2 hours ago, Soulless said:

We also get necromancers which require the skill action and runes but will regenerate any unit its placed within.

Which, right now is just the Reanimates, lol.
I really wish the Archers could have taken him, *sigh*

Basically the Necromancer works out as +1 to the Regeneration of a Reanimate unit (assuming at least 1 Nature rune comes up) if you flip 1 or 2 runes.

1 Rune = 1 from the unit, 1 from the Necro = 2
2 Runes = 2 From the unit, 1 from the Necro (because that will fill the tray) = 3
3 Runes = 3 from the unit, nothing from the Necro (again, because of the full tray).

Once the Undead can start adding "fresh" trays to a unit, the Necro's value will go up quite a bit.

The defense mechanic definitely has impact on the quality of this mechanic.

While I don't think its a particularly good strategy to spam defense as a combat measure as it functions only to stall, from a tactical perspective there definitely can be interactions in which stalling is favorable to attempting to fight at a loss. In particular given the Undead armies upgrades which hand out panic tokens and the potential for supporting units like archers to temper the offensive abilities of engaged units with Blight. If there is any army in the game that grows in strength as a result of time passing, its the undead army that is engaged, after all, you might not do much this round or even next round, but attacking a unit that has been stalled for 2 rounds that has 2 panic with reanimates practically guarantees a 3 panic play and even after 3 games I can say that, Panic/morale checks are at absolutely devastating and will do far more damage then 2 rounds of reanimate attacks.

While regenerate has done absolutely nothing for me in the last 3 games, its fair to say I have done nothing to leverage it. More experimentation is definitely in order but I'm not expecting any miracles now or in the future. I think this will remain a sort of meh ability, though I think it fits fine with a unit that is already very strong.

14 minutes ago, Wispur said:

Which, right now is just the Reanimates, lol.
I really wish the Archers could have taken him, *sigh*

Basically the Necromancer works out as +1 to the Regeneration of a Reanimate unit (assuming at least 1 Nature rune comes up) if you flip 1 or 2 runes.

1 Rune = 1 from the unit, 1 from the Necro = 2
2 Runes = 2 From the unit, 1 from the Necro (because that will fill the tray) = 3
3 Runes = 3 from the unit, nothing from the Necro (again, because of the full tray).

Once the Undead can start adding "fresh" trays to a unit, the Necro's value will go up quite a bit.

Yeah thats true didnt think about that. But at least with a necro, your almost certain to refill any partial tray.

I dunno, the more we discuss it the less effective the ability seems. Either its just made to be slightly effective on purpose or FFG might already have plans for great synergies for regeneration in future expansion, mechanics that might not be all figured out yet.

I mean the spearmen's ability isnt exactly overwhelming as it is either.

But they only get a defense modifier if they rally, reform or shift. And all of those actions take place after another unit would have attacked them in melee. That means that the defense modifier plus regeneration synergy really only works if you have prepared properly prior to being charged.

I will admit that my gripe may have more to do with how the mechanic feels than how it actually performs. It is far more satisfying to just straight mitigate damage like spearmen can. Losing 6 figures and getting 1-2 back just isnt satisfying on any level.

2 hours ago, DaShamrockKid said:

But they only get a defense modifier if they rally, reform or shift. And all of those actions take place after another unit would have attacked them in melee. That means that the defense modifier plus regeneration synergy really only works if you have prepared properly prior to being charged.

I will admit that my gripe may have more to do with how the mechanic feels than how it actually performs. It is far more satisfying to just straight mitigate damage like spearmen can. Losing 6 figures and getting 1-2 back just isnt satisfying on any level.

Well that's not entirely accurate, at least not in practice. Certainly charges can often out pace the reanmiates but most charges that take place faster or at initiative 4 are very short, 2 at best. As for just general attacks while in melee both spearmen and calvery fight at 7 so you can easily out pace them and gollums are at 5. Even the human fastest attacking unit in melee acts on initiative 4 (Kari). In General as the undead you will be taking charges more often then performing them. You really can't outmanuver a human army due to the way initiative of the two armies is setup. This is counter-acted by the fact that undead generally "fight" on a lower initiative. So you take the charge, but you win the initiative from that point forward.

