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Happy Harpy Hitters!

Posted by on January 21, 2015 ·

Wiz Kids continues releasing more information, for the Harpy this time, only short days after giving us the Wyvern’s cards. Again, no Ground Maneuver card (probably because it is on the backside of the Flight Maneuver card).

Sycorax is her name, and multi-claw attacks are her game.

If Sycorax inflicts at least 1 damage against a Creature with her first Claw attack, she may immediately make a second Claw attack against the same Creature.

We can also talk about some of the very interesting Upgrades that come with the Harpy expansion, like:

Captivating Song:

Action: Place 1 DT on this Upgrade.
Continuous Effect: You cannot make any attacks except the attacks that are triggered by this Effect. Whenever any non-Harpy Creature declares an attack within Range 1 – 2 of you in any direction (ground and air), use your Primary Weapon Value to make an immediate Ranged Thunder attack against that Creature. This attack penetrates armor. If you inflict at least 1 damage against the Creature, it sustains no damage but cannot attack this round. When this Effect ends for any reason, discard this card.
Must be a Harpy to equip.

So, a Harpy can take an action that lets her make an attempt to shutdown all attempts to attack, except from other Harpy Creatures withing 6 inches of her in all directions.  That’s more than 12 inches in diameter, or more than a third of the playing area! That’s a pretty sweet deal.

Wicked Tongue:

Action: Disable this Upgrade and then place 1 DT on it to force 1 Creature at Range 1 – 2 in your forward arc to receive the Continuous Effect below.
Continuous Effect: The affected Creature cannot roll more than 3 dice each time that it attacks or defends. This does not affect the number of dice that the Creature can re-roll.
Must be a Harpy to equip

 Ok, these harpies are pretty impressive. She stares you down and you just don’t get to roll more than 3 dice. Sorry Lord Maximillian, you only get three defense dice. Sorry Balagos, I know you’re angry, but Harpy’s just not impressed.

Harpy hears you. Harpy doesn’t care.

There’s more, but again, discovery is fun, so I leave it up to you. Here are the rest of the cards:

… but what I really want to know is what is in the scenario that comes with the Harpy Expansion:

Harpy-stuff… what has Manny O’Donnell cooked up that requires this:

poopMr. O’Donnell, why is there a pooping token?

I’m tempted to ask the audience to come up with their best guesses, but perhaps we should just wait for an official answer this time.

Instead, let’s talk about which of the cards above is the most exciting. For me, it has to be Wicked Tongue. It can change the entire way the game is being played and shut down a one-hit-wonder style Legion.

What are you looking forward to in this expansion?

Filed Under: Announcement, Preview, Release News, Strategy

Wild Worrisome Wyverns

Posted by on January 21, 2015 ·

So WizKids revealed everything about the Wyvern Expansion set except for the Ground Manuevers.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at what’s coming in this Expansion.

BlackthornFirst, the unique named Creature is “Blackthorn.” That’s already pretty awesome! Let’s compare him to the generic version of a Wyvern.

Blackthorn is 3 levels higher, has 1 Agility compared to the generic’s 0, 2 additional Monster Upgrade slots, and finally a pretty nice unique ability:

Instead of attacking normally, Blackthorn may make 1 Bite attack and 1 Tail attack; neither attack can be initiated from the “Attack:” text on an Upgrade.

So if you’re good at maneuvering, you can position yourself to be between two enemy units (or fly so you overlap a ground unit, then glide past them to get a front arc attack on another unit and a rear attack on the unit you just passed!

All those differences for only 6 points!

What do we get to give the Wyverns? We’ll take a quick look at a few highlights!

Stinger:

Disable this Upgrade to make a Primary Weapon Tail Attack against a Creature at Range 1 – 2 in your rear arc. Roll +2 attack dice during this attack. This attack is considered a Poison attack.

A 6 die attack, even from the generic version of the Wyvern, with the possibility of a Target for re-rolls or a Charge to position yourself behind a ground Creature (no +1 for rear arc attacks after a Charge, but you still get 6 dice). Pretty good for 5 points!

