Question about Horror Mark

[Gorvak]

I'm very new to the series and want to know if a horror marked unit can be attacked by a doom horror while engaging in combat with another unit. Like suddenly, a wild doom horror invaded the combat and killed everyone

[Gilmoy]

Horror Mark has no effect once you're in tactical combat.
It doesn't help Horrors target you, nor hinder them in any way. It's completely neutral.
(Yes, a Doom Horror can dogpile your Horror-marked unit, if it can reach it.)

Outside of combat, Horror Mark is a beacon.
It aggravates Horrors with a high-pitched whine.
Horrors in the vicinity beeline to that unit's army.

Hence an army with 1+ Horror Marked units becomes a sitting duck
for an endless stream of ambush attacks by every invisible Horror army nearby.

• This can be harmless for 1-10+ turns in a row, if 0 Horrors are nearby
  
• This can be deadly, with 7 attacks in 8 turns
  
• If you have strong defenses, you can sit, lure Horrors, and laugh
  
• You can leave all Horror-marked units behind (and let them die)

When I'm Enchanter, I like to park Horror-marked units in any 24-Guardian trap citadel.
Horrors come knocking, and we fry their ghostly butts for free, over and over.

In some ways, Horror Mark is (much) worse than Disease.
But it does give you a subtle power to yoink Horrors around, if you can exploit that.

[Draken]

Actually, I am very certain that Horror Marks are not a beacon and cause Horrors to path to you.
Instead Horror Marks instead cause a chance to have new horrors spawn on your armies.
There are not that many invisible Horrors around to explain the constant stream of attacks on Horror Marked unit. At least not in a normal game. A Horror Fallen Empire might be the exception.

[Underscorecow]

I think it allows them to run to you with with all 3 AP, there are situations where it felt like horrors were being teleported in but its very hard to prove unless you have spirit sight in a large radius around the thing that was horror marked..

[Draken]

Originally posted by Underscorecow:

I think it allows them to run to you with with all 3 AP, there are situations where it felt like horrors were being teleported in but its very hard to prove unless you have spirit sight in a large radius around the thing that was horror marked..

First, even with stealthy and invisible units, you usually notice their presence because they untag tiles.
Second, most normal horrors aren't invisible. Only stealthy. Soultorn and Brass Claw Horrors are not even that and should always be visible on the map.

Both these factors make me about 99% certain that Horrors just spawn in to attack Horror Marked units.

[Gilmoy]

I always thought they cross over from their home plane (directly onto you).
But I never had a way to test that.

[Draken]

Honestly, there is a very easy way to find out.
Check how much xp the Horros have.
If they already existed, they should have some xp.
If they are spawned in, they should have none.

[Gilmoy]

Yes, that'll work for the ones that can gain XP.
So if you've ever seen one with 1+ XP, and later see an identical one with 0 XP, it's new.
I'll try that the next time I fry some Void Hounds.

For units with Mindless or which otherwise don't gain XP,
maybe they still record Kills (OTOH, 0 kills doesn't prove newness, etc.)

[Loothar]

I have never tested this in 5, but in 4 new horrors could spawn anywhere in the Void plane. I also always assumed that horror marked units allowed existing horrors in the void to crossover. However, I never tested this theory or remember why I thought this.

[Draken]

Just had some Horrors attack horror marked units, and they all had 0 xp.
So yeah, they spawn in fresh, like I thought.

[Bumc]

Do horror mark spawns stick around after killing the mark?

[Draken]

Originally posted by Bumc:

Do horror mark spawns stick around after killing the mark?

Yep.

[Bumc]

Looks like horror bombing is still on the menu even if you aren't playing high cultist.
Horror mark enemies don't seem to be strong enough to kill armies though.

[Draken]

Originally posted by Bumc:

Looks like horror bombing is still on the menu even if you aren't playing high cultist.
Horror mark enemies don't seem to be strong enough to kill armies though.

I had a battle against a Moon Horror, which I won, but my army got horror marked.
In the very same turn, 2 Horror Olms, 1 Soulshatter Horror and 1 or 2 other horrors show up.

I don't know if it was because I was on top of a pyramid or because there were around 10+ units with horrormarks in the army after the first fight, but that lineup would definitely have crushed some better armies.

[Gilmoy]

Some Horrors are weak threats, some are deadly.
You could get any of:

• 3 Soultorn = weak melee
  
• 2 Brass Claw Horror = irksome melee, but Shock-immune
  
• 2 Phase Spider = irksome melee
  
• 6 Phase Spider = probably wipes 20 humans
  
• 5 Void Hound = beats 10-20 guys, loses to 50 guys
  
• 1 Moon Horror = beats 10-20 guys, loses to 50
  
• 1 Soulshatter Horror = beats 20-40(?), loses to 80

1 Brass Claw Horror can solo a 24-Guardian trap, which gives me the willies.

Pyramids are a known (one-way) tunnel, usually for Phase Spiders.

Some Horrors are Invisible, but Charm human foes.
If you see a Horror-colored neutral stack that seems to be 5 damaged humans, it's a Moon!

[Gorvak]

So, theoretically, i can use an horror marked unit to suicide bomb an enemy?