There are other advantages of defense/regenerate strategies. For one, calvery units can "unengage". They have no such option and for them to do 8 damage in melee is unlikely so there big play is the charge, after which they really don't fight that well and can easily be stalled out.

There really is very little you can do to avoid charges as the undead other than to choose which unit your opponent is forced to charge and this is where you gain the advantage becuase the undead hand out panic like candy so the longer a melee lasts the worse it is for the human forces.

The general strategy of using regenerate is that the option of raising defenses and rallying is that you can lock down a unit, much larger than your own for a very long time. Doing 8 damage for any unit in one shot is generally a long shot .

1 hour ago, BigKahuna said:

As for just general attacks while in melee both spearmen and calvery fight at 7 so you can easily out pace them and gollums are at 5. Even the human fastest attacking unit in melee acts on initiative 4 (Kari).

Both the Spearmen and Cavalry can attack on 3. I found that my Cavalry used their fast attack much more frequently than they attacked on 7. Attacking first and getting increased defense early always seemed liked a better option to me than waiting until late in the round and getting an extra hit.

So the Necromancer Champion card is used as a Skill Modifier on the modifier dial, right.

So I move my Reanimates forward (blue 5 initiative) and use the White Skill on the right hand of my dial (and that triggers the regenerate ability right there and then), and then at the end of the Turn, my Reanimates also Regenerate, right?

20 minutes ago, rudedog said:

So the Necromancer Champion card is used as a Skill Modifier on the modifier dial, right.

So I move my Reanimates forward (blue 5 initiative) and use the White Skill on the right hand of my dial (and that triggers the regenerate ability right there and then), and then at the end of the Turn, my Reanimates also Regenerate, right?

Yep, that would be how I read the upgrade.

8 hours ago, WWHSD said:

Both the Spearmen and Cavalry can attack on 3. I found that my Cavalry used their fast attack much more frequently than they attacked on 7. Attacking first and getting increased defense early always seemed liked a better option to me than waiting until late in the round and getting an extra hit.

That's true, but this is on orange attacks without the bonus. Naturally there is always a counter to every strategy, else it would make for a poor game. While what you suggest, attacking on 3 with Calvary with defense is a sound (safe) strategy, I would argue that most people will let the urge to inflict more damage overrule the more sensible safe play. In particular with Calvary which doesn't have shift, so any engagement they get into they can't get out of unless they win the fight. This makes them susceptible to all sorts of counter plays.

In my experience so far with Calvary is that they are a unit that is good at starting fights, but not that great at finishing them. In every game I have played so far, the Calvary unit would have an initial "big" impact, but by the second round they are dismantled usually as a result of panic.

10 hours ago, WWHSD said:

Both the Spearmen and Cavalry can attack on 3. I found that my Cavalry used their fast attack much more frequently than they attacked on 7. Attacking first and getting increased defense early always seemed liked a better option to me than waiting until late in the round and getting an extra hit.

With the oathsworn it really comes down to how you're engaging. Head on to lock someone down? Attack fast and get that extra defense. Flanking? Wait and hit them hard. Their attack back at you won't be too hardcore generally (no rerolls, sometimes less threat), especially with the 2 defense you have naturally.

The spearmen however, I almost always quick attack before I lose too many guys. Once I rock shield wall I may change my mind.

On 4/15/2017 at 0:21 PM, TallTonyB said:

Well, I am a stats major. Patterns, numbers, and being a nerd in general are kind of my thing.

Never argue with a statistician. They will beat you down with numbers and then bore you to death!

Hey, while we're at it, what is the symbol on the unit card next to regeneration (the trigger/cost/whatever)? The swirly icon thingy...

My eyes are getting old and can't make that tiny font size out as well as I might hope.

1 minute ago, Deathseed said:

Hey, while we're at it, what is the symbol on the unit card next to regeneration (the trigger/cost/whatever)? The swirly icon thingy...

My eyes are getting old and can't make that tiny font size out as well as I might hope.

It's the natural energy from the rune tokens. Natural energy is the green icon.

16 minutes ago, Budgernaut said:

It's the natural energy from the rune tokens. Natural energy is the green icon.

Thanks!