Deadly Venom:

During the Combat Phase, you may target 1 non-Poison Creature that was just damaged by your Poison attack. That Creature receives the Continuous Effect below. Place 2 DT on this Upgrade.

Continuous Effect: At the start of the End Phase, the affected Creature must flip one of its face down Damage Cards face up; the affected Creature chooses the card at random and immediately suffers its effects. If the Creature does not have any face down Damage Cards, it receives 1 face down Damage Card instead.

The obvious follow-up to the Stinger attack, this Upgrade will convert Damage a creature has already sustained into a Critical Effect! That’s incredibly strong. If the Creature has removed all Damage Cards, through healing for example, then Deadly Venom does another damage! Additionally, this ignores all armor!

Ferocious:

During a Primary Weapon Melee attack against a Creature at Range 1, you may convert 1 of your blank results into 1 Hit result.

Another good card. For 3 points, you can convert a blank result against a Creature at Range 1 to a Hit! Also a nice card for any other Monster Creature type, such as Lord Max, Jarl Horn, or the Aarakocra!

Or give it to the generic Wraith, who can only attack at Range 1, and take a Concentrate maneuver. Now, as long as you can get in close, you are guaranteed at least 1 hit that penetrates armor because Hit count, Critical Hits count, Concentrates can convert to a Hit, and 1 blank converts to a Hit. Suddenly that little Wraith is a little scary.

There’s more of course, but I think part of the fun is discovering the combinations yourself, so pop over to the Legion Builder, select Wyvern from the Set dropdown menu, and check out what’s available!

Filed Under: Preview, Release News, Strategy, Tips

Added Blackthorn and Cave Wyvern to Legion Builder

Posted by on January 20, 2015 ·

Blackthorn and the Cave Wyvern have been added to the Legion Builder, along with:

We’ll add the ground maneuver card when it’s revealed.

Filed Under: Legion Builder

Wyvern and other neutral tease

Posted by on January 17, 2015 ·

Over on Board Game Geek, Andrew Parks dropped some more teaser information.

Here are the highlights, but head over there and read the details:

  1. Wyverns are vicious, have a fierce bite and tall attack that is “as powerful as that of a medium strength dragon.”
  2. The named wyvern is “sometimes striking with teeth and tail during the same round.”
  3. A wyvern’s tail has a stinger with powerful poison that’s “as strong as Balagos’ bite when he’s really angry.”
  4. The wyvern’s stinger can also cause wounds that “may fester and impede your abilities in unpredictable ways.”
  5. In the air, wyverns can “grab their targets with both claws” and allowing for an extra tail attack. Andrew says “This is the only way in Attack Wing so far to make a tail attack from your forward arc.”
  6. A “ferocious wyverns is much less likely to let an attack slip by without scoring at least 1 hit.” Andrew also says that “many monsters are ferocious.”
  7. Wyverns (and other monsters) are alert, making it harder to hit them from a medium range.
  8. Wyverns have treasures, perhaps a “small dagger” that “may have sulfuric properties that seep through armor and continue to damage an opponent over time.”

In the same thread, Andrew says that the wyverns aren’t as strong as dragons and that dragon upgrades will not work on them.

So, a PMV like a medium strength dragon (Eshaedra, 4?), an attack that is as strong as an angry Balagos (6?), some sort of tail follow-up attack, and more.

The wyvern expansion sounds like a lot of fun! I can’t wait to see what Shirley has!

Finally, Andrew also lets us know that stone giants, the wood elf druid, and griffons are all neutral.

 

Filed Under: Preview

Exploring Unique Abilities

Posted by on January 13, 2015 ·

With 19 revealed unique Creatures, we already have a wide variety of special abilities, starting from the first three dragons:

Eshaedra

Believe it or not, you want to get closer to Eshaedra!

Balagos rolls +1 attack die whenever he attacks a Creature who possesses fewer Damage Cards than he has.

