What is a Cadier?

They are stubborn, they are intelligent enough to hold a grudge, and they absolutely hate lorries.

To mark the release of the new multipart hard plastic Coftyran and Crusader Cavalry sets, we take a closer look at the true masters of the Alwyd battlefield: the Cadier mounts. Check out this brilliant background piece by Josh Qualtieri on why you should never turn your back on a Cadier—and why you definitely shouldn't leave your tractor running near one.

Cadier are among the most valued riding beasts across Alwyd, though few quar who serve with them would call them pleasant company. Broad-backed, sure-footed, and possessed of a remarkable tolerance for rough ground, a good cadier can carry a mounted quar over country that would sour the temper of lesser animals. Their most striking feature is the great hammer-shaped growth of bone and keratin that crowns their upper skull, with the eyes set out near its ends, giving the beast an unnervingly wide field of vision and an expression that suggests constant suspicion. This, as many handlers have noted, is not misleading. Cadier are intelligent enough to remember slights and bad tempered enough to act upon them.

They are hardy, do not shy easily at gunfire once properly blooded, and can pick their way through mud, rubble, and broken embankments with admirable steadiness. Their habit of lowering their great bony heads when angered gives them a natural and much feared method of attack. There are more than a few stories of camp gear, fence posts, supply carts, and incautious handlers being stove in by a cadier’s sudden disapproval. Internal combustion engines in particular seem to offend them beyond reason. An untrained cadier brought too near a running tractor or lorry may attempt to settle the matter by charging and striking the offending machine with its head, often to the detriment of the offending machine, and to the dignity of the poor fool who happened to be holding the reins.

So, there you have it. Hard as bone, steady under fire, and fiercely unbothered by modern engineering. The Cadier is truly the ultimate mount for the trenches of Alwyd.

Both the Coftyran Cavalry and Crusader Cavalry multipart plastic sets are now officially live. Pick up your boxes today, assemble your riders, and remember the golden rule of the Quar Cavalry: never leave the reins in the hands of an incautious fool.

Check out the full Quar range here!