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| Didn't see that coming |
"THE KINGDOMS OF HUMANITY STAND AS ONE.
The rising threat of the Cryxian armies has become too great. Death permeates the war-torn region, and Empress Ayn and King Leto themselves chance incredible danger to meet and coordinate their stand. The Protectorate’s Northern Crusade joins Khador and Cygnar in a final alliance of men against the unending armies of the Dragonfather. As these armies combine to expel the deathless forces of Cryx from the mainland, in tunnels below the battleground a lone Khadoran soldier fights to save one of the Motherland’s greatest legends.
WARMACHINE: Reckoning brings you the next thrilling chapter of the WARMACHINE saga. Fight for survival with:
• New warcasters, including new heroes as well as epic incarnations of some of WARMACHINE’s most feared and revered legends.
• A new generation of colossals to level the opposition.
• An array of new warjacks, including the personal warjacks of several powerful warcasters.
• New solos to bring a greater range of utility to the battlefield.
• New narrative fiction continuing the action of WARMACHINE: Vengeance.
• A painting and modeling guide to help you prepare your forces for battle.
• Theme Force lists for each new warcaster, which allow you to create armies based on specialized forces found in the WARMACHINE world."
Join me after the break for my thoughts about what this cover may portend, and a few quick thoughts about the sales blurb.
Before I share my impressions of the Reckoning cover, let me tell you a story:
My group started playing Warmachine some time between when Apotheosis was released and when all the models for that book were actually available (I still remember Vlad2 originally coming out). As a result of that timing, the first book we experienced a "real" release for was Superiority.
During that time, Privateer Press was going through a rough time with their website. I can't remember the specifics - they were either between webmasters, or maybe the one they had was over worked - but the result was that there were very, very few website updates during that period. I remember stretches of months where the "preview" model on the front page was the same. To offset that, PP was very generous when dumping spoilers into No Quarter, and the players dug as deep as they could into the bowels of the internet to find whatever information they could (often times getting release spoilers from distributors and random websites).
I'm trying to frame the situation and maybe not doing the best job, so I'll be more explicit: imagine being in a situation where you're getting a trickle of information, almost all of it through the company publication. This was also smack in the middle of PP's "faction parity" phase (i.e. every faction gets the same types of releases, unless it makes absolutely no sense), so once we got a decent chunk of NQ spoilers, most of us felt like we knew what to expect out of the new book.
And then this shows up on the PP front page:
How would you react?
I'll tell you how I reacted: by losing my goddamn mind.
We already knew that cavalry units were coming (and had gotten full rules for them in a previous NQ) so I was never expecting a cavalry solo. And I never in a million years would have expected a Man-O-War on a horse. The Cygnar reveals were also a big deal - I don't think anyone knew about them by that point - but I was understandably focused on what that awesome red thing was.
I've come back to that moment time after time as I think about my history with Warmachine. I think that was the moment I really became a fan of PP and their games. I can be a hard person to surprise, especially when you develop a recognizable pattern, and a great way to endear me to your product/idea is to demonstrate that you can come up with something I couldn't anticipate. I think the Man-O-War Drakun did that for me back then, and it locked me in as a fan of Khador and Warmachine for many years to come.
I share that story because it allows me to easily convey my feelings about the Reckoning cover: it's like Superiority all over again, though admittedly a little less so.
Back To the Present
I had no idea what to expect from Khador's next warcaster. The way PP has been going with 'caster progression, there were a ton of candidates: first Epics for Zerkova, Strakov, Karchev, Old Witch, or Harkevich (some of those seemed unlikely due to the current story), second Epics for Irusk or Sorscha, or hell, even third Epics for Vlad and Butcher (extremely unlikely, but you never know with this company). And then there was the possibility of someone completely new. At least one source reported after SmogCon that PP staffers confirmed that the Protectorate 'caster would be a completely new one, so the doors seemed open for that as a possibility for all factions.
