A Brief Look at the v18 Playtest Rules
The Whelps are dead, long live the Whelps.
Well there’s some new playtest rules out for the core book units and cults, and we’re expecting a follow up for the mercenary cults shortly.
You want some uninformed opinions before I’ve played any of the new rules? Well here you go.
Core Units
Whelps
NERF Whelps can no longer capture 2 objectives at a time with Dash
There’s a bit of an awkward formatting issue here, it’s not in the rules block for Whelps (which will probably cause some confusion during games). Let’s peek at the actual text under the objective rules.
Only one objective can be captured in an order. If a unit moves within 1” of two or more objectives in a single order, such as with the Whelps Dash special rule, the player must choose which objective is captured.
Whelps have fundamentally shaped how the game works for quite a while, and have done it on an axis that’s pretty difficult to affect otherwise. I really struggle to think of a top-tables opponent I’ve faced that wasn’t running at least one unit of BP/MIS whelps and I’ve ruined a few people’s games on Bountiful Harvest scenarios by running 2 units of them.
I genuinely think that this is by far the biggest change of the lot. The obvious impact is suddenly whelps become a lot less mandatory, they still have a lot of utility as positional shooters who can force a scary retreat and reposition but I expect they will now find themselves competing with chaff as their roles start to overlap more.
Stump gun
BUFF Stump Gun Grapeshot increased to 18”
This is a very welcome change, cavalry can no longer lurk outside of grapeshot range waiting for your stump gun to get a powder smoke token so they can swoop in with a guaranteed charge on 13 inches. But 18” inches is still a very doable charge, you make it 72% of the time, going up to 92% of the time with CCW. While I want to say that there’s a big difference between 100% and 92% and that you’ll actually be able to punish a bad roll with grapeshot, I don’t think it makes up for how punishing the Unstable Icon rules are.
I think that grapeshot is a trap outside of the panic token manipulation cults, Harry and Woe being the ones that come immediately to mind, and even then it’s a bit of a stretch. Grapeshot generates 2+ panic on its own about 53% of the time and 3+ panic 26% of the, this might not seem like a lot but on my tables I’d say it’s pretty common to see a stumpgun blow it’s self up on turn 3 if one of those shots was grapeshot.
Lump
Lump in the v18 Playtest
Three 5+ attacks (including the CCW bonus) is usually only a single expected hit but the Murderous Violence rules give us 2 auto wounds instead, and theoretically can spike most of the single model threats in the game (“Just roll all sixes.”, advice as old as wargaming).
But where Lump really shines is Impenetrable Bulk, it just soaks hits. Save on Panic+ is a very fun rule that tries to make sure that it sticks around long enough to do something, while increasing how much relevant design space their is for stumpgun style attacks.
I like the design a lot and it’s nice to have some high save monsters, but putting this thing out in front to soak up shots feels like a trap. It will just get shot by chaff and waddle backwards into the rest of your army or some dangerous terrain (this will probably feel very familiar to all pike block enjoyers).
Maybe the answer is to screen it with chaff and waddle it in behind them? Possibly, but 2 expected wounds on activation is a bit lackluster compared to our other melee blenders, but it’s very likely to win a fight and has a good 9” movement for a charge.
I’m struggling to work out where this thing fits, it feels like a useful tool against other monsters that just throw sheer weight of dice at you, but is that a better solution than just shooting them and making them walk backwards?
Cults
Strangling Harry’s Wretched Recruits
NERF Rootlings Cannot capture objectives the round they are placed back on the board with uproot.
Rootlings are a wonderful pile of disposable infantry and this change takes away some of the free upside without affecting their core identity of being something annoying that your opponent will have to deal with. Definitely a drop in power but it continues the theme of toning down the less interactive ways to cap objectives. I’m here for it.
The Slug’s Lament
NERF Grogs V5+ changed to V6+
We had seen some proposed changes in v17a that halved their attacks to bring them more in line with BP brutes in melee and retain their abilities as crack shots. This time around their vulnerability is going up, but they get to keep their shooting and melee.
Honestly a bit surprised by this one, Slug’s have generally been very strong, in part because of Grogs being great at shooting and melee. Losing 17% more of your saves is rough, but they’re generally the hammer not the anvil.
NERF: Old Guard’s arrival restricted somewhat.
Previously Old Guard came on within 6” of any table edge, excluding your opponent’s board edge. Now they come in touching a board edge and no model may be within 6” of your opponents board edge.
