"The End Times: Glottkin" had its premiere some time ago, and with the Skaven lurking just around the corner, I've decided to pick up the pace a bit. That's why the next two posts will be about EoT and then I'll take a break to write about something else. January looks to be quite exciting.
Now let's get to it, shall we?
1. "The End Times: Glottkin" special rules
"Nagash" gave us some nice, spiffy rules for fighting underground and on a cursed ground. Meanwhile "Glottkin" goes for good, old-fashioned city fighting. I actually find it really cool, since urban combat was always more commonly assosciated with 40K. After rerading through the rules for "Streets of Death" (that's how they are called) I really want a city game board. Not onlydo they add something fresh and unconventional do Warhammer Fantasy, but they are also very well written out. For example we get the "Ambushes" special rule, which allow one player to hide his units in a building and then suddendly set them upon a hapless foe, Beastmen style. There is also the "Darkened Alleways" addition, which allows for the use of small streets, that grant a unit hiding in them soft cover, but also conveys stupidity upon it.
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| Also known as "The End Times: Urban Combat" |
"Streets of Death" are based on the attacker/defender premise, which means that one of the players will undoubtedly need to assault a building occupied by his enemy's forces. So why not pepper it with some fire arrows before, by using the "Firestorm" rule? Empty houses that get in the way can be dealt with by utilising the "Demolitions". The possibilities are endless, and even the 40K's "Cities of Death" don't offer as much interesting ways to wage a bloody and grim urban war. This is of course only my opinion, but I know one thing. I need to get my hands on some buildings and barricades soon.
The next special rule in the book is "Chaos ascendant". This one is rather simple, as it let's Chaos players everywhere recieve great benefits from fielding their unholy armies. Every Beastmen, Warriors of Chaos, Daemons of Chaos and Legions of Chaos army can use this rule. It removes the "Instability" trait from their daemonic troops and characters and replace it with the "Unbreakable" and "Unstable" rules. Note that a "Legions of Chaos" player must declare which of the four Gods is ascendant. This God's Daemons don't suffer from the "Unstable" rule. The mortals with the ascendant God's mark can re-roll any of the dice from "Eye of the Gods" table.
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| They're finally being recognized for a true menace that they are. Also Adrian Smith |
I find this rule to be really cool for Chaos players everywhere as it not only gives their armies lots of flavour but also grants them benefits that aren't broken, something that is not common in the "End Times".
Another rule from "Glottkin", the "Storm of Chaos" (I see what you did there Games Workshop) grants a really nasty boon to the servants of Four Powers. Being similar to the Undead's ability to summon large numbers of mooks, it allows the Chaos players to bring forth a horde of Daemons, each time a double of any kind is rolled during the Winds of Magic phase. Of course the Daemons summoned depend on the Ascendant Chaos God, but all in all this is a really cool thing to have in your game. I mean, summoning a horde of Skeletons is one thing, but summoning a unit of Plaguebearers is something alltogether different and nastier. Neat!
Finally we come to the special, signature spell that all Chaos Wizards know. It's called "Summon Infernal Legion" and is cast on a basic power level of 14+, which in itself is quite high. Not only that, but it also dosen't have a Lore Attribute. However it is still very, very good and very nasty for anyone facing down the army of the Dark Gods, as this unlucky bastard will have to cope with a unit of Daemons (or a single Daemon) worth 100, 150 or 200 points, that materialises within 12' of the caster. Of course the different point value is assosciated with different power leves. For example the 200 point unit needs to be summoned on a 20+ roll, which is steep, but since you can summon any unit with a "Daemonic" special rule it is still incredibly strong and definetly should be a top priority for those dispel scrolls out there. Just pray that the Chaos mook won't have the "Irresistible Force" on his dice...
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| Pictured: a "Legions..." player having a good dice rolls |
As was the case with "Nagash", the "Glottkin" gives us a special, unified Chaos army called the "Legions of Chaos". Basically it merges the Beastmen, Warriors of Chaos and Daemons of Chaos into one, unholy package. Fans of the Four were waiting long for this, and I can't blame them. I've never really understood why GW decided to split them a few editions back. Now they're back as one, huge heretical family. The "Legions..." army follows the previous trend of 50% Lords and Heroes but otherwise if just an amalganation o f Beastmen, WoC and Daemons books special rules, including the "Eye of the Gods" and "Beastman Ambush", which is neat. As mentioned earlier the Chaos Daemons do not need to fear the "Instability" as it is completely gone, giving them a huge boon, altough one that is not, in my opinion, something overpowered. All in all the "Legions of Chaos" is a welcome addition to the game, and one that is both written well rules and fluff-wise. Good job GW.
