Latest draft. I think this one returns to the original design, does all the things that I originally wanted to do and is really fun to play. I'll be doing some test recording on my blog this week and next I think.
-> Scent of Blood: Does everything that the original Hunter's Howl did except it requires you to wound a figure (as opposed to the Durgeth's destroy or the original's engagement requirement). There is no more avoidance of attacking to get more activations, this ability now rewards you for a successful hunt and brings a lot more depth/flexibility than it appears to.
You can use this ability to retreat after teaming up to kill a target, or you can use it to advance the same 2 Wulflings after killing prey or you can involve other Wulflings or a Hunter Hero. This is pretty cool because you can use it to team up on an enemy hero if you can at least "draw blood" which gives you a good chance of taking it down. Also gives you some interesting choices to make with squads in terms of aggression or retreat or development. It makes the unit much more splashable than it was without sacrificing anything, just requires you to get some damage through.
-> Stealthy: Definitely not as good as Silent Stalker but still effective vs range, 6 (7) defense isn't a joke and should be a good tool to use against ranged commons or special attacks. Ability turns off when you are engaged which incentivizes you to attack, finish a hunt and then get back into stealthmode instead of lingering in multiple engagements.
This should encourage flowing gameplay.
-> Hunter Heroes: We still have good synergy here, there are still bonus turns but we tightened up not only our requirement (which communicates a more specific theme) but we also narrowed our focus. Medium/Small Hunter Heroes no longer get to play with Wulfing, sorry Nessing and Shadow Hound D:
Our theme is drawing blood, hunters being drawn to that scent or action of spilling blood and continuing the hunt (which was my alternate name for the ability, The Hunt). Interesting thing to note is that when you go through the list of large hunter heroes, it's reasonable to assume that spilling blood would be something they could catch the scent of or would be interested in.
Arktos - Wolf Humanoid, definitely can smell blood.
Dund - A doggin hunter should definitely be able to smell blood/be interested in it.
Feral Troll - Blood Frenzy and trolls have an insane sense of smell from dnd lore, no need to say more.
Himmelskralle - A ravenous monster that thrives off hunting, killing and eating would definitely key into this.
Master of the Hunt - I was almost stuck looking for a reason for this guy to key into a hunt happening or blood being spilled beyond his name and then I realized that his species justifies it fine. Firbolg is a type of giant, or more accurately giant-kin like ogres and trolls... which are all known for their smell from dnd down to old fairy tales. While it might be the biggest one you have to look for, I didn't have to look far to see that it fits without issue.
Arguably the two Hunter Heroes that just got cut out with the size requirement were the ones that made the least sense anyways. One being a vampire/monster hunter and the other being a shadow construct.
Also, the unengaged requirement for figures using Scent of Blood makes sense beyond trying to limit Himmelskralle (who is an independent lady that doesn't require monitoring) because there is no real reason for the Hunter to be focused on/care about blood spilling if they are already fighting a unit (which is what being engaged communicates in the first place).