At long, long last, second edition sees its second Take and Hold deck… OR DOES IT? The box it came in has the Take and Hold symbol, yet the first WarCom article calls it a Flex deck. The second article called it Take and Hold, but this would make it second edition’s first ever warband-deck release mismatch. I’ll be honest and tell you I also think this is a Flex deck, albeit one that has a few hold pieces in it. It also released alongside a Flex warband, so that’s the story here. To my Hold gangsters out there, we just gotta stay patient I guess. You can play this take and hold, and you get a plot card benefit for holding, so Nexus of Power straddles the line somewhat.
Whatever archetype you want to call it, this deck’s a very unique one! It wants you to be within 1 hex of a treasure token and gives you an attack benefit if you hold it, opening up lots of playlines for teams with fighters that can’t hold treasure, or teams that struggle to stay on the tokens. It’s got a plot card that will make your range 1 attacks reach further if within 1 hex of a treasure token, but also flips some tokens to their cover side to start the game. This means warbands with powerful range 1 attacks will be particularly happy, so long as you can get those tokens back to their treasure sides. If you’re willing to get covetous with me, let’s seize possession in the Nexus of Power.
Thank you to Games Workshop for providing the page with an advance copy of this product for review and content creation.
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Nexus of Power: The Lore
With the trees of the Spitewood having observed the warbands of the Underworlds brawling these past few months, they’re getting interested. As they chat with one another in magic-plant-talk, one of them asks, “what if we moved our roots and let them see what crazy relics we’ve been hiding? I bet they’d fight even harder and give us even more entertainment”. In all likelihood, treebeard, you’re spot on. Enjoy the carnage. We will absolutely fight and die in the dark and twisted feywilds, all for a chance at some shinies.
I really enjoy the second paragraph here: “And so perhaps the battle will end as it began, so far away: warbands seeking loot and glory… as they did through mountain and mirrored street… For some, perhaps they could never have asked for more.” I feel seen. May my Shadespire Homies never die.
A few of my favorite flavor text quotes from the deck help bring this theme through:
- “My thanks for keeping our prize warm. Now fall.” – Traxya, the Aegis
- Fighters surge forth, battling to conquer and claim. So has it ever been. So will it ever be.
- “You’re interrupting our rites, bone man” – Shond Head-Claimer
- It took Kro-Jax a moment to realize the undead really were coming after the treasure he guarded. That only made him angrier.
- The forest giveth, when it must. The forest taketh, when it can.
- “Oi! I looted this stuff fair and square! You wanna try and take it, den be my guest, ya gitz!” – Daggok Finksteala
- The world narrowed, complexity relinquished its grasp. He would defend his gains or die trying.
- This one sells the eldritch horror part of the equation which I just love: “He had come all this way to gaze into that sacred pool. He did not like what gazed back”
Overview
Who is this deck for? On its face, the plot card provides some extra benefits for warbands that rely on range 1 attacks, especially if they’re lower movement speed. If your warband is Flex, Strike, or Hold, there’s something here for you. I wouldn’t call the deck a glove fit for any one warband in particular, but I think many warbands can find this beneficial, especially if they have inbuilt benefits for being on or near treasure tokens or the ability to delve back to treasure side easily.
I’ll rate each card by specifying which of the following types of warbands will like it best. Here are my classifications of warband composition archetypes:
- Elites (3 fighter warbands)
- Big Boys (Warbands with one large fighter and a handful of lesser ones)
- Standard (4-5 fighter warbands with rough equivalence between the models)
- Hordes (6-7 fighter warbands)
Nexus of Power: Plot Card
The Nexus of Power plot card applies the keyword Covetous to friendly fighters within 1 hex of a Treasure Token. Covetous fighters can access the benefits of a few cards and score a few Objectives in the deck, but most notably the range 1 attacks on Covetous fighters who are holding a treasure token gain +1 range. This is obviously a tremendous benefit for many fighters in the game, as it increases your ability to reach targets, and potentially attack without having to charge more often.
