The three abilities on the back of Mataagi’s card are all abilities we’ve seen before, but let’s run over them quickly. The first, Crucial Artery, means that any model Mataagi damages suffers the bleed condition. This is great for getting more damage onto enemies, both through momentous Playbook damage results and through Snap Fire. This damage fits Mataagi’s theme of non-directly bumping up the damage done by his team.

Secondly, he has Light Footed. A Hunter staple, the lad’s quick on his feet no matter what’s underfoot.

Thirdly, cause we had to represent that bow of his one more time, he has Hot Shot. We’ve seen this before on Cinder of the Blacksmith’s Guild, this ability allows Mataagi to make an Attack from 6” away once per turn. Mataagi can make an attack from 6” away, put down a Harrier AOE momentously, then sink 3 Snap Fires into the model, doing a total of 6 DMG and inflicting bleed, if he wants! Not bad from 6” away, eh? Or just make one attack, get Harrier out, then stay a good distance back from the action cause he is a touch squishy. This is generally more efficient, since Mataagi isn’t a big damaging model himself (although in melee in a Harrier AOE he does still effectively have momentous three damage on column 2) but he’s a strong supporter/set up piece.

While the whole of Mataagi’s card is good, really, it’s hard to get away from how awesome his Harrier AOEs are. Many Guilds have rules like Tooled Up, which means only a single model can get +1 DMG, while the Falconers get their whole team potentially damage buffed while an enemy model is standing in a Harrier AOE. Now that has a flipside, obviously, which is that an enemy model can move out of a Harrier AOE and render it useless. For this reason it’s generally best for Falconer (and Hunter!) players to put their Harrier AOEs over enemy models which have already activated, since that minimises the chance they’ll move out of your designated murderzone. You do always have to be aware of the enemy team’s ability to reposition their own players though, since that can ruin your day pretty quickly. It’s also worth noting that Harrier is Once Per Turn, so you have to be *very* sure you want it where you put it, since you don’t have a second chance at it.

Harrier AOEs are cool, they represent different ways of giving out a damage buff and a design space we’re really happy to begin exploring with these guys. And one more snippet to give away, Mataagi isn’t the only model in the Falconer’s Guild with this rule. In fact, Mataagi is a very classic Falconers player, and you’ll be able to tell a lot about the Guild from his card. Harrier AOEs form a core part of their design, and carefully planning each turn where you want/need your Harriers for the best buffs is an important part of playing the Falconers. This will be particularly important when we reveal their captain, Devana, in a few weeks time.

In addition, you can see their general fragility and focus on ranged combat. Mataagi doesn’t particularly want to be getting too close to the enemy, what with his low health pool. The Falconers in general are adept at causing significant amounts of damage both in melee and at range, peppering the enemy with their bows while setting their birds on them. When they engage the enemy team at close range they will certainly want to do it on favourable terms. In a lot of ways they’re like the Hunters ratcheted one step further; they’re fragile and rely on ranged plays to bring down the enemy team’s health before they swoop in for the finishing blow. They also bring some unconventional methods of scoring goals, but of course, you’ll see those tricks revealed soon enough!

Let us know what you think of Mataagi on our social media and forums, and let us see your ideas for what the rest of the Falconers will look like! Happy Harriering!