What Bonding Squad fits you?

[Matthias Maccabeus]

Most people here know I’m a melee fan and particularly a bonding fan. I believe that it’s probably the most powerful ability in the game. I’ve made a bet or vow or whatever you want to call it, to win a tournament with each bonding squad there is. Well I ever accomplish this? Probably not, but you never know. I’ve won tournaments with Knights of Weston, Heavy Gruts, Blade Gruts, Arrow Gruts, Armoc Vipers, Mohican River Tribe, and I won my general in general wars (not the overall winner) with the Axegrinders of the Burning Forge. I’ve also played the Sacred Band once and ended up 3-1. As I look at all the bonding squads (not movement bonding, or “nonding”) I think each has their own unique style of play. My definition of bonding is taking a turn with a hero and a squad in the same OM.

The following list is from strongest and most tournament worthy, to least.

1. Knights of Weston A+
2. Heavy Gruts A
3. Axegrinders of the Burning Forge A
4. Green Scale Warriors A
5. Roman Legoinnaires A-
6. Death Chasers of Thesk B+
7. Sacred Band B+
8. Mohican River Tribe B+
9. Capuan Gladiators B
10. Blade Gruts B-
11. Arrow Gruts B-
12. Marrden Nagrubs B-
13. Death Knights of Valkrill
14. Armoc Vipers C+
15. Marro Hive C
16. Fyorlag Spiders C
17. MacDirk Warriors C-
18. Wolves of Badru D
19. Grok Riders D-

The top 3 armies are all pretty close. A to A+
Disengage is huge for the Heavies, especially in today’s rat infested meta-game. Being able to bond with a unit that has an auto-kill ability is also huge when we see Raelin so often. Speaking of Raelin, the other major bonding unit for the heavies is basically a mini Raelin which is another huge bonus for the heavies. Tornak and Ornak round out their bonding options. Tornak is great for fast and hard-hitting, but doesn’t last all that long. Ornak can turn the heavies into skull rolling machines when he’s positioned right.

Tournament winning armies for the heavies -
Heavies x 4 / Grimnak / Nerak / Raelin by Matthias Maccabeus 5-0 Nebraska Skirmish II
notes - fomox got 2nd place in the same tourney with the same army losing only to Matthias.
Heavies x 3 / Grimnak / Nerak / Raelin / Isamu by Jexik 5-0 Nebraska Skirmish III
notes - Jexik won with almost the exact same army a year later
Heavies x 4 / Grimnak / Raelin / Marcu by Matthias Maccabeus (3rd place overall Main Event Gen Con 09) by Girlytrainchoochoo (Day 2 Main Event Gen Con 09) by Scape Dude (Day 2 Gen Con Main Event 2010) by fomox (5-0 1st place Capture the Flag Gen Con 2010)
Heavies x 4 / Grimnak / Nerak by nyys TotalCon 4-0
Heavies x 4 / Grimnak / Nerak / MW by Tiny Timmy (17th in Main Event Gen Con 09 and Day 2 in Main Event Gen Con 2010)
Heavies x 4 / Grimnak by lonewolf 5-0 1st place Gen COn 2010 Heat of the Battle

The Axegrinders of the Burning Forge (which is by far the coolest name for a unit in heroScape) have been making a name for themselves as of late. The ability to trade in bonding for 2 more move makes them quite interesting and exciting to play. They can cover ground quickly if necessary, or they can slow roll with their champions in tow. With Dragons and the Q brothers showing up often in toruneys fearless advantage is huge! Their champions are all very good. Darrak is a cheap hard hitting option with the ability to stick around a bit if your D20 is hot. Even if he doesn’t for 60 points he rocks! Migol can be a tank. He lasts quite awhile and can hit pretty hard from time to tim. The newest Dwarf to join the ranks is Mogrimm. He’s very tough to take out w/o a special attack. His ability to auto-wound any unit (some restrictions apply) every time he takes a turn is awesome! Also the +3 initiative bonus can come in handy when you’re in that critical juncture halfway through a game.

