M2E+Young+Nephilim

== toc
 * Young Nephilim, Neverborn Minion**

=__Overview__=

A fast, dangerous flying model with a very flexible attack, the Young Nephilim acts as a mid-grade shock troop melee model to cause havoc along a front line and move around fairly quickly. Young Nephilim like being in the middle of the fray where they can benefit from all the killing that happens. Though they're normally associated with Lilith-lead Crews, they shouldn't be overlooked as an affordable option for any crew that needs some extra killing power.

The Young Nephilim can be hired at a moderate cost, or (more commonly) can come into play when a Terror Tot summons it through the **Grow** Ability provided by the Rapid Growth Upgrade. They also have the ability to summon a Mature Nephilim through **Mature**, found on the same Upgrade.

=__Mobility__=

The Young Nephilim is decently fast with **Wk** 5 and **Flight**. But, considering that they really want to be in melee, it's their **Cg** 8 that make their mobility really shine.

Thanks to **Thirst For Blood**, they can get **Fast** when a friendly model kills a nearby non-Construct. Technically, this could include a friendly model killing another friendly model, but this is rarely worth it. Also, the 3" range on it means that they'll have to be pretty close to the killed model, so it can take some work – but that extra AP can be really useful in moving them into a **Charge** position.

=__Offense__=

For their Soulstone cost the Young Nephilim can dish out a lot of melee pain if used correctly.

Their main attack, **Talons**, is a **Ml** 6 Mask with a hefty 2/4/5 damage spread with three different Triggers. //Blood Frenzy// is the most straightforward: on a Ram, it gives the Young Nephilim another Attack against the same target. Note that this free attack CAN declare Triggers, so if you've got the Rams you can //Frenzy// all day long. It's definitely worth cheating a mid Ram in, especially if you've already guaranteed a hit. The other two Triggers are both baked in with a Mask and are generally both used for the same purpose: Triggering free Attacks/damage from other models. //Flush Out// pushes the target 4" any direction. You'll use this to move a model that is **Rooted**, toss it into **Pounce**, or just generally put it out in the open. //For the Brood// keeps a killed target alive, pushes it 8", and gives it **Paralyzed**. This is only really useful to toss a Minion at a Terror Tot so it can get the killing blow in order to **Grow**.

If another friendly model has the **Obsidian Talons** Upgrade, the Young Nephilim will have a fourth trigger, //Flay,// which lets it cheat damage flips even with negative twists. Considering his hefty mid/high damage this can be useful against Enforcers if you're trying to get your Young to **Mature**. It tends to not be worth cheating for this Trigger, however, as it can become card intensive pretty quickly. Add on the fact that you can get a lot of mileage out of //Blood Frenzy// and //Flush Out// you might not ever use it, but don't forget about it for those times it can guarantee you a kill.

The Young Nephilim also has the very frightening (2) **Feast**, which has a **Ml** 6 Masks and does a massive 3/6/7 damage. If that wasn't reason enough to use it, it also heals the Young Nephilim completely if it kills the model! Because of this, //Flay// is a hell of a lot more frightening on **Feast** than it is on **Talons**. As a (2) Action, this can be hard to pull off, but if you get your target into position out of Activation (via Zoraida/Vasilisa's **Obey** or Lilith's **Tangle Shadows** maybe) then you can take down a high-**Wd** target pretty quickly or use it to heal by killing a scrub. Either way it's fun. **Thi****rst for Blood** is your other option to make **Feast** more usable, but it's less dependable and might be better used to reposition or **Charge**.

If you're using the Rapid Growth Upgrade, then your best bet is to kill an Enforcer or Henchman (good luck with that) any way you can, because the Mature Nephilim will come into play at full **Wd** and has way more stopping power than the Young.

=__Resilience__=

The Young Nephilim's defenses are only so-so, with **Df** 5, **Wp** 5, and **Wd** 7. They can heal up with **Feast** while **Black Blood** can deter some melee-focused models – but neither Ability is dependable enough to make Young Nephilim a resilient model. Your best best is using their mobility and **Flight** to keep them out of danger (especially from ranged enemies) before moving in for the kill.

If a Young is already in melee and gets hurt it's normally worth the card to guarantee the kill off **Feast** or, better yet, **Mature**.

=__Tactics and Tips__=

Young Nephilim are like mermaids: When you want some fish they're a woman and when you need a woman they're a fish. They're not as good at running schemes as Terror Tots and they're nowhere near as destructive as Mature Nephilim. And with better Nephilim options for one Soulstone more (Black Blood Shaman, Lilitu, Lelu) it's really hard to justify hiring them into a Nephilim-heavy Crew. But using **Grow** to summon them is incredibly useful and insanely easy to do.

