Star Belly Geek's Diskwars Pages

The Unaligned
Army Analysis

The Unaligned units in the game aren't a "faction" as such, although they could be played that way. More properly, they can be considered mercenaries that will join the factions in battles. Some Unaligned strategies are suggested in the Command and Control section.

Fixed flat Unaligneds:

Two Fairy Swarms appeared in the Knights Legions set, Massacre at Godstone Keep, and one Blood Spider comes with the Orcs Legions set, Last Stand at Dunwarr. Both disks are discussed more below.

Random flat Unaligneds:

All Unaligned units come on random flats. In the basic sets, we start with Ariama the Djinn. Ariama is almost (but not quite) useless - he's inexpensive for a level 2 flying caster, but his drawback makes it unlikely that you'll use him for more than one spell. Blood Spiders offer one way to take out Fairy Swarms and other multi-wound critters, but unless you really need that ability they're kind of overpriced for their stats. Centaurs of Kunth are decent cavalry, especially when combined with Thalos, Centaur Lord. People claim to have used Dryads profitably, and I'm considering trying one out against Swamp Behemoths, but, as with many disks, you'll need a specific plan to take one. Fairy Swarms are the biggest advantage Good has, in general, over Evil - fast, hard to kill, able to pin big nasties for a long time. Generally, it's hard for Good armies to avoid taking at least one Swarm, but under new League restrictions you won't be able to take more than two. Firbolg the Giant can kill Fairy Swarms and many other relatively weak disks very quickly, and isn't any fun for opponents to attack, but he's not cheap either - you probably should build part of your strategy around him, not just take him as "support." Gnomes of Qurlnyr are cheap and slow, but have their uses - a one-shot fireball at the right time, or a spellcaster when another special ability calls for one, for example. Golems are more likely to hinder your spellcasters than really stop those of opponents (unless you use other spells or special abilities to move them forward), but are not priced too badly for their toughness. Lothron Lions are fast, with a decent attack, and their drawback isn't really that bad, but most evil armies have other disks that would be better uses of 8 points. Marshwood Trolls are very nice front-line troops because of their resilience, and can be used creatively with some wound-moving special abilities. Peasants can add activations cheaply to any army, and with a Heretic can even provide a little offensive production. Serpents of Vlleng are just too easy to kill - they should really only be taken if you've got a good way to get them into an attack that must have a high total.

In Moon Over Thelgrim, some interesting and powerful new disks were added. The Cockatrice is a little fragile, but if it can get close to the enemy it will become a target quickly due to the irritatation factor, so it makes a good decoy. The Crimson Eagle of Anamont can get across the board quickly, and isn't too expensive for that speed - but do you know what it's going to do once it gets there? The Familiar is problematic - it has probably been the most universally used disk in armies of all factions. It's certainly worth taking in any army that can benefit from spells and that will have more than three rounds of play. The Familiar is now banned from League play, however. The Heretic isn't great for its own stats, but put it behind a line of Peasants and your opponent will be wishing for a Beastrider. Iron Golems are purely defensive, and do a good job of stopping some spells (not Fireball, sadly). Pixies are pretty fast, but in getting close enough to use their special ability, they virtually ensure their deaths. Sasquatch could be very effective in a terrain game. Otherwise, they're overpriced. Sonja Ravensblade is a viable attack unique disk for good armies, especially those like the Elves that lack many attack disks. The Spiderbeast of Xaarrx forms the backbone of many evil armies, especially those with Aggra the Hag, but be careful - that's a lot of points to waste without actually taking some opponent disks with you. Thalos, Centaur Lord isn't badly priced as he is, and with his boost to Centaurs of Kunth and Centaur Archers he's quite nice if you have the points to spare. The Mighty Garnoth is a bargain for his stats, and isn't as slow as he seems at first glance, but he can be stymied by clever opponents.

In Wastelands, the evil factions got richer. The Battle Wagon can really speed up slow troops, although a little care needs to be used to be sure it doesn't get trapped. The Wagon can also provide a strong barrier or pin unit after it's done moving units around. Centaur Archers are very effective troops, and really something of a bargain, but are fairly big Fireball targets if you're not careful. Chimeras' only flaw is their average attack score - I keep being tempted, then turning them down because they won't kill much (and the fireball missile isn't likely to produce much). If you can get a Manticore into the right position, it can do a lot of damage. That's a big if for a slow unit, though, and the combat stats certainly don't justify the cost. Minotaurs have to keep moving and attacking. Fortunately, they're good at it, and can be frightening if they berserk and don't get pinned. The Mother of Vlleng would be amazing if it affected all Vlleng critters. As it is, it's possible to conceive of a strategy that uses Serpents and a Mother well, but it's not easy. At least they're not expensive. The Rogue Knight isn't cheap, but that Instant Blow could be important to certain kinds of strategies. There's little reason to ever take more than one, though, and even that one is a big bite out of most armies. Vlleng Constrictors appear to primarily be one-turn sacrificial units to stop a big attacker (Spiderbeast?) from killing something until it can be killed. Otherwise, they're just not justifiable. Vlleng Wormswarms, on the other hand, could be very useful against high defense disks. Against some armies, given an ability to speed the Wormswarm up, that defense-drawing attribute could be invaluable.

Waiqar's Path brought some headaches in unaligned form. Boreth Niblick, the latest Giant addition, is amusing for the pun in his name, and his special ability, but he's not as good as Garnoth. The Colossus of Highvelt looks hard to use initially, but with a little planning it can be a terror on the battlefield. Once it's on top of something, how is an opponent going to deal with it? Expensive enough to actually become your strategy, but nasty enough to justify it. The Fairy Princess could make a big difference against swarm armies, or could be really useless against tough armies - your choice. Fire Elementals offer a good attack and toughness with an effective defensive missile and special ability for a good price, perhaps justifying a level 3 spellcaster. Godstone Raptors are a fast, flying First Blow, which could be critical at certain stages of the game. The Lyon Warrior has impressive numbers, but dies at the drop of a Fireball, and seriously restricts your army - not a disk to be taken on a whim. The Priestess of Xaarx was made for strange one-shot tactics (like casting spells more than once) - a roving Mass Vigor spell that's probably not worth it unless you know beforehand exactly when you're going to use her ability (and I don't mean Swashbuckling...). Stone Elementals are very slow, but they're really tough - great for factions such as the Acolytes who have level 3 casters and a dearth of tougness. Water Elementals have decent stats, but their big selling point is immunity from Fireballs, allowing you to put whatever you wish in your front lines - and they don't cost that much if you had the spellcaster anyway! Wind Elementals are potentially devastating to flier-heavy factions such as Dragonkin, but against ground-pounders are somewhat weak.

Like most mercenaries, unaligned units are a real mixed bag. Big winners are Fairy Swarms, the Familiar, The Mighty Garnoth, the Spiderbeast of Xaarrx and Elementals, with honorable mention to Centaurs, Peasants and the Marshwood Troll. Big losers, well, for most armies Ariama, most Vlleng things, and Sasquatch would qualify.