“The world of men will fall, and all will come to darkness.”
-- Boromir, Fellowship of the Ring
Boromir’s statement reflected the fear that the One Ring placed in the hearts of those who were in its presence. The Ring was more than an object, however, it was a player in the story…part thing, part creature. One can imagine a pessimistic Janus leader uttering Boromir’s famous phrase as they meet to decide upon a course of action to defend the dreamscape from its latest threat - the Anvilborn. Part thing, part creature, these Anvilborn. Steam-belching monstrosities of melded flesh and steel, faces of destruction leering out from behind a constructed façade.
As always, the dream lords who prowl the ether realm for their own purposes have not been slack. Daily, they imagine new allies of their own, ripped from the reveries of humanity and the gods know who else. As you will see, even the mysterious Zungar race stirs as activity in the dreamscape grows more and more frequent and chaotic.
Let’s take a look at some of the creatures of Valor who will be called forth to both augment and oppose the arrival of the Anvilborn.
Note: I’m introducing a new sidebar for each piece in these previews. It will tell you which other miniatures of the creature’s aspect have the same spawn cost, and which other miniatures, regardless of aspect, have the same or similar abilities. I’m hoping this will be useful when you’re reading to help give you an idea of how these creatures can fit into your warband. Is it in a slot that you know is reserved for another piece, or could it help fill out that gap in your spawn curve? Do you already have enough pieces that do something similar, or could this one be substituted to make an even stronger warband? It’s just a little guide to help you think about the piece as you’re reading about it, so I hope you find it helpful. Let us know over on the message boards.
The Eye of the Enemy
The Zungar race has been an enigma so far, sporting unusual abilities, some helpful to others and some purely selfish. That they have all been in Valor should provide us a clue as to their essential nature, but courage can be twisted to evil or good, depending on its goal. But now, on the heels of two invasions of the dreamscape, the Zungar find themselves worried about the future of their home. They need to reach out and establish lines of communication with those they have at times called both enemy and friend—the oneironauts of Janus, the mercenary Bloodcut, and even the Hellbred sorcerers…perhaps especially them.
Click here to Click here to receive the Zungar Envoy.
The sculpt on this one inspired my theme for the day. He’s a typical Zungar in many ways: his rough skin, his mysterious face, and the overly long arms that have become a trademark of the Zungar look. (Look closely at the figure and its arms make it look like this is only the top half of the wizard, as if everything below his waist is sunk below the base.) He’s also very wizardly, in his rune-scribed robes and holding onto a staff made of…is that thing made of seeping eyeballs? Blech (but it’s a good “blech”). The staff is a symbol of power for Gandalf and Saruman, and this one is no different. It sports an eye atop its oozing form (I suppose it could just be knotty wood, but I prefer thinking of it as composed entirely of oozing eyeballs and optic nerves), and we’re not sure what that eye does. Can it see into the hearts of men? Is it the Envoy’s only means of sight? Is it an all-seeing eye, or a Zungar-rendered palantir? I suppose that’s up for each dream lord to decide.
His cost is equivalent to that of the last Zungar we had the pleasure of meeting, the Zungar Standardbearer, except for an extra aspect cost. In this case the triple aspect cost is actually fairly important, as it diminishes one of the most obvious uses for the Envoy (see below). His stats are quite subpar for his cost (a recurring notion in this preview, as you’ll see), meaning his abilities had better stack up favorably to the useful CiP (come into play) Skirmish that we see on the Standardbearer. Low power is, in my opinion, a tougher disadvantage to overcome than a low defense and life. At 3 power the Envoy is salvageable, but definitely on the low end. The average cost:power ratio is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2:1. Taking a look at the Top 8 warbands from the recent 10k in New York, I note that the worst cost:power ratio (excluding the Fleshless Reaper) is 3:1, shared by the Tattooed Squashbug, Boogeyman, and Aviax Firebrand. Those guys sport some darn good abilities, if I remember correctly!
So given that, we can probably expect some darn good abilities on this guy as well! The Zungars have really had a mixed bag so far, and every one of them has had some special ability—Bodyguard, Defender, Skirmish, and Stalwart. On the Envoy we see two new abilities - Glory and Ambition. Both of these abilities have something to do with conquest points, more specifically scoring more of them.
