https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/4/3/legions-of-death-1/

I have to say Necromancer is a bit underwhelming. Losing trays is just way too common in my limited experience.

Yeah, that was my first notice too. Reanimates need trays brought back, not just models. Very few times that will be useful. Executioner is pretty cool as well as the upgrade discarding model

3 minutes ago, blkdymnd said:

Yeah, that was my first notice too. Reanimates need trays brought back, not just models. Very few times that will be useful. Executioner is pretty cool as well as the upgrade discarding model

Ankaur Maro will be able to bring back trays... I mean, that doesn't change the necro looking like it'll suck, but that mechanic will be in the game eventually. Necro would also be good if undead ever gets an infantry type with 2 armor or more.

WOOHOO! I've been waiting for this, finally we can get some crunching on Waiqar builds for Wave I

Holy cow Executioner is a Mortal Strike killing machine upgrade...

Yeah, nothing really stood out to me from this article. I probably should read it a few more times, though.

Blighted Vexillum Bearer is probably my favorite of the new spoiled upgrade cards. Any way to get more blight is going to be good for Waiqar. I also like Deathcaller, but I'm unsure how useful it will be. First, you have to use a skill to do it, and second you have to spend blight tokens to cause the effect. It seems that with Reanimates dropping so fast, blight would be better spent to reduce dice. You can even spend 2 blight tokens from the same unit to take it from 2 dice down to zero dice! (Assuming I'm reading 12.1 correctly.) Given that, I just don't think it's worth spending a skill and a blight for 1-2 damage.

Anyone find the wording on protector (Profane banner) really awkard?

I like Executioner and the Raven Banner to lower the initiative of blue manoeuvres. I feel the necromancy will be one for the future but perhaps not overly useful with the core units.

1 minute ago, Cultiststeve said:

Anyone find the wording on protector (Profane banner) really awkard?

What part of it do you find awkward?

1 minute ago, Budgernaut said:

What part of it do you find awkward?

Its a lot of words to say that allies within 1-2 cant be targeted if they could target this unit.

1 minute ago, Cultiststeve said:

Its a lot of words to say that allies within 1-2 cant be targeted if they could target this unit.

Yeah, it definitely is.

Just now, Cultiststeve said:

Its a lot of words to say that allies within 1-2 cant be targeted if they could target this unit.

I think it's because range 1-2 is actually quite small. Imagine if you surrounded a unit that was 3-trays long and you had one unit engaged with it on one side and one engaged on the other side. If I'm not mistaken, those two units would be greater than range-2 apart from each other. Without the first part about being engaged with the same unit, the Protector couldn't protect allies from those really large units.

Just now, Budgernaut said:

I think it's because range 1-2 is actually quite small. Imagine if you surrounded a unit that was 3-trays long and you had one unit engaged with it on one side and one engaged on the other side. If I'm not mistaken, those two units would be greater than range-2 apart from each other. Without the first part about being engaged with the same unit, the Protector couldn't protect allies from those really large units.

Yea there is some edge cases. Maybe there isn't a better way to put it, but it still took me a couple of passes to understand what seems to be a pretty simple rule at heart.

Does the profane banner affect charges? If I have the option of charging one formation, but the banner is close by, do I have to charge them instead?

48 minutes ago, blkdymnd said:

Does the profane banner affect charges? If I have the option of charging one formation, but the banner is close by, do I have to charge them instead?

I think what will happen is if you do charge the other unit, you lose your attack, so the charge is wasted.

EDIT: I missed the part where Protector only comes in if the enemy could legally target the protector.

With this in mind, you can charge whoever. Unless you are touching both your desired Target and the protector, it won't change anything.

Two more notes:

-Protector won't protect against Kari's surge ability.

-Reanimate Archers can have a Banner in their 3x2 formation, so they can utilize Profane Banner Bearer (lol) or the Blighted Vexillum Bearer (much cooler). And with Ardus, they can even utilize them in a 2x2 formation.

2 minutes ago, blkdymnd said:

Does the profane banner affect charges? If I have the option of charging one formation, but the banner is close by, do I have to charge them instead?

I don't think so. Because you cannot pre-measure with movement templates, there is no way to know for sure that you will collide with the enemy before you execute the movement. That means there is no way for the protect keyword to alter your charge in any way.