Of all the possibilities, Epic Zerkova is probably the one I was most interested in, with Epic Strakov being a close second (though I think he'll need to make it back home before he can level up). There are a few reasons for that:
1) Zerkova, in her original form, represented a tremendous possibility for Khador: a control/denial 'caster in a more traditional sense (think Haley/Denny), which would be amazing for Khador to have. Unfortunately, for several reasons, she didn't quite turn out. New releases have elevated her game significantly over the past few years, but I still feel that she lacks the "oomph" that you need in a competitive 'caster.
2) Following that logic, Zerkova2 can be a sort of "do over". I doubt they're going to want to completely override the old Zerkova so I expect a number of things to remain unique to her (the special spell effects, probably Watcher and Banishing Ward). That will leave her with her own niche for players that enjoy playing her, while potentially offering up Zerkova2 as a more competitively oriented option (or at least a 'caster that is more thoughtfully designed for the metagame).
3) Khador has the "infantry support" and "meat fist" approaches covered fairly well with the current stable of warcasters (especially with the release of Butcher3). I certainly wouldn't lament another release of that variety if it was a particularly potent one, but the most interesting new 'caster releases are going to be the ones that bring something new(ish) to the table. Even Butcher3 offers a different, more personal approach to "kill everything with melee" than other 'casters, and ended up being really fun and fantastic because of it. Zerkova2 is another chance at something new and interesting, and I have more excitement for her out of the gate since she's one of the "odd duck" 'casters (as opposed to hoping for something dramatically new from, say, Sorscha3 or Irusk3).
Wild Zerkova2 Speculation
The cover doesn't provide a lot to work with, but there are some very interesting things to note:
- Zerkova is sporting a completely different color scheme (one that is matched by the other Doom Reavers around her). Although that is unlikely to have any significant in-game effect, it will probably have some interesting fluff ramifications, for anyone following along with it.
- Zerkova has ditched the Rod of Whispers (i.e. her green ice cream cone) and may have also changed swords (her old sword was a standard looking broadsword, whereas this new one has a different guard and shape). So it seems likely that Zerkova2 will have some change in weaponry over her previous incarnation. It is also interesting to note that her new sword and her left hand are both glowing with green energy (which matches the orgoth glow from the Doom Reavers).
- Speaking of Doom Reavers: she's surrounded by the damn things. It may have an in-game parallel (there is currently no Elite Cadre for Doom Reavers, for example) or it could just be some sweet artwork. Given that she's closely tied to Doom Reavers in her previous incarnation by way of the Greylords (and her original theme list), she may have some synergy with them. Thanks to Mad Dogs of War, many Khador players already have a solid base of Doom Reavers; even I have two units, though I rarely run even one. Throwing in another 'caster that can work well with them would be neat.
- Even if Zerkova2 doesn't have any synergy with Doom Reaver units, she damn sure has some direct Doom Reaver connection with the two large, Fell-polearm wielding fellows near her. I don't think it's a particularly ballsy wager to say that those two guys are part of a warcaster unit with Zerkova; they're right next to her on the cover, with matching designs (with minor variations), and they're sporting different weaponry than the normal Doom Reaver fare.
These guys are probably the most interesting thing on the cover. The idea of Doom Reaver bodyguards is interesting - the whole idea behind Doom Reavers in general is that they're disposable shock infantry, so you don't care if they die or kill each other - and the fact that there are different Fell weapons is cool. Based on the way other warcaster units work, there is bound to be some kind of synergy between Zerkova and these guys. It may be explicit (i.e. Granted rules) or implicit (strong synergy as with Makeda3 and Directrix), but they're sure to feature prominently.
At first, I thought the bodyguard models looked larger than normal Doom Reavers, but after looking at the picture a few times I don't know if that's true. If they are larger than normal Doom Reavers, its not tremendously so, and it's always hard to tell when the artist is taking some liberties with scale. The weapons they're wielding are likely to be similar to Fell Blades (if not the exact same) but since they're polearms we may be looking at weapons with Set Defense, or some other defensive rule.
