For the second part in my SpineSpur series, I’m going to
talk a bit more about the ‘Big Four’ Agendas. For those of you doing the
Kickstarter, this should help you with those Agenda packs you pledged for.
I’ve listed the models by their point cost (except Doc
Akron), but I didn’t list the points (or many of the abilities) themselves
because I didn’t want to make the folks at Comfy Chair Games mad at me. If you
want the point costs, buy the book!
Dark Faith: Let the bodies hit the floor
The Anti-Pope and his Cardinals are the mightiest magic
users in the Threshold book. These spells are based around two things: dead
bodies and Fear Tokens. Well, both immobile corpses and the shambling Torn.
They also kill friendly models to power their spells, so be sure to get some
Thugs.
Here’s a small run-down of each unit:
Anti-Pope –
The leader of the Dark Faith, and a Senator to boot, the AP
(as I call him) is the most expensive model in the DF line. But, he’s worth it.
While not a fierce melee fighter like Doc Akron or Pigskin, his power comes
from his magic. He can turn corpses into new Torn (or even living models with
the help of the Sisters of Obscenity), make corpses explode, trip up attackers,
and protect himself from damage. His staff also does extra damage to Uncorrupted
models and can nullify other spells. The Anti-Pope really shines in large
battles, surrounded by cheap Thugs.
Cardinal Anhelitus –
The first Dark Cardinal in our list is the most expensive
one. He’s got some interesting powers, including being able to engage another
model in a mental dual that will drop the loser’s stat by one. He can also heal
himself and restore his stats by draining the life-force of a friendly model
and can empower a Torn with a deadly plague. He’s also surrounded by a nasty
cloud of stuff that harms near-by models and makes him harder to hit.
Personally, I use him for my Central Character in smaller battles, teamed by
with a pair of Sisters.
Cardinal Falcifer –
Armed with a Scythe and thrown blades, Falcifer is a good mid-range
threat. Like Anhelitus, he can heal himself (or a close Torn) by harvesting a
friendly model, and can make himself a harder to damage. The big thing about
Falcifer, is that with his thrown blades, he can really give the DF some
fire-support.
Cardinal Inferi –
The last Cardinal is a real coward. No, he has the Coward
ability. But, he makes up for it with his other abilities. He can allow other
models to Maintain spells without spending half actions or Fear Tokens and can
make Torn stand up. He’s great in a big battle, hiding behind the lines,
allowing his allies to press their advantages and destroy the enemy.
Sisters of Obscenity –
The Sisters are one of those units you look at and go
“Okay…?” when you first read it. With a pair of thrown blades, they’re not
going to really help you take down enemies at range and their Stun Batons are alright,
but when you read the Stilettos rule, they make a lot more sense. However, if a
Sister gets caught all by her lonesome, she’s going to get splattered. Keep them
in the middle, not at the front line.
Torn –
The basic grunt of a DF force is the Torn. For those of you
buying the Agendas on the KS, I strongly suggest you order up another pack of
these guys. Trust me, you’ll need them. At first blush, they don’t look like
much; can’t open doors, enemies can kite them around the board, don’t move very
fast, and have to get up close and personal with enemies. But with the Undying
ability, they’re hard to put down. Add in the Agenda bonus, so they can’t get
kited, then pile on the bonuses from the Anti-Pope and the Dark Cardinals and
these guys will be the core of every game you play.
The Institution: The doctor is In… Sane!
This Agenda really relies on its Senator, the mad Doc Akron.
The Agenda bonus needs him, many of the models are Favored - Doc Akron, not
Institution, and some of the models are pretty much useless with out him.
Thankfully, he’s a solid character and isn’t terribly points heavy.
There are some good things going for this Agenda,
Doc-required aside, including many models not leaving corpse markers. If you’re
wondering why that’s a good thing, please re-read my comments about the Dark
Faith above. Many models have the Rockhard model ability, preventing a bit of
damage. They also have some ranged combat in their force, but not as good as
GOD (see below).
Doc Akron
–
The ‘good’ doctor is quite a guy. He has two forms: Doctor
and Beast. In Doctor form, he produces Fear Tokens, has some Shock Spheres to
throw around and can be protected by Little Ones. In Beast form, he can go
toe-to-toe with the meanest melee models, but has to get into combat or he
losses health. When you’re building your force, be sure to put him in there.
Hack –
I love Hack’s model. I bought it because he looked fun to
paint (and he was, but not so fun to put together). Hack is dangerous in close
combat, with his chainsaw and Bloodbath ability, he’ll tear apart a group
that’s too close together. He also heals a tiny bit during the End Phase, so he
can stay on the board for a good, long time. However, he’s expensive in points,
so I wouldn’t include him in a force less than 100 points.
Primes –
These are Doc Akron’s ‘fellow doctors.’ They’re also damn
dangerous in close combat. They can also use an Action to focus the minds of
the Trauma Hounds, which is pretty helpful in larger battles.
Composites –
The ‘orderlies’ of the Institution, made up of bits of
corpses ala Frankenstein’s monster, they aren’t as smart as Primes. They do
have a ranged attack that requires throwing their heads at enemies. Like
Primes, they can also focus Trauma Hounds, but only one at a time and from a
much closer range.
Trauma Hounds –
The basic grunt of the Institution, these poor souls driven
mad by Doc Akron’s ‘treatments’ do nothing but wander around unless they’re in
combat. They can’t open doors and the like, because they’re in those straight
jackets, and they slam their bodies into their enemies, but don’t let that fool
you. They can be damaging in close combat, with the right rolls.
Little Ones –
Quite possibly the most disturbing models in this Agenda,
Little Ones are Doc’s ‘children.’ They aren’t melee monsters, they can’t do
much damage in combat, but they can take damage instead of Doc Akron and can
tie up attackers, preventing them from shooting or charging your valuable guys.