Tournament winning armies by the dwarves
Dwarves x 3 / Migol / AE / Marcu by Einar's Puppy 5-0
Dwarves x 3 / Mogrimm / Darrak by Einar's Puppy 4-0
Dwarves x 5 / Migol / Spiders x 1 by Matthias Maccabeus 4-0-1 General Wars at Gen Con 09
Dwarves x 5 / Mogrimm / BA by fomox 5-0 General Wars Gen Con 2010

Then we come to the Knights of Maccabeus…I mean Weston. Everybody loves the knights. They are some of the coolest looking units in the game. They have the magical 4 defense that Jexik mentioned some time ago. Sometimes the just refuse to die! The 4 move seemed to keep them out of any top tournament armies. However Sir Gilbert changed all of that. Jandar’s Dispatch is the most useful ability for these guys. Now all of a sudden they can move more than 4 (average of 6), or you can move up to 8 knights a turn. The knights have plenty of bonding units to choose from. Along with dispatch Gilbert gives them an attack aura, much like Finn. Finn’s brother, Thorgrim, gives them a defense aura. Both of these Vikings also give bonuses to other unique figures once they die, so you can be a tad reckless with them. Eldgrim rounds out the Vikings, and is a great 30 point figure, especially since he bonds with the mighty knights. Alastair is the heavy hitter of the bunch. Being able to overextend is just icing on the cake. Hawthorne provides an often needed special attack, and Denirck…well he looks cool!

Tournament winning armies with Knights
Knights x 4 / Gilbert / Krav / MW by Matthias Maccabeus 5-0 TTO IV
Knights x 5 / Gilbert / Zetacron by Cleon 5-0 Beantown Beatdown V
Knights x 3 / Gilbert / Raelin / MW by Weesel99 5-0 Dayton, OH
Knights x 5 / Gilbert / Johnny by lonewolf 5-0 Gen Con General Wars 2010
Knights x 3 / Al / Finn / Krav by Menchi (Day 2 at Gen Con Main Event 2009 and 2010)
Knights x 4 / Gilbert / AE / Isamu by Matthias Maccabeus (Day 2 Gen Con MAin Event 2010)
Knights x 3 / Hydra / Finn / Krav by RoninValentina (3rd Gen Con Main Event 2010)

Bottom line –
If you expect to run into rats / Raelin galore, take the heavies.
If you expect to run into lots of Majors and Dragons, or some hilly terrain take the Dwarves.
If you want to win, take the knights. Seriously, if there’s no rats involved I would strongly suggest knights.

The next 2 are also pretty close in competitiveness. A-
The Romans had long been atop of the food chain when it came to bonding. But as point totals rose and other options were released they were knocked down a notch. Explosion attacks have also hurt them a tad. The Romans have strong attack and CAN have good defense, but it’s not as easy as it looks. When bunched together the Romans can hold the wall quite well. But when they have to start spreading out and engaging your often trying to decide if you should split up the wall to maximize attacks, or stay together to maximize defense. The Romans also have great bonding options. Marcus of course is almost a given. The extra move is much needed against range heavy armies, and the extra attack is quite nice. NGS, Valgaurd, and now Mogrimm provide several tanks to choose from. MBS is much like Nerak and Eldgrim, very cheap and almost too good to pass on. The Venoc Warlord can provide some extra attack and make for some interesting scout / frenzy armies combined with the Romans. Parmenio, well he has a cool cape.

Tournament winning Roman armies
Romans x 3 / MDG / MBS / NGS / AE by arp12 4-0
Romans x 2 / MDG / MBS / 4th x 2 by UPC 6-0
Romans x 2 / MDG / MBS / 4th x 2 / Drake RotV by Utgar's Rage 5-0

The Green Scale Warriors are the newest bonding threat to enter heroScape. They may end up being higher on the list, but are still somewhat untested. At first glance they seem ridiculously powerful. I mean dragon bonding, HOLY CRAP!!! What were the designers / play-testers thinking?? After a few looks and play-testing you find that, oh wait they did know what they were doing… The chance to get 6 attacks per OM is huge (3 GWS + Nilf or Braxas), with Zelrig you can actually hit more (assuming everybody is bunched together for you). Before the only ways to get 6 attacks per turn (with bonding) was with overextend and chomp. Of course one the dragon goes down these guys just become a waste of points for the most part. In my experiences (unless using Charos) 2 squads, maybe 3 is all that I would take with a dragon. Also you have to remember that the dragons are all fairly expensive, so that eats up a lot of your points for your army.

