Unit Strategy Review: How to use the Elite Onyx Vipers

[ThrasherDarkrai]

If you would like to write a strategy guide like this one and join our writing circle, please contact us here. We ask that you don't use this format without permission to preserve the high quality of the strategy guides and avoid confusion. Thanks!



Unit Strategy Review
Unit: Elite Onyx Vipers
Author: Bloody the Marro Stinger (with a little help from my vipers in arms!)

The Elite Onyx Vipers are of unknown origin, but seeing them on the battlefield is a marvelous sight. Distinguishable from their Venoc Viper cousins by their black scales, they dodge enemy attacks expertly and slash through countless troops. Unfortunately, being a unique squad with 2 defense, an exclusive, and 100 points, most players are reluctant to pick the Elite Onyx Vipers. We will find ways to effectively use them on the field to strike terror into the opposition!

Let’s take a look at their stats:

Analyzed Statistics
Cost - 100 - Bishop Class unit
Size - Medium - Vulnerable/Concealable
Squad Size - 3 - Average
Move - 7* - Very Fast
Range - 1 - Close Range
Attack - 3 - Average
Defense - 2** - Poor
*Slither - The Elite Onyx Vipers do not stop their move on a water space - Medium Tactical Advantage
**Evasive 8 - If attacked by a ranged attack, the Elite Onyx Vipers add 8 to their defense, making it 10 - Medium Tactical Advantage
Frenzy - 25% chance to take an additional turn - Subreliant

In-Depth Analysis
Each unit is complex, and must be carefully analyzed to be truly understood. For the Elite Onyx Vipers, 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 on chess pieces, 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 Elite Onyx Vipers are a Bishop Class unit. At first, this seems surprising, but as a unique unit assassination squad, you cannot afford to lose a member until your assassination is complete. Once it’s complete, though, they are more expendable.

Offense
With an Attack of 3, the Elite Onyx Vipers can cause at least one wound per turn on the many lower-than-average Defense units. If they manage to Frenzy (which should not be relied upon), they may end up killing more units than first intended. A threat range of 8 is substanstial, and it becomes even deadlier when you have the Venoc Warlord, who increases it to 10.

Survivability
Without Evasive 8, the Elite Onyx Vipers can fall fast, however, with Evasive 8, they have such a high Defense that they are in almost no danger until they are in their 1-space attacking range, where Evasive 8 no longer works. That danger is magnified if they fail to kill their target, as a lot of units can pierce a Defense of 2. While the Elite Onyx Vipers are vulnerable to many instant kill abilities due to their medium size, they can harm all of the wielders of those abilities significantly - just be sure you can actually kill the target quickly enough.

Strategy
Inexperienced players may ask themselves why they would want to draft the Elite Onyx Vipers when they could draft 2 squads of Venoc Vipers. To some extent, that question is justified - when a Venoc Viper dies, another one is there to replace it and continue on, slashing and tearing through enemies. Being a Unique Squad, the Elite Onyx Vipers can’t do that, and are in fact extensively crippled at the loss of one member. In terms of sheer numbers and the corresponding power those numbers bring, the Venoc Vipers are superior; however, the Venoc Vipers will die easily to ranged attacks. Sometimes cover is not enough - a whole squad of Venoc Vipers can be easily decimated by a squad of the 4th Massachussets Line. If the Vipers are eliminated before they can reach their intended target, the only number that will matter is 0: the number of Vipers that are left. That is the true reason why the Elite Onyx Vipers are on the battlefields of Vahalla today, fighting for Ullar and their Warlord.

When one looks at Evasive 8, it is clearly a very powerful Special Ability. It basically turns your Elite Onyx Vipers into near - invincible units when attacked from afar. What makes them even more frightening to face is that special attacks do not negate Evasive 8 which makes sending ranged units after the Elite Onyx Vipers a foolhardy maneuver. It is for that reason the Elite Onyx Vipers are feared by ranged units everywhere, as an Attack of 3 is enough to kill most ranged units.

The main decision when using these assassins is which units the Elite Onyx Vipers should go after without a high risk of dying once engaged or which units are not worth targeting to begin with. Since their Defense of 2 means they have a fair chance of dying in a protracted fight, this is the most important choice a player can make.

First, though, one must know how to most effectively use the Elite Onyx Vipers to assassinate figures. The answer is simple - don't charge them mindlessly into battle, but rather carefully slither into the fray, picking their targets with utmost care. Once a target is selected, they should live up to their personality type and precisely slither towards their target, eliminating them before they can react. Truly, they are a unit to be feared if you select their targets with the utmost care and, unlike their cousins, the Venoc Vipers, they can risk not getting to the target on the first turn thanks to Evasion 8.

The best targets are most unique ranged squads and the majority of them hate the Elite Onyx Vipers with a passion since from afar, which is where they want to be, the Elite Onyx Vipers are so resiliant to their ranged fire. Of course, this allows the Vipers time to reach them. To add insult to the injury, most unique squads are almost as vulnerable in melee as the Elite Onyx Vipers, and suffer just as much from losing even a single member. The Krav Maga Agents, for example, will be loathe to ever face an Elite Onyx Viper - their Stealth Dodge will not take effect when the Vipers attack them from melee, and the Agents will have a hard time killing the Vipers from range. An Attack of 3 has a good chance to kill a Krav Maga Agent, and 3 Attacks of 3 against them is bad for their health. Other units that make excellent targets are the Airborne Elite and the Marro Warriors. Most unique ranged squads are fine targets; the only real exception are the Nakita Agents, due to their Engagement Strike 15. The Zettian Guards are a special case - while they have a high defense, they have a pitiful attack that will allow the Vipers to get at least 6 attacks over the course of 3 turns assuming they kill one every turn, and that will eventually pierce the guard's armor. Just killing one will be good - the Zettian Guards are significantly hampered at the loss of one member. However, one must remember what the Zettian Guards must do - they must draw fire away from their allies. If there are other, better targets, don't attack the Zettian Guards.

The second best are unique ranged heroes. The majority of them are frail, and while it isn’t too harmful to your opponent if they lose some life, chopping and slashing their health away is certainly harmful. As a plus, they are slightly easier to kill then the Unique Ranged Squads, mainly because you can deal more than one wound per attack to them, and are also more numerous, making you more likely to encounter one. This is especially true with the ranged heroes with low defense, as you can kill them in about 2 or 3 hits without any retaliation! Syvarris, for example, will not last long against the Elite Onyx Vipers with only a Defense of 2 and Life of 4. All the ranged heroes except Major Q9 (massive defense and ability to eliminate the whole squad with one activation), Kaemen Awa (Counter Strike/Quick Release can be used in melee), Me-Burq-Sa (Paralyzing Stare), and Deathwalkers 8000 and 9000 (high defense). The minor exception is James Murphy, due to his Whip 12 but weak Defense.

Common Ranged Figures are not necessarily the best figures to target, but if your opponent doesn’t have any Unique Ranged Heroes or Unique Ranged Squads, they are better than nothing. While the Elite Onyx Vipers will do very well on the initial assault on many of these units, they can get kicked in the shins when more come up to support their fallen comrades. For example, while the Elite Onyx Vipers may kill 2 Stingers on their initial assault, the remaining Stinger and his comrades will charge you, likely killing your Elite Onyx Vipers in retaliation. The advantage that the Vipers have in this instance is that unless they literally charge the Vipers--that is, come into melee contact--Evasion 8 still protects them from ranged attacks, even if tied up in melee with another unit. Even still, avoid units like the Samurai Archers who might Counter Strike you or the 4th Massachusetts Line (unless they are too far afield to get into melee contact), who will usually have a full 4 attacks per round since they are almost never drafted as a single unit. Of course, the Elite Onyx Vipers should strike terror into the Ashigaru Harquebus, due to their pathetic Defense.

Unique Melee Heroes are often powerful, but you can strike a significant blow if you can kill them. If you have to target them, kill the support figures like Raelin, Taelord, Kelda, the Marro Hive, and Khosumet first. Other good melee targets are Morsbane, Empress Kiova, Kyntella Gwyn, Dund, Theracas, Shiori, and other heroes that have relatively low Defense ratings. The key is to kill them as quickly as possible to avoid retaliation. To garuntee the kill, send in your ranged units to soften the hero up.

