Hey! Welcome to the fourth article of the series covering the Harrowdeep Core Set. Today I’ll be discussing the first of the two new warbands - Xandire’s Truthseekers. If you’re interested to see my initial thoughts about this team - read on!
I’m not going to lie - I’ve been waiting to learn more about the new Stormcast warband. It might be an unpopular opinion, but I do enjoy some of those warbands and I do miss having an SCE team that is capable of contending with the top dogs. Does Xandire have what it takes to win? I will try to answer that question for you.
As with other Harrowdeep related articles - pictures used here have been used thanks to the courtesy of my friends from the Path to Glory podcast.
Inspire Condition
Their inspiration is almost global and is interesting. When one of the human members of the warband is taken out of action the remaining ones will inspire. Taros is an exception here - our bird will inspire when Luxa Stormrider is inspired. Unfortunately, the death of Taros doesn’t inspire anyone.
With the new rules concerning inspiration, there’s an interesting bit to remember - Taros will not inspire at the same time as Stormrider. According to the new rules bird’s inspiration condition is met during the inspiration step, after Stormrider has inspired. This means we have to wait until the next inspiration step to inspire him as well.
I believe this is a bit ridiculous, but new inspiration rules are something we could probably use some extra details about.
The Fighters
There’s one common theme spanning across all of the human members of the warband - every single one of them has a reaction that we can use once he’s taken enough damage to be taken out of action. This is sort of a parting gift from your dying comrade. I think this is a cool and very thematic ability.
Calthia Xandire - leader of the warband and a level 1 wizard while at it. Calthia offers fairly standard base stats for a stormcast - movement 3, single block defense, and 4 wounds. Her pre-death reaction allows us to heal 2 wounds from another friendly fighter. This can be handy in clutch situations and I like the fact that there’s no range limitation on this ability.
Her attack profile is decent: 2 damage attack action hitting on 3 smashes. It is a very decent accuracy and okay damage.
Once inspired she gains extra defense dice and her movement goes up to 4. Her Broadsword gains cleave making it even more accurate. Overall those are very decent stats.
Dhoraz Giant-Fell - the big gun of the warband. His base stats are the same as Cathia’s - a stock stormcast body. His Great Hammer attack offers us a sweet deal of 3 damage hitting on two smashes. Sadly it is a range 1 attack. I’m not gonna lie - I’ve been hoping for him to have range 2 on that big stick. Instead, he can stagger his targets. If something is tough enough to survive a blow like this one, it’s bound to be left shaken, so this is a very fitting place for that mechanic.
Dhoraz is also a brawler! Hopefully, this will mean he will be able to withstand some punishment and thrive while neck-deep in enemy territory.
The pre-death reaction allows us to pick one fighter within 2 hexes (boo) and push that fighter up to two hexes. This can be a friendly push, but it could also be used as a distraction effect. The range limitation is a bit restrictive though, but up to two hexes of push are pretty impactful.
Once inspired Dhoraz gains extra defense dice and a new attack profile - range 1, 2 damage attack action that hits on two smashes and has scything. I guess it is okay, but not very exciting in most cases. The lack of speed increase makes me miss that extra range on his hammer even more.
Luxa Stormrider - I love ranged fighters and I’ve been very curious about what Luxa is going to bring to the table. She’s also sporting standard stormcast stats and she’s a hunter in addition to that. Her Stormcaller Bow is offering a whooping range 4 attack action that hits for 1 damage at two smashes. Not great, not terrible.
Her pre-death reaction allows her to make a range 3+ attack action before she goes. I like it.
Once inspired she gains extra defense dice, which is pretty good. Her bow attack goes to 3 smash and it gains cleave and ensnare! Now that’s a super deadly accuracy. This attack profile begs for some card that would add grievous to it so we could couple it with Fighter’s Ferocity.
Luxa is also getting the second attack profile Crushing Impact - range 1, 2 damage attack that hits on two fury. Something you’re very unlikely to make use of in most cases.
