Hi everyone, Aman here!
In this article, I will be reviewing the 12 universal objectives, 10 universal gambits, and 10 universal upgrades that are included in the Khagra’s Ravagers expansion. Jonathan may also comment some of his thoughts on these cards in (Jonathan – bold). Keep in mind, all of these card are brand new – there are no repeats or generic cards like previous seasons.
Note: As per my previous articles, I’ll be using the following rating system.
A score of “A” means that the card is very powerful and should almost always be included in your deck builds. “B” means that the card is strong and will usually be included, but not always. A score of “C” means that card can be good in certain situations but will usually require extra support. Lastly, a score of “D” means the card is on the weaker side of things. It doesn’t mean that it is inherently bad but perhaps can be considered hard to use or counter intuitive to your game plan.
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Universal Objectives:
Wrested Dominance: If you are taking advantage of the Primacy mechanic, which most players are these days, then this probably something you could consider. Considering most players are dipping their toes into Primacy, people will be fighting over who owns the token. So if you lose it or your opponent gains, and then you get it back, this could lead to a nice way to cycle and boos your glory generation in the round. The challenge is that your opponent might never gain control of the token though.
Rating: C
Underdog: This cards reminds me of Catching Up – at least in terms of design. While an opponent scoring more than 3 objectives with you is generally a bad thing, and something you shouldn’t plan for, this can help slower warbands realize their glory gain. I particularly like the primary scoring condition as you can turn your opponent’s primal net gain into a wash. If Primacy is beating up on you, two glory to catch up is excellent.
(Jonathan – This one might be great for large warbands with easy to kill fighters that have a hard time holding on to primacy. I expect to see a fair amount of this one.)
Rating: B
Unassailable: More Primacy! While the first condition generally happens in aggressive builds, you can never count on the dice. If your leader goes down early, this could be rough if you are unlucky with the Primacy conditions. We all know how upsetting it can be when the only fighter that can score your objective is out of action. But that’s why we have the backup option! It’s nice and can help you multiply your investment in Primacy though. It is situational though but options are nice.
Rating: B
Unafraid: This card feels like it was made for 3 fighter warbands, particularly Rippa’s. If you like aggression and getting in your opponent’s face, you don’t have to look too far. Keep in mind this is going to be tough on larger warbands. I would say 4 fighter warbands should be your maximum. Also, pack in plenty of push tech to ensure you score this card reliably. You should be doing that though in this season anyways.
Rating: B
Pitiable Death: Big fan of this card. While the first condition is extremely unreliable, the second condition is fantastic. If you get an early game charge on an opposing fighter who hasn’t moved yet, this works beautifully. You may even catch unsuspecting opponents off guard in later round, especially if you’ve got a Distraction handy. Larger (5+) warbands beware.
Rating: A
Magical Mark: Solid easy to score end phase objective for anyone looking to play warbands with access to a wizard. Immediately, this sticks out to me as a great card for Myari’s Purifiers as it combos well with Purifying Light. If you aren’t playing those haughty exemplars then this is still a solid pick for any wizard totting warband. If your leader happens to be a wizard, like in Cursebreakers or Wurmspat, this could pair well with Bold Conquest, too. You’ll need to pack some push cards to stick the landing.
Rating: B
Arcane Cleansing: This card is hard to score. You need a specific spell, it needs to go off, and you need to remove two or more counters of any kind (wound, Hunger, etc.). Seems tough to do in the current meta, even for Ylthari’s Guardians. Maybe the Crimson Court in the future?
(Jonathan – Baaaaad)
Rating: D
Turned Tables: Excellent card for any warband with an innate Quarry. At the moment that is just The Dread Pageant but given the artwork on this card, Otapatl might be a candidate as well when the Starblood Stalkers do come out. If you are packing quarry tech, then take this card; though it does kind of counter the idea of scoring Absolute Stillness as you want your Quarry safely camping on an objective. Maybe with more Quarry tech in the future this card becomes better.
Rating: C
The Hunt Advances: Great for aggressive warbands that pack a bunch of Hunters – think Rippa’s, Wild Hunt, perhaps even the Grymwatch. 2 glory is a sweet payoff and I can see this being scored often. Just charge!
(Jonathan – Just be aware when playing some warbands that ALL of the 3+ fighters in enemy territory need to be hunters to score this. You don’t want Lighaen or Gristlewel to mess it up for you!)
