Unit Strategy Review: How to use Marro Warriors

[Agatagary]

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Unit Strategy Review
Unit: Marro Warriors
Author: Agatagary

The Marro Warriors, unlike many of the units covered in these guides, are not considered to be bad units. On the contrary, they are thought to be extremely good, for their cost. For a mere fifty points, a player can take control of the squad that, like cockroaches, just will not die. After death, as long as some of the Marro Warriors survive, their dead will return. Despite the popularity of the Marro Warriors, I have the distinct feeling that many people have been using this unit with woeful inefficiency. Looking at current strategy-related topics on the Marro Warriors, I note that most of them debate whether you should keep one back and send the other three forward, or keep two back and send the other two forward. Other topics debate when the “correct” time is to use water clone, in terms of the number of Marro Warriors currently dead. In this article, I will attempt to provide an alternative strategy that more effectively uses the unique capabilities of this squad.


First, a breakdown of the Marro Warriors’ stats can be found below.

Cost – 50 – Knight Class Unit
Size – 4 – Vulnerable/Concealable
Life – 1 - Brittle
Move – 6 - Fast
Range – 6 – Medium Range
Attack – 2 - Poor
Defense – 3 – Vulnerable
Water Clone- High Tactical Advantage, Reliable

First, let us examine the cost of the Marro Warriors. Cost refers not only to the price of the unit, but also to its importance in your army. Two units with the same price could have different costs. To simplify analysis, I have 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)

It may come as a surprise that the Marro Warriors are a Knight Class Unit, considering that their price is a mere fifty points. This is not a mistake, nor is it a claim that the Marro Warriors are somehow underpriced. The Marro Warriors fill a very important role in your army, one which depends both on survival and on strategic usage of their unique ability. You should not throw them carelessly at the enemy, because it will waste their potential completely. Their price is the correct price—using them correctly can sometimes take a toll on the rest of your army, as we will see later.


Every unit has two components to its power—offensive capability, or its overall ability to fight, and survivability, or its overall ability to survive. Let us first look at the offensive capability of the Marro Warriors.


For a ranged squad, the Marro Warriors are fairly good. Their movement range of six allows them to take advantage of the terrain, climbing and moving quickly. Few units can outrun them, giving them much flexibility in battle. Their range of six, while not phenomenal, is good enough to give them a distinct advantage over slow melee units, especially when compounded with their movement. Two Attack, although not spectacular, is adequate for the Marro Warriors as long as they do their best to avoid engagements, where higher-powered melee units would quickly outperform them. Additionally, their movement value of six should allow them to gain a height advantage in most cases, boosting their Attack to a respectable three. To sum these characteristics up, the Marro Warriors are quick and flexible, able to take strategic locations easily, but lack the power for a close-combat fight. This suggests that they be played as guerrillas. Do not keep any Marro Warrior in one place for too long, even if it is a highly strategic location, because it will be necessary to keep moving and avoid being trapped, a situation in which they would soon be destroyed. One final advantage that the Marro Warriors have lies in their numbers; with four units being controlled in one turn, you can make a large number of attacks in a variety of different locations at the same time—an advantage that most heroes do not possess.


The survivability of the Marro Warriors is quite complex, but for now we will look only at the survivability based on statistics, without worrying about their special ability. With a Defense of three, the Marro Warriors are actually quite well protected for a ranged squad. As long as they avoid melee, their biological armor should be able to protect them from most ranged threats, which tend to have lower than average attack values. Their quick Movement, which often gives them a good tactical position, should normally boost their Defense to four with the height advantage. Having six Movement also makes it relatively easy for the Marro Warriors to escape when melee units approach. Again, use these advantages! Another advantage that the Marro Warriors have is their size, which is small enough to be concealable. They should be able to effectively use the terrain to their advantage, hiding until close enough to attack. It should be remembered, however, that this relatively small stature makes them an eligible target for numerous abilities.

In summary, the Marro Warriors should be played like guerrillas, constantly moving to avoid being cornered. Take advantage of their size to conceal them, and then attack your targets, using your speed to gain the upper hand. Make sure you attack from as far away as you can while within range-you do not want the Marro Warriors to become embroiled in an engagement.

There is one aspect of the Marro Warriors that makes them unique on a level far deeper than their unit class, and that is their special ability, Water Clone. The essence of Water Clone is that, by sacrificing the attack phase of their turn, each remaining Marro Warriors may attempt (individually) to bring back dead Marro Warriors from the dead. Being in contact with water improves the chances of each attempted Water Clone from 30% to 55%. This ability has immense tactical implications, which I will attempt here to explore.

