In previous versions of Conquest the Biomancer put out absurd amounts of healing and force multiplying buffs to a Spires army. There was really no need for a guide on how to use the Biomancer because it was as simple as “take three and never lose a Regiment.”
While the Biomancer’s healing has been toned down a bit, and he requires must more finesse to use effectively than before, he is still an extremely valuable tool. The Biomancer comes with the Biotic Renewal Draw Event which allows him to heal the Regiment he is in for D6 wounds (unless he find himself in a Brute Regiment then the healing is reduced to D3). In addition to the healing from his Draw Event, a Biomancer has the character action Mend Flesh. This actions allows him to select a Regiment within 8 inches and heal it for 2 wounds. This substantial amount of healing isn’t even all of the support a Biomancer can lend to your Spires army! In addition to the healing he also character specific Biomancies:
Unstable Enhancement: Getting +2 March, +1 Clash, and +1 Volley is an amazing buff for any regiment in Conquest. The extra March can be used to extend a units threat range on their charge, and they will be hitting at an improved Clash when they get there! Unfortunately, this Biomancy comes with a slight downside as it also give out Decay 3, 4, or 6 for Infantry, Brutes, and Monsters respectively. While this is an amazing buffing Biomancy, be careful what you target with it. Rolling 3 dice for each stand of 9 stands of Force Grown Drones to get them to Clash 2 probably isn’t worth it, but extending that Abomination’s range by 2 inches for a crucial charge and clash can make the downside of this Biomancy totally worth it.
Harvest Essence: The Biomancer taking away one Regiments Defense or Attacks to give it to another unit perfectly fits the Spire’s lore of treating their soldiers as tools instead of living things. This buff can be applied to things like Bound Clones who have a Ward Preceptor to get them to an impressive Defense 5, or Vanguard Clones with an Assault Preceptor to get them to 8 attacks per stand! This is a great Biomancy that any Spires player will find themselves utilizing in a ton of games, but remember that the unit you are “borrowing” the Attacks of Defense from can’t already have activated in the Round. As with a lot of the Spire’s abilities make sure your card deck is stacked in the correct order to use this effectively.
Catalytic Rupture: I’ll admit I have yet to use this Biomancy in an actual game of Conquest, but I can see the day that I do use it clearly. My humble unit of Force Grown Drones have managed to charge in with their exploding Catabolic Node, and the very next card I draw is my Biomancer to make my opponent take an additional D6+1 hits! Combinations like this are why I love playing Spires in Conquest, they really reward strategic thinking and prior planning. Remember, the hits caused by this Biomancy count as coming from the Flank of a unit so both your unit, and your opponent’s, will need to re-roll any successful Morale Tests.
Grant Virulence: This is the most “point and click” buff the Biomancer has access to. Deadly Blade/Shots is an awesome buff to hand out, and it just requires your opponent to roll some 6’s for their defense saves. My favorite target for this is things like Marksmen Drones, or Vanguard Clone Infiltrators, who have a good amount of ranged attacks with decent accuracy. This will make your opponent roll more defense dice giving them more chances to roll those 6’s for double damage. There is also nothing wrong with throwing this on a big regiment of Force Grown Drones who will have a decent number of attacks due to their Support 2 special rule. They may not be accurate, but any extra damage this chaff unit causes is a plus.
Essence Transfer: This can be an extremely powerful, and tricky to use, tool for a Spires army. Any of us who have played Conquest before know the pain of getting to a point in the Round where you just KNOW your command stack is wrong. You thought the Round was going to flow a certain way, but your opponent felt differently and their command stack is showing it. Being able to interrupt that flow can be game changing, but it comes at the cost of impeccable prior planning. When putting together your command stack just remember that you have this Biomancy in your toolkit. Maybe stack that unit of Marksmen Drones on the bottom to be able to switch up where they activate (and throw their shooting attacks across the table) during a Round.
