wolves. Unlike the Marro Stingers, not only are you required to take the roll, but it is done before moving any Wolves. This should mean that there shouldn’t be too many wasted turns, even if the dice gods are being unkind.
The Anubian Wolves should be driven by their hunger as represented by the twenty sided die. When they are less ferocious, they should call in reinforcements, hide, or go for the weakest members of the enemy pack. When their hearts are beating soundly and their howls are ringing loudly, they should head right for their enemies’ throats. Normally, the expected return is an additional 2.55 Attack, for a total of 3.55 Attack with no glyphs or die roll enhancements. With Khosumet the Darklord, this bonus increases to 2.95, or a total Attack of 3.95 once their base value of 1 is taken into account.
On rolls of 1-6 (30% of the time, or 25% with Khosumet the Darklord), the Anubian Wolves only have 1 or 2 Attack. They are weak, and unable to cause too much damage. There are two main options here. The first is to attack with your wolves that are deepest in enemy territory. Since they are not as powerful at this time, they will need to find weaker prey. They’ll have to strike at opponents with 3 or less Defense to reliably injure them. More powerful foes can also be slain if it’s possible to gain height advantage. Alternatively, you can take this opportunity to move more Anubian Wolves forward, so that in subsequent rounds when it’s possible to bring more powerful attacks to bear, you will have plenty of Wolves within striking distance.
On rolls of 7-11 (25% of the time), the Anubian Wolves have an Attack of 3, and are now capable of destroying most enemy melee squad members with a Defense of 4 or less reliably. They also stand a decent chance of at least causing a wound to weaker enemy heroes. They are now situational units--you can attack many enemies and it might pay off in a wound or two; then again, you might be better served by setting them up for their next activation.
On rolls of 12-19 (40% of the time), the Anubian Wolves are quite dangerous. They have an Attack of 4 or 5, which puts them equal to powerful unique melee squads such as the Ninjas of the Northern Wind, Kozuke Samurai, and Tagawa Samurai with 1-2 experience markers for Bloodlust. At this time, the Anubian Wolves should focus on exceptionally high defensive squad members such as Minions of Utgar or even enemy Samurai. They should also strike at any heroes if possible- they now have the ability to put them in a world of hurt.
On a roll of 20 (5% of the time, or 10% with Khosumet the Darklord), the Anubian Wolves have an attack value of 9, a nearly unprecedented value. Even Krug with 7 Wound Markers on him will only have two strikes at 9 Attack, while a squad of Anubian Wolves will have three. MacDirk Warriors with a sufficiently wounded Champion, Marro Drones, or the Blastatrons using their Homing Device special ability are the only other examples of squads that can bring up to 27 attack dice to bear in a given turn without height or glyphs. Although it would hurt a lot to lose one of your awesome attacks of 9 dice, it is actually advisable to rush some or all of your Anubian Wolves at enemy Rook or Queen class units even though the wolves might risk a leaving engagement attack. Although each wolf will have a 50% chance of dying from a passing swipe, they have a lower chance of getting an opportunity like this again. Such a gamble might even win you the game! (However, if you are facing Knights of Weston the chance of success is a bit lower, and if you are facing Gladiatrons there isn’t any choice in the matter.)
Although both the Dumutef Guard and Khosumet the Darklord offer adjacency bonuses to the Attack value of the Anubian Wolves, using these abilities effectively without wasting valuable order markers may prove to be difficult. As stated earlier, the Unleashed Fury Enhancement confers the equivalent of a 0.4 Attack bonus over the long haul. The middle roll possibilities will occur with the same probability that they always did- the main upshot of using Khosumet is peace of mind. Not only will it be impossible to lose a figure on a 1, but the chance of getting that coveted +8 Attack roll will double. No matter what, I’d be hesitant to recommend drafting Khosumet the Darklord unless you have at least 2-3 squads of Anubian Wolves already. If you are building a themed Devourer army, see the Strategy Guide to the Dumutef Guard for how the Anubian Wolves can be used. However, the main weakness of an army featuring the Anubian Wolves will be its range, and the other units drafted should help cover up this shortcoming.
As Bishop Class units, the Anubian Wolves must be handled a little bit more carefully than Pawns, but don’t be afraid to take risks with them periodically. Don’t think of them as unreliable- think of them as unpredictable, and you’ll be bound to pull off a heartwarming upset.
Optional Strategies:
Girls’ Best Friend: Move over diamonds, it’s time for dogs! By using the Nakita Agents and Raelin the Kyrie Warrior with Anubian Wolves, you add a lot of range, distraction, and survivability to the wolves to make sure they get a chance to strike. 4 squads of Anubian Wolves, or 3 squads with Khosumet would make for a fun little 500 point army.
Operation Dingo: Draft the Airborne Elite alongside your Wolves. With their high Range, they can maybe take out some ranged threats, and at the very least, they might draw out some of your opponents’ figures into throat-ripping range.
Reservoir Dogs: Again, Range is the main component that a wolf-based army will be lacking. What works better than getting a bunch of anti-range guys in black suits like the Krav Maga Agents to cover up this weakness?
Units to Avoid:
Knights: The stalwart Knights of Weston pose a significant threat to the Anubian Wolves. With their high Defense, reliable Attack, and bonded Champions, they’ll dispatch the wolves fairly quickly, and Coward’s Reward means that the Anubian Wolves won’t be able to flee. The Templar Cavalry with their high movement, standoffish nature, and devastating charges are also quite capable wolf-slayers.
Warriors of Ashra: Costing fewer points per figure and being able to dodge even the most ferocious attacks means that the Anubian Wolves should stay away from these agile femmes fatales.
Gladiatrons, Major X17: Similarly to the Warriors of Ashra, these pit-fighting soulborgs mean business, and their Cyberclaw prevents the wolves from reaching juicier targets.
For additional information see The Book of Anubian Wolves