Well, meanwhile Road to Legend is on the way, another news about Stewards of the Secret: H&M Pack is out, here it is:

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/5/9/wild-fury/

New ability

Constrict: Chose 1 hero adjacent to this monster, that hero test might. If he fails, he is Immobilized, this monster may move 1 space then you may put that hero in an empty adjacent space.

Those Nagas could be problematic against heroes with low Strength values. It's not like they will be easy to kill either, what with having a Black Defense die. They're also fast for what seems to be a 2x2 based monster. Oh yes, there will always be 1 master on the board.

Yeah, I like the new ability, it allows you to repositionate heroes (mostly the weak ones; Andira for instance). However, now only the master can do it. I think it was strong to have them (I do not own old monsters) and immobilizing 3 of 4 heroes, or at least half of the party.

About the defense, I think they already had that defense pool. Just the master got +1 to its HP.

I like them but I'll probably won't prioritaize this box on my purchase list hehehe

The fact that you may move 1, then place the hero in an empty adjacent space is a nice touch for the OL. You can move the hero 3 spaces that way by moving 1 away, then placing him on the opposite side of the master naga figure.

Yes! I like it!

We've had a string of heavier scouts in theae more recent expansions- I enjoy the variability that gives to the archetype. Tatianna is a scout who is hard to kill, espescially at range.

I felt like Nagas were one of the strongest monsters in Act I from the conversion kit and I always enjoyed them for their extremely high damage output, moderate durability and good blocking capabilities (3 2x2 monsters). Funny thing is, I never recall using them for immobilizing purposes, but in most cases immobilize is only really strong on melee heroes (mostly worriers that have high strength values).

Although I'm really curious if some of the Act I stats changed, I'm quite surprised that they probably all can do poison now, eliminating one minor weakness of them (having no way to spend surges), meaning they got even stronger for the purposes I enjoy using them.

Also I really like the new abilitiy, as you can move the targeted heroes quite a bit (move one space with a 2x2 monster and place it adjacent to the monster afterwards means you can basically move the immobilised hero 5 spaces if I counted correctly and that's really good on those hero-classes that typically have low strength values).

In the end I really need to say how much I like the updated artwork for Tatianna. I'm really glad Descent adds another hero to their selection of strong attractive female characters that are neither overly sexualised nor portrayed as fragile.

It's nice the new change. Now a Naga can Immobilize a hero inside Lava or a pit (whenever the rare cases there is one or another). I guess now only the master can do it because it would be too OP having THAT on 3 monsters at once.

I'm sad, however, because they didn't announce the changes on Nanok(?) before the release. They did the same with Lyssa, but luckily someone on BGG posted the new card. He was the one I was looking forward the most for his probable changes.

In the end I really need to say how much I like the updated artwork for Tatianna. I'm really glad Descent adds another hero to their selection of strong attractive female characters that are neither overly sexualised nor portrayed as fragile.

I'd say they made her more attractive for sure, but she still looks like a tough opponent, a mean mother... shut yo mouth fool!

Love the design of her new tats.

I really like the new Tatianna. She's a durable hero with a powerful heroic ability. I think she'd make a great Bounty Hunter. The ability offsets the short range weakness of the starting weapon, and her Long Shots will have crazy reach.

On the monster side, the Naga Constrict ability is *very* powerful as well. I love abilities that reposition heroes - they are often among the most powerful in the game. Its one of the reasons Hellhounds and Bone Horrors are becoming very high on my list of favorite critters, and can be real game changers.

I was really hoping for a Nanok of the Blade preview though.. very curious as to how they chose to rebalance him.

Like Charmy, I was more hoping on a Nanok preview and I'm curious to see if he has been nerfed a bit (lot?)

But i'm afraid not

Not so fond about Nagas. The ability of the master is better for sure, but they all have lost the possibiliy to do it in exchange of only 1 life point. Need to be played to see if they are good on the game

Like Charmy, I was more hoping on a Nanok preview and I'm curious to see if he has been nerfed a bit (lot?)

But i'm afraid not

Not so fond about Nagas. The ability of the master is better for sure, but they all have lost the possibiliy to do it in exchange of only 1 life point. Need to be played to see if they are good on the game

You bring up a good point.

Perhaps they should've given the minions the Grab action as in the conversion kit and left the Constrict which is more powerful for the Master?

Like Charmy, I was more hoping on a Nanok preview and I'm curious to see if he has been nerfed a bit (lot?)

But i'm afraid not

Not so fond about Nagas. The ability of the master is better for sure, but they all have lost the possibiliy to do it in exchange of only 1 life point. Need to be played to see if they are good on the game

You bring up a good point.

Perhaps they should've given the minions the Grab action as in the conversion kit and left the Constrict which is more powerful for the Master?

or maybe a brown defense die in exchange ?

Like Charmy, I was more hoping on a Nanok preview and I'm curious to see if he has been nerfed a bit (lot?)

But i'm afraid not

Not so fond about Nagas. The ability of the master is better for sure, but they all have lost the possibiliy to do it in exchange of only 1 life point. Need to be played to see if they are good on the game

I think in return the minions gained surge:poison. Imo the constrict ability that immobilises and moves a target up to 5 spaces more than makes up for the loss of the minions ability to grab.

Constrict has a big point : since all is optionnal, if the hero is immobilized, the Overlord may just move the master Naga 1 space away, and if it has no reach or ranged weapon, cannot attack the naga during his own turn.

As a quick H&M related update, the new app allows you to add "Stewards of the Secret" to your collection even though it isn't out yet.

This helps confirm that the remaining unannounced heroes are indeed Nanok of the Blade and Okaluk and Rakash. Sadly, the app does not show what they have changed for them, so that remains a mystery!

