And here come the big bad guys...

Somebody wrote nonsense again by the way:

" This chance may be vital in battle, as rerolling even a single red die can make your attack strong enough to land eight possible hits if you command a full unit of six Spined Threshers." I can't even imagine what idea the author was trying to express here.

Edit: Okay, if you replace "hits" with "damage" and "your attack" only means the one die that is re-rolled, I now can see where this is coming from.

Tabletop Admiral updated with Serrated Spines and Devouring Maw upgrade cards

26 minutes ago, Uthoroc said:

Somebody wrote nonsense again by the way:

" This chance may be vital in battle, as rerolling even a single red die can make your attack strong enough to land eight possible hits if you command a full unit of six Spined Threshers." I can't even imagine what idea the author was trying to express here.

Well, if I rolled a blank on my red die. A re-roll gives me the possibility of 2 hits. But with threat 3 and brutal thats 8 hits.

Wow, those upgrades are off the chain.

3 minutes ago, taylorcowbell said:

Well, if I rolled a blank on my red die. A re-roll gives me the possibility of 2 hits. But with threat 3 and brutal thats 8 hits.

8 damage, still just 2 hits.

And that's just one die... "make the attack strong enough" implies the whole attack to me, which potentially is 4 hits, 5 including the one on the dial, for a full potential of 20 damage (or 28 flanking).

23 minutes ago, Uthoroc said:

And that's just one die... "make the attack strong enough" implies the whole attack to me, which potentially is 4 hits, 5 including the one on the dial, for a full potential of 20 damage (or 28 flanking).

Plus two for serrated spines!

Honestly saying hits instead of damage is a pretty minor error given that this is an FFG preview article.

Devouring Maws increases their already considerable durability, so for three points it feels safely in the "good, but first up on the chopping block" kind of thing. I mean realistically it might get you 4 wounds back in a good game, which IS pretty nice. I expect it to see the table, for sure.

Serrated Spines isn't much use for Threshers, but it looks pretty nice for Berserkers. There isn't an awful lot to compare it to - I guess Tempered Steel? Nice that it just always works, and as long as you manage to attack say three times in a game it's got a pretty reasonable return.

Hm. Devouring Maw seems good for a ThresherStar and that’s about it. Even at 2 trays, when someone finally hits my Threshers, they tend to get flattened. I’ll certainly try it in smaller formations though.

Cool. We got to see the thematic unique upgrade. Now I am curious what the mechanics upgrade is.

14 minutes ago, Church14 said:

Hm. Devouring Maw seems good for a ThresherStar and that’s about it. Even at 2 trays, when someone finally hits my Threshers, they tend to get flattened. I’ll certainly try it in smaller formations though.

In my group there are not many 20 damage attacks going round, so I would think it could increase life expectancy of each tray by maybe 0.5-1 turn? And with their top tier attack abilities, that extra turn to retaliate and hold up an enemy definately seem worth 3p in my book. Especially if that turn is the difference between having your unit left on the battlefield and the enemy's in the bin than the other way around.

Eh, not so excited for Devouring Maws, if only because it's restricted to Uthuk, so Maro's Spined Threshers can't take the upgrade anyway. ?

From the two spoiled cards, as an Uthuk player I can't help but sort of come away with the opinion that the ball is being spiked. I'm not sure that the Uthuk really needed either and they are both in my mind clearly good. Being able to heal after an attack for just 3 points, what's not to like about that?

Adding more lethal for 4 points, ummm ok, again hard to say no to that!

Personally, I’m a little concerned about devouring maw, on a 2x1 at 31 points, have a collective 20 hit points, threat 3 with an average damage output of 6-12. If you dispatch this unit once a turn it can regain 2 wounds (4 hp) a turn.

Generally I see these things wreck a full size unit running solo and they tend to walk away with 1 wound left.

the closest unit upgrade to this is scions fertile soil (5 pts) and is entirely rune dependent. Just wish devouring maw was written as unique surge: heal 1 wound.

Im really not trying to complain, just saying what I’m seeing.

23 minutes ago, Maktorius said:

In my group there are not many 20 damage attacks going round, so I would think it could increase life expectancy of each tray by maybe 0.5-1 turn? And with their top tier attack abilities, that extra turn to retaliate and hold up an enemy definately seem worth 3p in my book. Especially if that turn is the difference between having your unit left on the battlefield and the enemy's in the bin than the other way around.

Sorry. I wasn’t clear. It’s not that the attack does twenty. It was more the thought that typically a large excess of damage kills my last tray of a Thresher unit. When they overkill by 6-8 Damage, those 2-3 wounds wouldn’t make a difference.

