“The ways of Latariana are courage and wisdom. Courage to meet headlong friend and foe alike, and wisdom to know the difference.”

–Aliana of Summersong

Beneath the boughs of the towering Aymhelin Forest on the southern borders of Terrinoth, the Latari Elves have honed their skills and their martial prowess for years. Though in the past they have preferred to remain defensive, guarding their boundaries and protecting their way of life, their peace is about to be shattered. The darkness of the Locust Swarms—the Uthuk Y’llan—is stirring in the east, and even the Latari Elves have been forced from their seclusion to take the battlefield in force.

A third faction joins the epic, fantasy battles of Runewars Miniatures Game with the Latari Elves Army Expansion, and you’ll soon find that commanding an Elven army is significantly different than the forces of the Daqan Lords or the legions of Waiqar the Undying. As you prepare to lead the Latari Elves onto the battlefield, we start our previews of the Latari Elves Army Expansion with a closer look at their first hero: Aliana of Summersong.

Leader of the Wildstalkers

Aliana of Summersong has made a name for herself as a Leonx champion—bonded to the fearsome beasts that serve as the Latari Elves’ cavalry. While mounted on her own Leonx, Wildcall, Aliana is a fearsome foe, as you can see from just a glance at her command tool.

Few command tools can equal the sheer mobility of Aliana’s command tool, which features no fewer than five white modifiers that can be paired with any action. Not only does this command tool give you unprecedented control over exactly where Aliana ends up on the battlefield, it also allows you to explore cunning new maneuvers. By pairing a charge or a turning charge modifier with a shift action, you may be able to charge sideways or even backwards, crashing into enemy units and catching them in their flank without warning.

You’ll also notice that Aliana’s opportunity to attack falls very early in the round—at initiative three. With such an early attack and the potential to modify it with an additional panic result, Aliana can shred enemy units long before they have a chance to attack her in response. And her deadly combat prowess is only enhanced by the stats on her unit card.

In battle, Aliana rolls a white die, a red die, and a blue die, giving her a wide spread of surges and damage. This is only enhanced by the fact that Aliana automatically adds a mortal strike result to every melee attack, guaranteeing at least one wound. One more wound might be a small blessing against a huge block of infantry, but when attacking heroes or high-defense units like the Rune Golems, additional mortal strikes will easily break through their defenses.

Aliana also bears the Impact 2 and Precise 1 keywords. By panicking your target after a charge and allowing you to reroll dice, respectively, these two keywords ensure that Aliana can stand toe-to-toe with heroes like Ardus Ix’Erebus or Lord Hawthorne. But it’s also noteworthy that Aliana has proven herself adept as an unpredictable commander. When Aliana of Summersong is fielded as a hero in your army, you can reposition one unit of your Leonx Riders after deployment, potentially forcing your opponent to deploy without knowing the final position of your high-impact cavalry.

Packleader

Aliana’s effectiveness on the field of battle is compounded by a variety of upgrade cards. For example, you may equip the Packleader's Spear. This card can be exhausted during a melee attack to gain Lethal 3—adding three damage to the results that you roll on the dice! Obviously, this can be incredibly powerful, but to use the Packleader’s Spear again, you need to destroy an enemy engaged with you. Obviously, if Aliana is wielding the Packleader’s Spear in your army, you should be well equipped to take on enemy heroes and other high-defense units.

Alternatively, you may improve your mobility still further with Wildcall's Instinct. This upgrade card—unique to Aliana of Summersong—states that whenever you perform a march or a shift, you may treat it as though it has a turn modifier, without losing speed. Not only does this unlock new maneuvers, it also allows you to change the way that you decide to move on the fly, reacting to any enemy units that may have moved before you. By driving Aliana’s already-formidable maneuverability to new heights, Wildcall’s Instinct lets you weave through the battlefield with peerless agility.

Finally, you may decide that you’d prefer to stay in reserve and wait for the crucial moment to strike. Ambush Predator is an upgrade that allows you to do just that. First, this upgrade states that enemy ranged attacks cannot target you, ensuring that your ambush will not be spoiled before you choose to strike. In addition, when Aliana performs her first melee attack of the game, you can deal additional damage equal to the number of the current round! You’ll have to choose carefully how long you want to keep a powerful figure out of the battlefield, but if your attack wipes out an enemy unit in a single blow, it may be worth holding Aliana in reserve.

For the Aymhelin!

The Latari Elves have spent decades honing their craft—and now it’s time to see it used upon the fields of Terrinoth.