Malevolent Masks
Welcome to our rundown of Malevolent Masks. Make sure you catch our podcast coverage of the release. For everything out with this release window, follow these links:
What the Hex!? - Episode 124 - Too Krule for School
Thanks go to GW for providing a review copy to make this content possible.
INtroduction
[D]AVY, [P]HIL, [B]RIAN, & [S]KYLER
S: Welcome to the Masquerade of Malevolence, the Feast of Faces, the Hexen’s Harnessing Hold. I hope you’re ready.
B: There are 6 Mask upgrades in this deck, so anytime a card requires a Mask I'm thinking I need 4 or preferably more Masks in my deck to make it reliable. That's a pretty heavy tax to the power deck, depending on how good those Masks are. Will it be worth it?
S: The personality of these daemonic masks really comes through in the art, flavor, and abilities present in this deck. And they’re so crucial to the deck, we’re going to break them out of card order and lead with covering them. Let’s introduce you!
The Hexen Masks
B: Great Fortitude is a nice tool to have in any deck, but this better be the first and only upgrade you apply to your fighter or else you’re losing any previous investments.
S: The flavor text says it all here.
S: Alright, this mask is all about assisting you with two of this deck’s primary surges. (Audacious Aspect or Vision of Success) Both want a fighter wearing a mask and to be holding an even or odd objective immediately after an activation. It’s difficult to discuss The Echoguise without first highlighting that, cause it is an excellent tool for facilitating them.
B: Ideal scenario if you have both surges in hand- apply upgrade, move onto an objective (or begin an activation already standing on one), score the first surge, then next activation Reverberating Call to score the other.
S: And beyond helping you surge, it also provides a persisting defensive boon without requiring you to stay on any feature tokens. Two dice fighters in particular will especially love that. Lastly, this card also has the potential to completely turn the tables on endgame tiebreakers.
B: +1 Damage is rare in Nemesis. Spending a whole activation to turn it on for a round is rough though. If you're playing passive and priming a threatening counterpunch then I guess, but you better have a smooth objective hand and only need 3 activations to score it.
S: …or another way to activate Mask actions (spoilers, wink wink)
S: You may also find this action useful when you want to threaten one-shot damage from a safer position than spending that action to risk a fighter charging in and facing retaliation in the following activation.
B: Rereads “EACH dice”. Oh! Your Voltron fighter will love this if you need them to go off for the next 3 activations. Glad this mask can't be paired with The Eternal Smile.
S: Get this mask a scything superaction!
B: As a fan of push tech, I think it will be very niche when you'd use a whole activation pushing, rather than attacking. Much more useful in a control player's hand if they can read precisely where their opponent needs that fighter for end phase scoring purposes, but being a whole action and requiring adjacency takes a lot of setup. Very matchup dependent. Played well and with prescience though, it could stifle your opponent’s scoring… I dread Davy equipping this to a fighter before his final activation of the round.
S: Love this action. The push may have been enough for me, but you get to stagger the fighter as well which really seals the attractiveness of this action. Gives a little more incentive to run lethals too (although you won’t be able to take vulnerable fighters out with it).
B: The attack is great mostly only for chump fighters with really sad attacks or no range. I see this going on a fighter camping on an objective to give them some threat range. Doesn't light my world on fire, but having some access to cleave is nice.
D: I actually think this one is pretty decent. Range 3 with cleave and grievous up to 2 damage is pretty hot.
P: I didn't enjoy the prospect of range one fighters suddenly turning into a turret near my lines when I thought they had to charge...
S: Haha, I’m not apologizing.
Objectives
B: You've got 3 choices of an odd objective, so odds are good this should be doable on its first condition. Or pair with an invading warband for some easy glory.
S: Greatly appreciate the flexibility here that you don't need a mask to score this one, even if you're likely going to want to score it with a mask more often than not. Solid.
B: The matchup dependency has me skeptical, but this doesn't feel good for elite warbands where losing two fighters nearly makes this unachievable. So this seems to support horde warbands who frankly, sorely need the support. Fascinating.
S: Aye, as well as warbands with resurrection! This is a pretty cool twist on having more surviving fighters than your opponent. You’ll want to bring all six masks to fuel it. I'm a fan of this one!
B: Mask combo kill surge. I really dislike the second condition due to the dice dependency x3. I'm very cold with this one because surges should help with seed glory, but you need a glory to get the mask on, or you're 3-4 activations into the round already. Fine once your gameplan is already in motion, but not very helpful to start it.
S: The second mode is better when extra attack actions are possible - scything, dancing, pistol surprising, etc. Agree though, it’s on the slower side either way you slice it. Likely alright to include if you have other ways to get glory rolling though.
B: Depending on how easily your warband inspires, add a seed glory and double your total glory. Will be unappealing for warbands who struggle to inspire such as Dread Pageant (cries).
S: Love it. Scoring after a power step really sweetens this card. At that window, there's been an activation and an Inspire step preceding it. There's even opportunity with that window to score one of this decks "after an activation" surges, draw into this one as you go into power, and top that turn off with another surge scored like dominoes falling into place. If you have a reasonably attainable Inspire, then this is butter.
