Article up!

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/5/12/the-grotesque-undead/

Gotta say, I REALLY like the lore they put into this article. Feels like the world is getting a little more fleshed out.

Reanimation just got a whole lot better. And they keep tray bonuses!

Tabletop Admiral updated. Don't forget to check the box at the bottom to show unreleased goodies.

Wait, now where is that thread about how regeneration is bad?

9 minutes ago, Parakitor said:

Feels like the world is getting a little more fleshed out .

But ... they're skeletons.

Just now, Budgernaut said:

But ... they're skeletons.

Good point. I thought about calling out my own anti-pun, but I couldn't think of a good way to do it, so thank you for doing it for me

Well, I was dead set (pun intended) on two core sets, but I'm starting to think 1 core set and waiting for the escalation league may be a more solid plan. The up front value of a second core set is undeniable, but perhaps the cards in the expansions make them worth the extra cost compared to another core.

I am so excited to run a block or two of Reanimates with Lingering Dead. So good!

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So the lore. We now have
- Ardus Ix'Erebus leading the Host of Crows
- Calleum Pahaan leading the Breathless Legion
- ??? leading the Sanguine Coterie (it's likely Kyndrithul)
- Lord Farrenghast leading ????

Sounds exciting! I'm a fan of this kind of stuff.

I like how they talked about how the worms differ based on what they eat.

if you run a worm as a unit upgrade, which upgrade is better? Run 2 blocks and use both?

That upgrade is going to be annoying as hell on Reanimates....

Man, with that lore intro they better get to their previews!

I love how Lingering Dead also makes the Necromancer a fairly viable choice for any unit that can take both.

A block of Reanimates with Lingering Dead and a Necromancer will be one hell of a tarpit as long as they have a reasonable amount of luck with runes.

Now... maybe I need to hold on to my Waiqar so I can play a host for Lord Farrenghast. Down with Waiqar, all glory to the original king of the dead!

37 minutes ago, MegaSilver said:

Reanimation just got a whole lot better. And they keep tray bonuses!

When I first saw the upgrade I thought it was great and didn't even think about this part. ****, that's good.

Tarpit doomstar of reanimates with lingering dead and necromancer and a front line Lancer seems like something I need to try out

Lingering Dead only on 9+ trays though, or 6+ if Ardus is in the list

It will be interesting to see them either release a named unit or character that is riding a worm that has been feed obsidian or iron.

Lingering dead is sooooo good. And not in an OP way either. It's good because it is sort of the enabler for a tanky 'regen' waiqar list that isn't totally blight dependent. I wasn't really gonna play the actual 'Necromancer' upgrade, but once Lingering dead comes out, I'll definitely give it a spin or three.

Greyhaven Channeller just became more important. Double use now; buff your Golems AND help decrease reanimation!

19 minutes ago, stet2 said:

Greyhaven Channeller just became more important. Double use now; buff your Golems AND help decrease reanimation!

Yep, rune control looks to be an important aspect of the game. With Daqan and Latari both getting some form, I expect Waiqar to get access to some kind of ability.

Kari with Fortuna's Dice (6 point artifact, exhaust during a ranged or melee attack to change a die to a face of your choice) may become standard kit to deal with high-value figure upgrades like this.

It looks like a few arms races will be occurring at once:

Assassinate unit upgrades > taking unit upgrades > no unit upgrades > assassination....

Rune manipulation: bring rune dependent army and try to force the runes OR bring units that don't care about runes and no manipulation OR no rune dependent army but points spent on manipulation to stop opponent.

Either way, now to try and supercharge regeneration just to see how that goes

1 hour ago, Dirgepiper said:

Tarpit doomstar of reanimates with lingering dead and necromancer and a front line Lancer seems like something I need to try out

Don't forget to add a Blighted Vexillum Banner for some auto-Bile synergy with the Front Line Lancer... (^_^)

Red dice have only a single surge result, so the Front Line Lancer is of very little use beyond being a tougher tray than the 4 reanimates it replaces.

1 hour ago, jonboyjon1990 said:

Lingering Dead only on 9+ trays though, or 6+ if Ardus is in the list

It boggles the mind to think what future Heroes may bring to the table to make not including Ardus for Host of Crows viable

50 minutes ago, maxam said:

It boggles the mind to think what future Heroes may bring to the table to make not including Ardus for Host of Crows viable

You'll be able to do both Ankaur and Ardus to the same 200-point battle, of course, but I could definitely see Ankaur taking Ardus place in some lists and that's without know Ankaur's 'list building' effect. We already know he regenerates trays! You might not even need Lingering Dead if you have Ankaur. Plus, it looks like he may be able to regen the archers.

That said, I completely agree with you that Ardus makes for so many good lists! He let's you put Deathcallers in 4-blocks of Reanimates!

6 minutes ago, Willange said:

You'll be able to do both Ankaur and Ardus to the same 200-point battle, of course, but I could definitely see Ankaur taking Ardus place in some lists and that's without know Ankaur's 'list building' effect. We already know he regenerates trays! You might not even need Lingering Dead if you have Ankaur. Plus, it looks like he may be able to regen the archers.

That said, I completely agree with you that Ardus makes for so many good lists! He let's you put Deathcallers in 4-blocks of Reanimates!

I think you throw Heartseeker Ankaur behind your big block of Lingering Dead Reanimates with Necromancer. He pops on a full tray every now and again while making ranged attacks to get health back. Lingering Dead and the Necromancer keep the block from losing trays faster than Ankaur can grow them back.

Just need to figure out how to do some damage.