Windwalker

Windwalker

Painted

Windwalker {CW-F3} is a faction released with Onslaught One. It focuses on building up strength until the late game, and then blitzing across the map in a push for the winning points.

Components

Faction

Setup
After everyone except Opener of the Way has set up; 8 Power, 6 Acolytes, and a Controlled Gate in one of the Areas with this Glyph:
Unique Ability
Hibernate (Action: Cost 0): Gain 1 Power for each enemy Great Old One in play; in doing so you may not gain more Power than the amount of your current total Power. You may no longer perform Actions during this Action Phase (as though you were at 0 Power). Add your current Power to your total during the next Gather Power Phase.
Spellbook Requirements
Awaken Rhan-Tegoth.		A Gate exists in the Area marked with the Windwalker Glyph and in which you did not start.
You are the First Player.		Another Faction has 6 Spellbooks on their Faction Card.
Take this Spellbook at any time. Gain 1 Elder Sign for each enemy player with 6 Spellbooks on their Faction Card, to a maximum of 3 Elder Signs.		Awaken Ithaqua.
Spellbooks
	Arctic Wind (Ongoing): When Ithaqua uses the Move Action, any or all your Units in the same Area can Move with him for no additional cost.
	Berserkergang (Post-Battle): For each Gnoph-Keh assigned a Kill in Battle, the enemy must Eliminate 1 of his own Monsters or Cultists.
	Cannibalism (Post-Battle): After all Battle results have been applied, if one or more enemy Units were killed, you may place a Wendigo or Acolyte from your Pool into the Battle Area. You may do this even if you were not involved in the Battle.
	Herald of the Outer Gods (Ongoing): Pay 5 Power for Windwalker's Ritual of Annihilation, regardless of the number indicated on the Ritual track.
	Howl (Pre-Battle): Before Battle, if any Wendigos are present, you may force the enemy to Retreat one Unit (of their choice) out of the Area and into an adjacent Area. This is not a Pain - the Unit may be moved to an Area containing your Units.
	Ice Age (Action: Cost 1): Place your Ice Age token into any Area. When an enemy Faction takes any Action ending in the Ice Age Area, they must spend +1 Power.

Units

Cultists
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Spellbooks
	Acolyte	6	1	0	Cannibalism
		Availability: [Classic] Windwalker {CW-F3} (x6), Acolyte Blister Pack {RPG-CG-A} (x2) [Alternate] Alternate Faction Acolytes {CW-U12} (x6), Cultic Set 1 {EHP-4} (x6)
		From his ancient tome he intones the words of power. Beware, sane world. The realm of madness awakens at his command.
		The alternate sculpt units replace the classic sculpt Acolytes, and were originally developed for Evil High Priest.
Monsters
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Spellbooks
	Wendigo	4	1	1	Cannibalism Howl
		Availability: Windwalker {CW-F3} (x4), Wendigo Blister Pack {RPG-F3-W1} (x2)
		Sometimes a person, lost in the tundra, is forced to eat human flesh to survive. This is the monster that results.
File:Gnoph-Keh (Painted).png	Gnoph-Keh	4	*	3	Berserkergang
		Cost: Equal to the number of Gnoph-Keh in your Pool. (i.e., if only one Gnoph-Keh is in your Pool, its cost is 1.)
		Availability: Windwalker {CW-F3} (x4), Gnoph-Keh Blister Pack {RPG-F3-W2} (x2)
		A furry horned being of the arctic wastes. It waits, patient and potent, at the edge of your vision, for your watchfulness to wane.
Great Old Ones
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Spellbooks
	Rhan-Tegoth	1	6	3
			How to Awaken Rhan-Tegoth: Pay 6 Power. Rhan-Tegoth appears in an Area containing the Windwalker Glyph.
			Eternal (Post-Battle): If Rhan-Tegoth receives a Pain or a Kill, you may pay 1 Power to cancel its effect on him. He can only receive one combat result per Battle.
		Availability: Windwalker {CW-F3} (x1), Rhan-Tegoth Blister Pack {RPG-F3-W3} (x1)
		Harbinger of the Great Old Ones. He waits beneath the arctic ice, to one day sing his threnody for Earth's funeral.
File:Ithaqua (Painted).png	Ithaqua	1	6	*
			How to Awaken Ithaqua: Rhan-Tegoth has been Awakened (he need not be in play). A Gate must exist in an Area marked with your Glyph. You need not Control the Gate. Pay 6 Power and replace the Gate with Ithaqua.
			Combat: Equal to half of your opponent's Doom, rounded up.
			Ferox (Ongoing): While Ithaqua is in play, your Cultists cannot be Captured by enemy Monsters or Terrors. They are still vulnerable to enemy Great Old Ones.
		Availability: Windwalker {CW-F3} (x1), Ithaqua Blister Pack {RPG-F3-W4} (x1)
		God of Outer Space, it seeks to bring the ultimate zero of the cosmos to our world.