Tournament armies for the GSW
Charos / GSW x 4 / Water Elemental x 2 by Greg Jr 5-0
Nilf / GSW x 4 / Raelin by Jexik Day 2 Gen Con Main Event 2010
Zelrig / GSW x 4 / Raelin by Eternal Thanos86 Day 2 Gen Con Main Event 2010
Nilf / Zelrig / GSW x 2 / Oto / Isamu by dragonmaster384 Day 2 Gen Con Main Event 2010
Charos / GSW x 3 / Krav / Isamu by Arrow Grut 5-0 1st place Treasure Quest Gen Con 2010

Bottom line –
If you like dragons and need a special attack / ability for your army take the GSW
If you want to win with sheer numbers and can put shield wall or the tanks to use at key choke points take the Romans.

The next group consists of 3 different bonding options. B to B+

After the movie 300 came out everybody was wishing the Sacred Band were the Spartans. The SB is another cheap squad that does well with numbers. The biggest problem they have is that their whole army MUST be disciplined one way or another. This does cut into their options quite a bit. The good news is that there are quite a few disciplined units. Parmenio does help with his ability to change any one unique card into a disciplined personality. His Death Defy is also pretty sweet, when it works. It’s adjacency requirement sometimes makes it difficult to pull off. Much like the Romans sometimes you have to decide on whether or not to maximize attacks by splitting up, or maximize defense (abilities) by staying together. The bonding options are much more limited for these guys. Marcus is another great addition to this squad, he helps them much like he helps the Romans. Valgaurd is their last option. While he can be a decent tank, the fact that he’s not disciplined hurts his ability to work well with these guys.

Tournament armies for the SB
10th x 2 / MDG / SB x 3 by Dignan 5-0 War of the Worlds Gen Con 09
SB x 4 / Parmenio / Marcus / Raelin by Tiny Timmy 4-1 (beat Spider's 'trons with it)
SB x 5 / Parmenio / MDG / Kaemon Awa / Guilty by Matthias Maccabeus 3-1

The Capuan Gladiators. These guys were 3 years in the making according to Rÿchean. We’ve been waiting for these guys as a community ever since the 3 heroes came out. These guys can be very tough. The biggest problem is that Spartacus eats up almost half your army, is pretty much a requirement for these guys to work well. Crixus is what makes these guys monsters! An inspired Crixus that bonds it very, very tough to take out. He’s a wrecking machine. Retarius is OK, he’s just overshadowed by his helmet splitting friend Crixus. The biggest issue with these guys is lack of units. The standard 500 point army of Crixus / Spartacus / Capuans x 3 only has 11 units in it. Much like Mogrimm, the +3 to initiative can come in handy when you really need the initiative.


Tournament winning armies with the Galdiators
Capuans x 3 / Spartacus / Crixus / Guilty by Pickle4192 5-0

One of the interesting range / melee hybrids is the Mohican River Tribe. The ability to shoot from range and then get a bonus when engaged in melee combat is quite effective against melee armies. Concealment helps against the range attacks, while Battle Fury keeps them alive a little longer in melee. The neat things is they mess with rats and ‘trons a bit. Being able to get both Battle Fury and Concealment to work at the same time can give your opponent fits sometimes. The other thing they bring to the table is an interesting bonding ability. Their Hero takes a turn AFTER they do (if other requirements are met). Brave Arrow is their hero. Much like Eldgrim, MBS, Darrak, and Nerak, he’s a great cheap bonding unit.

Tournament winning MRT armies
MRT x 5 / BA / Raelin / VW by Cleon's dad 5-0
MRT x 4 / BA / Raelin / Theracus / MW by Matthias Maccabeus 4-0


Bottom line –
If you want to win with sheer brute force take the Capuan Gladiators
If you think you’ll be up against ‘trons, or rats, the Mohicans can go a long way in messing with your opponent.
If you enjoy disciplined army units, the SB could be the way to go for you.

The next group also consists of 3. B-

Long forgotten because of the success of their brethren, the Blade Gruts can be quite effective. They have all the same bonding options as the heavy gruts. There base attack defense is lower, but they are faster. Their biggest weakness is much like the Romans, they are too cheap for their own good. The 2 attack doesn’t do much, but because of their high move and disengage they can often tie units up while you bring in the heavy hitters.

