You have started mustering your Warcry warband and heard about Allies, Monsters and Thralls but have no idea what they are or even if you are allowed to use them? Or you have an idea but not sure which are available for your warband?
Then this is the guide for you. We will first explain what Warcry Monsters, Allies and Thralls are and how to use them and then we will review, one Grand Alliance at a time, each option available.
We will not be listing every single Leader available as an Ally, if you are interested in a hero from another warband of the same Grand Alliance we recommend checking5 the list of Leaders available and their abilities in the specific guides from our warcry hub.
Please note that if you were familiar with Monsters & Mercenaries, the first expansion for Warcry, all rules from that book are now obsolete and replaced by the new Core Book rules.
All profiles and rules have been updated for the new edition.
Note: if you haven’t read the basic rules for Warcry before reading this article, it might be helpful to know that the game’s abilities are activated by using 6 dice that you roll at the start of your turn.
If two of the dice show the same value, they can be used to activate a Double ability. If three show the same value, they can be used for a Triple ability, and so on.
So, when this article refers to an ability being a Double, a Triple or a Quad, it refers to this system. It might sound a bit confusing, but takes no time to get used to when you start playing
How to use Allies in Warcry
In Warcry it is possible to use fighters without your faction runemark at specific conditions. One of this is to use Allies. The complete rules have been rewritten recently and now been refined in the Core Book.
In summary:
- Fighters with the Leader or Ally runemark belonging to other factions of the same Grand Alliance can be used as Allies.
- Allies never count as Leaders, but they can obtain destiny levels of renown, heroic traits and lesser artefacts.
- They can use abilities from their original faction but they don’t count as Leader.
Note that fighters with the Leader runemark are all called Heroes, independently if they are also Allies or not, but there’s a limit on how many you can field.
You can enlist up to 3 Heroes and 2 Allies in your warband but an ally with the Leader runemark counts both as Hero and Ally.
In Narrative Play you can enlist up to 3 total but only after completing a quest that allows to do so, for example the universal quest Secure a Powerful Ally.
Warcry Monsters: how they work and how to use them
Warcry Monsters are actually fighters with the Gargantuan runemark who follow different rules than normal fighters. They also enable a list of abilities that any other non-monster fighter can use called Monster Hunting Abilities.
Monsters in Warcry cannot use Universal Abilities or faction abilities (as they don’t have the faction runemark), but they have their own and access to a list of generic Monster Abilities.
Monsters activate three times per turn but can perform only one action instead of two per activation. If they use the wait action, they forfeit all remaining activations.
They can climb and jump like other fighters but they need to end their movement with their base entirely on a platform or the battlefield or they fall.
All of them have around 50 wounds, Toughness 4 and a damage table with 5 brackets, similar to Age of Sigmar, meaning that their Move and Damage characteristic reduces the more damage they take. For example a Chimera at full health would have 12″ Move and 5/10 as damage, but once it takes 41 wounds it is reduced to 4″ Move and 1/2 damage.
You can use up to one Monster per warband, however in Narrative games you first need to “tame” the beast. To do that, you need to complete quests that allow it, for example the universal quest Hunt the Beast allows to explore the area for the monster’s lair and once you progressed enough, you can fight a specific battle that, if won, allows you to add it to your roster.
This is a list of Monster Hunting Abilities:
- Binding Ropes (Double): A chance to reduce up to 6″ (to a minimum of 3″) the movement of an engaged Monster.
- Go for the Eyes (Triple): If you score a critical hit against a Gargantuan, subtract 1 to its Attack characteristic (to a minimum of 1).
- Taunt (Quad): A good chance to force a Gargantuan fighter nearby to attack only a specific fighter.
This is the list of Monster Abilities:
- Monstrous Reach (Double): Do not count the vertical distance when performing the next attack action.
- Drag and Maul (Triple): Target an enemy fighter within 6″ and move it close to the monster, then assign it up to 18 damage (need a 4+ for each dice rolled).
- Demolishing Rampage (Quad): Demolish a terrain feature, assigning impact damage to all fighters within it and repositioning on the battlefield all objective, treasure and fighters previously on it.
Each Grand Alliance has its own list of Monsters available.
How to use Thralls in Warcry
Thralls are specific fighters with a precise runemark that allows their use within a certain Grand Alliance.
You can have up to 3 Thralls per warband, but in Narrative Play you can enlist one only after completing a quest that allows to do so, for example the universal quest Secure a Powerful Ally.
As for Monsters, each Grand Alliance has its list of Thralls to use, except Order that has none.
Chaos Grand Alliance: List of Specific Allies and Monsters
All profiles in this section are taken from the Agents of Chaos book.
List of Chaos Allies
Chaos is the only Grand Alliance to have access to specific allies created for the game. As mentioned above, you can use any Leader from another faction within your warband as an Ally, in that case we recommend checking the weaknesses from your warband and then search in the abilities or profiles from other warbands to equilibrate. But do remember that one fighter, for how powerful it can be, always counts only as one fighter, and in Warcry numbers can be really important to outmanoeuvre your opponent.
