WFB EDITORIAL: Thinking Outside the Box
A guest editorial by: Jordan Braun
A lot of Warhammer Fantasy players assume an item or spell has only one use in general. They don’t think outside the box. This happens to new players to veterans alike. They assume an item or power is specifically for one purpose and they get tunnel vision. This is not entirely the case in Fantasy, where there are many items and spells that can have multiple uses or applications. I would like to point out to my fellow BoLS Fantasy players a few of these cases. Here are 3 examples of using some spells and an item a little differently than you might expect.
“Portent of Far”, the default Lore of Heavens spell is primarily considered a spell for close combat. It lets you reroll 1s to hit and wound. This spell however has some great uses in the shooting and magic phases as well. Throw this on some Flamers, one of the best shooting units in the game, and you just got a huge boost in killing potential. This spell is also great on support casters. Your level 2 can throw 1 or 2 dice at Portent of Far on your more deadly level 4 wizard. All of a sudden your level 4’s big nasty fiery blast is that much more deadly at rerolling 1’s.
Portent of Far is a great spell, but Empire has an even better version. The “Hammer of Sigmar” bound prayers from Archlectors and Warriorpriests. This bound 4 spell in your average Empire player’s hands is usually only cast in close combat. Your more savvy Empire generals will crush you with a more unique use. Hammer lets the model reroll hits and wounds. This is a huge advantage if you think outside the box. There is an a plethora of ways to make this spell deadly. My favorite use is casting Hammer of Sigmar on my Hochland Outrider champion. The BS:5 Hochland is already a threat. Throw on rerolls of hit and wound he is almost certain to put a wound on any T5 model or less. Hammer of Sigmar is also quite deadly on wizards. You thought rerolling 1s with Portent of Far is good, how about rerolling every failure?!?!
Empire is pretty blessed with that awesome bound, but Warriors of Chaos have the exact same ability through a magic weapon. The mighty “Rending Sword” for Warriors of Chaos is probably the best magic weapon they have. Your average WoC player thinks this is a close combat weapon only. Nonsense!!! This item really shines on a level 4 Sorceror Lord. The sword lets you reroll all failed to wound rolls. This means even a poor roll on Flickr Fire can put a few more wounds then expected with this awesome sword. It really shines in the shooting phase with Bloodcurling Roar. Having 2 chances to roll a few 6s can easily take out an elite unit compared to just one chance. My favorite WoC character currently is the level 4 Mark of Tzeentch on a disc with Golden Eye, Rending Sword, Spell Familiar, Enchanted Shield, Bloodcurling Roar, and the one use breath weapon stream of corruption. This guy throws sick spells and puts out a nice output of shooting damage. The breathweapon usually sucks, but in combination with Rending Sword its worth it!
~These are only a few things that people usually overlook. Take a look at your armybook and maybe you can find something too that is Thinking Outside the Box! The floor is yours my fellow Generals of the Old World.
Jordan Braun is one of the leading Warhammer Fantasy players in North America. He has been playing the game for 15 years, since 4th edition. He owns every army but his favorites are Tomb Kings and Empire. Recent awards include GW Circuit Champion in 07, GW Ardboyz Champion in 08, Baltimore GWGT Best General 08, Colonial Best General 09, Battle on the Beale Best General 09, BoLScon 2nd Overall 09, Sooiepalooza Overall 09, and many, many more. Word on the street is Jordan is “kind of a big deal”…
