So as you’ve hopefully spotted via some new shiny
graphics, this blog is now part of the BeardMinis Media Network. Which is a
very grandiose way of saying that I’m good mates with the Beard so I get to go
on his podcast, and he and Conor can write blog posts. Vintage Ritch – he has a
media network before he has a decent outro…
As I'm part of BeardMinis, that means I can post about the
season 4 Mortician’s Guild and Ratcatcher’s Guild. You may have seen another
post Never Mind the Podcast – that one is literally just the cards for season
4. Head over there if you want to see the new shiny without our waffle. If, on
the other hand, you’d like to see some comparisons and some commentary, step
this way!
Obulus
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Very detailed, this one. Changes, nil. Obulus’ control
over the world of Guild Ball is such that he doesn’t need to worry about season
4. It turns out he was already perfect.
All joking aside, Obulus was very much a captain that did
exactly what he was supposed to. He could pick on a single opposition player
and make their life very uncomfortable indeed. That’s his job and he does it
well.
Scalpel
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Here it is. Here’s the new filth. There’s some more
detailed comments on new Scalpel on the official Steamforged blog here (http://steamforged.com/sfg-news-blog/season-4-scalpel),
so I would recommend giving that a read. This is basically a new player. And
what a player…
Still here? Right. The big news – Morticians actually
have a choice to make at captain.
In season 3, you could run Obulus in 95% of the matchups
safe in the knowledge that he was the better choice. You ran Scalpel at Masons
or Blacksmiths, or because you were a hipster and wanted to do something
different.
Or, in the case of Andrew from Singled Out, because
hearing so much Jason in yours ears has driven you stark raving mad and playing
Scalpel makes the voices stop for a while.
You may have heard that Scalpel has lost all her
push-dodges and her flavour. That would be utterly wrong. Just take a second to
sit and read Voodoo Strings. A character that exerted control via jerking
opposition players around the field like voodoo dolls can now literally do just
that. Every time she damages an enemy player, pick a player (friend or foe,
including Scalpel herself) within 6” of Scalpel and push them 2” in any
direction.
Just… Wow.
Having played against her twice at the playtest events
and theory-balled her with the Beard and the moose-bothering foghorn, I’m still
scratching the surface of just what Scalpel is now capable of. You can pick up
a scrum and shove it all over there. You can pick an enemy player and carry
them miles away from their team. And if they have the audacity to try and
disengage, then you go for your character play Spirit Bomb and push them back
in.
We joked on the podcast that a top-level tournament
player is going to pick up this model and play her and play her and play her,
and then torment us all on their way to glory. I’m not so sure it was a joke…
Dirge
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Turns out you can teach an old bird new tricks. Insert
‘yo momma’ joke here.
The key details are in the stats. TAC has gone from 2 to
3, making that momentous Singled Out on 1 very relevant indeed, and Kick is now
2/4”. My criticism of season 3 Dirge was that the bird didn’t do much apart
from being annoying – this one is much more capable of affecting the game.
The old Follow Up has become Tag Along, so if an enemy
player walks away from Dirge he won’t follow, but if a friendly player does it
then he can come along. Both Cosset and Silence will benefit from this change
as they can carry their feathered buff with them.
Vileswarm
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Another new player (players?) with an old name. This new
pile of rats is marginally slower than the old one but comes with more health,
and a very cool movement trick in Scatter. Before you dismiss that as just a 1”
move, consider that it’s a ‘within’ so that you can go front to back. It’s 1”
plus 40mm and as a place, you don’t have to worry about parting blows or
anything else.
It helps disengage Vileswarm for the other new party
trick, Furious. Apparently paying one influence to charge via Vindictive was
too much, so now it charges for free!
Which brings that playbook neatly into focus. Throwing 7
dice at a charge, more if there are crowd-outs, makes Vileswarm very capable of
a season 3 Spigot impersonation with wraps aplenty. 5 hits means 5 damage and 1
momentum. For free.
And in common with most such auras now, Noxious Death no
longer affects friendly models. So if the opposition does manage to take out
Vileswarm, it’s only their team that deals with the consequences. Somewhere in
the middle of all those rats is a grenade.
Bonesaw
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Much like Scalpel before him, Bonesaw was one of those
models that most people only played to make a point. He was very easy to hit
and bog down without being mobile enough to get away from anyone. Ultimately,
being a 4+/0 model with 12 wounds is a very short-term assignment.