Rating: B
Starvation: Hunger isn’t that big of a mechanic yet. It may never be. Tech’ing into that mechanic for a single glory doesn’t seem appealing right now. As it stands, not worth the investment. Again, things could change in the future. Maybe for the Crimson Court since hawk-eyed community members have dissected their trailer, including, the brief yet revealing, frame of Prince Duvalle’s fighter card.
Rating: D
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Universal Gambits:
Macabre Feast: If you do go Hunger and have the means to stack it on a single fighter consistently, then this seems like a solid way to keep them kicking. Otherwise just leave it in your card binder.
(Jonathan – At least it’s more balanced than Ferocious Resistance!)
Rating: D
Hunter’s Aspect: A cool way for Wizards to make themselves Hunters without the glory investment via upgrades. Is it worth the deck slot? Probably not as the casting roll can always fail. Still, on two dice it seems legit enough to mess with should you want your wizard to become a Hunter. Most people do not pack cards that remove persisting effects, either.
(Jonathan – I am not a fan of this one unless you are Cursebreakers and can score off of casting spells, since the quarry requirement on the target seems hard to ensure.)
Rating: D
Hopesink: Aside from Cragan’s existential thought process (which is fantastic I might add), this is a pretty decent way to improve your chances of hitting an enemy fighter. It is effectively an accuracy buff that lasts the whole game. If you have other ways/cards to gain the edge against opposing Quarries, this seems solid as the benefits potentially compound. I dig it.
(Jonathan – Also a bit meta dependent on the opponent having 2 defense dice, but solid nonetheless.)
Rating: B
Feign Weakness: Very interesting design. It allows you to give up the Primacy token for a quick glory point. If you were planning on getting it back prior to the end of the round, this could be a solid glory boost as you’ll net 2 spent glory points in the end phase off the same token. The question is if it is worth the deck slot. I am leaning no but maybe I am underselling it here. Maybe.
Rating: C
Feign Strength: Similar design to its sibling above in that you are messing around with who owns the Primacy token. It could be a neat way to stop your opponent from scoring a spent glory as well as mess with their end phase scoring since neither of you score for the primacy counter unless they can take it back. Worth it the deck slot? Again, I don’t think so unless Primacy goes nuts – which it just might.
Rating: C
Energy Drain: I don’t think you care about the Hunger counters this dishes out, at least not this early in the season. The value here is slapping a Move token on an enemy fighter. This could limit their fighter from interacting with you, trap them in place so you can murder them, or even mess with scoring Absolute Stillness. Regardless, giving a Move token to a fighter without their consent is huge.
(Jonathan – This one should be fun with Leadbone Dust and all of the Distraction type cards in the meta right now, and can be very annoying in the later rounds when fighters might be starting the round on objectives.)
Rating: A
Colossal Blow: I don’t think any card in this game is worth it if it just gives you Knockback alone. It’s a nice to have when the card is doing something else. Yeah the potential damage is nice, and canny players can take advantage of it, but I am not sold.
Rating: D
Beast Trail: Guess who is back baby?! I am super hyped for this card. This is functionally a reprint of Hidden Paths, albeit a more specific version as it only pertains to Hunters. Veterans will know how amazing this card can be in terms of engagement and retreat. Off the bat primarily Hunter warbands love this – it is especially scary on Hrothgorn. With how accessible Hunter is this season, this could be an auto-include in every deck.
(Jonathan – I am not as hype for this card as Aman is, though I think some of the more cagey Hunter warbands like Hrothgorn and Grymwatch will certainly take it quite a bit.)
Rating: A
Storm of Foreboding: The effect is extremely good. Just wow. Shame it takes 2 channels to cast – that’s pretty damn hard. Most likely this is good for Cursebreakers because they have Eye of the Storm. Even then it could still fail, though unlikely. Eyes of the Nine have an innate, too! For everyone else, I don’t see it being taken. Well, unless you are feeling exceptionally lucky on the day. Perhaps the risk is indeed worth the reward…
Rating: D
Shocking Ferocity: A reverse Trap! Could be neat if you want to block an opposing Reaction or finish an enemy on the brink of death. Pretty situational though so I’m not sold. If you are one of those players who is still set on inspiring The Dread Pageant every game, this could be for you.
(Jonathan – I want to try this in my Sepulchral Guard ping deck with Bone Shrapnel, since both this and Last Gasp can stack with it (but not with each other))!