First of all, a common question that rises when playing the Marro Warriors is “How many warriors should be dead before I attempt to use Water Clone?” The common answer is either two or three, depending on who you ask, but both of these answers inefficiently use the Marro Warriors. Remember, each Marro Warrior may attempt, separately, to use Water Clone. Therefore, the more Marro Warriors use Water Clone, the greater the chance is of it working. Remember, Water Clone replaces an attack phase, and it is crucial to take advantage of your attack phases as much as possible—if you have to use one cloning, it is better to clone with three, and have a high probability of it working, than to clone with two, and potentially use more than one turn to replenish the squad. Ideally, Water Clone should be used immediately when a Marro Warrior is destroyed, unless there is a very, very good reason not to. Many players have an issue with this strategy. They feel that replacing Marro Warriors in the middle of combat is a complete waste of a turn, because the enemy will simply cut down the Marro Warriors as soon as they are cloned back into existence—and the removal rate often exceeds the replenishing rate. This is absolutely true. If you take a squad of four Marro Warriors into battle, and they attack a strong enemy, or even a weak enemy with a few fortunate rolls, they will be decimated too fast to be replenished. So would it not be better to simply attack?

With most squads, especially unique squads, attacking as much as possible to eliminate the threat would be the best option, assuming that retreat was impossible. This is why many players, when confronted with this situation, attack with the Marro Warriors rather than cloning. Sometimes this works, and the Marro Warriors survive, but other times this does not work, and the Marro Warriors are slaughtered. If the Marro Warriors are ever caught in a situation like this, the best thing to do is to attack, if retreat is impossible. However, this a pathetically inefficient way to use the Marro Warriors. To maximize their use, they must use all their assets, and their special ability is their greatest asset, as we will see later. Here is the key: avoid situations like the one above, when Water Clone is a less viable option than attacking in terms of allowing the Marro Warriors to survive. We will discuss how to do this later.

The strategy that I have seen most frequently discussed is the idea of keeping one or two Marro Warriors behind while sending the rest out to attack. Once the attackers have died, the Marro Warriors left at the starting zone use Water Clone until all four are back on the board—then the process is repeated. This strategy works, and is viable when the player has a surplus of time or strong fortifications around his or her starting zone, but even when this is the case, the efficiency of this strategy is poor at best. Using the Marro Warriors in this way wastes two of their greatest assets; their numbers, which allow them flexibility in where they attack and give them the numbers to overwhelm heroes and small conglomerations of units, and their excellent movement rate, which lets them strike quickly and precisely. By keeping even one Marro Warrior away from the battle, you are reducing the effectiveness of the squad by at least 25% (more, actually, because the effectiveness of a unique squad drops dramatically when one of its units are killed). If the Marro Warriors are to achieve their full potential, they must all be sent out onto the battlefield.

So here we are, left with a dilemma. If we want to use the Marro Warriors effectively, we must send them all out. Yet, if they are to use their spectacular special ability, they must avoid situations in which they can be destroyed faster than they can be replenished. If all of the Marro Wariors are fighting, how can we avoid situations where the enemy disables what is perhaps their greatest asset?

The answer is deceptively simple. To ensure that the Marro Warriors avoid suppressive situations, they must be spread out so that only one of them can be destroyed at a time, regardless of firepower. After all, if there is only one Marro Warrior in front of an enemy unit, how can that unit put pressure on the other Marro Warriors not to clone? If each warrior is in a different part of the map, they can take advantage of all of their abilities. Because you will be using all of the Marro Warriors, you can maximize the advantage gained from their four-unit, unique squad status. Not only will you be able to perform multiple attacks in the same turn, but because each Marro Warrior will be in a different part of the map, you will actually be able to outperform your opponent in terms of order marker efficiency! Think about this for a moment: with one order marker on the Marro Warriors, it is possible to attack up to four different parts of your opponent’s army. Yet that same opponent, with one order marker, will usually be able to attack only one Marro Warrior on their turn, even if they have a squad or a powerful multiple-attacker like Deathwalker 8000 or Major Q9. By spreading out the Marro Warriors, your order markers will carry more power than theirs. Using this strategy will allow the Marro Warriors to maximize the advantage gained from their mobility, because they will all be on the move, rather than staying in one place and attacking one opponent at a time.

This strategy will maximize the effectiveness of the Marro Warriors, but there is a note of caution. If the Marro Warriors do not harass your opponent sufficiently, your opponent will probably ignore them, and move towards your other units instead. Your Marro Warriors require a significant order marker investment if you want to retain their advantage, so it is necessary to find a response to this. There are several possible responses, but the two best ones are to either a) move your Marro Warriors away from combat to safety and have your other units defend themselves, or b) put so much pressure on your opponent’s army with the Marro Warriors that he or she will have to defend with the majority of his or her forces, or risk taking losses that would significantly impact his or her strategy. Because of the regenerative abilities of the Marro Warriors, the latter strategy is advisable in such a situation, because you are likely to take fewer or no losses.

