Ephilim's Pandaemonium
Welcome to our quick rundown of all the new Pandaemonium cards with the Wyrdhollow release. Make sure you catch our podcast coverage of the release. Thanks of course, to GW for a review copy of Wyrdhollow to allow for this review.
For coverage of the other cards in the release, follow these links:
Seismic Shock Universal Rivals Deck
Toxic Terrors Universal Rivals Deck
First Impressions
[D]AVY & [P]HIL
Our hot take was that these guys feel complicated, particularly for newer players with a sequence to run down every round and the potential to get iced out of inspiration for the boss/centerpiece. But the more we played the more they felt like a cool toolbox, whose objectives and inherent strengths worked very nicely together.
P: Very nice. Inspire, guard, and push if all alive. Just have to decide who you don't like for that stagger
D: That guard really helps get some defense on your double dodge fighters. And the push, though it’ll likely only drop on the first round is great for getting a head start on holding objectives or getting away from dangerous hazard hexes.
D: Also notice at the top that Changers can’t take Attack action upgrades!
P: Range four is a pretty big deal on a two damage attack. Starting on two dodge should be helpful for making sure Ephilim does get blown up immediately.
D: Yeah, between two dodge and long range, you can really keep her in a safer spot. Make sure to watch for whether she is correctly positioned for Power Leech. I think you’ll accidentally charge her out of position or not notice when board state changes and you lose the extra magic level.
P: Hmmm. At earliest you can inspire top of round two so thankfully you don't absolutely need to be inspired but it is certainly nice. I especially like the warpgorge ability to keep the spells flowing.
D: Yeah, Warpgorge is low key rad as hell!
P: Huh, speed 5 with a decent attack. Might just be a cruise missile but that could be enough. Having a range three attack helps to keep this guy relevant when you don't want to throw him away.
D: I kept forgetting he had a range 3 attack. I really like the situational +1 damage on large creatures as a design option. Really got a lot o’ accuracy when inspired.
P: Nice that this guy gets more defense and more accuracy on inspire. Might be my first choice to inspire so he is a big threat out the gate.
P: Pretty defensive fighter. Getting to two damage if target is adjacent is a nice flexible option.
D: Great early candidate for that start of round guard. Surprisingly durable.
P: A pretty meh stat fighter. The warping counters have two opportunities to trigger in the whole game so it doesn't feel all that impactful on paper.
D: It is kinda nice to have a sneaky way to slip extra damage past high defenses by hitting a more targetable neighbor. But yeah, feels like the fighter you might place in a more vulnerable spot.
P: Just a bit more defensive so maybe an okay second inspire choice? I guess more accurate too.
P: Weird fighter. I don't think I love the hypnotise ability but if you can find ways to push this guy into attack range he can do work
D: Flying?! Why not. Turns out after a few games, that “Hypnotise” is pretty solid disruption, particularly if you can get the Pandaemonium into a castling position. Threatening three damage out of the gate is pretty choice too. A very tempting early inspire for me just to give some survivability.
P: Two dodge should go a long way for this guy. Likely my second favorite for inspire if I need two plus damage attacks.
Objectives
P: If there are two wound fighters this is pretty easy. If not this becomes much more difficult
D: We found the changers to do a surprising amount of work in practice. It’s still a kill surge… but definitely decent enough if it’s Rivals or nothing else grabbing your attention.
P: Cast two is pretty simple but dice might brick you every so often which is annoying
D: I’m guessing the spell attack actions on the changers count?
P: Can even delve into this. Feels pretty simple and will always score at some point
D: Also barge. There’s a few power cards that play into this too. But mostly… wow. Score a glory if one of your guys up front die. Feels like an auto-include to me.
P: Surging for holding three is always strong. Obviously better with pushes but we have seen In the Name of the King enough to know this is good.
D: I very much like the sensible limitation of only scoring after the opponent’s power step to give them more chance to block this out.
P: Kill two isn't too hard and playing out upgrades on some changes feels pretty reasonable too. I like this one.
D: Yeah, really flexible, really solid. The kill or wound two is doable against almost any warband. And if that’s proving hard, splash a couple upgrades out.
P: Multiple successful dice rolls makes this a bit swingy. Sometimes this will be trivial and feel amazing and other times the dice will abandon you and this will brick and be frustrating to say the least. Probably worth the game in nemesis. Not sure about champs.
D: I think the biggest problem is that only two fighters have a range 1 attack action which can really jam this up.
P: Spreading damage around is not usually what you want to do but maybe you can afford to do it just for this.
D: Hopefully you’re doing this by blitzing someone down and splashing some extra elsewhere. Really only feels bad against something like Gorechosen?
P: Another supremacy that is more difficult. On the off chance you have objectives four and five you can make this happen on two but I don't think you can rely on that.
D: Highly thematic, really cool art, really restrictive. I don’t think you see it outside of Rivals and a few really specific Nemesis builds.
P: If this was just condition one I wouldn't touch it. Buuuut the second condition feels very doable so I'm back in on this.
D: The second half is pretty darn doable in rounds 2 and 3. Worth playing something slightly suboptimally to get a 2 glory EP scored.
P: We have seen similar objectives before and they are usually fine. Just have to be careful of where you put the objectives in your territory. If ephilim is too far forward then you might get dead, too far back and you can't use ephilim to full efficiency.
