The Wildercorps Hunters are the veteran scouts that warn the Dawnbringer crusades of any incoming danger. They are the ears and eyes of the cities of Sigmar and rely on close comradeship and their trusted hounds to survive in the most difficult environments in the Mortal Realms.
Background and Lore of the Wildercorps Hunters Warband
Life as infantry in the cities of Sigmar is a tough one, but there’s one that is even harder. The Wildercorps Hunters have a casualty rate between the highest of all Sigmar’s followers. Their life is tough, always at the forefront of all dangerous situations, working to find a path forward, avoiding hazards and engaging in skirmishes with the worst beasts in all Mortal Realms.
Often they are seen protecting the Dawnbringer Crusades as scouts performing reconnaissance missions in front of the main army. Their role is essential for the success of a crusade, and only a fool would deny their value.
They act with much more freedom compared to the other Freeguild regiments, and this creates attrition with the standing army but despite this, their opinion is highly sought after.
When they are not escorting a crusade or the army, they are sent to missions that require more tact than firepower. Could be to root out a potential hazard, or to gather intelligence, and is this that prompted the Wildercorps to reach the Gnarlwood.
When Tolemar, the outpost at the outskirts of the Gnarlwood, was ingested by the ravenous Mawpits, fissures in the terrain with teeth and tongues eager to eat anything falling their way, it was the Wildercorps’ duty to avenge the fall of the city and discover the truth behind their sudden apparition.
It is a task that will require extreme sacrifices, but the Wildercorps have already advanced deep in the woods and engaged the Ogor Gorgers that defend and feed these aberrations.
To join the Wildercorps is required extreme tenacity and strong willpower. Those scouts that manage to survive the first few battles will be known as Leatherhides from the colour of their sun-battered and battle-hardened skin. Their favourite weapons are crossbows (quieter than pistols) for long range and swords, spears and axes for more direct engagements.
When a particularly large opponent needs to be “taken care of”, the experienced Arbalesters use their weapon improved by duardin engineering to shoot ballista-type missiles to the target.
The most experienced of the Wildercorps can be assigned the role of leading scouting parties. This rank is far from being official, but Trailblazers are trusted advisors that survived long enough to have keen senses and great combat skills.
The leader of these warbands is the Warden, a man with a long experience who survived uncountable dangers including sickness, and physical and magical injuries. They are the toughest and have an almost telepathic relationship with their loyal hounds.
The Trailhounds are a crossbreed of the most ferocious canine from Ghur, the realm of the Beast, with Azyrite guard dogs. The result is one of the toughest animal in service of the Sigmarites, able to reduce to shreds their victim, obediently follow the orders of the Wildercorps and catch the smell of the danger before it occurs.
But how does a Wildercorps party hunts on the battlefield? Let’s find out.
Fighters in the Wildercorps Hunters Warband
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
The Wildercorps Hunters warband is made of 11 different fighters, of which 3 are the leaders.
Wildercorps Warden
- Wildercorps Warden with Grizzled Trailhound: 115 points
- Wildercorps Warden with Double-Bitted Axe: 115 points
- Wildercorps Warden with Hunting Crossbow: 120 points
The Wildercorps Warden is the Leader of the warband and has 3 different profiles characterised also by the use of different abilities. But the base profile is the same: 4″ movement, Toughness 3 and 20 wounds. Toughness and movement is the same across most of the warband.
The Double-Bitted Axe provides the highest potential damage output against average Toughness: 3 attacks at Strength 4 for 2/4 damage. On the other hand, the Hunting Crossbow gives access to 2 attacks at a 3-15″ range. They don’t hurt much (1/3) but they are at a safe distance that often helps when you have Toughness 3. The melee attack increases the minimum damage to 2, but most of the time you will want to use the ranged ones with this profile.
Both have access to the Double Hunter’s Eye, that can improve the damage by 1 on both hits and critical hits. That’s where the Axe really shines with 3/5 damage, but also a ranged attack for 2/4 is not bad.
The Wildercorps Hunter with Grizzled Trailhound, on the other hand provides more attacks (4) at less Strength (3) but a base damage of 2/3. Contrary to the others, this cannot be improved, however this fighter is the only one who can use the Triple Kill! that is situational and can be useful if you are pointing to fill the warband with many Trailhounds. Basically you allocate damage to any visible enemy fighter (no range check) based on the amount of hounds within 3″ of it. So if you have 2 hounds, that’s 6 damage, but if you manage to have more hounds in position, it can kill almost anything in the game.
How do you get the hounds in position? Well, the warband Quad allows a free move or disengage action to any Wildercorps Hunters unit within 6″ of the activating fighter. This means that, with accurate positioning and two activations, a Triple and a Quad, you could create the perfect combo. It may be an overstretch though…
The Wardens have also access to the warband reaction, for a free disengage action after being targeted (and hit) in melee. This becomes interesting if you want your fighter to survive a second round of attacks or reposition himself on an objective or away of other fighters’ reach.