Once you've collided, the charge modifier only lets you attack that unit you collided with. Since you cannot attack a different unit with the protect keyword, your attack would continue against the target you are now engaged with.

One caveat to the above statement: if you collide with two enemy units at once and one of them has the protector keyword, you will have to target that one. I didn't realize it was possible to collide simultaneously until I read 16.3.

Executioner: The star of the show so far, in my opinion. It will put the fear of Waiqar in the hearts of Rune Golems and Heroes. The modifier would take effect after damage is dealt too, so if you can pump out 4 damage in your attack, you can drop a Rune Golem in one round of combat. Not too bad at 6 points.

Mistlands Saboteur: Another solid option. You can really change the game plan of your opponent's forces with this one. Even if you can't engage your primary target to make them ditch an upgrade, it can be a great option to help control positioning on the board. Again, 6 points is pretty reasonable.

Profane Banner: Biggs has entered the arena. If you can get this guy on someones flanks, it'd be devastating (since you wipe out their threat from multiple front-row trays). Using Ardus, you could throw this guy in a 2x2 Reanimates tray, and wait for a counter charge. Getting a spearmen unit from 3 threat to 1 threat would be awesome.

Blighted Vexillum Bearer: Awesome for 3 points. Blight fuels a lot of options for the Waiqur, and is awesome on it's own.

Necromancer: Just like the Reanimates' Regenerate ability, it's a cool idea that I haven't really seen pan out yet. 3 points isn't a bad investment, but I'd probably want to see it combine with some other effect before I brought this guy.

Deathcaller: Hmm, is this better than just taking 1 less die away from a model. If the right runes come up, it'd be awesome to down a Rune Golem in one round.

Raven Tabards: Yes, yes, yes. Waiqar needed something to make them a bit quicker. And 2 points is dirt cheap.

Overall, I'm less impressed with these options than the ones from the Daqan preview. But it might just be that we need some time to digest it. Just like the forces from the core set, the Waiqar forces have more nuance to them, so there is probably something here we aren't seeing yet. Especially if there are combos with other expansions that haven't been spoiled yet. As it stands, Executioner, Mistlands Saboteur, and Raven Tabards stand out to me, with the two banners right behind them. Definitely excited to have more options, and get more spoilers!

Wow. Executioner makes reanimates able to kill pretty much anything anyone ever gets. Rocs? One wound, auto-kill. Dragons? 1 wound, auto-kill.

1 minute ago, Waywardpaladin said:

Wow. Executioner makes reanimates able to kill pretty much anything anyone ever gets. Rocs? One wound, auto-kill. Dragons? 1 wound, auto-kill.

True, but it makes them public enemy #1. How easy will it be to intercept with your own infantry platform, lock 'em down, and send your high-health units off after other objectives? It sounds good, but it's definitely going to inspire a lot of counterplay by your opponent. I think the real winner will be the player that can take advantage of the mind games resulting from an Executioner on the field.

41 minutes ago, blkdymnd said:

Does the profane banner affect charges? If I have the option of charging one formation, but the banner is close by, do I have to charge them instead?

No. The charge movement is not part of the attack, so the banner does not affect it. The attack starts after you collided. Only if you collide with both your target and the unit with the banner, than you have to choose the latter.

" These Champions abandoned the tenant of mercy long ago "

Apparently mercy hadn't been paying the rent...

What about tactical drummer on archers? I think that would be pretty useful

3 minutes ago, Klaxas said:

What about tactical drummer on archers? I think that would be pretty useful

They can't take a horn upgrade.

6 minutes ago, Klaxas said:

What about tactical drummer on archers? I think that would be pretty useful

I was thinking of combining Tactical Drummer with Blighted Vexillum Bearer. You could keep disengaging and if you get pursued, you blight the pursuer. Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to deal damage that way. Unless ... you added Fire Rune. Then you can disengage and still attack. If the unit charges you, they get blighted again and get -1 die.

Reanimate Archers can't take musician upgrades.

EDIT: Okay, so my other cheeky build with Tactical Drummer is to put it with Blighted Vexillium and Deathcaller. The enemy charges and gets a blight token. You disengage and use Deathcaller to deal some damage. They charge again and get a blight token again. You disengage and use Death Caller. Unfortunately. I think you lose by attrition in that setup because you're not doing as much damage as you're taking.