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| We're baaaaaaaack! |
2. The Glottkin, Befouled Brothers of Nurgle
So now we come to Glottkin themselves, who cost a whooping 810 points. Being the chosen ones of the Plague God, the three brothers Glott are a truly terrifying threat, with their
12 FUCKING WOUNDS! Holy Sigmar on a pogo stick, talk about being hard to kill! Not only that but they also have T6, a 4+ AS, Mark of Nurgle and Regeneration 4+. I find the Three Stooges to be some of the nastiest, hardest sons of bitches in the entire game. Their only real downside is Initiative 1 which is pathetic. Unlike Nagash, who worked best sitting in the back and just spamming Skellingtons like crazy, the Glotts are best suited for a nice, frontal assault, where they can really shine. Not only do they have the "Nurgle's Rot" mutation which guarantees that enemy models around them will recieve free hits with no AS, but they are also gifted with the "Impact Hits (D3)", "Terror" and "Poisoned Attacks" special rules. Woah Momma! I do not envy anyone and anything going toe to toe with those guys.
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| The proverbial rape-train |
Of course there are also the individual, nasty skills of each one of the accursed brothers. Ethrac Glott, the three-armed weirdo, is a level 4 spellcaster with access to the Lore of Nurgle. Otto, the second of the triplets, is a classic Chaos Lord who is tough and nasty, and can dish out hurt like there is no tommorow. He grants additional D6 attacks for Glottkin as a whole, meaning that the Nurgle's monstrosities can potentially attack 11 times each turn. Just... wow.
Finally there is Ghurk, who obviously got the short end of the stick in this whole "chosen of Chaos" thing, by mutating into an imbecillic beast, that is the size of a town house. This however has obvious benefits of him being a CC monster (he he he). During the close combat phase, one of Glottkins attacks can be resolved with S10 and "Multiple Wounds (D6)" special rule. This one is perfect for slying those big, nasty critters that would like to take a bite of the chosen of Nurgle. Not that anyone or anything in their right mind would want to do that, but still...
Fianlly the brothers Glott are "Lords of Nurgle" and grant the Mark of Nurgle to all allies within 12' of them. Also they don't roll on the "Eye of the Gods" table, recievieng the "Aura of Chaos" reward each time. Their special attack is "Pestilential Torrent" a S3 Breath Weapon that can be used in close combat, and ignores armour saves, but that's just a cherry on a decaying, pus-filled cake really.
So what's my reccomendation when it comes to fighting the Glottkin? As an Empire player I suggest, as was the case with Nagash, to bring a lot of Cannons and Hellblasters with some Engineer support. Load up on those flaming attacks people, since the Glotts can regenerate pretty well. Bright Magic is the way to go here. Of course their oponents can always exploit their low Initiative and try to one-shot them with spells like "Pit of Shades" or "Purple Sun of Xereus", which have a high chance of blowing the fat abomination away with a single, lucky roll. That said the Glottkins controlling player will probably do his damnest to deal with such threats very fast and will stock on counter-magicians for those tasty dispells.
The biggest problem with those three bastards is that your enemy will almost always want to stick them into CC with you, and since they are M6 it shouldn't be that hard. Buffed up Monstrous Cavalry and toughened blocks of Infantry (50+ units of Halberdiers for example) could slow them down, but ultimately the Glottkins insane 12 wounds and high Toughness characteristic will see them through. Skaven should have easier time when dealing with them, as they can shoot into close combat, but it also means that they'll nedd to send a huge (60+ at least) units of Slaves or Clanrats against this monstrosity. Otherwise it simply won't work.
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| Be sure to bring a lot of these against Glottkin |
Do I think that Glottkin is overpowered? No. While still insanely strong, the brothers Glott can be taken down and their weaknesses are rather obvious. Being large and only one unit, they can be isolated rather easily and either stalled for the battle or shot to hell with warmachines and magic. Just don't throw your most expensive CC units at them. Even Phoenix Guard or IC Knights with Grandmaster don't stand a chance in a prolonged fight against the fat bastards, altough Elves of all sorts will benefit greatly from their ASF re-rolls, as the Glotts have terrible Inititative statistic.
So here is my review on the first part of "Glottkin". Next week I'll write about the rest of its special characters, including the Lords of Icepeak and Karl Franz Ascendant. Should be heaps of fun. Now however, I think I'm getting a cold and a rash. I hope the Papa Nurgle didn't get mad at me. Cough, cough...
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| "You've been a very naughty boy my dear Xathrodox..." |
Until next time
Xathrodox86
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