Flayed Ones are the New Hotness

The Past

Let's get it out of the way: last edition, Flayed Ones sucked. Period. But why were they so bad? 3 attacks each on a relatively sturdy body that could Infiltrate, Outflank, or Deep Strike isn't bad, is it? And cheap, 13 ppm with a min squad of 5 is simple to put on the board. So why the stigma?

Well, easiest answer - they couldn't do what they were supposed to do. Yeah, they had 3 attacks each, but at I2 they went only before Unwieldy. They died in droves before they could attack. It mainly hinged on how Reanimation worked. Because it wasn't until the end of the phase, any that went down didn't get to attack even if they all stood up at the end. And given that they went down, there was a decent chance that they didn't get to stand back up because they probably lost combat and ran away, losing all the tokens.

Not to mention that 3 attacks each at WS4 S4 isn't terrible, but it's also nothing overly special. With no modifiers or rerolls of any kind, they didn't really do as much damage as you'd think. 

The Present

Things are different now. Reanimation nearly singlehandedly saved Flayed Ones from being the same as last edition. Now that it's taken right after the wounds, there's a 1/3 to 1/2 chance that they'll actually get to fight at their Initiative, meaning you'll get way more attacks in than you would last edition. It also means that even if you lose combat, it'll be by far less than previously, so you're more likely to continue to stay in, which is great.

Not to mention that getting a 4+ reanimate is easy now with the Decurion, when before you would have to sacrifice Infiltrate to put a Lord/Overlord in with them.

And on top of that, they gained an extra attack and Shred per model, all while retaining the same cost. Buffs on top of buffs! So not only did RP fix what they did, the Flayer Claws made them better at it. The inclusion of Fear isn't that big (considering the prevalence of ATSKNF or Fearless), but it is a free USR for nothing!

3 attacks at WS4 S4 was only .75 wounds per Flayed One against a Space Marine, so .25 after 3+ saves. Now, 4 attacks at the same statline with Shred is 1.5 wounds per Flayed One against a Space Marine, .5 after 3+ saves. Double the effectiveness for the exact same price. That's amazing!

The Future

Let's face it, cheap Infiltrate was never a bad thing. But now that those cheap Infiltrators are actually good at what they do, it's even better. Seeing Flayed Ones in lists is going to be a thing as people figure this out. Cheap, effective Assault troops are never a bad thing to have.

A squad of 5 is one of the cheapest min squads in the book (only Scarabs, a single Destroyer, and a single Lord are cheaper) and can be placed right in the middle of the board with Infiltrate. Starting them in any terrain, especially on Objectives, creates a veritable minefield that anything non-vehicle moving across needs to be aware of. Sure, they don't have ObSec and they can't charge Turn 1, but suddenly you have lots of early game map control that your opponent can't easily remove.

If they're part of a Decurion (which I think is best right now), they have a 4+/4+++ and whatever Cover Saves they start out in. Though they can't charge turn 1, they're going to be extremely hard to remove if they Infiltrate correctly. Plus, since they can't charge Turn 1 anyway, they can just Go To Ground for a 3+ Cover in Ruins!

The Bosses

Flayed Ones also gain a bit of help from some of the HQ choices. Imotekh is the obvious one. If you Deep Strike a squad or two of them, revel in your rerolls. If you Infiltrate them, enjoy the free Stealth in your cover. 

Zahndrekh can help too. Switching Traits to Conquerer of Cites gives them Move Through Cover (which they don't get from the Decurion) and Stealth in Ruins. For boards with lots of ruins, they're going to be much, much more dangerous. Additionally, if he joins one, having Zealot/Fearless in an Assault squad is pretty good, as is the Reroll 1s to Hit in Assault. 

Getting an HQ with them to Infiltrate is impossible unless you have a generic Warlord that rolls Master of Ambush. However, you can give an HQ the Veil of Darkness and Deep Strike with them, which gives them the option to have a Cryptek, Lord, or Overlord, any of which could be fairly useful overall. 

If they choose to Outflank, you can put any HQ with them, which could be a decent way to get certain things across the board, or get Warscythes into the back line fairly easily. 

Popping in a DLord with them might be the best option. He gives them a lot: Preferred Enemy, a 4++ to tank on, and probably a Warscythe and Artifact. He can Deep Strike with them or join them for Outflank. It's very solid.

So, you have to jump through some hoops to get one to join the squad. It might not be worthwhile, but since you decide how to join ICs during deployment, it might be in certain games. Plus, if the IC is from a Decurion or just one of the Formations, he gives them Move Through Cover. Solid.

Stratagems

The big thing that Flayed Ones bring, other than solid Assault power and durability, is Flexibility. They have all the different Deployment options other than Scout (Deep Strike, Infiltrate, Outflank), so every game you use them you can look at the situation and decide what would be the best way to put them on the board. Deployment is Hammer and Anvil and enemy is camping in a corner? Outflank is great. Dawn of War gives lots of room to Infiltrate. If there's lots of open area, put some in Deep Strike. If you're expecting an Alpha Strike of Drop Pods or the like, just putting them in your Deployment Zone to charge anything that comes in early is viable too. 

Cheap, effective, and flexible. I wouldn't run them in big blobs of 20 (though it is amusing to put out 100 attacks on the charge with Shred), probably in squads of 5-10 to have a lot of board presence and MSU viability. 

While Lychguard are tough as nails and good bodyguards, Wraiths are great shock troopers with their speed, and Praetorians are interesting 2+ save killers, I think Flayed Ones have a space as a very viable Assault choice in our book. They're really only really hindered by mobility - like Lychguard, they're only 6" move per turn and don't have Fleet. If the opponent wants to keep distance and shoot them down, they very well can.

But, as I said, being one of the cheapest options in the book means that they can be expendable and just spend several turns camping an objective or just being general area denial to basically anything that's not T8 or a vehicle. If they get shot to death, your more expensive, powerful options are pointedly not getting shot, which is good.

Going back to my MSU post, I didn't include Flayed Ones, but I think peppering two or three 5-man packs is cheap, easy, and puts lots of threats on the board that can't be ignored. I would highly recommend checking them out.