Aionus in General
More than any non-master in the game (and probably more than most masters), Aionus does everything, he can run schemes exceptionally well, he hands out extra AP for your units, he denies enemy AP, he is pretty damn durable, packs a decent punch and has a whole heap of shenaniganry that can be pulled off. All of this comes at a price though, as Aionus weighs in at a hefty 12SS in faction, 13SS as a merc., which seems to be what turns most people off to the idea of him, I'm hoping to dispel that worry. Here's a step by step breakdown of what Aionus can do, derived from my roughly 12 games with the geezer.
Aionus as a Beatstick
This is likely to be the element of Aionus where he's most lackluster for his SS cost, given he's sharing the spot with the likes of Nekima and Howard. However, his melee attack is by no means weak, sitting at a base of 2/3/5, it goes up to 3/4/6 if the target has fast/slow, at which point he's sharing a damage track with relic hammers and A&D, couple that with CA expert from the 3rd turn and the fact that it ignores armour and he makes short work of many otherwise tanky models. But does it stop there? No.
Aionus has three absolutely wonderful triggers on his Bony Fingers action:
- On a crow, the target receives slow, both raising the damage track and bringing with it all the mighty boons of having an enemy with 1 less AP in combat with you.
- On a mask, Aionus gets to place a friendly scheme marker in b2b with each enemy scheme marker within 3" then remove the enemy scheme markers. I must admit, this has never come up for me, but it's plain to see that it's awesome nonethless, making him just as good at hunting down enemy scheme runners as he is at running his own.
- On a tome (which is built in), after dealing severe damage, the target is buried until the end of the turn, then it is unburied in b2b with Aionus. The applications for this are vast. Bury a friendly model to save it from harm, bury a dangerous enemy model before it can attack, bury a model then move it to a different spot to deny turf war/entourage etc. I'm sure better players than me could come up with a greater number of uses. If I need this trigger, focusing to attack is the way to go.
Last but not least, Aionus can target buried models with this attack, which is why he bathes in the tears of Leviticus, Dreamer and the Hungering Darkness. He can also hit enemy models after he's buried them himself. It doesn't come up often, but it's the icing on an already delicious cake.
It is also worth noting that Aionus' ability to give out fast to friendly models adds to his offensive potential, one more attack from a relic hammer on Johan is probably better than the higher damage spread other models may carry.
Like I say, this is Aionus' 'weakest' aspect.
Aionus as a Disruptor
This is my personal favourite of all his roles, Aionus plays merry havoc with enemy plans, often while still being able to achieve his own.
AP Denial
Aionus' primary aspect of disruption which is universally applicable regardless of enemy crew is his ability to deny AP, his melee attack can give slow on a crow trigger, but he also carries a (1) action with a cast 6, rng 10, resisted by wp which gives out slow and has a built in trigger to force nearby models to take a wp duel or gain slow as well. At first glance, this is his weakest ability, but of late I've found it to be by far one of his most useful, here's why:
- Aionus is nimble in the first turn, which allows him to double walk up and cast his 'Out of Time' action, significantly slowing the advance of a dangerous enemy (you may find you can even prevent a combat unit from getting there for upwards of two turns).
- Some models absolutely 'need' 2 AP, like most snipers, if you cut their ability to focus, suddenly they can't even shoot your vulnerable models (note: Aionus will almost inevitably take the retaliation shot).
- Enemy setting up with lures/alpha/pushes etc. to deliver the message? Not with 1 AP they aren't.
The important aspect here is to know that trading a single AP for a single AP is not an equal trade of resources; a pure melee model that can't charge is effectively denied 2 AP, an enemy that can't deliver the message is denied 3 VP. If you can use 'Out of Time' to hit the enemy right in the sore spots, you'll be feeling really good really fast.
Burying/Hitting Buried Models
This is a less significant aspect of Aionus, but still nonetheless important. Sometimes, slowing a model won't cut it, and you doubt you can kill it with 3 AP of attacks, if that is the case, Aionus can always walk up, focus, and cheat the severe off the hit to remove the model from the table for a turn. It's a temporary fix, and it requires a severe to be cheated (don't forget you still get the damage), but sometimes a turn is all you need. I'd give examples, but I'm sure most people can see the value in just not having to deal with something for a whole turn.
Whilst it's more niche, Aionus can hit buried models, which can really make your opponents struggle more with their 'bury happy' masters and henchmen. Dreamer suddenly has fits about summoning Chompy, Levi can't just get all trigger happy and be impossible to kill and Hungering Darkness learns the true meaning of brilliance. Against people who run those models to a well-oiled, practiced level, Aionus can really throw a spanner in the works, and result in many a scratched head. Oh, and the image of killing Papa Loco while he's in the box is just too satisfying for me.
