Killteam Hrud Playtesting Results

Because it's my blog and I can post what I want.
Previous posts here.

Anyway, I've been giving the disgusting little entropy-xenos some playtesting, and arrived at a few conclusions:

• Their statline being shit isn't a problem per se, but they're paying too much for their special features because of their crap base stats.
• Special and Heavy weapons are the workhorses of the list, and they need access to more of them.
• Having an armour save is pointless. You need to be avoiding damage by hugging cover, not getting hit is your resilience. 
• Their Tactics are good, but don't go far enough at present. They play like a sort of cross between dark eldar and tau, rather than the horrible slippery bastards I'm going for.
• Once the crew is broken, the combination of low bravery and high numbers mean you're totally fucked.
• I've stopped using Poisoners entirely, which is a shame. They need a bump.
• Overall, they feel overcosted. They have the stats of a horde list, but aren't quite cheap enough to pull this off. The costs are on par with an eldar statline, but they really can't go toe-to-toe with them.

The problem, I think, is that other lists have a bunch of built in bonuses that I'm not factoring into the points costs (tau For The Greater Good, imperial guard Orders, dark eldar Power From Pain, etc), whilst the hrud are paying for their own perks. 

So, first up, I'm modifying the statlines as follows:

• No save at all.
• +2 movement.
• Cost 1 point less.

I'm also gonna tweak which units get access to which weapons, to match what I've actually been playing.

The next issue is the playstyle. I'm dropping models in from reserves every game, which is starting to get the feel I want, but in a horde list the amount of reserves you can drop in are comparatively insignificant. So, I'm going to modify the reserve rules for hrud significantly. Here are the changes: 

• Models can come in from reserve after turn three just fine.
• Models in reserve count as alive and safe for morale purposes.
• Hrud can use any tactic that brings in models from reserve multiple times a turn.
• If a hrud is hidden (IE, no enemies have un-obscured line of sight to it) it can be removed from the board and placed in reserve instead of moving.
• A tactic exists to take remove any hrud you want from the board and put them back in reserve. 

What this means is you can be removing models from the board and placing them elsewhere, becoming very hard to pin down. I've played with & against similar lists in Malifaux (Kirai, Leviticus, and Dreamer come to mind) and it takes finesse but can be a very satisfying playstyle. 

Lastly, because I can, I'm gonna add a fourth troop type: Hrud Witches, who are psykers. Basic hrud statline, standard guns, and access to Psybolt and a 'put models into reserve or deploy them from reserve' power. +2 Points.