Cyclops Shaman

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Cyclops Shaman Skorne Light Warbeast

Among the Savage Cyclops are those of keener minds, those who have used their unique perception and primitive rituals to evoke crude but effective primal magic. Skorne houses strong enough to capture and tame such Shamans value their ability to curse their enemies, to harness the inner power of nearby beasts, and to unravel enemy spells.

Basic Info

Cyclops Shaman
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Warcaster 0 BASE Medium SPD 6 STR 7 MAT 5 RAT 5 M.A. N/A DEF 13 ARM 15 CMD 7 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY 3 THRS 9 HP 22 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA U UNIT SIZE N/A COST 7 N/A N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

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

• Craft Talisman (★ Action) - Target friendly faction warlock. If the warlock is in range, when it casts a spell and is the point of origin, the spell gains +2 RNG. Spells with a RNG SELF, SP, or CTRL are not affected. Craft Talisman lasts for one turn.
• Primal Magic - This model can be forced to cast the animus of any friendly Faction non-character warbeast in its command range as if the animus were its own.

Weapons

• Evil Eye - 10" range, POW 12 ranged attack
  • Damage Type: Magical
  • Ghost Shot - This model ignores LOS, concealment, and cover when making attacks with this weapon.

• Battle Spear - 2" reach, P+S 11 melee attack
  • Damage Type: Magical

Animus

	COST	RNG	AOE	POW	DUR	OFF
Spirit Blade	2	6	-	-	-	No
Enemy upkeeps and animi on target friendly Faction model/unit expire.

Theme Forces

• Disciples of Agony
• Masters of War
• The Exalted
• Winds of Death

Recent Changes

2021.10 Mega Update

• -1 point

Thoughts on the Cyclops Shaman

Cyclops Shaman in a nutshell

The Shaman is a flexible model, able to both support warlocks and to hunt solos really effectively - and it also brings some much needed upkeep removal. It synergises with a vast range of other warbeasts, making it something of a swiss (Skorne?) army knife.

It's raw stats are all ok, it is quite an easy to kill beast if left out of position. But versitility is why you take it.

It's the cheapest Skorne beast with a gun that actually deals damage (sorry Krea we still love you) so even if you are playing a warlock who doesn't need upkeep removal or craft talisman it's rarely a bad choice warbeast.

Combos & Synergies

Every beast loves Paingiver Beast Handlers.

There are only normally a handful of warlocks that use direct-fire spells and can't channel the way e.g. Hexeris or Rasheth can; the synergies are generally in the animus and shooting not the craft talisman.

• Beast Master Xekaar or Lord Assassin Morghoul - casting Mortality from 2" further away is always a good thing. There are also Morghoul2 assassination lists that rely on multiple shamans.
• Archdomina Makeda - get her in range for that Jackhammer. Possibly for Molik Karn.
• Supreme Aptimus Zaal - Hex Blast is always something to look for, but this may be the rarest use.
• Zaal, the Ancestral Advocate sometimes loads up heavily on FURY and goes for a sunder-spirit spell assassination.

There are also some animi worth borrowing from other warbeasts - of which the first adds an extra level to the Shaman and the second and third are amazing.

• Far Strike from either the Cyclops Raider or the Titan Cannoneer gives the Shaman some really effective solo-sniping ability and means it's sometimes worth taking pot shots at casters (especially if you can aim and fully boost)
  • Some pretty effective gimmick lists use four or so Shamans and a Raider alongside either Lord Assassin Morghoul or (more rarely) Dominar Rasheth for some LoS-ignoring assassinations.
• Rush from the Titan Gladiator is a backbone animus.
• Force Aura from the Basilisk Krea provides an extra bubble of protection for your army. As a rule of thumb unless you plan to make use of Flank a Shaman is more useful than a second Krea.
• Repulsion from the Agonizer is a niche ability, but when it's good, it's really good.
• Sandstorm from the Desert Hydra can shut down a lot of incoming fire.
• In the Disciples of Agony theme Rites of Power from the Blind Walker allows your warlocks to channel through the Shaman.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Low ARM meaning that the main thing preventing it from going down fast is its range and attacking from a long way away.
• Support model
• It can't cast character warbeast Animi, so even though it can cast rush from a Titan Gladiator he can't do it from the Terrorizer he has the same issue with Chiron and counterblast.
• Low accuracy and casting other animi makes it a fury hog, keep beast handlers near.

Tricks & Tips

• It's an amazingly good sniper. It's even worth watching for casters to wound or kill; boosted POW 12 is no joke and it's easy to forget it can shoot through walls.