Ambition is always active and scores you +2 conquest points when the Envoy is used to claim a scoring cell. It doesn’t matter if he’s the only one in the cell or if there are allies present…as long as he’s in there, you’re getting the bonus. It’s important to note that this does not increase the value of the scoring cell, like the Illuminati Pyramid does, but simply scores you extra points. The difference is important if you’re playing creatures like Pearlthorn Gargoyle or Freakazoid.
B: Glory 2 scores you +2 conquest points when you assign a blade to it. It seems like you’re going to have better things to assign your blades to in most cases, but there are times when scoring a couple of extra conquest points may be the difference between victory and defeat.
When I first saw this creature, I proclaimed “this will never be used in serious warbands.” My thinking was that the great players were more interested in controlling the board than in winning turns. It seemed as if conquest points and winning turns were looked down upon, as vulgar to a Dreamblade champion as plot is to a literary critic. But a couple of weeks ago as I pondered the post-Kitsune metagame and studied the results of the New York 10k my thinking started to change. The pendulum had swung too far, in my opinion, with players building slow warbands that lumbered toward ultimate board control while other bands fizzled and receded after winning four or five turns.
So I was quite interested to see Sam Black’s thoughts on this subject in his recent column, What Dreaming Dragons Didn’t Know. He seemed to agree that winning turns had suddenly become important again, and that an aggressive warband with solid stats could win the game before backbreaking combos could be assembled. The warband he presented at the end of his article just so happens to be almost mono-Valor, as well. I won’t go into the reasons that Valor is superior at the moment for just such a strategy, but that’s a convenient fact for our Zungar Envoy. There are a couple of things you’ll want to do with the Envoy, if you can. The first, which I alluded to earlier in the article, is to win early turns that normally would be tied. If you can bring out the Envoy on Turn 2 after spawning at least two creatures on Turn 1, then you can automatically win Turn 2 no matter how the initiative roll went. Simply cover your opponent’s 3-cell and the central cell, and then double shift your Envoy into your 1-cell, scoring you three points to your opponent’s maximum of one. I don’t think it’s that bad a play for a couple of reasons. First, your creatures likely have better stats than those your opponent has spawned (or you outnumber him, in which case you may not have to spread out so much). A low- or no-spawn on Turn 3 just about guarantees that you’re going to win that turn as well. It might seem dangerous to bring out this kind of piece early on a high spawn, but in the right kind of warband (i.e. one with plentiful Reinforce, Pearlthorn Castles, and movement blades) you can negate your opponent’s early advantage quickly, keeping the pressure on as you move into the mid-game.
The other thing you can do is place him near combats, forcing your opponent to try to win turns by more than one point so that the Envoy can’t steal a turn with his blade ability. If you’ve managed to push an early advantage thanks to Ambition, then Glory can help you realize victory by putting you over the top just when your opponent thinks he’s started his comeback. Glory is a psychological weapon as well. It makes your opponent fear what might come, causing some to overextend themselves or take risks when they don’t need to because of your conquest potential.
Use the Envoy to send a message to your opponents - I’m in control of this game, and that’s not changing any time soon!
Gwaihir, You’ve Looked Better
Believe it or not, the Zungar Envoy is the cheapest creature I’m going to preview this time around! The high end of Valor really got a boost in this set. With tough guys like the Noble Dragon and Pearlthorn Dragon Knight running around, not to mention the already spoiled Elite Gladiator, there’s going to be a lot to choose from for fans of the blue bases. Next up is a creature whose design is one of the best I’ve seen in some time. I mentioned in my previews for Chrysotic Plague that I hoped the horrific theme was married to that set, and not something that would be prolonged, and I believe that the designers and art directors have allayed my fears. This set seems to be much more about the fusion of flesh and metallic technology, and the next creature is evidence of that.
Click here to start manning the War Eagle.
This is an incredible-looking piece. Chrysotic Plague’s pieces were all “grounded,” so it’s good to get more flyers in Anvilborn. It’s not just a giant eagle with a sword for a head, which would be cool enough. No, the sword’s blade is curved and barbed, reminiscent of either a lightning bolt or gout of flame, whatever your preference. In addition, the sword’s pommel is shaped like the screeching beak of a bird of prey…very well designed.