Rating: D
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Universal Upgrades:
Ravening Stone: So we see our first ‘Metalith.’ If you are interested in stacking or spending Hunger counters, this could be a neat piece of tech. Personally, it’s not so metal to me in the current meta.
Rating: D
Mundane Razor: If you’ve got a warband with below average attack characteristics, it is always nice to see upgrades that up your fighters combat efficiency. Personally, I think the Amberbone weapons, and even the Soultooth weapons, are better choices. If persisting gambits become a thing, it could be neat anti-tech.
Rating: C
Geomancer’s Gauntlet: Pretty powerful effect depending on what your desired outcome is. Whether it is to score objectives or score Feed the Beastgrave, it can help in a pinch. The range limit can be worrisome and I am afraid is what holds this card back. Still flipping a single token can be game winning. Something to think about.
Rating: C
Feral Symbiote: I wouldn’t worry about the negatives this card brings. Worst case scenario, the equipped fighter takes a damage in round 3 if you got this on during round 1. Legit, it’s another copy of Sting of the Ur-Grub. If you want 4+ copies then consider this otherwise stick with the other less complicated options. That is of course unless you want Hunger counters. Then you can potentially benefit there, too. Also, if your opponent gives you Hunger counters, it could force you to take a damage early. Keep that in mind if you select this card.
Rating: B
Terror Shield: Neat effect when you get the channel. However, unless you are starved for Quarry tech, I don’t think it is worth the inclusion.
Rating: C
Soultooth Javelin: Now you too can have your own mini Skaeth and/or Jagathra! Honestly, I really like the fact that this exists. Stick it on a weak and/or expendable fighter and they can have a pretty massive threat range. With 4 movement being the average nowadays, that’s a threat range of 7 usually. It is one-use so maybe it is not worth the investment. It is certainly cool though, especially with Cleave!
(Jonathan – I like this one a lot! I think it’s the best of the Soultooth weapons so far unless you care about staying a Hunter and expect to try it out in my weapon decks.)
Rating: C
Scavenged Armor: Aggressive fighters/warbands rejoice! This is the card we’ve all been waiting for. You want the extra wound? Go interact with your opponent. Makes me giddy! Also, ugh when Mollog uses it. That makes me puke instead.
(Jonathan – Cool design, I just wish we didn’t have so many +Wound cards in the meta right now!)
Rating: A
Rod of the Archmage: This is similar to Master of Spoils but without the downside should your equipped fighter perish. If you like spell slingers and you want Primacy, this is a great choice to make sure you maintain control of that coveted Primacy token.
Rating: C
Dominant Defender: If you like holding objectives, this is a neat card. Very reminiscent of Tight Defense and Survival Instincts, though not as good due to the obvious downside. The ability to randomly get the Primacy counter is cool, too. The ability to potentially lose it isn’t though. Still, it is a decent card and solid alternative if you can’t afford the restricted tax for those cards.
(Jonathan – I don’t like this one much at all! Guard is great, but relying on being on an objective to get it with so much pushing and objective movement in the meta isn’t)
Rating: B
Charike Claws: Solid, aggressive Quarry tech if you are in the market for Cleave. If you are a Hunter, your ranged 3+ attacks also benefit from it. It’s okay at best unless double block warbands start terrorizing the meta.
(Jonathan – Another Cleave card for me to bash haha! I think this is probably the best one yet, though, and I’d consider taking it if I needed Quarry cards for some reason)
Rating: C
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Closing Thoughts:
Overall, I think the cards included in this set are above average – there are a total of 30. We’ve got some solids here and I can easily see some of them being staples for the next two seasons.
The big winner here is Primacy as there are lots of way to manipulate the token. We see a fair bit of Quarry tech here which is nice if you are looking for it. We also are starting to see how Hunger is going to shape out this season. Given a couple more expansions, we might see it become a full deck archetype. Needless to say, you are going to want these cards. They are fun and competitive so do yourself a favor and pre-order them this Saturday.
(Jonathan – I think I like this overall, as it lets the game proceed without too many massive meta shifts, and it nothing in this release really sticks out to be as too busted from a balance perspective.)
If you would like to pre-order, head on down to your local Warhammer Store or gaming store. If you prefer to shop online, check this out here. I hope you enjoy your experimenting with these cards over the coming weeks. Look out for more content coming out in regards to them over the next couple days.
Hope you enjoyed the read, I had fun writing this one.
As always, best of luck on YOUR Path to Glory.
Aman
