30 November 2009

Fury, Trolls, and the Hordes MK II Field Test

By Josh Gardner (PG_General Nemo)


PhotobucketAs a Trollblood player and frequent reader of the Privateer Press Trollblood Discussion Forum, I am used to hearing complaints about my beloved faction. I hear anything from “We are too slow!” to “We don’t have fury management!” and I must say that I am disappointed not in my faction, but the doomsayers who yell outright fallacies and conjectural falsehoods about our brothers in blue, and I am here to dispel these illusions.

First, we address the “issue” of fury management. I will lay this out clearly for my readers, and they may not like what I have to say, but it is my view on the subject: There is no such problem with Trollbloods. A lack of a unit like Paingiver Beast Handlers or a solo like the Forsaken does not at all put at as at a disadvantage. The first argument I will hear after stating this is that we have too many low Fury warlocks for our high Fury warbeasts. My answer is “So what?” Just because your Dire Troll Mauler has 5 Fury, it does not mean you must force all of it, and if you do, it is because you really need to hurt something. Chances are, thanks to that high Fury warbeast, that its target is dead. If he is likely to frenzy, it is the responsibility of the player to compensate by either making sure that when it frenzies it attacks an enemy model, or that the warlock, low Fury or high, has as much room for that Fury as possible. If the warlock can’t hold it all despite its best efforts, he or she should prepare for the worst case scenario and do both. I have no sympathy for those who have a problem doing this, because it is in their power to prevent it. You made a simple math error? Fine. I do that too. You gave all your warbeasts way too much Fury for your chosen warlock to handle responsibly? Then you should expect them to frenzy.

Immediately, the next argument will follow: “Why should I have to try so hard to keep my beasts from frenzying when all other factions have a way to deal with this?” Well, Circle lacks the ability to manipulate Fury and Threshold outside of specific warlocks, so that leaves only Legion and Skorne who have a consistent way of dealing with high Fury loads. The answer to the aforementioned question, however, is that we pay for having the most five Fury heavy warbeasts of any faction in Hordes. We have The Dire Troll Mauler, The Earthborn Dire Troll and Mulg the Ancient, all of which are frequent fliers in Trollblood lists. Skorne has only one five Fury warbeast: The Titan Bronzeback (I exclude Molik Karn in this for sake of consistency), and it is arguably less common in Skorne lists, in MK I or II. Circle has no five Fury warbeasts, and neither does Legion. So, we have an even simpler answer to this question of ours: Because it is how we are built as a faction. We pay a frenzy tax on our warbeasts, and it is a fair one in my opinion.

More boosted attacks always equal more dead enemy models, especially with the speed (Rush, Barroom Blitz, Scroll of Grimmr, Goad, Warpath, etc.), power (Rage, Acidic Touch, Fists of Flame, Stone Strength, Charge of the Trolls, etc.), and accuracy (Carnage, Charge of the Trolls, Wild Aggression, Fate Blessed, Good Omens, Barroom Blitz, etc.) that our warbeasts can bring to the table, along with a litany of free slam, charge and knock down effects. Our heavies are deadly, very, very deadly, and potentially frenzying after going all out is definitely not a problem when all these are factored in.

Do not get me wrong, though, there are problems with Trollbloods, but Fury management is not one of them. What the Trollblood community as whole needs to do is throw aside what they wish they could have in their models, throw away what they miss about the models they have purchased, painted and played since the release of Hordes, and take a step back. Look at Hordes MK II, regardless of your faction, and judge it as though you were seeing it for the first time. Instead of complaining about how the Field Test is not living up to their expectations, play the damn game, fellow Trollkin. It will be difficult, it will be tough, but that is what defines our faction! Play games, give clear, reasoned feedback, and most of all have fun!

2 comments:

  1. I approve this post. So there.

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  2. "(I exclude Molik Karn in this for sake of consistency)"

    What consistency are you preserving?

    --Norbert

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