Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Wait, none of those are included in this theme force . . . Let’s try that again, shall we? Satyrs and Warpwolves and Griffons, oh my! Ahh, much better. Call of the Wild is a new theme force focused on the living warbeasts of the Circle Orboros. This theme can be led by any and all of the Circle warlocks and can field all non-character living warbeasts. The warlocks Kromac, Kaya, Krueger, and Una can all be played very effectively under this theme force when running very large battlegroups.

It wouldn’t be right to have a pack of bloodthirsty animals without a shepherd, however, so Brennos the Elderhorn is also available to usher the murderous flock into battle. This theme is quite restrictive in what can be taken outside of warbeasts. Shifting Stones units, Blackclad solos, the Gallows Grove, and the Lord of the Feast round out the remaining Circle models you can bring. Also slipping into the fold is one Minion solo or unit.

For every 25 points of living Circle warbeasts you bring, you can snag a Circle solo or Shifting Stone unit free of cost. This benefit really lets you go all out on warbeasts, ensuring you’ll still have the fury support to manage a large battlegroup. Between Blackclad Wayfarers, Druid Wilders, and Shifting Stones, your army gains a huge amount of mobility, consistency, and efficiency.

Speaking of efficiency, the next theme benefit reduces the COST of all animi cast by warbeasts by 1. My favorite cost for anything is always free. Free Lightning Strike? Oh, yes. Free Elusive? Succulent. This benefit does not affect animi cast by the warlock, so don’t get too hyped about that! We’ve found that this benefit really opens up the options for list building. I’ve prepared one of my current favorite lists below, but I will say it was very hard to choose which list to showcase in this article—I really cannot overstate how much I love Kromac 1 or Kaya 3 with this theme force.

So, with that in mind, here is my Kromac 2 list:

Kromac, Champion of the Wurm [+28]

– Feral Warpwolf [18]

– Ghetorix [21]

– Scarsfell Griffon [8]

– Scarsfell Griffon [8]

– Warpwolf Stalker [19]

– Warpwolf Stalker [19]

– Wild Argus [7]

– Druid Wilder [0]

Blackclad Wayfarer [0]

Blackclad Wayfarer [0]

Shifting Stones [3]

Shifting Stones [0]

I really like this list because of how aggressively you can play it. It has very solid threat ranges with Hunter’s Mark (13˝ for the heavies with 2˝ RNG), it hits like a truck on Kromac’s feat turn, and it’s incredibly accurate with an animus like the Feral Warpwolf’s Primal or Kromac’s Carnage spell. With effectively five heavies counting Kromac, it can piece trade favorably into most spam armies. With the reduced cost on animi, the Warpwolf Stalker can go full-out with its multiple attacks and still Lightning Strike—allowing you to put Awaken Spirit on Ghetorix and giving him a free Spiny Growth each turn.

The Scarsfell Griffons are excellent jamming pieces and can hit far above their weight class on Kromac’s feat turn with Hunter’s Mark and Primal. Five POW 16 attacks out of an 8-point model is no joke! Access to the Elusive animus is excellent on Kromac, making him that much harder to pin down while he cleaves through huge portions of your opponent’s army should he choose not to Sprint back to safety.

Similarly, the Wild Argus is a solid offensive light when stacking buffs. It also gives access to the Doppler Bark animus, which can make the difference in an assassination run’s success or failure—or hitting an important Hunter’s Mark!

Blackclad Wayfarers are the glue that holds all this together. Hunter’s Mark is very powerful in this list, but Wayfarers are also excellent infantry-clearing models as well as very mobile scenario pieces to claim flags or contest zones.

Shifting Stones are the only unit allowed in the theme force, making them very important for scenario play. They also bring some incredible utility to the list with Serenity, Teleportation, and Healing Field, as well as the ability to block charge lanes.

While this theme force does limit your non-warbeast options, it really can flourish with many different warlocks. Hit-and-run lists like the above, a pack of Satyrs, or a murder of Griffons are all viable list builds with this theme and all benefit well from the reduced cost of animi. Call of the Wild will be included in the bundle of new and updated theme forces coming out later this month, so keep your eyes open and War Room 2 up to date for its launch day!