The list of Allies for Chaos so far includes only models available to Slaves to Darkness armies, as most of the original Warcry warbands are also Cultists from the same army.
Fomoroid Crusher (260 points)
- Unthinking Destruction (Reaction)
- When: An enemy ends a move within 3″ horizontally and 5″ vertically.
- What: All fighters within 1/2 inch of the edge of the platform take a falling test and on a 1 or 2 they fall.
- Blood Trophy (Double): After taking down an enemy, obtain a wild dice.
- Hurl Masonry (Double): A chance to allocate up to 6 damage to an enemy in range as long as the Fomoroid is close to an obstacle.
- Rampaging Charge (Triple): At the end of the next move action allocate up to 6 damage to an engaged enemy fighter.
35 wounds and Toughness 6 are meaty and combined with 3 attacks at Strength 6 for 4/8 damage, the Fomoroid Crusher definitely belongs to the heavy hitters class.
On top of that for a Double it can throw a piece of a nearby obstacle to an enemy within 8″: on a 3-4 does 1 damage, on a 5-6 as much as the ability’s value. Unpredictable and requires a high Double to be actually worth, but considering the 5″ Movement, if an enemy is too far and badly wounded, you can try your luck.
Its Triple (Rampaging Charge) is the usual impact damage after movement, where it can allocate up to 6 damage to an enemy at the end of its next Move action as long as it finishes within 1″ of an enemy.
Its other Double (Blood Trophy, previously a Quad) instead is a nice bonus for something that you would want to do anyway. If the Fomoroid kills in combat an enemy, you can use the Double to get a wild dice for the next round.
Its reaction however is not that interesting, allowing to shake a platform nearby him when an enemy ends a move close-by, in the hope that the fighters along the edge fall…
But overall this fighter can compensate warbands that lack of high-damage fighters.
Ogroid Myrmidon (265 points)
- Test of Skills (Reaction)
- When: During an enemy melee attack action but before hit rolls.
- What: If all hits are miss, allocate 10 damage to the attacker.
- Berserk (Double): If at least 20 damage are allocated to him, add 3 Attacks to the next melee attack action.
- Arcane Fury (Triple): Add up to 6 to the damage on critical hits of melee attacks.
- Blood Marshal (Triple): Allocate 1 damage to a close-by friendly fighter. If still alive that fighter can perform a bonus melee attack.
The Ogroid Myrmidon is slightly less scary than the Fomoroid with its 2″ range 3 attacks at Strength 5 for 4/8 damage. He is an alternative fighter, with a mixture of support abilities and good damaging potential.
Once heavily wounded (at least 20 damage), it can increase its attacks to 6 , meaning that against Toughness 4 it can do as much as 24 damage on a 3+ for each die… That is not a bad trade-off, although if you are playing against him, ensure you either kill him straight away or ignore him if possible.
The Triple Blood Marshal can be useful in the right situation. Of course it requires another nearby fighter to be within 4″ and already engaged, and you don’t have better Triples or Doubles to use. But if you have another heavy hitter nearby, it can allow to finish off an enemy and free the Ogroid’s turn to do more relevant actions.
His reaction is a proper gamble. With Toughness 6 it is not unlikely the enemy is going to miss all its attacks, but at the same time, you probably have the same chances to do 12 damage in your own turn.
Overall, if your warband is missing heavy hitters the Ogroid is the perfect choice for raw strength. The Fomoroid is cheaper and hits harder, plus has a random inexpensive ranged attack but you can only afford one of the two in a standard game.
Mindstealer Sphiranx (260 points)
- Spiteful Reprisal (Reaction)
- When: During an enemy melee attack action but before hit rolls.
- What: For each miss reduce the value of an unused enemy ability to 1.
- Telepathic Threatening (Double): A chance to prevent move or disengage actions to an enemy close-by.
- Dominate Mind (Triple): A random chance to allocate up to 18 damage to an enemy nearby.
- Charm (Quad): An enemy in range cannot activate or make reactions this round.
The Mindstealer Sphiranx is arguably a painter’s dream come true, and in Warcry represents an extremely versatile and supporting model at a decent price.
8″ Movement, 30 wounds and Toughness 5 are already a good starting line, and its 4 attacks at Strength 5 for 2/5 damage are what you would expect from its cost. Where the Sphiranx excels is however on its abilities.
The first one can prevent a Move or Disengage action on a 3+ for a Double (Telepathic Threatening). It is not automatic, but preventing movement for a Double can be a winning move in the later rounds. The range is decided by the value of the ability (from 1″ to 6″) but since you know the value in advance, that is not a problem.
The second one (Dominate Mind) is the classic “damage an enemy a random amount”: the range is 6″ and you roll as many dice as the ability’s value and for each 2-5 you allocate 1 damage, for each 6 3 damage. It costs a Triple, but you need to have a decently high Triple to hope for some good damage, in many warbands you may have better or at least more consistent Triples to use.