Eshaedra rolls +1 attack die and +1 defense die whenever she is in combat at Range 3 or 4.

After performing a “4” or “5” Maneuver, Galadaeros rolls +2 defense dice against every attack for the remainder of the round.

to our most recently revealed abilities, such as:

Umberlis rolls +1 attack die whenever he attacks a Creature that does not have him in its forward arc.

Arveiaturace may equip the Close Quarters Upgrade for 0 LP. Each time she attacks with her Claws, she rolls +1 attack die.

Some of them have great synergy in the game, while others are just fun to play!

Have you found some of the great combinations you can already do?

Big Bully Balagos just gets meaner if you’re not as injured as he is! This works with any damage dealing attack.

Extra Sneaky Sniper Eshaedra likes to hit from a distance. Give her extra chances to do so by equipping her with attack spells, plus Prayer!

Unpredictable Umberlis gets an extra attack die against anyone he can sneak up on! Give him the Ebon Cloak and he can feint out of his enemy’s arc to suddenly get himself an extra attack die!

Acrobatic Arveiaturace will tear off your face if you let her get in close while she has the Close Quarters and the Aerobat Amulet and Haste.

Do you have a favorite?

Share it with us (bonus points for alliteration or assonance)!

Filed Under: Tips

Some Wave 3 Hints – Silver Dragon

Posted by on January 8, 2015 ·

DragonCrawlersRadio interviewed Andrew Parks, one of the Lead Designers for Dungeons and Dragons: Attack Wing, and he let out a few spoilers about the Silver Dragon and a little more.

Here’s her picture again, from the initial solicitation sheet:

Silver Dragon

Silver Dragon

Andrew let out the following about the Silver Dragon expansion:

  • The named version is a she.
  • She is the highest level creature in the game so far.
  • She will be be the highest point creature in the game so far (meaning she’s at least 51 points, as Lord Maximilian is 50).
  • The Silver Dragon expansion will have some “unusual” spells that you “wouldn’t expect” in a miniature game.
  • The Silver Dragon is an Ancient Silver Dragon.
  • The Silver Dragon has a way spell that allows her to travel in a way that does “not use legs or wings”.

Andrew let us know that Manny, the other Lead Designer for DND:AW, is mostly focused on the adventures, so if you like those, send him your thanks!

When one of the interviewers asked about a tarrasque, Andrew said it wasn’t currently planned and also pointed out that creatures must be able to fly or have ranged attacks to be considered for the game.

Andrew also left a bonus tease at the end of the interview when asked about a favorite Creature so far. He mentioned a Dwarven Fighter (from Wave 6) who is a “total ass kicker” and who can hold more equipment than any other Creature so far.

Finally, he let us know that the team is already working on Wave 9! Since each figure has a generic and a unique, that means that between the three dragons in the starter, the 7 creatures in wave 1, and three figures each in waves 2-8, 62 Creatures have already been created!

… I think I’m going to need more storage.

Update 1: A user named Chris pointed out that there is already an exception to the ranged/flyer rule, the Human Paladin, but the paladin expansion comes with a card called Challenge which lets you, as a free action, force a flyer to soar or land! Thanks, Chris!

Update 2: Andrew also let us know a bit about one of the “most iconic characters,” a certain Drow Ranger in Wave 5 (expected in March), who is a “butt-kicker in this game” and who has his “figurine of wondrous power” and “so many really awesome things from the books.”

Update 6: Added that the Dwarven Fighter is in Wave 6.

Filed Under: Announcement, Interview, Preview, Release News

Wave 3 Mini-Preview

Posted by on January 7, 2015 ·

It took us a few days to clean up the mess Santagos left behind, but now that we have, I thought we could take a look at what is coming in Wave 3.

This information has been available for a while now, but recent conversations made it clear to me that not everyone knows what’s coming next, so let’s talk about it!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We’ve got a Harpy expansion, a Silver Dragon expansion, and finally a Wyvern expansion. Images obtained from solicitation sheets.

