Greetings! Today was a big day - after months of inactivity, Games Workshop has released a new FAR list and new errata. In this article, I’ll cover the changes and their impact on the meta.
In total, we’re seeing 21 new restricted cards and one new forsaken card. On top of that, we’ve got 2 rule changes.
.Errata
Mollog’s Mob: Change Mollog’s ability on the Inspired side to read: ‘This fighter can make a Move or Charge action even if it has one Move token. In addition, when this fighter has one Charge token, it can still be activated, but cannot make super actions.’
This is a huge one! Even while inspired, Mollog will no longer have the ability to double charge. Moreover - when having a charge token, Mollog won’t be able to perform super actions at all. So… no more scything after the first charge for example. This is a huge blow in Mollog’s potential to break the game with multiple charges. It’s a very much-needed nerf and it should help balance the game in the future. It will also severely reduce the number of Mollogs on the tables. I’m sure Steel City’s Mike will keep trying to make him great again though!
Khagra’s Ravagers: Change the Inspire condition on each fighter to read: ‘After an activation, there are two or more Desecration tokens on the battlefield’
This is a significant improvement in their inspire mechanic. It’s still not super easy, but it makes inspiring more probable. Will this bring them back to play? I’m not entirely sure. Certainly, it’s a step in the right direction. Also - please bear in mind that this is a beta rule - so something optional and your TO or opponent might not agree to use it. Which frankly speaking is something I find rather odd. Ravagers were in a dire need of help. This buff is not a game-breaking one, so I don’t understand why game designers went with such a lack of confidence. It feels like a half-baked solution.
Those two changes cover the newest errata. The list is short but covers two important issues. While Mollog’s issue was dealt with decisively, Khagra’s one is showing a surprising lack of confidence.
Forsaken and Restricted list
So we’ve got a lot happening here! First of all - forsaken cards.
Ferocious Resistance - I don’t think anyone is surprised by this addition to the forsaken list. This card was breaking the game when played with high-wound fighters. It did cause a lot of frustration as killing a big boy was extremely difficult with this in the game.
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Restricted Cards - objectives
Cover Ground - arguably the best card within the speed package. It does offer easy, quite a passive glory that has almost no counterplay. The speed package is super good right now, so it’s fairly reasonable to see it toned down a bit. Gathered Momentum and Winged Death remain unrestricted, so you can still get 2 glory off it without having to sacrifice the R slot. However both of the aforementioned cards have more balanced scoring conditions, so this should bring the speed package down to a more reasonable level.
Show of Force - I’m not going to lie - I’m a bit sad to see this restricted. But it does deserve it. This is a super easy surge. And very versatile at the same time. You can run it both in a passive upgrade stacking deck and in an aggressive warband that wants to get into enemy territory - both archetypes will have an easy time scoring this. Sometimes way too easy.
Surge of Aggression - again, no surprise here. Very easy card and the best “kill” surge in the game. Primacy alone is an excellent mechanic that improves the glory ceiling for aggro warbands. And this card scores off it. It’s so good because there are multiple ways of acquiring the primacy token - some don’t even require you to make an attack. And in addition, this is a hybrid card that can be scored by landing a big attack. And it does help scoring Set the Tempo.
Restricted Cards - gambits
Mischievous Spirits - this card is where I’m a bit torn. Yes, it’s very powerful. Yes, playing it at the right moment can be devastating for a “hold 3” player. Yes, it’s well supplemented by various other disruption cards in the game. But with many of those disruptive effects ending up restricted we might end up in a situation, where players will have to pay the restricted slot tax just to now get overwhelmed by high scoring HO warbands again. I mean, we’ve had more than enough of that for the majority of S3. That’s enough. I can see the problem where playing a single card can undo an entire round of preparations to score something. But at the same time, we’re getting left with very few answers to hold play. And there’s a very big disparity in the number of unrestricted Distraction effects vs Sidestep effects (or Restless Prize effects). I guess taking some objective flip is a potential answer to the problem, so this will need some exploring.
Slickrock - a nasty card to disrupt both hold players, but also anyone who would like to get onto an objective for any reason. Bold Conquest, Quick Search, etc could have been impacted by this card. More importantly this card combines a very solid effect with a very negative experience for an affected player. So this could’ve been a factor that pushed this card into the Restricted list.
