The Book of Death Chasers of Thesk

[Taeblewalker]

Originally Posted by Revdyer

Note that on the card abilities, the movement is termed "5 spaces" for the normal movement and I think it is very safe to conclude that the "5 spaces" of the Orc Battle Rush means exactly the same thing, i.e., 5 spaces and not 5 hexes.

Agreed. They would stop in water, pay to climb elevations, and of course, not get a road bonus (fixed movement power).

[nate the dawg]

I've had only positive experiences with these guys - of course, I've only used them twice! Battle Rush is handy, but not as game-breaking as one might initially imagine. It's a great way to set up the battlefield in your favor, but with just 2 defense, these guys really need a Nerak or Raelin to make it worth your whille to scramble all of them forward.

As far as putting the hurt on your opponent, a common squad attacking for 4 is outstanding! We've had a couple of others with the same attack capability (Dzu-teh and Obsidians), and we all know how useless they are outside of their intended niche. At 55 points, these guys don't really need a bonded hero, but both Nerak and the Pulverizer work very well with them. I can't wait to play a larger point game so I can work in a WarHulk or another Pulverizer!

[Typhon2222]

Ah, Revdyer sets me straight. Thanks much.

[Sir Dendrik]

These guys are really growing on me.

As far as bonding options: Nerak is amazing, Me-Burq-Sa is excellent, Ogre Pulverizer is decent, Swog is alright.

But be warned that it is very difficult to use the Ogre Warhulk because Flail Hurricane will affect the Death Chasers. Because of Battle Rush the Warhulk will most likely have to pass through the Chasers to get to the fray, in which case he may backfire.

What a great squad, though. They're so original and give me a reason to use Me-Burq-Sa again.

[Taeblewalker]

I had a lot of fun using these for the first time today. I was able to grab glyphs with Nerak, and do cleanup with the Pulverizer and Warhulk.

[Frylock]

I think these guys are great for new, inexperienced players. The powers aren't too difficult to understand, and Battle Rush only comes up once in the entire game. Also, they don't punish the noobish aggressive style; in fact, they encourage it. One of the most common noobish mistakes is moving the same three figures and leaving the rest in the start zone until one dies. This tends to leave their army spread out and discombobulated. Battle Rush helps ensure that other squad members will be nearby and can easily jump in. High attacks are good as well; no noob likes throwing attacks of 2. Also, their bonding options are all fun and powerful. All in all, a very fun and user-friendly squad that all scapers can enjoy.

[Killometer]

Originally Posted by Frylock

they don't punish the noobish aggressive style; in fact, they encourage it.

Hey, who you callin' noobish?

I played these guys yesterday, and I love their aggressive nature. My favorite units are the hard-chargin', heavy-hittin' type, and the Death Chasers fit the bill perfectly. I paired 4 squads of them with Nerak, Warhulk and Raelin I, and they were a blast! The ability to move all of them out of the start zone was a huge boost for my play style, and their base attack of 4 balances out the fact that they only have 3 members (and lack of attacks is less of a consideration if you can bring the Wahulk in to full effect ).

Right now these guys are #1 in my personal Wave 13 fun & powerful ranking.

[Revdyer]

This army worked great for me today at our post-Thanksgiving game day.

3 x Death Chasers (165)
bonded with 3 x Swog Riders (75 for 240)
plus Q-9 and one Fen Hydra (another 300 points for 540)
and Isamu to round out the 550 point armies we were playing.

I won three out of the four games I played with the army, and had fun every single time. Using the Death Chasers and Swogs as grabbers and blockers for the Hydra and Q-9 worked very well. The Death Chasers die, it is true; but often they will kill someone before they die. I played them very aggressively. That seemed to work.

I liked it enough to log-on and order another set of them so I can try 4 x.

[Fen_Hydra]

I just got in a 600 point battle with

3x DCoT (165/165)
Nerak (50/215)
Me-Burq-Sa (50/265)
Ogre Pulverizer (100/365)
Cyprien (150/515)
Sonya (45/560)
Marcu (20/580)
Isamu (10/590)
Otonashi (10/600)

I played on Fissure by Dignan, and the DCoT performed really well, with the Orc Battle Rush giving them a huge advantage, and their offensive power killing enemy units easily. Nerak also provided a little more defense, so the were tougher.

Overall, these guys really impressed me.

[Looking East]

Every single time I have seen these guys played correctly, as in more than one squad of them pluss a bonded hero, they have done well.

The best armies I have seen with them use Nerak, pluss at least one other bonded hero. Nerak seems key in keeping them alive long enough to close and put those brutal 4 dice attacks to use.

It would be interesting to try these guys out with both Nerak and Raelin. They are cheap enough that you can probably afford 130 points in cheerleaders, and with one that is extremely quick and bonded, managing Raelin as well shouldn't be too hard to pull off. I'm not sure if having 5 defence will be worth the OM or two you will lose moving Raelin, but it seems like a decent trade off in theory. It also helps keep Nerak alive, so he can't be targeted and removed as easily. I think as a second bonding option I would use Me-Burq-Sa since his speed and range will let you attack with him while also keeping Nerak up to pace. A pulverizer would also be a slow but good edition for the extra two attacks.

I've seen a tough KoW match up against the Death Chasers and the Death Chasers barely lost. I think if the Orc army had been played a little differently it could have gone the other way. The chasers do well against other melee squads. Rangers hurt them due to their lack laster defence.

[killercactus]

More for clarification in the Book than my general knowledge, but I assume that Death Chasers will take leaving engagement attacks when using Orc Battle Rush, correct?

There are quite a few maps on which they could begin the game engaged or close to it. It would also come up in Heat of the Battle or similar formats.

Since the card doesn't say they're exempt from them, I guess they take them.

[Rÿchean]

Yep...in that scenario they would be subject to the LEAs.