Outside of Nephilim Crews, however, they can be an affordable, dangerous Minion for certain Masters to buff and manipulate (see below).

Young Nephilim love being in the middle of combat where you can get as many attacks as possible and can be pretty easily picked off by ranged attacks or beat sticks with a 2" engagement. That means you want to get him in the mix as fast as possible by any means possible. Do whatever it takes – push a target into **Charge** range, move him around with other models, or summon him into the fray – otherwise they'll seem a bit lackluster.


 * Thirst for Blood** can be a little difficult to make happen, but it can be amazing when it happens. Remember that **Fast** doesn't mean anything if he gains it during his Activation. So using //Flush Out// to push a model into **Pounce** is going to help you kill the target but won't give him any more AP. So you'll want to make sure it happens outside of his Activation, even if he's already gone this turn because **Fast** will roll over to the next turn.

Getting Youngs to ** Mature **is a little tricky but can quickly turn the tides when it happens. Since they have to kill models that are normally cooler than them (Enforcer or better) you'll need to choose your targets accordingly. The good news is that the Young Nephilim have the damage spread to take down a lot of Enforcers in 2-3 swings. The bad news is that their defenses aren't that great, so if your opponent is on the offensive you're in trouble. Look for opportunities to attack any more squishy Enforcers and you'll be a lot more successful.

__ **Master-Specific Tips** __

It is worth remembering that the Young Nephilim are Minions, so they can benefit from some very nasty abilities of some Masters. And at the low cost of 6 SS it could be worth it to hire one or two for some stopping power.

Collodi can turn them into his **Personal Puppet** and keep them around as a bodyguard. A swing from one of these guys can definitely deter someone from attacking the Puppet Master. Their ability to self-heal can offset the damage from **Personal Puppet**, as well. Throw a **My Will** their way because they'll get good use out of that positive twist to Attack and Damage. Take the **Fated** Upgrade and you'll be able to give them some Effigy buffs to help you generate cards or Soulstones anytime they kill, which will be often.

In much the same way, the Dreamer can get a lot of use out of them with **Empty Night**. Moving a Young around out of Activation and giving it free attacks is always nice, especially since that will free up the Young's AP to **Charge** or **Feast**. As discussed on the Terrot Tots page, It might be better to take Lilitu, Lelu, or a Black Blood Shaman and two Tots with the intention to **Grow** them during the game.

A Neverborn Lucius could gain a lot use out of one or two of these bad boys. **Issue Command** on them to move them up field and hand out free **Focused** or **Defensive** while you're at it. Or you can keep one within 8" for protection, using them to murder anything that gets too close.

= __Minion-Specific Tips__ =

It could go without saying, but should be heavily emphasized, that the Black Blood Shaman can turn an already deadly Young Nephilim into a frightening, blood-thirsty murderer of all things good and holy. Besides being able to easily turn a Terror Tot into Young at the low, low cost of a Corpse Marker (what else were you going to do with it?), Shamans can also drop positive twists on their **Df** and **Ml**. The former can balance out their "meh" defense, while the latter can set their talons to "puree." Shaman can heal them a little too, but it's probably better to buff their **Ml** in hopes of landing a **Feast**.

=__Playing Against Young Nephilim__=

As with most Nephilim, the Young Nephilim are best taken out with ranged attacks or 2"+ melee so their **Black Blood** can't hurt your models. Trying to kill them before they can cause trouble is your best bet. Their defenses are completely average so don't be afraid to attack them with just about anyone, but trying to whittle them down can backfire on you if they get a chance to heal up with **Feast**.

Pay extra attention to them if your opponent has taken Black Blood Shaman. Shamans can heal them a little bit and buff them considerably. It can also be a pain to have Terror Tots turn into Youngs when they're already engaging your models.

And they should definitely be priority targets if your opponent takes the Rapid Growth Upgrade. (Note that this Upgrade won't be on the Young Nephilim – look for it on a bigger Nephilim.) You don't want to risk them taking out one of your Enforcers mid-game and putting a Mature on the table at the same time. That's a double-whammy that can completely destroy any momentum you have built up. Also, the Rapid Growth Upgrade only works if its holder is within 12" of a growing young monster – while Nephilim have plenty of movement tricks, it's possible that a well-timed **Lure** can keep a Nephilim from getting bigger.


 * __Ownership__ **

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