Unit Strategy Review: How to Use the Zettian Guards

[killercactus]

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Unit Strategy Review
Unit: Zettian Guards
Author: killercactus (with respect to the other Unit Strategy Reviewers)

The Zettian Guards hold a unique position in Heroscape: they are the only two-unit squad in the game, and they are unique to boot. This, along with their abysmal move and low attack rating, have put them in the back of many players' minds when it comes to drafting an army. Hopefully this article will convince you to look at the Zettian Guards differently and reconsider their place in your army.

First let’s take a closer look at their stats:

Analyzed Statistics
Cost - 70 - Bishop Class Unit
Size - Medium 4 – Vulnerable / Semi-concealable
Squad - 2 - Small
Move - 4 - Slow
Range - 7 - Long Range
Attack - 2* – Poor
Defense - 7 - Massive

*Zettian Targeting - If both Zettian Guards attack the same figure, the second receives one additional attack die - Medium Tactical Advantage.

In-Depth Analysis

Each unit is complex, and must be well analyzed to be truly understood. For the Zettian Guards, let us begin with their cost. By cost, we refer mostly to their value in points, but also to their importance in your army. To simplify analysis, Agatagary has 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)

Class:
The Zettian Guards are a solid definition of a Bishop Class unit. They are expendable, but with their range, defense and increased attack for the second unit, they should not be thrown straight to the dogs. The Zettians can be among the highest ranged units in the game and that can be a great asset to your army. If one or both of them is destroyed, however, all is not lost.

To examine Zettian Guards' core stats, we will break them up into two categories – offensive ability and survivability. We will start with their offense.

Offense:
At first glance, the offense of the Zettians Guards seems very substandard. They have a meager attack of 2 and only fire twice per turn - the equivalent of Guilty McCreech, who costs 40 points less. Things look slightly better when you consider their Zettian Targeting power: the second Zettian Guard gains a one die attack bonus if he attacks the same unit as his counterpart. This power makes the Zettian Guards better-suited to attack heroes rather than squads - a rather convenient fact when considered next to their natural leader, Deathwalker 9000. I'll discuss this in further detail below.

Survivability:
This is where the Zettian Guards begin to make up for their poor move, poor attack and lack of another squad member. With a defense of 7, they have the highest base defense of any squad figures, and they do this from range. Their defense of 7 (8 from height, which the Zettians should hope to attain) should be enough to shrug off the attacks of most ranged squads, who are usually shooting with 2 or 3 attack dice. This is a fact that is of paramount importance when playing the Zettian Guards.

It should be noted, though, that as Medium figures they are vulnerable to many instant-kill and defense-reducing powers, such as Poisonous Acid Breath, Ullar Enhanced Rifle, Maul, Lethal Sting, Chomp, Whip 12, Net Trip 14 and Paralyzing Stare 16. They do catch a break being soulborgs, granting them immunity to abilities like Chilling Touch, Toxic Skin, and the Marro Plague.


Strategy:
A common misconception when playing the Zettian Guards is that all of their strength lies in the Zettian Targetting power. This should just be viewed as a bonus. With only 2 members, Zettian Targetting will only allow one of the Zettian Guards to attack with an additional die, and it has no effect if your first Zettian Guard destroys the figure it attacks. Furthermore, it becomes totally useless the moment one Zettian Guard falls in battle, since you need both of them to activate the power. Attacking is not the strong suit of the Zettian Guards - defense and range are (after all, they are Guards), and they should be played to emphasize those strong suits. Having the highest defense rating of any squad in the game (much higher than any ranged squad, excluding special powers), and being immune to many special powers that cannot target soulborgs, the Zettian Guards can survive longer than nearly any other squad figure. This makes the Zettian Guards cheap and effective choices to hold glyphs, block landing areas or bridges, hold crucial choke points or even tie up opposing ranged squad figures. Once they've been positioned, you can do all of these things without even placing an order marker on the Zettians (although you may want to place at least one - see below). It also allows them to survive in a firefight against other ranged squads. For example, the Zettian Guards can be extremely annoying for the 4th Massachusettes line to bring down - since the Zettians out-range them by one, they can remain out of the range of Wait then Fire while attacking, making the 4th Mass shoot with 2 attack dice into their 7 defense dice. The Zettians, on the other hand, are firing with 2 (or 3 sometimes with Zettian Targetting) attack dice into 2 (or 3, depending on army construction) defense dice.

