Revisiting Zogwort’s Curse

Well, Worlds Weekend at the FFG Event Centre in Minnesota recently came and went and now that thing have began to calm down it seems I have time to get some more writing done. That means it’s time to continue revisiting the cards we were released during the Warlord cycle, this time looking at the cards contained in the fourth War Pack, Zogwort’s Curse. This pack saw strong tools for many of the factions, though overall it may have been underestimated.

Orks

We open the pack with a new warlord, Old Zogwort.  At a cursory glance his ability to create Snotling tokens, and the Forced Reaction that destroys them all at the end of combat seem at odds, but with some intelligent play you can leverage his advantage in a drawn out fight.  This mean that Zogwort needs to stick around for multiple rounds of combat and because of this he can be very vulnerable to being bloodied and assassinated.

Next we have a contender for most underwhelming signature army, Zogwort’s Runtherders. This unit is very hard on the cost curve for any Zogwort deck and unfortunately doesn’t provide much. Its ability is an Interrupt meaning it will trigger even in response to a killing blow, but this unit still leaves something to be desired.

Zogwort’s signature support, Zogwort’s Hovel, is one of his best signature cards. This card serves to prevent opponents from focusing on attacking Zogwort with a number of smaller units for fear of not being able to deal with the many snotlings that may result. Since the game has moved in the direction of a swarm focused meta the stock of this card has only increased that much more as now Zogwort is less likely to face single high damage attacks. Unfortunately, as is the case with all signature supports, you can only have one copy of this card in your deck.

Wyrdboy Stikk unfortunately stands up about as well as Zogwort’s Runtherders. Having the three shield card is nice and the ability is flexible, but I’m not sure I want to find myself choosing the ability over the shield icons.  Moving on to the final card in Zogwort’s signature squad, Launch Da Snots, which, given its power, may be the best card in his signature squad. This event is a Reaction to a unit being declared as an attacker, meaning you can use it as a surprise when needed and not risk the unit in question being routed or destroyed by enemy card effects before having the opportunity to make its attack. It is also noteworthy that this event actually synergizes well with Zogwort’s Reaction since you can decide what order they happen in, allowing you to create a snotling with his ability and then add the extra attack with Launch Da Snots.

All told, I think Zogwort has a lot more potential than many first believed, but he definitely is still missing a few pieces. We didn’t see any direct support for Snotling tokens, but his deck still has a lot of potential to be competitive. If you are interested in hearing more of my thoughts on Old Zogwort then you can read about my experience playing with him in my War Journal – That’s a Lot of Tokens.

Space Marines

Space Marines continue to receive Space Wolves love with their first army unit in this War Pack, the Blood Claw Pack. This unit provides a potential economic advantage if played correctly in a Space Wolves heavy deck, but at this point in the game there are only a handful of army units that it can target and this card is probably not worth the economic advantage you will occasionally gain from the limited expensive targets.

Next is the event Rally the Charge, a very powerful card but one that relies too heavily on card combos or units that don’t often see play. I don’t know if this card is powerful enough to bring those less played units back into vogue, and I think I would suggest keeping it in the back of you brain as a potential power card for later in the LCG’s life.

Finally SM are given the support Secluded Apothecarion. Like most alternate economy cards, this support hasn’t seem much play at all. Looking at this card again, I think there is potential for a decent long term payoff in some decks but I’m not sure if what it brings is enough to really shift the established Space Marine play styles. Certainly as more and more low cost Space Marine units become available the stock of this support will increase, but until that his critical mas this will continue to sit in most people’s binders.

Astra Militarum

With each War Pack in the Warlord cycle, Astra Militarum seems to get more and more toys. This pack is no different and in fact adds also is a great help to the factions that can take AM allies.

First we see Steel Legion Chimera, another tool added to the Militarum’s strong defense game. This army can be a tremendous benefit in certain game states, stacking with cards like Blood Angels Veterans, Bodyguard, and Rockcrete Bunker. The cost of the Chimera can be hard to pay sometimes, but if your cost curve predominantly sits around 2 cost and below then there is room in a deck for this card.

Tallarn Raiders come next in the War Pack. I think this army unit qualifies as the best warlord groupie that we see during the Warlord cycle. I say this often but it bears repeating, 1 cost for 1 command icon is a great value. In addition the Raiders have an effective combat presence. This makes them a staple include in any deck using AM faction cards.

