As a quick reminder: each entry will be graded on a scale of 1 to 5 flail-chucks (in honor of Xerxis2's gift to weapon technology) for three factors - Efficacy, Meta Bending, and Coolness. As should be evident, all of these ratings are arbitrary and based off of my own opinion, so if you don't like it feel free to let me know why in the comments.
Full Circle review after the break. Fair warning: These entries may be longer on average than the Trollblood entries; I was originally planning on doing this review as one mega-article, and as a result I was trying to force myself to be brief. Now that I'm breaking it out by faction I'm likely to unleash more of the word-kraken.
Bradigus Thorle, The Runecarver:
Efficacy: 3.5/5
In some ways, Bradigus is a really cool Wold-centric warlock. Synergy is always a fun spell, his feat adds a ton of mobility and shenanigans to his battlegroup, and Rift is a potent Geomancy option. But at the same time Bradigus feels like he has gaps (especially when compared to Baldur's Wold based ability) that are going to cause him trouble. And while Bradigus does cool stuff for Wolds, it may not be enough to overcome their perceived significant downsides.
Meta Bending: 3/5
At present, Bradigus and Baldur2's theme list are the most likely places you are going to see a Wold heavy Circle list. This is a "tankier" style of Circle list, and each warlock brings their own flare to the approach, with Bradigus' being the more offensively capable. I think this also makes it the most viable long term - there's too much armor in the game now to not be able to crack it - and it has the potential to grow and change as more releases come out.
The biggest issue is if that list is valuable and viable enough to make it into Circle's already strong rotation of warlocks. That doesn't seem to be the case right now, but more experimentation and releases may change that.
Coolness: 5/5
You may have noticed a trend: I absolutely love stuff that seemingly comes out of nowhere. PP has stuck with a predictable cycle of releasing epic 'casters/'locks for the past few books, so it was a surprise to see a totally new character show up for Circle. On top of that, he's a Wold centered 'lock with Synergy and a brand new spell (of possibly dubious utility, but at least its new!) And the model is fantastic on double top of all that (tippity top?)
Argus Moonhound:
The Moonhound does one thing - enable shooting - and it does it damn well for a cheap price. I'm not sure how much Circle really wanted/needed that niche filled, but it does a damn good job of potentially enabling entire new list approaches. Part of me wishes that it was a little more capable offensively, but that's a relatively minor gripe and also unnecessary; by almost any measure the Moonhound is a very well designed light warbeast.
Meta Bending: 3/5
The Moonhound is an odd model in that what it does, it does very well. But what it does also isn't something that's largely supported by Circle (ranged attacks,) or at least hasn't been done so traditionally. Circle certainly has plenty of ranged options at this point, and the Moonhound will do plenty for all of them. Players haven't really jumped on that much that I've seen but I can't discount that the Moonhound does open up some interesting new list ideas, especially as Circle continues to pick up releases over the years.
Coolness: 3/5
I slot the Moonhound more into the "support" category, and it's hard to get excited about those kinds of models. Still, what it does it does very well, and it's something new for Circle to mess around with. The model is also a cool take on the argus creature type, especially when compared to the two previous iterations.
Brennos the Elderhorn:
I feel bad scoring Brennos so low here, because he's obviously designed to be more of a support/second line heavy. In that regard he seems decently useful, able to kick out another animus a turn if you need it, or make all the animi cheaper for the beasts around him. However, it is really, really hard to ignore that he's a 9 point heavy with poor defensive stats, poor health, and poor offensive capability. I feel that he'd need to provide a lot more support to justify his poor "warbeast" traits, or have better potential offensive output to make it worthwhile to bring his mediocre support abilities along (for his cost, at least.)
Meta Bending: 1.5/5
While I think Brennos is a usable model, I don't see him shaking up any lists or forcing any opponents to change how they consider approaching the game. He actually may be enough of a detriment that he has a negative effect on your list: his inability to consistently contribute offensively may make your opponent's list more effective against you, just based on his inclusion.
Brennos' Affinity with Morvhana may give him additional application in her lists, but I'm not sure even she can afford to have him tag along (with her usual reliance on infantry instead of a battlegroup.) I don't think the healing is going to come up all too often and even if/when it does I doubt it'll justify bringing Brennos over any other 9 point option. Point of fact it Brennos may have been a little screwed by associating himself with Morvhana - it's hard not to look at his poor offensive potential and imagine all of his numbers were adjusted to account for her ability to dole out rerolls.
