Havoc Warriors Skirmish Tactics

Havoc Warriors

Setting:	Age of Fantasy
Games:	Age of Fantasy, Age of Fantasy: Skirmish, Age of Fantasy: Regiments
Species:	Human
Version:	v2.50

Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.

Why Play Havoc Warriors

More than any other army, the Havoc Warriors are incredibly spoiled for choice when building armies. Between the massive list of units available to the core army and the units available to the various disciples, you can easily build any sort of army you want. That said, your armies are going to be split between the disposable chaff and the costly but mighty warriors.

Pros:

Lots of variety in choices
Disciples gives you specialization

Cons:

Shooting is at a minimum
Your strong warriors are plenty costly

Army Special Rules

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Wizard Spells

Horrify (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes -1 to hit with shooting. Vital for protecting your troops from heavy weaponry of any kind.
Barbed Spikes (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes 2 AP 2 hits.
Dark Chains (5+): An enemy unit within 18" that attempts a charge loses 6" to their charge distance next time they charge. Note that this won't save anyone from a charge if they're too close, but it will prevent any long-range gambits.
Impale (5+): One enemy model within 12" takes a single AP 3 hit. Pretty much all you can ask for when sniping a hero or heavy weapon.
Havoc Speed (6+): One friendly unit within 12" can immediately move 6". This gives you a desperate escape button or possibly an easier charge.
Thorn Field (6+): Two enemy units within 6" take 8 hits each, making this hell for mobs of grunts.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Havoc Lord: Unless you're picking a more specialized loadout, you'll absolutely be wanting to bring one of these guys. He is your strongest hero and his basic weapon provides him with a nice AP 1. If you're looking for mobility, your only option is the horse. There's no shame going there, your knights are just as scary as you.
- Weapons: His melee options are pretty basic fare for pretty cheap: Paired weapons for even more swings (But for some reason, he loses out on AP), spear for Phalanx, great weapon for AP 2 and Halberd for Rending makes him pretty well-rounded for options.

Sorcerer: Unlike most armies, your sorcerer is actually capable of fighting hand-to-hand with a 3+ to both quality and defense. That said, their melee options are still lacking with only a hand weapon. Your casting remains your most potent option. If you're looking for mobility, you can buy a horse, granting a spare attack.

Barbarian Lord: Your budget Havoc Lord. You've got all the same options, but you've got a weaker hero. If you plan on outnumbering your opponent, this will likely be your hero of choice.

Infantry

Fury: While they are flimsy as paper, This thing can fly for mobility. They'll usually be the first to attack a certain unattended unit.

Barbarians: Your cheapest goons, but they pay for it by being flimsy and numerous. They're essentially the same as a basic infantry squad, command group and all.

Warrior: Your elite warrior absolutely pays for it, with a 3+ quality and defense making them a tough nut, while their attacks are twice that of the barbarians. The Warriors are the anchors for your army and the ideal escorts for your footslogging lord. If you buy Chosen Veteran, you can boost their melee prowess even further.

Mutated Warrior: Weaker warrior, but you get Fearless and Mutations, a special rule that gives them a various perk each round in meleee (+1 AP, another attack or -1 to get hit). Compared to the base warrior, they have a chance at being equals, but the randomness offsets it enough to make their costs equal.

Havoc Ogre: The huge wall of meat. Each of them has Tough 3 so they can soak up plenty of blows, and you can buy them either dual weapons to make them a flurry of swings or a great weapon so they can punch as hard as they can tank.

Havoc Troll: In exchange for weaker defense, the trolls get AP 1 on their attacks and Regen, giving them a chance to be even tankier. That said, their only option is to buy paired weapons.

Drake-Centaur: The biggest bruiser. Not only do they have the statline of a warrior, but also a troll's weapons and Impact 1 for a perk when charging. They fortunately get more weapon options.

Havoc Hound: Your hunters. Fast and Strider make it so that these hounds can easily pursue whatever they're hunting down. You can buy Scout for them, making the chance for an alpha strike even more likely, while Poison helps pile on hits when you trigger it.

Cavalry

Barbarian Horseman: The appeal of light cavalry is quite easy to notice, especially when you notice that they are your sole option for shooting. That said, this shooting is pretty short-ranged and falls flat against armor.

Havoc Knight: Havoc Knights aren't nearly as versatile as the Barbarian Horsemen, but when they're the big walls of armor there's not much need for anything else. Their only option is to grab a lance so you can stack on the Impact hits.

Daemonic Guard Knights: Take that Havoc Knight and throw them on a monstrous daemon horse that adds more wounds and Impact hits on top of a spare set of attacks with a valuable AP 1. The man himself gets a constant AP 1 on their weapon options so they can mulch blobs of infantry.

