Balewind Vortex ?

[CaptainNippon]

I just stumbled upon the Balewind Vortex in Warscroll builder and on first glance, this seems like a very nice addition for our Wizards.

Do you use it at all or is there any major problem I don't see? Being immune to attacks and having double cast range seems immensely useful for Vampire Lords and Necromancers. Not to mention +1 to cast and unbind rolls ...

It would also be interesting to know how this works in conjunction with the 6" range increase from "Bound to the master":

Is it

(original cast range + 6") x 2

or

original cast range x 2 +6"?

 

Let me know what you think!

[Grimnaud]

I've used one in my Legion of Blood army since the Legions of Nagash dropped. It is a double-edged sword for Death more than it is for other armies, but the ability to debuff my opponent if I get the first turn (which happens a lot since I don't include any batallions) is IMO worth it. But by summoning it you are a) making whoevers on top into a big flashing target for shooting (though with the recent scenery=terrain faq you do get a +1 to your save), b) are out of range for a lot of abilities (Deathly invocation and Undead Minions for the Necromancer are both out), and c) leave the mage on top immobile unless you banish the vortex and thereby pay a hundred points for a very short lived effect. The downside is less severe for a Vampire Lord than a Necromancer, but for my money it's the Necromancer I really want on top. The Lore of Deathmages is much more tempting, though a 24" Amaranthine Orb is also very tasty.

If it was not for the admittedly cheeky 3-4" push forwards for my other units, I'm not sure whether it would be worth the points. I certainly would not pick one up now before seeing how the new edition changes it's effects.

[CaptainNippon]

Thanks for the quick answer! 

Are Wizards on top of the Vortex definitely out of range for 6" abilities? How tall is this thing?

Deathly invocation does happen at the start of the Hero Phase, so you can always use it before summoning the vortex, I suppose. 

In the subsequent hero phase you'd have to banish it first, but at that point you probably want to reposition anyway and re-summon the vortex in the next turn. The banishing happens at the start of the hero phase, too - is there any clarification regarding the sequence here? 

As far as being a prime target for shooty units, that is a valid issue, but with the +1 Cover Save and Shroud of Darkness or Wristbands of Black Gold a Vampire Lord should be fairly sturdy on top anyway.  If you then consider Dark Acolyte as a Command Trait, you can have one of those juicy Lore of Deathmages spells too.

In any case, you are right in that we should probably wait and see what the new edition brings to the table

 

[Grimnaud]

The Balewind Vortex is about fiva and a half inch from top to bottom. Given that you also can't have any models within 3" of the base, you're definitly outside of 6".

Yeah, you do get Deathly Invocation off before you summon it in, but since that's likely to be in the first turn anyways, that's seldom relevant. And by the FAQ you'll need to pay for it every time you summon it, so banishing and re-summoning is not going to happen.

Yeah, a Vampire Lord is pretty sturdy on top of it. But I don't see a lot of scenarioes where I would want a Vampire Lord stuck on top of a Balewind. With a 36" reach on both Overwhelming Dread and Van Hels I don't really care that a Necromancer is stuck on top. He rarely needs to move after that. But the Vamp Lord gets 36" on Soulpike, and only 24 inches on all his other spells. So you're probably not going to be casting it first turn anyways as you'd be out of range. The question then becomes what the use of the Balewind Vortex is after the first turn? Remember that it needs a 7 to summon. I usually try to be in range of at least a Mortis Engine and Arcane terrain as well if I can when i first summon it in. Because if I fail to summon it then the caster can't try another spell. That's only of it is successfully cast.

[CaptainNippon]

I wasn't aware of that FAQ - that's a big minus. 

Good points on the Vampire Lord as well.  Thanks a lot!

[Grimnaud]

1 hour ago, CaptainNippon said:

It would also be interesting to know how this works in conjunction with the 6" range increase from "Bound to the master":

Is it

(original cast range + 6") x 2

or

original cast range x 2 +6"?

It's the second. From the general rules FaQ;

Q: If I add a modifier (e.g. +1) to a characteristic that is also being multiplied (e.g. x2), do I apply the modifier before or after the multiplier? A: In Warhammer Age of Sigmar, modifiers are applied after any multipliers. Note that this means that an ability that multiplies a unit’s Move characteristic does so before any modifiers for running are applied.

 

[Nevar]

I have one of these models, and I have always loved it since it came out.  Too bad it is mostly useless as a warscroll.

I have instead used it as an objective, and it will fit well with the new ghost stone objective we saw in the Warhammer Fest previews.

I just want to convert the chaos star on top to something more deathly, can't think of any ideas.

[Nicholas Bollaert]

They've said that it is being rewritten as an Endless Spell

[Nevar]

3 hours ago, Nicholas Bollaert said:

They've said that it is being rewritten as an Endless Spell

Not only that, but since summoning will be free you can conceivably keep popping your wizards up on it and then dropping it back down.

Or if it works completely like the other endless spells, maybe it moves?  That would be cool to have a wizard riding on top of a moving endless spell.  The downside is of course that it can be dispelled.