Week 2 of Tail Feathers previews continues! Each week we’ll provide you with a wealth of information covering the basics of gameplay, specific units, their strengths and weaknesses, and some strategies for using them. We’ll also introduce you to the Downwood Militia, and Vermin Raider factions and the story surrounding the action in the game.
Tail Feathers: Grizzard and Snag
Meet the Vermin Raiders' most vicious duo.
Tail Feathers is the exciting new miniature skirmish game by Jerry Hawthorne set in the beloved world of Mice and Mystics. Players will recreate the famous battles for aerial supremacy that shaped the Mice and Mystics world. Pre-order Tail Feathers today for $15 off the retail price and a free promo Mice and Mystics Lost Chapter compatible with Downwood Tales!
An Uneasy Truce
While the players are encouraged to mix and match pilots and birds, certain pairings are reflected in the included story, as you will discover. This week we will be taking a look at Snag, the leader of the Vermin Raiders, and his vicious rook Grizzard. This ugly pairing is the result of a pact between Snag and the vulture Scarcraw. Their cunning plan is simple. Scarcraw and his flock will allow the Snag's rats to cross the open field and raid the mouse settlements of Northern Downwood, as long as they leave spoils in the field on their way back. They just didn't expect the mice to fight back with flying allies of their own! So let's check out Snag and Grizzard!
Deadly Duo
When he hears of the mysterious blue jay-riding mouse that foiled Snag's first attack on the mouse villages, Scarcraw chose to give his best bird to Snag. Grizzard is a ferocious rook with a thrill for hunting. Together, they are the most feared team in the sky.
Stats
As mentioned last week, birds and their pilots are the central focus of your force. They have the speed, staying power, and flexibility to fulfill multiple battlefield roles. Snag and Grizzard together are the most powerful combination. Their pairing creates the fastest, hardest hitting bird and pilot team in the rat force.
Battle: Snag lives for battle and with Grizzard, they form a dangerous team that will inspire fear in the Downwood Militia, but this power needs to be harnessed in order to take on the more numerous and agile birds and pilots of the Downwood forces. Snag's ace rank pilot card has a melee battle value of 3. Grizzard also has a battle value of 3. When Snag and Grizzard engage in a death spiral, they add their battle values together giving them a total of 6 dice! That is strong, but what's even better is that Grizzard's special ability gives him a plus 1 to all swoop attacks! 7 dice on a swoop can really tear up some ground troops.
Life: As mentioned last week, Pilots and Birds combine their life points together. Grizzard has 4 life--Very respectable. Snag's, battle prowess at Ace level contributes 2 additional life bringing the unit total to 6. Looking at Snag at standard rank, we see that he provides no bonus. This represents his recklessness at an earlier point in his time as a pilot.
Defense: Grizzard is a strong bird, and his defense of 2 and high life ensures that he will be in the battle for a while, but he's too big of a threat for your opponent to ignore. At ace level, Snag has access to defensive action cards to bolster their defenses even more.
Speed: Grizzard has good speed. He has a move value of 3 which allows him to keep up with the Downwood birds, and Snag can always flog him using the Flog action card for an extra burst of speed to close in for a kill. This, combined with his brute strength, ensures the enemy pilots will be afraid to get close.
Proficiencies and Action Cards
In Tail Feathers, each player has a hand of 7 action cards chosen at the start of the game. These cards represent special tricks and maneuvers your heroes, pilots, and birds can perform to surprise your opponent and enhance your strategy. Each action card has requirements in order to use it.
Snag and Grizzard have access to a many action cards, thanks to Snag's robust set of proficiencies. Snag has the shield, sword, and mechanical proficiencies, providing him with access to a wide array of offensive and defensive cards like Clockwork Pistol and Battle Harness. Grizzard has access to some awesome cards too, like Paralyzing Screech, and Battle Wind.
Strategy
Snag and Grizzard are a powerful threat in the Vermin Raider's aerial forces. Their beefy stats and access to powerful offensive action cards, will have them spearheading the aggressive assaults that the rats are known for.
Sky Dominance: With his decent speed and some good action cards, Grizzard can pounce on enemy birds and engage them in a death spiral. This earns the Vermin Raiders a cheese (Snag's ability) which can be used to power up an action card for even more damage. Snag and Grizzard can rip through Starlings like nobody's business! Grizzard can also let out a powerful Paralyzing Screech to rattle enemy pilots and prevent them from operating at full effect.
Nest Blitz: Snag and Grizzard can fly directly toward the enemy home nest and completely disrupt their strategy as they will need to redirect forces to defense. Their best defense will be to try and divert your assault using a bird tooled up to death spiral Grizzard.... Something the mice are usually loath to do. Be careful of concentrated enemy ranged attacks, as Grizzard can find himself targeted by numerous precise attacks from the Downwood mice.
Midfield Threat: Snag and Grizzard can circle the middle of the field waiting to pounce on a mission or passing leaf. Enemies will be reluctant to send ground missions and their weaker birds will have to skirt around in order to avoid Grizzard's threat. This midfield dominance allows your own missions more freedom to siege your opponent's home tree, and you can always devote another strong bird like Wrunk to nest destruction.
We will cover crazy Wrunk and her pilot Chumjaw in a future article. But Grizzard and Snag are the heaviest hitters of the Vermin Raiders and they are to be feared.
Click here to pre-order Tail Feathers today for $15 off the retail price and a special promo Mice and Mystics scenario with initiative and search cards compatible with Mice and Mystics: Downwood Tales!
Tail Feathers Preview Articles
Week 1: Round Phases, Story Part 1
Week 2: Flight Basics, Aerijin & Zure, Story Part 2
Week 3: Attacking
Written by Jerry Hawthorne
Jerry Hawthorne is the designer of Tail Feathers as well as Mice and Mystics.