When playing the Zettian Guards or any other unique squad, remember that they lose one activation per order marker every time a unit is destroyed. This means that one must be very careful with order marker placement, since any hit that sneaks through will result in your turns not being as effective as you'd hoped. For the Zettian Guards, they lose 50% of their total attacks per activation, and the lose they Zettian Targetting power. This seems like a point against playing the Zettian Guards, but really, it can be used to create a tactical advantage. You want your opponent to exploit this fact and attack the Zettians because there is a good chance that their attack will brush off of the soulborgs' armor. This makes the Zettian Guards a great place for the X order marker (recall from above that attacking is not the strong suit of the Zettian Guards). With the Zettian's long range, they are usually within threat range (11 hexes, +1 with Warden 816 and +2 if they end adjacent to Deathwalker 9000) of most opposing units and can distract the attention of potential attackers, because your opponent knows that one shot will diminish their effectiveness. This is both the greatest strength and most glaring weakness of the Zettian Guards (as well as their big brothers, the Deathwalkers) - the opponent knows that one shot will take them down and is therefore tempted to attack them more often. The Zettians are then tailor-made to be distraction units - drawing and absorbing enemy fire just before your shock troops rush in.

So, just how do you set up this distraction? A good way to do this is to lead out with the Zettian Guards, immediately seeking a perch on high ground from which they will be able to fire on the opponent most of the game. As long as there is a decent perch near to the starting zone, they should be able to accomplish this. It becomes much easier to attain this position with the help of Warden 816 to increase their move and Deathwalker 9000 to increase their range. Once positioned there, they probably don't need to do too much more moving (again, movement is not a place where the Zettian Guards excel). They need to get to that place where they can effectively present a threat to the opponent, hopefully on high ground. With height advantage, their ability to draw enemy shots and not be destroyed is increased by adding an extra defense die. Also, although attacking is not their strong suit, the high ground will increase their once meager attack to 3 and give the second Zettian Guard an attack of 4 if on the same figure. This is formidable - comparable with Syvarris or Kaemon Awa, but for less points. Opponents will be forced to respect this.

In fact, when considering the Zettian Guards in conjunction with Deathwalker 9000, it seems they serve as very nice complements to each other. The Zettians, with their Zettian Targeting, seem better suited to attack heroes. Deathwalker 9000, with his Explosion Special Attack, seems better suited to attack squads. When attacking with the Zettians and Deathwalker, place your order markers according to what type of force is approacing you. Also, be sure to take advantage of the Guard Range Enhancement of Deathwalker 9000 - 9 range can only be matched by Syvarris, Deadeye Dan and Laglor-boosted Vydar Units. This means that most units will have to approach to inside 9 spaces of the Zettian Guards to attack them, leaving them vulnerable to the rest of your army as well. Also, due to Deathwalker 9000's size, the Zettians can stand directly in front of him without blocking line-of-sight. That way their long range can be maximized and the option of the Explosion Special Attack of Deathwalker 9000 is still open.

If you are fielding both the Zettian Guards and Deathwalker 9000 to take advantage of the Guard Range Enhancement, you are left with a lot of options to round out your army. Fast-moving shock troops are an excellent choice. They can take advantage of the Zettians' long range slowing down enemy forces, and also make great use of their ability to draw fire. The Marrden Hounds, Deathstalkers and Venoc Vipers are all good candidates. Warden 816 is obviously a great addition to any army fielding Guards thanks to his Guard Move Enhancement. Ornak is a nice addition, since he can use his Red Flag of Fury to take turn with both of the Zettians' leaders in one activation - Deathwalker 9000 and Warden 816. The Zettians can then follow and take their place next to Deathwalker 9000.

Optional Strategies:
Soulborg's Best Friend: As discussed above, the Zettian Guards (along with their leader, Deathwalker 9000) are excellent at drawing enemy fire. Position the Zettians on either side of Deathwalker on a shooting perch, preferably on high ground. Next, position either the Marrden Hounds or the Deathstalkers even with the Zettians or just behind them. Both of these squads serve as excellent shock troops: they have great move ratings, high defense once they're in the battle and both have special powers to bypass defense. Additionaly, the Marrden Hounds can be positioned next to Deathwalker 9000 and the Zettian Guards without fear of Marro Plague. Feel free to load the Zettians with Order Markers while the enemy remains too far away to attack the soulborgs. However, once they get in range, give the Zettians at least 2 order markers (including the X) and whichever canine squad you chose the rest. Your opponent should be concentrating their fire on the Zettians and will be surprised when the dogs rush in to attack.