Torunament winning Blade Grut armies
Blades x 3 / Grimnak / Tornak / MW / Isamu by Eniar's Puppy 5-0
Blades x 4 / Grimnak / Nerak / Isamu by Matthias Maccabeus 5-0 Lightweight Gen Con 09

A long time ago the Arrow Gruts were once considered elite. They too suffer a bit from cramped start zones with all their bonding options being double spaced and their cheap cost. At first look a base 1 attack and 1 defense looks horrible, but once you start throwing Swogs and height into the mix these guys can have decent stats. The swog riders are great bonding options for these guys. They give them adjacency bonuses (which is even better on double spaced figures) and have high move and disengage so they can engage that Krav that’s causing you fits. Mimring provides a special attack for their bonding options. Of course their best option is the original heavy hitter, Krug. This troll can beat any unit in the game one on one. He can be very dangerous if you don’t know how to handle him properly.

Tournament winning Arrow Grut armies
AG x 3 / Swog x 3 / Krug / Raelin by Spider Poison Gen Con 06 Main event winner
AG x 3 / Swog x 3 / Krug / Raelin / Mimring by Matthias Maccabeus 5-0


The Marrden Nagrubs round out this next bunch. These guys are the cheapest bonding squad in the game, but all their heroes are fairly costly. They have high move and the ability to heal wounds at their own expense. TKN is by far their best option. He has high defense, high attack, and an auto wound(s) ability. He’s quite tough. He can go through squads (assuming the terrain and D20 cooperate) and take out high defense / life units. SBN is another one that can be useful with these guys. Often SBN is used mainly for his D20 enhancement, but he can lay the smack down if he has too. His low defense make him vulnerable, but with being able to eat grubs he can lost a turn or 2 longer. WSG is thematically cool, and is great against high life, low defense heroes. But she is definitely third on the list. I hear she works well in Unique Hero though…

Tournament armies with the grubs -
TKN / Grubs x 3 / PK x 3 / Raelin by dok 5-1
TKN / Grubs x 3 / PK x 3 by dok 4-1 General Wars Gen Con 2010
TKN / Grubs x 3 / Krav / Dund by Clarissimus 4-1 (at 2 different events)
TKN / Grubs x 3 / AE / G-O by Clarissimus 3-1-1 (should have made day 2) Gen Con 08 main event beat Lonewolf

Bottom line –
If you are playing with a lower point total and expect rats take the Blade Gruts!
If you have pretty even terrain and some high defense units to go against the Grubs (+ TKN) should do quite well
If you like Krug (and we all do) and are good at maximizing your adjacency bonuses the arrow gruts could be for you.

The next group consists of 3 options. C to C+

Everybody loves the Venoc Warlord, so when the Armoc Vipers came out to bond with him there was much rejoicing (actually I have no idea, I wasn’t on scapers back then, but I would rejoice). But then everybody was like eh, they need another hero to bond with. And now we are still saying, eh, they need another hero to bond with. The thing they do have going for them is movement. They are very fast and water makes little to no difference to them. The Venoc Warlord does provide some good attacking power though.

Tournament winning armies with the Armocs
10th x 3 / Armocs x 1 / Marcu by Matthias Maccabeus 5-1 (there were a few restrictions on army building)

Now at first I wasn’t sure if I should add the Marro Hive to the list, but it does technically fit my bonding criteria. Jormi Boced proved how well the hive can be when back by stingers when it first came out. The ability to rebirth stingers and drones alike is pretty huge. Drawbacks on the hive are several. It takes up quite the space in your start zone. It has pretty weak defensive stats and can fall pretty quickly. It also has a LOS and maximum distance issue.

