The Beast Rider (BR) is, by far, the least used unit on all of TAO. This is rather unfortunate, because, as you’re about to learn, its prime era has long passed, even during which it wasn’t widely used. Still, it maintains a certain level of usefulness, plus, its relative lack of use means you can easily surprise an opponent with skillful BR use.

I’ll start with a basic summary of the BR, then a little background on the BR in relation to the time periods of TAO, and then explain its uses in detail.

First, I’m going to make a general assumption here that everyone knows how the BR works. If you don’t, read the unit description.

Now, the BR is a very unique unit, mainly because it’s the only “ranged” unit with 1 recovery. This means you can rapidly attack people, even those that are blocked by other units, and still have tons of time to get out. The BR doesn’t do a huge amount of damage, but 19 does mean that a muddy quake will finish off a cleric. For the most part, don’t view the BR as a powerful unit; view it as a unit that can infiltrate. (people). It’s extremely fast, so it can run around from hot spot to hot spot to deal with trouble. This is all basic knowledge, for the most part. If you read the unit description or the other review(s), this is about the full extent of the information you’ll receive.

The BR has an interesting history with TAO. Upon its release, it didn’t have much popularity, but a few people did rise to prominence with it. Aro23r gained a huge amount of fame with it, and to a lesser extent so did Lord Achilles. The problem is, though, that the BR came out before even the Furgon and muddy quake were created. He was created for a time when infiltration was a necessity, because otherwise all you had were two equal armies bashing each other. The rush wasn’t popular, and when the Furgon came out, infiltration was the only way to go. This is where the BR was fit; it had the speed and ability to do a job that led to victory, something many units could not do.
With the mudquake, the BR became a little less needed, because you didn’t need to infiltrate, you could just quake and run in. The BR began to lose the little appeal it once had. Carefully planned attacks of specificity and cunning were losing their value as a simple smash and attack job fit the scene better.
Now, with the rush in the game, the BR has almost completely lost its appeal. Nobody simply infiltrates a defensive formation, they bust into it with all their strength.
With all this said, the BR might seem to have lost a huge amount of appeal. However, don’t lose faith yet. While small, the BR still has some use in today’s TAO gaming society.

All right, on to the bulk of the review: The uses of the Beast Rider.

In its small amount of uses, the majority still of Beast Riders are found in turtle games. The reasons are quite simple. First, the Beast Rider’s already decent armor only adds to the benefits given by stoning. Essentially, the more armor you have, the more a +30 will do. Plus, it allows for all of the Beast Rider’s uses to be exponentially increased in efficiency. Furthermore, the greatest extent of a Beast Rider’s ability lies in its aggressive vs. defensive ability; since many turtles have a defensive side, this allows for maximization of a Beast Rider’s potential. In clearer terms, the two advantages of a Beast Rider in a turtle game are:
1. Stoning it helps it substantially in its abilities (more than most units)
2. It often pits you against a defensive opponent, which lets you use the Beast Rider where it works best.
With that said, otherwise a Beast Rider in turtle games is the same as freestyle, just keep these two points in mind.

As I mentioned before, the Beast Rider really hits a fork in the road when you use it. He’s either going to be in the middle of a huge brawl, or attacking a fortified base. If your opponent is playing aggressively at all, it will be the former. A Beast Rider can’t do long-range defense, so it must engage to take ANY active role in defending. He doesn’t make the best of walls either, due to his relatively low blocking.

Using the Beast Rider in a brawl: This is where many people imagine the Beast Rider, and where many people reject him. Quite frankly, almost anyone would trade a Beast Rider for a steadfast Knight, or a ranged Scout, or the like. The Beast Rider simply won’t live long enough! However, he still has his uses.
First, consider his ability to hit multiple units. Unlike the assassin, who is a little more situational in its attack pattern, the Beast Rider is easy to take advantage of. Also, because of his range, he can attack and run, which is often helpful. While this doesn’t outweigh a knight or the like, in a pure power rush, I.E. a rush that goes for maximum damage and HP, a Beast Rider is pretty good. Consider the following rush/anti-rush:


Lots and lots of power, and the Beast Rider isn’t taking up any valuable power spots, because all those units are used. The only competition is the assassin, but the BR’s range allows for better recoveries and better assassinations, which may or may not be more helpful, but probably will. Also, players who use fancy moves to block off units from attack will find themselves in tough positions against the BR, who can surpass that kind of maneuver. Still, the BR shines much more in infiltration.

Using the Beast Rider against a defensive player.
This is where the BR was meant to be, and where he works the best. Look at these pictures:



In this instance, the Beast Rider was used to put instant pressure on the Frost Golem. Because of its 0 recovery after moving, there was no time for red to prepare for the Beast Rider (Taken from a REAL game situation!) It’s times like these that the Beast Rider is invaluable.

Look how that game progressed:


Red used a clever tactic and saved himself for a turn. But, by moving the Beast Rider all the way in, I was able to kill the Frosty (by moving one more in), at the cost of my already lost Muddy.


And, out of total coincidence (I’m serious!), the BR’s damage was exactly perfect to kill the frosty. How’s that for people who say 19 is no different than 18! :).
Then, once that was done, the Beast Rider was able to escape easily. The Beast Rider is probably the second best infiltrator/retreater, second to only the Mud Golem. His lack of teleportation can hurt, but his quick recovery time makes him much more able than the dragon or wisp (who dies much too quickly).


I ran a few more hit and runs with the Beast Rider that game, healing whenever possible to keep him going. He lasted a few more turns, causing the deaths of at least 2 or 3 units.


Beast Rider’s double attack means it can move through shrubs twice as fast as most units, and go around them quickly too, especially with its low recovery. Also, it’s much more difficult to block vital units against the Beast Rider, because of its double attack.

Consider the following situation:


Black needs to infiltrate blue quickly to take the win. Watch how the Beast Rider helps kill the cleric quickly:

Black runs his Beast Rider forward, and Blue shoots Black’s muddy.


Black shoots Blue’s cleric with Scout. Now, the BR is heavily threatening the cleric, and will give Blue a lot to focus on in the next few turns. This kind of advantage often decides games.

There is one more use of the Beast Rider, which isn’t seen often, but has been explained to me by Lord Achilles. Sometimes, you can save the Beast Rider for late game, to help in “cleanup duty”. This isn’t just where you clearly won, but where your opponent is crippled in some way. Mainly used in turtle games, this is when their cleric and/or frost golem is dead. The Beast Rider’s knack for constant hit and runs will quickly wear down a hindered opponent. This is a little risky, because you’re losing an early game attacker to do this, but it sometimes pays off.

I remember playing a game against an amateur gold, and I was left with cleanup duty near the end. He had 2 knights and a cleric, and I had 2 Scouts (stoned) and a stoned Beast Rider (with cleric backup) left to deal with them. The Beast Rider made the operation easy, with his huge movement and low recovery. Had I instead had a muddy, it would have been a lot tougher to take out the knights, especially if their controller was a stronger player. However, with a Beast Rider, even an expert would have trouble combating my force.

So, in summary, the Beast Rider does have its uses. As an extra melee unit, an infiltration unit, or just a cleanup unit, it still isn’t just a bench warmer. Don’t expect miracles from it, but many people do underestimate its ability. I hope this review helped create a better sense of the uses of the Beast Rider for you, and even if you won’t use him, at least you know where he came from. He has much more use on Legends (which doesn’t exist), where you can have many of them, but I won’t get into that, because this is a FPS BR review. Otherwise, enjoy, and may the blocks lean in your favor.