5 minutes ago, Jukey said:

Generally  I s  ee these things wreck a full size unit running solo and they tend to walk away with 1 wound left.   

In my defense. They arrive late and hit flanks in most games. I have also watched you make them your ***** with Leonx plenty of times.

True, you do need to set their flank up with an extra unit, which is usually rippers or Ravos, but it’s still concerning, especially considering they attack at the same initiative as over half the other factions and before every other siege unit.

I wonder if you could abuse devouring maws with dispatch runners? Uthick have access to a rallying upgrade so you could spam a couple without the side effects. Probably not very cost effective.

Overall these two upgrades seem fun. I do not look forward to having to face them.

13 minutes ago, Jukey said:

Personally, I’m a little concerned about devouring maw...If you dispatch this unit once a turn it can regain 2 wounds (4 hp) a turn.

Woah. I didn't even think about that. That's utterly terrifying.

7 minutes ago, Parakitor said:

Woah. I didn't even think about that. That's utterly terrifying.

I don’t think the game devs did either.. ?

1 minute ago, Jukey said:

I don’t think the game devs did either.. ?

Remember that part the reason they hit so hard is the severity two panic tests they almost automatically trigger and the hit modifier (through panic after activate and hit/morale modifier). If you use Dispatch Runner, they will lose that.

8 minutes ago, Church14 said:

Remember that part the reason they hit so hard is the severity two panic tests they almost automatically trigger and the hit modifier (through panic after activate and hit/morale modifier). If you use Dispatch Runner, they will lose that.

Yeah, I thought about that, but considering 2 red dice with Brutal 1 and however much natural threat...twice a turn - yeah, that's a lot of damage. I used Dispatch Runner on Maro's Spined Threshers, and it was highly effective. Adding a healing mechanic as they gobble up their enemies will make them even more threatening. And Berserkers can add Dispatch Runner at a 4 tray, so 34 points to essentially double the output of your Spined Threshers (I realize that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's close).

I'm not shouting 'doom and gloom' here, nor am I claiming that 'the sky is falling,' but I am seriously considering how my legions of undead warriors will stand against such savagery. I'll let you know when I have some ideas. I think it will involve Profane Banner Bearer and Executioner.

3 minutes ago, Parakitor said:

I think it will involve  Profane Bann  er Beare  r and  Executioner. 

Also mistland sab might be a guy who can do some work for Waiqar.

24 minutes ago, Parakitor said:

Yeah, I thought about that, but considering 2 red dice with Brutal 1 and however much natural threat...twice a turn - yeah, that's a lot of damage. I used Dispatch Runner on Maro's Spined Threshers, and it was highly effective. Adding a healing mechanic as they gobble up their enemies will make them even more threatening. And Berserkers can add Dispatch Runner at a 4 tray, so 34 points to essentially double the output of your Spined Threshers (I realize that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's close).

I'm not shouting 'doom and gloom' here, nor am I claiming that 'the sky is falling,' but I am seriously considering how my legions of undead warriors will stand against such savagery. I'll let you know when I have some ideas. I think it will involve Profane Banner Bearer and Executioner.

34 points for Dispatch Runner to trigger that attack twice per turn.... every other turn. Unless you sandbag and try to bank some inspiration. Rally is mutually exclusive with skill for Berserkers. Every other faction can find a way to Rally+Skill or Rallying X + Skill to do it every turn. So that was (potentially) more effective in Waiqar than Uthuk.

4 minutes ago, Church14 said:

34 points for Dispatch Runner to trigger that attack twice per turn.... every other turn. Unless you sandbag and try to bank some inspiration. Rally is mutually exclusive with skill for Berserkers. Every other faction can find a way to Rally+Skill or Rallying X + Skill to do it every turn. So that was (potentially) more effective in Waiqar than Uthuk.

Ah good point. I momentarily forgot that Dispatch Runner also exhausted. Scary? Yes. Unbeatable? No. The Uthuk player has to be careful when employing such a tactic that they don't start throwing good points after bad.

Yeah, I share some of the concerns with this upgrade being stated here... They are already super beefy for their cost, and nearly guaranteeing regenerating at least 1 wound for 3 points seems like a steal to me. The comparison to Fertile Soil I think is very telling. It is hard to argue that this upgrade isn't universally better and it is 2 points cheaper.

Having dealt with multiple 2x1s of Spined Threshers numerous times now, I feel like this upgrade will often extend their lives for one more round, which is incredibly good. These things are dangerous to the last wound. With hit/morale on its dial and often a single die re-roll, I've had one with one life left drop 6 damage and a severity 2 morale test just before dying more than once. Giving it one more round to do this for only three points will be brutal.