Because this is a such a bonkers ability, the Plot Card also introduces a counterplay mechanic for the opponent; the other player can flip two tokens to the Cover side at the start of the game. This means that only three of the Treasure tokens will begin Treasure side up (unless the player opts not to flip one or both of their available options). If both players are using Nexus, they each get to flip up to 2 tokens. This will often be a smart idea as it makes being Covetous harder to achieve and may compel the Nexus player to delve tokens to become Covetous, which will stagger them but not give them the benefit of cover, and they won’t get +1 range or be able to score some cards until after they delve.
I also want to explicitly call out something people might misread at first; you’re covetous if you’re within 1 of a treasure token. However, the +1 range on range 1 attacks only applies if you’re HOLDING a treasure token. This means you can be covetous without getting to access the extended range – do not make the mistake of thinking covetous itself provides +1 range.
Which tokens you might opt to flip when playing into a Nexus opponent may require some nuance – without a lot of play experience I would consider flipping the ones closes to midboard as it will slow them down a bit and prevent them from building a turret castle from the center to blast you from. However, if you expect them to invade hard and don’t need Treasure, maybe flip the ones on your side. If you’re planning to invade, maybe flip the ones on their side. If you’re playing Pillage and Plunder (or they are in a Nemesis game), you’ll have a whole lot to think about. Skill expression, we love it!
One of the crazier implications of extending range 1 attacks for Covetous fighters holding a treasure token is that it makes landing on tokens with a charge a little easier. Sometimes you have to choose – do I make a move action onto this treasure, or do I charge at that fighter and have to make use of duelist, sidestep etc to land that token later on? This plot lets you have more accommodating landing spots. It doesn’t just let you stand and swing further from on the tokens in round 2-3, though it does that too.
Surge Objectives
Seized
You score if you land a successful attack against a target within 1 hex of a treasure token. Your fighter doesn’t need to be Covetous, but it does need to be a melee attack and does need to be successful. This one will depend on how well your opponent is staying away from tokens or delving them down to cover, but in most matchups I imagine it will happen eventually.
Who likes this? Everybody
Break Out
A similar story to our last one, but this time after an opponent’s action you need only 2 Covetous fighters, though they have to be in neutral or enemy territory. If invasion fits your gameplan, this is a reasonable one. Opponents may want to drive somebody back into their enemy territory though, so even if they’re still covetous they won’t be in neutral anymore. Be cautious around neutral territory tokens.
Who likes this? Hordes and Standard, maybe Big Boys (and MAYBE invading Elites)
Claimed
After your opponent’s action step, if you have three friendly Covetous fighters, you score a glory. In some situations, this is going to be trivial – if you’re on a token and get driven off, you’re still Covetous. Assuming you’re playing to the gameplan and getting near those tokens, you’ll likely score this assuming you have enough bodies left on the board. It may be a little harder early game depending on which tokens your opponent chooses to flip though.
Who likes this? Hordes, maybe Standard and Big Boys
Pound for Pound
Much more matchup dependent than our last one, you have to make a successful attack while Covetous this time AND the enemy has to be within 1 of a treasure, AND they have to have a bounty characteristic of 2+. Your attack doesn’t have to be melee, and if you’re the underdog they can be a bounty of 1 or more, but it’s considerably more restrictive of a scoring condition set. Sometimes it will be no issue, but against raise hordes you’ll be frustrated.
Who likes this? Nobody, but maybe Everybody
All Part of the Plan
Immediately after your action step, you score this if you’ve kicked somebody off of a treasure and now you hold it instead. This one is a tall ask in most cases – maybe your opponent never stands on treasure. Maybe you never manage to Overrun, or don’t have access to something like Duelist or Swift Step. It’s after your action, so you can’t use a power card to push onto it either. Some Pillage and Plunder Nemesis builds will find a home for this since your opponent will stand on tokens to block Strip the Realm, and maybe Deadly Synergy builds that took Duelist and Battering Ram can pull it off, but otherwise I’d steer clear.
Who likes this? Nobody
Calculated Strike
Critical Effort, but you have to be Covetous. The position of the target is irrelevant, and you don’t even have to succeed, just roll a crit. Pretty much an auto-include for this deck.
Also, glad to see Kamandora continue to drop hard lines in the flavor text.