D: If the Pandaemonium can castle they can be really nasty. This might just be one glory, but it’s a pretty easy one glory.
P: This is solid, even if not great. Probably replaceable in champs but not something you need to get rid of.
D: Hrrm. Think I concur. Probably easier one glory EP objectives, but definitely fine in Nem/Rivals.
P: Ephilim can do this pretty well so it is playable. Not something I'd take in champs though. There are better surges.
D: Kill surges usually get filtered out with more flexible deck building, so I’d agree with Phil on this one.
At first blush, they didn’t seem as easy as some of Stormcoven’s objectives, but they don’t really force you out of your territory, which makes for a build that doesn’t force you forward into uncomfortable spots and lets you castle up and pounce instead.
Gambits
P: What a great ping. Either a finisher or a set up for a kill. Very solid.
D: I really hate hyperbole. This is one of the best pings of all time.
P: Very good accuracy boost. Should make picking off a wounded fighter pretty reliable.
D: Usable by three of your five fighters, but the cleave can be a world of difference if a fighter is on guard/has multiple defense dice (hi Gorl) or both.
P: Defensive rerolls are solid and since this is for the whole band it is something you will really want.
D: Board wide, easy to cast, all your fighters?! Super great.
P: Even a single fighter being staggered likely lets Ephilim go turret mode on them quite reliably. Not an absolute need but not bad either.
D: Makes an exposed fighter pay. Can also help trigger Callous Manipulator on demand.
P: You most likely push to the fysh for a bite. However even just pushing to disrupt scoring is very good.
D: Not overly taxing for the setup. I love a two hex distraction.
P: Yeah no, this isn't worth it.
D: I guess this is another way to trigger Callous. Getting to range 6 is fine, but as soon as you can mix in, say… Seismic Shock, then take a look there instead.
P: Throw a changer into a pile of enemies feels like a bad move, but sometimes you need the hail marry play. At worst it is just a normal ping and that's not bad.
D: The two channel is a big ask, but you can really carpet bomb a lot of the board with the right positioning. Get a re-roll to cast or a 3rd level on Ephilim and it isn’t too tough to get out there.
D: A+ art theme
P: I love cards like this but they tend not to play as well as they look. I'm still going to be trying it though, always a sucker for overly tricky plays. More cute than good eh Davy?
D: You took the words right out of my mouth. I still like it.
P: Reviving a fighter is almost always good. A bit of a shame it only spawns in friendly territory
D: Wow, check out the guy who played Spiteclaw, I guess. Great! Love this, and it can be back breaking… or salvage your leader’s chance of inspiring if things went sour early.
P: Definitely has some potential. A few different tricks this can pull since it is any feature token. I'm not completely sure what I'd do with it in every game but I'm sure you can find a play for this.
D: If you’re doing Rivals, gives you a chance at Nine Fates. Could pair nicely with Fearsome Fortress.
Wow. A lot of hot fire in this one. Really cool stuff that we also liked in actual play.
Upgrades
P: Decent defensive buff. Make sure you know what choose ploys your opponent might have to get rid of this. Also pings mess with illusions so this likely has a narrow set of solid matchups.
D: That said, I’m glad illusions aren’t dead, and thematically a great fit with a Tzeentch warband. I think this one’s a real solid illuision. I like the Kunnin Krew one too.
P: Rerolling ranged attack rolls is quite good. I'd want this for sure. Making gambit spells more reliable seems like a cherry on top.
D: Yes please. Protect against backlash when and if you get to effective casting level 3, protect against those aggravating misses on a single channel.
P: Could be decent but hard to reliably get the extra dice to trigger I think.
D: Exiled Dead like those Dynamic upgrades. The accuracy is a little less exciting than that warbands damage/damage reduction, but the bubble could be legit. Though you’d really like to keep her back and safe as long as possible, I think.
P: Wow, bite boi can be incredibly accurate with this without having to put the ranged changers in much danger.
D: Just a couple fighters that can even use this. But they’re your damage dealers, so…
P: Essentially extra wounds for Ephilim. Seems pretty good.
D: Gives Shared Pain vibes, but without the surprise gambit speed. I’d give it a go for sure. Keep whichever tool seems most important in action for longer.
P: Can be good but the changers are not all that slow to start so might be overkill.
D: Just on charging isn’t quite as exciting, but the prevalence of R3 actions on these guys increases the flexibility for sure.
P: Some damage blow back could help protect a changer but probably not enough value added here.
D: I kinda like it as a deterrent. Doesn’t have to succeed or fail and you have two defense die fighters regular or inspired.
P: Interesting option. Especially if you lost your changers. Not being a spell does synergize perfectly but still seems solid
D: Weeeeeird. Kinda a wonky way to heal and potentially tough to set up BUT! Worth noting that the original target is in one hex of itself, so this is effectively Range 4, damage 3. Tasty.
P: Grievous on ranged attacks is where I want to be. Seems solid.
D: Limited to changers, but Fighter’s Ferocity got restricted for a reason, and other than the lock to changers, this is it.
P: I think this makes ephilim pretty hard to kill, which I like. The push is a nice bonus too.
D: Really nice. Makes some of those self-damage options have a little broader application.
Summary
On playthrough, we were really wowed by this warband. Can’t wait to see it in the wild and taking on a greater variety of foes.