Ylthari's Guardians

Welcome to our rundown of Ylthari’s Guardians. Make sure you catch our podcast coverage of the release. For everything out with this release window, follow these links:

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

Introduction

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

P: The Sylvaneth have been waiting for another chance in the underworlds for a long time. Will they burst onto the scene in second edition, burgeoning in spring, or will they wilt and wither in winter?

WARSCROLl

P: Wow, I love this. Both an interesting mechanic but also so on theme. It's like you are planting seeds that eventually blossom into an inspired fighter and another power card. I say another power card because I think you would almost always want to put the cards from your power deck face down rather than a card from your hand. It then essentially works like an, admittedly very delayed, card draw.

D: Yeah, I think this has a cool side effect of making it so that in Round 2 and 3 you can expect to be playing with an increased Power card hand size.

P: So of note, this top line means all of these abilities are limited to once per battle round so you can't really plan to try and combine them. It will really just be see what looks best this round and go with that one. Then you can pivot later if the best thing changes. So at minimum this is an extra sidestep you can use each battle round. That is going to be pretty hard to pass up in my mind.

D: Yes, amazing.

P: When you really need an attack to get home this will be the ability you want. Just 1 attack dice can be huge. A potential for 3 makes the attack almost impossible to miss.

D: I'm seeing no range restriction as well, which is nifty.

P: Teleport every battle round?! Dang. Given that you have to be placed adjacent to a friend it somewhat limits this, but only a little. Since this doesn't check current tokens or give any out it is extremely flexible and can help reposition offensively or defensively. Love it. Going to be competing with that extra push depending on the situation most of the time.

D: Great! Really nice for retreating after an early high risk charge. Super cool.

P: Great choice to make sure this only does something once at least 1 friendly fighter has been slain. The potential for 3 extra damage is wild but definitely the most situational option. But, when you need it you'll be very glad to use it and go full Ent on some fools.

D: Oh my goodness. I don't think you voluntarily get your fighters killed for this, but it's going to really help close out some games late.

FIGHTERS

Uninspired
P: I like what I'm seeing. 4 move and a range 3 attack gives a nice threat range for our viney mistress here. 2 dodge is solid as well though not what it once was in first edition. The only tricky thing here seems to be having your leader be 3 health but that is offset with also only being 2 bounty.

D: Yeah, the three health to give up two bounty is the fixings for nervous moments. I think you'll want to consider carefully if you take any leader-centric cards in your deck.

Inspired
P: Picking up more accuracy for both weapons is nice, but probably not essential. I'm likely looking to inspire other fighters before Ylthari herself.

D: I'd concur. Three hammers at range is some premium ranged accuracy, though.

Uninspired
P: The only single bounty fighter in the band and she shows it with a single dodge and damage. But, if you can just keep her back and use the accurate range 3 bow to harass enemy fighters and push them out of position she will have more than earned her keep.

D: I'm gonna admit, I never realized she was pulling magic arrows out of some sort of magic forest spite that is growing them like spines. Very Warhammer.

Inspired
P: Once inspired Ahnslaine upgrades that bow to be able to hit from range 4. The arrows will not stop being a nuisance! Probably waiting a bit to inspire though.

D: She is at the bottom of the inspire priorities, but she's a low risk early activation, giving an attack off without pushing too far into counterattack territory.

Uninspired
P: Despite the tree trunks for legs and a massive axe Gallanghann is rather nimble with 4 movement. The rest of his stats feel like solid above average profiles. Block defense, 4 health, attacks on 2 hammers at range 1 and 2. Very reliable fighter.

D: Dang, Gal, four speed, look at you! As the fighter that pioneered the uninspired two block defense, it's a little sad to see it go, but solid nonetheless.

Inspired
P: Picking up a defense dice is pretty great here since he keeps on block. The brutal addition for range one is not really going to be noticed until it is and you can catch someone out who was trying to really position themselves to up their survivability. I'm definitely looking this direction for first inspire.

D: Ah, there it is, he found it. Nice.

Uninspired
P: Very similar to Gallanghann, just missing the range 2 attack. That makes for a solid, albeit slightly less useful, second front-liner.

Inspired
P: Big accuracy boost. Going to 3 hammers is already good but adding on ensnare should help to deal with those 2 dodge fighters that are hoping to escape attacks from sheer numbers of dice. I think this would be my second choice for inspiration most games.

D: I'd agree. Situationally a number one priority if swinging into a warband like the Thorns of the Briar Queen.

Summary

P: It seems the roots run deep with these ones! Ylthari is back with some solid fighter stats, a cool inspire that effectively draws you cards, and some extremely flexible abilities that should allow them to thrive in any climate. I can't wait to see how this warband grows on everyone in Embergard.

D: chef’s kiss.

The Mortal RealmsNovember 23, 2024Comment