Restricted Cards - upgrades
Amberbone Weapons were a thing ever since they were released. Playing horde warbands to equip your fighter with an Amberbone weapon and turn it into a glory gathering torpedo has been a very successful strategy. Now, with the return of Inspired Attack and the addition of Punching Up those weapons can take out almost anyone. Sword is arguably the best weapon for that task thanks to its amazing attack profile. So it’s not a big surprise this has been toned down. It joins the Mace on the list. Rightfully so.
Crown of the Dead - honestly I’m a bit surprised this card has been running free for so long. It does offer crazy amounts of value. Not only does it help to plow through your power deck at a crazy speed, but when combined with other relics it also offers a re-roll for an attack dice. The crazy power level and well-deserved restriction.
Gauntlet of Command - final Mortis relic and the 3rd one to debut on the restricted list. With this, easy access to extra wounds is being removed. The friendly push effect is also very strong - both for aggressive teams, but also for HO players. With this move, all Mortis relics are restricted. This means it’s very unlikely we will see their set bonuses anymore. This should bring them down to a more sane level of power.
Deserved Confidence and deserved restriction! I’ve been saying that this card is insane ever since we’ve seen it for the first time. Currently, voltroning is a very lucrative strat and Deserved Confidence helps it spiral out of control. So there’s no surprise it’s getting restricted.
Geomancer’s Gauntlet - I feel like this is a bit of a cosmetic move. FtB strategy is brimming with tools that make flipping or removing objectives very easy. I don’t think that restricting this card will have any noticeable impact on the game.
Haughty Resistance - this card offers both - an ability to generate Primacy counter and damage reduction effect. Damage reduction is incredibly powerful when used on a high-wound fighter. It’s fairly reasonable to see such an effect ending up on a restricted list - especially when you could combine it with things like Toughened Hide for even greater reduction.
Hunter’s Talisman - this is hands down one of my favorite upgrades. It’s super strong and Hrothgorn makes it silly. Put it on a turret ogre and you’re getting lots of mileage out of this one. This card both escapes range limitation on its bonus but also can add a re-roll into the mix. Lots of value.
Proud Runner - part of the speed package, that also gives the Primacy counter almost for free. This card is great. Not only do you gain some extra mobility, but you can use it to ensure that you’re having the Primacy counter. So overall this card supports speed objectives, primacy objectives, and primacy-based end-phase glory. It’s arguably the most reliable way of gaining Primacy in the game right now. And as such can net you up to extra 3 glory per game.
Savage Visage is not only providing a Hunter keyword to your fighter. It also brings a crazy number of rerolls. And those are the re-rolls that you get for every range 1 attack. This means you’re very likely to hit your targets. Fighters like Rippa can obliterate almost anyone thanks to this card. There is no surprise in getting this restricted. This level of accuracy is simply fantastic.
Sting of the Ur-Grub - restricting this over… let’s say Savage Strength feels odd. By no means this is the best +1 Damage upgrade. And restricting it adds additional tax on Avatar. It feels like GW goes out of their way to hit any upgrade stacking glory they can. I don’t appreciate that.
Substance Siphon - this card allows to bunker up a fighter that in theory has been balanced by having a single defense dice. Providing him permanent guard is also fairly easy. This means you can have a valuable fighter holding an objective or reading the lost pages while having 3 defense dice and a guard. Busting that takes some serious effort. If that fighter would also happen to have a Silent Helmet you’re most likely better off doing something else than attacking this dude. At peak time this card provides +2 defense dices at the cost of not being able to modify the roll or have a re-roll. It’s still a very good deal.
Restricted cards - Faction cards
Fleeting Memories - one of the easier objectives in the game. Goes very well with the speed package. Restricting it makes sense - it will make it harder for Mournflight to score very easy, undisruptable glory. This should make life a bit harder for passive control builds. Especially when coupled with the Cover Ground restriction as well.
