Wrathguard
Faction: Monster
Race: Demon
We all know Fillet, Kneecapper Extraordinaire is a monster, but what if there were a Monster better than Fillet?
Well, now there is.
Introducing Wrathguard: a very mean demon.
“So sexy it hurts.”
—Right Said Fred-turned-Wrathguard
Wrathguard is elegantly straightforward. He hurts his allies; he hurts his enemies. Nobody is quite safe from this Monster. His main attack of 3 ticks for 3 dice is not befitting of such a powerhouse . . . at least not right away. Come turn 4, however, this guy can be swinging huge at 3 for 7. So by that tick, with a crit that reads +1 damage, Wrathguard is swinging harder and faster than Boulderfist Ogre and Bog Elemental—both of which were already staples in the Core Set. And with the right party, Wrathguard is just getting warmed up.
The most obvious comparison is to Fillet, who has to be in the thick of battle before he consistently starts gaining counters. Wrathguard, on the other hand, is going to sit back and wait, getting increasingly stronger every tick. Hands down, this means Wrathguard is going to be entering battle at full health.
Wrathguard is going to want a healer. He simply has to stay alive for an extended period of time. If he dies, the extra damage you’ve likely done to your allies will make for a quick loss, and that’s not to mention the time he’ll need to ramp back up to speed after respawning. The solution is to just not let him die. I can see pairing Wrathguard with Skeletal Priest and a Counterspelling Mage of choice. Control the big hits with Counterspell (or Intervene); heal the smaller blows. This is the Wrathguard recipe for wining.
Wrathguard creates deceptively complex problems for the enemy tactician.
The first issue revolves around their buffs and summons. If you see this guy across the table from you, can you afford to summon pets or buff your allies? I don’t think so. If you don’t start sprinting across the field before tick 3 or 4, by the time you get to Wrathguard, he’s going to be swinging 9 dice. With his crit, that’s better than Warchief Thrall!
The second issue is overall positioning. The enemy will obviously want to get to Wrathguard as quickly as possible to kill him and erase those counters. But what if the enemy isn’t built to rush across the field? Does that protector really want to leave that squishy Mage behind just to tangle with this beast? I don’t think so. And even if he does, that leaves him terribly out of position both for scoring VPs and for protecting his allies. Either way, the net gain for Wrathguard is pretty huge.
The third is a case of targeting. With Wrathguard damaging his allies, the reflex is going to be for the enemy to try and finish off those wounded characters. But that would allow Wrathguard to start swinging away. Last I checked, trading blows with a character that swings for a possible 3 for 9 is a pretty horrendous disadvantage, especially if said Demon is packing Chaos Strike.
Any way you look at it, don’t be tempted to heal the damage Wrathguard inflicts on his allies. You probably want to save those heals for Wrathguard himself. Remember, keep him alive. Let his allies die. If Wrathguard gets big enough, he will single-handedly win games.
And finally, let’s mention quickly how hurting your own allies can be advantageous. The Monster faction doesn’t have any yet, but Alliance has shown us a pair of Paladins that like when their allies have damage: Bolvar and Savin. Maybe we’ll see something similar for Monsters.
Right about now you are probably saying, “Yeah, but hurting your own guys makes it easier for your opponent to kill your guys.” Ok, so steal health from Stoneclaw Totems, from pets, from characters with built-in heals, like Skeletal Priest. Open that box and think outside it! That’s right. I just called you out.
Finally, there is yet another reason to play this guy. He’s incredible fun! There is nothing like picking up a grip of dice, shaking them in your hand—pausing just a moment to look your opponent in the eye—and letting those dice fly.