Who likes this? Everybody
End Phase Objectives
I want to put out a blanket statement here before we get into specifics – the first two end phase objectives refer to a Covetous fighter doing something. As the wording currently stands, based on the ruling for United figthters from Deadly Synergy, the fighter must be Covetous when they did the thing, not necessarily when in the end phase. If you attacked while not covetous, then became covetous later, you can’t score. But if you were covetous when you did it and are no longer covetous in the end phase (or are slain), then you still do. This means if your opponent is flipping tokens to block Covetous, you’re going to struggle to vercome it.
Audacity
You have to make a successful attack in while enemy territory during the round, and that same fighter needs to be covetous at the time. As Jagz says “I mean, it’d be rude not to while I’m here”. These are things you’re likely trying to do with this deck anyway, so as long as you can invade and attack successfully near a Treasure, it’s a reasonable enough 1-glory end phase.
Who likes this? Everybody
Close the Vice
A 2-glory end phase, which we love. However, you need to have attacked with 3 different friendly fighters, and they all need to be covetous at the time. Depending on your warband, this is a big ask.
Who likes this? Hordes and Standard (especially those with 5 fighters)
Slow Advance
A reprinted card from Emberstone Sentinels, this is a 2-glory end phase that wants you to be holding treasure in neutral and enemy territory. It overlaps with the covetous condition, though is a little harder, but 2 glory is 2 glory so it’s worth trying for. However, this does require there to be a treasure token in neutral territory, and the current feature token placement rules no longer require that. You may be obligated to place one there yourself, which can be limiting and also will tip your opponent off to the fact you may have taken this card. I think this one is right on the edge of worth taking depending on your pairing and warband.
Who likes this? Maybe Everybody
Domination
If in an end phase you have three fighters within 1 hex of different treasure tokens, you get a whole 1 glory. This one’s rough. Three fighters is a lot, and they can’t even be next to the same treasure. Then, if you pull it off, you only score 1 glory. I’ll need some playtesting to feel it out, but right now it’s probably not worth it for most people.
Who likes this? Hordes and maybe Big Boys and Standard
Lone Wolves
Man, a 2-glory end phase, but what a janky condition. Two fighters within 1 hex of the same token (directly anti-synergistic with Domination), but ALSO they can’t be adjacent to each other. That means neither of them can be holding that treasure, so it’s also anti synergistic with the plot card’s range extender, as well as the objectives Slow Advance and Skin of their Teeth, which we will cover next. They also can’t be adjacent to ANY other fighters, so if an enemy decides to run onto the treasure it will block this card too (see: bone man who is interrupting rites, per Shond’s announcement). The amount of work you’ll need to set this up, and the number of times you’ll get driven away to be not within 1 hex of the treasure and therefore not Covetous is WAY too high to consider this card for nearly every warband.
Who likes this? Nobody
Skin of their Teeth
Now we’re talking. This is the best end phase in this deck. 2 or more friendlies hold treasure tokens in an end phase, and any of them are damaged. Elites might be wary because they might be down to 1 fighter, and hordes might be wary since they’re liable to be slain rather than damaged, but I think everybody can make a strong play for this.
Who likes this? Everybody, but especially Standard
Quick assessment – 4x 2 glory end phases, and 2-3 of them are reasonable asks. The surge package is pretty good too, so this can definitely work for most warband archetypes. It’s not an immediately marvelous Objective package overall, but definitely doable and I expect this to make it into the meta with moderate frequency, especially considering the strength of the plot card.
Ploys
Pilfer
This is a sidestep with conditions in that you have to end within 1 of a Treasure token. If it’s one of the flipped tokens, it doesn’t help you get to it and delve to become Covetous or hold, and so on, so it’s not perfect. It is a push card though, so you want it.
Who likes this? Everybody
Move at the Opening
A free move! Similarly, you need to end within 1 of a treasure token like Pilfer above, but moves are generally 3-5 hexes rather than 1 so you have far more flexibility. You also have to pick somebody without a move or charge token, but this is a great setup piece. Easy take for nemesis builders and worth mulligan-ing for by most everybody to open the game with.