The Quad (Charm) instead completely shuts down an enemy. The range depends on the ability’s value, but considering the enemy will skip his round, it does not matter much as anyone can get close and attack without fear of retaliation. Or it can be used to avoid a heavy-hitter from doing some damage on his last round, or to stop a combo where a fighters buffs another and the activation after the latter is ready to fight.
The Sphiranx reaction is also an interesting one as it forces your opponent to think twice before attacking your Toughness 5 fighter. Reducing ability’s value is usually quite powerful especially on later rounds when there’s more chances of Triples and Quads.
While the Fomoroid and the Ogroid qualify for brute strength, the Mindstealer is a support “guy”. If you have enough damage output you can consider a Mindstealer to accompany your warband.
Centaurion Marshal (295 points)
- Marshal’s Net (Double): A chance to prevent move or disengage actions to an enemy close-by.
- Trampling Charge (Triple): At the end of the next move action allocate up to 6 damage to an engaged enemy fighter.
- Skewer, Drag and Bludgeon (Quad): A bonus attack action with the Spear profile, then, if any critical hit is scored, the target fighter is moved towards this fighter and if it reaches the Club range (1″) another bonus attack can be performed with the Club profile.
The Centaurion Marshal is the latest addition to the roster of Chaotic allies, in particular one that adds great mobility (10″ although on a Mounted profile) and two strong weapon profiles, although not as good as the ones above in this guide.
The two weapon profiles can be combined in a single deadly bonus round if you have a Quad: you first start with a bonus attack with the spear, then move the target closer to you (should be easy enough unless there are obstacles between you and the target) and then do another bonus attack with the club. It can be devastating on the strongest fighters in the game, especially if that’s the first thing you perform in your activation and you now have 2 further actions and the enemy in range of your club.
The club indeed is the most damaging profile with 3 attacks at Strength 6 for 3/6 damage, against the 2/5 of the spear that has, however, 3″ range. Now, normally with a 35 wounds and Toughness 5 character, we wouldn’t talk about this increased range as you don’t care if you are engaged or not as it’s hard to take you down, however you need to consider the base size. 80mm base plus 3″ range means a huge portion of the battlefield covered!
His other two abilities allow him to do damage after moving (for a Triple) or prevent an enemy from moving/disengaging on a Double.
To summarize, this fighter is a valid combatant, not as strong as others, but a good alternative for slower warbands.
List of Chaos Monsters
To tame a Chaos Monster, you need to complete a specific quest, like the universal Hunt the Beast.
Chimera (515 points)
- Tail Whip (Double): A chance to allocate 3 damage to a close-by enemy.
- Leonine Roar (Triple): Subtract 1 from the Attack characteristic of all enemies in range.
- Draconic’s Head Fiery Breath (Quad): Allocate up to 6 damage to all enemies in range.
The Chimera is a monster available for the Beasts of Chaos Age of Sigmar army. It has 6 attacks at Strength 6 that are terrifying, indeed at the top bracket it has 5/10 damage that reduces to 1/2 in the bottom bracket, but Strength and number of attacks does not, meaning that even at the lowest bracket it is a dangerous opponent (6 damage on a 3+ against most opponents).
If you add the 12″ flying movement (at top bracket) you understand no one can hide from a Chimera. And once it is in range, it can either debuff all enemy fighters reducing their Attack by 1 (to a minimum of 1) on a 6″ range (for a Triple, Leonine Roar) or allocate in a 4″ range up to 6 damage to all visible enemies (for a Quad, damage depending on ability’s value).
It does come with an hefty price but is definitely worth it.
Slaugtherbrute (490 points)
- Mighty Jaws (Double): A good chance to allocate up to 6 damage to an engaged enemy.
- Rampaging Charge (Triple): At the end of the next move action allocate up to 6 damage to an engaged enemy.
- Beast Unbound (Quad): A bonus attack or a bonus move.
The Slaughterbrute is one of the assembly options for the Mutalith Vortex Beast, both being monsters available in a Slaves to Darkness Age of Sigmar army. With 5 attacks at Strength 4, it can remain a serious threat even when the damage bracket goes down (starts at 4/8 and goes down to 2/4).
Where it suffers is the 4″ move (at the lowest bracket) that, for a beast of this size, becomes a nightmare if there’s lots of terrain to cross. Luckily for a Quad (Beast Unbound) it can perform a bonus move or attack, that always help, especially considering the 1 action per activation, meaning that the engaged enemy has no chance to run away.
Its other abilities are damaging abilities that can help to free up for another action. For example for a Double (Mighty Jaws) you could get rid of an injured enemy engaging you without wasting an attack, or you could damage an enemy after a move for a Triple (Rampaging Charge).
Overall it is a good option, cheaper than a Chimera, but less versatile.
Chaos Gargant (420 points)
- Drunken Stagger (Double): A random chance to alter its Move characteristic.
- Mighty Kick (Triple): At the end of the next move action allocate up to 6 damage to an engaged enemy.
- Vicious ‘Eadbutt (Quad): A chance to do an extremely high number of damage to an engaged enemy (up to 36).