They also have the Skitter movement, allowing them to cover rough ground better
than Walking models.
Slaughter House: Normal
pork and long-pig pork
This Agenda is all about pigs. Not just the two-legged kind,
but the ones that become delicious bacon. The men in Pig Skin’s forces
(including the big guy himself) use weighted chains, which means they can knock
over and drag enemy models around the table. If you’re playing against them,
you might want to try sneaking around or staying out of range unless you want
your models to be thrown around like plates at Bobby Brown’s house.
Admittedly, I’m not very drawn to this faction. I don’t know
why, but it doesn’t really ‘do it’ for me. That said, I’ll do my best to break
it down for you:
Pig Skin –
The leader of the Slaughter House is a big man carrying a
chain and a huge cleaver, while wearing a mask made out of a pig’s head. If
that didn’t encourage you to buy the model, I don’t know what will. When it
gets down to rules and the like, he can use his chain and chopper together to
butcher helpless Street Chum. He’s also the only real character in the Agenda, so
most Slaughter House lists will be built around him.
Gormandizer –
A gigantic pig with a perchance for eating corpses of the dead
on the battlefield, that’s the Gormandizer. He can also lead Squealers towards
the enemy and knock back models he attacks. He’s no slouch in the combat
department, with good combat stats.
Pigstickers –
These guys can carry shotguns, which makes them pretty good,
or they can carry Captive Bolt Pistols, which are used to put an iron spike in
a pig’s brain. Add to that their ability to ‘Wrassle’ with other models, they
can take down much more powerful models, provided they get paired up.
Shacklers –
The Shacklers are more human minions of Pig Skin, but use
sharpened pig ribs and chains to lay into a foe. They aren’t the best at
anything, but seem to make good support models for the bigger guys. Combining
them with a unit of Squealers, pulling prey close to them, or with some Pig
Stickers, allowing them the chance to hit an enemy model with a Captive Bolt
Pistol.
Pig Whispers –
If you’re going for a lot of Squealers or Gormandizers in
your force, you’ll need a few of these guys to keep them moving where you want
them to. They’re also armed with double barrel shotguns, while not the best
ranged weapon, they’re better than nothing. Also, if you’re going up against an
enemy with Beasts or Swine, they won’t attack Whispers. Of course, they won’t
attack the Beasts either, but every little bit helps.
Squealers –
Who doesn’t want a bunch of little piggies wandering around
the battlefield? Not the enemies of the Slaughter House, that’s for sure. While
they can be kited, they can also be distracting and can trip-up enemies if they
get in combat. The Agenda bonus makes these guys more of a concern and lets you
take more of them. Just what you wanted to hear, right?
Men of GOD: Out-manned but not out-gunned
Some people have said the forces of GOD are the ‘good guys’
of the SpineSpur world. While I agree they aren’t out-and-out sadists, insane
monsters or cold, calculating evil bastards, they “ain’t no nice guys”. Take
another look at those Radiants. They have a legless guy strapped to their backs
so they can fly. Their technology is based around sin and pain. No, they’re not
good guys, but they aren’t heartless, either.
All this technology does give them a huge advantage over the
others in SpineSpur: ranged weapons. Your basic Warrior of GOD is going to cost
as much as two Thugs with Molotovs, but he’s going to last longer and hit
targets from over a foot away.
The thing about GOD forces is that you’re going to be
seriously out numbered by your enemy. So, you have to really think of each
move, get your models in place and make sure that each model is doing what it
needs to do.
Michael –
Michael is one of the models you’re not sure what to do
with. He’s got good stats, some great weapons, but no special abilities that
really do much for your force. I could see him offering longer ranged support
to a force full of Warriors or being the single shooter in a force of Radiants
and Fists. I’ll re-visit him when I get the model or I may proxy him into a
game and see how he does.
Aniel –
This guy is what the forces of GOD is all about. His special
ability can really carry a game, but only if you use it at the right time and
on the right person. He can also support a Warrior gunline, as he uses the same
weapons as them. When building your force, Aniel should always be your Central
Character, because you’re almost guaranteed to win the Round Controller roll.
Radiants –
These are another of the units I haven’t used, but I can see
some good uses for them. They don’t have a ranged weapon, which would make them
the best thing ever, but they can move extremely long ranges which will allow
you to kite those annoying Ravenous models in enemy forces. While they don’t
get a ranged weapon, they aren’t slouches in melee. A dirty trick for them:
have them bounce around the board, then when one of your Warriors dies, swoop
in and pick up his Conciliator. Now, you have highly-mobile fire support that
can’t be beat.
Warriors of GOD –
These are going to be the core of a GOD force. Why? Because
they carry Conciliator pistols, with 16” range. They’ll chop up enemies before
they get in melee range, then hit them with their short blades when the
fighting gets personal. The main drawbacks to Warriors is they’re expensive and
you need to reload their pistols every two shots. Not perfect, but still pretty
damn good.
Fists of GOD –
The Fists are a unit you’re either going to use in every
game or only use in some of them. With their claws, they can do some serious
damage in melee, or they can have Protect-1. I think they work best as scouts
and skirmishers for your shooters. They can rip open a door, allowing your
Warriors to shoot at the enemies beyond then engage enemies as they come
through. Or, you can put them behind your Warriors and have them tackle enemies
that would try to sneak up on you.
Nightingales –
Say hello to the only healing units in the game. Sadly, they
have the lowest health in the game, so a smart enemy is going to go after them
like nothing else. However, Nightingales are cheaper than Thugs, and you can
put almost ten of them in 150 point list. They can also do tiny amounts of
ranged damage and they also auto-hit models in base contact with them. Sadly,
they don’t seem to live long enough to get into base contact…
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