Looking underneath the bird (not somewhere I usually want to be) I see another triple aspect cost! This one is not quite as obstructing as the Zungar Envoy, since the War Eagle is much more of a mid-game or late-game piece. Its 10 cost is high, and looking down at its stats makes me think…yowza! I almost feel bad for deriding the Envoy’s 3 power, as this guy weighs in with an awful 5:1 cost:power ratio! Ok, so we’re clearly not bringing him in to be a late-game beater…so what is his function?
His ability is Teleport Ally, a new twist on an old favorite. In fact, the Whirlwind Dervish is currently gaining in popularity after not seeing him in tournament bands for quite some time. It would seem that Teleport Ally would be a welcome addition to the family, but as a “comes into play” ability on a 10-cost creature, its utility is immediately limited. Trading in so much power for this ability should give us a clue that it’s an incredible ability, and I think it can be looked at as a 10-cost game-saver or game-winner rather than evaluated on its own (much like the Boogeyman was last set). With all the spawn-phase movement available to Valor, it might seem an unnecessary expense, and if you’re looking at combat I think you’d be correct. Games are often won or lost, however, on the disruption of a big beater late in the game. If your opponent can get that key creature back to your portal, it could buy him a turn or two to breathe…or to take the game while you shift your way back into contention. The War Eagle can help with that, allowing you to get your beater back in position the very next turn, as long as you’ve got 10 spawn points available to you. To a lesser extent, you can use Teleport Ally as a way to grab overextended pieces back out of range after you’ve stolen a turn and things have turned against you. The problem is that you’re not likely to see 10 spawn exactly when you need it (a similar but exaggerated version of the problem we have when we expect the Boogeyman to get us out of trouble). Teleport Ally can also be used for all the reasons Teleport Self is, and can also get a key “scoring cell” ability like Vortex into play immediately.
Sometimes when all seems lost, the War Eagle can swoop in and save the day!
Vengeance Came on Wings of Light
The final Valor preview is yet another testament to the killer cool imagination of the game’s designers and artists, and it represents another combination of technology and myth.
Click here to unleash Archangel Tommy.
I laughed out loud in joy when I pulled this miniature out of its plastic, even before I read what it did. Jonathan Tweet has given us such a great playground in which to stretch our imagination as well as our strategic minds; even now, a year after I first saw the game, I’m as captivated as ever by its various elements.
Tommy is the most expensive figure in this article, weighing in at a hefty 11VV. Like the other creatures, it also sports subpar stats for its cost. This is a bit disappointing, but not out of line for the creatures we’ve seen that have its primary ability: Reinforce Valor. The fact that it has another ability drives its stats a little lower, as I’d expect it to at least be on par with the Steelborn Griffin, which it’s not.
Reinforce has been resurrected quite recently as a force to be reckoned with, starting as early as Sam Black’s aggressive Valor warband he played at the 1k at Gencon SoCal way back in November, but only now starting to come back into its own with the introduction of the Valkyrie Moonrider and now Tommy boy. Still, am I going to be willing to drop 11 spawn on him?
Well, the answer is certainly to be found in his other ability, our very first crack at a double multiblade ability. Mass Wound 4 deals four points of damage to each local enemy for every two blades you assign to it. Now, we used to think that double-blade abilities were useless, but as more power has become available they’ve been used sparingly at times. Anvilborn brings new ways to get lots of blades reliably, so those double blade abilities may start making even more of an appearance. How good is four damage to every local enemy, anyway? Well, it’s just a double blade Crit 4 if there’s only one local enemy, but it’s worth 4 extra points of damage per enemy in play. This works best to clear a cell of lots of little creatures, sorta like a gangster mowing down a gang of mooks in an old flick. Whatever damage you have in addition to the blades can then be distributed to the creatures to disrupt or destroy them.Without Reinforce, Archangel Tommy would be seriously lacking piece, but with it I certainly think he’s going to be fun to play. I mean, you get to just pop into a cell and start cracking shots off at your enemies.
Toy soldiers never go out of style, especially when they’re soldiers from heaven!
Alright, that’s what I’ve got for you this time, but tune in soon for a few Madness previews, including my very favorite creature from the new set. Please visit the message boards to discuss these creatures and how you’re going to fit them into your latest warbands. Until then, keep dreaming the good dream.