The Chaos Gargant is one of the assembly options for the Mancrusher Gargants, available for Sons of Behemat armies, just look for the head with the horns and the hooves. A Chaos Gargant is a profile usable in Beasts of Chaos armies.
The most noticeable characteristic is a low movement for an enemy with a large base that will move with difficulty between packed terrain: 6″ at the top bracket and 2″ at the lowest. For a Double you can try to improve it by rolling up to 6 dice (based on the ability’s value, Drunken Stagger) and for each 2+ add 1″ Move, for each 1 remove 1″ Move. So you can end up with any final number from 0″ to 12″ Move. While it is extremely narrative and entertaining, if you like predictability, this is not an ability for you.
If it does manage to get in range of an enemy, 4 attacks at Strength 5 are not to be trifled with. The damage goes down from 4/8 to 2/4 but is still a good number.
And then you have Vicious ‘Eadbutt: it costs a Quad, but you roll up to 6 dice (depending on the value of the ability) and for each 3+ you allocate up to 6 damage to an enemy within 1″. Having a Quad 6 is extremely rare, but if you do, and you fight another monster, with a bit of luck you can do as much as 36 damage!
Ghorgon (445 points)
- Roaring Charge (Double): Add 3″ to the next Move action.
- Slavering Maw (Triple): A good chance to allocate up to 18 damage to an engaged enemy.
- Ravenous Bloodgreed (Quad): Perform a bonus move up to 6″ and then a bonus attack.
The Ghorgon is another monster from the Beasts of Chaos roster, and an alternative build to the Cygor. 5 attacks at Strength 6 are another powerful base profile, the damage going from 4/10 to 2/6. To increase the damage, the Triple ability (Slavering Maws) allows to allocate 3 damage for each 4+ rolled (as many dice as the ability’s value) and the Quad (Ravenous Bloodgreed) is an interesting free move up to 6″ away followed by a bonus attack.
The 6″ movement (going down to 2″) may hinder this monster from time to time, but its Double (Roaring Charge) can increase it of 3″ allowing more leeway.
Cygor (415 points)
- Rip and Tear Masonry (Double): Usable only within 1″ of an obstacle, charges the Hurl Boulder ability.
- Hurl Boulder (Triple): Can be used at the start of the battle or after Rip and Tear Masonry, allowing to allocate up to 30 damage to an enemy within 15″.
- Soul-eater (Quad): A chance to damage all enemies in range and heal itself back for the damage allocated.
The Cygor is an alternative assembly option of the Ghorgon, itself a monster from the Beasts of Chaos roster.
Its main ability is extremely thematic but requires 2 activations, a Double and a high Triple. With the Double, Rip and Tear Masonry, it can retrieve from a nearby obstacle / building its next boulder. With the Triple, Hurl Boulder, can throw it to an enemy within 15″ and for each 4+ allocate 5 damage. As you have 50% chance for each dice to do nothing, you need a high enough Triple to provide you some justification on spending 2 activations and 2 abilities on this single manoeuvre. However, it starts the battle with a boulder in its hand, so the first combo starts directly with the Triple.
Its attack profile is ok to be a monster: 4 attacks at Strength 4 with 4/8 damage going down to 2/4. It suffers from an ok movement of 6″ (going down to 2″) but it is also the Chaos monster with the longest range although the more convoluted to use.
Its Quad (Soul-eater) instead is an excellent ability if your enemy is crazy enough to surround you (and remember you still need to tame the Cygor so your opponent may have a chance to use it against you in the Challenge Battle). Basically you roll a dice for each enemy within 6″ and on a 4+ you allocate 3 damage to him and heal yourself back of the same. With a bit of luck you can restore a bracket or two. It is also the cheapest of Chaos Monsters.
Mutalith Vortex Beast (425 points)
- Maw Tentacles (Double): Force an enemy fighter in range to move up to 6″ towards your direction as if they were jumping and automatically disengaging if necessary.
- Mutant Regeneration (Triple): A chance to heal up to 18 damage.
- Aura of Mutation (Quad): 3 damage to all enemies close-by and a chance to prevent their activation as well.
The Mutalith Vortex Beast is a monster from the Slaves to Darkness Age of Sigmar roster. It has a similar weapon profile as the Cygor but higher movement (8″ decreasing to 4″) but its real use comes from its abilities.
The first one (Maw Tentacles) is thematic: you can drag any enemy 6″ towards you so that is in range of your attacks. It’s a bit different than the generic Triple Drag and Maul as it does not do any damage, but is cheaper.
The second one (Mutant Regeneration) is a powerful healing ability (remember monsters don’t have access to universal abilities, so they don’t have access to restorative actions), although works on a 4+ for each dice rolled, so it’s a 50/50 chance.
The last one instead (Aura of Mutation) is an area of damage ability with a short range, 3″, but for each enemy if you roll a 6, that enemy cannot activate. It costs a Quad and not often you’ll be surrounded by enemies, but if it happens this can really damage. And don’t forget you’ll be facing this ability when challenging him to obtain its services.