Who likes this? Everybody (though beware if you’re trying to charge out with Elites or Standard)
Organised Efforts
Pick 2 friendlies holding treasure and switch their places, with no range restriction. This can be huge – you have a holding fighter who’s about to die? get them out of there. You charge onto a treasure token and now can’t continue to attack with that fighter? Swap in a fresh one and start swinging (at +1 range!). Need to hold with a specific type of fighter in a certain place based on the other half of your pairing (tempered, a certain bounty characteristic, etc)? Give ’em the ole switcheroo. You do need to be holding with two fighters so it can get tough late-game if you’re short on bodies, but this one is nice for most of us.
Who likes this? Everybody except maybe Elites
Defiance
Will you be making attacks from within 1 hex of a treasure token when you play this deck? Yes. Do you like plus dice? YES.
Who likes this? Everybody
Into the Deepwoods
If you have a fighter within 1 hex of a neutral or enemy treasure, slap a guard token on that fighter. I read this as the token itself is in those territories and not necessarily the fighter, so you have lots of options. This helps you survive, helps you stay holding and/or Covetous, and is a nice card for most people, especially dodge fighters.
Who likes this? Everybody
Unearthed Treasure
See that unoccupied cover token? Put ya thang down, flip it and reverse it. You can create more Treasures to score with, more opportunities for Covetous, more opportunities for range extension, and counterplay pillage people. Your opponent will likely be flipping two important treasures to start the game, and this lets you get one back online. Might not make the cut in every Nemesis build, but I wager you’ll see it pretty often.
Admittedly, it’s not an exciting card, and you are often fighting hard to justify a given ploy spot. I just want to say that in both my test games, I had this in my opening hand and was incredibly pleased by it.
Who likes this? Everybody
Territorial Welcome
Well it took us until ploy #7 before I finally found one I don’t really want to take, so that’s nice! This one requires you to pick an enemy who is within 1 of a treasure, and they have to be undamaged. Then you get cleave against them for the next attack. If they’re away from tokens, or that token is cover, no dice. If they’re undamaged, you may not be able to kill them. If they’re a dodge fighter, it does nothing, However, it does up your accuracy in some circumstances and can help you score cards in this deck, so it’s not the worst thing ever. I’m just pretty sure your pairing will have better options.
Who likes this? Nobody
Hold the Line!
For one turn, you can avoid being driven back. I’ve found this pretty useful in Emberstone Sentinels, and with several of this deck’s objectives being positional you will likely find it useful here too whether you’re holding or just trying to stay Covetous. It’s best for fighters who will survive the hit so hordes and some big boy minions like it less, but still solid.
Who likes this? Elites, Standard, maybe Big Boys and Hordes
Dig In
You think your opponent will attack you while you’re within 1 of a Treasure? They will, at some point. Would you enjoy a defensive reroll at that time? Sure would.
Who likes this? Everybody
The High Ground
(It’s over, Anakin!) If you’re attacking somebody from within 1 of a Treasure (your fighter, not the target), you get Grapple and Brutal, for one attack. That’s like, fine I guess, but I rarely want these runemarks, and it’s not worth a ploy slot.
Who likes this? Nobody
Quick assessment – I’d say this is a sweet package. 8 of the 10 ploys have good use cases and are beneficial to nearly every warband type. Very few of these are home run must-take bangers, but you’re going to feel comfortable in the ploy department when building a deck for nearly any warband and nearly any nemesis pairing.
Upgrades
Wily Prospector
This fighter counts as Covetous when within 1 of a cover token as well. This is solid, since you know your opponent’s best counterplay will be flipping things to cover side, but this lets you override that. A lot of times you’ll charge onto a cover, attack, and then delve in the power step so you’re covetous, but weren’t covetous at the time of the attack. That means fewer scoring opportunities. This upgrade is a fix for that problem!
A note of caution though, many of the cards in this deck do not refer to the Covetous condition, but rather the fighter being within 1 of a treasure token. A fighter with this upgrade does not score those cards when within 1 of a cover, even though they’ll be covetous. Read your cards closely!
