10th Regiment of Foot: Almost as good as 4th Mass when you add Raelin. Marcus synergy is a nice way to consistently (yet predictably) get 4x4s. Vulnerable to range if they don't have Raelin... which they will. A
4th Massachusetts Line: The gold standard for a ranged squad, 4th Mass excel at throwing 4 attacks of 3 into targets at 6 range. A
Acolarh: Almost more useful for the additional two move he grants than for his statistically poor chance of saving an Elf at 22.48% of the time. Really doesn't have a whole lot going for him. C-
Agent Carr: Nice for his ability to create action and draw the opponent in to set up his 6-die melee attack. Not the tankiest figure so he should be used opportunistically. If you jam him in the middle, he's going to die. Kite from range and poke the edges of your opponent's army. C+
Agent Skahen: Actually better against melee than against range. Very solid ranged hero: 2x3s at 7 range is solid, and 6 move with 7 range is stupid good for kiting. Otonashi with her Cover Fire is hilariously good for the 10 points. Unfortunately, Skahen suffers from whiffs more than even Krav, as a single whiff can easily spell 2 wounds or death. A-
Airborne Elite: 4x4 at 8 after a first round Drop is crazy ridiculous. Avoid using grenades other than in a very specific few circumstances as they are a trap. Inconsistent in that they can fail to drop or just not drop when you need them to, and 2 defense is bad. A-
Air Elemental: A decent figure who is often stronger on paper than in gameplay. The problem is that he does not really help the two armies that synergies with him: Death Knights and Elementals. Death Knights already are fine vs melee, they don't want to invest points into figures that aren't helping their atrocious range matchups. Elementals outside Fire Elementals aren't really viable, and while splashing one of these in alongside Water and Earth Elementals is... ok, it's not good. B-
Alastair MacDirk: The best bruiser in the game, 2x5 in one Order Marker is fantastic. Even one squad of Knights of Weston alongside him creates great board control, staying power, and offensive potential. Works well solo or with MacDirks or Knights. Can fall fast if he's alone, but you should have Knights or Raelin with him in just about any situation anyways. A-
Ana Karithon: One of my favorite figures in the game. I spent years trying to perfect a hero podge with Tandros Kreel and Ana. Off-turn healing is fantastic, and her anti-Utgar aura is useful in a surprising percentage of games. Unfortunately, she's just a tad to pricey for what she brings to the table. At 80 points, I'd be totally in. B
Anubian Wolves: The Anubians are cool. 6 move, 4 defense is great. The problem obviously lies in their special ability. It's very swingy, but a smart player will make sure to set up each turn as if they'll hit a nice roll the next turn. Unfortunately, the same can be said for the opponent; they can make sure that even if you hit that great roll, you can't decimate their army (generally through protecting their key figures and setting up tethers). B-
Arkmer: Arkmer's biggest problem is that both the Marro Warriors and Me-Burq-Sa exist. 4 dice at 5 range is very strong and Engagement Strike 13 is super nice. Arkmer straddles the line between a screen unit and a bruiser and somehow manages to be extremely solid at both at a budget price. B+
Armoc Vipers: Armocs just do not have much going for them. 65 points for 3 figures with 3 defense who's best bonding option is Mittens is just not worth it. 1-2x Armocs and Mittens is mediocre but not horrible; however, that has more to do with Mittens and less to do with the Armocs themselves. B-
Arrow Gruts: The worst orc squad still has quite a bit going for them with a great threat range and solid bonding choices. Swogs make them offensively relevant and Krug is a tank. B+
Ashigaru Harquebus: 3-4x Harqs and Raelin is essentially budget 4th. Just make sure to leave Kato home. B+
Ashigaru Yari: Yari are pretty bad. While Encircle is better than the Zombies' Horde Attack, they are much worse than Zombies at everything else. C+
Atlaga the Kyrie Warrior: Atlaga suffers from having to pay for what is quite possibly the worst designed special ability in the game, Bolt of the Witherwood. It should never have existed and do not count on it to win you games. Barring that, extra move on the Kyrie squads and Raelin is nice, and 4 dice at 5 range on a flying figure is solid. However, he is fragile and lacks the higher range needed to be able to stay back farther and kite more effectively. B+
Aubrien Archers: Aubrien Archers are pretty solid and can absolutely dominate if they hit a couple key Frenzies. 7 range in particular is amazing in that they outrange 4th Mass and 10th Reg. However, low attack and defense at a fairly high cost keep their power level in check. B
The Axegrinders of Burning Forge: The Dwarves are fantastic and are clearly the third best 4-man bonding melee squad in the game, only to Heavies and Knights. While I could talk about Dwarves forever, the main points are that they have solid stats, two excellent bonding heroes in Mogrimm and Darrak, and the option to forego bonding for 6 move. This last point is the biggest advantage they have as it lets them establish board control and develop up much better than Heavies. The only thing that keeps them in check is the lack of a 4th defense die, and generally you should not take Raelin with them. A-
Black Wyrmling: The best Wyrmling is an efficient use of 30 points. While an army strictly comprised of Wyrmlings will fail, 3-4 Black Wyrmlings has proven to be a very efficient threat that neither eats up too many points nor fills up too many start zone spaces. B+
Blade Gruts: Perhaps the most underrated bonding melee squad in the game. Movement is very underrated, and 6 move provides amazing incremental positional advantages that add up over the course of the game. While Blades suffer from a terrible matchup against Q9, the rest of their matchup spread in the current meta is fine. Their main problem is that they don't have any blowout matchups in their favor. A-
Blastatrons: Trons were once a T1 army. Modern figure limits have hurt the viability of Trons a lot. Blasts are nice in that they can be a decent-enough army without any Gladiatrons, using other Blasts to fuel their Homing Devices. I still rank them an A because if figure limits hit 20+ again, they will be back in force. A
Blue Wyrmling: The worst Wyrmling is also the most expensive. His special is real bad, but his normal attack is nice. If you're not finding room for White Wyrmling, you're not finding room for this one. B-
Brandis Skyhunter: Brandis is pretty interesting. With the prevalence of Raelin, Dragons, and Wyrmlings in the meta, he isn't a terrible choice. However, he needs a multitude of tweaks to make him playable. 7 range would let him outrange WTF squads. Being able to Archer's Glory off common heroes would let him destroy Wyrmlings. These changes and -15 points and he'd be a solid choice. As is, you're better off with Syvarris. C+
Brave Arrow: Good for 50 points in a Mohican build, bad elsewhere. His melee enhancement is nice, and his normal attack of 4 is also good. Unfortunately, the Mohicans needing to have two of them engaged AFTER their turn in order to bond with Brave Arrow hurts; if it was before using the Mohicans, it'd be a good deal better. B+
Braxas: Braxas is very, very good. However, she isn't great; she is too matchup specific and fragile. 8 life behind 3 defense gets burned down real quick. Her special attack is potent, but disproportionally hurts poorly-built armies than competitive armies, due to the larger number of squads in better armies. 210 points is a lot to pay for a figure who, while she can win games, she can also be nearly useless. A-
Brunak: Brunak's ok. 3 life is really bad, but 6 move, 7 defense, Carry, and Blood Hungry SA are all good. If Brunak was 5 life, he'd be an A-. As is, he is too susceptible to taking cheap hits. B