Overall the weakest of Chaos Monsters, it is also the only one with 1″ range, but also one of the cheapest and a better movement that most of them.
Hell Pit Abomination (465 points)
- Regenerating Monstrosity (Double): A chance to heal up to 18 damage.
- Avalanche of Flesh (Triple): At the end of the next move action allocate up to 6 damage to an engaged enemy.
- Too Horrible to Die (Quad): Eery melee attack targeting this fighter can get up to 9 damage back.
The Hell Pit Abomination is a Skaven monstrosity, an iconic representation of Clans Moulder power. It starts with 5 attacks at Strength 4 for 4/10 damage and goes down to 2/6 damage. Its movement as well starts at 6″ and is reduced to 2″ at the lowest bracket, really hampering its ability to move.
On the other side it has the cheapest regenerative ability of all Chaos Monsters (Regenerating Monstrosity). Still works on a 4+ for each die rolled, but a high Double is easier to get than a high Triple (Mutalith Vortex Beast) or a Quad (Cygor).
Its Quad (Too Horrible to Die) is also an interesting one as it does not prevent the Abomination from getting hit, but whoever confronts it, for each attack action of range 3″ or less, rolls 3 dice and for each 5+ gets 3 damage back.
List of Chaos Thralls
Chaos Thralls are called Chaotic Beasts and, as monsters, they can also be found in the Agents of Chaos tome. Remember that these can also be used as roaming beasts in some Twist cards.
- The Master’s Voice (Reaction)
- When: When an enemy ends a move action within 3″ of a friendly fighter with the Hero runemark.
- What: A bonus move that must end engaged to the enemy fighter that moved and then a bonus attack.
Fury (95 points)
- Cower (Triple): Treat critical hits against this fighter as hits.
The Fury was first released with Warcry Starter Set and is now available with the Raptoryx in the Chaotic Beasts box under the Slaves to Darkness Age of Sigmar army.
The first important characteristic for its low cost is the 8″ of Flying movement that allows to reach far spaces. 8 wounds with Toughness 3 will not last long, but for a Triple the Fury could treat all critical hits as hits for a battle round allowing it to last at least for another round if engaged against a single low damage fighter.
3 attacks at Strength 3 for 1/2 damage complete a forgettable fighter profile, it is not here to fight, but to threaten abandoned objectives or weak and isolated fighters.
Raptoryx (85 points)
- Crazed Flock (Triple): Add 1 to its attack characteristic for each close-by Raptoryx.
The Raptoryx was released together with the Fury in the original Warcry Starter Set and is now available in the Chaotic Beasts box for the Slaves to Darkness army.
Comparing to the Fury, the Raptoryx is worth more its cost as it is more resilient (12 wounds with Toughness 4) and hits harder (3 attacks at Strength 4 for 1/4 damage). Unfortunately it is a chicken and doesn’t fly…
Its ability makes sense only when taken in flocks, and you are limited in how many you can have, but combined with the reaction The Master’s Voice that allows them to intercept an incoming enemy and do a bonus attack, they are extremely useful as Chaos leader pets. Two of them could support each other and activate right after the other for a welcome party of the unfortunate passer-by.
Chaos Warhound (85 points)
- Outrunner of Chaos (Double): Add 3″ to the next Move action.
The Chaos Warhound is a unit type available in Beasts of Chaos armies. In Warcry, it is a fast unit (8″ movement but can become 11″ with a Double) relatively cheap.
In melee 10 wounds at Toughness 3 will go down quickly, but 3 attacks for 1/3 damage are not too bad for its cost. As a Beast it cannot open doors or carry treasures.
Chaos Spawn (170 points)
- Writhing Tentacles (Triple): Add up to 6 to the Attack characteristic of the next melee attack action.
The Chaos Spawn is a Slaves to Darkness and Beasts of Chaos unit with high level of customization, so that 2 Chaos Spawns may not look alike. In Warcry it is one of the most expensive Chaos Thralls, thanks also to its 30 wounds on Toughness 4.
Its melee profile with 4 attacks and damage 2/4 is already interesting, but its Triple can increase the attacks to 10! for a single attack action (depends on the ability’s value). Now that is quite lethal, however for this price you may already have better hitters in your warband.
Razorgor (205 points)
- Uncontrollable Stampede (Triple): At the end of the next move action allocate up to 6 damage to an engaged enemy.
The Razorgor is another Beast of Chaos unit, one still in resin and of arguable quality. In Warcry it is more expensive than a Chaos Spawn because of the 8″ movement and 1 point more in damage on critical hits.
But even if the difference is small, the cost is not justified: it has less wounds, it has the Beast runemark that limits its use and its ability allows to do up to 6 damage at the end of a movement instead of increasing the attacks (and both cost a Triple). If you need 8″ movement the Fury is much better and can fly. Once again the Razorgor is a big loser.
Order Grand Alliance: List of Monsters and Thralls
The Grand Alliance Order has no Allies (but plenty of Heroes in the shape of Leaders of other warbands, more than 170!) or Thralls.