Other than that, I'm expecting Doom Reavers with slightly higher stats in some places (maybe MAT 8, ARM 15/16) and wounds. Anything else is total guesswork.
- Zerkova's spellcasting runes are at an odd angle, so most attempts to translate them have been foiled (for what it's worth, Deneghra3's supposedly spell out "Grave Wind"). The closest anyone's been able to come up with hints at something that might be "Spellpiercer" (Jaga Jaga's excellent anti-upkeep spell), but that's just an educated guess. Something like that would fit her "feel", so fingers crossed for something that excellent on her spell card!
- For the record: Deneghra3 riding some hellish robo-beast is seriously cool, and will probably be an amazing model (I think it's a safe bet she'll be another Battle Engine 'caster, just based on the size of it). However, I don't play Cryx so I'll leave musing and supposing about her to those more invested and learned with that faction than I.
Random Other Things
Again, in rough list form:
- Although it seemed very, very likely before, we now have confirmation that the second round of colossals will be in Reckoning. That alone gives everyone something awesome to look forward to.
- The description of some warcasters being "new heroes" confirms what some players have been reporting from SmogCon: that the new Protectorate 'caster would actually be a completely new character. No confirmation yet on if Protectorate will be the only faction getting a completely new 'caster, and we probably won't know that until the book is in hand.
- The mention of character warjacks and other warjacks is interesting, because it implies that Khador may not be the only faction to get a new non-character, non-colossal warjack (Khador is confirmed to be getting Ruin, and 99% confirmed to be getting the Mad Dog Berserker variant). Although there is also the possibility that this is similar to the "totally new warcaster" point previously: just because it's happening for one faction, doesn't necessarily mean it'll happen anywhere else.
What I'd expect most for the other factions is that they'd get a new light warjack, if anything. New heavies feel unlikely, due to all of the kits being "set" at this point: Prime chassis (4 warjacks), Escalation/Superiority chassis (3 warjacks), and I guess "Renown" chassis (2 warjacks, still forthcoming). Khador is a little weird in that the Beserker kit is another heavy, so a theoretical Mad Dog/Berserker plastic box can cover that.
I doubt that PP would want to make standalone boxes for new heavies for the other factions (though they'll have to do it at some point I suppose). Light warjacks are easier to work into the product line, as they're all individually packaged. Hell, maybe that was the reason why they're not combo kits in the first place? Whatever the reason, I think it's likely that any new non-character, non-colossal warjacks for the other factions will be lights. How likely that is in general - and if the damn things will be any good - is the tricky part of the question.
- The line: "new solos to bring a range of utility to the battlefield" has thrown some people for a loop. Some are interpreting that as "there are no units in this book", which is patently false: the Devil's Shadow Mutineers are a character unit, and are in Reckoning. I do think it is safe to assume that units won't feature prominently in this book, but there is always the possibility of more character units/fixed size units (which I'm all for in general).
Others are of course running with this to speculate about what kind of support solos could be in the book. This is particularly potent in Khador, where players have been howling at the heavens for something, anything to help out Man-O-Wars. Prepare for another round of high hopes, that will probably be dashed on the rocks of reality.
With that caveat: any form of support solo would be extremely welcome in Khador (and most factions, I'm sure). The Iron Fang Kovnik demonstrated what a profound effect even a mild support element can have on list construction. I'd love to get another model that had a similar impact, though in a different way of course.
And I'm not made of stone: I want a Man-O-War solo to dig them out of the trench of competitive irrelevancy as much as anyone. But I'm way past actively hoping for that. At this point I'm just crossing my fingers for good general releases. Bonus points to PP if it happens to be Man-O-War related.
- I haven't been that interested in the Warmachine fluff for awhile, but I have to admit this round of fiction may be worth reading. The writers have done a pretty good job building to a climax, and if they're willing to have this story line actually go somewhere (not holding my breath), it could be a great way to shake things up narratively, as well as set up the rumored time shift (if that's even a thing). I also love that Strakov's zany black-ops adventures are a prominent story feature now.