To make the deal even sweeter, inspired Stormrider gains another reaction - if her range 3+ attack action takes enemy fighter out of action she can react to make another range 3+ attack. In a target reach environment, this could mean opponents meeting a machine gun emplacement. I love it!
Taros - our first companion! This Aetherwing is a beast and has flying, which means it cannot hold objectives or equip weapon upgrades. It can move through occupied hexes and lethal hexes do not deal damage to it during the move action. Taros is bound with Stormrider which can manifest via companion-related cards, but also via his own rules.
Taros have movement of 5, defend on two dodges, and have 2 wounds. His Beak attack action has range 1, hits on 2 fury for 1 damage - nothing impressive.
His rules are what make him very interesting. While Taros is within 2 hexes away from Stormrider he is supported by her. This does make him much harder to hit. In addition to that, after Stormrider’s move action Taros can react and push himself by up to 3 hexes. He must finish that push within 2 hexes of Stormrider. This is super cool - it means he can follow Luxa without having to spend activation for that. Super fun!
Once inspired Taros gains extra attack dice and his Beak gains grievous letting him attack for 2 damage ~40% of times.
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Overall I like what we’re getting. While I would love a bit more threat range for Dhoraz I think he’s going to be a serious threat to deal with anyway. Stormrider does not disappoint and her interaction with Taros can be super fun to play around with. Calthia ends up least interesting of the lot, still, she’s a competent fighter. Inspiration and reactions are encouraging players to take some risks with their fighters - losing one is always painful, but it can enable the rest of the warband to buff up and mitigate some of the lost power. While Dhoraz doesn’t gain a whole lot from inspiring, Calthia does get faster and more accurate, and Luxa is enabled to become a serious damage dealer. Finding which fighter to sacrifice and when to do it will be the key to success for this warband. Similarly, your opponent will have to be careful about which fighter to target first to not make his own life harder than it has to be. I like this kind of interaction.
Faction Specific Cards
While rating the cards I will be following the system as below:
1 - a very powerful card. You should take it in nearly every deck. A staple.
2 - a very strong card that you should consider taking. Might not always make the cut, but should usually contend with other options.
3 - a situational card that might prove to be good in certain situations or with proper card support
4 - a weak card. You might find a use for it, but in general, most often you’ll be better off with other picks.
Faction Objectives
Banish The Dark - this can be easily done with Stormrider, so it is a good option for a dependable end phase glory. With some help of push ploys you can be more liberal with the charges - they’re a backup option in case of failed attacks.
Rating: 2
Bearing Sigmar’s Light - this objective is not very hard to score, but I’m not convinced it is worth the effort for 1 glory when facing warbands that will be happy to contest those objective tokens. It is an option to consider for sure though.
Rating: 3
Blaze of Glory - if Luxa and Taros are alive then you have first of the reactions pretty much in the bag. Finding a second might be a bit tricky at times, so I would recommend getting some power cards that would help get the condition fulfilled. Overall this is a very easy objective with a slight potential for bricking. Still, I expect to see it in every Truthseeker deck.
Rating: 1
Brave The Darkness - a good ploy for aggressive play. It is also getting easier with your fighters dying - fewer bodies to charge with makes this easier to score. It does become a problem when you have more fighters than targets in range, which can happen with uninspired Calthia and Dhoraz. So be careful!
Rating: 2
Equal to Anything - this is a surge that you can score after killing the most resilient of enemy fighters. That’s not a particularly easy task. While doable, I would probably go for an easier kill surge if possible. There are plenty of 5-7 wound fighters with decent defense stats to make this surge nearly a dead card.
Rating: 3
Fearless Advance - I would’ve liked this card a lot more if those guys had a bit more movement. With movement 3 on most of them, it might be difficult to fulfill this condition - especially if your opponent will guess what you’re trying to score. Still - this can be very decent glory from going ultra-aggressive if you can stay alive long enough. Three fighters requirement is a bit steep when you have four of them in total.