Finally Astra Militarum get the support, Staging Ground. Another in a large collection of supports available to AM, this card gives a very surprising amount of flexibility. Combined with Ammo Depot or just a lot of cheap units on hand this card can provide a serious tipping point to most combats. A staging ground essentially allows you to ambush in a target unit. I’ve found this to be a very strong include for many decks.

Chaos

Chaos receive one of their most important cards all cycle in this pack. At first I was very unimpressed with Gleeful Plague Beast. I didn’t see why you would take it over Vicious Bloodletter, but I began to see articles online singing its praises and the local Zarathur enthusiast started to get very excited by this new Elite Daemon. At this point its hard to envision a Chaos deck without the Plague Beast. While the army unit damages your own units in addition to your opponents, it does so at a point in the round that is very hard to prevent. This means that, short of Inquisitorial Fortress or judicious use of damage effects, your Plague Beast will have a large impact on the combat phase. Pair it with Zarathur, High Sorcerer and you will be doing 2 damage to all enemy units. With Ku’gath Plaguefather you are priming your warlord so that he is ready to use his ability. I definitely think the Gleeful Plague Beast is a strong include in most Chaos factions decks.

The other two cards that Chaos gets this pack are both fairly low impact. The first, Blight Grenades, is very slow and very easily countered. It is a high cost to use and has very few viable targets to attach to. The second, Doombolt, is an interesting but very limited card. It is another source of direct damage but can only be used during deployment. As a result it requires setup and planning to use effectively. Both of these cards could get better given some time and the release of new combo cards.  But unless and until that happens I don’t expect to see them much at all.

Dark Eldar

Next up the forsaken children of Isha receive even more great options to add to their arsenal. The first card is their warlord groupie, the Bloodied Reavers. Initially I though that the Reavers ranked as one of the less effective groupies, landing maybe in the middle of the pack, but they have actually proved to be one of the most used of the bunch. The limit of no wargear attachments is almost completely irrelevant in the factions that can play the Bloodied Reavers, and it fills in the two cost army slot in deck construction allowing for a smoother curve.

Dark Eldar also get a couple Torture traited cards in preparation for Urien Rakarth. Crucible of Malediction brings an added utility to the Torture cards in your deck. Unfortunately this card can be very very slow. Having a maximum of 7 opportunities to trigger over the course of a game. Even then only if you play it on turn one and the game plays out 7 rounds. It also requires you to have torture events you’re able to play in hand.

Moving on from a sub par card to the final Dark Eldar card in the War Pack we get Searing Brand. As a two shield Torture event this card holds a key slot in any Urien deck. The ability can sometimes be difficult to trigger, but when you are able to make Searing Brand fire the effect is very worth while. When you aren’t able to use it for its effect, you will always be happy to use it for it’s two shields

Eldar

Unfortunately Eldar didn’t receive anything worth talking about. In my opinion neither Vectored Vyper Squad or Guardian Mesh Armor have a place in any existing or potential Eldar archetypes.

Tau

Unlike the Eldar, the Tau get a very substantial set of cards in Zogwort’s Curse. Opening with the Sa’cea XV88 Broadside, the Tau gain a powerful Elite army unit. Starting out with decent stats for its cost this army gets even better when it is equipped with an attachment. Some prime candidates include Gun Drones and Repulsor Impact Field, either bolstering its effect with stacked Area Effect or making it even more troublesome to remove. Like most Elites the Broadside is particularly weak to some removal effects, but I think the power of this unit outweighs that weakness.

Next Tau get a very interesting and versatile card, Tense Negotiations. At first this card was exciting for the prospect of being able to exhaust Aun’shi and have him able to remain at a planet for another combat round. The event has proved to be far more potent and versatile, being useful for any warlord able to take it. Baharroth particularly makes excellent use of Negotiations because of his ability to move around the board so much more freely. The cost of exhausting your warlord is definitely worth it in exchange for some of the battle abilities available.

The last card for both this War Pack and for Tau, but certainly not the least for either, is Heavy Marker Drone. Immediately we have a two shield icon attachment which is great news for the faction in general but Commander Shadowsun in particular. There is excellent synergy paired with Shadowsun, Aun’shi, or Ambush Platform. For me, at least, this may be the most exciting Tau card all cycle.

Conclusion

Because of the warlord in the War Pack I think a lot of people were unimpressed with this release. In hindsight this pack was very important for all of the cards it provided to Astra Militarum and Tau, with some key cards for Chaos and Dark Eldar as well. It may not be glamorous but Zogwort’s Curse definitely is a valuable War Pack.