Expansion Units

Cultists
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Spellbooks
	Acolyte	1	1	0
		Availability: CW Onslaught 3 Stretch Goal Box {CW-E20} (x1)
		This unit is used as a Handicap Acolyte.
File:High Priest (Alternate).png File:High Priest (Alternate) (Painted).png	High Priest	1	3	0
		Unspeakable Oath (Ongoing): At the end of any player's Action (even if it is not your turn), Sacrifice your High Priest (return him to your Pool) and gain 2 Power. This may also be done during the Gather Power and Doom Phases.
		Notes: The High Priest is a new type of Cultist, it is Recruited like an Acolyte. Each High Priest generates 1 Power during the Gather Power Phase, can Create and Control a Gate, and can be Captured. Each Faction has only a single High Priest available. This unit may also be used as one of the Unique High Priests.
		Availability: [Classic] High Priests {CW-U3} (x1), High Priests {CW-U3-O3} (x1), High Priest Blister Pack {RPG-U3-HP} (x2) [Alternate] High Priests {CW-U3-O4} (x1), Cultic Set 1 {EHP-4} (x1), Cultic Set 3 {EHP-6} (x1)
		He leads the rites of old. It is time to awaken the great old ones! Iä! Iä!
The alternate sculpt unit replaces the classic sculpt High Priest, and was originally developed for Evil High Priest.
File:Brain Cylinder Figure - Windwalker (Painted).png	Brain Cylinder	4	0	0
		Availability: [Token] Yuggoth Map {CW-M3} (x4) [Figure] Shining Trapezohedron {CW-E15} (x4), Shining Trapezohedron {CW-E15-O3} (x4), Shining Trapezohedron {CW-E15-O4} (x4), Brain Cylinder Blister Pack {RPG-E15-10} (x1)
		This helpless human, reduced to a mere living brain by the surgical and mechanical skill of the aliens, can now only communicate through electronic devices. What wisdom or warning can he relate?
		See Brain Cylinders for rules. The Brain Cylinder figures replace the Brain Cylinder Tokens.
File:Dark Demon.png File:Dark Demon (Painted).png	Dark Demon	1	1	0
		How to Obtain the Dark Demon Loyalty Card: In the Doom Phase, when it is your turn to perform a Ritual of Annihilation, you may pay 2 Doom to obtain this Loyalty Card and then place the Dark Demon matching your Faction's color anywhere on the Map. If you wish, you may also perform a Ritual of Annihilation. Each of the other Factions permanently loses an Acolyte from their Pools (or from the Map, if all are in play) and then adds to their Pools a Dark Demon of their Faction's color.
		The Summons (Ongoing): Any Faction with a Dark Demon in its Pool cannot take any Action other than Recruiting the Dark Demon. (You can still choose to drop your Power to 0 and take no more Actions this Action Phase instead). Metamorph (Ongoing): Dark Demons are a new type of Cultist and are treated as Cultists in every way, but they produce 0 Power during the Gather Power Phase. They are Recruited rather than Summoned, so a Controlled Gate is not needed to bring them into play. Dark Demons may Create and Control Gates, and they are worth 1 Power when Captured. They can be targeted by any Spellbooks or abilities that reference Cultists, but not Acolytes.
		Availability: Masks of Nyarlathotep {CW-U10} (x1)

Buildings

Buildings
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Spellbooks
File:Gate - Windwalker (Painted).png	Gate	1	3	N/A
		Notes: Used for Colour Out of Space
		Availability: Colour Out of Space {CW-U7} (x1), Eldritch Gate Pack {CW-U9} (x1), Eldritch Gate Pack {CW-U9-O3} (x1)

Other components

Other components
Image	Component	Quantity	Notes
	Faction Card	1
		Availability: Windwalker {CW-F3} (x1)
	Faction Token	1
		Availability: Windwalker {CW-F3} (x1)
	Power Marker	1
		Availability: Windwalker {CW-F3} (x1)
File:Doom Marker - Windwalker (Painted).png	Doom Marker	1
		Availability: Windwalker {CW-F3} (x1)
	Ice Age Token	1
		Availability: Windwalker {CW-F3} (x1)
	Battle Dice	20
		Availability: Battle Dice - Windwalker {CW-U20} (x20), All 200 Battle Dice! {CW-U24} (x20), ALL 240 BATTLE DICE {CW-U??} (x20)
	Neutral Unit Identifier	6 (25mm) 3 (40mm) 3 (50mm) 1 (80mm)
		Availability: Neutral Unit Identifier {CW-U26} (x13), Neutral Unit Identifier {CW-U26-O4} (x13)

General Tips

Elder Sign Acquisition - Windwalker has several great ways to acquire Elder Signs. The primary source is going to be your ritual when performed with both faction GOOs on the map. Herald of the Outer Gods locks this cost in at 5, making it an absolute must every round after both GOOs are summoned. The second is his spellbook requirement which can yield up to 3 Elder Signs when taken after 3 other factions have 6 spellbooks. Do the best you can to wait for this opportune moment.