Tournament armies with the hive
Hive / Stingers x 5 / Guilty / Marcu by Jormi Boced made day 2 of main event at Gen Con 08
Hive / Stingers x 6 / Marcu by Jormi's brother 4-1 TTO IV
Hive / Stingers x 4 / MBS by Cleon 4-1 and 3-0 Gen Con 08

Now this one is a little bit of theoryscape on my part. The Fyorlag Spiders are very fast, but lacked the offensive and defensive punch. Also the entangling web was difficult to work. Also their one bonding option Sujoah was powerful against heroes, but that was about it. Enter D1. With Estivara and the Wyverns I believe the Spiders got a little bit of a jump on the competitive scale. I’m not saying that they are the next Q9 or anything, but I think they have a chance. With Estivara’s bonus extending 6 spaces and the Wyvern’s ability to move units. They can somewhat dictate where the fight will take place. They are very quick (as are their bonding options). Also they are fairly cheap.

The best army I've seen so far with the spiders is
Spiders x 3 / Wyvern x 3 / Estivara by Matthias Maccabeus 4-1 3rd place at Treasure Quest Gen Con 2010
Dwarves x 5 / Migol / Spiders x 1 by Matthias Maccabeus 4-0-1 General Wars at Gen Con 09 (I know that's cheating but it does have spiders in it)

Bottom Line –
If you are looking for speed (especially on water heavy maps) the Armocs might be what you’re looking for.
If you like Stingers, Drones, or Dividers, and are playing on smaller maps with less LOS blockers, and bigger start zones take the hive!
If you want to try some new stuff out and still have somewhat of a competitive chance and want speed in your army, I think the spider might fit you.

OK now to the so called “bottom of the barrel.” D- to C-

Anybody who has seen Braveheart, or Highlander, or Rob Roy loves the MacDrik warriors. They have all the same bonding options as the Knights do. Their best bonding options are guys with high life (Alastair, Hawthorne, and Gilbert). They can definitely be heavy hitters if everything works out. The problem is, it often doesn’t. Their 2 defense is just horrible for a melee unit. IF they can make it to the battle and are somewhat pumped with highland fury, they can tear through many things. The problem though is anybody with 2 attack or more can tear right back through them.

Tournament winning (yes winning) armies with the MacDirks
McDs x 2 / Alastair / Eldgrim / Q10 / MW by Clarissimus 4-1 (Leave it to Joe to win with a crappy unit)

The complaints over Khosumet have been coming for years. The Wolves of Badru gave him a little more playing time. He has an attack aura that benefits them. The problem is he’s still a whimp, now he’s just a whimp with bonding. The thing the Wolves do bring to the table is a special attack, with 5 ATTACK! The problem is that it can be self destructive and has some limitations. If the wolves had more units to bond with they may move up a bit. With the addition of the new Werewolf Lords in D2 the WoB may get another chance. We'll have to wait and see.

Um, I got nothing....

Last and certainly least is the Grok Riders. OK, here’s when you ask, Dude what were you guys thinking?! The actually have good bonding options. NGS and MBS are both formidable heroes. But these guys just suck. They are fast, but the Armocs have the same speed (are single spaced and slither) and cost half as much. Mark of the Warlord can provide some heavy attacks, but often they are too fast for NGS. These guys just suck.

Groks x 2 / MBS / NGS

Bottom Line –
If you want to have memories of Mel Gibson running through Scotland yelling FRREEEDDDOMMM take the MacDirks.
If you like yelling pounce and like watching Khosumet die take the Wolves.
If you want to lose a game play the Groks.

WAVE D3 -
Right Now I have the DCs in the number 6 spot and the DKs in the number 13 spot. As time goes on and people start using them in tourneys I'll update this part so it matches the rest. Some of this is theoryscape.

The Death Chasers have 2 very good things going for them: their base attack of 4 and their battle rush. 4 attack can punch through most things on it's own. Battle Rush allows the DCs to dictate battle, gain high ground, and grab glyphs before almost every other unit. They also bond with some great hero options: Ogre Warhulk, Ogre Pulverizer, Nerak, MBS, and Swogs. The Warhulk and Pulverizer have oppoertunites for multiple attacks and have high life. MBS and the Swogs are fast. Nerak is fast also, boosts the DCs defense and also the swogs if you go that route. Of course the biggest negative is 2 base defense is pretty horrible for a melee unit. Nerak and / or Raelin is almost a must with these guys. Also the fact that they are only a 3 man squad makes it harder for them to keep up with the 4 man squads.

