Warhammer+ OBR Battle Report

[Sception]

There's an OBR vs STD battle report up on WarhammerTV. I've got a lot of work to do today, but will be filtering through it as I have a chance to pick out key tidbits for those who don't have the sub.

1) There is an 'ossiarch cohort' core battalion with the one drop rule.

2) Relentless discipline works very differently:

Spoiler

So extra command points based on total units currently on the battlefield, not lieges specifically. Note that 'starting command points' are those you get at the start of EACH battle round, not just the first. Iirc immunity to battleshock used to be part of the old relentless discipline rule, but it's not shown here. I don't know yet whether the faction is still immune to battleshock or not.

3) As OBR now use normal command points, they can now use the normal heroic action to try to generate an extra one.

4) new faction battle tactic: trample the defiant

Spoiler

Charge with a currently unengaged deathrider unit and be engaged at the end of the turn. Seems decent. Obviously you fail if the opponent is wiped out, but kavalos aren't traditionally a 'wipe whole enemy units out in a single charge' type of cavalry unit, and I doubt that's changed. This should be a pretty free tactic for any army running more than one unit of deathriders.

5) The punishments from the nexus have changed. If Punishment of Ignorance is anything to go by, mostly a nerf:

Spoiler

Halved range, triggered on a 4+ (3+ if enemies were slain nearby in the previous turn) instead of a 2+. On the positive side it affects both wizards and priests?

6) "Empowered Nadirite Weapons" spell has changed in an exciting way:

Spoiler

Looks like Nadirite weapons is not a battle trait rather than a warscroll ability. This may mean it applies to more weapons, though it's too soon to say. Hopefully I'll get a better sense of the new Nadirite rule later in the video.

6) A look at the new ossifector's buffs

Spoiler

....

Interesting. not the biggest buff possible, unless the rules for the crawler are changing significantly, but not nothing, and it has two other buffs to offer harvesters & morghasts. Maybe morghasts will be more viable.

Hopefully the existing boneshaper gets their own buffs for the other units. They're both casters, and presumably both healers, so if the only difference is that ossifectors have this refined creation rule and boneshapers don't then the latter are going to be obsoleted.

7) Significant changes to Endless Duty!

Spoiler

Melee only now, BUT it's applied in the hero phase and lasts until the next hero phase, which is amazing! Not just for the efficiency of potentially covering more combat phases with a single command issued but also and most significantly because you can issue this to a unit in your hero phase and then issue /another/ buff to the same unit in the following combat phase, bringing back a bit of the buff stacking that 2e OBR relied on and 3e largely took away. This is a fantastic change, imo.

8) 1 free Command ability per liege per player turn

Spoiler

So here in effect are your extra CP for Lieges that used to be part of the RD rule. Very solid.

9) Slight Change to Stalker's Hunt & Kill CA:

Spoiler

Run + charge instead of rerolls to runs and charges, though now they can use the normal re-roll charge CA in the charge phase (assuming you aren't using it on anything else), AND the normal 'at the double' CA to run 6" instead of d6", making stalkers potentially a very speedy threat. As a hero phase CA it does conflict with the new endless duty, so there's a bit of anti-synergy between stalkers and lieges.

....

I think I'm out of pictures for this post, so moving down to another....

 

[Sception]

10) Unstoppable Advance unchanged BUT it seems like you can't use it on multiple different units in the same phase anymore.

11) Cauldron of Torment is very different now. 2d6 shots. 3+ to hit, 3+ to wound, no rend, 2 damage. Note that you can now use all out attack with them. Obviously the many shots of the cauldron works nice with 'enhanced clawspan' from an ossifector. Lack of rend hurts badly given all the save bonuses in 3e.

12) Ooh, the crawler can impose a round of strikes-last on a 3+

Spoiler

It may not need to do a lot of damage to be useful.

13) 'Deathrider Wedge' replaced with 'Unstoppable Charge'

Spoiler

No longer a command ability, so it doesn't take points or conflict with other charge phase abilities, and you roll dice equal to the charge roll rather than the number of models in the unit - better on average, but less reliable.