Sci-Fi Movie: Robots and Undead - This strategy begins exactly the same as the first: get the Zettians and Deathwalker 9000 to their perch and fire away. This time though, you want either Cyprien Esenwein or the Shades of Bleakwoode waiting in tow. Again, load the Zettians with order markers (or Deathwalker if clustered squads are around), but once the enemy gets close, give Cyprien or the Shades the 3. On the last turn, fly Cyprien or the Shades out into the fray and attack. In the next round, use the 1 order marker to Stealth Fly to the back ranks of the army to take out either the support units like Raelin or the "sleeping" units without Order Markers. Your opponent is now faced with a choice: either retreat his front units to help out against your Stealth Fliers, or continue attacking the Zettians while the back ranks of their army are decimated. Either way, it's a victory for you. If they retreat, they have to run back into the 9 range and Explosion attacks of the Zettians and Deathwalker when done dealing with Cyprien or the Shades. If not, your soulborgs are still accomplishing their goal of drawing fire while your other units are wreaking havoc unchecked.

Units to Avoid:
Deadeye Dan: Deadeye's Ullar Enhanced Rifle Special Attack is bad news for the Zettian Guards, able to pass cleanly through their armor. As an added problem, he has a range of 10, so he can stand just outside the firing range of the Zettians and pick them off one at a time. Try using some fast shock troops to cross the field quickly and engage the lawman. This renders his Ullar Enhanced Rifle useless until he is unengaged.

Braxas: Similar to Deadeye, Braxas' Poisonous Acid Breath can melt the armor of the Zettian Guards without giving them a chance to use their massive defense. Braxas is also another reason to draft large units like Deathwalker 9000, the Marrden Hounds or the Deathstalkers alongside the Zettian Guards - a Braxas player will be disappointed if Poisonous Acid Breath can only be used against two measley Zettian Guards.

Samurai and Charos: the Zettian Guards do not want to be engaged by any Samurai or Charos. Their attack rating of two is not enough to safely avoid Counterstrike, another wound-causing power that completely ignores defense dice. In addition, all of these units but the Izumi Samurai have the potential to attack with at least 4 dice, which can pierce the defense of 7 quite often. Try to stay as far away as possible from these threats while attacking.

Sonlen: Sonlen's Dragon Swoop can again bypass the defense of the Zettian Guards, and his strong normal attack of 4 cannot be consistently shrugged off. Try to tie up Sonlen with some other units to keep the Zettians off of his radar.

Sudema: The Stare of Stone power is yet another way for an opponent to get around rolling defense dice. With just a roll of 7, a Zettian Guard is destroyed. Attack Sudema viciously while she is out of range and then try and occupy her with your melee units.

Me-Burq-Sa: Here is yet another low-cost unit that can bypass the defense of the Zettian Guards. With his Paralyzing Stare 16 and threat range of 14, Me-Burq-Sa is a hero that the Zettians should fear. Like the other units with defense reduction abilities, try to occupy Me-Burq-Sa with you melee units, preferable Large ones.

Grimnak: Grimnak's Chomp ability can immediately kill a Zettian Guard without any offensive or defensive dice roll. He is yet another reason to draft Large units alongside the Zettians to reduce the effectiveness of Chomp. Much like Sudema, attack Grimnak viciously while he approaches, and try to engage him with your other troops (preferably Large ones).

For additional information see the Book of Zettian Guards

[Shades fan]

I am wondering why you don't have a crossfire idea on here that is favorite way of using these guys except for well I do this strategy when I have them in front of Kee-Mo-Shi and have them do what they are supposed to do ,be her defense and it works great with the Marrden Hounds added.

[Snotwalker 8000]

Don't forget the good 'ol Warden 816 either! A must have when using the Zettians to increase their movement to 5 instead of their paltry 4 with Guard Leadership!

[ThrasherDarkrai]

Very nice article! Like I have with some recent articles though, I'm suspicious of a few things.
The 4th Mass aren't as weak against the Zetts as I think you make them out to be. The advatange they get? They have four squad members. The Zettians only have two, so chances are if that they focus on one, and the fact they're likely to get height against the Zettians "paltry" 4 without the Warden, and eventually one hit is going to pierce the armor, making the Zettians near useless. Plus, even if they do have the Warden, that's 300 points with Deathwalker 9000. Also, I agree with Snotwalker- the Warden shouldn't be a choice, he should be a requirement. The Zettians are going to get beaten to every glyph/high point on the map with only their base move, and when the opponent has height, considering the amount of high attack heroes and squads with incredible numbers, the Zetts won't do well. It should be noted that leaves 200 points left.
Also, shouldn't Krug be a unit to avoid? He has double attack, and the more the Zettians wound him, the more likely he is to kill at least one of them. Tying him up just gives him the chance to disengage to get an early boost in attack. If they run, then the opponent can deal with the rest of your army, and to add burdens, they might have to take Deathwalker along with them to retain their range bonus (Krug would slaughter him if he got the chance).
Again, these are my inquisitive opinions.