Closing Thoughts
The Reckoning cover is a helluva lot more exciting and interesting than I expected it to be. Truth be told, I kind of forgot that we'd be getting a cover reveal sometime before the book, and that it would be a sneak peak at two (at least) of the 'casters we can look forward to. I guess I'm used to having all of the 'casters spoiled, at least in name, before the book comes out, so the cover isn't especially exciting. Aside from random model easter eggs.
Both of the spoiled 'casters have a ton of potential, and they're also huge potential flops. Denny3 is poised to be another fantastic Cryx warcaster just based on her pedigree, but she's also probably going to have to contend with being a Huge based warcaster. Zerkova2 has a wealth of potential, thanks to her history as a control/denial 'caster in a faction starved for that kind of tech, but it's really hard to ignore how much of a wet noodle her original incarnation is.
That said, I'd be a lot more worried about these 'casters (and the rest, but these two are specifically gimmicky) if we were at a different point in PP's development history. The last two books - Vengeance and Exigence - were very good books in terms of efficacy and balance, give or take some outliers. If there is ever a time where we could get 'casters like this and have them be solid entries, if not great (though no more Morv2's/Bradigii please), then this is the time.
I'm also very excited in general for the release of Reckoning, probably more so than any book in recent memory. PP has done a staggeringly good job of keeping the spoilers to a minimum, so the majority of information we'll be getting for this book release will actually come from the book itself. Contrast that with Vengeance (where only the new warjacks were unknown) and Exigence (where most of the releases were known, though there were still a couple of surprises), and it makes the book release much more exciting.
To directly contrast, here's what we knew was in Vengeance, prior to the book's release (* = full rules known for the model):
Butcher3*
Iron Fang Kovnik*
Greylord Outriders*
Malakov*
Assuming Reckoning comes out in June (total guesswork, though I do think it'll be around then), this is what we know roughly three months away from that book's release:
Zerkova2
Ruin*
Mad Dog
Victor
We know a similar number of models, but only one has the full rules spoiled, so the other three are still unknown. We also have zero clue what the remaining entries are, as well as how many (Vengeance ended up being a relatively small release, at only five new entries total). Assuming another one or two entries, that means that Reckoning will have information for 4-5 completely new models when it comes out (any full model spoilers between now and then seem extremely unlikely). That is very exciting!
So now the game becomes keeping an ear to the ground for any tidbits of info that happen to creep out, and maybe we'll get to see some models in the coming months if we're lucky. Until then, I'll be fervently awaiting Reckoning's release, along with the rest of you. Hopefully these months go by fast!
My group started playing Warmachine some time between when Apotheosis was released and when all the models for that book were actually available (I still remember Vlad2 originally coming out). As a result of that timing, the first book we experienced a "real" release for was Superiority.
During that time, Privateer Press was going through a rough time with their website. I can't remember the specifics - they were either between webmasters, or maybe the one they had was over worked - but the result was that there were very, very few website updates during that period. I remember stretches of months where the "preview" model on the front page was the same. To offset that, PP was very generous when dumping spoilers into No Quarter, and the players dug as deep as they could into the bowels of the internet to find whatever information they could (often times getting release spoilers from distributors and random websites).
I'm trying to frame the situation and maybe not doing the best job, so I'll be more explicit: imagine being in a situation where you're getting a trickle of information, almost all of it through the company publication. This was also smack in the middle of PP's "faction parity" phase (i.e. every faction gets the same types of releases, unless it makes absolutely no sense), so once we got a decent chunk of NQ spoilers, most of us felt like we knew what to expect out of the new book.
And then this shows up on the PP front page:
 |
| It still brings a smile to my face |
I'll tell you how I reacted: by losing my goddamn mind.
We already knew that cavalry units were coming (and had gotten full rules for them in a previous NQ) so I was never expecting a cavalry solo. And I never in a million years would have expected a Man-O-War on a horse. The Cygnar reveals were also a big deal - I don't think anyone knew about them by that point - but I was understandably focused on what that awesome red thing was.