List of Order Monsters
To tame an Order Monster, you need to complete a specific quest, like the universal Hunt the Beast.
War Hydra (420 points)
- Quick with the Lash (Double): Add 3″ to the next Move action.
- Fiery Breath (Triple): A chance to do up to 6 damage to an enemy in range and all other enemies close-by (roll individually).
- Sever One Head, Another Takes Its Place (Quad): Heal up to 12 wounds.
War Hydra and Kharibdyss are two assembly options of the same model, both from the Cities of Sigmar roster. They also have an identical profile with 45 wounds at Toughness 4, a decreasing Movement from 6″ at top bracket going down to 2″ and 4 attacks at 2″ range and Strength 5 starting at 4/8 damage and going down to 2/4.
The main difference from the 2 models comes from their abilities. Actually only 2 abilities out of 3 as the Double (Quick with the Lash) is about increasing their movement of 3″ for a Move action.
The Triple (Fiery Breath) allows you to choose an enemy within 6″ and roll a die for it and any other enemy within 3″ from it and on a 4+ do as much damage as the ability’s value. It is not super reliable, but if you have a cluster of enemies nearby you are bound to do some damage.
The Quad (Sever One Head, Another Takes Its Place) allows to heal back the double of the ability’s value, meaning that you could go up one bracket with a high Quad. Considering the degrading profile for a beast of this cost staying at higher brackets is really important.
Kharibdyss (425 points)
- Quick with the Lash (Double): Add 3″ to the next Move action.
- Abyssal Howl (Triple): A chance to prevent move and disengage actions to all enemies within range.
- Spiked Tail (Quad): Up to 6 damage to all close-by enemies.
Kharibdyss and War Hydra are two assembly options of the same model, both from the Cities of Sigmar roster. They share the same profile that you can see above.
The main difference comes from the Triple and the Quad abilities. The Triple (Abyssal Howl) allows you to pick all enemies within a number of inches equal to the ability’s value, and for each, on a 3+, prevent Move or Disengage actions until the end of the battle round. Since it’s a radius from a huge base, with a high enough Triple you could include a big portion of the battlefield and be extremely devastating against melee-focussed warbands.
The Quad (Spiked Tail) has a range of 3″ (but again from a big base) and can damage as much as the ability’s value every enemy in range. That can be quite powerful if you have a high Quad and enough enemies close-by.
Overall the Kharibdyss seems a better option despite not having regeneration skills, but its abilities are independent from the bracket degradation.
Death Grand Alliance: List of Monsters and Thralls
List of Death Monsters
To tame a Death Monster, you need to complete a specific quest, like the universal Hunt the Beast.
Terrorgheist (500 points)
- Swooping Dive (Double): Add 3″ to the next Move action.
- Death Scream (Triple): A chance to do up to 6 damage to all enemies in range.
- Infested with Bats (Quad): Up to 6 damage to all enemies close-by as long as the Terrorgheist is wounded.
The Terrorgheist is one of the assembly options in the kit, the Zombie Dragon being the other. Both can be found in either a Flesh-Eater Court or Soulblight Gravelords army. Note that in Warcry the kit is meant unmounted, as you could potentially have also a Ghoul King or Vampire Lord on them.
The Terrorgheist at top bracket can fly 12″ (goes down to 4″) and has 4 attacks at Strength 5 for 4/8 damage (going down to 1/2). It becomes quite useless on its lowest bracket and has no chance to heal back by itself.
Its abilities allow it greater movement for one action (Swooping Dive) and some good area damage. Death Scream costs a Triple but targets all enemies within 8″ from the Terrorgheist huge base. Problem is the damage output is not that great: 1 damage on a 5 and as much as the ability’s value on a 6. Still you could be rolling many dice and statistically something should come out.
Infested with Bats instead alludes to the fact that Terrorgheists are bats-infested monsters and once they die those are finally freed. The Quad ability can be used only if the beast has at least 10 wounds and allows it to do as much damage as the ability’s value to any enemy within 3″. This is predictable and 10 wounds taken means only 1 bracket lower, so this can actually be interesting as long as can you pack many enemies around your monster…
Zombie Dragon (540 points)
- Swooping Dive (Double): Add 3″ to the next Move action.
- Sword-like Claws (Triple): Add 3 to the Attack characteristic of the next melee attack action.
- Pestilent Breath (Quad): A good chance to do up to 12 damage to an enemy in range and all other enemies close-by.
The Zombie Dragon is an alternative assembly option of the Terrorgheist with a similar profile but more expensive because of the extra attack (5 instead of 4).
The first ability is the same as the Terrorgheist for some extra movement, while Sword-like Claws adds 3 to the next melee attack action. If you can pull it out at top bracket that’s 8 damage at Strength 5 with 4 as base damage!
Pestilent Breath allows to pick an enemy within 8″ and all enemies within 3″ from it and allocate as much as the ability’s value on a 2-5 (roll individually) but on a 6, you do double the damage! It costs a Quad but compared to many other abilities where the certainty of damage is lower, in this case you miss only on a 1 and the critical value of 6 is actually quite worth!
