The new Sons of Behemat battletome is up for pre-order on Saturday alongside brand new miniatures. Today, we’re taking a look inside the book to see how their battle traits and other army rules work.
Ask yourself this: how far are you willing to push your luck for big damage? The need to go big or go home has never been more present than the new battletome, as the Sons of Behemat battle traits now centre around a phase-by-phase gamble between small, reliable damage and massive power slams that might get fumbled before they actually happen.
You get to activate an ability in each of the Movement, Charge, and Combat phases – as well as at the end of the turn – that works roughly the same way:
Select any number of friendly target units.
Roll a D6 and try to roll equal or higher than the number chosen.
If you are successful, choose an effect for each target.
Any target can choose to roll a D3 and, on a 2+, inflict that much mortal damage to a unit they’re in combat with, for some constant chip damage that wears down your opponents over time. Alternatively, each phase has one or more utility abilities that let you pile in further, scoot off the battlefield edge, or move through enemy units and terrain.
If you want real damage, though, you can wind up for the whole turn. All kinds of gargants can build momentum in the Movement phase and get ready in the Charge phase, but while LITTLE units like the new Boss-stompers spend their readiness to gain Strike-first in the Combat phase, BIG units like Mega-Gargants can choose to start prepping the big one.
Unleashing their fury at the end of the turn, a BIG unit that is prepping the big one can choose to grab any number of dice they please and roll them all in one go. If any of them are a 1, the titan stumbles and nothing happens, but otherwise you add every dice result together and inflict that much mortal damage on an unfortunate foe. How lucky do you feel?
BATTLE TRAITS
Once Per Turn (Army), End of Your Turn
THE BIG ONE
The titan slams its foot into the earth, causing a minor seismic rupture. The more anger, momentum and general surliness they have behind them, the more damage they can do…
Declare: Pick any number of friendly Big or Little units to be the targets.
Effect: Roll a dice. If the roll is lower than the number of targets picked, this ability has no effect. Otherwise, pick an effect for each target. The effects must be different unless specified otherwise.
Pick an enemy unit in combat with the target and roll a D3. On a 2+, inflict an amount of mortal damage on that enemy unit equal to the roll. You can pick this effect for multiple targets.
If the target is prepping the big one, pick an enemy unit in combat with it and roll any number of dice. If any of the rolls are a 1, the target is no longer prepping the big one. Otherwise, add the results together, then inflict an amount of mortal damage on that enemy unit equal to the total.
While this is all going on, your other gargants can be smashing away with smaller amounts of mortal damage, making a fight against the Sons of Behemat a constant race against time. Just remember, if you gamble too much and roll under the number of units you’ve picked each time, the mortal damage train stops with a screech.*
The battletome also includes new battle formations, heroic traits, and artefacts of power (including the Massive Stuffin’ Sack), as well as the new Lore of Behemat used by the magical Ma Maegran.
There are also a range of new Realm-shaking Rampages. While most inhabitants of the Mortal Realms will be terrified by the thought of a Windmill Walloping or Colossal Slam, we recommend you be very wary of Rancid Flatulence.
REALM-SHAKING RAMPAGES
Once Per Battle (Army), End of Any Turn
RANCID FLATULENCE
Having imbibed a brewery's worth of stolen ale and some questionably sourced meat, this gargant has a very grumbly tummy - with olfactorily obliterative results.
Effect: For the rest of the turn, enemy units have a maximum control score of 1 while they are in combat with this unit.
KEYWORDS: RAMPAGE
Fancy adding a few Mega-Gargants to your army so you can turn toothpick humans into paste with The Big One? The Brawlers of Behemat set includes two, as well as a complete standalone rules system for fighting fun and chaotic duels between these titanic troublemakers. Pre-order your copy on Saturday, alongside the new battletome.
* We’re sure that the new faction dice that are released with the battletome have been blessed by Behemat and so you’ll have no problems, right?
