Most underrated fighters

Chaos

Toughness 6 and over 20 wounds is quite rare outside of Stormcast territory. 4 Attacks with Strength 4 and 2/4 damage isn’t impressive but is good enough to kill chaff (which opens option for rampage on triple) and if needed strength can be increased by the ability value for a cost of a double, which lead to always hitting on 3+ if needed. Impressive defensive capabilities are also boosted by a reaction that can heal 3 wounds before getting attacked. Additionally, this fighter is a Hero, which gives him access to Inspiring Presence which is very important in treasure missions. When planning for treasure missions many players take some treasures “for granted” assuming that some screening and a chaff is all that is needed to secure the treasure that is closest to their deployment area, but Aspiring Champion with great defensive reaction and possibility to pass a treasure when wounded (using Inspiring Presence) will make life very difficult to your opponent. One last thing that this very well-rounded fighter can provide is a potential for very explosive quad turns with Lead the Slaughter. Relying on quads is a bad strategy, but a good warband should have a plan to exploit quads when they finally happen.

Destruction

16 Wounds for 85 points isn’t bad on its own but combined with 2” range grants impressive staying power for such low cost, but despite all that the reason why Shroomancer is great is his ability – Fungoid Cloud. Fact that almost every high damage titan in the game has only 3 attacks combined with the way how math works in the game (you add all bonuses first and then subtract) means that if you use triple of fives/sixes on one of mentioned titans then even with onslaught they are still rolling single dice when attacking (if you ignore onslaught you only need a triple of threes, or higher to do this).

Death

It’s difficult to find bad fighters in SBGL lists, but some good fighters are very rarely seen, overshadowed by even better fighters. Example of this is Zombies being overshadowed by Skeleton Warriors and also – Black Knights, who are seen as less efficient Dire Wolves. As a Dire Wolf lover myself I never field (non FEC) Death warband without at least one Dire Wolf and they clearly have some advantages over Black Knights (reaction, 1 Skeleton cheaper, can climb and open doors), but considering Dire Wolves as more efficient Black Knight is wrong, as while they can serve the same role, there are some tasks that Black Knight will do much better. First difference is of course survivability – with higher Toughness and twice that many wounds Black Knights don’t have to be afraid of everything (85-point Dire Wolf has 61% chance to be oneshotted by 80-point Ardboy that is within 4” and has access to double for charge ability). More defensive profile with similar mobility and the same base size makes it a perfect bodyblocker. Durability on the level of Bespoke leader is sometimes the best a faction can get and here with extremely cheap Skeletons around, Black Knight can be a throw away peace that no other faction could effort. Additionally, it has 2” range – which gives it a possibility to inflict some damage here and there and maybe roll some sixes, where Dire Wolves would not risk attacking opponent’s chaff in objective missions, as the main goal of both of them is to transform activation advantage into points advantage by providing opportunity to increase model count anywhere on the map. Mobile Anvils aren’t popular in the game so some players might not sequence their activations correctly, sadly the influence that this class of fighters have on a game is heavily reliant on both – board density and the type of terrain used, but regardless of this Black Knight deserves way more credit.

Order

A lot of factions would love to have a 12 wounds, 4 Toughness chaff unit for 65 points. Especially with Strength 4 (less likely to die to counter and more efficient against T3 opposition) and Movement 4 (most efficient fighters are expected to have move 3. I’m not saying that Battle Priest is a paragon of efficiency, rather that Move 4 is a nice thing to have, as it will make it easier to traverse the battlefield). Now thanks to CoS update Order finally gain access to such fighter, that unfortunately isn’t spammable due to Hero runemark. A lot of conversations about SCE Warrior chamber Paladins not having the bodycount to properly function as a warband are now gone, as thanks to Battle Priest you can comfortably get to 7 bodies without compromises that were necessary before (example list: 1x “Mighty” Judicator-Prime with Boltstorm Crossbow, 2x Battle Priest, 4x Paladin with Starsoul Mace). Making strong and efficient fighters even stronger isn’t the only usage of Battle Priests. They can be used in factions that are in dire need of a better/cheaper chaff – like IDK (sadly in this case both chaff and Akhelian Kings compete for the same hero “slots”), Blacktalons (no chaff at all) or Vulkun Flameseekers (cheapest unit costs 95 points). Option to change a Witch Elf into 1,5x more durable fighter for the same cost is also quite tempting. Lastly – as a hero Battle Priest provides access to Inspiring Presence and having option to grab 2 treasures before your opponent can make his first activation is a great way to start a game with a lead.

As always thanks for reading. What is your pick for most underrated fighter? Is it Drothblood Thane, Beast of Nurgle or something completely different, let me know in the comments (here or on a platform where you saw the article).