Path of Devastation: Possible Zerkova2 Spoiler

The Path of Devastation: Riven Bonds Vault has coughed up another spoiler. This one is particularly exciting given recent upcoming 'caster reveals:

Join me after the break for a quick rundown of how and why this could be really fun for all the Khador players out there.

By itself, how exciting this spell is depends wildly on your faction. Factions that can leverage a lot of magic attacks - Retribution, Circle, Legion - would love it, while those that can't - Cygnar, Protectorate, Skorne - wouldn't be as excited.

However, it seems very likely that this spell will be coming to Khador by way of Epic Zerkova (Zerkova2), the 'caster recently revealed on the Reckoning book cover. There are two reasons why this seems very likely:

1) The "feel" of the spell matches Zerkova. It's a magic attack roll boosting spell, which ties her in with Khador's various Greylord models. And the name itself strongly syncs up with her portrayal in the story.

2) Some translations of the runes of the spell Zerkova2's is casting on the Reckoning cover allude to letters that could be part of the spell "Spellpiercer", there is also a translation floating around that says part of the runes clearly spell "Whisper". While nothing precludes Zerkova2 from having both spells, if the runes on the cover do spell "Whisper" it seems like a pretty strong confirmation that this spell is on her card.

Although it's impossible to say for sure, it seems very likely that Occult Whispers will be a new spell for Zerkova2. With that in mind, lets take a look at some applications:

 - If Zerkova2 has another decent offensive spell or two she'll want to be casting that same turn, Occult Whispers seems like a good way to get multiple boosted attack rolls in a turn while also throwing out a buff for some of your army. Granted, I'm not sure how useful that will be - the only spells I can think of that would generate multiple attack rolls are sprays, which Zerkova2 isn't going to want to use unless she gets some access to a Channeler - but the option will be nice.

 - Most obviously, this will be a huge boost to all of the Greylord models in Khador, which universally have the Frostbite spell. Some will benefit less - Valachev and the Greylord Escort probably won't use it as much - but any boosted to-hit Frostbite is probably going to hurt.

The most remarkable of all possibilities with this spell are the Outriders. They're an excellent unit with one principal flaw: mediocre accuracy (especially against their intended targets). Occult Whispers suddenly bumps the Outriders up to being more accurate than WGI with Joe (starting at a 6 instead of a 5 with the same 3d6 roll to hit), and all but guarantees that Zerkova2's list will have a fantastic anti-infantry tool.

 - Occult Whispers is "friendly Faction", which unfortunately rules out using it to bump up Mercenary magical attacks. On solos. For the few Mercenary units that make use of magical attacks, you can stick Valachev with the unit and get some additional accuracy (plus Valachev has his Frostbite for late game).

A funny place to take advantage of this is with Aiyana. Her Magic Ability [8] is already very accurate, but with a boost she can suddenly reliably stick Kiss of Lyliss on higher DEF values, including models in combat and 'casters with DEF buffs/terrain bonuses.

The potentially more practical option is to put Valachev with the Tactical Arcanist Corps (TAC), a unit I've praised before. Valachev already has solid synergy with the TAC - Zephyr is the perfect ability to compliment their cloud placement - and making them Faction will allow any TAC that aren't dropping clouds to throw around more accurate (and likely to critical) Flame Blasts.

The most important thing when considering Valachev and TAC with Zerkova is going to be if Zerkova's bodyguards are Abominations (as Orgoth weapon bearers are wont to be), which would put a damper on using them to shepherd her around.

 - And of course there is the 'x' factor of: we don't know what else is in the book or on Zerkova's card. Most of PP's book releases recently have been smaller in scale per faction (usually 5-6 releases each), and there is the possibility that Reckoning will be even smaller than previous releases to accommodate Convergence releases. Even so, it is very likely that each faction has one or two completely unknown releases, and one of those for Khador could also play nicely with Occult Whispers.

There is also the possibility that something else with Zerkova combines with Occult Whispers for some zany combo. I'm not really banking on it - it's a cheap spell, and Khador already clearly has potent models to take advantage of it - but it's certainly possible.

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Occult Whispers is one of those spells that is pretty straightforward, but still pretty exciting based on what it's going to enable. Greylord Outriders should be monstrously effective anti-infantry models with that spell up, and all of the Magic Ability [7] Greylords should be sticking spells left and right (precious, accurate Ice Cages). Anything beyond that is a bonus.

Occult Whispers is also exciting because it's a totally new spell. This may not be something that recent players can appreciate, but early Mk. 2 was a game of ability-salad. There was a period of time (a year or two) wherein most new releases were just combinations of other abilities and spells. Sometimes that produced something effective/interesting, but for the most part it made the releases feel predictable and kind of stale. It was also understandable at the time, because part of the reason for Mk. 2 was to cut back on the rules bloat; why do that and then turn around and introduce a ton of new, specific model rules?

The problem was that, especially with 'casters and 'locks, those unique rules and spells are usually what gives them their sense of identity (and efficacy). The experiment of trying to shake things up by putting unexpected spells in different factions (such as Overrun and Escort in Khador) were on the right track, but it was let down by the rest of the model being largely a C&P of other abilities.

Many of the most successful (from a design perspective) 'casters and 'locks are as such because they have something unique to them that compliments their playstyle/list approach. It's no coincidence that the most effective Mk. 2 'casters and 'locks are the ones that have something unique to them - Morvhana2, Issyria, Goreshade3, Butcher3, most of the Exigence warlocks - and I'm hoping that relative trend continues with Reckoning.

I don't want the pendulum to swing the other way - Mk. 1 had a lot of similar rules that were different just for the sake of being different - but I love that we're seeing new, unique rules on new models (such as the Mischief rule last time). It makes it much harder to predict what a model may do based on it's look and description, which in turn makes it more exciting to finally see the rules for. And this new willingness to create specific, unique rules gives the devs a powerful tool to help create models that are specifically tailored and equipped to fill a specific role. Which is something you really need a new 'caster to do.

Even if this spoiler isn't for Zerkova2, it has me excited and hopeful for her rules. I'm 99% sure Occult Whispers will be on her card though, which makes me doubly excited. The Outriders and Ternion I have waiting in the wings are going to clear out pretty much all single wound infantry in their path under her, which should be a blast.

Of cold.

To their face.

I'm done here.