There is, however, a way to avoid even that situation: Use the Marro Warriors at the very end of the game. At the end of the game, you can devote all of your order markers to the Marro Warriors, and will not have to worry about any other units that you may control. There is a trade-off, however, which is that at the end of the game, your opponent will have fewer units to divide his or her order markers between, and will have his or her units already spread out across the map, while the Marro Warriors will most probably be still in your starting zone. In this situation, it is likely that they Marro Warriors will be trapped, and summarily slaughtered. This strategy should be used only if you have been aggressive for most of your game, with your opponent playing defensively, and the enemy units are far away from your starting zone, giving you plenty of time to spread out.

Alternatively, you could play the Marro Warriors at the very beginning of the game, when your opponent’s resources in order markers are divided among the largest number of units possible, and the Marro Warriors are free to spread out before the real fighting begins. This is perhaps the best time to use the Marro Warriors. At this point in the game, your opponent is very far from your starting zone, and will be less inclined to mount a costly and time-consuming operation to strike at your units while the Marro Warriors harass his or her forces. With their speed, the Marro Warriors should swiftly close the gap between them and the enemy, and will discourage them from attacking the rest of your army.

The most important thing to remember with this strategy is the give each Marro Warrior a lot of space. The way to think about strategy with the Marro Warriors is in terms of space; the more space there is between each Marro Warrior, the more effectively they can be used. This means that the best maps to use the Marro Warriors on are large, wide maps with a lot of space. You should consider carefully before using the Marro Warriors on a small or narrow map. Think of them as a sort of disease—they cannot strike quick, devastating blows to the body of your opponent’s army, but they can infiltrate the body and whittle down its health over time. Like an infection, if they are concentrated in one spot, they can be easily amputated and removed for good, but if spread throughout the body, they can survive any minor attack. And like a virus, they will soon return if they are not all dealt with.

One last thing should be noted about this strategy, however. If your opponent has a large number of common squads, especially ranged squads which are able to keep up with the Marro Warriors, then this strategy needs to be modified a bit. Common squads, like the Aubrien Archers, can strike in many places at once, and a coordinated opponent will use this to his or her own advantage. To counteract this, one of two things can be done. First, the Marro Warriors can simply avoid being near the same type of unit in more than one place; for example, if one Marro Warrior is near a division of Aubrien Archers, the other Marro Warriors should all avoid Aubrien Archers. This prevents your enemy from attacking multiple Marro Warriors with the same order marker. The other way to avoid this is simply to send an effective squad killer, such as the Zombies of Morindan or the Marrden Hounds. The Marro Warriors can then be used to soften up the rest of your enemy's forces for the final strike (Or whichever strike is necessary next).

Here, in summary, is the strategy for using the Marro Warriors effectively. Keep them spread out over the map, each attacking a different location. Use them at the very beginning of the game, and move quickly to your enemy’s position, discouraging strikes against the body of your army. Play them as guerrilla units, constantly moving and striking to weaken, not to devastate, while hiding from counter attacks. Use Water clone the instant that a Marro Warrior dies, and make sure that the new Marro Warrior and the old Marro Warrior move away from each other as soon as possible. Attack enemy units that have low defense, or high strategic value (such as support units). Also, try to avoid units that are likely to break through the Marro Warriors' defense of three if at all possible; although they can be brought back, it still expends time doing this, and you do not want to spend all of your time regenerating. Remember: The Marro Warriors are a disease. Play them effectively, and there will be no cure.

Units to Avoid

Krav Maga Agents- There are two reasons to avoid the Krav Maga Agents. The first, and more obvious, is that the Marro Warriors have great difficulty getting through their stealth dodge ability, while the Krav Maga have no trouble blasting the Marro Warriors to pieces at range. The other is that the Karv Maga are, in some ways, the perfect counter to the Marro Warriors. They have Stealth Dodge, of course, but they also have the movement to keep up with the Marro Warriors, they outrange the Marro Warriors by one, and, most importantly, as a unique squad they are able to split up, which disrupts the whole strategy with the Marro Warriors. If your opponent drafts the Karv Maga Agents, I would strongly advise not drafting the Marro Warriors, but if you do, try to destroy the Krav Maga with another unit before sending out the Marro Warriors.