List of Death Thralls
The Bat Swarms were officially retired.
- Necromantic Bonds (Reaction)
- When: When an enemy ends a move action within 3″ of a friendly fighter with the Hero runemark.
- What: A bonus move that must end engaged to the enemy fighter that moved and then a bonus attack.
Dire Wolf (85 points)
- Slavering Charge (Double): If an enemy is in range, you can perform a bonus move towards it.
Dire Wolves are a brand new re-sculpt for a Soulblight Gravelords unit. In Warcry they are a flexible fighter with 8″ Movement, 10 wounds and Toughness 3 allowing its use in several circumstances, in particular to protect a Necromancer when using their reaction Necromantic Bonds.
While its attacks (3 at Strength 3 for 1/3 damage) are not threatening, the ability to engage an enemy before it can reach your Leader AND get an attack during their turn is priceless.
Its ability is not flabbergasting however: for a Double, if within 6″ of an enemy, can perform a free move towards that enemy.
Fell Bat (130 points)
- Scent of Gore (Triple): Perform a bonus attack action if there’s an engaged wounded enemy.
The Fell Bat is another fighter from a Soulblight Gravelord unit and a new re-sculpt. Of all Death Thralls they are the most expensive but they have 10″ of flying movement and the highest wounds (12 on Toughness 3).
In melee they hit hard with 3 attacks at Strength 3 for 2/4 damage, and they can even perform a bonus attack on a Triple as long as the enemy they are engaged with is injured (Scent of Gore). They are another excellent fighter to use the reaction Necromantic Bonds as they can fly and so cover more ground than a Dire Wolf.
Destruction Grand Alliance: List of Monsters and Thralls
List of Destruction Allies
Gobbapalooza
- Boggleye: 70 points
- Scaremonger: 90 points
- Shroomancer: 85 points
- Brewgit: 70 points
- Spiker: 75 points
The Gobbapalooza are a particular set of miniatures that can be used individually as a fighter within a Gloomspite Skrap, or as an Ally in any Destruction warband.
Each has its own special ability too.
They all have a similar profile, with Movement 4″, Toughness 3 and 12 Wounds (16 for the Scaremonger) plus access to the reaction Spiteful Demise. This allows any one of them to spend their last action, just before being killed by a melee action, to do 3 damage back to the attacker (on a 4+).
The attacks are also similar with Strength 2 and 1/4 damage. Scaremonger and Brewgit have 1 extra Attack (4) and Brewgit less damage (1/3).
So what differentiates them?
- Boggleye for a Double can use Mesmerise, preventing an enemy to move or disengage (on a 3+).
- Brewgit for a Double can use Loonshine Potion, increasing by 3 the attacks of a nearby friendly fighter. This is stackable with other abilities.
- Spiker for a Double can use Poison Brew, adding up to 6 to the Strength of a friendly fighter.
- Scaremonger for a Triple can use Bogeyman Dance, adding 3″ of Movement to a nearby friendly fighter.
- Shroomancer for a Triple can use Fungoid Cloud, subtracting up to 3 (to a minimum of 1) from the Attack characteristic of an enemy fighter. He also has 2″ range weapon.
In general these fighters are buffers (or debuffers) that can still benefit from the other abilities and with 3-4 attacks each they can do their own in melee. However there’s so many abilities you can use each round, so bringing one is probably enough.
List of Destruction Monsters
To tame a Destruction Monster, you need to complete a specific quest, like the universal Hunt the Beast.
Aleguzzler Gargant (420 points)
- Drunken Stagger (Double): A random chance to alter its Move characteristic.
- Mighty Kick (Triple): At the end of the next move action allocate up to 6 damage to an engaged enemy.
- Vicious ‘Eadbutt (Quad): A chance to do an extremely high number of damage to an engaged enemy (up to 36).
The Aleguzzler is the same model used for the Mancrusher Gargants from Sons of Behemat armies (you could add the optional barrel to represent the keg of ale it would be drinking) and you can use its profile in a Gloomspite Gitz army.
Its profile is identical to the Chaos Gargant: 6″ degrading to 2″, 4 attacks at Strength 5 for 4/8 damage going down to 2/4.
The abilities are also the same and come with the same limitations: Drunken Stagger with some luck (2-6 on each die rolled) can allow you to increase its movement, but if you fail (1 for each die rolled) you would reduce an already feeble movement considering the size of the base.
Mighty Kick costs a Triple and allows 6 damage on an engaged enemy at the end of a movement and Vicious ‘Eadbutt costs a Quad, but you roll up to 6 dice (depending on the value of the ability) and for each 3+ you allocate up to 6 damage to an enemy within 1″. Having a Quad 6 is extremely rare, but if you do, and you fight another monster, with a bit of luck you can do as much as 36 damage!
Skitterstrand Arachnarok (475 points)
- Wall Crawler (Double): Ignore vertical distance when climbing.
