HI folks!  Welcome back to the spotlight.  This week we’ll be wrapping up the Tactics Spotlight series (for now) with the fourth Major Ludus of Arena Rex: Ludus Atlanticus – better known as the Zephyri.

While Ludus Magnus, Legio XIII, and the Morituri all have strong Roman roots, the Zephyri are something new in the world of Arena Rex.  Owned and operated by a foreign magnate within the Gallo-Roman Empire, the Zephyri bring ferocity and novelty to the arena.  Being the only school to boast fabled and exotic Atlantean gladiators draws a heavy crowd for the Zephyri, with purses to match.  For the Norsemen in their ranks, the spoils of a light afternoon’s combat can match those of a whole season’s raiding for their forefathers.

Zephyri rely on mobility and aggression above all else.  Typically light on Favor generating abilities and armor.  Bjarrhvit, Frigge, Sven and Vargr can all Disengage to keep them safe from multiple attacks, while Sven and Vargr can Berserk to lay down serious hurt in a single activation.  Frigge’s combination of Intervene and Retaliate make her an excellent home base for other Zephyri to dance around. Vargr’s Intercept makes him a constant threat. Bjarrhvit’s Trapper is great for locking down enemies with strong reaction abilities, especially with Swift Sven around to swoop in and clean them up.

Zephyri are great individuals to sprinkle into other lists, as many of their defining traits are carried on the models themselves.  Their tactics really enhance their raiding feel when taken together, though. Brave keeps Zephyri nimble even on the defensive, allowing them to react even when fatigued or exhausted, for a price.  Ambush allows for timely pushes or good damage to unarmored targets for a low cost, and Blood Brothers lets the Zephyri shift damage to the reserves, or shuffle it around a bit and potentially gain some (otherwise scant) favor.  Our first Errata also applies to the Zephyri – the original printing of their Blood Brothers tactic did not include the final sentence restricting its use (we caught that one in playtesting, but sadly not in editing).

The Zephyri are also next on the block for a new release.  While one of the original Kickstarter concepts has sadly yet to be realized due to artist delays, another early source of inspiration has made it through our design process and will be available soon.

As always, we hope you enjoyed reading, and thanks again for checking out the spotlight!  Next week we’ll go back to the literal drawing board, and talk about the design process that lead to Leo, a distinct and iconic exemplar of the beasts in Arena Rex.