The last couple of weeks have seen a period of calm descend on the Warhammer World.
After the blitzkrieg that was the release of the End Times - Nagash, Glottkin and Khaine - the December lull has eased over the world. Visit any of the major Internet forums and they basically have run out of anything to say. The Ragers have raged themselves out. The Boosters likewise and it looks like perhaps they are focusing less on Warhammer and more on real life.
The books have been a bombshell, it's fair to say and I've found the community (worldwide not NZ specific) really interesting. From the first "are these official", through the FAQ and then onto the magic rules in Khaine, it has been a roller coaster.
Some of the initial booster who pushed the Nagash book as "This is new Warhammer" on their podcasts or on forums have gone very quiet with the release of Khaine. I remember saying at the time to be careful what you wish for - specifically in regard to combined armies - and I think that has probably proved to be the least of the concerns.
For me, the Legion of Chaos list has probably proved to be the most palatable but that is really because we've had the context of the Hordes of Chaos within gaming memory. The guys experiencing the most butthurt IMO are the High Elf players as their whole pantheon has been torn up and put back together like a ransom note.
As for the rules. Well I think that the mega characters remain a problem in the current context of people playing 2400 point games as the norm. This is especially true without the use of scenarios. The other rules I'm willing to wait and see. We are part way through a five book release. I can see what they are trying to do with the magic system and think it might be any interesting development - less certainty in relying on big spells.
I'm really looking forward to the Skaven book. I'm sure there will be rage, denial etc but change is good. I'd rather GW tried these things here so went we get 9th Ed mechanisms have been tested, retained or thrown away.
Roll on early January.
Posted with Blogsy
The balance of internet channels on Khaine magic seems to have changed when people started playing it.
ReplyDeleteThe one question is whether a spell is successfully cast if the casting value is met and then the spell is subsequently dispelled.
This allows, spells to be cast, dispelled and then cast again.
The initial FUD about khaine magic seems to have gone as actual game experience makes it much more apparent that the increase in magical firepower is marginal.
I have seen several battles on Youtube using Khaine magic and the impact on the game seemed scarcely different to normal.
The power strategy for Khaine seems to be the lore of repetition, where you get multiple copies of the same spell off to buff or debuff. the target. Units with 3 castings of power of darkness on them suddenly rip through enemy units.
Skellies with multiple castings of cursed blades have multiple attacks and killing blow watch out.
Lores with RIP spells are also harder to deal with as you can't guarantee how many dice you will get to dispel it.
This is a big change from fly up 6 dice purple sun and claim the win.
I like the combined undead legion army and rule changes. I think it increases the interest in two medium tier armies. The one thing that seems to break the mould is Nagash. In games he easily manages to summon an entire replacement army.
I am sure that you could come up with some horrible combinations with the chaos legion. This could easily be mitigated by making chaos legions monogod.