I've come back to that moment time after time as I think about my history with Warmachine. I think that was the moment I really became a fan of PP and their games. I can be a hard person to surprise, especially when you develop a recognizable pattern, and a great way to endear me to your product/idea is to demonstrate that you can come up with something I couldn't anticipate. I think the Man-O-War Drakun did that for me back then, and it locked me in as a fan of Khador and Warmachine for many years to come.
I share that story because it allows me to easily convey my feelings about the Reckoning cover: it's like Superiority all over again, though admittedly a little less so.
Back To the Present
I had no idea what to expect from Khador's next warcaster. The way PP has been going with 'caster progression, there were a ton of candidates: first Epics for Zerkova, Strakov, Karchev, Old Witch, or Harkevich (some of those seemed unlikely due to the current story), second Epics for Irusk or Sorscha, or hell, even third Epics for Vlad and Butcher (extremely unlikely, but you never know with this company). And then there was the possibility of someone completely new. At least one source reported after SmogCon that PP staffers confirmed that the Protectorate 'caster would be a completely new one, so the doors seemed open for that as a possibility for all factions.
Of all the possibilities, Epic Zerkova is probably the one I was most interested in, with Epic Strakov being a close second (though I think he'll need to make it back home before he can level up). There are a few reasons for that:
1) Zerkova, in her original form, represented a tremendous possibility for Khador: a control/denial 'caster in a more traditional sense (think Haley/Denny), which would be amazing for Khador to have. Unfortunately, for several reasons, she didn't quite turn out. New releases have elevated her game significantly over the past few years, but I still feel that she lacks the "oomph" that you need in a competitive 'caster.
2) Following that logic, Zerkova2 can be a sort of "do over". I doubt they're going to want to completely override the old Zerkova so I expect a number of things to remain unique to her (the special spell effects, probably Watcher and Banishing Ward). That will leave her with her own niche for players that enjoy playing her, while potentially offering up Zerkova2 as a more competitively oriented option (or at least a 'caster that is more thoughtfully designed for the metagame).
3) Khador has the "infantry support" and "meat fist" approaches covered fairly well with the current stable of warcasters (especially with the release of Butcher3). I certainly wouldn't lament another release of that variety if it was a particularly potent one, but the most interesting new 'caster releases are going to be the ones that bring something new(ish) to the table. Even Butcher3 offers a different, more personal approach to "kill everything with melee" than other 'casters, and ended up being really fun and fantastic because of it. Zerkova2 is another chance at something new and interesting, and I have more excitement for her out of the gate since she's one of the "odd duck" 'casters (as opposed to hoping for something dramatically new from, say, Sorscha3 or Irusk3).
Wild Zerkova2 Speculation
The cover doesn't provide a lot to work with, but there are some very interesting things to note:
- Zerkova is sporting a completely different color scheme (one that is matched by the other Doom Reavers around her). Although that is unlikely to have any significant in-game effect, it will probably have some interesting fluff ramifications, for anyone following along with it.
- Zerkova has ditched the Rod of Whispers (i.e. her green ice cream cone) and may have also changed swords (her old sword was a standard looking broadsword, whereas this new one has a different guard and shape). So it seems likely that Zerkova2 will have some change in weaponry over her previous incarnation. It is also interesting to note that her new sword and her left hand are both glowing with green energy (which matches the orgoth glow from the Doom Reavers).
- Speaking of Doom Reavers: she's surrounded by the damn things. It may have an in-game parallel (there is currently no Elite Cadre for Doom Reavers, for example) or it could just be some sweet artwork. Given that she's closely tied to Doom Reavers in her previous incarnation by way of the Greylords (and her original theme list), she may have some synergy with them. Thanks to Mad Dogs of War, many Khador players already have a solid base of Doom Reavers; even I have two units, though I rarely run even one. Throwing in another 'caster that can work well with them would be neat.
