{DD Boot Camp}
(Here there be dragonkin)
If you can't make friends, summon them
bringing in reinforcements
In this issue of DD Boot Camp, we wanted to talk about Dragonkin - those colorful dice filling up your Summoning Pool waiting to get their turn in the spotlight. Whether they are there to protect your mages or to give your melee units some extra punch, they belong in every build, and you should know how to use them!
Let's make some friends!
How do you use them again?
For every three points in a player's total force size, they may bring one health-worth of Dragonkin, which start in the player's Summoning Pool. From here, they can be brought into an army in a few different ways:
The Summon Dragonkin spell can bring 'kin from the Summoning Pool to a terrain, at a cost of three magic per health, using magic results of a matching element.
The Dragonkin Handlers faction ability of the Eldarim can bring 'kin to a terrain if the terrain contains an element matching the Dragonkin.
The Logo SAI of a silver medallion can summon Dragonkin to a terrain.
Automatic saves
Dragonkin all have armored skin which grants them "automatic saves" equal to their health. This means that any time a Dragonkin rolls - either individually or during an army roll - they generate saves equal to their health. They make excellent protectors for this very reason.
If they roll an ID or Fly during a save roll, these are added to their automatic saves. However, if they roll their Belly SAI, they lose those automatic saves for the duration of that roll.
Classes
Dragonkin fall into three "classes" that determine what icons show on each of their faces. Each class is identical across all elements, and comes in small (1 health), medium (2 health) and large (3 health) varieties. Large Dragonkin also bear the Breath SAI, which targets units and kills them with no save possible. This is a very strong ability, essentially adding a targeting effect to a Smite SAI.
Heavy melee
Packing the most melee icons of any Dragonkin class, these 'kin are slower than any others, with even the largest dice bringing only two maneuver icons. They hit hard, but they don't move fast!
Light melee
A little bit faster, the light melee 'kin essentially trade one melee icon for one maneuver icon when compared to heavy melee Dragonkin. Not much faster, and hit almost as hard.
Cavalry
Cavalry are obviously the fastest of the 'kin, packing more than two maneuver icons per health. They do not hit nearly as hard as other 'kin, but they provide some very good maneuvers for any strategy.
dragonkin champions
These larger four-health Dragonkin have SAIs on every face, and do not belong to any of the three "classes" listed above. They have one Belly face like all 'kin.
They also have a Logo face: when rolled during a melee attack, this SAI can move any dragon containing the same element as the 'kin from one terrain to another. During an individual-targeting effect, instead it generates four saves.
Smite
During a melee attack, this SAI deals four damage with no save possible. Against a dragon, it provides four melee results.
Fly
During any roll, Fly generates either four maneuver results or four save results. These saves are in addition to the automatic saves.
Breath
During a melee attack, this Breath targets four health-worth of units in the defending army to be killed with no save possible.
What can they do?
One of major benefits to Dragonkin is their automatic saves, outlined above. The ability to provide a stream of reliable saves to an army is always a welcome addition to any strategy.
Since they are returned to the Summoning Pool when killed, they can be brought back easily - very few effects can actually bury Dragonkin.
And of course, they can provide additional melee and maneuver results to an army, or in the case of Champions they can add some powerful SAIs.
What can't they do?
Dragonkin can only exist at a terrain, and cannot leave a terrain once there. They cannot carry items, nor can they roll during magic or missile rolls.
If an army ever consists solely of Dragonkin, they return to the Summoning Pool and the army ceases to exist - don't leave them unattended!
Dragonkin that are killed return to the Summoning Pool, unless the effect kills and buries with a single effect. They will very rarely end up in your BUA.
Dragonkin cannot roll against dragons containing their color, nor against ivory, ivory-hybrid, or white dragons. They can still be taken as damage during these rolls, and they can participate in attacks against other dragons as normal, and the Eldarim's Resist Fear faction ability can remove this dragon-avoiding restriction. This is important to keep in mind while selecting dragons and Dragonkin during force construction.
Strategy and tips
As the easiest and most readily-available way to summon Dragonkin is via magic, cavalry units tend to be among the best options. A mage-focused army doesn't have much use for melee results, but can always use maneuvers to keep a terrain locked on a magic face.
Adding a few points of Eldarim, or an Eldarim Champion, to a non-magic army allows those armies to bring in Dragonkin for free, in addition to the other benefits of the Eldarim units themselves. For instance, a Dragoncrusader or Dragonzealot will add several more saves to an army - along with the Bash SAI - and also allow that army to summon Dragonnkin for free.
Splitting Dragonkin into two different elements - since most factions are comprised of two colors - allows a player to summon any of them, but customize which ones are brought in depending on any dragons that may be summoned to avoid having useless 'kin in a dragon fight.
Promoting Dragonkin does not require that the promotion be of the same element, so dividing Dragonkin across multiple elements doesn't hinder a player's ability to promote them. Feel free to experiment with different combinations of classes and elements.
Non-magic strategies tend to lean toward smaller-health Dragonkin, as they are less-likely to reach the nine or twelve magic results needed to summon larger units. However an Eldarim Champion can eventually bring a Dragonkin Champion, so if your strategy incorporates one Champion, you might consider bringing the other as well.
Final Notes
Dragonkin are a must-have for any competitive player, and are a wonderful tool even for casual players. As they carry no additional cost to include in force construction, there is no reason whatsoever to leave them out of your Summoning Pool. With their ability to add critical saves to any army, and their ability to be summoned over and over again, Dragonkin are a staple of any game and we strongly encourage all players of any skill level to pick some up and start using them.
We'd love to hear what you think, so send us your feedback to info@thedicemustflow.com