Rating: 3
Righteous Blows - it is a bit of a trap objective. If you plan to go heavy on aggro you’ll likely score it at some point. The problem is that more often than not this is something you’ll be able to score in 3rd end phase, sometimes in 2nd. If you’ll run into Krushas or some very defensive horde it might be a challenge to kill enough of them. Especially if they can resurrect their fighters.
Rating: 3
Sigmar’s Chosen - I would say this is nearly a must-have for an aggressively built Truthseekers. Ideally, you’d want it in the first-second round. Most of the time you should be able to score it reliably then.
Rating: 1
Stalwart Few - most likely you’re going to lose some fighters throughout the game, so you’ll inspire and score this. My only issue is that you don’t have control over when this happens. Also in some bad cases, you could lose 2 fighters in such a configuration that leaves you with only one inspired fighter (example: Luxa -> Dhoraz). It is a pretty solid card, but I simply don’t like having to wait for my opponent to help me score my objective.
Rating: 3
Stubborn Yet - so, this is a similar case to Stalwart Few. If an enemy action leaves your fighter vulnerable you can score it. Again you’re dependant on your opponent, but luckily this time there are some tools to help you achieve the vulnerable state. Still, it’s not my favorite surge of the set.
Rating: 3
Unquestionable Might - but questionable quality… the requirements for this card are in line with Annihilation, but for 3 glory. No, thank you.
Rating: 4
We Suffice - I like this card. Having 2 fighters in enemy territory is perfectly doable. Going in hard should also help to fulfill the second condition of the card, so this should be a fairly reliable 2 glory in the end phase.
Rating: 2
Faction Gambits
Advance as One - this is super good for Truthseekers. Friendly push that works for all of your fighters gives tons of value - especially if your fighters are slow as Stormcast.
Rating: 1
Blaze of Light - this is a pretty good spell. The only issue with it is the fact that this is a spell and your wizard has only one dice to cast it. This is killing the deal for me. And it makes me sad because I would like to see spells being used more once again.
Rating: 3
Blazing Arrow - I love this card. With a bit of luck, properly stacked Strormrider could snuff out 4 wound fighters thanks to this card. Accuracy and a chance for extra damage in one card is a sweet deal - especially when it works on ranged attacks.
Rating: 1
Called Strike - single dice reroll for next attack action… it’s okay, but I’m not convinced whether it is worth the card.
Rating: 3
Crushing Momentum - It’s not a very bad card. It can turn the tables on a well-defended fighter if he is a block-based fighter who had a guard token. From the safety of that position to losing guard and being hit by an attack with cleave… not a journey that many would like to take. It’s not that good if your target has no guard and/or is dodge-based.
Rating: 3
Drilled Efficiency - guard token dispenser. This one is limited to fighters with move or charge tokens. I’m not a huge fan of cards like this one, but it is not that bad if your fighters are already inspired. You could charge in and then put them on guard to help them withstand retaliation. It’s not a bad idea, but I’m not certain it is viable enough.
Rating: 3
Flawless Strike - spending a card slot for a chance of getting one spent glory point? Not a great deal - especially when your chances of that happening are not that great. 25% for 2 smash attack profiles and goes down with extra dice.
Rating: 4
Meteoric Blow - very cool and thematic card. Sadly its utility is very limited. A successful attack from Dhoraz usually means a dead feature holder. Flipping that token feels counterproductive in that case - with the exception of the meta full of ghouls, who still have a handful of hold objective surges.
Rating: 4
Sigmarite Wardens - another guard dispenser. This one is better thanks to the fact that you can guard up all your fighters in enemy territory. That is a much more compelling option. Still not an amazing card.
Rating: 3
Walk It Off - very limited in utility heal. I would rather take Spiritcomb if I really wanted to ensure some decent healing. This one is way too limited and adds a move token on top of the steep requirement.