I’m looking forward to the Silver Dragon the most, but I’m hoping the unique Harpy is named “Shirley” so I can make a “Wyvern and Shirley”* Legion!

Wave 3 is currently expected in January, so hopefully we won’t have to wait long for these units to fly into stores!

* trust me, it’s funny. Go ask your parents!

Filed Under: Release News Tagged With: , ,

Glossary of Special Game Terms (Reference Cards)

Posted by on January 3, 2015 ·

One of our users helpfully pointed out that we had forgotten to make our Glossary of Special Game Terms easy to find (and only mentioned it at the bottom of the “Organized Play 1 prizes, plus new Glossary” post in November).

There is now a list of links available in the menu on the left (or down below if you’re on a device with a small resolution).

Here is the link for those of you who would like to bookmark it:

http://dndaw.com/dungeons-and-dragons-attack-wing-special-ability-glossary/

So far it only includes the information on the special reference cards for specific abilities (like the Wraith’s Incorporeal), but more terms will be added as needed.

Should we also add the terms listed in the rulebook’s index? Would that be useful to be able to look up terms such as “Exhaustion” or “Pressed Soldiers”?

Let us know in the comments and remember to watch the skies!

Filed Under: Announcement, Site News Tagged With:

Happy New Year!

Posted by on January 2, 2015 ·

Hello players!

Happy New Year to all the dragons, giants, and humans out there!

We brought the game over to show some friends and let them pick out teams, then helped build their forces.

The teams were Jarl Horn, Calamity, and an Elven Spellcaster vs alternate universe Jarl Horn (I’m pretty sure I saw a goatee) and Lord Maximilian.

It was a fun game overall, but there was one great exchange that we wanted to share.

  1. The Elven Spellcaster slowly moved forward and targeted at the end of her move.
  2. Calamity moved into a support position behind Jarl and the Elf.
  3. Lord Max maneuvered into position next to the elf, and out of her front arc.
  4. The two Jarls ended up moving past one another. Alternate-Universe Jarl threw a rock and managed to score a damage against Calamity. Calamity’s Jarl had no possible targets.
  5. Lord Max got in a nasty attack against the Elven Spellcaster, killing her in one strike and created an undead spawn behind the elf. Now two wraiths and Jarl were all staring at the ballista.
  6. Calamity fired a devastating attack, rolling 2 Hits and 3 Critical hits!
  7. Lord Max managed to roll three dodge results, leaving only 2 Critical Hits to deal with. The first: Double Damage! The second: Hamstring.
  8. The Elf used the last of her life force, and her target, to fire off a Magic Missile, dealing the last point of damage to Lord Maximilian  sending Lord Maximilian, and his spawn, to their final resting place!

In one quick series of attacks, the Wraiths and Elf are cleared from the board, but there’s more:

  1. Calamity tentatively moves forward. His ally, Jarl pivots in the hopes of catching his twin from behind, but enemy Jarl surges forward to stand just before Calamity.
  2. Goatee-Jarl charges and smashes Calamity, dealing 2 Hits and 3 Critical Hits, none of which will prevent Calamity from taking his final attack.
  3. Calamity’s attack sends the ballista bolt clearly through Jarl with 1 Hit, 2 Concentrates, and 3 Critical Hits. Calamity uses Dwarven Precision to convert the Concentrates into Critical Hits, giving him 1 Hit and 5 Critical Hits. Jarl used his Blackguard’s Mail to convert one of those Critical Hits into a regular Hit, and then to absorb the 2 Hits, leaving 4 Critical Hits.
  4. One of those Critical Hits was Crushed and alternate-universe Jarl rolled a hit for an extra damage. A second of those Critical Hits was the second another Double Damage in the deck, resulting in 5 damage and finishing off Jarl.

At the end of the round, Jarl Horn stood along on the battlefield.

A really fun game!

Have you had, or seen, any great gaming moments during your Dungeon and Dragons: Attack Wing games?

Filed Under: Game Report Tagged With: