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Archidons rule the skies over the Stormlands of the Bloodstone Desert with preternatural viciousness. Hunters possessed of keen eyesight and tremendous speed, the enormous winged reptiles are known to trail small groups of nomads traveling across the wastes. Once an archidon has its quarry, it soars upward to drop its hapless victim upon the jagged stones far below before descending to feast upon the broken body. Skorne tyrants and beast handlers appreciate the survival instincts and fighting prowess of these savage beasts.
Basic Info
| Archidon |
| Missing Info |
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| COST |
{{{cacost}}} |
| UNIT SIZE |
{{{casize}}} |
| FA |
{{{cafa}}} |
| Warcaster 0 |
| BASE |
Large |
| SPD |
7 |
| STR |
10 |
| MAT |
6 |
| RAT |
N/A |
| M.A. |
N/A |
| DEF |
14 |
| ARM |
16 |
| CMD |
N/A |
| ESSENCE |
{{{essence}}} |
| FOCUS |
N/A |
| FURY |
3 |
| THRS |
9 |
| HP |
25 |
| F. Field |
N/A |
|
|
|
|
| WJP |
{{{wjp}}} |
| WBP |
{{{wbp}}} |
| IHP |
{{{ihp}}} |
| FA |
U |
| UNIT SIZE |
N/A |
| COST |
10 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
|
|
|
|
| N/A |
| Warcaster 1 |
| COST |
N/A |
| N/A |
Understanding
the Statblock |
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- Warbeast - All warbeasts share a huge stack of special rules. The short version is they're big, furious, and beat stuff up pretty good. Click here for a newbie-friendly recap, or click here for the full rules.
Abilities
Weapons
- Bite - 1" reach, P+S 15 melee weapon
- Critical Pitch - On a critical hit against a model with an equal or smaller base, the model hit can be thrown d6" directly away from this model. The model thrown does not deviate. The POW of collateral damage is equal to the STR of this model.
Animus
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COST
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RNG
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AOE
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POW
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DUR
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OFF
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| Lightning Strike
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1
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SELF
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-
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-
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Turn
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No
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The spellcaster gains Sprint. Lightning Strike lasts for one turn.
- Sprint - At the end of an activation in which it destroyed or removed from play one or more enemy models with melee attacks, a model with Sprint can immediately make a full advance, then its activation ends.
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Theme Forces
Thoughts on the Archidon
Archidon in a nutshell
The Archidon is best described as a "light warbeast on steroids". It might be on a heavy base, but it has the hitpoints of a light and hits only slightly harder than a melee-based light. Fortunately it has the cost of a light. It wouldn't work in any faction other than Skorne because the ubiquitous Paingiver Beast Handlers provide enough hitting power for it to be able to do work as more than a simple light warbeast.
It's also the only flying model in Skorne and has lightning immunity - this won't come up often but when it does it's great
Combos & Synergies
Paingiver Beast Handlers are an absolute essential for it as it is very pillow fisted. But it's also cheap. After that it's a question of what to take him with and there are three key reasons to pick the Archidon - with Sprint as a very nice bonus.
- As a very cheap heavy warbeast, the Archidon (and our other cheap heavy the Rhinodon) makes exceptionally good use of damage buffs
- The Archidon has Long Leash - which means that despite being a fast warbeast you don't have to worry much about warlocks with a small control area - and if you can channel through a warbeast (probably because your name is Hexeris) you make good use of this mobility.
- The Archidon has Flight. If through some means you can make the Archidon immune to free strikes, then you can fly straight over the heads of enemy models to at least threaten to assassinate their caster.
This means that there are several casters that favor the Archidon.
- Master Tormentor Morghoul has a serious problem with his 10" control area combined with his main spell buffing the speed of warbeasts as well as their hitting power. He turns Archidons into credible wrecking balls - and they let him play further back. Also if your opening barrage is a pair of archidons (at P+S 19 and four attacks you can one round many heavies with one) the first one gets Admonition and the second sprints, making both hard to kill.
- Xerxis, Fury of Halaak has the same puny control radius issue Morghoul 1 does and also makes his beasts faster (both issues being partially mitigated by his feat).
- Lord Tyrant Hexeris finds the Archidon a superb arc node - and the Archidon loves eating troops that have been Parasited.
- Lord Arbiter Hexeris doesn't have quite as much synergy with the Archidon as the Tyrant. But close.
- Void Seer Mordikaar can make Archidons immune to free strikes, which is huge. It can also be an excellent choice for an Essence Blast if it will win you the game (although this has a high enough cost it's for assassinations only).
- Master Aescetic Naaresh turns it into a real heavy on feat turn. Naaresh also loves having an animus that lets him Sprint so he can use Cyclone effectively other than as an assassination tool.
- Lord Assassin Morghoul can make it incorporeal for an assassination finisher - and it loves Mortality and Blind.
- Dominar Rasheth has a useful set of debuffs to help the Archidon.
- Beast Master Xekaar free charges help low fury beasts, especially ones that aren't always by your beast handlers, likewise alpha hunters speed and mat is generally good.
There are also other models that support the Archidon
Drawbacks & Downsides
- It has the same threat range, MAT, ARM, and Fury as a Cyclops Savage while costing 25% more. It does however have a few tricks up its sleeve.
- As heavies go, it dies to a stiff breeze.
- It is very easy for an Archidon to get out of the range where Paingiver Beast Handlers can support them. And without Enrage, the Archidon is effectively a hard hitting light warbeast rather than a heavy.
Tricks & Tips
- Any time it can ignore free strikes, it can ignore intervening models to go where it pleases.
- Critical Pitch is excellent - but it can only ever get two attack roll boosts in a turn.
- Use it to hunt solos and lights - or even to assassinate.
- If it sprints forward it might well get out of the front arc of infantry so they can't retaliate - or even out of walking range and out of charge arcs of enemy heavies.
- Against Cygnar, he can be incredibly brutal. He is immune to electrical guns (fireflies, dynamo, and storm lances for starters), and out threats their heavies. This means he can sit just outside of their charge range and be safe from a lot of shooting, while still threatening the assassination.
Other
Trivia
Released in Hordes: Domination (2011)
Other Skorne models
Rules Clarifications
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Rules Clarification : Pitch (Edit)
- If you Pitch on a charge attack, then the throw damage will be boosted (but not collateral damage).
- Throw ( Edit )
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- If a model is somehow thrown at itself (which can happen with Durst1's feat) it would not move, it would be knocked down, and it would take a standard power attack damage roll but it would not take an additional die for colliding with itself. (Infernal Ruling)
- Because you move the target model between the attack roll and the damage roll, you can get different buffs applied to the two rolls. For instance, if you throw the target in or out of a Flanking model's melee range.
- Incorporeal vs Slammed/Thrown models ( Edit )
- Incorporeal models cannot be moved by someone trying to slam them.
- Slammed models can move through Incorporeal models.
- If they have enough movement to get past them, no dramas.
- If they land on them, you move the Incorporeal model out of the way as per the Rule of Least Disturbance.
- If the Incorporeal model cannot be moved (i.e. it's a flag) then you move the slammed model out of the way, also by the rule of Least Disturbance.
- For the purposes of Collateral Damage, only the model(s) you contacted before you applied the rule of Least Disturbance count as contacted.
- The same logic applies to Throws.
- Collateral Damage
- Collateral damage cannot be boosted and is not considered damage from an attack or model. Refer page 33 of the 2021.08 version of the rules pdf. As a result:
- It doesn't trigger stuff that relies on being hit by an enemy (such as Shock Field) or damaged by an enemy (such as Vengeance).
- It doesn't get bonus damage from stuff that adds to a model's damage roll (such as Signs & Portents or Prey).
- It doesn't matter if the attacker has crippled weapon systems or aspects.
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Rules Clarification: : Warbeast (Edit)
(Click Expand to read)
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See also the Warbeast page for a recap of the core warbeast rules.
- Forcing
- If an ability doesn't specify how much it costs to force, it costs 1. (Infernal Ruling)
- Animi
- A single Animus can be on several models at the same time. (Infernal Ruling)
- Unlike in Mk2, in Mk3 if a model has an animus on it from any source and then another animus is cast on that model, it will lose the first instance of an animus and will be replaced by the second. It does not matter if either the first animus or the second animus is from a warlock or warbeast. (Infernal Ruling)
- An animi cast by a warlock is an animi and a spell. (Infernal Ruling)
- Transferring Damage
- If both the warlock and the warbeast are damaged by the same attack (such as an AOE), then you need to apply the 'normal' damage to the warbeast before the transferred damage. This distinction can be important when you're working out who/what actually destroyed the beast. (Infernal Ruling)
- Frenzy (Edit)
- You cannot trigger optional abilities (such as Cleave or Sprint). (Infernal Ruling)
- You must trigger compulsory abilities (such as Consume) ... except for compulsory abilities that also generate an extra attack (such as Berserk). In that case, you don't get the Berserk attack. (Infernal Ruling)
- A warbeast may not make an Assault shot as part of a Frenzy activation.