Maybe they get wiped on a few more off angle shooting attacks than usual and it restricts their ability to charge key targets, but they’re still generally 4 free hits the turn they come down.
In general I think Slug’s got off pretty light, I think this tones them down in a way that makes them feel a bit more sane but they’re very much still in contention for best cult in the game.
Tod’s Folly
BUFF: Tod Off!: Tod wins if he loses a Toff Off!
My brain is not large enough to be a Tod player but this is extremely flavourful. Todd is a pretty abysmal toff so you’re likely to win almost any toff off in the game. It’s a buff that gives Tod a bit more of a edge in headless chicken and can open up some matchups with cults like Alice and Mol, but I don’t think it will have a tremendous impact.
That said, this will make someone bring a Tod to tourney, and you will forget this interaction exists.
The Fungivorous Herd
NERF: The Herd Vuln changed to 6+. Stampede Changed to +6” Movement.
Thinning the herd looks a lot easier now which I think keeps it a bit more interactive, and you can pseudo bracket them by taking them below 10 models now.
The stampede change is more interesting, lets assume on your first activation you march through deadly terrain, you go up to 6.7 models on average, second activation you charge and you make it, you go up to 11.1 models. So we’re making 22ish attacks on 4+ so we have 11 expected hits. This is generally what the herd is trying to do, get to 12 models as efficiently as possible and delete something.
After the change we need to walk through two pieces of dangerous terrain to make a charge with the same number of models, but we gain the same movement as cavalry after. But we’re also losing out of the fact the unit we’re charging doesn’t make a dangerous terrain test, so we don’t have a 1 in 6 chance to just delete their big single model unit, or trim a couple extra bodies from a big fodder block.
I think these changes mean that the herd requires considerably more setup now and have to play into things like being frightened through multiple enemy units. The extra movement is nice, but I think this significantly lowers the power level of our little piggies.
QUESTION: Should Stampede add +1 A as well?
Is there really a substantive difference between 20-24 and 30-36 attacks? Yes, 10-12 expected hits and 15-18 expected hits is the difference between usually wiping everything in the game and pretty consistently wiping everything in the game. Obviously you have to work for it and there should be a solid payoff but I think. It’s probably overkill but not in a way that I think is harmful, and it feels great to roll a small bucket of dice on the table.
The Grand Bombard
NERF Grand Bombard: Can no longer take Stump Guns.
This is the most confusing change to me, the only reasonable strategy I’ve seen with GB is using chaff and/or Whelps to grab two or so early objectives and then rolling one or two 50/50s. So in general not great.
I guess that this means that you have to use Aristocratic Ammunition more often, because you don’t have the option to use another stumpgun. Which means they play into idea of the theme a lot more but, it also means your ability to actually cap points becomes a lot worse.
I do wonder if this is a pre-emptive nerf as with Backward Observers bombard is the only cult that can still double cap with Whelps (Cap first objective with a Snob, cap second with Whelps).
I’m surprised to see a cult that’s generally considered quite weak get such a substantial nerf.
The Brotherhood of Greed
NERF: Mutations:Bulbous -1 V instead of -2, Tuberous Tendrils +1 A instead of +2.
Obviously a pretty clear nerf here. I Like Bulbous going down, it stops 4+ V fodder block, but you can still have 4+ on smaller model count followers. Tendrils dropping is a bit sad as it removes some of their ability to delete units entirely, but is still a solid thumb on the scale to turn a lot of fights in your favour.
I like turnip being about multiple engagements between units and building panic, so I’m happy to see that some of the ways to build crazy melee blenders being pulled back a bit.
Procession of Woe
BUFF: Rootshrine: U Shrine increased range, from 18 to 24”. Wounds increased to 5 (from 4).
A nice little quality of life change to make the Rootshrine a little easier to use and more resistant to getting plinked is quite welcome. Particularly as now we can throw panic tokens onto units that can’t shoot our Rootshrine without a move and shoot.
Red Ribbon Society
REWORK: Tuft Tokens generate with panic tokens. Upgrade your units every turn, grow a lump. QUESTION: How is the economy? Does the trigger and placing of Tufts slow down the game too much? Can you remember all the upgrades?
This is a big rework, I may have to cover this in a separate post after some games, persistent buffs are potentially massive but it all depends on panic generation.
BUFF: PLOTS now DEF (defensible terrain) for friendly units.
Damn, this is pretty huge and really adds a whole new dynamic to Ribbon. As a Shellwood enjoyer, I expect this ability to be very strong.