B: Yuck. Call this slow motion Gale Force. It's dice independent, but after 3 activations it doesn't feel much like a surge. Best case is a fighter with mid-activation reaction attacks during the opponent's activations. (Think Retractable Pistol during an opponent's charge, but the range restriction means that the pistol reaction won't count for this card.)
S: It may be slow, but it's definitely reliable. And unlike Gale Force, Feastie boy here is not plot-locked.
P: It feels a little disingenuous to say this is slow. I think most warbands make one attack per turn. Since this has no other requirements it is mostly guaranteed if you have enough fighters but never scores in a single activation, which I'm sure is what they wanted to avoid.
B: Save that mask card in hand until your final activation to apply to a Range 2+ fighter, charge in and score 2 glory so long as they don't have push. Cold of the Void and this card will be raising push tech value to deny these points.
S: Yeah, this card is fyre. There's a ploy called "Hooded Rush" in here as well that can pretty much guarantee your Hooded Stranger gets you that full 2 glory.
B: Extremely matchup dependent, hard against swarms, worst against a resurrection Warband. At best it's a meta pick if you suspect many elite warbands will be at an event.
S: More. More makes this card so rough. That's 2 out of 3, 3 out of 4/5, and so on. Now if this card had been "as many or more" then it starts looking a little more approachable. As is though, this one's my first cut every time.
B: Unless this was already something your warband wanted to do, I dislike the exposure for only one glory. Harder as the game progresses due to attrition.
S: Agreed. That's a lot of positioning for 1 glory. A few warbands will be happy to take it, but it asks too much of most.
B: Extremely easy if you pack enough masks to draw reliably and source your first seed glory.
S: Agreed. Solid.
S: Fantastic. Hold 2 with a fair ask for 2 Glory. Pleased that OOA fighters count, so you don't need to worry about holding back.
B: If you're already holding objectives AND you've got a ranged fighter who can double shoot or reactively shoot at targets, could be really good. I like how this incentivizes ping damage to be spread out and not used to just finish off fighters.
S: Haha, you play against me too often. Shout outs to Dakko and Althaen!
B: Balanced in preference for a horde warband who can hold out with just enough fighters left for third end phase. Death resurrection warbands like Sepulchral Guard and Exiled Dead love this. Four or fewer fighter elite warbands probably shouldn't attempt this.
S: And a little insurance built in for if you are worried about your fighter numbers dwindling, in which case you can score this in R1 or R2 to secure the 1 Glory. When you’re feeling confident that your numbers will be there for you though, just hold onto it like a third end phase for a payout worthy of that ask.
B: The yang to Audacious Aspect. Really appreciate the second condition only requiring 1 of the 3 objectives be in not friendly territory. Still harder than its counterpart as there's only 2 even objectives, or hold 3.
S: Yeah, I dig that too. With the window being immediately after an activation step, it's pretty attainable - especially for horde warbands with movement tricks. (Notice the mask Gorehulk is wearing here?)
Gambits
B: I don't think this card can be played if you're not causing at least one damage to your own fighter. "You CAN heal…" so that part is optional, but the damage is not. You need to heal at least two masked fighters to break even. Not a fan.
S: You are correct. Gross. Kill it with fire.
B: A Sidestep requiring an upgrade, with a bonus if masked. Hello again Heeded Instinct. I'm a fan.
S: Big fan.
B: This is really fun. Normally just going to make an attack action, but Howling Hood's unique action could be huge just before an end phase. None of the other unique actions in this deck work here except the Vytrix's Eye attack action.
D: I'm so intrigued by this one. There's so many warbands to think through that have cool interactions. Bring Cyreni back for one more Hammertide? Jump Deintalos back in for one more Danse? Get your big boy back in for one more haymaker swing?
S: What a card! I can't wait for the wild moments this card will facilitate. (And digging the hooded look Sheoch!)
B: Anecdotally, this reminds me of the out of action ability in the game Gorechosen or Combat Arena, for any of those who've played those GW boxes games.
B: Guard on command + mask for a combo bonus. Not bad.
S: I'm usually cold on single allocation guard token ploys. I think because I just want that card slot to go a little further. This card is fine though. Not bad, not great. Not without application.
B: First option: Having a power card to cycle into another effectively streamlines your deck to 19 cards. Second option: Recall an upgrade to your hand from the dead, discard pile, or an already assigned fighter. Very interesting. Can't argue with the versatility.
D: There's so many weird things you can do with this. Charge in with an offensive upgrade, then swap it for a defensive one. Put out a defensive upgrade on a vulnerable fighter, then pick it up if they die and put it on one of your living fighters. Make sure that Chasm Key ends up on a living fighter.
S: This deck is packed with fun ideas and synergies, and Revealed Aspect lands on top as my favorite card in the deck. This card will frequently offer you interesting choices. To add a couple to the ones my cohosts have laid out, it also has the potential to save your mask gameplan. And when using it to retrieve an upgrade from a dead fighter you can "pay" for that regained upgrade with a different upgrade from your discard pile. Love it.
