Venator Flayer Cannon Crew

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Venator Flayer Cannon Crew Skorne Weapon Crew Unit

Spraying the battlefield with a constant hail of razor-sharp needles, the flayer cannon is an immense, high-powered version of the weapons carried by Venator reivers. Although devastatingly effective against enemy troop formations, the flayer cannon is deadliest against larger targets, such as war beasts, ripping into their massive bodies with bursts of its flesh-shredding needles.

Basic Info

Venator Flayer Cannon Crew
Missing Info
	COST {{{cacost}}} UNIT SIZE {{{casize}}} FA {{{cafa}}} Gunner / Grunt BASE Large / Small SPD 2 / 4 STR 5 MAT 5 RAT 5 M.A. N/A DEF 13 ARM 13 CMD 5 ESSENCE {{{essence}}} FOCUS N/A FURY N/A THRS N/A HP 1 F. Field N/A WJP {{{wjp}}} WBP {{{wbp}}} IHP {{{ihp}}} FA 2 UNIT SIZE 1 Gunner 1 Grunt COST 5 N/A N/A N/A Warcaster 1 COST N/A N/A Understanding the Statblock

Abilities

• Gunner
  • Man-Sized - This model is treated as a small-based model and occupies the space from the bottom of its base to a height of 1.75".
  • Mobile Artillery - When this model advances as part of its Normal Movement, it gains +1" movement for each Grunt in this unit within 2" of it at the start of its advance.
  • Take Up - If this model is destroyed, you can choose a Grunt in this unit within 1" of it to be destroyed instead. Effects on this model expire, and it gains the effects on the chosen Grunt. Remove the Grunt from the table instead of this model. This model has the same number of unmarked damage boxes as the chosen Grunt.

• Grunt
  • None

Weapons

• Gunner
  • Flayer - 12" range, ROF d3, POW 13 ranged weapon.
    • Fast Reload - While within 1" of the Grunt, the ROF of this weapon becomes d3+1.
    • Volume Fire - Gain +1 to attack and damage rolls with this weapon against medium-based models and +2 to attack and damage rolls against large- and huge-based models.
  • Sword - 0.5" reach, POW 3, P+S 8 melee weapon.

• Grunt
  • Sword - 0.5" reach, POW 3, P+S 8 melee weapon.

Theme Forces

• Winds of Death - this unit gains Reposition [3"] and may be taken as a requisition option in this theme.

Recent Changes

2021.10 Mega Update

• Swapped from Burst Fire to Volume Fire
• Fast Reload becomes 1" (instead of B2B)

Thoughts on Venator Flayer Cannon Crew

Venator Flayer Cannon Crew in a nutshell

Dakka dakka dakka. Its range isn't great - but an average of 2 pretty powerful shots a turn will surprise an unaware opponent. It is almost a literal glass cannon; as it technically shoots needles.

As with all weapon crews, its durability and speed are its key issues. Having Reposition(3) lessens the second point, but it isn’t likely to last long if your opponent can draw a bead on it.

The Venator Dakar is an almost mandatory inclusion in winds of deaths and like other Venators he improves the cannon immensely.

Combos & Synergies

You are almost always going to take it in Winds of Death where it is an option for a free model, and gains Reposition

Like almost all Venators on its own, the Flayer Cannon is pretty lackluster, missing relatively frequently - but if given a little love it is excellent value with an average of three POW 15 shots per turn.

• Venator Dakar - Veteran leaders to hit bonus goes a long way. And Desperate Pace on turn 1 (and occasionally turn 2) is an excellent thing for the Flayer Cannon.
• Venator Slingers - Flare targets you want to hit.
• Dominar Rasheth - ARM debuffs work extremely well with the Flayer Cannon.
• Lord Tyrant Hexeris - Parasite leaves few survivors.
• Lord Assassin Morghoul - both Mortality and Blind are amazing to help the Cannon wreck things.
• Beast Master Xekaar - Mortality and his feat do about the same job Morghoul2 does.
• Archdomina Makeda or Supreme Archdomina Makeda - incoming fire has right of way. You want to survive it.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• It's mobile artillery. And as such squishy and not terribly flexible.
• Short ranged by the standards of mobile artillery.
• Bad at infantry-clearing.
• Random ROF will let you down when you need it most.
• Expensive for what it is, especially versus the catapult crew. It's best to take this as a req option only.

Tricks & Tips

• In Winds of Death you move your gunner next to the Flayer Cannon to get the extra shot when shooting, and reposition so the gunner is 1" away and thus not caught in 3" AoEs but can take up the gun.
• You can aim then reposition.

Other

Trivia

• Venator means "hunter" in latin.
• Released in Forces of Hordes: Skorne (2010)

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 : Burst Fire and/or Volume Fire - None yet. (Edit)
Rules Clarification : Fast Reload - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Man-Sized      (Edit) Despite being mounted on a large base, the model counts as a small-base for any and every rule. (Infernal Ruling) This includes Ranking Officers being able to join them. (Infernal Ruling) This includes being able to take them as a Requistion Option (if you have a Man-Sized solo in a theme that allows free solos). (Locked Thread) This includes abilities that only work vs small-based models (such as Consume, Trampling over them, etc). Those work just fine vs Man-Sized models. When drawing LOS it blocks LOS across the full width of its base (some players think you should swap it for a small proxy base when trying to draw LOS past the edge of its base ... don't do that). Since it only counts as a small-based model, it only blocks LOS to other small-based models. You can see medium and larger bases through it just fine.

Rules Clarification : Mobile Artillery - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Take Up      (Edit) If you use Take Up the attacking model cannot trigger anything that needs the attacker to "Destroy" a model (such as Alpha Hunter, Killing Spree, Berserk, etc). Although the model that was attacked reached the Destroyed step of the timing sequence, Take Up negates that entirely. (Infernal Ruling)