As wide a range of unique melee units as there is for you to kill there’s also a wide selection not to try to kill. They are Grimnak, Tor-Kul-Na, Krug, Major X17, Brunak, Kee-Mo-Shi, any vampire because of Life Drain and any hero that can be activated by bonding, such as Sir Gilbert or Marcus Decimus Gallus since they are likely to have a horde of melee units near them. Basically, if they won't go down fast and can hit hard or multiple times, stay away if possible. If you must, soften them up with your ranged units, and then attempt to land the final blow.

Common Melee Squads should be avoided at all costs. The majority of them can tie up your Elite Onyx Vipers if they don’t kill them outright, preventing you from killing better targets. Similarily, Unique melee squads are generally more trouble than they are worth. Fight them if you must, but avoid them and focus on your main target(s) whenever possible.

With the list of units you can target and easily kill out of the way, we can look at who the Elite Onyx Vipers work best with. The Venoc Warlord is an obvious pick and can form the lynchpin of your army: you can park the Elite Onyx Vipers right outside of a ranged unit’s threat range and hit them hard with the Elite's improved Move. The Venoc Vipers can kill your enemy’s melee units afterwards and, as Pawns, are much more expendable; in the meantime, the Elite Onyx Vipers have moved on to a new ranged target. The Aubriens, too, are a good choice, mainly because they benefit from the Venoc Warlord, and also because they give you an intimidating ranged force of your own. The Armoc Vipers, if you can afford them, are also a good choice, due to the fact they bond with the Venoc Warlord. Your opponent will have something to fear when you take out his ranged units and follow with your Warlord and Armocs! Whether or not you’re using a Viper-based army its still a good idea to get some "big-gun busters" like Nilfheim or Sgt. Drake Alexander (SotM).

And what about Frenzy? The best advice it to not to think about it that much: the most common mistake an inexperienced player can make is to depend too heavily upon Frenzy. As noted in the Analyzed Statistics, Frenzy only has a base 25% chance of working. While this might bump up to 30% if the Venoc Warlord is around, it still is not nearly high enough to be a sure thing. Play this squad as though you only get one turn, and if you are fortunate enough to Frenzy, assume that it will be the last you receive. If you are lucky enough to chain together several Frenzies then it just means more ranged units eliminated before they can wound your slower moving units.

If you have eliminated a unit or squad on your turn, and you are fortunate enough to activate Frenzy, charge towards the nearest ranged squad. Even if you can't quite get there, Evasion 8 will help to keep you safe; if you have chosen your first target wisely this additional slaughter will just be icing on the cake. This type of attack tends to break up the squad cohesion of the other player, even if you only manage to engage with one Elite Onyx Viper.

Units to Avoid
As mentioned above, there are several units that you should be aware of when using the Elite Onyx Vipers, not so much because they are to be avoided, but because they are a waste of the Viper's talents. These two, on the other hand, are deadly.
Sudema/Braxas: These two units can easily wipe your Vipers off the face of the map with their automatic destruction abilities. You can kill Sudema, but do so if she makes a movement towards other, more important units. Braxas, on the other hand, you should avoid at all costs. You might do some damage, but she can easily kill you without even trying.

For additional information see the Book of Elite Onyx Vipers

[Metaknight]

I don't think this one is nearly as good as your last one but it's still pretty good. If only more people could get these guys!

[AgentX-127]

Nice article on one of my very favorite units!

You may want to add Deadeye Dan to the Units to Avoid section.
His Ullar Enhanced Rifle Special Attack negates the Evasive 8, and with a range of 10, it will take 2 turns for the EOV to close in on Dan, risking at least one, if not two casualties along the way.

[Jexik]

Originally Posted by AgentX-127

Nice article on one of my very favorite units!

You may want to add Deadeye Dan to the Units to Avoid section.
His Sharpshooter Special Attack negates the Evasive 8, and with a range of 10, it will take 2 turns for the EOV to close in on Dan, risking at least one, if not two casualties along the way.

My only problem with this is that if you're playing with order markers, I hardly ever put more than one active marker on Deadeye Dan, preferring instead to move squads early on. Getting the timing right is going to be tricky.

If you bring the Venoc Warlord, as Bloody suggests, the threat range on the Vipers and Deadeye Dan's special is identical: 10.