Tournament Winning armies with the Death Chasers
DC x 5 / OP x 1 / Raelin / Nerak by Matthias Maccabeus 5-0 1st place at the Nebraska Skirmish IV

The Death Knights of Valkrill are the only bonding 2 man squad there is. This alone kind of puts them in a different role then the rest of the armies on this list. They probably are not best at just making an army based fully on them (and their bonding heroes), but more of a support unit. They have a very interesting bonding list that leads to this IMO: Air Elemental, Khosumet, Dumutef Guard, Hawthrone, Taelord, Venoc Warlord. You could use them with both Khosumet and the Dumutef and some wolves to take advantage of Khosumet's attack boost. Or perhaps team them up with taelord and some snipers. Or maybe with the Venoc Warlord and some vipers. Or maybe with the AE and some long ranged units to keep the melee units off your back.


Bonding is powerful. It goes a long way in making melee viable in tournament settings. I hope this helps you understand the different options there are out there for this game we all love.

[gorthan313]

Interesting read. I'm a Knights fan myself(KoW and Anubians are my favorite squads, with Anubians a LITTLE bit higher ranking in my book), but it was interesting reading about the other melee squads around!

[Filthy the Clown]

Excellent, informative post, Matthias. I love reading about unit strategy from experienced players, and this article is chock full of information. Specific army suggestions don't really seem necessary, as you do a great job of describing the roles of squads and respective champions.

As an aside, it is also rewarding to hear success stories about bonding squads on the bottom end of the spectrum, as well as squads that are still considered new and fresh. Anyone who even casually surfs this forum knows that the knights and heavies rock. Hearing potential strategies about units such as the Axegrinders, and even the Wolves, is icing on the cake. I look forward to your tournament win Battle Report with the Groks.

Thanks!

Filthy

[yagyuninja]

I think Heavy gruts fit me best (love chomp and disengage), but I've had some success with spiders/estivara/wyvern and I've felt the force of the dwarves. I love these bonding squads too, man. Fun stuff.

[chief]

The dwarves for me ... yes the dwarves

[vertigosmooth]

Great read! Being a melee lover myself, I found it very interesting. Im an old school KOW fan but lately I've been loving the Dwarves and The Mohicans. I know the MRT have range, but I always considered them more melee looking at their stats. A melee unit that can pepper the enemy with fire before engaging? Sign me up, hehe. I'm also waiting to play test more GSW armies. As always, great job Matthias.


By the way Gorthan, I am a huge Anubian wolf fan as well, they are one unit that I feel are underrated somewhat(just think if they had bonding).



Dustin

[ollie]

Great stuff. Thanks MM.

A viper army and a blade grut army are strong contenders for my army at a tournament next month.

[lefton4ya]

Nice read! I do not have the bottom 4 rated figures specifically because I think they stink. Actually I have two unopened Groks because I bough them cheap per pack - but they are still expensive per figure both in real world and in came cost.

[Xn F M]

Weren't there some Marro hive armies doing pretty well around NHD? If I recall correctly somebody took first place with:

160 Marro Hive
280 Stingers x2
480 Dividers x4

I think Hive-based bonding might get a little bit of a bump if people start playing using it more. The fact that maps are becoming more compact on the whole only makes things better for the Hive.

[xraine69]

MM, since you are fast becoming the Master of Melee, I would like to pose a question to you. Have you ever tried or thought of using an army composed of different squads(one each) and one of their bonding heroes? Back when KoW and Blades first came out, I would use a squad of Blades w/Grimnak and a squad of KoW w/Denrick in the same army. What are your thoughts on this strategy?

[Frylock]

I think I like the dwarves best, but I've had a ton of fun with the Greenscales. I've tried all the dragons (besides Mimring and Othkurik), and I think Charos is the most fun. Braxas is very scary against squads and medium heroes, and Nilfheim is just all around good. I don't think they're my favorite, but I do enjoy playing them. Dwarves are awesome, though.

[tcglkn]

Dwarves are my favorite. I also love the Capuan Gladiators. I would love to attend a tourny and play this army:
Sparticus (200/200)
Cirxus (90/290)
Capuan Gladiators x3 (210/500)

@600 points add Retarius and Isamu
@640 add Capuan Glads x2
@730 (yes huge for tourny but closer to what me and my friends play) you can add Cap Glads x2 and Retarius. Now THERES and army!

btw I would like to see sample builds.