Mastery of Flesh: The Spire’s unique Retinue gives some exceptional buffs to the Biomancer, and it can be tough not to load up on all three tiers of them. Getting Regeneration +2 on the Biomancer’s regiment for only 10pts at Tier 1 is a no brainer. While this regeneration is a draw event, and you will most likely elect to use Biotic Renewal as your Biomancer’s Draw Event during his activation, you need to buy into this Tier to reach the second tier of Mastery of Flesh. Tier 2 lets the Biomancer use Mend Flesh an additional time, for free, during their activation. While you cannot use Mend Flesh twice on the same Regiment, being able to splash heal a second time on a regiment up to 8 inches away is very useful. Tier 3 lets the Biomancer perform a second free Biomancy per activation, but it comes in at a steep 35pts. Bringing a Tier 3 Biomancer puts him at 160pts prior to any Mutations you might want to throw on him. How you want your Biomancer to perform on the tabletop will depend on the amount of points you throw into Mastery of Flesh.
Mutations: While the Spire’s have a ton of excellent Mutation options, the Biomancer is going to be filling one of two roles during a game. The first role he can fill is one of a pure support piece, and this role is best suited to sitting in a minimum unit of Force Grown Drones (or Bound Clones) behind your main line throwing out double Mend Fleshes and double Biomancies from being fully upgraded in Mastery of Flesh. This version of the Biomancer really doesn’t require any additional points spent on mutations because they should be sitting safely behind the main line of fighting. The other version of the Biomancer is one that I have had a blast playing with, and this version will find themselves in the center of the action in a unit of Bound Clones or a giant Regiment of Force Grown Drones with one of two amazing Mutations. Degenerative Aura and Cascading Degeneration both provide ways to punish your opponent for being in contact with the Biomancer’s Regiment. Degenerative Aura makes your opponent take a Hit for every failed Defense Roll the Biomancer’s Regiment makes. This can be absolutely amazing on a giant block of Force Grown Drones who have incredibly high Resolve with the Biomancer and their Purposefully Mindless special rule. Cascading Degeneration gives out the Aura of Death 2 rule to the Biomancer’s regiment, and can be a great way to punish your opponent for prolonged engagements. Both of these Mutations pair extremely well with the Biomancer’s healing abilities since the longer your Regiment is alive and in combat, the more damage the enemy is taking.
If all of this prior planning and strategic thinking aren’t your style, the Biomancer has a very direct way he can be applied to the tabletop. By taking Avatar Projection for a mere 10pts your Biomancer turned into a Brute with +1 to its Clash and March Characteristics, +2 to its Attack Characteristic, gains the Cleave (1) and Impact (2) Special Rules. The Biomancer looses the ability to take Mastery of Flesh with this Mutation, but they gain the ability to start in a Regiment of Incarnate Sentinels. Buffing/healing Incarnate Sentinels with a Brute powered Biomancer turns a finesse support piece of your army into an extremely strong and blunt hammer.
Masteries: Masteries can really take a Biomancer over the top in their effectiveness on the tabletop. Again, the points for your Biomancer can really start to add up, so weigh these options against some other upgrades that could be included in your Spires army. Fleshcarver is the most obvious choice because it increases ALL of the healing the Biomancer does by 1, but don’t overlook Synaptic Coordination. Having a guarenteed 4 wounds restored from Biotic Renewal makes planning your turn much easier, and it feels terrible when you are trying to get back a couple stands of Drones only to roll a 1 for your healing (trust me). Mindless Protectors is also worth considering if you find your Biomancer constantly called out in Duels, which is exactly not where the Biomancer wants to be, but the cost of 30pts can probably be saved by better placement of your Biomancer’s regiment on the tabletop. Stay away from those enemy dueling characters!
The Biomancer is one of the strongest support pieces in the game of Conquest. He requires some real finesse to use to his maximum potential on the tabletop, but once you get it down he is extremely rewarding to play with. His points can stack up quickly, so just have a clear purpose in mind when building your Biomancer. If he is only going to be sitting on a back objective with Bound Clones all game throwing out heals and Biomancies he probably doesn’t need a ton of upgrades in Mutations and Masteries. If he is going to be out on the front lines trying to cause damage with things like Degenerative Aura it might be best to ensure he avoids duels at all costs!
Hopefully this in depth overview of the Biomancer can give Spires players out there some help in playing one of the most strategic factions in the game! If you are looking to add to your Conquest collection, or you have stumbled upon this amazing wargame and want jump in, FLG sells Conquest product over on their webstore at an awesome discount!