B: Spend this card and discard an additional card to use a MM gambit twice... hmmm. Using this with Maskborn could get you two total additional attack actions. Huh. What a strange deck.
S: There are some absolute bangers in the gambit offerings of this deck. I definitely understand why you'd want a way to use them twice, and you may even have an extra mask in hand you can spend to pay for it. And besides, Revealed Aspect can always pull an upgrade tossed here back from your discard pile for you. Dude... this deck.
B: Okay. I like the balance here. The stagger discourages early use in a round, and it can be an excellent end of round closing attack.
S: Absolutely.
B: Hmmm… initially I was thinking this isn't good, because I don't particularly love the mask actions as activations, but having the ability do a whole action at gambit speed is conventionally great. If I have 2+ fighters with masks on them I love the versatility. On the flipside, this deck will drive me nuts when I draw a power hand reliant on Masks but can't get the seed glory out.
S: Hot. Hot. Hot. I think all of the mask actions become extremely good when you can use them at gambit speed. This might be a card worth Scrabbling in the Dirt for.
B: Good if you're embracing the invasion aspects of this objective deck. Less value if you’re playing passive hold. No range limitation is nice, but requires two masks to be equipped. The card combo reliance throughout this deck makes me extremely nervous.
P: Having seen this one in practice it lines up some pretty nutty things to catch an opponent out. Stuff like charge a fighter, apply a mask to someone else who benefits from being up close, then swapping places to set up future actions is really nice.
S: Oh, the applications! Run in with a glass cannon fighter, swap them out to safety and leave behind a tanky defensive fighter. Teleport your near dead fighter across the field to safety. Play keep away with the Chasm Key. Do you have a fighter holding an objective that you want to use but don’t want to leave the objective? Charge another fighter first, then swap so the charged fighter is now holding down the fort for you.
B: Further deck focusing tech, which helps my card combo anxiety. Seed glory remains the necessity so pack really solid surges.
S: Great tech to have in this deck. Essentially bumps your mask count up to 7 cards out of 20. And it finds any mask still in the deck, instead of something like the first one revealed from the top of the deck.
P: Our first tutor!
(Remaining) Upgrades
B: A defensive reroll alone often doesn't make my deck cuts. And here the additional benefit not only requires a mask combo, but only works on a critical defence dice result, for a push. I love me some push, but this is niche.
S: If I’m bringing this, it’s for the defensive re-roll and the reaction is merely a bonus. But like Brian, that doesn’t often make the cut for me.
B: If you don't draw the Echoguise, then this can help you score the odd/even hold surges if the required numbers are all out of reach. Gains value in number concerned warbands like Storm of Celestus. Combos really hard in Championship with Paths of Prophecy. And if you forgo passive play, this helps with spreading out across territories.
P: The thing that clicked for me with this card is that it is essentially a move action that can get you to far away objectives right when you need them. There are times in a hold band where you just need to get a fighter on that far off objective and this can get that for you at a similar action economy.
S: As well as assist you with charging out your warband in situations where you have a fighter sitting out of reach from making a charge superaction.
B: Good for driving back your target off the objective then pushing yourself onto it. Could see Range 2+ warbands liking this for poking the same Range 1 fighter repeatedly, following, and maintaining that distance.
S: Worded in such a way to work with the Howling Abyss action too, as well as Tammael’s Riptide, Grakk’s Snag, or the dreaded Snirk’s wrecking ball. Really cool upgrade push option. Great hold objective assistance too.
B: Puts the fighter effectively on guard, but better since anti-guard tech (Bearer of the Block) won't apply if you don’t mind the potential of being driven back . -1 defence is really off putting though. Best applied to a fighter with 1 Dodge.
S: Well summarized. I’ll add that when 1 Defence comes up against accuracy, it’s often not a basic success that can save you.
Summary
B: So after re-re-rereading this deck, I'm ultimately a fan of it. The actions on the masks did not inspire me as they did not seem worth spending 1 of your precious 12 activations, and don’t offer many inherent benefits you normally want from an upgrade slot. I think now I see the actions are just nice options to have at your disposal, but more fuel for the rest of the deck. Not being able to stack masks on a fighter avoids an Ur-Grub Voltron, and seems to actually be the intended purpose in equipping a horde warband with a lot of unique action versatility. Yet to be determined if the glory granted for doing so will offset the horde warband's glory bleed.
Warbands I could see running this deck well in Nemesis will bring their own Hold Objective cards to supplement. Grymwatch is my first pick as they have (In the Name of the King) to help with seed glory.
S: This deck is a puzzle box of wonder. I’m awestruck by the design spaces explored within these 32 cards. I’ve had an absolute blast testing it and look forward to the wild moments it will bring to the table from here on out. I tested with both Sepulchral Guard and Sons of Velmorn, and definitely recommend them both as pairings! Sepulchral Guard are bringing resurrection and their own hold gameplan to compliment Malevolent Masks. With Sons of Velmorn, Malevolent Masks offers you a chance to lean into their hold gameplan and away from their kill surges.
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Which mask is your favorite? What warband are you looking forward to pairing with Malevolent Masks? Let us know here or join the ongoing discussion on our Discord!