Frostwings revisited:
When we last spoke of the Aerosa we discussed their ability to negate magic, have a durable missile unit that is capable of multitudes of damage while also having a fast melee option. However, with the new edition of 4.01 the Frostwings now are able to use ID-icon results for your magic negation rolls. Also do not forget that with the new rules you can gain DUA equivalent units for each deadlands you bring per 24 health-worth, rounded up, that you and your opponent decide on. Which means you can, in a 36-point game get up to 4 units during the first turn.
So as per my Bios let us look at The Aerosa now.
Species Abilities:
Magic Negation: for every 5 units in your DUA per dragon you bring you may make a roll at the same time your opponent rolls for Magic, the opponent then deducts the amount of Magic results that you roll, up to the max stated above, from their results. It’s a harassment tool and it encourages you to bring a wide variety of rarities in your army. However, it can pay off in the late game by stopping a critical Magic roll.
Fields of Ice: this racial spell targets a terrain and deducts 4 (stacking) Maneuvers from any Maneuver roll there. It also shifts the Balance to the counter Maneuvering player for ties.
Fly: Nearly all, save cavalry, have flight. This may not see like much but it makes running massive blocks of Frostwings very appealing. Each of these creatures have around a 33% chance of saves. Also the fly icon gives SAI results, counted after most operations but before multiplication, which will also bypass your own negative spells like Fields of Ice.
Magic Drain: when this spell is used it negates 2(stacking) Magic results from the target army’s next Magic roll. While it isn’t ‘cantripable,’ it can be of great use in forcing your opponent to miss out on buffing another army with Magic before marching with them. A few cases of the along with a good mage presence could coax the opposing player to not cast spells at all that turn.
Frostwings only have heavy Melee troops:
Vindicator (Large: 3 Health: 4 smite, 3 Save, 4 fly, 2 Melee, 3 Melee)
Defender: (Medium: 2 Health: 4 Melee, 2 Maneuver, 2 fly, 3 Melee, 1 Melee)
Advocate: (Small: 1 Health: 2 Melee, 1 Maneuver, 1 fly, 1 Melee, 1 Melee)
These Heavy Melees have a lot of 50% chances, the Defender and Advocate, have great Maneuverability, while the Vindicator has lots of Melee and good Save faces. Using 4 Advocates, 2 Defenders, and 2 Vindicators you have 14 points of Fast, durable Melee and a great horde army.
Heavy Missile:
Devastator: (Large: 3 Health: 4 bullseye, 2 Save, 3 fly, 3 Missile, 4 Missile)
Dispatcher: (Medium: 2 Health: 4 Missile, 2 Save, 2 fly, 1 Melee, 3 Missile)
Destroyer: (Small: 1 Health: 2 Missile, 1 Save, 1 fly, 1 Melee, 1 Missile)
Usually the bulk of any Frostwings force, the Heavy Missile units favor both Saves and Missile results. They could be called jacks of all trades dice due to the single Melee face. But really, they just like to take a hit and toss ice darts at foes.
Light Missile:
Assailer: (Large: 3 Health: 4 volley, 3 Melee, 4 fly, 3 Missile, 2 Missile)
Assaulter: (Medium: 2 Health: 3 Missile, 2 Melee, 2 fly, 2 Missile, 3 Missile)
Attacker: (Small: 1 Health 2 Missile, 1 Melee, 1 fly, 1 Missile, 1 Missile
Light Missile are more consistent for Missile results and will serve as the prominent middle range firepower in a Missile based force. They don’t have the potential for as many results as their Heavy counterparts, but they will have a better chance of launching a Missile assault when they need to.
Calvary:
Bear master: (Large: 4 rend, 2 Melee, 4 Save, 3 Maneuver, 3 Melee)
Wolf master: (Medium: 3 Maneuver, 2 Missile, 2 Save, 3 Melee, 2 Maneuver)
Houndmaster: (Small: 2 Maneuver, 1 Missile, 1 Save, 1 Melee, 1 Maneuver)
Calvary are the true jacks of all trades units for Frostwings. They are great at Maneuvers but can be unpredictable in other areas, you may wish to supplement a heavy Melee force with these guys to cover distance quickly, while the Melee blends through the opposition.
Magic:
Magi: (Large: 4 cantrip, 2 Missile,4 fly, 2 Magic, 4 Magic)
Magus: (Medium: 3 Magic, 3 Missile, 3 fly, 1 Magic, 2 Magic)
Apprentice: (Small: 2 Magic, 1 Missile, 1 fly, 1 Melee, 1 Magic)
The use of cantrip to cast Hailstorm and palsy can help on occasion, but it is very situational. The Mages of the Aerosa have very unreliable magic result faces. However, your ability to negate magic will certainly help your mages keep the magic counts even if not in your favor.
Terrains:
Frostwings favor any terrain with air and lots of Missile faces. Coastlands (tower or city depending on your build) are a must for this army’s home terrain. On another hand though the race also benefits from getting into Melee or Magic combat. So instead of looking at the colors of the die let’s look at the placement of icons. A grove is quite nice for a Magic and Melee build having only 1 Missile face but in order to keep it you must forfeit going first. On the other hand with a good mage presence you should be able to keep your opponent at bay during the first Magic roll of the game.
Minor terrains:
Bringing the right minor terrains is essential for Dragon Dice. They can help you achieve your species abilities and maintain a better position should you find yourself at a stubborn range. For Frostwings I suggest bringing 2 deadlands to jump-start your Magic Negation if you brought mages, a coastlands minor, and a flatland minor. Each can be found on most of the lands your opponent ‘could’ be fielding.
TACTICS!
Aerosa can strike hard from multiple terrains on the same target for consistent results. They are also very capable of doing well at any range. If you choose to go missile, I suggest heavy missile. They may have only a 50% contribution chance they will be more useful when the army is targeted by spells and attacks. Devastators and Assailers are equal in their ability to deal damage and can do wonders when working together or leading other units. Remember while you may feel slow, if you bring a horde of small and medium units you will usually get a huge maneuverability boost because of Fly and you can use them to follow up from a magic action to really hammer home the point that your opponent should try to maneuver against you.
For magic ability I suggest around seven to nine magus if you can. They are the most consistent magic-oriented units and can generally be a pain to your opponent as well as a constant source of dragonkin, dragons, and spells to keep your force running. They also, like most of your force, have Fly.
Multi special forces:
If you are looking for tough and durable missile force you can count on the Aerosa Heavy Missile to get the job done. They support undead by sharing a color and giving some much needed missile and even some maneuvers if you want to supplement their heavy attackers with defenders for a good bit of melee maneuverability.
On the other side of things the Lava Elves give some versatility to your apprentices in the form of necromantic wave. Just keep a reserve army of about six health-worth of Morhel mages and let the Frostwings go to work. Don’t forget that if they Morhel need to take the field they can have cursed bullets on their missile results with deadlands in play or dead Lava Elves in the DUA. Both Species are very versatile when used property.
I hope this new look at one of my favorite races gets you excited to get the hype train going for more Frostwings action. Till then keep safe and keep rolling to victory.
