New Metawatch Video and Battlescroll out for the Andtor Matched Play season!
I haven't watched the video or read the scroll, but here are my predictions going in, in terms of death-relevant changes:
Again, though, that's just predictions, once I've watched the video and read the battlescroll I'll be back to see how accurate my guesses were.
....
OK, so, How'd I do?
Andtor Spells: 1/3 predicted
Not too bad on the predictions, in particular calling a nerf to immortis and stalker recursion rather than further points increases. Overall, the nerfs to Soulblight and Bonereapers are less severe than I feared. I think Soulblight should remain diverse and viable. As for ossiarchs, I think crawlers will have to come down again before we see much of them, but we actually might see some morteks & harvesters now?
Then again, my ability to predict the actual effect of these sorts of changes on the competitive meta has traditionally been very poor. EG, I thought the last round of changes would cripple OBR, and they not only kept right on dominating tables, they didn't even meaningfully change their lists, so now that I'm thinking a round of changes won't hurt too hard maybe we'll see these factions fall through the floor. Only time will tell.
I haven't watched the video or read the scroll, but here are my predictions going in, in terms of death-relevant changes:
Andtor Spells: Hoarfrost and Blizzard seem too strong and overused, while Rupture is mostly used in a gimmicky and probably unintended way, so probably nerfs to all three:
- Hoarfrost: pick the stat you're modding before rolling the D3
- Blizzard: either fewer d6 or change to d3, or maybe reduce range
- Rupture: can't target your own Incarnate
- Small points increases across the board, maybe bigger increases for zombies
- maybe nerf to Endless Legions - possibly triggering on a 5+ instead of a 4+
- Null Myriad Nerf: reduce spell ignore to 3+ or maybe even 4+
- More points increases to Arkhan, Katakros, Boneshaper, Deathriders. Immortis & Stalker units can't really get more expensive (thematically they can't be more expensive than morghasts, which already cost the same and still aren't played) so instead:
- Remove the ability to return slain models to immortis & stalker units altogether. This is imo the main scale-tipper that keeps people from experimenting with Morghasts at the current points, and gives the smaller units a recursion edge that might give people a reason to run them.
- Maybe points decreases to: soulreaper, mortek guard, crawler. Maybe harvester too, but if it gets much cheaper then it might get to be too efficient as a pure brawler and beatstick when it should be a support piece. What the harvester really needs is to revert the FAQ changes, but that's not happening.
Again, though, that's just predictions, once I've watched the video and read the battlescroll I'll be back to see how accurate my guesses were.
....
OK, so, How'd I do?
Andtor Spells: 1/3 predicted
- No Hoarfrost Nerf
- The only Blizzard Nerf is that you can't move or teleport before casting it, which, if I were thinking about it, I should have predicted, because the worst blizzard abuse definitely comes from hero phase teleports.
- Rupture is limited to enemy incarnates and endless spells, as predicted. It's also buffed when used in this intended way, which I didn't call, but I'm still counting this one.
- Big Nerf to Spirit Gale spell, which I didn't predict at all but maybe should have.
- No (further) changes to deathless legions.
- Broad range of small points increases, bigger increase for zombies in particular, as predicted.
- No Null Myriad Nerf!
- Ability to restore slain models to immortis and stalker units nerfed - not removed entirely as I predicted, but returned models come back with 4 wounds already allocated. Not exactly what I called, but I'm still counting this
- Big points increase to katakros, small points increase to deathriders, but no increase to arkhan or boneshapers. I'm counting this as one/half
- Decreases to harvesters, morteks, and crawlers! No further decreases to soulreapers, but I'm still counting this.
Not too bad on the predictions, in particular calling a nerf to immortis and stalker recursion rather than further points increases. Overall, the nerfs to Soulblight and Bonereapers are less severe than I feared. I think Soulblight should remain diverse and viable. As for ossiarchs, I think crawlers will have to come down again before we see much of them, but we actually might see some morteks & harvesters now?
Then again, my ability to predict the actual effect of these sorts of changes on the competitive meta has traditionally been very poor. EG, I thought the last round of changes would cripple OBR, and they not only kept right on dominating tables, they didn't even meaningfully change their lists, so now that I'm thinking a round of changes won't hurt too hard maybe we'll see these factions fall through the floor. Only time will tell.
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