[Fezzikthedoor]

As always, when it comes to the 4th Mass everyone assumes optimal conditions; not your fault, really, Stinger, its pretty common.

There is a chart on page 3 of the Guide to DW7K that shows the probability of getting greased by a single attack, depending on the stats of the defender. Since the Zets have superior range, the number of shots that the 4th are taking is irrelivant in terms of assuming they will be rolling 4 attack dice per attack; at best, they will be rolling an unmodified (by glyph or taelord) 3 which assumes that they have high ground, something he does address by telling the reader to always try and claim the high ground with the Zets. If conditions are optimal for the Zets, the way everyone always assumes they are for the 4th Mass., they should only have an 8% chance of dying per attack. Conversely, even granting the 4th Mass. height advantage and an all valiant army, the first Zet has around a 25% chance of wasting him and the second Zet, if targeting the same 4th Masser, has around 40%. Remember, if you're smart, you're still out of their range.

As far as glyphs go, that's why you draft other units. That isn't their job. I don't believe it is a forgone conclusion they're going to get beat, either. If the glyph or high point is in the middle of the map they can get there just as fast as the Romans, SBand, ect.

Finally, while Krug is dangerous if he gets into melee contact, he is dangerous ONLY if he gets into melee contact. Its the old "Mimring sucks" argument--if your enemy is getting into melee you messed up with your order markers. 1 on 1 the Zets should get their point value against him. They can move back 2 spaces and shoot at least twice before he gets there, assuming he can climb to where ever they are to begin with (never a guarentee with a double based figure). Second with his low defense they will dent him by the time he reaches them--sure, that's what he wants, but that certainly opens him up to being greased by other units. Finally, Krug is a danger to EVERYONE the way you describe. If we mention a specific unit we're going for a much more specific kind of danger.

As an aside, DW9K should be able to toast Krug every time 1 on 1. His threat range is 12 with an attack of 4. Krug should never even get to touch him since they have identical movement stats--he'll always be just 2 steps away.

Hope this addresses your concerns and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say thanks for reading.

[ThrasherDarkrai]

Originally Posted by Fezzikthedoor

As always, when it comes to the 4th Mass everyone assumes optimal conditions; not your fault, really, Stinger, its pretty common.

There is a chart on page 3 of the Guide to DW7K that shows the probability of getting greased by a single attack, depending on the stats of the defender. Since the Zets have superior range, the number of shots that the 4th are taking is irrelivant in terms of assuming they will be rolling 4 attack dice per attack; at best, they will be rolling an unmodified (by glyph or taelord) 3 which assumes that they have high ground, something he does address by telling the reader to always try and claim the high ground with the Zets. If conditions are optimal for the Zets, the way everyone always assumes they are for the 4th Mass., they should only have an 8% chance of dying per attack. Conversely, even granting the 4th Mass. height advantage and an all valiant army, the first Zet has around a 25% chance of wasting him and the second Zet, if targeting the same 4th Masser, has around 40%. Remember, if you're smart, you're still out of their range.

As far as glyphs go, that's why you draft other units. That isn't their job. I don't believe it is a forgone conclusion they're going to get beat, either. If the glyph or high point is in the middle of the map they can get there just as fast as the Romans, SBand, ect.

Finally, while Krug is dangerous if he gets into melee contact, he is dangerous ONLY if he gets into melee contact. Its the old "Mimring sucks" argument--if your enemy is getting into melee you messed up with your order markers. 1 on 1 the Zets should get their point value against him. They can move back 2 spaces and shoot at least twice before he gets there, assuming he can climb to where ever they are to begin with (never a guarentee with a double based figure). Second with his low defense they will dent him by the time he reaches them--sure, that's what he wants, but that certainly opens him up to being greased by other units. Finally, Krug is a danger to EVERYONE the way you describe. If we mention a specific unit we're going for a much more specific kind of danger.

As an aside, DW9K should be able to toast Krug every time 1 on 1. His threat range is 12 with an attack of 4. Krug should never even get to touch him since they have identical movement stats--he'll always be just 2 steps away.

Hope this addresses your concerns and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say thanks for reading.

