While the town of Mironia slept, the fog rose from the Blighted Marshes and engulfed the Tilean village. None marked the furtive scuffling of clawed feet across the cobblestones, the eyes of their verminous owners reflecting crimson in the flickering light. But by morning every citizen, like the fog, had disappeared. Only smoking ruins remained and these too, in time, would be claimed by the rising swampland.
Back in March, we announced the upcoming release of The Horned Rat, an expansion for Chaos in the Old World that brings an exciting new faction to the war over the grim and perilous Warhammer setting. As the Ruinous Powers contend for dominance of the Old World, legions of verminous Skaven have found the perfect opportunity to spread the influence of their sinister god.
Last time, we looked at the alternate collection of Chaos and upgrade cards known as the “Morrslieb set,” and we saw what new tricks are in store for Khorne and Nurgle. Today, we’ll continue our tour of these variant cards, and we’ll see what new powers await Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, and Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure.
The Changer Changes
Fans of Tzeentch’s controlling style of play will be pleased to find that The Horned Rat Expansion brings even more surprise performances to his repertoire. Strategically, Tzeentch has always been flexible enough to achieve victory either by dial advancement or victory points, and the Morrslieb set preserves this versatility. Where it stands apart, however, is in the direct level of control it gives Tzeentch, both over cards and figures.
The Changer of Ways has plenty of new tricks up his sleeve, but more importantly, he has the means to acquire them. Tzeentch has always been able to rapidly move through his Chaos deck, giving him a constant stream of options. Didn’t get the card you want? Even a Chaos card that seems to have no applicable use in a given situation can be turned to your advantage with Tzeentch’s Acolyte upgrade, which lets you use any Chaos card as a shield against incoming damage. For that matter, you might use a less-than-useful card draw as fuel for your Warp Portal, a Chaos card that allows for rapid mobility.
Or, you might use it to block an opponent’s impending card effect. Your foes will alternately love and hate you should you choose the Mystical Disregard upgrade, which allows you to place a Chaos card on top of an opponent’s Chaos card, canceling its effect!
Make Kings Your Pawns
Speaking of control, the Morrslieb set brings the Prince of Pleasure whole new ways to seduce the aristocracy of the Old World. Slaanesh is likewise fully capable of winning through either dial advancement or victory points, but you’d do well to choose your strategy as early as possible so that you can begin laying the groundwork.
The upgrade cards Fall from Grace and Rise to Glory, for example, are designed to accentuate this dichotomous decision. With Fall from Grace, you can maximize your dial advancements by concentrating your corruption tokens in certain regions. Alternatively, Rise to Glory helps you score victory points through domination. Either way, you’ll want plenty of Noble tokens on the board. But how should you achieve this?
Your Keeper of Secrets is worth three Nobles, representing his constant sway over the minds of his enraptured populace. Need more Nobles on the board? Debauchery is one versatile option. If you’ve pooled the existing Nobles in one place, you’ll gain power. If not, you’ll gain more Nobles.
The Skaven menace is growing by the day, as the Old World edges ever closer to their emergence from the Under-Empire. Head to your favorite retailer to pre-order The Horned Rat Expansion today, and keep checking back for more!