It’s also a relatively steep cost at 2 glory, but there will be times when it more than makes up for it.
Who likes this? Everybody
Cautious Attitude
So this one has psychotic power potential. The plot card gives you +1 range to your range 1 attacks if you hold a treasure toklen while covetous. This card gives you +2 range on your range 1 attacks while covetous, and doesn’t even specify you have to be holding treasure, just within 1 of a treasure token. So this is both more reach and more flexibility than the plot card. Also, if I’m not mistaken, it stacks with the plot card, so a fighter with this upgrade and holding a treasure would get +3 range to their melee attacks. It should also stack with anything else that boosts range without a range maximum (such as The Emberwatch or Ironsoul’s Condemnor’s Warscrolls), so in fantasyland you’re making a range 5 attack with your range 1 profile.
Fortunately, if your target is 3+ hexes away, you can only do 2 damage and the upgrade will break, so you can’t become a menace for more than one attack. Since Grievous technically increases your damage characteristic, you’d still cap at 2 even with that runemark. That said, this is a phenomenal upgrade that synergizes incredibly well with the deck and the hold gameplan, and It’s a steal even at 2 glory. I would expect to see this restricted in the near future.
Who likes this? Everybody
Mirror Shield
Ranged attacks that target a fighter with the mirror shield have -1 dice, which can potentially be big. Your opponent doesn;t want to get within 2 of a treasure or they can be hit back by your fighters, and this will make them hesitant to sit outside of melee range and try to push you off tokens that way as well. Is it worth 2 glory? Kind of depends on the matchup, but this can potentially be a big swing for you.
Who likes this? Maybe Everybody
Driven by Pain
If a fighter is driven back with this upgrade equipped, they can heal 1 point of damage. This is a repeat card from Cataclysm, and while I have taken it a handful of times I very rarely find it helpful. Opponents will usually choose the more intelligent thing, which is taking you off the token/pushing somewhere to score a card or attack again, and being OK with the heal in the majority of cases. Your fighter also needs to see the heal as meaningful, so they need high enough health or be an important enough piece to bother with it and give the opponent an actually difficult choice. It’s not ‘bad’, but it hasn’t made most of my decks before and is even less useful now that Covetous still scores you cards within one of a token.
Who likes this? Maybe Big Boys and Elites
Inviolate
If you hold a treasure, you can’t be flanked or surrounded. With Deadly Synergy’s plot card, Hidden Aid, and Mollog’s minions all over the place, this one will reward you for using it in many matchups. It’s not as good as Brawler, sure, but it still is good enough.
Who likes this? Everybody
Opportunist
Immediately after any enemy has charged, if the fighter with this upgrade is within 1 of a cover, you can flip it. This is awesome, since it opens up so many scoring opportunities assuming your fighter can be near cover hexes. Since this happens immediately after the enemy attack, it makes you covetous in time for surge scoring should you need it, and you’ll be covetous on your turn as well. The downside is the fighter probably only gets to make real use of this once, but put it on somebody near cover as a control piece and maybe you’ll potentially prevent an enemy charge (or compel them to charge that fighter to try and kill them/drive them back to block the effect)
Who likes this? Maybe Everybody
Overreach
Fighters within 1 hex of a treasure can add +2 range to their ranged attacks. If such an attack is successful, the card is discarded (regardless of how far the shot actually was).
So while I can see a few cases where a range 5 or range 6 ranged attack will be nice to have, the fact that ranged attacks are capped to 1 damage really puts a damper of how often you’ll find this helpful. Outside of Blackpowder, whose ranged attacks really help, and potentially a few other range-dependent warbands like Ephilim and Thundrik, I’d probably leave this at home. 2 glory?! No thanks
Who likes this? Nobody
Spiteful Defender
I see Grievous, I get excited, but then I see the conditions. I need no charge tokens and have to be within 1 of a Treasure token. Going into round 2-3 where your fighters are already positioned, this can come in handy for you to be sure. As a tool to free up those positions, it’s less beneficial. Still, hard to sniff at grievous for most warbands, especially since you can reach out to range 2 while holding with the plot card.
