Attack, Attack, Attack!A Warhammer: Invasion Spotlight by Guest Writer Torsten Krämer
The Orcs live for battle. So it didn't come as a big surprise when the Morrslieb cycle gave the Greenskins the ability to wreak more and greater havoc by gaining an additional battlefield phase with Bash ‘Em! (Chaos Moon, 26). At the tournament level, though, where cost efficiency is crucial and players have fewer turns to build up large assault forces, this tactic hasn’t seen a lot of play. Nonetheless, we are now knee deep in the Eternal War cycle, which aims to emphasize battles more. For the Orcs, this renewed focus on battle is a tremendous boon. It means their thirst for more bloody clashes gets increased and rewarded.
In a recent article, we saw that the legendary mad shaman Wurrzag (Battle for the Old World, 41) allows you to play Bash 'Em! for free. Also, we learned that with Da Great Waaagh! (Battle for the Old World, 42), the Orcs gained another way to create an additional battlefield phase.
While attacking multiple times in one turn and therefore dealing damage multiple times is a great reward in itself, it gets better when you have the new Raider keyword. Then, more attacks mean more resources raided.
Orcish Glory
Your Greenskins’ celebrations won’t end there, though. The upcoming Battle Pack, Glory of Days Past, will further increase the rewards of a strategy incorporating multiple attacks. When you’re assaulting your opponent for the second time in one turn, the unique Borgut Facebeater (Glory of Days Past, 70) allows you to put any Orc unit in your hand into play as part of your attack, meaning that your nasty surprise attack will be a downright ugly one. After all, you might get a free Arachnarok Spider (Fragments of Power, 5), aimed straight at your opponent. Or since Borgut isn’t a Hero himself, he could net you a free Grimgor Ironhide (Core Set, 63). Let’s also note that with his three power at cost four, Borgut packs enough punch by himself that he’s a worthwhile combatant even if you don’t get to trigger his ability.
However, when you do get to send Borgut in for a second helping, you might want him accompanied by a Boar Rider (Glory of Days Past, 71), a unit for which the first attack is like foreplay. Boar Riders charge at your opponent much harder the second time around, and since their increased power lasts until the end of turn, your Boar Riders are great units if you can manage to create even more battlefield phases. And the whole time, they’ll steal new resources for you on their raids.
Muster Your Defenses
If you’re one of those players unlucky enough to see Borgut, the Boar Riders, and other rampaging Orcs ready to mount repeated strikes, things are likely to look grim. Your best option would be to destroy all the attackers during their first charge, but if you can’t, you might want to make sure you have some Imperial magic on your side. Because while the Bright Wizards are usually associated with offense, their flames can also serve to keep your enemies at bay.
Fulminating Cage (Glory of Days Past, 66) is the perfect counter to Orc decks that plan to launch multiple attacks, and it can save your hide from every other army, too. The safety it offers you comes at a steep price, though, even when you make use of its Ambush keyword. Also, if you plan to bring your Fulminating Cage into play with its Ambush ability, you’ll need to make sure it develops the right zone.
Why bother, then, with the guesswork and the resources? Especially against multiple attacks, but even against single attacks, the protection provided by this Epic Spell is greater than that offered by cards like Master Rune of Valaya (Core Set, 25). This is because Fulminating Cage doesn't just prevent damage, but also keeps many combat-related abilities, like the Scout and Raider keywords from triggering. And while it may be tricky to discern which zone is the best to protect, if your Imperial troops forge an alliance with the Dwarfs, you can call upon some of Burlock’s Ingenuity (City of Winter, 81) to make sure that no matter where you developed your Fulminating Cage, it was the right zone.
The Glory Days Are Still Ahead
With cards like Borgut Facebeater, Boar Rider, and Fulminating Cage coming soon, you’ll find new ways to win glory in the battles of Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game!
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Attack, Attack, Attack!
