Librarium Online - View Single Post

Cyric the Mad · July 30th, 2007, 01:15

Spites – Your Capricious Allies
Contributors: Cyric the Mad

Overview
Spites can add a hidden kick or nasty surprise to your Wood Elf Lords and Heros. They can boost the combat performance of your character, augment your character’s shooting, or just make enemies soil themselves in your character’s presence. Spites can be a valuable addition to Wood Elf armies, and should never be overlooked.

A Blight of Terrors
This spite is simple enough: it causes your character to cause Terror. On an infiltrating character (most often a Wayatcher Kindred), adding a Blight of Terrors is often referred to as a “Terror Bomb”. Deploying a character with this Spite in the midst of (or at least nearby) enemy troops can cause vast amounts of enemies to flee. The Terror Bomb may win games for you, but it will certainly not win friends for you.

Another use of this Spite is to guarantee that your character will not have a Psychology choke on a critical charge against a Fear or Terror causing enemy. However, given the relatively high points cost of this spite, a particular set of circumstances may be required in order to take it. This spite is only likely to be a worthy investment against low-leadership armies and hordes.

A Befuddlement of Mischiefs
Being a bound spell with a power level of 3, this spite is easy for your enemy to dispel if you are unwise with it. Like with most bound spells, it should either be used to force your opponent to use dispel dice early, or used after your opponent runs out of dice.

As with most magic items that cause stupidity against an enemy, this Spite is a dubious investment. In order for this Spite to have a significant impact, it must be allowed to cast by your opponent (per above), and your enemy must subsequently fail a leadership check in their next turn. Given the alignment of circumstances necessary, one should expect this Spite to have a meaningful impact on a game less than half of the time.

A Murder of Spites
This is a favorite Spite, and with good reason. This Spite can greatly increase the combat effectiveness of any Noble or Highborn (or Branchwraith or Treeman). While D6 extra attacks at low-strength and moderate initiative may, at first glance, seem underwhelming, the fact that the attacks are both Magical and Poisoned makes up for these deficits.

Add this spite to a Wardancer Kindred to increase his already obscene amount of attacks, or to a Wild Rider Kindred for that extra combat-winning punch. Even if the attacks have little impact on combat, their presence will be enough to put fear in the heart of your enemy – right where fear belongs.

A Muster of Malevolents
As the ranged counterpart to the Murder of Spites, the Muster of Malevolents allows your character to have a Stand-and-Shoot reaction regardless of the charge. With D6 Magical and Poisoned attacks, this spite has a decent chance of softening up an incoming target on a S&S reaction. However, with a 6” range, this spite has little use outside of this.

Since the Golden Rule of Warhammer – Charge and Don’t Be Charged – applies to Wood Elves more than to most armies, using valuable points on a Spite designed to survive a worst-case-scenario is considered unwise by some. Since the Spite itself is not likely to make or break a combat situation, these points may be better spent elsewhere.

An Annoyance of Netlings
If you expect your Highborn or Noble to be challenged at all during a game, this Spite is worth its weight in gold. Making your enemy require 6’s to hit your character can help your Highborn stand up to the meanest Chaos champion, at least for a while. This Spite won’t keep your character alive indefinitely, so be sure to have a trick or two up your sleeve.

Taking this Spite is an easy way to give any character some challenge-confidence. In a unit, this character can either work on taking down enemy characters and champions, or at the very least force the cowardly dogs to the back rank, negating their attacks.

A Resplendence of Luminescents
Given the large number of units in the Wood Elf army that already have magical attacks, this Spite seems to be made for Glade Guard. Adding a Noble with this Spite to a unit of Glade Guard can make a nasty surprise for anything with a limited ward save, including Demons and Forest Spirits, and ethereal units.

Adding this spite to any character attached to Eternal Guard can also make things difficult for ethereal units. However, this use is situational, since you will more often need the upgrade points on your Eternal Guard-attached nobles for more important things. If you’re sure to go up against Demons or ethereal units, this would be a worthy upgrade.

A Lamentation of Despairs
Being a bound spell with a power level of 3, this spite is easy for your enemy to dispel if you are unwise with it. Like with most bound spells, it should either be used to force your opponent to use dispel dice early, or used after your opponent runs out of dice.

Against low-Leadership characters, this Spite can be used for a quick assassination attempt, but its “one use only” caveat, combined with the required failed Leadership check on behalf of the target enemy makes it somewhat of a gamble. Against moderate or high-Leadership characters, this item is likely a waste of points.

A Cluster of Radiants
A must-have on any Branchwraith, this Spite provides some much-needed magic defense to the Wood Elf army. This Spite adds a dispel dice to your army’s pool, which for its point cost is a worth investment.

This Spite may only be taken by Branchwraiths and Treeman Ancients. Given how infrequently Ancients are seen, this Spite turns up most often on the Branchwraith, who is well-equipped to protect the dispel power. See Maraschino’s Branchwraith writeup for more information.

A Pageant of Shrikes
The Sniper Spite can be a great addition to most characters, but has good synergy with a character kitted out for shooting. With a comparatively short range, it can take a turn or so before you can start using this Spite, but hitting with a S4 ranged attack on 3+ is nothing to sneeze at. This Spite may target a different unit than the character itself, so can be used to snipe at lone wizards while the hero himself guns for bigger meat.

This Spite can also be useful for taking down enemy unit champions before combat begins, exposing enemy characters to challenges that may have otherwise been accepted by a peon.

The fact that this Spite cannot be used on S&S reactions diminishes its usefulness somewhat, but not enough to discount it.