- Paralysing Venom (Triple): A chance to prevent an enemy from moving or disengaging after each attack action.
- Dragged Victim (Quad): Move an engaged enemy around and perform a bonus attack against it.
The Skitterstrand Arachnarok is one of the many assemble options for the Arachnarok Spider of the Gloomspite Gitz. The one for Warcry in particular is the version without any Grot on its back.
A so iconic monster for Destruction deserved better cure on its abilities. The Double (Wall Crawler) is thematic and allows the Spider to ignore vertical distance while moving. But with 8″ Movement (going down to 4″ at the bottom bracket) and a huge base, it still needs to find a platform big enough to stand so you may not use this one so often.
Paralysing Venom is a cool ability that allows (on a 2+) to prevent an attacked enemy from moving or disengaging. It is useful to finish an enemy if the first attack was not enough, but with 4 attacks at Strength 5 for 4/8 damage (going down to 2/4) how many rounds do you need? Or how many times are you able to use this ability in a single battle round to justify the Triple?
The Quad, Dragged Victim, allows you to reposition an enemy around its huge base and then perform a bonus attack. The repositioning would have been good if it didn’t have a range of 1″… Its main use would be in case you cannot finish the enemy off and you need to move it far from an objective playing on the fact that your base is huge.
The Spider is also the most expensive Destruction monster but, despite its 55 wounds being higher than your average monster, does not have any oomph.
Dankhold Troggoth (375 points)
- Squiggly-beast Followers (Double): A good chance to allocate 1 damage to all enemies close-by.
- Troggoth Regrowth (Double): Heal up to 6 wounds.
- Crushing Grip (Triple): A chance to do up to 12 damage to an engaged enemy.
The Dankhold Troggoth also comes from the Gloomspite Gitz roster and represents the biggest Troggoths in the darkest caves.
It is a little bit squishier than your usual monster with 45 wounds (instead of 50) and only 3 attacks at Strength 5 for 4/8 damage (going down to 2/4). It is also slower but more consistent as its Movement starts at 5″ and goes down to 3″.
Its Troggoth Regrowth allows to heal back as much as the ability’s value that can be good in certain situations to go up a bracket.
Squiggly-beast Followers allows to roll a die for each enemy within 3″ (its base is much smaller than other monsters) and on a 2+ you allocate 1 damage (roll individually). If you have Doubles to waste it could be fun, but the damage output is so low that you most likely have better use for your Doubles (for example regenerating).
Finally Crushing Grip allows 2 damage on each 4+ to an engaged enemy, rolling as many dice as the ability’s value. For a Triple it’s an ok ability.
List of Destruction Thralls
- Horrific Stench (Reaction)
- When: During an enemy melee attack action but before hit rolls.
- What: Subtract 1 from the enemy Attack characteristic for that action (to a minimum of 1).
Fellwater Troggoth (175 points)
- Noxious Vomit (Triple): A chance to do D3 damage to any enemy within range.
- Troggoth Regrowth (Double): Heal up to 6 wounds.
The Fellwater Troggoth belongs to the Gloomspite Gitz roster and one of the few that did not get a re-sculpt. 28 wounds on Toughness 4 it’s a good profile for a Thrall, and continues with 3 attacks at Strength 5 for 2/5 damage. Destruction is not missing heavy hitters, but if you need one, this is an interesting option.
Its ability is particular because you roll the dice (as many as the ability’s value) and then you choose your target for D3 damage. It works on a 5+ but enables to distribute the damage to various enemies or focus all on a single one, your choice.
As all Troggoths for a Double can also heal up to 6 wounds.
Rockgut Troggoth (180 points)
- Troggoth Regrowth (Double): Heal up to 6 wounds.
The Rockgut Troggoth is another fighter from the Gloomspite Gitz roster. It has a similar profile as its cousin, the Fellwater, but Toughness 5 instead of 4 and is slightly more expensive. Its damage is higher with 3/6 and he is perfect to absorb some damage and stay in place.
As all Troggoth its ability allows to heal for a Double up to 6 wounds.
Wild Creatures and other Warcry profiles
Wild creatures are not fighters that you muster in your warband but some campaign or Twist cards may present you with the choice to include some random creatures in your game. Wild creatures do not belong to a player, and the campaign or battle will instruct how to use them but generally any player can decide to activate one instead of one of his fighters and roll a die. On a 3+ he can control that creature and perform the two activations as normal. On a 1 or 2, his opponent will instead activate that creature and the active player will lose his turn.
An example of this type of creatures comes from the Chotec Valley campaign that introduced Savage Seraphons.
Finally, you can play two special challenge battles using the favourite duardin slayer of all times: Gotrek Gurnisson. You can use him to kill monsters if you have Order warbands, or you can fight him if you belong to any other Grand Alliance. The rules to play Gotrek and these challenge battles are available in White Dwarf December 2019 (you can find it in the Warhammer Vault if you have a Warhammer+ subscription). Note that those rules have not been updated for the new edition, so we assume they are still valid.