Coolness: 4/5
Even if the poor 'ol goat kind of sucks, I still think he's very cool. The artwork looks excellent, and I really appreciate that the devs were trying to do something different with a character beast than just give us a beatier version of something that's already out there (or, beaty in a different way.) The execution appears to be flawed all to hell. But I do still greatly appreciate the concept.
Rotterhorn Griffon:
Do you hate enemy infantry? Do you also dislike having to make attack rolls against said infantry, and would instead prefer to just do damage to all enemy models around you? Do you also enjoy getting bonus special actions at the end of model activations? Of course you do. And it'll only cost you 5 points to get it. A fantastic light warbeast with a clearly defined, desired role that it fulfills excellently.
Meta Bending: 2.5/5
While the Rotterhorn Griffon does it's job fantastically, Circle isn't necessarily a faction that was necessarily hurting in the infantry removal department, so I don't consider it to be a big shake up. What is noteworthy is how the Rotterhorn does it's job (perfect against high DEF infantry) and the fact that it's a light warbeast, which allows it to slot into things like Kaya* lists easily and effectively. It's animus has the most long term potential to really blow up the landscape, but for now it's effect is one I'll file under "great but not earth shattering."
Coolness: 4/5
Easily the coolest and best of the griffons, which are an awesome class of warbeast that has previously felt half baked. The Rotterhorn's anti-infantry capabilities allow for even more beast heavy play, and that's always a good thing in my book.
The Death Wolves:
This one is a little odd, because I can see this unit being a very "hit and miss" experience. If any significant damage gets to them early, The Death Wolves may get shut down before they can really get going. But if you can get them stuck in it seems like they'll be able to cause quite a bit of trouble before they go down. It's a unit of 3 models that can potentially do the work of a much larger unit, while still (possibly) maintaining a similar ability to stick around and keep kicking out attacks.
Meta Bending: 2/5
Similar to the Rotterhorn, I don't think the Death Wolves necessarily bring anything that new or shocking to the table. That's not at all a knock against them - I think they'll be effective in the lists that make good use out of them; more that they're already in some very good company when considering Circle's many other infantry list options/anti-infantry tactics.
Coolness: 5/5
Another complete surprise of a book entry, and they're a bunch of cannibal magic using nutjobs. Fantastic.
Una The Falconer:
Una's a bit of a weird one. Her abilities as a lesser warlock kind of suck; her two spells are of debatable utility and she's limited to taking only warbeasts with Flight. However, it just so happens that Circle picked up a fantastic warbeast with Flight in this book (which she can get into your list for one point cheaper thanks to her Specialization) and her gun is very good. Right now she feels like a Rotterhorn caddy and a solid shooting solo, which it turns out is definitely good enough to warrant consideration in lists.
Meta Bending: 3/5
As is the trend with most of the Circle releases in this book, Una's primary contribution seems to be more anti-infantry: her gun and ability to manage Rotterhorns all on her own allow her to fulfill much of your anti-infantry needs. Having that as a "module" is valuable (especially for warlocks who may not have wanted or been able to take Rotterhorns, for whatever reason,) and she's likely to do the anti-infantry job well. Another nod in her favor is her ability to shoot into combat without penalty, which may also help to keep key pieces free to run amok, which is an interesting new wrinkle.
Coolness: 4/5
Almost all those points are based on the model because goddamn is that a model. Plus the idea of a crazy bird lady having her pets peck everyone to death is fairly amusing.
Circle Orboros Overall Release Rating: 3/5
This cycle Circle picked up a number of very cool and probably fun models, but a lot of them do similar things (lots of anti-infantry measures.) Brennos is damn disappointing as a character warbeast, at least in terms of rules. Bradigus is interesting and immediately stands out from the rest of the Circle warlocks due to his design, but he also has some hiccups that may make him a bit of a chore to work with in the general meta of the game.
Not at all a bad set of releases, but also not especially invigorating or interesting at the moment. I do think that many of Exigence's releases will pan out well for Circle in the long run. A few of the entries may become more interesting with future releases, and this set of models certainly puts Circle in a strong position to deal with any infantry heavy swings that may happen in the meta.
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Next up, due to the vagaries of War Room: Legion! Join me next time as I run down their releases, and please feel free to share your impressions of Circle releases in the comments.
I'm with Will Pagani on Bradigus' theme force: 3 sets of Shifting Stones is the biggest mistake ever made.
ReplyDeleteThat's definitely a big factor with Bradigus. I think it's kind of early to tell how bad that might be - some people are saying it's an effective gimmick, others are saying its a legit big problem - but I'm sure we'll know for sure in six months or so.
DeleteBetween that and the Sacral Vault working for "normal" factions, I do think that there may have been a small gas leak at PP R&D one day. :)