The Book of Wyvern

[bumper15]

Or you could place the molten lava next to two water or swamp water tiles.

Does anyone know how the Wyvern fares against the rats? I can see the Wyverns carrying one away and potentially disrupting the screen. Although destroying it would allow the other rats to regroup and if not killing it, allows it to disengage and scurry back to its position. I personally don't own any rats and haven't tested this yet.

[SuperflyTNT]

People keep saying to build maps to suit the Wyvern, but if you're not the person making the map, the Wyvern becomes pretty hard to want to play.

Positional control is still a powerful thing, but picking up and moving an enemy figure has its own problems because they may use an order marker's worth of whoopin on your Wyvern!

Wyvern V. Rats is a no-go. Better to use that 100 pounts on 3 Red Wyrmlings that get the special attack that reduces their defense by 2 dice, and doesn't allow them to scatter.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

In the Competitive Armies thread, awhile back, I posted these:

200 Wyvern x 2
180 Wyrmlings x 6 (Black and/or Red)
120 Spiders x 3
500

210 Phantom Knights x 3
185 Nilfeim
100 Wyvern
500

140 Phantom Knights x 2
140 Othkurik [Syvarris & Theracus]
120 Red Wyrmlings x 4
100 Wyvern
500

[The Disciplined Soldier]

I learned the hard way that to go snatch a hero and bring it back to the middle of my men can be a bad idea 'cause it survived the Wyvern's attack and it killed a bunch of my guys and almost got the Wyvern. I had to bring Kelda in to heal it.

[The_X_Marker]

There's a few BoV maps that have released that I think bring the value of the Wyvern up. Stygian Rift and Dance of the Dryads are the two most recent.

I think it could be a potentially good strategy to do a suicide Wyvern into Molten Lava if you grab the right opponent's hero. There are plenty of heroes that are over 100 points that make a massive impact on the game. Kato, Sir Gilbert, Cyprien, Spartacus, Sonlen, and Kaemon Awa are all figures that I might consider for the suicidal Wyvern.

Also seems like it could be useful to fly high defense squads onto Lava Fields on the third OM to hope that you can kill them with the Lava Field if you can't kill them with an attack. You have a 50/50 chance to take 1 of your 4 wounds, they have a 50/50 chance to die.

Also useful for bringing a high powered hero over a river and away from the action, or to move an opponent's Raelin aura off of the models. I feel like the Wyvern is a model that we really only ever scratched the surface of in terms of strategy.

[itsbuzzi]

On Stygian Rift the lava is on the same level as the adjacent non-lava. So you could pick something up with Wyvern and drop it in lava while landing safely because lava doesn't count for height. On Dance of the Dryads the lava in lower than all adjacent spaces so an easy drop is not manageable here. If only they made his talon grab be able to grab any figure, I'd love to take my Major X17 and drop him next to Cyprien or another figure like that.

[The_X_Marker]

Originally Posted by itsbuzzi

On Stygian Rift the lava is on the same level as the adjacent non-lava.

Exactly. It's one of the stronger maps for Wyverns. There's a few other BoV maps that have lava on the same level as a safe landing space.
Ember Canyon Road and If You Can't Take the Heat... both have the same setup.

Originally Posted by itsbuzzi

On Dance of the Dryads the lava in lower than all adjacent spaces so an easy drop is not manageable here.

What a map like this does give is the ability to move a high defense squad figure onto a Lava Field. They also allow you to just dive in the Molten Lava with the opposing figure if it is a high value hero in the hope that they die with you. I don't think that is a competitive strategy if you're already well ahead, but if you're behind, a 100 point Wyvern killing a 120-200 point hero is could help a lot. It also feels okay if the Wyvern only has 1 life left anyway. I would 100% take a 95% chance of sacrificing my 1 life Wyvern to have a 95% chance of taking out someone like Sgt. Drake or Kaemon Awa.

Fire Isles and Hot Heights
both allow this type of move, which I might just call the "Flaming Chicken Special Attack."

