Hi all,
Today we are taking a look at the terrifying Beasts of Chaos (BoC) Specifically we will be taking a look at their Path to Glory rules to see how they compare to past armies, and what unique twists they offer.
Army Special Rules:
The BoC special rules revolve around lovely family meals where all are welcome. To invite those of other races, after an enemy model is killed in melee you roll a number of dice equivalent to a table and for each 4+ you get 1 savagery point. You use these savagery points to recruit new units instead of glory points. At the end of the battle any unused savagery points are messily consumed in the aforementioned meal.
Quests:
The BoC get the standard 4-quest allotment:
- Baiting the Trap: You get one point for each terrain feature in enemy territory you control. Once you get six it sets up your custom mission.
- Bestial Supremacy: You complete this quest by winning a major victory and have at least three surviving units. You get one free savagery point for each surviving unit.
- Savage Boons: After you win a major victory you can give all Ungor units a free veteran ability for that battle only.
- Wholesale Slaughter: You complete this by winning a major victory and earning 12 or more savagery points. During your next battle you get to summon a free unit at the end of your first movement phase.
Custom Mission:
In this custom mission the BoC have lured the enemy into their camp. The invader is trying to destroy the Herdstone, while the BoC player is trying to defend it. The attacker has his units automatically put into reserve on a D6 roll of a 1-3. These can only enter on a 3+ at the end of each of their movement phases and can be placed anywhere on their deployment zone. Also, there are heavy mists so nobody can shoot at units that are more than 9″ away, and you get -2 to your charges if you are trying to charge while more than 9″ away from any enemy units. The Herdstone is decently tough with 12 wounds and a save value of 3+. If the battle ends with the Herdstone standing with 6 or more wounds it’s a major victory, if it has less you roll a die for each wound it suffered and get a minor victory on a result less than 12 (who wrote this?).
If the BoC player wins, they get 10 Glory Points and make 2 exploration rolls. If the invader wins, they get the satisfaction of hashing the BoC player’s vibe.
Veteran Abilities:
The BoC get six options that are open to most units:
- Get 1 savagery point for every model killed in melee plus the roll if you kill them.
- Ignore the first two mortal wounds assigned to a unit in a close combat phase (Hedonite players in shambles)
- Brayherd Only: Re-roll a charge roll
- Redeploy a unit anywhere more than 9″ away from the enemy.
- Upgraded Beastherd ambush, you get to be set up at least 9″ away from a board edge and more than 3″ away from enemy units.
- At the end of combat roll a dice for any enemy units, they take D3 mortal wounds on a 4+.
Some of these are quite good. The upgraded ambush and redeploy can be very clutch if you play them correctly. They can lead to some real “bruh” moments though.
Territories:
There are four territory options given:
- Fertile Bloodground: Once upgraded get 3 savagry points after every battle.
- Nexus of Ruin: Get D3 extra glory points if you win a minor victory and D6 if you win a major victory.
- Corrupted Realmgate: Reduces the cost of upgrading territories by D3 points, once upgraded you make two exploration rolls after every battle.
- Twisting Beastpath: pick one of the other three options.
2/3 options here are pretty good, and the wildcard means you will get a good territory 3/4 your roll on this table. Extra Glory Points are great, but I love the ability to make extra exploration rolls!
Conclusion:
And so there you have it! Honestly I think their mission is pretty fun and they have some great upgrade abilities but the BoC campaign mechanic is a little dull. It’s like a watered down version of the Ogre feasts. I think it needs an extra something to make it more interesting. Perhaps a way to destroy cities or something of that effect. Their quests also make them annoying to play after they complete as you get the chance to get a ton of one-use upgrades, or get a free unit (hey here is my free Ghorgon) which may impact who wants to play you.
One issue I have with the BoC mission, is you are very much at the mercy of RNG. if your opponent is unlucky they could technically get tabled on the first turn if nothing shows up. Even if most of their army does, losing a few units on the key turns is very un-fun. Defense missions are hard to do well, and I worry this one will slant hard towards one side or another in the first two turns. Despite that it does have some niche rules that make it interesting to play.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
