Fyreslayers: Auric Runefather/Magmadroth

Go Big Or Go Home

From the volcanic caverns of Aqshy, the realm of fire, stomp enormous dragon-like creatures known as Magmadroths. Born following the titanic mortal battle between Grimnir and Vulcatrix, these massive lizards are a sight to behold. With fearsome claws and horns, a wicked tail, the ability to spit flaming bile and blood that sears flesh, these are not creatures you want to meet on the battlefield. Add to that the Fyreslayers that have pounded Ur-gold runes into their hides and sit atop them into battle, and not many they meet live to tell the tale.

How To Train Your Magmadroth

I’m not going to lie, this kit will test your patience at times, but please stick it out. It comes with 95 pieces (not all of which you will use), one 120mm oval base and two 32mm round bases. You shouldn’t have too much trouble with the main body but the tail can be tricky. It’s not clear from the instructions how some pieces fit together but I promise that they do. The front claws and head come in a couple of options, it’s up to you which one you take. If you have more than one of these (a distinct possibility in a Fyreslayer army) maybe mix it up. Then you have the choice of putting either the Auric Runefather, Runeson or Runesmiter in the saddle. The choice will probably come down to preference, your battle plans and what you already own, but you can build the other two options on foot so you don’t wholly lose out.

Painting a Magmadroth is both exciting and scary in equal measure. It’s a big model with a lot to cover, but also with some nice bits to highlight. I kept mine in keeping with the rest of my Fyreslayers, which is to say, quite traditional. However, I did enjoy creating a boney effect on the claws, and the bones on the legs and tail. Plus a fire-like effect on the crest running down its back. It’s up for interpretation what is what on this model, but I painted the upper head and back as armour with a metallic dry brush over the top. For 1 day I toyed with edge highlighting each individual scale…then regained my sanity. It’s also a good model to put effort into the base, because it’s so big. My basing skills are still in their early days though, so I just went

for a technical paint which cracks when it dries. It created a nice effect. Whatever scheme you decide to go for though, take your time and you’ll get a really nice looking model out of it.

Stomping Into Action

On the battlefield you can expect any Magmadroth to make a big impression. Before we even take into account the rider, let’s look at the beast itself. The whole model has a solid 4+ save and 16 wounds! So it’s not easy to take down. Its stats change depending on how wounded it is, but it always moves somewhere between 8-12 inches. If you’re within 9 inches of a large enemy unit, the Roaring Fyrestream ability will decimate it, doing attacks equal to the number of models in the target unit. And if you don’t happen to use it for a turn, it just gets stronger. Then once you’re in close the Lashing Tail ability will also help on larger units. If that weren’t enough, its Claws and Horns do good damage in combat, and if the enemy is lucky unlucky enough to wound it, its Volcanic Blood will deal mortal wounds back to the unit on a 4+.

And that’s not even all. You also have whatever abilities the rider brings to the table.

Runefather

Being the awe inspiring leader that he is, he boosts the number of attacks of nearby Fyreslayers, but only once per battle. Still, it’s good if you charge a Magmadroth in with lots of backup. He also has an axe that has a 3 inch range and that hits very hard.

Runeson

This guy is all about hunting monsters. If you know you’re going up against something like that, take this guy. On a 6 with his Wyrmslayer Javelin (thrown or in combat) it does extra mortal wounds equal to its damage (D3). Also, like his father, he has a good axe, although it has slightly less damage and only a 1 inch range (but 1 more attack).

Runesmiter

More of a support Magmadroth pick. He has an easily castable prayer that adds 1 to wound rolls of one nearby Fyreslayer unit. Unlike the Runefather however, it’s repeatable each turn if the prayer goes off. He also has a decent axe, but it’s nothing to shout about.

Going Full Magmadroth

As a sane army builder you probably want maybe a couple of Magmadroths and a variety of other units…OR, you could go full Magmadroth. The Lofnir lodge not only add 2 wounds to all their Magmadroths and have the ability to give 3 Magmadroths mount traits instead of just 1, but Runesons on Magmadroths become battleline. That means, you could theoretically take 6 of them in a 2000pt game and it would be a valid army. 6!

Aftermath

In simple terms, Magmadroths are walking killing machines and look cool as hell to boot. Is it advisable to run a 6 Magmadroth army? No, probably not. You’ll struggle in a lot of situations I imagine and be vulnerable to armies that target monsters…but you could! Even having 2-3 of them is well worth it in any army though, they are tough (and can get even tougher with some mount traits) and will give as good as they get. I especially love their blood burning units that wound it, instant karma. It’s going to take some commitment to get them built and painted, but it’ll all be worth it when you watch them charge into a horde of enemies and burn them to a crisp.