Rating: 4
Faction Upgrades
Flight of Darts - splash damage is a fun concept. But most of the time this will not have a big impact on the table. This attack action simply has too low damage output to matter. You could try combo it with Stormrider, Fighter’s Ferocity, and Blazing Arrow to have 50% chances of killing a mortek and reacting to kill more of them if crits allow. But that’s more of a fun experiment than a solid game plan.
Rating: 4
Grip of Serenity - Vulnerable requirement kills this card. Otherwise, it would’ve been a pretty strong offensive powerhouse. But the likelihood that you’ll even get to apply it is low.
Rating: 4
Indomitable Will - this upgrade can save the life of your fighter. You can react after receiving enough damage to be taken out of action and heal yourself back to 1 hp left. Very strong effect, I like it.
Rating: 1
Keepsake - very nice accuracy boost. It kind of defeats the purpose of having support in attack, as this card doesn’t stack with a single support, but still - very good bump in attack accuracy.
Rating: 1
Kinetic Lodestone - this card makes enemies stick to Dhoraz. He cannot be pushed and if an attack has range 1 you can stagger the attacker and give him a charge token. So if your opponent doesn’t have a range 2 attack he’s better off simply charging in and hoping for the kill, because if Dhoraz stays alive he will start making a short work of his targets. This fits perfectly into brawler fantasy.
Rating: 2
Light of Azyr - spell action that allows flipping feature tokens to become objectives or healing friendly fighters for 1. Not great and can fail thanks to being a spell action you have to cast.
Rating: 4
Raptor’s Eye - I really like it, but I’m not 100% sure this will make it into the deck. It might see more play if we will get some more synergy from being supported.
Rating: 2
Staggering Charge - this could hit for 3 damage with a decent chance thanks to 4 dice if made as part of a charge. Not too shabby, but I think I would rather take +damage upgrade since Truthseekers have quite elite melee fighters already.
Rating: 3
Tempered Sigmarite - an in-faction copy of Champion’s Fortitude. It is a solid defensive card.
Rating: 2
Unfaltering Stride - you can use this card to push your fighter through the battlefield after its activation. It’s okay… but nothing exciting I’m afraid.
Rating: 3
Closing Thoughts
So this is it! The models in this warband are very decent - you’ve got one very strong fighter, who likes being in the thick of it, you’ve got a specialist ranged fighter with his pet-support and a leader who is well rounded, but… a bit bland. Card wise I’m a bit disappointed that they have not received a full set of 6 surges. Luckily, two of those, that we got are very good and should see the play. I’m usually expecting to get 2-3 objectives out of the faction deck to be used in the championship and this deck delivers those with ease. Overall their faction cards are very thematic, but that doesn’t mean they are very good utility-wise - at least not all of them. Still, I believe they’re getting enough utility to be competitive.
How will they place in a greater scheme of things? I think they’ve got the flexibility to build in a few ways, which can be very helpful to adapt to the meta. They’ve got very accurate and strong melee fighters and their ranged support can be deadly. The main issue is that you’ll not enjoy having full warband inspired. Losing one model always hurts - even if that means getting others inspired. I think that losing a fighter, getting to react, and then inspiring is still a net loss to your warband. It can also be abused - faster warbands could target Taros first to get some easy glory and then kill your key fighter to inspire those less important. Often that’s easier said than done, but a good player with decent tools in the deck should be able to abuse this weakness.
Another problem can stem from high damage and accuracy on expendable fighters - they will continue to be a problem for more elite warbands for a while.
Still - Truthseekers have got enough defensive and offensive power to seriously disrupt your opponent. If you’re looking for a brawling warband with a good ranged support Truthseekers are for you. I’m sure I’m going to invest a good chunk of time into experimenting with them - I’ve got a few builds focusing on different fighters in my mind. And this is great about this warband - opponents have to guess which guy is the one before making moves. And you get to work out which one is working best for your playstyle.
What do you think about Truthseekers? Let me know in the comments!
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