Cyprien Esenwein- Cyprien is a threat to the Marro Warriors for two reasons; first, he has the mobility to quickly seek them out, using his eight movement and stealth flying ability. Second, he has two chances to destroy each Marro Warrior, making it probable that he will destroy one each turn. Cyprien can fly from marro to marro, destroying them before they can regenerate (unless the map is very, very large). As with the Krav Maga, try to take out Cyprien before sending the Marro Warriors in.

Gueri-Oni- Avoid this hero. With his Evil Eye ability, the Marro Warriors should not attempt to weaken him. It is bad enough that your enemies might be able to attack the Marro Warriors on their turn-do not allow them to deal damage to these warriors during your turn as well.

Units with an area-effect special attack (ex. Mimring, Deathwalker 9000, etc.)- Watching out for units with a area attack may seem somewhat nonsensical, considering that the strategy above advocates spreading the Marro Warriors out. There is, however, one point at which the Marro Warriors are exceedingly vulnerable to area attacks-directly after a successful cloning. At this point, it is possible that two Marro Warriors could be taken out by one strong area attack, before they could spread out again. This would result in both a potentially major delay before the Marro Warriors are ready to attack again, and would also cause a conglomeration of the Marro Warriors into two groups, making them more vulnerable. Units such as Deathwalker 9000 or Mimring should be avoided so that this does not happen.


For additional information see the Book of Marro Warriors

[J-Unit94]

Great Article.

[Metaknight]

Nice! I would say they are a bishop class though. With their ability and low cost I'd put them there.

I may also add the Izumi and Tawaga Samurai. Whenever I try to attack them they always ketchup and kill me with counter strike. Their 5 defense is just too good.

On the other hand I disagree with Krav Maga Agents. The Marro have 4 units, while the Krav have three. Now the Marro's 2 attack doesn't matter much since they need the Krav to get no sheilds, so I find it cheaper to kill them with the Marros, if not more efficient. Often, when I play, the Krav attempt to take down the Marro. They take out two, they respawn. After a while one dies. They take out 1 and they respawn. The Marros kill another Krav. Then at that time the Marros pwn the remaining Krav.

[pti8]

Great Article!

I love the Marro Warriors. I don't get a chance to play them very much though. I tend to keep most unique squads in a clump. It is just a very bad habbit of mine that I need to break out of.

The cloning ablility of the marro warriors is among one of better abilities in the game in my opinion. I agree that you should respawn as quickly as possible. If you don't you're just asking for your opponent to get some good attacks and finish off the rest of your marros.

[Nadom]

Excellent article... I'm gonna have to dust these guys off; I haven't played them in so long.

[yagyuninja]

OK, this is awesome. I have just recently been thinking that I have no idea how to play these guys. Thanks for the leg up.

[oracle92]

Nice article. I think I'll break out these guys again.

[Rÿchean]

Originally Posted by Agatagary

The survivability of the Marro Warriors is quite complex, but for now we will look only at the survivability based on statistics, without worrying about their special ability. With a Defense of three, the Marro Warriors are actually quite well protected for a ranged squad. As long as they avoid melee, their biological armor should be able to protect them from most ranged threats, which tend to have lower than average attack values. Their quick Movement, which often gives them a good tactical position, should normally boost their Attack to four with the height advantage.

I am pretty sure you mean Defense above.

I consider the MWs to be one of the most versatile "tools" in the game. I have used them many times and their ability to get the job done in different situations is quite unique.

The four fire ability in of itself can be huge. If using them mid game, the ability to whip out a unit with four attacks can change your fortune in a game. Often the threat of clone draws attention to them and your opponent will work to snuff them out when a larger threat is setting up or near by. The threat of clone can make an opponent make a bad decision just to get rid of them.

They are one of the few units that can be equally effective and useful in all parts of the game. If you lack the fast moving melee for glyph grabbing in early game, MWs can fill that role. If you need quantity attacks in mid game they can step up quickly and hit key spots with focus fire. In late game, they stick and move with the best of them.

[Taeblewalker]

I once tried using them as a common squad, with two of them in play. My friend beat me in the Volcarren Wasteland (I was defending). Their ability to clone with two squads was seriously broken, so it's good that they are unique.

[Agatagary]

Rÿchean,

I fixed the error. Thank you.

[Swamper]

I love playing the MW, but I wonder when it's best to move them into water. Usually that means losing high ground.

So when should you put them in water?

[Tai-Pan]

Originally Posted by Swamper

I love playing the MW, but I wonder when it's best to move them into water. Usually that means losing high ground.

So when should you put them in water?

I often use them as skirmishers. They run up, shoot until one dies, then retreat while trying to clone until they're all back. Rinse and repeat.

Using them this way, I'd move into water whenever I can do so at the end of their move. If they can move into water on move 5 or 6 I'd do it, but I don't think it's worth giving up more than one move to get the bonus.