- Even if Zerkova2 doesn't have any synergy with Doom Reaver units, she damn sure has some direct Doom Reaver connection with the two large, Fell-polearm wielding fellows near her. I don't think it's a particularly ballsy wager to say that those two guys are part of a warcaster unit with Zerkova; they're right next to her on the cover, with matching designs (with minor variations), and they're sporting different weaponry than the normal Doom Reaver fare.
These guys are probably the most interesting thing on the cover. The idea of Doom Reaver bodyguards is interesting - the whole idea behind Doom Reavers in general is that they're disposable shock infantry, so you don't care if they die or kill each other - and the fact that there are different Fell weapons is cool. Based on the way other warcaster units work, there is bound to be some kind of synergy between Zerkova and these guys. It may be explicit (i.e. Granted rules) or implicit (strong synergy as with Makeda3 and Directrix), but they're sure to feature prominently.
At first, I thought the bodyguard models looked larger than normal Doom Reavers, but after looking at the picture a few times I don't know if that's true. If they are larger than normal Doom Reavers, its not tremendously so, and it's always hard to tell when the artist is taking some liberties with scale. The weapons they're wielding are likely to be similar to Fell Blades (if not the exact same) but since they're polearms we may be looking at weapons with Set Defense, or some other defensive rule.
Other than that, I'm expecting Doom Reavers with slightly higher stats in some places (maybe MAT 8, ARM 15/16) and wounds. Anything else is total guesswork.
- Zerkova's spellcasting runes are at an odd angle, so most attempts to translate them have been foiled (for what it's worth, Deneghra3's supposedly spell out "Grave Wind"). The closest anyone's been able to come up with hints at something that might be "Spellpiercer" (Jaga Jaga's excellent anti-upkeep spell), but that's just an educated guess. Something like that would fit her "feel", so fingers crossed for something that excellent on her spell card!
- For the record: Deneghra3 riding some hellish robo-beast is seriously cool, and will probably be an amazing model (I think it's a safe bet she'll be another Battle Engine 'caster, just based on the size of it). However, I don't play Cryx so I'll leave musing and supposing about her to those more invested and learned with that faction than I.
Random Other Things
Again, in rough list form:
- Although it seemed very, very likely before, we now have confirmation that the second round of colossals will be in Reckoning. That alone gives everyone something awesome to look forward to.
- The description of some warcasters being "new heroes" confirms what some players have been reporting from SmogCon: that the new Protectorate 'caster would actually be a completely new character. No confirmation yet on if Protectorate will be the only faction getting a completely new 'caster, and we probably won't know that until the book is in hand.
- The mention of character warjacks and other warjacks is interesting, because it implies that Khador may not be the only faction to get a new non-character, non-colossal warjack (Khador is confirmed to be getting Ruin, and 99% confirmed to be getting the Mad Dog Berserker variant). Although there is also the possibility that this is similar to the "totally new warcaster" point previously: just because it's happening for one faction, doesn't necessarily mean it'll happen anywhere else.
What I'd expect most for the other factions is that they'd get a new light warjack, if anything. New heavies feel unlikely, due to all of the kits being "set" at this point: Prime chassis (4 warjacks), Escalation/Superiority chassis (3 warjacks), and I guess "Renown" chassis (2 warjacks, still forthcoming). Khador is a little weird in that the Beserker kit is another heavy, so a theoretical Mad Dog/Berserker plastic box can cover that.
I doubt that PP would want to make standalone boxes for new heavies for the other factions (though they'll have to do it at some point I suppose). Light warjacks are easier to work into the product line, as they're all individually packaged. Hell, maybe that was the reason why they're not combo kits in the first place? Whatever the reason, I think it's likely that any new non-character, non-colossal warjacks for the other factions will be lights. How likely that is in general - and if the damn things will be any good - is the tricky part of the question.