Finally Wardens have access to the Double Hunting Pack that provides a free attack action to another friendly fighter (including dogs). The range is short (2″ for both the friendly and opponent unit) and is probably better to use it to provide a dog or the Leatherbite with Spear a free attack.
Trailblazer
- Trailblazer with Duelling Sabre: 90 points
- Trailblazer with Twin Crossbows: 90 points
The Trailblazer represent elite skirmisher, with the same base profile as the Warden but 12 wounds. They have 2 weapon loadouts, the Trailblazer with Duelling Sabre has 2 attacks at range 8″ (no minimum range) for 1/3 damage and 4 melee attacks for 2/4 damage, both with Strength 3.
The Trailblazer with Twin Crossbow, has only the ranged profile but 4 attacks instead of 2. Normally you would consider the melee profile more interesting, but their signature ability is the Triple Trailblazer’s Might that triggers critical hits on rolls of 5+. With Strength 3, those potential 8 attacks (2 actions) with critical hit damage of 3 for each 5 or 6 is probably better than relying on the axe that requires engagement with a fighter with Toughness 3. But either is a good option in the warband to increase the damage potential.
Arbalester: 175 points
The Arbalester is the long-range fighter, with up to 20″ distance for 4/8 damage. That is an impressive couple of shots (2 attacks at Strength 4) that can really one-shot weaker enemies or soften up the toughest guys. It comes with mobility sacrifice (only 3″ movement) but with that range, you can cover most of the field anyway. The melee profile is there for decoration at this point cost, so never engage.
Wildercorps Leatherhide
- Wildercorps Leatherhide with Hunting Crossbow: 100 points
- Wildercorps Leatherhide with Troggslayer Spear: 100 points
The Wildercorps Leatherhide are those scouts that are not novices anymore and have two weapon profiles. The Hunting Crossbow guarantees a 15″ range (minimum 3″) and both the ranged and melee profile have 2 attacks at Strength 3 for 1/3 damage.
The Troggslayer Spear instead has an interesting 2″ range (attack without being engaged), 3 attacks, Strength 4 and 2/4 damage. While they can both use the Double Hunting Pack, the best use is to trigger it with another fighter and have the Spear attack for free thanks to their 2″ range.
Both Leatherhide have access to Hunter’s Eye that for the mere cost of a Double, can increase by 1 the damage of both hits and critical hits. While the 15″ range attacks at 2/4 damage seem much nicer now, the 4 spear attacks per action at 3/5 damage are quite alluring.
Wildercorps Scout
- Wildercorps Scout with Hunting Crossbow: 75 points
- Wildercorps Scout with Paired Hatchets: 75 points
The Wildercorps Scouts are the starting rank in the warband. They have even less wounds (10) and 2 profiles as well both with ranged and melee options.
The Hunting Crossbow is the one with better range (3-15″) at the cost of less melee attacks (2). The Paired Hatchets have less range (8″), but more melee attacks (4). All attacks are Strength 3 for 1/3 damage.
They both have access to the warband reaction, the Double Hunting Pack and the Quad Regroup!.
Trailhound: 60 points
The Trailhound is the little star of the warband. The only one without a ranged profile, provides a 6″ movement and 2 attacks for 2/3 damage. The cheapest profile in the warband comes at the cost of only 6 wounds, but you can pack a lot of these hounds in the warband.
They even have their own ability that for a Double may cause an opponent to forfeit one of their actions. It is a gamble, as they have to hit and with 2 attacks at Strength 3, this is not guaranteed at all, but if it works can be an extreme nuisance.
They can also be used for other combos, like granting them a free attack if another close-by fighter uses the Double Hunting Pack or, if you work on this strategy, the Warden with Grizzled Trailhound’s Triple can do damage based on how many dogs there are within 3″ of his target.
Abilities for the Wildercorps Hunters Warband
- Death Grip (Double, Trailhound): If at least one hit in the next attack is successful, the targeted opponent forfeits an action in this battle round or receives 3 damage if they have no actions left.
- Hunting Pack (Double, all except Trailhound): Another friendly Wildercorps within 2″ can perform a bonus attack action.
- Hunter’s Eye (Double, Warden with Double-Bitted Axe, Warden with Crossbow and both Leatherhide): +1 damage on hits and critical hits of melee attacks.
- Trailblazer’s Might (Triple, all Trailblazers): Critical hits are scored with a roll of 5+.
- Kill! (Triple, Warden with Trailhound): Allocate damage points to an enemy equal to triple the amount of Trailhounds within 3″ of it.
- Regroup! (Quad, all except Trailhound): All other Wildercorps within 6″ can make a bonus move or a bonus disengage action.
Reaction for the Wildercorps Hunters Warband
Introduced in the new season of Warcry, Reactions are things that can be done in certain circumstances, but always during the enemy turn. They cost one action, so they can be used only by fighters that have not activated yet or are waiting. There are 3 universal reactions and one specific to each warband:
Smart Step Backwards (Everyone)
- When: After being allocated damage from a melee action.
- What: Perform a bonus disengage action.