Now look at him go! His defence has gone up to a
permanent 5+/0 (6+/0 on parting blows thanks to Slippery) with Swift Wind
always on. Throw in Stamina and you suddenly have a very fast and elusive striker.
Playbook tweaks are very relevant too, especially given
the boost to TAC 5. Bonesaw benefits from the new striker-style playbook so on
1 success, he can take a dodge or a momentous tackle (thanks for noticing).
Where he’ll earn his money is that momentous push-dodge on 2. Incredibly useful
for a striker. Even more so given Unexpected Arrival and being able to knock
players off the pitch…
Brainpan and
Memory
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
The sharp eyed amongst you will notice the sum total of
zero changes to everyone’s least favourite creepy puppet master and his stooge.
That’s because they didn’t really need any. Much like Obulus they do what
they’re supposed to already, adding a very thematic and versatile threat to
both ball and bodycount.
This made the Beard very happy. He loves Brainpan and
Memory. Having been on the wrong end of his Brainpan and Memory repeatedly, it
does not make me happy…
Casket
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
One minor change for the undead coffin chucker but it
will have a big effect. Apparently the Morticians have gotten used to the smell
– Casket’s Foul Odour only affects enemy models.
This makes him so much easier to use, as you don’t need
to worry about slowing your own team down. Given how many moving parts your
average Morticians team has, removing this one from the list is definitely a
bonus.
He is slightly affected by the global season 4 rules
changes in that when he locks an enemy player in his coffin now, the opposing
team is still able to use the influence that player would generate for the turn
they miss.
 |
| Straight from the season 4 rules! |
But hey. They’re still down an activation and you’re
still up 4 victory points.
Cosset
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Some tweaks for Wednesday Addams, and very welcome tweaks
they are.
Crazy is gone, and as a mental health advocate I have to
say a big thank you to Steamforged for that. Having players that need to
self-harm to be at their best was not a good look. Instead she just goes up to
a straight TAC 6.
Cosset has gained Back to the Shadows, and as she doesn’t
need to damage herself constantly any more she’s much easier to keep alive. She
can heal to the same meaningful level as other players can, and dodging away at
the end of her attack is a real boon. Ask anyone who has tried to get to grips
with Jaecar from the Hunter’s Guild.
She still has Assist Dirge, being even more dangerous
when the bird is around, and with Dirge now Tagging Along it’s easier to pull
this off without telegraphing your charge target an activation in advance.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Cosset. The model is
lovely and who doesn’t get a wry smile out of an opposing player being taken
out by an angry teenage girl. Now I feel that this is a player you can take
without needing to justify her inclusion.
Ghast
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Another model from the ‘less is more’ school of thought
here. The only change Ghast has is that he brings 2 influence to the party
rather than 1.
He’s still a real horror to have around, with Fear,
Rising Anger and nasty counter-attacks (knockdown or double push on 2
successes). The team with him and Casket in it was starting to gain traction
even though it had a real impact on your influence pool. Now it doesn’t.
Just don’t make any jokes about the ‘bear minimum’ around
him, that’s all.
Graves
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Yep. No change here either. He was a mainstay of
Morticians teams before and will be again. TAC 6, 2” reach, Scything Blow,
Tooled Up, Crucial Artery. A very versatile toolbox who can always add some
value somewhere.
Veteran Graves
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Whilst regular Graves didn’t change, his veteran version
did massively. In isolation, the season 3 version of veteran Graves was a
decent player, but just couldn’t compete with his namesake which meant you
never saw him.
Now though, that’s changed. Veteran Graves is a very
strong control piece and, just as it should be, there’s a real decision to be
made between which Graves you field. His playbook has been completely reworked
and his character plays changed.
First things first, here’s an actual bona fide ball
carrier in Morticians. 3+/2 defences with Close Control, 2” reach and a
momentous tackle on a single success.
Secondly, just like veteran Decimate, veteran Graves has
a result that you can call ‘the Result’. Unlike her though, his is on 2 successes
– that knockdown They Ain’t Tough. The opponent loses one point of defence and
one point of armour and it’s a ridiculously achievable result.
It gets worse when you combo that with his new Heroic
play Packmaster – allocate 2 influence to Vileswarm or Squeak. As mentioned
earlier, new Vileswarm is a legitimate damage dealer with Furious. You might
not bother to put any influence on it at the start of the turn, but when you
can turn 1 momentum into 2 influence to attack a knocked down model with 1 less
armour, why would you not? That 1 momentum investment could easily give you 2
back.
