The Headsmen's Curse
Welcome to our rundown of the Headsmen’s Curse. Make sure you catch our podcast coverage and blogs. For everything out with this release window, follow these links:
Voidcursed Thralls Universal Rivals Deck
Thanks to GW for providing a review copy to make this possible.
Brian’s Headsmen’s Curse
First Impressions
[D]AVY, [B]RIAN, & [S]KYLER
D: We’ve seen three nighthaunt warbands already, so WTH was particularly interested in seeing how these guys distinguished themselves from the etherial pack.
S: Do yourself a favor. Read the flavor text down this entire deck. Some real gems in here.
B: Seems similar to the Bone Tithe mechanic for Kainan's Reapers. A lot more set up required with this. The Scriptor needs to land a successful attack, then kill the fighter with another activation for one counter. The warband needs 3 counters to inspire.
Theoretically, you could condemn, support and kill a large fighter to inspire the whole warband and grab two bounty. Hopefully power cards will help dispense Condemnation counters.
B: Spoilers: I'm no longer worried about getting Condemnation counters out efficiently.
S: Woah. Well Executed does not require the target to have a Condemned counter. Bonus if it does though! I also like that once condemned, it doesn't matter how the target is taken out of action for Justice is Served. No killing attack necessary.
S: Keep reading to catch Brian's jaw drop during his reread of the Scriptor.
B: An impressive stat line and the source of the warband's resurrection mechanic. 2 dodge and 5 health is pretty solid, but will need to be careful as he seems to be the engine of this warband.
S: Terminus's ability essentially reads "You WILL serve". With the chainrasps starting at 2, 3, and 4 wounds, that one wound counter on respawn is a nice touch.
B: Inspire gains 1 movement (to 5) and a damage (up to 4!) Villainous!
S: A threat range and damage characteristic that is NOT messing around.
D: Rare air with a damage 4 attack on your card. Mollog and Kainan?
B: As the warband's primary source of Condemn-ing, he feels precious and especially vulnerable on only one dodge defense. Luckily his Furious Indictment is range 3. I imagine his attack to be a wicked quill scribble on his scroll followed by the Scriptor pointing at the target and using their first middle and last name like the wickedest parental scowl.
B: Oh hold up, the condemnation counter gets applied even if the attack was unsuccessful, WOW love this.
S: Brian, your jaw! Wicked ability indeed.
B: Gains a defense (up to 2 dodge). And his attack gains Stagger, which is nice, would've been thematic/helpful if it staggered on his uninspired side too as the target feels unnatural dread at being condemned to beheading.
S: That's simply the experience level an Inspired Scripture can bring to his day job. Can't get that from an Uninspired self-work in progress.
B: Do we just call him Mr.Block, the Block, BotB? Solid attack action, 4 health fighter, excellent support piece. Shuts off guard adjacent AND gives the friendly supported attack cleave! I imagine BotB frantically holding up the block behind the target's neck mid-swing, truly skillful and duty bound LOL.
S: Just gives you a sense of unease. An apparition enthusiastically motioning in an attack with mannerisms that emphasize his coworkers will absolutely miss without his expressive assistance.
B: Gains another defense (up to 2 dodge) and damage (up to 3) just like big daddy Wielder. Now a very solid backup fighter.
S: A successful attack from each of these first two could fell Mollog with no damage modifiers. Yeesh!
B: Actually one of the more survivable fighters with 2 dodge, but will respawn vulnerable. Not gonna bother attacking with that profile. Don't think the Whet action is worth it in most cases unless you really like to build the drama and wind up for a one shot KO on Hroth/Mollog/etc. Good to bear in mind the Minion keyword for potential card play.
S: Maybe a good candidate for the Barge action. Especially into a Charged fighter so the Sharpener could stick to them and the supporting position.
B: The whet action doesn't get any better. His attack gets more accurate and Grievous, but if the whole warband inspires at the same time, he has to be one of my last choices to attack with still.
S: He's trying his best Brian!
Objectives
Poor Ephilim, love what they did with her technicolored blood though. Excellent touch by the artist.
B: Wow theres a lot left unsaid that would need to happen here. 1st condition: two Chainrasps died, and your Leader then killed two enemy fighters to ressurect the chainrasps. Yeesh.
OR
2nd condition: you resurrected a fighter (but can be thwarted if the opponent can/has resurrect and did so.)
Initial thought is I'll pass in champs, and not love in Nemesis.