Extremely interested in trying something like 2 BP Chaff, CCW Bastards & BP Fodder with Ribbon.
Feast of Charybdis
NERF: Scuttlers: Movement 10 -> 6”, more interactive.
Any Scuttler movement nerf is a blessing, finally we’ll be able to out position crab charges! Right?
NERF: Rise From the Silt: Burrow limit to 1 unit a round. Counts as an order.
Okay great, I’m only dealing with one crab jump a turn. What could possibly go wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?
BUFF: Can unburrow anywhere outside of 12” with blunder risk.
Remember when I said that for cavalry they can make a 18” charge 72% of the time, well this is the same math. If you were paying attention you might remember that I said with CCW you make this 92% of the time with the reroll. Crabs have CCW. They can teleport behind you and make a charge 92% of the time.
EVEN. IF. THEY. BLUNDER. They will just take D3+1 wounds. If you blunder a normal charge they’ll be stuck on M+D6”.
Not only does this work on crabs, but you can just do this with bastards to have a 100% chance to make the charge.
This is a level of consistency we have never seen in Turnip and it’s honestly terrifying.
Knights of Shellwood
NERF: Lumps exist now
This is very true, even worse Lumps are 9” Movement. But the reason why Shellwood is one of my main armies isn’t them being super tanky, it’s their interesting dynamic of staging round, go round. They’re a great army to play because they live and die on how you position them and when you decide to trigger mucous manoeuvre.
They’re a resource dependant combo army that reward patience and positioning.
BUFF: Snail Knight: BP Snail fires mini cannon shot, counter to Lump.
50/50 on a stand and shoot to do 2 wounds, without a preliminary bombardment option. It’s cool that there’s a decent BP option for a single model follower, and I’d like to see more of this kind of design in future, but I’m still taking the CCW for 4+ in melee.
I’ll counter lump by pinging it with chaff if it starts to get into threat range.
BUFF Mucous Manoeuvre: Every Turn but less reliable.
So instead of having 2 turns of getting to press the 18” button, we get random movement that averages a little higher than normal cav.
Kind of struggling to see how this is a buff honestly. On demand 18” movement with a 30” threat range was the reason to play this army.
CHANGE: Extra Turn Removed (was a bit of a pain for tournaments).
Honestly this change is fine, winning or losing with this faction you know how it’ll end on turn 4 either way.
Lopers of the Maudlin Marsh
CHANGE Lopers: 6 -> 4 Models, V7-> V6, Can take any equipment.
Losing 6 attacks hurts a hell of a lot on a 5+ model, but I must profess I haven’t played with or against lopers much. Taking any equipment is very nice on a profile with dash for some shoot and scoot, but I’m tempted to stick with CCW just to convert more attacks to hits. V6 is a hell of a lot nicer than V7 though.
Though, walking through a BP screen and the melee threat their trying to protect just to shoot it in the ass and watch them take a big dangerous terrain test and wind up out of position. That’s whelps on steroids, probably the best scoot and shoot in the game.
I think they wind up in position where they have solid options with multiple loadouts and that’s pretty ideal for making the game more diverse and interesting.
Retreating over units cause DT tests for that unit.
Extremely fun and flavourful, and awkwardly how I thought Lopers worked before this playtest.
BUFF: BOTH armies’ followers are exposed.
Congratulations, you are the new designated shooting army. Exposed is particularly great for stand and shoot fodder, who don’t want to pour their dice into chaff, and particularly nasty on a stump gun, who can make sure their always pointing at a good target.
Gets into some awkwardness where there’s a real incentive to base models individually instead of as a block.
Aunts Ascendant
NERF: Balloon: Movement reduced to 12”. Can’t cause unlimited DT tests.
Very sad about losing 24” movement but it was definitely a bit silly and limiting the DT tests to once per unit per move is just the sensible interpretation of the rule.
BUFF: Snarky Tourists: Moved to global ability. Mirror match tweaked.
Nice that you keep the core ability of the army even if the Balloon is off table, removes the feel bads when you suddenly become a vanilla army.
Flipping the mirror match to be you only control your opponent’s retreats is a lot more fun in my opinion and extremely turnip.
Leech Lovers
REWORK: OH NO! Another attempt to make em fun. Theme is panic tokens cause wounds combined with lifesteal. QUESTION: How does this feel when fighting Cults that manipulate panic. Is it too oppressive?
Okay this is a biggie and might get it’s own post.
