Thundrik's Profiteers

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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

D: The OG gunslingers return! Well... I guess Farstriders were the OG gunslingers, but the Profiteers owned it. Given the general toning down of even range 2 attack damage, let's see how they stand up in second edition.

WARSCROLl

D: This right here is going to really motivate you to bring some easy surges, and to mulligan for them. Consider letting Thundrik be selfish with the inspire so he's around long enough to inspire the rest of the crew.

P: Without surge steps we should also see some surprising inspires as well so keep an eye out for those timings.

D: Unless I'm very wrong, enemy abilities is going to include power cards *and* core abilities, which means someone has to charge to an adjacent spot to knock you off your treasure. SPICY!

P: That is my understanding of the code here. All cards and actions are abilities. What seems less clear to me is if drive back, since it is part of an attack, is also part of an ability. We'll have to consult the keepers of the code on that and get back to you.

D: Honestly, I'm a little surprised this is repeatable. Although you want to keep your leader safe early so that he can be there to inspire the rest of the crew, he can make a real interesting roadblock later by getting into a good position and triggering this ability. You can even force this damage by using pushes in the power step to initiate the damage.

P: Definitely a nice bump in damage for a warband that is largely going to be doing single damage attacks.

D: Not bad... but I mean, some of these guys have great range and dice already. Are you going to have Dead-Eye shoot at range 5 with a five hammer attack for the lulz? Sure, why not.

P: This feels like one of those situations where you really need an opponent off a treasure but have short legs so you just find yourself a bigger gun to reach out and hit them with. This might be most impactful for uninspired fighters as well.

D: This one actually needs a pretty specific board state to go off, but you're going to need to get whatever damage out that you can. Using this to spread damage on multiple fighters with Drakkskewer waiting in the wings for the follow up can force some difficult decisions. A little unclear if the "within 2 hexes" cares about the original location of the first target or their final location (i.e. after driveback). The latter would make this not useable on a kill, which doesn't seem right.

P: I really hope it doesn't require the target to still be on the board. The cinematic value here would be largely lost in my opinion, not to mention making the ability very restricted.

D: Insert Robert Redford as Jeremiah Johnson nodding GIF here. Huge push. Amazing for getting a fighter somewhere to make up for your short moves. Use it to be able to trigger Atmospheric Isolation multiple times. Use it to extend Drakkskewer's (or anyone's) threat range. I love that it isn't stymied by delved treasure. GREAT ability.

P: You might be surprised to hear that we here at What the Hex love pushes and especially pushes for multiple hexes. Hugely powerful effect. I imagine this will win Profiteers games.

FIGHTERS

Uninspired
D: Ahhhh! Somehow two move returned. That two damage melee attack is actually going to be more significant than in the previous edition- as you'll see these guys have great range and generally low damage output.

Inspired
D: High priority inspire in my opinion. Gaining cleave on a two hammer attack is a pretty significant stat boost. I'm even bigger on the extra save dice and point of movement.

P: Gotta keep the boss safe. If he goes down, no one gets paid!

Uninspired
D: Long range specialist here. Pretty modest starting profile, let's check the inspired side.

Inspired
D: Accurate! Four attack dice gives a decent chance for overrun if you are looking to hold treasure (and I think you should be). I really feel the loss of the extra point of health on the inspired side from first edition and it's a bummer there's no bump in save to accommodate. One of the fighters most likely to be able to trigger Hail of Aethershot, with the extra range making a big difference.

P: The defensive loss is certainly a drop, but ya know what can keep ya safe? Sitting very far away in a snipers nest! Loving that range 4.

Uninspired
D: Enrik Ironhail feels like more of a peer to Lund then he used to be. That's a legit early ranged attack.

P: You can say that again! 3 hammers feels almost automatic against some defenses. They don't call him Ironhail for nothing.

Inspired
D: Really turns into a good set-up guy for Inspired Kazgan to come in from the top rope to finish off important targets.

Uninspired
D: Garodd used to be an afterthought, but his two damage starting out is an potentially more important piece of the pie.

Inspired
D: Extra speed, slightly improved defense. Not flashy, but ol' Garodd "YOLO" Alensen is a more important piece of the puzzle for the warband than he used to be, because of the potential issues with damage output.

Uninspired
D: The flyboy himself! And there's your other two glory worth of bounty. Between that and his inspired attack damage you want to retain this threat as long as possible.

Inspired
D: And there it is- three damage, on a modestly accurate attack profile, only at range 1. Finding accuracy boosts, whether from Enrik's inspired shots staggering fighters or from your power deck will really let this guy finish off anyone torn up by your gunfire.

Summary

D: Well! With a couple warscroll abilities that make holding treasure easier, and the ability to blaze away with attacks while standing on said treasure tokens, I think there's a playstyle laid out going forward here. Pair Take & Hold with whatever easy surges you can find to get some crucial inspires as early as you can. Real interested to see how this one stands up in the Embergard meta.

The Mortal RealmsNovember 23, 2024Comment