The main problem with the "Zetts have one more range argument" is that the 4th Mass, if they have height, don't really mind if they have to take the Wait then Fire bonus away. They can just slam him repeatedly. Also, while Krug wasn't the best example, on some maps he'll get you cornered, and there's nothing you can do about it (such as him herding the Zetts into a corner before they can kill him, or if they're tied up). Also, I think Krug is mostly drafted with the Arrows, so if you're facing a good Arrow Grut opponent, he can use that to corner your Zetts so that you're a sitting duck when Krug comes.
That being said, you have dispelled some doubt (though not all) in my mind about those two. Thanks for the help!
Also, Me-Burq-Sa is quite possibly the best counter to the Zetts, as he has a greater threat range, has 8 move, and has Paralyzing Stare to remove that 7 defense. If they can't kill him, he'll kill them. He's actually more deadly if he's drafted with the Romans, as then you have to make a choice- do you use DW9K to use Explosion Special Attack on the Romans, or the Zetts to kill Me-Burq-Sa? You might think the answer is Me-Burq-Sa, but the Romans have 4 attacks when they reach the Zetts, so one is bound to chink the armor.

[Taeblewalker]

Originally Posted by Bloody the Marro Stinger

The main problem with the "Zetts have one more range argument" is that the 4th Mass, if they have height, don't really mind if they have to take the Wait then Fire bonus away. They can just slam him repeatedly. Also, while Krug wasn't the best example, on some maps he'll get you cornered, and there's nothing you can do about it (such as him herding the Zetts into a corner before they can kill him, or if they're tied up). Also, I think Krug is mostly drafted with the Arrows, so if you're facing a good Arrow Grut opponent, he can use that to corner your Zetts so that you're a sitting duck when Krug comes.
That being said, you have dispelled some doubt (though not all) in my mind about those two. Thanks for the help!
Also, Me-Burq-Sa is quite possibly the best counter to the Zetts, as he has a greater threat range, has 8 move, and has Paralyzing Stare to remove that 7 defense. If they can't kill him, he'll kill them. He's actually more deadly if he's drafted with the Romans, as then you have to make a choice- do you use DW9K to use Explosion Special Attack on the Romans, or the Zetts to kill Me-Burq-Sa? You might think the answer is Me-Burq-Sa, but the Romans have 4 attacks when they reach the Zetts, so one is bound to chink the armor.

I would still go for Me-Burq-Sa. 7 Defense is still hard to penetrate. 0 Defense isn't. 4 attacks notwithstanding.

[ArcturusII]

Originally Posted by Fezzikthedoor

As an aside, DW9K should be able to toast Krug every time 1 on 1. His threat range is 12 with an attack of 4. Krug should never even get to touch him since they have identical movement stats--he'll always be just 2 steps away.

Actually, it's 1 step away, since Krug has a threat range of 6 vs DW's range of 7. So, if DW encounters any terrain obstacles, he's usually toast (unless he can climb terrain and have enough movement left over to take 1 step back from the elevation change.

Regarding the arguments of 4th Mass, etc vs Zettians, I agree, though I will usually have my money on the 4th Mass if they have 2 or more squads and the Valiant bonus.

[Taeblewalker]

Originally Posted by ArcturusII

Actually, it's 1 step away, since Krug has a threat range of 6 vs DW's range of 7. So, if DW encounters any terrain obstacles, he's usually toast (unless he can climb terrain and have enough movement left over to take 1 step back from the elevation change.

Regarding the arguments of 4th Mass, etc vs Zettians, I agree, though I will usually have my money on the 4th Mass if they have 2 or more squads and the Valiant bonus.

Fair enough, but that's double the points. How would you compare three 4th Mass to the Zettians plus Deathwalker 9000?

[ThrasherDarkrai]

Originally Posted by Taeblewalker

Fair enough, but that's double the points. How would you compare three 4th Mass to the Zettians plus Deathwalker 9000?

I'd send still send them in, and relying on their four person squad, wait for them to whiff.

[Taeblewalker]

Originally Posted by Bloody the Marro Stinger

I'd send still send them in, and relying on their four person squad, wait for them to whiff.

Do you mean waiting for the soulborgs to whiff?

[killercactus]

But remember, if the 4th Mass are in range of the Zettians and DW9K, they're also in range of the shock troops. I'll give the 4th Mass one round of shots at my soulborgs if it means the Marrden Hounds get to rush up and engage a bunch of them.

Me-Burq-Sa is the one unit with a defense bypassing ability that I forgot - he'a a viable counter and I'll add him to the list, good call. However, he as well can be immediately engaged by a Hound, Deathstalker, what have you. Also, I don't think he would last all that long against the Zettians by himself either, unless he manages to hit Paralyzing Stare.