Mythic Americas Aztecs from A2Z

Mythic Americas Aztecs from A2Z

Words and pics by Eric J Goldstein

Content Contributor and Coordinator 

Part 1 Tlalocan Bound Dead

I knew from the first time I picked up the Starter Box that I was going to be playing Mythic Americas and that I would be building an Aztec warband. In this series I'm going to explore the Aztecs unit by unit and the various ways this diverse warband can be played...

Night of the Living Dead, Zombie and The Walking Dead are a few of my favorite things; Are you sensing a theme here? Started for me when I first watched George Romero's iconic Night of the Living Dead when I was a young impressionable kid. I have been infatuated with the Undead ever since. So it didn't surprise me at all that my choice was an easy one when I saw the Aztec Tlalocan Bound Dead. By the way they're not zombies. They're Bound Dead. Says so in the rulebook.

I’ll be honest; I had no idea how versatile the Mythic Americas’ Aztecs would be when I first decided to build an Aztec warband. To my surprise that versatility extends to the Bound Dead. They are the mainstay of my warband.

On paper their stat line is pretty much average to less than. They have no weapons or weapon upgrades except what rocks and sticks they pick up while shambling across the battlefield. Because of this they can’t take advantage of Exchange of Missiles and no access to SV to help negate enemy saves.

Their average Str and Res also means they can be average in combat and go down pretty easily.

And… They are slow, not because of the standard Movement stat but because the Bound Dead’s low agility makes it very difficult to Sprint.

BUT; They are much cheaper than most rank and file infantry allowing me to field more of them and in large units. I can flood the table with Bound Dead to use as screens, sacrificial units, objective holders and with proper support they can be made to hit hard or increase their survivability based on the situation.

Magic is something at which Aztecs excel with three different magic users available to them. Which is important to getting the most out of your Bound Dead. The two spells I always make sure I have in my arsenal are; Armor of the Gods and Power Siphon which give the Bound Dead +2 Res and +2 Str respectively. It becomes important to keep a magic slinger within range of several units to ensure you take advantage of these two powerful spells. A unit of Bound Dead suddenly goes from mediocre to a unit hitting with Str 7 in combat. If they charge, that becomes Str 8! That’s enough to threaten a Monstrosity!

I field multiple units of five and ten man Bound Dead. This allows me the flexibility of using the smaller units as screening and harassment units while the large units can take and hold objectives or confidently take on most enemies in close combat. (By the way: You can build your five man units up to fifteen strong at a measly 5 points per model!!!)

The small investment of 55 points for a unit that can screen an important unit or slow down an expensive enemy unit for a turn is well worth the risk if they are destroyed. And that’s another key point. Bound Dead do not Route. They must be destroyed which helps keep them around a bit longer.

Some scenarios, tactics and even reactions call for swift aggressive movement, clearly something the Bound Dead lack. But we have help in the form of Blessings of the Way; EverChanging #3 allows for an Auto Pass of your Agility test while Everliving #4 grants you a Free Move Action. Either of these will help your Bound Dead unit get closer to where it needs to be. These are tools that should not be underrated. They can be very powerful in game when used at the right time. I have stunned opponents with these remake of the Dawn of the Dead movement shenanigans.

 

Blessings and Magic are a primary way to get the most out of your Bound Dead. I use several tactics in game ;

If I need to take and hold an objective I’ll use a movement Blessing or the Unnatural Speed spell to move a large Bound Dead unit up as quickly as possible. Keeping a magic slinger like Spider Sisters near will ensure Armor of the Gods will keep them in place if an enemy unit is closing in to attack. Once in place I will use Order Blessing manipulation like Everchanging #1 and #2. These will allow me to Rally and remove pins to help keep the unit on the objective. To support that effort I will sometimes up their command stat with the Tlaloc’s Edict spell.

The other strength of the low cost Bound Dead is that I can screen much of my Warband or just important shock units like the Jaguar Warriors. Simply march across the table with a hoard of Dead that will take a toll on the enemy forces. If I lose a few units the point exchange is usually well worth it. Even the small five man Bound Dead units are invaluable. I will have them charge a stronger unit, making sure my Jaguars are in good support position. Once the enemy unit has taken casualties and earned Pins the Jaguars can Charge in and take out the remaining enemy troops.

Tlalocan Bound Dead… These “cheap” troops can, with the right support take and hold Objectives, be a real threat in Combat, harass all manner of enemy troops, be an effective screen for more expensive units and look great on the table while doing so. But, if you’re more inclined to just throw caution to the wind and play just for the excuse of a fun mosh pit of mayhem just rush ‘em across the table and wait for the first one to scream…

In Pt 2 we explore one of the Aztec’s most colorful units; The Jaguar Warriors.

Check out the Aztecs and the complete Mythic Americas game and miniature line here;

Mythic Americas – Mythicos

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