Who likes this? Everybody, especially if your deck pairing/warband gives you pushes or free moves
I Like Those Odds
+1 save to a maximum of 2 can be super useful if your warband is on 1 shield (or god forbid 1 dodge). The downside is you have to be holding an odd token with the equipped fighter, which might be challenging. I can already foresee a scenario where one odd and one even are flipped by my opponent to open the game, and I pick the wrong one to flip back and curse myself for reliving the Harrowdeep trauma.
Who likes this? Maybe Everybody, depending on the warband’s save characteristic
Starmaw
If you had told me two weeks ago that I would be getting a Hold deck with a reprinted first edition Fearsome Fortress card, I’d be doing the Carlton Dance all the way through until now, when I realized that card was Starmaw and not any of the substantially cooler cards from that deck.
My emotional letdown aside, range 4 with 2-3 hammers and stagger is pretty good as far as ranged attack upgrades go. This deck has a few ‘covetous fighters attacked’ upgrades, and only one of them requires it to be melee, so this thing’s reach can help you meet those conditions. If your warband is hurting for range, you could do worse.
Who likes this? Maybe Everybody
Quick assessment – a little less potency in the Upgrades than the rest of the deck segments, but still not bad at all. This thing should hold up well enough in Rivals and you can lean on your other pairing as needed in Nemesis.
Flavor Count
Elites: 2 Surges (2 maybes), 2 End Phases (1 maybe), 7 Ploys (1 maybes), 4 Upgrades (5 maybes).
Between 15-24 of the 32 cards are good for them
Big Boys: 2 Surges (3 maybes), 2 End Phases (2 maybes), 7 Ploys (1 maybe), 4 Upgrades (5 maybes).
Between 15-26 of the 32 cards are good for them.
Standard: 2 Surges (3 maybes), 3 End Phases (2 maybes), 8 Ploys, 4 Upgrades (4 maybes).
Between 17-26 of the 32 cards are good for them
Hordes: 4 Surges (1 maybe), 4 End Phases (1 maybe), 7 Ploys (1 maybe), 4 Upgrades (4 maybes).
Between 19-26 of the 32 cards are good for them.
So who is this deck for, actually?
The Pros: A Take and Hold Deck that looks a lot like a Flex deck, this allows you to try for a Hold gameplan and not be crushed if you get displaced from your treasure as you’ll remain Covetous and can still score many of your cards. This deck has a pretty good Surge package and some excellent Ploys, and at least half the deck works well enough with any given warband. I expect this can make its way into at least one Nemesis combo for almost any warband in the game, and will really benefit warbands that want to hold already and have strong range 1 attacks.
The Cons: By straddling the line between Flex and Take and Hold, this deck fails to do either one in full, and thus may have a hard time in Rivals play. Depending on your warband and opponent, the Plot Card’s drawback of letting the opponent flip tokens to begin the game might be crushing, and the deck looks like it has a higher player skill requirement than one might want. It also doesn’t have the dominant End Phase scoring you expect from Take and Hold, though you’ll be able to collect a little more bounty than usual to offset that thanks to the Plot card’s reach extension.
Overall: Warbands that have the ability to get on tokens easily, avoid being driven back, and have potent range 1 attacks they’d like to leverage with more reliability. The flavor count was pretty good for all archetypes, but I expect Hordes and especially Standard warbands to shine the brightest with this deck.
Say you had a warband already incentivized to get on tokens for their inspiration, had warscroll tools to help take and then help hold, and had strong fighter stats with multiple range 1 attack profiles who’d love to get into the mix without having to go charging all day – you’d be thinking this deck looks all right. That’s why I decided to test it out with Khagra’s Ravagers and paired with Emberstone Sentinels for my first run.
In Practice
I took Nexus of Power out for one nemesis match, pairing with Khagra’s Ravagers and Emberstone Sentinels. It played into Hrothgorn’s Mantrappers and Blazing/Wrack. The set ended up going 1-1, winning 19-15 and then losing 17-6. The win felt much better than that, but the loss did feel really bad. In the win, it was great to be able to make those attacks off of tokens to hit people from safety while scoring, followed by a 4th activation move action to land the fabled 7 glory end phase just as a hold player loves to see. Cautious Attitude was a great card to allow for range extension even while not on the token, and Duelist allowed Cragan to push back on while dancing away from the big scary ogor.
