Hordes: Minions in Exigence
What cool new toys did Minion players get in Exigence? Take a look:
I have to admit I’m nearly universally pleased by everything Minions in this book. I’ve finally managed to eliminate any prior expectations to new book releases, so whatever I find within seems exciting. New books are a lot more fun when you stop assuming there will be a new beast or unit or whatever else you think your faction needs. Then you can just enjoy what you got and start planning for how you’re gonna use it.
We might as well start with Helga. She’s an exciting new Warlock with some helpful new spells and abilities. She’s a good all round caster with the potential for some assassination with Cyclone, staying power from Defender’s Ward, armor cracking from Field Marshal Gang Fighter, and board control with Dash and Grand Finale. Just think of all the slams you can get when you combine that Feat with the new Meat Thresher’s Bulldoze ability.
Speaking of the Meat Thresher, I have to admit, when I saw this model’s leaked rules a few months ago it just seemed too good to be true. Was it possible Thornfall might really get a model so capable of mowing down hordes of Infantry? It even has a decent gun – the RAT might be a little low, but Helga and Dr. A can increase it’s odds of hitting with Distraction and Crippling Grasp. Just imagine how annoying Lord Carver could make it with Quagmire. And it works just fine unsupported. Skorne, I think you finally got a Battle Engine you might actually use.
Maximus is a fantastic little solo for two points. He brings even more infantry killing power and as an Abomination there’s always that chance he’ll cause an enemy unit to fail a CMD check and flee. He even has eight hit boxes and unyielding so he’ll be kind of a pain in the butt to kill. I think Hordes players of all factions are going to be using this guy a lot. But seriously, think about him with Lord Carver’s Feat.
I’ll include the Efaarit Scouts wth Thornfall since they can use them – even if they technically aren’t pig men. This model is just another really useful tool for the Thornfall faction. Mobility is something pigs lack and the scouts are faster than anything else we have. They’re not exactly tough, but as light cav, they’ll be really hard to catch in melee, and their DEF and ARM are high enough at 14 to require some dedicated shooting to eliminate. If they’ve got a forest to hide in your opponent may never be able to bring them down since they have camouflage. Too bad there aren’t any Thornfall models that can place smoke clouds. Of course for some of the other factions that can take these guys that won’t be a problem. I haven’t even mentioned their signature Armor Piercing gun. It’s a really easy way to open up Finisher for my Slaughterhousers.
Moving on to Blindwater we have Jaga Jaga. Like Helga, she has a great toolbox, although I have to say I’m not quite as fond of her as I am of the pig. For me her neatest trick is Escort. Having the potential for another extra two inches of threat with a gator toss is always exctiting. Sure, Rask could do this already, but with him the model has to charge. Sometimes you want an extra 2″ that doesn’t have to be in a straight line. Or how about an extra 2″ to a Trample? Spellpiercer is also fantastic – not quite as good as Purify though it’s cheaper to cast. Grave Wind is another cool spell, and I want to cast it on the Totem Hunter all night long. Jaga’s feat is hard to really gauge without playing a few games, although I will say I’ve always had bad luck with feats that give you benefits from killing models. Calaban is in a similar boat and I’ve never had a memorable feat turn with him. Although given the choice I’ll take Legion of Death over Death Harvest anytime. Dark Shroud gives gators some much needed armor cracking, and while those undead solos might not get to activate I do believe they’ll still get Free Strikes. Or at the very least get in the way. My one problem with Jaga is that her feat conflicts with the new Sacral Vault’s Deathly Dominion ability, and the Bokor’s Raise Dead. Although maybe I’m making too big a deal out of it since you can choose not to use Legion of Death if you don’t want to.
That leaves us with our final new Minion toy the Sacral Vault. Seriously folks I think this is the one. As in quite literally the best Battle Engine. Ok maybe I’m stretching. It wants souls from living models, so that can conflict with Zombify and you won’t get any tokens from Swamp Shamblers. But this thing can harvest Soul Tokens from anywhere within 10″. And you can double dip on Soul and Corpse tokens meaning it’s possible to grab souls and make zombie trogs at the same time. Soul Storm on a model with a base this big will net you a lot of kills. Just put it at the front and dare those Doom Reavers to charge it. It’s gun is also just silly – decent range, decent POW, Rapid Fire D3, and it lets you move and make an attack with a model you kill? Not good enough? What if I throw in some Arcane Vortex and Soul Sacrifice? Plus you’ll have easy access to Spiny Growth to make it extra hard to kill. I can’t help it, I am a little jealous that Circle and Legion players get to manhandle it with their grubby little paws, but at least Soul Sacrifice is friendly faction only.
~With Minion releases like these I think every Hordes player should be happy. Minion player or not, what are you most looking forward to using?
