Cloudy with a Chance of Furballs – Clouded Review

The Clouded are here! These very good kitty-cats of the forest have left their lazy spot in the sun to come play with the wood elves and their tasty opponents. They are extremely thematic, have a great profile, and fantastic sculpts. Let’s get into it!

The Clouded are our first large base unit, have Preferred Terrain (Rugged/Forest), Nemorous, and surprisingly but wonderfully also Scout. Thanks to their 4 stride base, their 3-3 move is really 14 strides long, and their charge is 16 strides.

Fast cats are fast

Their offensive roll is lacklustre without the stress modifier, but the plink damage from the hollow switch is nice, as is vulnerable. At MOR 2 they are not going to be able to sustain the offensive by themselves. These cavalry are not like Wargs or Black Angels, instead, like most big cats, the Clouded are ambush predators. They rely on stealth and patience to take on their prey. Surprisingly, they also seem well suited for team-work, as their reliance on the stress modifier for actual damage means they are only getting one real attack off per round, so they will need a buddy to gang up with. They also would like the stress modifier on their defence roll, so these appear to be thematically lazy casts who need lots of good rest.

Clouded after attacking once

Their first ability, Predatory Jump, lets you place yourself within 12. With a 4 stride base, this means you can engage an enemy within 16 strides. Place does not require line of sight, you can do it in combat, and you can use it to get out of combat if you please. Since this is a simple action, you could also attack or move in the same turn (but not jump twice, as only Move can be repeated).

Very predatory, very jump

Predators gives your opponent’s units disarmed as long as you engage them on your turn AND they didn’t have line of sight to you at the start of the activation. This couples well with Camouflaged, which means all enemies further than 7 strides of you cannot draw line of sight to you while you are within 3 strides of terrain. With Scout, you could deploy on the side of the table, then walk 14 or jump 16 onto an opponent and immediately give them disarmed, as they couldn’t have line of sight to you while you weren’t deployed. Since you can see through forests with Preferred Terrain, you can give out a 16 stride charge bubble from any bushes you are hiding in.

Fear the trees

So what’s the point of these guys, apart from being real cute kitties?  They are fast and agile with their jump, they can hide near terrain, and they have conquest 1 which is nice for Sÿenann. Their punch is lacking without stress, which they can’t take much of. However, their orange dice only have 1 side that is effectively blank, so they are likely to reliably take out squishy targets like spellcasters. Giving them the Druid buff with Exalt the Troops to add the third red die as well as let them shed stress at the end of every activation will solve a lot of their problems. Since they are hard to pin down or kill, they are ideal units to steal backline objectives and Loot. They are also reasonable Banner holders, as long as you start them on the table. Their large bases mean you can physically block a 10 stride line and when engaged you can prevent a lot of movement if you can surround your target’s leader.

Clouded blocking the path to the objective

When we pair them another agile hunter or Walker of the Leaf Storm shenanigans, they turn into a real nightmare. Imagine they are prowling in the forest in the middle of the table near the middle objective. Your opponent moves up to claim it but can’t charge them due to Camouflage (although they can assault). You pounce out and give them disarm and vulnerable, push them off the objective and body block them from taking it back easily. They attack back which you survive with disarm and your solid defence roll, maybe you even stress on the defence and give a wound or two back, and use your switch to jump around, preventing any push back if you lose the combat. On your next activation your buddy piece gangs up on them – ambushing Shadows, a long range Ynyr charge, portalled in Wardens, whatever. Your prey is toast.

Clouded holding the objective

The fact that they are Nemorous is great. You can apply Exalt the Troops from your Druid to them directly, and let them move the stress-reduction bubble upfield. You can also pair them with Grove Curtailers or Wardens with their Captain, triggering Slippery so they always give out disarmed. The Walker of the Leaf Storm can use the Clouded as the target point to portal back in, dropping off whatever payload they are carrying. Lioslaith’s extra block is also always active on them, as is the Grand Captain’s melee reroll.

You can tell they are Nemorous by the way that they are

Here’s an annoying list I would like to try them out in, Trapped:

• Grand Captain (30 pts)
• Syena Wardens (40 pts)
• Sprigs (35 pts)
• Shadow of the Hawthorn (25 pts)
• Clouded (30 pts)
• Shadows of the Yew (35 pts)
• Druid (25 pts)
• Walker of the Leaf Storm (25 pts)

245 points, 4 command

The Grand Captain and Walker of the Leaf Storm allow a lot of movement, and the Sprigs and Hawthorn are tough pieces that pin your enemy down. This should let your Clouded, Wardens, and Shadows of the Yew pounce safely on vulnerable enemies, dominate key objectives, and avoid significant counterattack. Once your opponent has chewed their way through the Sprigs and Hawthorn to finally move their units, your key pieces can just move away again and focus on a different goal.

Another interesting list idea, Oops No Deployment:

Ambushers:

• Lioslaith Coic Caledhee (30 pts)
• Shadows of the Yew (35 pts)
• Shadow of the Rowan (25 pts
• Walker of the Leaf Storm (25 pts)

Scouts:

• Grove Curtailers (35 pts)
• Neakail Den Fhiakra (25 pts)
• Clouded (30 pts)
• Ynyr Dara Lainn (35 pts)

240 points, 5 command

You scout in the Grove Curtailers with Neakail and Ynyr on one side, and the Clouded on the other, or maybe just everything on one side. Depending on what your opponent chooses to engage, your ambushers join in whenever is most annoying, and the Walker can portal out two units if you get trapped or stuck in a bad match up. The Clouded can pounce over enemies to engage squishy solo pieces hiding in the back, and if attacked can even use their switch to jump onto a different nearby target. With this start you put the pressure immediately in your opponents deployment zone and they may struggle to react sensibly. If they move anything out to take the midfield you can leap on the isolated unit, or you can get in amongst the backline first, then ambush the objective holders later when it’s more convenient. If they come over to charge your scout units, you’ll be able to charge them first due to the long ranges on the Clouded and Ynyr. With enough enemies closing in, the Shadow of the Rowan might even be able to use her Hidden Traps more than once per round! Using your high agility and durable units you will pick and choose your engagements and clog up the opponent’s deployment zone with their own units, before pivoting to complete the mission while your opponent’s whole plan is in disarray.

Your opponent’s deployment zone

For 30 points, these very good kitties are great. Thematic, versatile, and fun, their main drawback is their reliance on stress modifiers and their morale of 2. They will work best in a supported environment, but their innate agility will mean you can always get them out of the bad situation. They are solid A-tier and I can’t wait to try them on the table and see how their purr.

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A compelling reason to play Sÿenann