- The line: "new solos to bring a range of utility to the battlefield" has thrown some people for a loop. Some are interpreting that as "there are no units in this book", which is patently false: the Devil's Shadow Mutineers are a character unit, and are in Reckoning. I do think it is safe to assume that units won't feature prominently in this book, but there is always the possibility of more character units/fixed size units (which I'm all for in general).
Others are of course running with this to speculate about what kind of support solos could be in the book. This is particularly potent in Khador, where players have been howling at the heavens for something, anything to help out Man-O-Wars. Prepare for another round of high hopes, that will probably be dashed on the rocks of reality.
With that caveat: any form of support solo would be extremely welcome in Khador (and most factions, I'm sure). The Iron Fang Kovnik demonstrated what a profound effect even a mild support element can have on list construction. I'd love to get another model that had a similar impact, though in a different way of course.
And I'm not made of stone: I want a Man-O-War solo to dig them out of the trench of competitive irrelevancy as much as anyone. But I'm way past actively hoping for that. At this point I'm just crossing my fingers for good general releases. Bonus points to PP if it happens to be Man-O-War related.
- I haven't been that interested in the Warmachine fluff for awhile, but I have to admit this round of fiction may be worth reading. The writers have done a pretty good job building to a climax, and if they're willing to have this story line actually go somewhere (not holding my breath), it could be a great way to shake things up narratively, as well as set up the rumored time shift (if that's even a thing). I also love that Strakov's zany black-ops adventures are a prominent story feature now.
Closing Thoughts
The Reckoning cover is a helluva lot more exciting and interesting than I expected it to be. Truth be told, I kind of forgot that we'd be getting a cover reveal sometime before the book, and that it would be a sneak peak at two (at least) of the 'casters we can look forward to. I guess I'm used to having all of the 'casters spoiled, at least in name, before the book comes out, so the cover isn't especially exciting. Aside from random model easter eggs.
Both of the spoiled 'casters have a ton of potential, and they're also huge potential flops. Denny3 is poised to be another fantastic Cryx warcaster just based on her pedigree, but she's also probably going to have to contend with being a Huge based warcaster. Zerkova2 has a wealth of potential, thanks to her history as a control/denial 'caster in a faction starved for that kind of tech, but it's really hard to ignore how much of a wet noodle her original incarnation is.
That said, I'd be a lot more worried about these 'casters (and the rest, but these two are specifically gimmicky) if we were at a different point in PP's development history. The last two books - Vengeance and Exigence - were very good books in terms of efficacy and balance, give or take some outliers. If there is ever a time where we could get 'casters like this and have them be solid entries, if not great (though no more Morv2's/Bradigii please), then this is the time.
I'm also very excited in general for the release of Reckoning, probably more so than any book in recent memory. PP has done a staggeringly good job of keeping the spoilers to a minimum, so the majority of information we'll be getting for this book release will actually come from the book itself. Contrast that with Vengeance (where only the new warjacks were unknown) and Exigence (where most of the releases were known, though there were still a couple of surprises), and it makes the book release much more exciting.
To directly contrast, here's what we knew was in Vengeance, prior to the book's release (* = full rules known for the model):
Butcher3*
Iron Fang Kovnik*
Greylord Outriders*
Malakov*
Assuming Reckoning comes out in June (total guesswork, though I do think it'll be around then), this is what we know roughly three months away from that book's release:
Zerkova2
Ruin*
Mad Dog
Victor
We know a similar number of models, but only one has the full rules spoiled, so the other three are still unknown. We also have zero clue what the remaining entries are, as well as how many (Vengeance ended up being a relatively small release, at only five new entries total). Assuming another one or two entries, that means that Reckoning will have information for 4-5 completely new models when it comes out (any full model spoilers between now and then seem extremely unlikely). That is very exciting!
So now the game becomes keeping an ear to the ground for any tidbits of info that happen to creep out, and maybe we'll get to see some models in the coming months if we're lucky. Until then, I'll be fervently awaiting Reckoning's release, along with the rest of you. Hopefully these months go by fast!
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