S: For two glory, I think that second condition is fairly achievable. I’d give it a shot!
B: Simple enough, though the difficulty will vary based upon the opponent's warband and if they have resurrection.
S: Now for one glory, *this one* is a pass from me.
B: Use your chainrasps in a kill. Easy peasy, I was going to do that anyway. Warband staple.
S: Solid kill surge.
B: ALERT 2 Glory Surge *perks up and rereads*
Make two successful supported attack actions. YUP I wants it. Supports are already making the attack more accurate, win win.
Note to the opponent: Avoid adjacency like the plague. If you can deny them scoring this card they will likely still hold onto it and be frustrated. I would. Push tech stocks have just gone way way up.
S: Eagerly assisting this card with a Brian amount of push tech.
I think I've seen this meme before... LOL
B: OMG, do NOT charge a fighter into this warband early. Really strong card early rounds. What a punishing prospect for aggro warbands. So far this warband seems like great counter punch to aggro.
S: No kidding! This warband is going to excel against invading aggro.
B: Surge for inspiring. Probably not reliable, and wont help you get the ball(head) rolling that the warband needs to help get inspired.
S: Well said. Next! ...Mind the head.
B: In faction Move or Die seems a solid choice for reliability (but now you definitely need to think twice before taking the bladesharpener's action).
S: This card could have you thinking twice about resurrecting a fighter too. Fun card inclusion by the design team here.
B: BUY BUY BUY
Do what the warband want to do, get money. Act now and BOGO, get more money.
Seriously, American Express card for this warband, never leave home without it.
S: Taking a leader out with your leader is generally a nonstarter, but to make it a stretch goal... glorious.
B: Surge 1 glory for sitting back and spreading out Condemnation counters. Requires two Scriptor attack actions and/or ploys to Condemn. If you don’t draw the ploys then this may lead to suboptimal attack activations. Worthwhile in Nemesis, still good but likely cut in Champs.
S: Man, I think this makes my Surge cut across the board. I like that you don't have to rely on any successful attacks to score this one.
B: Pretty easy, as a 1 glory end phase should be.
Wound/condemn a fighter and be adjacent. Probably what you want as an Aggro/killy warband in case the final swings to kill fail, gives backup glory going into end phase. Likely take.
S: Yeah, simple ask that's perfectly inline with their game plan.
B: Too matchup dependent. Without a source of scything, this will be incredibly difficult into a swarm warband.
S: Aye. This becomes increasingly difficult if your headliner goes down and you lose access to resurrection. Ending a game with two fighters left in a four fighter warband is not a common affair. That all being said, I do enjoy a thematic goal card.
D: Feels similar to the Absolute Dominance objective that did see some play in Direchasm.
B: Decent round 2+. Incredibly fluffy/narrative card text.
S: Really like this one, especially since upgrades persist through death and resurrection.
Gambits
B: Slight modified in-faction Confusion + Condemn token. Probably a staple utility card. Love me some push-tech.
S: And Confusion was a great card to begin with.
S: With two enemy fighters next to each other, this could satisfy the Condemn counter portion of Quick to Judge in a pinch.
The Scriptor must've been a terrifying parent in their past-life.
B: Excellent utility to get the heads rolling. Can revive the Scriptor so don't Salvage this card too quickly.
S: On the flipside, being able to Salvage this while he's down is an enticing option.
B: More push tech, I'm dancing at this point. Essential and wanted for many of your surges.
S: A sidestep with the "drawback" of asking you to be exactly where you want to be. "Oh, nooo."
Ghostly limbs appearing from your physical surroundings and holding you in place for execution. Horrifying prospect.
B: At minimum, it's an additional (%16.66..) die facing added to your success rate. But this card gets so much better to help set up and achieve Eager Assistant or combo to also gain an additional Condemned counter if the attack kills. Only downside is it's a one time use, so likely best used to add to a very set up attack for a big swing combo, or a decent chance attack for a big boost in game plan.
Excellent in Nemesis, still a solid component to your game plan in Champs.
S: Great breakdown.
B: So much push/movement tech. Goes great with Gather a Crowd.
S: And Eager Assistant. It can set up Well Executed for your plot card too. Good stuff.
D: I didn’t think I could feel kinda sorry for Kindlefinger, but here we are.
B: Maybe a push tech you consider after others as you need to wound/condemn first. I still like it though.
S: Our fourth position altering gambit? Push it. Push it real good.
D: Obligatory WTH Episode 1 reference here.
