Raveners — Subterranean Terror
What They Bring
You get a squad of 5 elite operatives, each with 20 Wounds and a 5+ Save. While low in number, they compensate with mobility and offensive versatility.
The Tunnel rule expands your tunnel network by 5″ each turn, allowing Burrow to vanish from the board and re-emerge at key locations — even inside enemy territory.
Predatory Instincts lets them fight twice per activation, and even Burrow for free during counteracts. In effect: “strike, vanish, strike again.”
The Venomspitter is a lynchpin: 8″ shooting with Poison and bonuses from the Distend Dorsal Sac make it a key area control tool.
Limitations
Despite their 20 Wounds, the 5+ Save leaves them vulnerable to focused fire. Chip damage can wear one down slowly but surely.
Their gameplan requires full control over tunneling and positioning. Losing operatives early can bleed the team out fast.
Community Reaction (Reddit)
“I’m really wary of a 5-unit team… I’d rather have better saves and less health than more health and worse saves. The versatility of the one Ravener shown though is undeniable.”
“Can they bypass walls by tunneling?… Burrow ability interacts so they’d go through walls.”
Many players love the whack-a-mole playstyle, but express concern over their tactical fragility and potential to break control zones if not balanced.
Battleclade Servitors — Tactical Servo Network
What They Bring
A force made of 8 servitors + Underseer + Auto‑Proxy + Technoarcheologist.
Noospheric Network allows each servitor to spend 1 AP to grant a free action to another servitor nearby.
Network Override and Noospheric Spur provide unprecedented coordination and repositioning tools.
The Noospheric Possession ploy grants Accurate 1 to servitors within 6″ of the Underseer or Auto‑Proxy, extendable with comms devices — making them solid mid-range shooters.
Duty of Reclamation lets you use Command Re-rolls for free when contesting objectives. Neurocyclic Reserve Cells can randomly restore AP, adding resource flexibility.
Limitations
Slow movement (6″ base) and high dependency on AP chaining and precise timing. The strategic curve is steep.
The randomness of Reserve Cells means some turns hinge on luck, which can disrupt tight planning.
💬 Reddit Reactions
“The ability to spend actions on already activated units is crazy… kinda makes it not crazy anymore lol.”
“Servitors can donate 1 of their own APL to another servitor … let them move/shoot/fight/mission action again out of sequence.”
Quick Comparison
| Team | Playstyle | Key Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raveners | Hit-and-run from shadows | Burrow mobility; Predatory Instincts; Venomspitter | Low saves, vulnerable to focused fire |
| Battleclade | Tactical micro-synergies | Noospheric Network; Accurate 1; Ploy chaining | Slow movement; AP dependence; some RNG |
My Opinion
Both teams are high-skill, high-ceiling factions with innovative playstyles:
- Raveners offer explosive strikes and dramatic flexibility. With perfect execution, they can devastate — but bad rolls or poor timing means they vanish for real.
- Battleclade rewards patient, puzzle-like planning with servo-net synergy and layered actions. A veteran’s dream for controlling the board state.
Final Verdict
- Want to play fast, deadly, and unpredictable? Go Raveners.
- Prefer to win through resource management, chain plays, and tactical control? Choose Battleclade.
Both bring rich narrative flavor and excellent models — even if you’re just painting and collecting, they’re worth it.
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