The challenge in the second game was losing fighters early. Hrothgorn’s trap has the potential to burst down 4 health fighters, and it absolutely did. Pretty quickly the Ravagers were down to only 2 fighters left (with Khagra herself dead first), and a well-timed Lure of Battle blocked a bunch of end phase scoring. Part of the trouble came about because of how focused the deck was on holding in neutral and enemy territory, and having to effectively feed fighters to Horthgorn. I also needed to have two fighters alive for many of my objectives, and once I was down to just 1 left it was game over.
The lessons I learned were the usual Hold paradigm – you either splash buckets of glory in the end phase, or you don’t. That means you can either afford those awesome upgrades, or you can’t. My offensive output was greatly increased by Nexus, but the tools actually helping me hold weren’t as good as you’d expect from a Hold deck and staying on the tokens was a bit of a struggle. I might try a 5-6 fighter warband next to see if I can still enjoy a powerful range 1 piece or two to make use of the plot card while still having bodies (and more movement economy potentially) to occupy the treasures. The deck has play though, and in the right matchups I expect it to do quite well!
Suggested Warbands
Jaws of Itzl enjoy range extension, have a bonus move with a token flipping snake, and like to brawl.
Thorns of the Briar Queen can be in all the right positions and have mostly range 1 attacks
Khagra’s Ravagers like range 1 going up to 2 while holding/near treasure tokens
Starblood Stalkers love to be on treasure, would really enjoy range 2, and Kixi Taka’s token flipping action can potentially come in clutch with this plot card.
Xandire’s Truthseekers have a generally useless Warscroll ability to flip tokens that just might find a niche when using this Rivals deck. Dhoraz and Calthia going to range 2 is a nice benefit too for a slower warband. Another nice thing to consider is Xandire’s token flipping ability will actually be a great counterplay tool when fighting into a Nexus opponent – you hit somebody on a token, drive them away, and flip it to cover – now your target is not Covetous anymore. And to think I wrote that ability off as hot garbage when the warband released!
Brethren of the Bolt have more ways to chain and range extend attacks now, and should have a little easier time inspiring with this plot card
Ironsoul’s Condemnors have some unique ability to stand near tokens and the range extending plot card stacks with their warscroll ability, so you could potentially be swinging Gwynne at range 3 once a game, or threatening with Brodus from range 2.
The Emberwatch also have a range extending warscroll ability and like the flexy aspects in this deck. Their Alone I Stand! ability will make becoming covetous and/or holding treasure in an end phase substantially easier. Everyone having a ranged attack (while not qualifying for the range extender) also makes attacking from key positions easier.
Crimson Court have some pretty tasty range 1 attacks that wouldn’t mind being range 2 and have the mobility to reach the tokens needed; if inspired they can even jump to 3 dodge once for when you really need to stay on a token. If savage, you can get cleave or ensnare for an attack, and anybody can get +1 melee attack dice all round if you ditch your upgrades. All these combine to give you potential to get on tokens and swing for the fences with great accuracy and solid damage output – though you won’t kill as many adjacent things and are more likely to be Savage/Bloodthirsty than Inspired
Zarbag’s Gitz have plenty of range 1 attacks and have a superior ability to occupy tokens compared to every other warband.
Blackpowder’s Buccaneers love giving Gorlock more reach, and with the new errata giving him some swaggy pushes and guard tokens for the minions, Take and Hold might be back on the menu for these pirates. Plus, he gets more benefit out of the ranged attack cards in NP since he can do extra damage compared to other shooters.
Kainan’s Reapers can get on tokens relatively quickly, and due to their phalanx of minions can actually get two covetous dudes per token. Kainan himself benefits from the range extending effect until he inspires, which means you don’t have to waste 3 bone tithe to inspire him anymore.
Sons of Velmorn have loads of range 1 attacks, some of which aren’t bad, and can play Take and Hold especially if their Bulwark guard tokens arrive at the ideal time. Additionally, the King’s ability to support his Grave guard by counting as adjacent to the target would still apply even on range extended melee attacks, increasing their accuracy in a deck that would be happy to have the help.