July 30th, 2007, 01:15	#12 (permalink)
Cyric the Mad Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hurm Age: 30 Posts: 2,571 Blog Entries: 10 Rep Power: 93 Total Awards: 2	Spites - Your Capricious Allies Spites – Your Capricious Allies Contributors: Cyric the Mad Overview Spites can add a hidden kick or nasty surprise to your Wood Elf Lords and Heros. They can boost the combat performance of your character, augment your character’s shooting, or just make enemies soil themselves in your character’s presence. Spites can be a valuable addition to Wood Elf armies, and should never be overlooked. A Blight of Terrors This spite is simple enough: it causes your character to cause Terror. On an infiltrating character (most often a Wayatcher Kindred), adding a Blight of Terrors is often referred to as a “Terror Bomb”. Deploying a character with this Spite in the midst of (or at least nearby) enemy troops can cause vast amounts of enemies to flee. The Terror Bomb may win games for you, but it will certainly not win friends for you. Another use of this Spite is to guarantee that your character will not have a Psychology choke on a critical charge against a Fear or Terror causing enemy. However, given the relatively high points cost of this spite, a particular set of circumstances may be required in order to take it. This spite is only likely to be a worthy investment against low-leadership armies and hordes. A Befuddlement of Mischiefs Being a bound spell with a power level of 3, this spite is easy for your enemy to dispel if you are unwise with it. Like with most bound spells, it should either be used to force your opponent to use dispel dice early, or used after your opponent runs out of dice. As with most magic items that cause stupidity against an enemy, this Spite is a dubious investment. In order for this Spite to have a significant impact, it must be allowed to cast by your opponent (per above), and your enemy must subsequently fail a leadership check in their next turn. Given the alignment of circumstances necessary, one should expect this Spite to have a meaningful impact on a game less than half of the time. A Murder of Spites This is a favorite Spite, and with good reason. This Spite can greatly increase the combat effectiveness of any Noble or Highborn (or Branchwraith or Treeman). While D6 extra attacks at low-strength and moderate initiative may, at first glance, seem underwhelming, the fact that the attacks are both Magical and Poisoned makes up for these deficits. Add this spite to a Wardancer Kindred to increase his already obscene amount of attacks, or to a Wild Rider Kindred for that extra combat-winning punch. Even if the attacks have little impact on combat, their presence will be enough to put fear in the heart of your enemy – right where fear belongs. A Muster of Malevolents As the ranged counterpart to the Murder of Spites, the Muster of Malevolents allows your character to have a Stand-and-Shoot reaction regardless of the charge. With D6 Magical and Poisoned attacks, this spite has a decent chance of softening up an incoming target on a S&S reaction. However, with a 6” range, this spite has little use outside of this. Since the Golden Rule of Warhammer – Charge and Don’t Be Charged – applies to Wood Elves more than to most armies, using valuable points on a Spite designed to survive a worst-case-scenario is considered unwise by some. Since the Spite itself is not likely to make or break a combat situation, these points may be better spent elsewhere. An Annoyance of Netlings If you expect your Highborn or Noble to be challenged at all during a game, this Spite is worth its weight in gold. Making your enemy require 6’s to hit your character can help your Highborn stand up to the meanest Chaos champion, at least for a while. This Spite won’t keep your character alive indefinitely, so be sure to have a trick or two up your sleeve. Taking this Spite is an easy way to give any character some challenge-confidence. In a unit, this character can either work on taking down enemy characters and champions, or at the very least force the cowardly dogs to the back rank, negating their attacks. A Resplendence of Luminescents Given the large number of units in the Wood Elf army that already have magical attacks, this Spite seems to be made for Glade Guard. Adding a Noble with this Spite to a unit of Glade Guard can make a nasty surprise for anything with a limited ward save, including Demons and Forest Spirits, and ethereal units. Adding this spite to any character attached to Eternal Guard can also make things difficult for ethereal units. However, this use is situational, since you will more often need the upgrade points on your Eternal Guard-attached nobles for more important things. If you’re sure to go up against Demons or ethereal units, this would be a worthy upgrade. A Lamentation of Despairs Being a bound spell with a power level of 3, this spite is easy for your enemy to dispel if you are unwise with it. Like with most bound spells, it should either be used to force your opponent to use dispel dice early, or used after your opponent runs out of dice. Against low-Leadership characters, this Spite can be used for a quick assassination attempt, but its “one use only” caveat, combined with the required failed Leadership check on behalf of the target enemy makes it somewhat of a gamble. Against moderate or high-Leadership characters, this item is likely a waste of points. A Cluster of Radiants A must-have on any Branchwraith, this Spite provides some much-needed magic defense to the Wood Elf army. This Spite adds a dispel dice to your army’s pool, which for its point cost is a worth investment. This Spite may only be taken by Branchwraiths and Treeman Ancients. Given how infrequently Ancients are seen, this Spite turns up most often on the Branchwraith, who is well-equipped to protect the dispel power. See Maraschino’s Branchwraith writeup for more information. A Pageant of Shrikes The Sniper Spite can be a great addition to most characters, but has good synergy with a character kitted out for shooting. With a comparatively short range, it can take a turn or so before you can start using this Spite, but hitting with a S4 ranged attack on 3+ is nothing to sneeze at. This Spite may target a different unit than the character itself, so can be used to snipe at lone wizards while the hero himself guns for bigger meat. This Spite can also be useful for taking down enemy unit champions before combat begins, exposing enemy characters to challenges that may have otherwise been accepted by a peon. The fact that this Spite cannot be used on S&S reactions diminishes its usefulness somewhat, but not enough to discount it. __________________ A Tale of Two Titans \| Dark Angels Army WIP \| Wood Elves Army WIP Last edited by Cyric the Mad; August 13th, 2007 at 00:14..