Other

Trivia

Released in Hordes: Metamorphosis (2009)

Other Skorne models

Skorne Index       (Edit)
Battlegroup & Similar
Warlocks	Hexeris1 - Hexeris2 - Jalaam1 - Makeda1 - Makeda2 - Makeda3 - Mordikaar1 - Morghoul1 - Morghoul2 - Morghoul3 - Naaresh1 - Rasheth1 - Xekaar1 - Xerxis1 - Xerxis2 - Zaal1 - Zaal2 - Zaadesh2
Lessers & Attachments	Aptimus Marketh (Warlock attachment) - Zaadesh1 (Lesser Warlock) - Makeda0 (Lesser Warlock)
Lesser	Agonizer - Aradus Scarab - Reptile Hounds - The Terrorizer
Light	Basilisk Drake - Basilisk Krea - Cyclops Brute - Cyclops Raider - Cyclops Savage - Cyclops Shaman - Razor Worm
Heavy	Aradus Sentinel - Aradus Soldier - Archidon - Chiron - Bronzeback Titan - Despoiler - Molik Karn - Rhinodon - Tiberion - Titan Cannoneer - Titan Gladiator - Titan Sentry
Gargantuans	Desert Hydra - Mammoth
Units, Solos, & Battle Engines
Units	Cataphract Arcuarii - Cataphract Cetrati - Cataphract Incindiarii - Immortals - Legends of Halaak - Nihilators - Paingiver Beast Handlers - Paingiver Bloodrunners - Praetorian Ferox - Praetorian Karax - Praetorian Keltarii - Praetorian Swordsmen - Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer - Venator Catapult Crew - Venator Flayer Cannon Crew - Venator Reivers - Venator Slingers
Solos	Abidan the Keeper - Ancestral Guardian - Aptimus Marketh - Extoller Novitiate - Extoller Soulward - Hakaar the Destroyer - Immortal Vessel - Makeda0 - Mortitheurge Willbreaker - Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor - Paingiver Task Master - Tyrant Rhadeim - Venator Dakar - Void Spirit - Zaadesh1
Battle Engines	Siege Animantarax - Supreme Guardian
Theme Forces
Disciples of Agony - Masters of War - The Exalted - Winds of Death
Minions
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Skorne Minion
This index was last updated: 2021.11

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification:  : Magical Damage      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

* The "Damage Type: Magical" is not inherited by "secondary" damage from a weapon. That is, stuff like arcs (Electro Leap) or hazards (Scather). (Infernal Ruling) All spells have "Damage Type: Magical" (refer errata). This is inherited by "immediate" secondary damage (such as Eruption of Spines). (Infernal Ruling) and might be inherited by "lingering" secondary damage (see below). If a spell leaves a template in play that does damage to models that walk around in it, then: if it is not described as a hazard it will do magical damage to models that walk around in it. (Example: Razor Wall) if it is a hazard then it will not do magical damage to models that walk around in it. Instead, it does whatever damage type is specified by the spell description. (Example: Breath of Corruption). (Infernal Ruling) If a weapon/spell includes Magic Damage and another kind of elemental damage it will still damage Incorporeal models. Incorporeal models are not affected by the rule "if an attack does multiple types of damage and a model is immune to at least one it is immune to the entire attack." The phrase "immune to non-magical damage" should be interpreted as "immune to damage that doesn't include Damage Type: Magical" (not interpreted as "has immunity to Corrosion and Electricity and Cold and etc.")

Rules Clarification : Ghost Shot      (Edit) Ignore LOS (Edit) Since you ignore LOS, you can target models in your back arc. (Infernal Ruling) Although you ignore concealment/cover, you don't ignore any other bonuses models get "from" them (such as Prowl). You don't ignore Stealth's "auto-miss" rule.

Rules Clarification:  : Warbeast      (Edit) (Click Expand to read)

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)

Rules Clarification : Craft Talisman      (Edit) Lesser Warlocks cannot benefit from Craft Talisman because they are not warlocks. The warlock only needs to be within 3" when Craft Talisman is used. After that, the warlock can move away and still keep the buff. The range bonus doesn't apply to other models that cast the warlock's spells (Spell Slave, Geomancy, etc).

Rules Clarification : Primal Magic      (Edit) You still need to obey the normal rules for casting animi - be within the warlock's CTRL range, pay the COST, etc. You can still only cast one animus per turn. If combined with another ability that changes the COST of animus (such as Awakened Spirit which makes it free), then you get that cost discount to whichever animus you choose to cast.

Rules Clarification : Spirit Blade      (Edit) Spirit Blade cannot expire upkeeps which are not on a model (such as Rock Wall and Veil of Mists).