I don't play Tara, but I'd love to hear stories of Tara shenanigans!
Mucking up Markers
Aionus is remarkably good at messing with opponents plans, mainly due to one of his (0) actions 'Time Changes All' which allows him to pick up any non-strategy marker and place it within 6", not in base contact with other models, markers or terrain for a low tome (don't forget he can stone).
Obviously this allows him to throw enemy LiTS markers off the centre line, often throwing them just off so that enemies have a massive area on the centre line where they can't place another marker, protect territory markers away from their guardians and so on and so forth.
Further than this, Aionus can really screw with masters who need their markers, ressers who want corpse markers in specific places, Ramos, who needs his spiders and Mei Feng who really struggles if she can't railwalk properly. But more than that, any 'pillar' master (Sonnia, Raspy, Lilith) can suddenly find their carefully placed blocking terrain in a very awkward place, or somewhere entirely irrelevant. He single handedly disrupts the 'root, beckon' combo that can shut down models every turn from Lilith, and none of the major casters like to suddenly find themselves way in the open or with their LoS disrupted!
It's a more complicated ability, but probably the single best thing on his card when used appropriately.
Aionus as a Scheme Runner
Here it is. This is what he does. This is what he does better, in my humble (and not wildly experienced) opinion, better than anyone else in the game. I'll start with the general things he will always do, then move onto the specific schemes.
Aionus has four major abilities that are relevant to his scheme running, three of which we've touched upon already:
1. He's nimble in the first two turns, allowing him to walk twice and place a marker way upfield, or, on a good day, to deliver the message.
2. He gives out fast, see above for relevant applications.
3. He has the ability to throw markers into a better position with 'Time Changes All' - this can be absolutely massive, allowing you to drop scheme markers out of scoring position and then drop them on at a later date. It also allows Aionus to bait the enemy into thinking you're running one scheme, when in reality you're running another (convict labour - setup is a good example of how this might be abused).
4. On a 10 of anything, he can push all friendly scheme markers in play 2", again, this can be situationally massive, gently pushing markers into range of enemies for plant explosives etc. or away for Convict Labour and its ilk. This can also stack up over the course of the game (I've had one scheme marker travel 8" to become a breakthrough marker). On a tome, he gets to place a brand new marker within 2", friendly or enemy (usually friendly, but he has the option in niche cases), allowing him even greater marker flexibility.
All of these will help him more or less regardless of the pool and the enemy, either by scoring points himself, or denying the opponent. Now I'll break down all the core book schemes he likes and why he's good at them (I may come back and add in the GG16 schemes at a later date).
LiTS
Give out fast to help get markers to the line, edge markers that are off the line onto the line, nimble to get the markers out quicker, and he can throw enemy markers off the line to prevent them scoring it, without having to sacrifice AP.
Distract
To remove the distract condition, you need to take a (2) action, hard to do if you're slow. Fast also helps models get there to apply the distract in the first place.
Breakthrough
He's fast, and he can get multiple scheme markers into the breakthrough zone extremely early in the game. He can also drop markers a little outside the zone, and then push them a bit at a time each turn while he achieves other goals, he doesn't have to stay stuck in the backfield.
Protect Territory
Make friendly models fast so they can drop scheme markers for this in the first turn, nudge scheme markers closer to friends if they get pulled away, throw enemy scheme markers away from their guardians. My personal favourite scheme with the lad.
Bodyguard
Generally, Aionus is far up the board, he's decently hard to kill, and he can give a lot of heavy hitters the run-around. Another great choice for him.
Plant Evidence
I'm yet to try this one, but I have no doubt Aionus will have little trouble, do be aware that he can't use 'Time Changes All' to put markers b2b with terrain.
Entourage
Fast, durable henchman? Sure.
Plant Explosives
Another favourite, somewhere between 'Midnight' and 'Time Changes All' you'll score 3 VP for this. Aionus is the master of getting markers into good places.
Make Them Suffer
Aionus is fully capable of scoring this while still achieving another scheme, he loves to hunt down enemy scheme runners, and most of his scheme running comes from (0) actions.
Deliver a Message
Touched upon greatly above, Aionus both facilitates and denies this by giving friendly models AP and denying enemy models AP or burying them.
Take Prisoner
Again, I'm yet to do this, but Aionus' ability to bury a model repeatedly, or to slow it (or both) should make him extremely good at holding a prisoner.