Disciples

Disciples of War

The Disciples of War are blunt with their passion and their passion is chopping things to bits. You can now buy Furious for all your units for fairly cheap, which is just as well because all of them benefit from it.

Units

Lord of War: An angry havoc lord with Furious stock. That said, he is the absolute slowest model, losing on any mount options. To supplement their attacks, you can also buy a Hound Companion for a couple extra attacks. For support, you can grab Blessing of War, giving friendly units a +1 to hit in melee.

Blood-Icon Bearer: Essentially a Lord of War who trades in all his options for his Blood-Icon. This Icon grants him and nearby units an extra attack. If given to the right troops, you can expect infantry to essentially become bumps on the road.

Gore Reaver: Barbarian with Furious and dual wield, making them plenty dangerous. If you're looking for more punch, you can change that weapon off for a great weapon for AP2 and Rending at no cost.

Gore Warrior: Warrior with Furious and dual wielding, though they get no more attacks from that. They fortunately get a free Great Weapon

Death-Reapers: Gore Warriors who lose a point of Defense to Tough 3 and Rending. Again, you can grab great weapons at no cost, but if you spend 10 points you can swap off one of those hand weapons for spiked knuckles so you can grab some Rending and pop any Regeneration. These guys are going to be the ones you count on to act as a meat-wall if you don't want to grab ogres.

Death-Mongers: See those Death-Reapers? You can instead grab these guys it you're looking to thin herds. Their flail hammers give you extra attacks at AP 1. All you really lack is the option for a command group.

Disciples of Change

The Disciples of Change are all slightly better protected by the universal application of Stealth. That said, upgrading your base units isn't very affordable, as the prices ramp up pretty high for units with high Tough values and big units.

Magic Spells

Hex Blades (4+): Friendly unit within 12" can now charge 3", giving you the means to control the flow of battle a bit.
Blaze (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 2 AP 2 hits. Somewhat equivalent to havoc blast, though it hits the entire unit.
Steal Power (5+): Enemy unit within 18" takes -1 to hit, which can help since you have more squishy models.
Firestorm (5+): Enemy unit within 12" must take a dangerous terrain test.
Loyalty (6+): Friendly units within 12" gain a Regeneration save that passes on a 4+, a great save.
Change Bolt (6+): Enemy unit within 12" take an AP 4 hit with Deadly 3. Rest assured that whoever you target, they will DIE.

Units

Lord of Change: Your basic Havoc Lord with Stealth. Their exclusive mount is the Disc of Change, which essentially gives you a horse with Strider. They can buy Blessing of Change, which grants nearby friends an additional -1 to hit rolls by enemies beyond 18", giving you better protection against artillery and gunlines.

Birdman Shaman: A barbarian champion with Wizard. They're fortunate to have a weapon with AP 1, but they're better inclined to stay at the rear of a unit. You can also buy a Disc of Change, which can be plenty helpful for keeping him out of trouble.

Acolytes: Even weaker than barbarians, but these guys have stealth and give you some much sought-after shooting. Not only can each model be equipped with either magic bolts or magic dark bolts (The difference is the range with the dark bolts going 18"), but you can also buy a vulture so you can add an additional two shots with Sniper and kill a pesky model.

Birdman: Your barbarian with Stealth. That said, their only weapon options are dual wielding for any models and a great weapon for one guy if you want to pop some tougher units.

Birdman Disc Rider: Putting the birdmen on horses with Strider actually gives you quite a bit of freedom to approach enemies. If you grab a lance, you can rely a bit more on your charges, while buying the Bow of Fate give you some long-ranged firepower with Rending. And because you have Strider, you can shoot and then flee behind some terrain!

Disciples of Plague

The Disciples of Plague are a thematic opposite to the Disciples of Change. Where one focuses on avoiding getting hit at all with Stealth spam, Plague focuses on taking all blows with Regeneration. This does come at a cost however, as Regeneration makes all units that take it very expensive

Magic Spells

Abundance (4+): Friendly unit within 12" gets stealth the next time they get shot at. Now you have protection before AND after you get shot.
Corruption (4+): Enemy unit within 6" must take dangerous terrain test.
Putrefaction (5+): Friendly unit within 12" gets +2 to the AP of all melee weapons for the next fight phase, making them super dangerous on heavy armor.
Visitations (5+): Enemy unit within 12" takes an AP 4 hit with Deadly 3, making it a big sniping power.
Pestilence (6+): Friendly unit within 12" immediately moves 6". Pretty much Havoc Speed.
Plague Curse (6+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 4 AP 2 hits, making this better for most small units.

Units

Lord of Plague: Your Havoc Lord with Regeneration, but this comes at the cost of also being confined to the fate of a footslogger. Your unique rule available is Blessing of Plague, which gives your unit a +1 to Regeneration. This is a bit inconvenient, as it's uncertain if this can actually grant Regen and you might be forced to either buy it if you don't go for your exclusive units.

