Knives of the Crone
Welcome to our rundown of the Knives of the Crone. Make sure you catch our podcast coverage of the release. For everything out with this release window, follow these links:
Thanks go to GW for providing a review copy to make this content possible.
Introduction
[D]AVY, [P]HIL, [B]RIAN, & [S]KYLER
B: Exciting to see another warband whose warscroll comprises a whole new mechanic, similar to Gardeners. Yet to be seen how this stacks up power level wise.
WARSCROLl
D: I'd recommend reading this card in the following order: Rituals of Prophecy, Prophecy Table, Visions in the Blood and then Inspire.
B: Extra value for the Foretold Wisdom result, and very welcomed for the three 1 Dodge fighters. A bit restrictive that the fighter making the attack is the one that inspires, which means you may be investing in Upgrades on an uninspired profile in order to get them inspired.
B: Accuracy unlocks the warscroll and thus the warband's power level. Hidden Aid was a godsend for me. Casino dice Daughters of Khaine continues to be their archetype. If you're not finding success in offense then you'll feel it more so with this warband's mechanic demanding it.
B: Oh boy, if Arenai were "casino Aggro" are the Crones "casino control"?
S: Ha, I don't know if I'd go as far as to call them control. They read pretty aggro to me yet, but I do find Foretold Wisdom quite intriguing! And this whole prophecy system looks like good fun to me!
B: I love that there's no way to roll and gain no benefit.
S: Strongly agree! And I love how rolls of 3 or 4 of a kind offer greater choice, with crits counting like wilds. I've been doing mock rolls at my desk and comedically enjoying how often those have yielded 2 effects.
B: Rolling your Ritual at the start of the round I'm hoping for the offense and defence results, as you can't inspire on the Hammers result. Could be very interesting to bottom deck your end phase objectives theoretically.
S: Yeah, at start of round I'm looking to shore up those 1-Dodge Defence profiles anyway I can!
Foretold Slaughter
B: The least likely result, but very desirable way to boost these stat lines. I believe this ability can be stored between activations, until you choose to attack with a friendly melee weapon.
S: Can absolutely be stored, but is expended after your next melee regardless of use. I like how this adds to the usefulness of Azphel a little bit by letting you take range 3 shots while biding time.
Foretold Wisdom
B: Absolutely sought after early in the game to inspire and build defense resilience, then we can focus more on aggro. In my experience, I didn't get to bottom deck any of the options when I got to peak simple because the card order was lucky and desired. This ability does go off immediately, so if you scored a surge after the attack action, you can choose the surge ability order. Score Aggressive Defender, roll Ritual dice and get Foretold Wisdom, check the top card and decide, then draw your objective hand up. Fantastic.
S: This sole ability is what drives me to want to explore this warband. My favorite application we've uncovered so far is triggering both Visions in the Blood and scoring a surge at the same time. This allows you to choose the sequence of resolution as Brian described. That favorite aside, I'm interested in how much Foretold Wisdom impacts what you're willing to include in a deck as I imagine it opens up riskier takes.
Foretold Protection
B: The most common result you'll have, which is needed on these Dodge fighters. A bummer is that this ability will fizzle after the next attack, whether the reroll is used or not.
S: This seems essential to assist with survivability prior to inspiring and a welcome boon to any that have inspired. This can also be stored, but as Brian pointed out will be consumed regardless of usefulness on any incoming attacks.
FIGHTERS
Uninspired
B: I'd say a very run-of-the-mill profile for an Aelf leader. 2 Dodge to start makes her the envy of the warband, combined with her range 1 attack makes her my pick for a more forward deployment/later activation. I think you'll be desperate to inspire the other fighters up to 2 Dodge as soon as possible.
Inspired
B: She only gains an attack dice. Very accurate attack, but nothing crazy to rush inspiring her.
Uninspired
B: Favorite model of the bunch, with the standout weapon profile. Best user of Foretold Slaughter.
Inspired
B: She gains the very desired 2 Dodge, a very welcome 2 damage, and the ability to justify her sculpt with the Fly runemark. She and Tazari are the clear urgent ones to inspire.
Uninspired
B: I found her to be my favorite fighter of the warband with the weapon profile versatility. Accuracy and damage to inspire, or more dice to crit fish with Foretold Slaughter + any accuracy boost like Hidden Aid.
Inspired
B: Less options in profile, but now streamlined. The sought after range 2, 2 damage. Again, my favorite fighter of the warband I think.
Uninspired
B: On brand for the Daughters of Khaine lore, the male fighter is the "danglebro" with 3 health. Ranged weapon for treasure turret harassing, but also a melee profile to take advantage of Foretold Slaughter.
Inspired
B: I'll want to inspire him for the defense, but not as high a priority as Krieta or Tazari. I'll actually be inclined to charge him in to try to inspire, but more so provide support to the other fighter's efforts to inspire.
Summary
B: A fun warband, but doubling down on dice dependency for a good time means they may not be the most competitive. I'll give them an A for theme, and predict a respectable B tier in the meta. Eager to play with and against them.