Otherwise, on a lot of maps where there isn't any lava present, a Wyvern can take a figure off of a glyph and then claim the glyph itself in the same activation. Tactically, that can be absolutely massive. It can also move a screening unit out of the way so you can get spiders all in your opponent's back line.

A Wyvern can take a figure off of a road to deny that figure the movement bonus and force the figure to engage the Wyvern. A Wyvern pull a figure away from jungle trees, out of cover, out of shadow, or off of height.

Pick up a figure on Highways and Dieways and bring them back to their start zone. They have to either cross the river or take the long way around. Drop a figure into the far corner hex of water on Ember Canyon Road or Mole Hills, then disengage on your next turn to take them out of the game for 2 turns while they swim to land.

I really, really feel that Talon Grab is one of the most deep abilities in the game with what it can allow you to do and how it can affect the board, your opponent, and your own strategies. I think it should be at the forefront of every Wyvern player's mind to Talon Grab, drop in one of these positions, attack on one OM, then disengage on the next one. Throw in a second Wyvern and Spiders to bond with either, and you really pump up the potential.

Originally Posted by itsbuzzi

I'd love to take my Major X17 and drop him next to Cyprien or another figure like that.

It would certainly be nice. Theracus remains the fast carry king. Or perhaps you could use the Wyvern, Theracus, and Major X17 together. Wyvern carries the enemy towards Theracus, who brings X17 to the enemy, like a trapeze.

[itsbuzzi]

If you were running spiders you could activate Wyvern the same turn. I feel like Wyvern needs a little more to be playable because the way I see it if you go for your move by taking a figure out of a good position now you're stuck with it unless you disengage. Give it stealth flying or make Talon Grab grab any figure and I think we have an armored Theracus that would definitely see play.

The lack of bonding and being situational really limit the Wyvern. I couldn't see myself playing Wyvern unless the meta was more heroes and there were more lava on the maps I were to play on otherwise using 100 points to have the potential to be game breaking isn't game breaking on it's own.

[flameslayer93]

Spiders + Wyverns is a strong core. I highly recommend taking at least 2 Wyverns though.

[Hahnarama]

Originally Posted by itsbuzzi

I feel like Wyvern needs a little more to be playable

Man what one of the best GC Championship games I ever saw was Wyvern v Wyvern.


IMO as long as you are running spiders in conjunction these guys can be deadly

[The_X_Marker]

3xSpiders, 2xWyvern, and Estivara is a good use of 400 points. From there, you can throw in KMA at 500, using them to bait people into swoop and web ranges. You also have 4 life, that means that you shouldn't be afraid to disengage if another Talon Grab is tactically useful.

With 2 Wyverns, one can Talon Grab something back and the second can follow up with a Talon Grab, making a chain of Talon Grabs, then freeing the front one to do it again.

Spiders do die fast, which is why you should never bring a spider to a gun fight. The sculpts are so small, they are pretty easy to hide if you had to, but I would use KMA to kill off ranged threats before swarming. I also think Mittens for the extra movement is a trap, while moving 9 is pretty nice, he cuts into your Spider budget and you don't need him once the lines close.

Minus Estivara in the initial 400 points, you have 7 move everywhere. If a Spider or Wyvern can't get to an opponent's figure, it should never be within 7 spaces of that figure. Keep them 8 spaces away from melee figures and you'll always get the first strike. Only a good Gilbert roll or Venocs with Mittens should be able to out threat you when it comes to melee.

Estivara is also a 6 range +1 attack boost. That's pretty big for Spiders, 2 attack to 3 attack is one of those points where they can threaten 4 defense or better. Your speed also allows you to gain height easier, so you can regularly hit 4 attack.

Will it be super competitive? Most likely not. But I would imagine that good Wyvern use will be worth more than a few headaches for an opponent.

[itsbuzzi]

Only having one squad of spiders and one Wyvern I never tried running them. How come Sujoah isn't included? Seems like a large threat that could be good I've just never been able to use him due to only one squad of spiders.