Even then, the chance of killing someone with that attack is only 50%, while the chance of frenzy is 30%...not that much worse.

Admittedly, this is all a little theoryscaping on my part, because I don't have the EOV. I've never been a huge fan of DED though, so I'd be slow to put him on a list of units to avoid.

[ThrasherDarkrai]

Originally Posted by Jexik

My only problem with this is that if you're playing with order markers, I hardly ever put more than one active marker on Deadeye Dan, preferring instead to move squads early on. Getting the timing right is going to be tricky.

If you bring the Venoc Warlord, as Bloody suggests, the threat range on the Vipers and Deadeye Dan's special is identical: 10.

Even then, the chance of killing someone with that attack is only 50%, while the chance of frenzy is 30%...not that much worse.

Admittedly, this is all a little theoryscaping on my part, because I don't have the EOV. I've never been a huge fan of DED though, so I'd be slow to put him on a list of units to avoid.

Thank you for the kind comments, Agent 127 and Metaknight!
I'm with Jexik on this one. Deadeye Dan can only kill one, and he can't even garuntee the kill like Braxas can or Sudema can very nearly. Not only that, he falls down like toilet paper. Basically, the turn you engage him is the turn he dies.

[AgentX-127]

Originally Posted by Jexik

I've never been a huge fan of DED though, so I'd be slow to put him on a list of units to avoid.

Originally Posted by Bloody the Marro Stinger

Deadeye Dan can only kill one, and he can't even garuntee the kill like Braxas can or Sudema can very nearly. Not only that, he falls down like toilet paper. Basically, the turn you engage him is the turn he dies.

Wow! You guys apparently haven't learned to fear DED like I have!

My opinion is admittedly formed through experiences playing against my brother, who frequently drafts Deadeye Dan and Theracus.
He will use Theracus to carry Dan to a high sniper's perch, positioning Theracus as a meat-shield. In that case, I know I would not fare well with EOVs.

I certainly see your point about the threat of Braxas, but I viewed DED as nearly equal to Sudema against the EOV.

The Ullar Enhanced Rifle Special Attack offers a 50% chance to destroy an EOV.
Sudema will destroy one 70% of the time, but only within 4 spaces, so she will only get 1 chance to stare before they close in, compared to Dan who would get at least 2 chances. Once they engage, Sudema might survive for another Stare or two, while I doubt Dan would be around for another turn.
On that basis, I suppose I have to admit that Sudema poses a significantly greater threat to the EOV.

Oh, and thanks a lot, both of you, for quoting my mistake!
(I mixed up "Sharpshooter" with "Ullar Enhanced Rifle.")

[Aldin]

I never really thought about how much the EOV are like DW7k until I read this. I'd never thought of the EOV as assasins, but as glyph grabbers. If you can keep melee units away from them (Glads? Rats?) they can hold a glyph forever.

~Aldin, with great moves but a glass jaw

[Shades fan]

I think the greatest downfall to the EOV is the WoA for they are almost impossible to kill with the EOV. That is exactly why you must avoid them but I think the a worth a special mention for I would rather face the Knights of Weston with the EOV then the WoA.

[Jexik]

Originally Posted by AgentX-127

Wow! You guys apparently haven't learned to fear DED like I have!

You're probably right. Most of the maps I play on are 1-MS affairs. There's little practical room for the DED Theracus combo to work well. I don't use the Einar Imperium or Shaolin Monks very often for the same reason.

I've played a fair number of games on the Migol's Tomb map- that's probably the highest non-castle map that I've regularly played on. When I do, I have an annoying habit of drafting Nilfheim first and just mauling everything. His wings sure get annoying around those ruins though!

[Sisyphus]

Originally Posted by Aldin

I never really thought about how much the EOV are like DW7k until I read this. I'd never thought of the EOV as assasins, but as glyph grabbers. If you can keep melee units away from them (Glads? Rats?) they can hold a glyph forever.

~Aldin, with great moves but a glass jaw

Yeah, but why not just use the Glads and Rats to hold the glyphs. That said, they would be good at getting to the glyphs first while being able to hold them much better then Venocs could.

I wish I had these guys, just so I could use them against the Krav.