Beware/Potentially Avoid:
Blood of the Bull enjoy Token squatting, so you can make things work. Just note that having to flip them to generate Daemonforge will make you un-covetous for a time, and your opponent is going to flip two tokens to begin the game, which will make Daemonforge, and therefore inspiration, significantly more challenging for you.
The Gnarlspirit Pack have three strong range 1 attacks, a surprisingly good warscroll for pushing onto tokens, and some guard tech to stay there. As a 4×4 warband with Hold tools, isn’t this exactly what I said would be good for this deck? Yes, but remember that fighters with Spirit counters cannot hold Treasure. They’ll still be Covetous and within 1 of a treasure token, but they won’t be holding and therefore won’t score some cards or gain access to the range boost. You certainly can play this combo, but you’ll need to be meticulous in your accounting.
Borgit’s Beastgrabbaz enjoy flipping tokens, so your opponent might not actually turn some cover side up to start which is nice on one hand, but kind of forces you to delve down on the other, losing covetous. You have only two range 1 fighters in the warband as well, so as much as Borgit going to range 2 would be awesome, I don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze.
Thundrik’s Profiteers are a Take and Hold Standard warband, but their super slow movement and over-reliance on ranged attacks makes this a lot less attractive than it might appear at first glance.
Grandfather’s Gardeners love the concept on one hand because they are very hard to kill but also very easy to knock off of tokens – being able to remain covetous after being driven back sounds like a great choice. Beware though, because most of their fighters are already range 2 and gain less from the Plot card than others. They’re also slow as molasses and relatively inaccurate, neither problem is solved by this deck.
Suggested Deck Pairings
Emberstone Sentinels givers you much more Glory reward for standing on those tokens, and the plot card helps score some Emberstone cards as well. Double Take and Hold seems like a great first step.
Pillage and Plunder has the potential to be quite strong, as it will give your opponent fits as they struggle to decide whether to flip tokens or not. You also get a few extra flipping tools and flipping rewards. It may require a little more skill out of the pilot, but PP/NP might cause lots of trouble for a while.
Countdown to Cataclysm is a potent deck that has multiple Hold Treasure-related objective cards, a great scoring package, and pairs with basically everything.
Edge of the Knife, specifically for Hordes and Big Boys, meshes quite well with Nexus of Power in that it wants you holding Treasure while you invade the other side of the board. You’ll also have an easier time tempering with +1 range.
Wrack and Ruin ups your damage potential and accuracy while providing some pushes and can help both your survivability and potentially damage yourself to score Skin of the Teeth in some cheeky ways. Being able to strike from range 2 makes Alone in the Dark an easier score, and giving your opponent a reason to stand on tokens makes Stay Close easier as well. Plus, it has Confusion, and you want that.
Finally, Blazing Assault gives you some more accuracy and damage, while allowing you to leverage the brawling off of tokens capacity that the Nexus Plot card brings, all while having some great pushes for getting Covetous/occupying tokens.
Avoid/Caution
Realmstone Raiders has limited hold overlap and really needs you to be accurate, which this deck does nothing to help with.
Deadly Synergy will struggle as it will be a challenge to stay United while also on treasures in multiple places. While the range extension may help make attacks with the united fighters, you’re less likely to be adjacent and therefore won’t get the flanking benefit of DS.
Hunting Grounds has a need to draw the enemy in, but there is not as much ‘hold in home territory’ tech in NP as you might like. Additionally, NP has a few neutral and enemy territory cards that are in direct conflict with HG’s goals.
Wrap
With all that said, thanks for reading this Spent Glory Deck Preview. What do you think of the deck, and who do you plan to test it with first? What other Rivals Decks might you try it with in Nemesis? Let me know by commenting wherever you found this or by emailing SpentGlory@gmail.com – and don’t forget to Spend your Glory!
If you’d like to see the other product reviews produced by Spent Glory, click here
Thanks again to Games Workshop for providing me with this product so that I can produce this review content.
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