Spring the Trap
I'd rather not take it, but Aionus is probably one of the better models at scoring it, it's a good candidate for the whole LiTS bait and switch, if you can lure the enemy leader into an appropriate position (although it'd be easier to just score LiTS)
Power Ritual
Scheme markers in far off places? Sure. Often it's better to drop the marker just outside one corner at the end of one activation, then throw it into the corner before running to the next corner (also, another scheme where his ability to move enemy markers is fantastic).
Weaknesses
Much as I hate to admit it, Aionus is not perfect, in fact he's far from it, here are a few of the things that might quite rightly deter you from fielding him.
Cost
The big one, 12SS is a lot, 13SS is even more. Aionus brings a vast amount of utility, but he lacks the raw damage output of the other tanks like Nekima and Howard, and really only has the damage track of a 6SS model if he's failing to hit the slow trigger. This usually means you need to take another beatstick, which is another high SS model, greatly limiting your remaining options in the crew.
Greed
When attempting to work at max capacity, Aionus absolutely chews through resources, adding to his already hefty price tag. He needs to discard cards for his friends to gain fast, he needs tomes to throw markers and a high card to push markers (or a high tome if he wants to place a brand new one)... he even wants crows to give out slow on his 'Bony Fingers' action. Whilst all of these are 'optional', you'll almost certainly be wanting to use one or two every single turn, and he has no innate way of drawing cards or contributing to the crew's handsize.
No Scheme Markers = Sad Aionus
If you're not using scheme markers, Aionus' value is going to diminish colossally, even more so if your opponent is not using scheme markers. Unless you're playing Gremlins, I doubt I'd ever bother fielding Aionus in a pool where I'm not taking at least one marker based scheme.
Hard to Kill Models
These guys are the bane of Aionus' existence. Anything with 7 or more wounds and hard to kill is likely to take Aionus 2 rounds to deal with, given the propensity for low SS models to have this ability, this can lead to Aionus getting tied up.
Telegraphing
Aionus is exceptionally good at getting markers into important places, but often times that marker needs to be placed in advance, which can give the opponent time to react if they've correctly read your scheme pool (or are just being careful). It can be both a blessing and a curse, allowing you to play the bluffing game, but also giving your opponent opportunity to deal with it.
Weirdly Tanky and Weirdly Not
Aionus is an odd one when it comes to durability, on the one hand, he halfs all damage from CA actions, packs 12 wounds and has the pretty sweet df/wp spread of 6/7 and can spend SS. On the other, that's all he has; you're likely to be running short on SS due to both his cost and his greed (not to mention your master will want some and you may well need to stone for cards/initiative), so it's harder to justify prevention, and he lacks the defences that protect him from the really nasty damage tracks in the game (more or less anything that starts with a 4). It's hard to see if this is truly a downside, as he's resilient against models which ignore armour, but falls over to what effectively amounts to 'high damage'. I tend to lose him, but only after he's scored a handful of AP.
Justifying his Inclusion
This is a slightly difficult one, as he has differing values in different factions (I'll add to this when I've seen him played in more factions, but for now too much of it is theory) - but here's a rough guide to when I'll include Aionus.
- My master is more killy than supporty: Aionus can act as a surrogate support master for people like the Viks, his high cost is also more easy to justify when your master is capable of doing the heavy lifting when it comes to killing.
- My crew can generate more models or brings 0 cost models with them: One of Aionus' biggest issues is his cost, often resulting in a smaller crew if a proper beatstick is also being added, models that can summon, or crews that bring free models, go a great way to mitigating this downside.
- The pool is marker heavy: If the scheme pool is mostly marker based (or at least, has popular marker based schemes), Aionus can unleash his full potential. I tend to try and think of Aionus as a super-silurid, he can easily be responsible for 3VP as well as making your opponent's life completing the same schemes much more difficult.
- Your crew benefits greatly from fast: As mentioned above, not all AP were created alike, models with high walk, flurry, charges for (1) AP etc love Aionus. However, try to think of the cap on models getting this fast ability as cost 8 or below, any more than that and it's hard to guarantee the card in hand (or that you'll want to use it). Particular winners are Johan, Ronin, Rooster Riders and Bayou gremlins (or other models of that ilk).
Well there it is, a guide on the uses I've found for Aionus, I'm becoming rather infamous for not being able to leave him at home by this stage. Again, I'm not the most wildly experienced player, this is just what I've found so far. I hope you enjoyed it, and next time, I'm not starting to write one of these at 2AM!
Thanks,
Seb.