Having gone up against it in playtesting, when a healthy
Katalyst got deleted by veteran Graves and Vileswarm, I can tell you that was
not funny. Ritch disagreed, the hideous hideous NPE that he is.
And then there’s Exhaustion. 1 influence to hard cast,
enemy counter attacks within 4” cost 1 extra momentum. Ouch.
Yes, Gravedigger is gone. Morticians won’t miss it.
Ratcatchers might. But what you get back is a player that’s worth an awful lot
more than 1 character play.
Veteran Hemlocke
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Obulus himself intervened in season 2 to make sure that
the Morticians gained Hemlocke, breaking the 4th wall during Union
in Chains, and it’s easy to see why. She was already a very strong, very
efficient model. Now she’s still brilliant but has Smelling Salts as well.
Conor thinks that she’s the best model on the Morticians
roster. Looking at it objectively I’m actually finding it quite hard to
disagree with him.
Silence
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Ah, the Guild Ball answer to Starscream. Useless but
scheming stooge to an overbearing evil overlord.
I always loved the idea of Silence in season 3. Being
able to mess with your opponent’s activation order via Shutout or Tucked is
golden. Making Blacksmiths Apprentices go before they’re set up, or forcing a
fully stacked striker to sit and wait until the end of the turn. So, so useful.
But they were one dice character plays and if they missed, he was a bit of a
victim.
Enter Tenacity. Yes, I’m a raving fanboy of the
Steamforged game design team. If it wasn’t for the court order I’d break out
the cheerleading outfit every time I go to the Game Forge to play. But this
might be the best designed new trait in season 4.
On paper, you might disagree with that. Why would you
want to pay extra for character plays? Well, because your dice pool to ‘cast’
that character play is equal to the cost. Shutout and Tucked are still once per
turn. So if you really want them to go off, you can now spend a 2nd
point of influence and get that crucial 2nd dice. Bonus Time up to 3
dice is an option as well. And you have the choice at all times.
As part of Silence’s overhaul his playbook has had some
love too. And the highlight of that is getting the ability to hit Fire Blast on
3 successes. It’s been ruled that if you place an Area of Effect (AoE) template
off the playbook, then you don’t need to roll to hit the models that are
underneath. They are automatically hit. Doesn’t matter if they’re all Df5 Fish
or Df2 Farmers. They all take 2 damage and Burning.
Welcome back to relevance, Silence.
Piper
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
I’m not going to go massively into depth on the Ratcatchers.
This has already been done on the main Steamforged blog and frankly they’re
better at it than me; http://steamforged.com/sfg-news-blog/season-4-rats
Piper is now a better footballer and legitimate secondary
goal threat, and the criminally underrated play Pay the Piper is cheaper and
therefore will be seen more often. Between this and veteran Graves’ Exhaustion,
your opponent is really going to have to think twice before spending their hard
earned momentum.
Squeak
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
As you were. Still a big fat rat that can be a big fat
pain in the neck, and do so quicker.
Miasma
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
One change here, and that’s to make Salve easier to use.
Diseased is a condition the Ratcatchers like to play with, but it can be a
double-edged sword if it gets on their own players as they too have to pay the
extra to clear conditions. And old Salve would remove all conditions whether
you wanted to or not.
New Salve can be used to stand Scourge up without
removing the Diseased condition that buffs his damage, for example. And all 5
other models in the team can make use of it whilst still being able to use
Encourage (the new name for Come On Mate).
Much improved.
Pelage
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
One of the most dangerous Ratcatchers players. She didn’t
need changing. She hasn’t been changed. Pelage is still a dilemma mechanic
headache in a beehive hairdo.
Scourge
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
He’s still a vicious animal who can do a truly unhealthy
amount of damage, and probably the first name on the team sheet because of how
hard he hits. Now he’s even harder to takeout in return.
Skulk
 |
| Season 3 |
 |
| Season 4 |
Goal Rats is history but hand on heart, who actually used
it anyway?
Right. That's me done. This was quite the essay, even by my standards, so I will leave you to digest the wonders that are these cards.
Right. That's me done. This was quite the essay, even by my standards, so I will leave you to digest the wonders that are these cards.
Now you've seen the shiny, please check out the rest of the awesome coverage from us!
There's the BeardMinis YouTube channel;
And the BeardPod podcast, bringing you YouTube videos for your ears;
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