14) Stalkers precision aspect now only improves their damage, Not their rend.

15) Nadirite Weapons now applies to all non-mount melee weapons faction wide. No more weapon upgrades that are actually downgrades on morteks.

Spoiler

16) Spirit Blades (the normal weapons for stalkers) are now rend 2 by default. The rest of their stat line seems unchanged.

17) OBR has discorporate.

Spoiler

Or, well, not exactly discorporate, but something very similar to it. A general command ability for +1 to the faction's 6+ ward save lasting for a single phase. I imagine all out defense will usually be better, but you could put that on one unit and this on another.

18) Counter-charge works differently, and seems to be a faction command ability instead of being specific to the praetorian subfaction

Spoiler

+1 to wound in the following combat phase when charged. Note that since it triggers in the charge phase, it will stack with Endless Duty (used in your previous hero phase) and All Out Attack or Defense (used in the combat phase).

19) And if you were wondering what the Praetorians do now...

Spoiler

Now /that's/ a counter charge.

20) Stalker's 'Blade-Parry' aspect is now +1 to saves instead of re-roll saves. Unfortunate but expected.

 

[The Sun King]

Exciting stuff! Thanks for sharing. I am looking forward to seeing the batrep when I get home. :)

 

[Grave Tacticus]

Weird that the new Mortisan doesn't do anything for Necropolis Stalkers or Immortis Guard. I wonder if that informs a change to those units.

 

[Sception]

21) Small but significant changes to the Harvester's 'Bone Harvest' ability:

Spoiler

Triggers on slain models within 6" instead of 3", wounds characteristics of 5+ heal/restore 3 wounds instead of d3 wounds, no third bracket for wounds characteristics of 10+. Overall better imo, but not by enough to really change how you rate it or use it.

22) Nexus's punishment of death changed:

Spoiler

Half range, less reliable, but potentially more damage if it lands.

23) Mortal Contract lore spell seems to be unchanged.

24) the new Cauldron of Torment previously described is not limited to one shot per game

25) Liege Kavalos have the same Unstoppable Charge rule as the Kavalos Deathriders, as described above.

26) Unflinching Coordination remains, and frustratingly is still a command ability where basically every other faction gets to do this for free these days. However, there is a curious design note attached...

Spoiler

I've so far been assuming that OBR command abilities now work like normal command abilities, in that you can't use the same one multiple times in the same phase. That was always the expected trade off for access to core command abilities, and the player in the video hasn't used the same command ability multiple times in the same phase even where it would have been particularly useful. However, if the normal restrictions do apply then this designer's note shouldn't be necessary at all? So maybe we can still repeate OBR commands? Or maybe the designers note is just wholly unnecessary. It wouldn't be the first time a completely unnecessary designer's note has caused more confusion than it alleviated.

EDIT: OBR commands - whether faction commands or unit commands - are not limited to 1/turn. The limits of each unit only issuing or receiving one per turn still apply. This is basically how OBR commands work right now, only you also get access to all the core commands. I could definitely see some merit in double liege lists.

27) the Petrifex Elite's 'Bludgeon' command ability is now available to the entire OBR faction.

Spoiler

28)



note: this is all based on a battle report video, and GW have been note to make a rules error here or there in battle reports. It's entirely possible that some of the details described above might not be 100% accurate.

Ok, I'm about half way through the video, but I've really gotta stop and do real work for a bit. Don't know if I'll be back to finish the rest today or not. If anyone else has the warhammer+ sub, feel free to step in.

 

[Sception]

Before I go, though, Warcom OBR rules preview is up, with some of the above plus some other nice tidbits. Notably, OBR commands - both faction and unit specific - are not limited to once per phase like core rule commands are. Presumably the limits on a given unit only issuing or receiving one per phase still apply. Basically OBR commands work just like they currently do, only there are more of them, and you also have access to the core commands - though they still have the normal core restrictions.