Rotten Sorcerer: Your Sorcerer with Regeneration. As with the lord, you also are forced to footslogging without any mounts. That said, you can make him a decent threat in combat with the right spells.

Plague King: Big bloated bloke with Tough 3. Though their weapon selection is lacking, the fact that they have Regen makes them a good bit tougher than ogres on top of having the potent 3+ to quality and defense.

Disciples of Excess

Going for Lust is going for speed. All of your units are getting Fast, so you're getting the chance to reach the enemy immediately. That said, the higher the unit's quality the higher it's going to cost you. There's also Lust Speed, Fast's even more extreme iteration, which you can give to any Fast units, but it's also going to cost you and scales by Quality.

Special Rules

Lust Speed: Fast +1. Not only are is your unit Fast, but you also add +3" to their move distance and +6" to their rush/charge distance.

Psychic Spells

Acquiescence (4+): Enemy unit within 12" suffers -1 to shoot on their next turn. Important since you're only protected by a mere 2+ save for the most part.
Magical Lash (4+): Enemy unit (range indeterminate) takes an AP 2 Deadly 3 hit. Another psychic sniping spell.
Phantasm (5+): Friendly unit within 12" gets Regeneration whenever they suffer wounds next. Awesome.
Lust Choir (5+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 3 AP 2 hits. Not much, but it can soften up a bigger unit.
Ecstasy (6+): Friendly unit within 12" immediately charges 6" and gets +1 to hit them that turn. Most spells just settle for moving you into combat, but this makes sure the charge actually takes.
Shards (6+): Enemy unit within 6" take a single wound for each model, making it way deadlier for hordes.

Units

Lord of Excess: Your Fast Havoc Lord. Aside from the weapons, you also get the Blessing of Lust, which bolsters his speed a little further by gifting nearby friends +3" to advance distances and +6" to Rush/Charge distances. Your exclusive mount, the Lust Beast, also gives these speed boosts, but won't confer them elsewhere. This is especially an issue if you want this guy accompanied because you'll need to buy both the steed AND either Blessing of Lust or Lust Speed for the Knights so they can keep up.

Masked Sorcerer: Your sprinting sorcerer. As with the lord, you have a Lust Steed for more speed, but you're going to suffer by going too fast unless you buy Lust Speed for the retinue.

Agony Warrior: A barbarian who sacrifices a point of defense for Fast and dual wielding. That said, they also have Musical Bliss, which effectively gives them Stealth when in melee. As they have nothing else going for them, this can make for a decent set of meatshields who can throw out plenty of blows.

Endless Warrior: Also a barbarian with less defense, but they instead get a ranged attack and spear, making them best for charge deterrents.

Pain Warrior: More akin to the havoc warrior than the barbarian, this guy gets 3+ defense and A2 Rending attacks to give a decent chance to punch armor, but those attacks are hurt by a 4+ quality.

Twin Warrior: A Pain Warrior that trades in Rending for a second weapon. This guy also gets the Twin Souls power, which allows them to switch between a +1 to hit rolls (making them on tier with base havoc warriors) or a -1 to hit rolls against them (making them tankier) each turn when in melee.

Blissful Archer: Essentially an Agony Warrior that picked up a good bow. This gives you some much-needed shooting, and Rending is something even the Acolytes of the Change Disciples lack.

Blissful Beast Rider: Your archer is on a steed that makes them even FASTER! Yes, Lust Speed isn't the end-all be-all on fast! These Riders move 12" normally and run/charge 24", making them perhaps THE alpha unit, capable of charging at turn turn 1 in a small enough map! Also helpful is that you can instead turn them into lance cavalry, making use of their Impact and maintain Rending.

Lust Fiend Brute: Your slowest unit in a hyper-fast army, but you're paying for it by some genuinely fierce attacks with Furious and AP 2 to rip apart most enemies. However, a 4+ defense does mean that they aren't the best defended.

Havoc Warriors Skirmish Tactics

Contents

Why Play Havoc Warriors

Army Special Rules

Wizard Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry

Cavalry

Disciples

Disciples of War

Units

Disciples of Change

Magic Spells

Units

Disciples of Plague

Magic Spells

Units

Disciples of Excess

Special Rules

Psychic Spells

Units

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

Navigation menu

Havoc Warriors Skirmish Tactics

Why Play Havoc Warriors

Army Special Rules

Wizard Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry

Cavalry

Disciples

Disciples of War

Units

Disciples of Change

Magic Spells

Units

Disciples of Plague

Magic Spells

Units

Disciples of Excess

Special Rules

Psychic Spells

Units

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

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