Strategy and Tactics for the Wildercorps Hunters Warband
The Wildercorps Hunters is an interesting warband that will field many fighters (more elite rosters with less fighters are possible), mostly fragile but with some ranged potential even in the more melee focussed fighters.
4″ movement is average, but the Trailhounds can move up to 6″ allowing you to cover more territory, while the rest of the warband shoots from afar. In addition, the warband reaction allows a free disengage action after they have been attacked, that enables for example to avoid being hit twice by the same opponent, or to position yourself away from other fighters before activating.
The warband mobility is also further highlighted by the warband Quad that can be used by anyone except the dogs and allows a free bonus move or disengage action to all other fighters (including the dogs) within 6″ of the activating fighter. And the Double Hunting Pack can also be activated by everyone except the Trailhounds, to enable a free attack action to a nearby comrade. Note that while the range of action is quite small, it doesn’t need to be a melee attack. The way it’s worded means that the fighter that receives the free attack and the target of that attack have to be within 2″ of the fighter using the ability, theoretically providing a 4″ gap. Although, the most efficient way is to activate a Trailhound or a Leatherhide with Spear as they are the ones with the highest short range damage potential.
But it is the range that is the most significant perk in the warband with 3 profiles with 8″ and no minimum range, 3 profiles (including one leader) at 3-15″ range and then the Arbalester that has a 6-20″ but is also the heaviest hitter of the warband with 4/8 damage. The second two best weapon profiles are both melee: the Warden with Axe and the Leatherhide with Spear. They both can increase their damage output with a Double, but what makes them more appealing is Strength 4, against a warband fossilised with Strength 3.
This point (and their low Toughness with average wounds) is indeed the worst aspect of the warband. Expect to miss often, and to be hit even more frequently. Hence why the shooting attacks are important. You will compensate with the numbers, especially the Trailhounds that are cheap and yet efficient.
There’s a couple more abilities that are interesting to discuss, in particular the Trailblazers can both roll critical hits on a 5+ for a Triple. They both have a profile with 4 attacks meaning that you can really capitalize on this ability, especially on the ranged profile with the chance to do 3 damage each 5+ while rolling 8 dice (4 per activation) at 8″ range. The profile with Duelling Sabres becomes 4 damage per critical hit, but it needs to be in melee.
The Wardens have access to almost all abilities, the only one that differentiates from the group is the one with Grizzled Trailhound. He loses the Double that increases the damage for a Triple that does damage based on how many hounds are surrounding a specific enemy. It is situational, but it can be much more devastating as there is no dice roll and straight up damage. The problem of this combo is that it requires your dogs to survive long enough to get in position (you should be outnumbering your opponent, so it may not be unusual to be able to place yourself after they moved) and your Warden does not have a ranged profile meaning that he eventually needs to be up close, without the damage potential of the one with Axe.
For this reason our favourite is the Warden with Axe, even if the Warden with Crossbow guarantees more survivability, he would rely on the constant use of the Double to make a dent in an enemy defence, and with Strength 3 you are still not guaranteed to hit. From a Leader you need a bit more presence on the battlefield, especially because the Wardens don’t have any specific ability not available to other fighter (except the one with Trailhound) so you rely on an expensive profile to do something not just exist.
As a summary, this warband has great options with a good mix of mobility, numbers and abilities, with a ranged arsenal to not underestimate, but suffers from overall low Strength and Toughness. It’s definitely a good warband for a beginner, and if you get two of these boxes, you can have a bit more customization and try even more elite builds with 2 Arbalester and both Trailblazers.
Pros and Cons of the Wildercorps Hunters Warband
Pros:
+ Many ranged options
+ A good mix of mobility, number of activations and abilities
Cons:
– Low Toughness
– Low Strength
Some thematic warbands for the Wildercorps Hunters
Just for fun here we present few thematic warbands, meant more for fun or narrative context than for competitive play. Note that in narrative play you need to complete a quest that allows you to recruit a Hero before being able to add him to your roster.
Out of the box: 1 Wildercorps with Double-Bitted Axe, 1 Trailblazer with Twin Crossbow, 1 Arbalester, 1 Leatherhide with Crossbow, 1 Leatherhide with Spear, 1 Scout with Crossbow, 1 Scout with Paired Hatchets, 4 Trailhounds.
How to buy a Wildercorps Hunters Warband
At the moment the warband is available only in the box set Hunter and the Hunted, but it should be soon released individually.
The sprues inside allow to build:
- 1 Wildercorps Warden (with either weapon option)
- 1 Trailblazer (with either weapon option)
- 2 Wildercorps Leatherhide (with either weapon option)
- 2 Wildercorps Scouts (with either weapon option)
- 1 Arbalester
- 4 Trailhounds
Tips on painting a Wildercorps Hunters Warband for Warcry
The Wildercorps Hunters belong to the updated range of Cities of Sigmar, however they do have textures and colours different from the main army so you can paint them however you prefer. Games Workshop so far has released only a video to provide inspiration for various hound furs. Warhipster, however, is at the rescue with a complete video on how to paint the humans scout as well, mostly with contrast paints.