Rules Focus: Prince Kaelith, the Exiled Heir
The Kazyr Skirmish Pack lineup is complete, but we're far from finished! Four additional units are joining the faction for its initial release, and over the coming days, we'll take a closer look at each of them in our Rules Focus series. And we're starting with royalty.
Meet Prince Kaelith, the Exiled Heir. At a whopping 32 points, Kaelith is currently the most expensive model in Shroudfall. And looking at the heavily armoured prince riding into battle atop his fearsome Drakespawn, you might begin to understand why.
As an Essence Weaver, Kaelith combines powerful support abilities with serious offensive potential. He can turn fellow warriors into formidable threats, lead devastating charges and take quite a beating himself. But with that kind of investment, you'll want him to do more than just look impressive on the battlefield. So, what exactly do you get for 32 points?
A prince and his chosen warriors
Let's start with Kaelith's Leadership ability: Prince of the Unchosen. At the beginning of each game round, Kaelith may choose a friendly non-Essence Weaver unit and grant it a considerable boost until the end of the round. The chosen unit increases its MOV to the next higher value, gains +1 DEF and +1 ARM, and receives +1 to its melee and ranged hit and damage rolls. That's quite the royal treatment.
Need a unit to reach an objective? The additional movement might make the difference. Want to send your Flareborn Skirmishers into a dangerous engagement? The improved defence and armour will help them survive, while the offensive bonuses make their attacks more threatening. Or perhaps you have an Emberwrought Tyrant that's just waiting for an excuse to hit something even harder.
But Kaelith's Leadership doesn't stop there. Friendly Kazyr models within 2" of a friendly Cinder also gain Bulwark, adding another defensive benefit to the Kazyr's Cinder network. And unlike the first part of his Leadership, this benefit isn't limited to a single chosen unit.
Heavy cavalry. Very heavy cavalry.
With MOV S, Kaelith might not look particularly fast at first glance. But appearances can be deceiving. His Heavy Cavalry ability allows him to make an S MOV at the beginning of his activation, provided he isn't already engaged in melee.
And if that still isn't enough, there's Trailblaze. By consuming a friendly Cinder within 2", Kaelith can immediately make a move action followed by an attack action. Combine these abilities, and the prince can cover a surprising amount of ground before introducing someone to Kingsbrand.
But Kaelith doesn't just excel at launching attacks. He's also quite capable of punishing enemies who get too close. Countercharge allows him to react when an enemy model ends a move within 4", provided Kaelith isn't already engaged in melee. He may immediately make an S MOV towards that enemy, followed by a melee attack targeting it. That's a potentially unpleasant surprise for an opponent trying to approach him.
Two weapons. One very hungry mount.
Kaelith's primary melee weapon, Kingsbrand, delivers a powerful attack with a red die and three yellow dice. But his Drakespawn isn't just there to provide transportation. The Drakespawn Maw offers another melee attack with four yellow dice. It suffers from Inaccurate, imposing a -2 penalty on its hit rolls, but that doesn't mean it should be underestimated. Especially when you consider the reactive essence ability Well Fed, which allows Kaelith to regain hitpoints when an enemy unit is destroyed in melee.
With DEF 5 and ARM 7, Kaelith already has the durability to withstand quite a bit of punishment. The ability to recover damage makes him even more difficult to bring down.
Bringing the heat
As you might expect from a Kazyr prince riding a fire-breathing creature, Kaelith also has a ranged option. His Flame Breath attack has a range of B4 and can apply the Burning condition to the entire unit of an enemy model it hits. That makes it particularly interesting against multi-model units, where a single successful hit can have consequences for several enemies.
And the passive ability Gunblade allows him to freely use both his melee and ranged attacks in the same activation, allowing him to have truly devastating activations under the right circumstances.
A savage presence
We've talked quite a bit about Kaelith's own offensive potential, but there's another ability that makes him a particularly interesting Essence weaver: Savage Presence.
For the cost of one yellow and one red Essence, Kaelith can infuse the melee damage rolls of friendly models within 6" with an additional yellow die until his next activation. That's a significant offensive boost, particularly when several friendly units are positioned to benefit from it. Imagine Kaelith advancing alongside Flareborn Skirmishers or an Emberwrought Tyrant. With the right positioning, he can turn an already dangerous melee engagement into something considerably more unpleasant for your opponent.
And there's one final trick up the prince's sleeve. Kaelith has Claim Ground (2) himself and can also grant the same ability to another friendly unit within 6" until the end of the game round. This makes him useful not just for dealing damage, but also for contesting objectives and supporting your army's scenario game.
The prince takes the field
Prince Kaelith brings a distinctive playstyle to the Kazyr. Where Zyrena encourages a controlled approach built around retaliation, Kaelith combines powerful support abilities with the durability and offensive presence of heavy cavalry.
His Leadership can turn a friendly unit into a formidable threat, while Heavy Cavalry, Trailblaze and Countercharge give him surprising mobility. And with Savage Presence and Claim Ground, he can support both your offensive plans and your efforts to control objectives.
At 32 points, he's a considerable investment. But with the right army around him, Kaelith offers plenty of ways to make those points count. Just remember that the prince and his Drakespawn work best when they're part of a coordinated assault rather than charging off on their own. Although we suspect convincing the Drakespawn of that might be easier said than done ...