Offense vs. Defense - Some factions in Cthulhu Wars are better at one or the other, but Windwalker in particular has both a powerful defense and offence. Typically, WW plays defensively in the early to mid game, then transitions to offensive late game if needed (it may not be!). Focus on Herald of the Outer Gods (see below) to further your position on the doom track in the mid and late game, while using Ice Age and Rhan Tegoth (with his eternal ability) to make your starting areas difficult to assault.

When Ithaqua and your Gnoph Keh are on the board, now you have the option for strong offense. Look for an opportune time to strike. If it looks like you will need to end the game with a big round (lots of gates in the doom phase) then try and hibernate a good amount of power the round before. This will ensure you are have a good amount of power to go on the offensive when others are low. Try to focus on gates controlled by other leading players, taking them down while building yourself up might be the difference between a win and a loss.

Cannibalism - This works even in battles where you where not involved. Be watchful!

Spellbook Strategies

• Cannibalism - If you've managed to Kill an opponent's unit in a battle, you can assign a Kill to one of your Wendigos or Acolytes and spawn one to replace it using Cannibalism. Furthermore, if two enemy factions battled for a gate, and everybody is pained out the area, you can place a cultist or wendigo in the place to stealthily steal their objective (like BG does with necrofagy).
• Howl - A single Wendigo with Howl that attacks a gate defended with one monster can force an enemy to either move the monster (leaving the cultist open to capture) or the cultist (losing that gate). In big fights, think twice about using Howl, as your enemy can choose to move out a very expensive and important unit (the King in Yellow, a High Priest, ...).
• Berserkergang - Once all of your Gnoph Keh are on the board, this allows you to assign an additional kill on the enemy for the cost of just 1 power (assuming all other Gnoph Keh survived). Consider the position of Ithaqua's army before using, however, since it may be difficult to get the Gnoph Keh back where you need him.
• Herald of the Outer Gods - HotOG is an extremely powerful spellbook. Although Windwalker's army can be the most powerful in the game, they are also highly equipped for a defensive strategy. With rituals locked at 5 power, you will be gaining 2 Elder Signs per ritual when you have both of your GOOs on the map. Windwalker can focus on defending 2-3 gates and stand a very good chance at winning when using Herald of the Outer Gods. This strategy is helped further by Rhan Teghoth's Immortal ability making him particularly difficult to remove from an area.
• Arctic Wind - This is one of the most powerful abilities of any faction in Cthulhu Wars (says this Fandom User). Regardless of army size, you can move them all with Ithaqua for 1 power. This is especially powerful when combined with Independent Great Old Ones, Monsters, and Terrors. The cost to move these extra units keeps them in check for most other factions. Windwalker's power usage, however, is completely unaffected by extra units. A few notable examples include:
  • Atlach Nacha - With a large army able to move with the Spider god for just 1 power, you can place web tokens around the map with better protection than any other faction.
  • Ghatonathoa - When he has his spellbook, whenever you move Ithaqua's army into an area, all cultists there are instantly neutralized. This means your attacks will have maximum devastation on your opponents army and income.
• Ice Age - This is a fantastic tool to frustrate your opponents. It can be used both offensively to prevent your opponent from fortifying an area, or defensively to make it very costly for an enemy to take your gate. Using a Herald of the Outer Gods defensive strategy, placing the Ice Age token in an area requires your enemy to spend at least 2 extra power to take your gate in a best case scenario, it will likely cost much more than that over a series of battles. That extra power will drain your opponent quickly!

Opening Strategies

Windwalker is not the easiest faction to open with. If you look at how you can achieve spellbooks your goal is definitly set on building a gate at the opposite pole you are started at. Maybe and i say maybe early hibernating in the first round can grab you that first player next round but this strategy is quite risky. The downside of early hibernation is that the field is open for the other players the gain ground towards you or even grab some of your cultist. Missing that start player goal will set you trailing other players for big chunks of the game and big change you never catch up.

Opening 1: Grabbing that pole.

Easiest way looks like to move 1 cultist 3 times towards the opposite pole and build that gate with your fourth action. Any enemy monster or GOO following your trail just grab that cultist and take that gate for their own good. So you need somehow have to protect and conceal that obvious strategy. But how? Convoying your cultist with a monster or any other strategy will lack you power for gatebuilding. Making this opening a 2 turn strategy. So move 1 cultist, build a gate, build wendigo and additional moves towards the opposite pole is what you can do in turn 1. With a bit of luck you can build that gate at the opposite pole in turn 2 and a good timed hibernation can bring you at 2 spellbooks at the start of turn 3.

Opening 2: Early Hibernation

Timing when to hibernate is of the essence. If opponents slowly spent power it will need a more patient strategy. First move a cultist to a adjacent area and build a gate, protect it with a Wendigo. You still have 3 power left now. Time to check if Hibernation is a save thing to do at this time. If not build another wendigo and check again.

Which spellbook to pick first? Cannibalism, Howl or Herald of the Outer Gods ''''are the more early game spellbooks. At the moment you can summon Ithaqua the Arctic Wind spellbook will allow you to change your strategy to the offense. The general tips point out clearly what the WW powers are.

Let the walkers ice the world and there will be peace.