Ossified Undead Tactics
| Ossified Undead | ||
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| Setting: | Age of Fantasy | |
| Games: | Age of Fantasy, Age of Fantasy: Skirmish, Age of Fantasy: Regiments | |
| Species: | Undead | |
| Version: | v2.50 | |
Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.
Why Play Ossified Undead
The Ossified Undead are an unrelenting tide of deathless iron.
Pros:
- Ossified reduces the impact of AP.
- Undead negates many of the issues with Morale
- Some pretty strong quality values for your army
Cons:
- Very narrow unit selection
- (Almost) Your entire army is Slow
- Shooting is near-nonexistent
Army Special Rules
- Arcane Power: This model may block spells as if it were a Wizard. If it already is a Wizard then it gets +2 to spell block rolls.
- Artisan of Shards: Any attached unit get the Regeneration special rule.
- Eternal Duty: Any attached unit get the Fearless and Furious special rules.
- Harvest Bones: Once per activation, pick one friendly unit within 6”, which gets Regeneration next time it takes wounds.
- Ossified: Attacks targeting this model reduce their AP value by 1, to a minimum of AP(0). While ineffective against hordes of basic Hand Weapons, it will make things like Great Weapons less powerful.
- Swift: This model may ignore the Slow rule. Unlike Unstoppable, this is only given to the model who buys it.
- Undead: Whenever this unit takes a morale test, it is passed automatically. Then, roll as many dice as remaining models/tough in the unit, and for each result of 1-2 the unit takes one wound, which can’t be regenerated.
- Unstoppable: Any attached unit may ignore the Slow rule.
- War Aspect: When this model fights in melee, they randomly get either Rending or AP(+1)
Wizard Spells
- Enslave (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes -1 to hit in melee. No better way to keep your bony boys unharmed than making them unable to get hurt.
- Undermine (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes 2 AP 2 hits.
- Command (5+): One friendly unit within 12" can immediately move 6". The fact that your army is Slow just proves how invaluable this spell is.
- Deadly Contract (5+): One enemy model within 12" takes 4 hits. While they lack AP, it's a good way to at least dent a hero or brute.
- Deception (6+): Two enemy units within 6" take 6 AP 1 hits each. Way stronger than most spells like this and still able to flatten mobs.
- Drain (6+): Enemy unit within 18" takes -2 to hit in shooting. Considering how easily your army can get caught in the open, that -2 is incredibly powerful.
Unit Analysis
Heroes
- Herald of Death: Your premier hero, gifted with Poison as well as War Aspect to guarantee some measure of AP. That said, it is merely a 4+ for quality and defense, which might see it suffer a bit against dedicated beatsticks.
- Melee: As mentioned above, every weapon the Herald uses has Poison, including its default Hand Weapon. If you are looking for something more, you can go for a Lance for Impact on the charge, a halberd for Rending, a Spear for Phalanx support, a Great Weapon for a guaranteed AP(2) or Dual Hand Weapons for more attacks.
- Buffs: Spell Reaper provides Arcane Power, allowing the Herald to block spells without needing to cast. Lord of Bones offers Eternal Duty, improving the effectiveness of any offensive unit. High Liege gives Unstoppable, offering a very powerful speed boost for your retinue.
- Mounts: Note that whatever you pick, you get Swift, which counteracts the Herald's crippling slowness. The Skeletal Steed is your budget choice, granting Impact to make charges appealing. The Great Steed is the beefed-up version with Impact(3) and adds +3 to the lord's Tough value, but more than doubles the price.
- Bone Master: A budget hero, costing only 25 points over the Herald of Death's 40. While capable of buying all the same weapons sans Poison, their upgrades are vastly different.
- Buffs: Taking a Trophy Banner is a simple addition for Fear, a bit of a buffer for units that lack a Command Group. Soul Master grants them access to Wizard and the spells available to the army. Lord of Bones gives Eternal Duty, making it incredibly powerful for an offensive squad. Bone Shaper gives Artisan of Shards, providing some additional protection for a squad.
- Mounts: Like the Herald of Death, you can also buy a Skeletal Steed for the Bone Master, boosting its speed to normal with Swift. However, you could instead buy a Bone Throne, improving its Tough rating and granting Arcane Power so you can shut down enemy wizards.
Infantry & Cavalry
- Guardians: Your basic troops are quite powerful, with a 4+ to quality and defense on top of everything else. Poison gives them a decent amount of offensive power, but you can also provide either Halberds or Spears depending on how you want to position them and one can grab a Great Weapon to rip through armored foes.
- Death Riders: Guardians on horseback, meaning that they're moving at normal speed with Impact. This comes at a rather sizeable price hike, especially since you only get five of them. If you plan on riding hard into the Impact life, then the Lances are your only option.
- Stalkers: Even crazier melee nuts, each one carrying AP(1) Quad Blades and War Aspect to improve their AP game. This makes them more potent in melee (especially if you give one of them Dual Falchions for a default AP(2) before factoring in War Aspect), but they remain just as vulnerable, if not more so, than the mere Guardians. That said, there are no fiercer beatsticks than these, benefiting incredibly from the power of a hero's Eternal Duty.
- Immortals: The elite of the elite, carrying a 3+ to quality and defense as well as a Halberd for a powerful melee weapon out the box. Though they're still Slow, they have a very powerful combination of a 3+ defense, Tough(3), Regeneration and Ossified to make them very difficult to remove.
- Skeleton Horrors: Monstrous airborne Immortals with Halberds for AP(1). Though lacking Ambush, they remain fast in a normally sluggish army and Flying allow them to cross plenty of obstacles without issue. If you're interested in improving their combat effectiveness, you can pick up Dual Hand Weapons for the squad, doubling their attack output.
Monsters
- Harvester Beast: A literal flurry of attacks with an incredibly vital purpose: These guys share Regeneration with nearby units while also benefiting from it. This alone can make them a powerful addition, as they can reinforce your troops to tank even more abuse. If you plan on fighting other monsters, then the Mace Arms can make its attacks more impactful for a few less attacks. You can also buy Spew Death, granting a Breath Attack to handle more crowds.
Artillery
- Crawler Catapult: Your singular piece of artillery, thankfully mobile but Slow. Thankfully, it has outstanding range and gives you some much-needed crowd control with a rapid-fire Poison hit. If you're more worried about monsters and tanks, you could instead buy a Dread Cauldron, granting AP(2) and Deadly(6) to demolish the heavyweights.
List Building & Tactics
General Advice
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Tactics
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See Also
| Ossified Undead |
|---|
| Overview - Tactics - Skirmish Tactics - Miniatures - Quickplay Armies - Skirmish Quickplay Armies |
| Age of Fantasy tactics |
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| Beastmen - Chivalrous Kingdoms - Dark Elves - Deep-Sea Elves - Duchies of Vinci - Dwarves - Eternal Wardens Ghostly Undead - Giant Tribes - Goblins - Halflings - Havoc Dwarves - Havoc Warriors - High Elves Human Empire - Kingdom of Angels - Mummified Undead - Ogres - Orcs - Ossified Undead - Ratmen Rift Daemons - Saurians - Shadow Stalkers - Sky-City Dwarves - Vampiric Undead - Volcanic Dwarves - Wood Elves |