- If the closest target to a warbeast resolving a Frenzy cannot be charged, then the warbeast will forfeit movement and action (as per the rules of having to charge and not being able to). (Infernal Ruling)
- If a frenzying warbeast can't reach its charge target (because the charge lane is blocked by terrain, etc) then it will make a failed charge and end its activation. (Locked thread)
- If a frenzying warbeast has two melee weapons with the same POW, it can choose which one to use. (Infernal Ruling)
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Rules Clarification: : Flight (Edit)
(Click Expand to read)
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- Flight doesn't ignore:
- Impassable terrain.
- Most hazards. The exception is they do ignore Acid Bath and Burning Earth as long as they don't land in them.
- Templates that stay in play and do damage to models moving through them (such as a Scather).
- Free strikes.
- Trampling with a flying model (Edit)
- Flight allows you to trample "over" medium- and larger-bases.
- Although you trample "over" them, you don't get to make a trample attack vs them and you don't ignore their free strikes. Refer the core rulebook.
- Unless, of course, you have an exception like Blade Rush.
- Flight on a Cavalry model (Edit)
- Although flyers can move over obstacles/models, and horses can pause to do impacts while charging, flying horses cannot make impact attacks while overlapping models/obstacles. You need to pause in a legal position.
- Charging through models (Edit)
- You can't charge all the way through your charge target, with the intention to turn around and face them once you're on the other side.
- Because you aren't able to satisfy the "must keep the charge target in melee range" clause at the point after you are through the model but before you turn to directly face. At that point the target is behind you, not in your front arc, and thus not in your melee range.
- Your melee range only extends to your front arc. Refer to the latest errata.
- You can still "skim" through the edge of their base, if you're careful and smart with your positioning.
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Rules Clarification : Serpentine - None yet. (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Electricity (Edit)
- When electricity arcs/leaps, you ignore models with Immunity:Electricity. The arc "skips" them.
- If you attack a model with Immunity:Electricity, the arc/leap won't go anywhere at all. The arc is "grounded".
- Incorporeal models do not have Immunity: Electricity (they just ignore non-magical damage). As such electricity can arc/leap to and from incorporeal models.
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Rules Clarification : Extended Control Range and/or Long Leash - None yet. (Edit)
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Rules Clarification : Lightning Strike (Edit)
- Lightning Strike is retroactive. Which means you can cast it after killing a model, and still benefit from it. (Infernal Ruling)
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Rules Clarification : Sprint and/or Run & Gun (Edit)
- You cannot use this ability after an out-of-activation attack (such as Countercharge), only during real activations. (Locked thread)
- Run & Gun won't trigger if you RFP the model, but Sprint will.
- End of Activation (Edit)
- You cannot resolve two end-of-activation movement effects (refer to "End of Activation Movement" in the core rulebook). For EOA stuff that doesn't involve movement, though, it gets a bit more murky:
- Some EOA abilities explicitly state your activation ends as part of resolving the ability (like Reposition), and some don't (like Refuge).
- Whether it is explicit it or not, by definition an EOA ability is the last thing you can do for that activation. For instance, if you resolve Refuge and then continue your activation to cast more spells, then you have not used Refuge at the end of your activation.
- You cannot do an "at any time" ability during or after triggering an EOA ability; you cannot cast spells, purchase additional attacks, use a mini-feat, etc.
- If you start resolving an EOA movement (such as Reposition) then you cannot trigger abilities that occur "at any time" (such as Go To Ground). Because you can't trigger it while resolving the EOA movement, and after the EOA movement your activation has ended. (Infernal Ruling)
- For units: if any model in the unit starts resolving the unit's EOA movement, then no model in the unit can trigger an any-time ability. (Infernal Ruling)
- See also the training article: LPG - End of Activation.
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Flight
Immunity: Electricity