B: In-faction Hidden Paths plus Condemn counter tech. Solid, solid. No restrictions on the Chainrasp either! You could charge a Chainrasp in, then teleport to an edge hex for safety or positioning or adjacent to set up another target. I think this is excellent.
S: Reposition tricks for days!! You could use this to charge out your warband going into your activation and immensely open up your options for the turn.
Flavor Text: INCREDIBLE.
B: WOW very interesting, build your own target. I don’t know how good it is, but I love the design concept and want to play with this. Choose someone with 1 dodge so you can get wounds through easily, if you fail to cause 5 wounds the fighter still has a chance of dying when they revert back to their base wound stat, giving you the Condemned counter. Lovely concept.
B: Favorite card of this deck.
S: Hilarious, top to bottom. Love it. Wildly fun card.
D: Also use to break opponent’s upgrades that can’t be on large fighters!
B: A nice balance here. The fighter gets to swing, but not as accurate (if they had a source of re-rolls). A good trade.
S: Dig the trade off as well. With flying and base 4 move speed, toss this down and you're getting most anywhere needs be.
B: Another source of resurrection just in case the dice fail you (pfft never happens). Fully healed if you're having a rough game, but vulnerable if your warband is fully staffed. Excellently designed card in my opinion. Champs maybe, Nemesis very likely take.
S: Word. The carefully considered restrictions here have struck a healthy balance of allowing the card to feel powerful, but not abusive. If you're taking All Rise, take this too.
Upgrades
B: Probably pass in Champs.
B: Oh my goodness, the Scriptor can double tap his yelling accusations. Although this occupies the same reaction window as the Condemnation counter, so he can't condemn twice in one activation. Is he a parent, drill sergeant, the French from Monty Python's holy grail? Yes. I want to run The Scriptor in Arena Mortis and yell people to death.
S: Asking the real questions.
S: One thing I'll add is that you could fulfill your game plan as early as 3 Condemn counters in play, so it's cool to have a way for the Scriptor to pivot and capitalize off his range. Add Gloryseeker and he could range down a 4 wound target in one activation. If he's inspired then the first hit would stagger and increase the likelihood of the second.
D: In a world where the Salvage rule exists, I’m much more interested.
B: Excellent utility given all the plot move/push tech, though may not make the cut in Championship.
S: Rude! Fun control card. It can definitely wrench up your opponent's game plan or force push tech out of their hand. To Brian's point, if the latter happens you may very well be able to just push right back next to them. Hold still!
B: Handy, but such a small probability cancellation. Dodge fighters usually rely on cover/support/crits for their defense anyway. Certainly not making the cut in Championship.
S: Yeah, this would be my first cut from their upgrades. Nemesis or Champs.
B: In-faction Great Fortitude, always a great tool to have in any faction deck. Only fighter you don't want to put this on is Mr Block.
S: An essential for a reason.
B: Great on the Wielder or Sharpener since they have 2 dodge defense. A solid pick in Nemesis, likely cut in Championship.
S: Inspired, it's great on all of them! Love the facing that this shores up as it leaves you open to add guard on top of it.
Careful there Karthaen!
B: Great accuracy tool in the toolbox. Gonna put this on the Wielder for sure.
S: Yes. Next!
B: In-faction Great Strength, a fantastic tool in the faction's toolbox. Glad it's restricted to Chainrasps (and honestly restricted to Mr Block and Sharpener.)
S: Agreed. The damage potential this warband brings out of the box...
Just loving the joyful energy here LoL.
B: Incredible card for the Wielder. Take a swing and go on guard. Doesn't require the attack to be successful. With Chainrasps resurrection, this stays valuable putting it on them too. Strong contender for my first pick of their faction upgrades.
S: Wow. Satisfaction guaranteed. My first pick too.
B: Kinda extend the fighter's support range. I believe this applied to Mr Block will still convey his ability to grant the attack cleave. A nice enhancement, probably not making the cut in Championship.
S: Sure will! I could see this sitting in that 11th card consideration slot.
B: One time use, +1 move and condemn a fighter. Probably my least favorite card from this faction.
S: I like it! Could help you secure objective cards or even just Condemn someone during a Charge before the attack comes down.
Summary
B: Perhaps my favorite conceptually executed warband. Second only to Ephilim. Counterpunch aggro. May struggle with having to invade. This is a combo Johnny warband right here. Call your target, then reinforce the attack with push tech and supports, then big slugger comes in to knock it out of the park.