Cruel Hunters - I’m not sold on this. Yes, this is a good card. But it’s also a card that requires you to kill two enemy fighters. This can take a significant investment to make it happen. While I get that Rippa has very robust faction objectives, I’m not sold if this one is the correct one to hit. If anything I believe Loaded with Plunder would make more sense to restrict instead of this one. Loaded is a passive card that flows extremely well with Rippa’s inspiration mechanic. Hunters instead require a degree of commitment from your fighters to score, so it’s a bit odd it’s getting hit.
Arm of the Everwinter - I guess the sole reason to restrict this one are the Feet the Beasgrave decks. That way Hrothgorn can get a bit less synergy and might be slowed down a bit. I don’t think at this point this was necessary. FtB will be rotating out with S3 and Arm will most likely stop seeing the play.
Got It, Boss - yet another very easy surge that got hit. With this card being restricted Krusha’s players will have to decide how much do they value an easy glory. With both this and Show of Force being restricted gaining easy 2 glory early in the game will be much harder. This should give their opponents a fighting chance.
Berserk Fortitude - as mentioned before - damage reduction effects are very powerful. Berserk Fortitude, while having an additional cost, is a very powerful damage reduction effect. It can alone change a devastating attack into something that will hurt, but won’t take your orruk out of action. This level of security should come at a price and a restricted slot is a reasonable ask for it.
Foul Temper - oh boy… June 2021 is not the best month for Mollog. Not only he received a heavy nerf in errata, but he also got his accuracy card restricted. It feels bad for any Mollog player out there. But at the same time, he’s such a strange fighter that he has to be restrained. If rolling hot, or having too much accuracy Mollog will simply delete his opponents. While I like the big troll, I dislike how binary he is. He’s also gatekeeping the game for any elite warband. With those nerfs, he’s more likely to be gone and by this more warbands will have a better life.
Closing thoughts
The update to the FaR list was much needed and is a welcomed sight. It does tackle some very strong cards and should help some of the warbands to maybe see more play thanks to hitting some of the stronger ones. At the same time, this FaR reinforces the main offenders from season 3 - Thorns and The Grymwatch. I’ve been sick of watching those two warbands compete for the top spots, while the rest of the kids play in the garden. This FAR is very likely to bring back those memories. Various types of aggro have been toned down - it’s not surprising that this has happened - especially with the huge amount of accuracy and the damage in the game right now. But in addition to that, some of the strongest disruption effects were toned down, which is worrying me. Classic hold 3 decks were mostly dead, but new kind of hold strategies have appeared and worked well - especially with the flex decks. Now, with Spirits and Slickrock being restricted this might become a problem. Especially with hits aimed at both accuracy and some of the fast glory options. I’m afraid some of the aggressive warbands will struggle to stop holding warbands from powering up easily.
Flexing hordes might become a problem - sure, Amberbone Sword has been restricted, but at the same time, their access to Punching Up! and Inspired Attack remains unchanged. And there are other good weapon options available, like Chitin Scimitar or Silent Sword. So the ability to score glory and dish out damage remains unchanged for them, while their counters are getting weaker. I’m not too happy about this.
Overall there will be some shake-up to the meta, which is always good. I’m just hoping we won’t get stuck in the same old mud of death factions sitting on objectives and doing heaps of glory.
Big boys got hit - I think the biggest loser of this update is Mollog. I’m not certain he will recover from those blows. The game will probably be a better one without him around, but still - it does feel bad to nerf a warband so much. Other big boys will mostly suffer from the loss of Ferocious Resistance and restriction of Deserved Confidence. Voltron guys will probably be happy to replace Confidence with Savage Soldier. Yes, you’ll lose some defensive stats, but that offensive power will be able to fix some other losses in the accuracy department.
Restricting easy surges might bring more attention to the kill surges - as mentioned in my previous article - those aren’t very good, but if many easy to score surges were removed, then those kill objectives will become an attractive option. The only issue is that this can impact the reliability of your scoring too much and hold decks will run away with the victory.
The last thing I wanted to touch upon is the fact that we’ve not received a new FAQ. This is rather disappointing as we’re left with some important questions that require some official clarifications. There are few things around the Primacy alone that are unclear and can have a direct impact on how good some cards or warbands are. Hopefully, we will get those soon.
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