The Crimson Court

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Thanks go to GW for providing a review copy to make this content possible.

Introduction

[D]AVY, [P]HIL, [B]RIAN, & [S]KYLER

P: A crimson quartet of the finest of vampiric aristocracy, will they comport themselves accordingly or succumb to their red thirst?

WARSCROLl

P: Uhhh... Okay. So you have to both hold treasure tokens and discard power cards to be able to inspire. That is such a huge cost. Power cards are super important to any strategy. I have a hard time seeing it be worth while to throw away cards to inspire.

D: Oh boy. I'd probably want some white-hot inspired stats for this condition. And they don't really have that. You need to hold three treasure to make this only cost one card. Oof.

P: From what I understand, you would need to be inspired first to use this a ability because you have to be able to inspire first. Uninspiring is a big cost when you needed to work so hard to get inspired first and for only +1 move AND a stagger token. Maybe I'm missing something but this feels like the juice isn't worth the squeeze… This just in, I'm a mook that doesn't know the rules! It is in fact possible to uninspire an uninspired fighter, it just doesn't do anything. So, this is your "easy" inspire if you will. Bonus move is fine but you'll need to be careful with gaining that stagger token.

P: Hmm. So if you use this on a fighter with a 0 bounty upgrade that is a pretty neat boost. If you end up having to discard more than 1 upgrade though this seems like it starts to hurt you more than help you. Timing will be everything here.

D: Do we think you have to have an upgrade to use this in the first place? I don't think so, but I could be wrong.

P: I think you are right Davy, that gives some added value here.

P: Situational accuracy boost that will never help an inspired fighter. I'm sure there will be times where it is very useful but most of the time this ability is hard to take advantage of.

P: Okay now we're talking! Being able to situationally jump to 3 dodge is super great but being able to do it right as the attack is being made? Crazy. I imagine your opponent will play around this until they see it get used.

P: An automatic ping and heal is pretty neat, but making it a core ability makes it a lot less efficient. Still, there will be times where this is exactly what you need to finish off a fighter and you get to completely ignore their defense. If you heal as well that feels like a bonus.

D: A ping that can target a vulnerable fighter feels very rare in second edition. Stocks slightly up, just for that.

FIGHTERS

Uninspired
P: Dang Duvalle, pretty much just as good at fighting as Morgok is most impressive. Being 4 health and 2 bounty is the only difference and since this warband has 4 fighters I think it is a perfectly reasonable trade off. I guess it pays to have all of eternity to practice with that sword!

Inspired
P: Going through the trouble of inspiring will make the prince faster and more accurate. Solid bonuses but I feel like 3 hammers was already super accurate so I don't know that I'll be starting with inspiring Duvalle.

Uninspired
P: Seemingly pretty standard stats. 3 move, 1 block, 4 health for 2 glory. Solid but not amazing. Give him range 1 and 2 options on 2 hammers and he is a flexible work horse.

Inspired
P: Gorath smash! One extra damage on both attacks is nasty, especially seeing that range 2 go to 2 damage. I might always start with inspiring Gorath to threaten more fighters from more hexes.

Uninspired
P: Another very solid fighter profile while being slightly faster than the boys. Seems like all these vamps can pull their weight.

Inspired
P: Picking up a defense dice is great, but having the symbol switch to dodge is decidedly not in this edition. There is a factor to account for that this allows escaping attacks with two successes though which is helpful, just not very reliable. I think I'd probably inspire Vellas last because of this.

Uninspired
P: Ennias got the short straw here being less defensive, less healthy, and less accurate than his friends. But, up side is he is only 1 bounty and has some pretty sweet wings.

Inspired
P: Alright, added speed, defense, and accuracy makes this a pretty potent inspire. I think this will be especially important if you think you'll need the extra movement to close the gap with your opponent.

Summary

P: There is a lot to work through with this band. Between needing to manage the savage status, holding treasure, and determining which power cards can be discarded there will be a lot of failure points in running these vampires. However, with their above average stats across the board and a couple neat abilities I think they will be able to reward anyone who can manage that balance between nobility and brutality.

The Mortal RealmsNovember 23, 2024Comment