Absolutely love the upgrade to the Nagas (one of my favorite fantasy monsters).

I got my copy yesterday, not sure if I'm allowed to post much about the heroes but:

Nanok cannot ever wear heavy or light armour and does not get a surge anymore. His ability is movement related, he moves enemies. His feat has changed to a circumstance where he gains an attack and grants someone else an attack at the same time.

Okaluk and Rakash have not changed except for one key difference, the feat no longer costs an action.

The other two I think were posted on articles already.

Nanok cannot ever wear heavy or light armour and does not get a surge anymore. His ability is movement related, he moves enemies. His feat has changed to a circumstance where he gains an attack and grants someone else an attack at the same time.

Wow, thanks for the info! That sounds like a very significant nerf to Nanok.. almost excessive. Completely forbidden from wearing armor and no surges added? Ouch!

Could you give any specifics on the monster movement ability? I'm just dying to know! I think it would have to be very powerful indeed to make up for the loss..

Okaluk and Rakash have not changed except for one key difference, the feat no longer costs an action.

It is a real shame they didn't meaningfully improve these guys... I was *really* hoping for a stamina improvement at least. 3 stamina and 8 health is very bad, and the unique movement doesn't make up for it, in my view.

I'm still getting this pack no matter what, but I am a lil disappointed with the hero changes.

I got my copy yesterday, not sure if I'm allowed to post much about the heroes but:

Nanok cannot ever wear heavy or light armour and does not get a surge anymore. His ability is movement related, he moves enemies. His feat has changed to a circumstance where he gains an attack and grants someone else an attack at the same time.

Okaluk and Rakash have not changed except for one key difference, the feat no longer costs an action.

The other two I think were posted on articles already.

Can you copy exactly the text of nanok and blood apes, please ?

Sorry went for a night of bowling. I guess it should be okay because it'll go on the wiki soon?

Nanok cannot equip light or heavy armour, he still has his black dice. Once during his turn he may choose 1 non-large monster adjacent to you. Suffer 1 heart and move that monster 1 space.

Feat:Use after another hero performs an attack. Immediately perform an attack with a melee weapon that targets 1 of the same monsters. Then that hero may perform an attack that targets that same monster.

So a buff to his feat but a nerf to his ability. Moving things around so they have to move up next to you wasting an action is still alright I guess. Gives him more control.

Checked Okaluk and Rakash again to make sure I didn't miss anything and nope, just the change of action to their feat.

Edit: Oops, missed another new thing about the feat. O&R can now use the feat even while they are knocked out. So no action and usable when KO are the new things.

As for blood apes, nothing has changed except for one crucial thing. Leap attack is not limited to once a round. So now it can plough through loads of creatures each round.

Big thanks to you, really !

So, Nanok was a god and is now playable. His feat seems to be still powerfull, giving 2 attack actions. Impressive. But his heroic is strange, suffering damage to move small monsters? not sure to be of really any use, except on particular situation. In exchange of non having armor ? Curious to try him on the battlefield !

WOW ! Twice a round ?! And blood apes are now terrifiying monster then ! Want them !!!

Can't wait to receive mine. Should had it today, but my store was a bit late on this one

It's still only the master that has leap attack but with the limit removal and ravage it can attack 6 times if 3 heroes are silly enough to line up next to each other. I really like the models too, Naga are a bit of a pain to fit in my box though, really big!

Can't wait to have mines !

Nanok cannot equip light or heavy armour, he still has his black dice. Once during his turn he may choose 1 non-large monster adjacent to you. Suffer 1 heart and move that monster 1 space.

Feat:Use after another hero performs an attack. Immediately perform an attack with a melee weapon that targets 1 of the same monsters. Then that hero may perform an attack that targets that same monster.

So a buff to his feat but a nerf to his ability. Moving things around so they have to move up next to you wasting an action is still alright I guess. Gives him more control.

Hm.. thanks for the clarification Davachido! The feat seems stronger than the average, as it grants two additional attacks. Since they all have to be the same target(s) though, the usefulness seems limited to killing a resilient target within melee range. Should be quite nice for dealing with lieutenants and beefy monsters.

As for the heroic ability.. yikes.. that is a total departure from Nanok's original incarnation. I am really sad that the skill only works on small monsters. This potentially severely limits its usefulness. I wonder why this restriction was put in place when many other movement abilities do not have this restriction. This allows the Overlord to pick bigger monster groups so that on some quests he may not be able to use his ability at all.

If I were an overlord playing against a Nanok I'd be using a lot of Hellhounds, Barghests, Plague Worms, etc.... they are already great monster groups anyway.

So while the skill might prove useful conditionally, the easy counterplay and lack of range (Nanok has to be adjacent to the target) makes it unwieldly. I would much rather have reliable, ranged monster movement through the almighty Crossbow - which is bought by almost every hero party I've played with by the end of Act I anyway.

The ban on armor makes him quite squishy in Act II as well. This used to be mitigated by the fact that he could swap his armor on/off based on the situation.. now he can't even do that..

In a way, this is an indirect buff to Sir Valadir. He does something similar to the old Nanok, and now he is the only Warrior who can surge on demand. He is much more appealing now!

====

As for the Blood Ape changes, that is pretty sweet. I already liked them as a beefier alternative to Volucrix Reavers, and now they seem even better.

====

Good to hear about the Okaluk and Rakash tweak. The feat is very powerful if it can be used while knocked out. He is very squishy, so its a useful addition! However, his extremely poor stats still give me pause. I will give him a try though, particularly in Bilehall, where feats like that are especially handy.