TL;DR:
- Toff looses 4 attacks and two wounds
- Swole toadies are gone
- Lifeblood is at the end of the fight using the numbers from the last melee bout (still works for shooting as normal)
- All your followers start with 1 panic (this was tested a couple turnip cons ago but didn’t change much on its own)
- Every round start units lose wounds for each panic they have, every 2 panic removed from a unit deals one wound to it.
- No more action economy cheating.
- Toff healing now a single wound per round with no condition.
Damn, that’s a lot. Definitely something that I need to play around with to get a feel for, my instinct is that this guts the faction. But lifeblood and new panic wounds might be strong enough to make them into a proper attrition cult.
Uprising of the Louse
REWORK: Attempt to make the Tall Man more interactive. 4 years of horror and sacrifice have brought the construct to some limited form of life.
Terrifying. But mainly a way of manipulating your aura now that it’s 24”. Nice that it can charge with some attacks if needed.
Aim to make blundering theme more consistent. Now Rabble is just a generic theme for your units, old rabble were fun, but broke the activation economy. QUESTION: How does this play with scenario blunders?
Max: Gosh, rabble can really skew the action economy.
Also Max: What if they could just do two orders every activation?
I’ve been waiting for some kind of Dragoon faction for a while, the vibe of firing then charging is peak napoleonics for me. Stacking a little extra panic before a BLC is very appealing but opponents taking two retreats might be difficult to capitalize on.
Units of Rabble never lose models, instead the entire unit is essentially treated as a single model with Wounds equal to the total of every model in its unit profile.
Unbracketable Bastards. Unbracketable Fodder. Unbracketable Brutes.
I’m so here for uprising of the louse.
A phenomenal rework and probably the one I’m most excited about.
Saint Alamies Rocket Battery
BUFF: Rocket Battery: Rockets can move, and are less likely to explode, 7+ to 5+ Vuln.
I’m liking this new 0” M non-immobile statline for opening up options, but I can’t see myself giving up a volley fire for it. And V5 means that it’s a lot harder for it to get picked off by some sneaky whelps.
BUFF: Pocket Rockets: Trigger on retreat and only target enemy followers.
This is very nice, incidental panic build up on enemies is extremely welcome, 2 panic every retreat is a lot better than 2 panic when your unit gets wiped.
St. Alamei’s Rocket Battery considered to be equipped with Missile weapons.
I’m sorry, what? We no longer generate a powder smoke token and can always stand and shoot. This one might actually be a typo so expect an amendment soon.
We do however seem to lose the ability to torch a model in exchange to clear two panic tokens but that seems a fair price to pay to improve our ability to generate panic tokens on enemy followers.
I’m extremely interested in this one too. Yet another secret cavalry regiment ready to feed my bowel loosening charges.
Temple of the Swelling
NERF Swelling: When placed no longer kills a model. Tendrils cause panic tokens instead of DT tests.
Loosing out on killing a 2W model is a shame but not a huge problem. No more DT on placement is a tough hit, but building panic is going to help us in the long run with more retreats, so maybe not the end of the world.
NERF: Its Everywhere: NERF single model units only fail DT test on a 1.
This may be a pretty big nerf, but losing 8 wounds one in three times was a devastating feelbad.
NERF: Rootlings cant cap when they return (see Harry), can only take 2 max.
As we previously discussed I think this is fine and removes some of the less interactive elements of the game. Capping to two is good and stops unkillable skew lists.
Conclusion
These are some very spicy changes. A lot of winners and a lot of losers. I’m not as keen on the Lump as I want to be but I’m sure someone’s going to find a cool way to use it.
In general I’m definitely going to test the following:
Knights of Shellwood
Very sad to see these changes, but worth seeing if we can salvage something from it. Maybe there is potential in it being a tanky high variance cavalry army. I’m tempted by Snail Gunners but I don’t think they’re really going to move the needle. Hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
St. Alamei’s Rocket Battery
God I love spamming panic, and this is a cult that can really spam panic now. Double Rockets are for sure, but I’m tempted to go for the BP bastards and rely on running people down on failed panic tests.
Uprising of the Louse
This is a faction I’ve avoided playing for a long time, there’s been a good few versions of it but this is by far the one that has appealed to me the most, I’m probably gonna wind up taking more cavalry than I should. If this is the only way I get to run dragoons I will probably play it to death.
All in all I like how bold the changes are, it feels like there’s some core goals with these changes, particularly around reducing the less interactive elements. Which is why I’m so confused about the crab changes, board wide teleport with a 92% charge is not what I was expecting at all.
Crabs can go do one.
Thanks for reading! - Toff Club