Though affectionally registered as “Boom!!!” and “Yaus!!!” by Ian Stickland and myself at Gen Con, the 50k Championship Warband also goes by a more descriptive name: “Chaos Well-Bred.” In this article I will explain to you the history of the warband, the basic ideas behind it, and most importantly, how to play it. The list is:
The History
I won't bore you too much with this. The idea that it could be very strong to play fewer Hellbred pieces then was typical had been bandied about by various players, and the idea of a more “combat-oriented” Chaos Wells warband (in particular utilizing Gothic) was something I had been trying to make work for forever. I had also been testing a fear-passion agro warband that didn't even play the madness pieces, which didn't work great all the time, but had some good things going for it (like Jack of Blades). So in the end, the notion of combining Chaos Wells and Hellbred into one warband was a natural evolution of several different ideas. Though I was the one who explored it the most and stood behind it the most at first, and kept insisting that we work on it and stick with it despite early versions' losses during playtesting, eventually Ian Stickland and Mike Pozsgay got behind the warband, they both made important contributions, and the three of us together finalized the list. And we all three thank God that we didn't revert to Valor Passion at the last second.
The Theory
In this environment, there are two early games that are absolutely stronger than all of the other early games. Turn 1 “butcher and other guy” is pretty darn good, and when Valor Passion gets a turn two Barag out there it's pretty good too. But the two most intimidating, threatening, and dominating early games out there are the ones provided by Chaos Wells and Hellbred. Puppets, Pariahs, and the incredibly punishing Cyclopean Sprite, backed up by the looming threat of an Unwishing Well, is a terror to have to play against during the early and midgame. If your opponent is unpracticed in his ability to set up against a Puppet, he will probably just lose. The great thing is, these pieces are all very cheap to spawn, so Chaos Wells gets to play its beginning out almost the exact same every game.
Though it can certainly depend on what your opponent is playing, the only arguably “overall better” opening than that one is a turn one infernal screamer followed by a turn two Crypt Worm. The absurd power of an early Crypt Worm was the main reason to play traditional Hellbred builds. However, it's only a forty percent chance you'll have enough spawn to play the Screamer on turn 1. A turn 1 Screamer is often great no matter what, but then it's still only a forty percent chance you'll be able to follow it up by screaming out a Crypt Worm on turn 2. Factor in the small chance that you get 11 spawn on turn two when you missed your screamer, and my math shows you get a turn 2 Crypt Worm exactly 20% of the time. However, that's 20% of games your opponent will have a VERY tough time winning, and even a turn three crypt worm can be quite formidable.
So what we have are two openings that can blend together in the middle game because they have very similar and cohesive follow-up games. In some games the Hellbred is just so strong that you literally only spawn demons until you run out of them. And if you start with the little guys, then the screamer usually comes online just before your little guys run out of steam. But either way, both of your openings can potentially abuse Wells, and both openings like combat. To supplement our Wells and Combat game, we toss in a Voodoo Manipulator and Jack of Blades, and we'll go with Gothic and Ekyon in place of weaker utility demons like Infernal Preacher to make absolutely sure our guys can fight with the best of 'em.
And that's basically the warband. strong early, strong middle, strong late, and able to answer absolutely anything.
Playing the Warband
Like any warband, different styles of player will pilot “Chaos Well-Bred” differently. I can't say for certain that the way I play the warband is the best, or the only way to go about winning, but it certainly works pretty well. I'm going to skip some basic or obvious stuff so I can spend more time talking about things that you might be more unsure of.
The first general note is that it is very important not to lose turns. This warband is very gambit-intensive, and every turn you lose is one less haunt or whisper gambit you can make use of. Ties aren't so bad because you have strong late-game power, but turn losses are. Still, don't ever overextend and make your position too vulnerable just for the sake of a turn (though Lord Slobber can give you some leeway here).
The next thing you might note is that the warband isn't exactly chock full of blade abilities. Needing to get some blades on the board will sometimes, but certainly not as a rule, influence what the correct piece to spawn is. The warband is a spawn-phase warband at heart, and can smash even without utilizing blades.
My final general note might be more commentary on the environment than anything else, but in this day and age I like to kill my opponent's pieces. Very occasionally it is correct to deny Valor Passion spawn, certainly if they don't have Temple or Barag online for some strange reason. The fact of the matter is that that Ragedrake is coming down at some point no matter what, and Redcap and Clawclan are so much bang for the buck that I often just want 'em dead. If they're benefitting from the bonus spawn and getting a decent deathblow, I might consider the disrupt more carefully. In general though, an attrition plan is strong because a lot of pieces die in this environment. Unwishing Wells do that. In the Chaos Wells matchup, by the way, always kill - always. Sometimes I'd rather kill a Pariah than disrupt a Puppet. Murder is that important. You need to run them out of guys and run them out of board presence. Same goes for Corpsebuilt. Who cares if their Spikers and Hulks get bigger? Those aren't the guys you care about. Murder every little valor piece that tries to fight you. Without valor pieces the big fear guys are clunky losers who get pinned by your Cannibal Pariahs and swallowed up by your Wells.
The Early Game
What to spawn shouldn't be too hard to figure out if you've been listening so far. If you can afford the screamer turn 1 you're probably playing him. The time when you have to most often make the judgement call to go the other way though, is during a turn one ten. The screamer makes you waste a spawn here, and occasionally I have decided to spawn 2 puppets and a pariah here. However, this opening isn't tested as much and I don't think I generally recommend it.
If you play the screamer game early you basically need to protect him, but don't portal him out of habit; that's a very novice play that I see way too often. At certain times the screamer is absolutely instrumental in scoring much needed conqeuest points or assisting in combat, and because this warband has fewer Hellbred pieces than most Hellbred warbands, losing the Screamer isn't as big a deal after he's gotten a few demons out for ya. Keep him as close to the fight as you possibly can without jeopardizing his life: make absolutely sure you account for all the lure your opponent has, and don't forget that they will skirmish their barag up into the four cell to get your screamer and sometimes they'll be correct to do so.
The most difficult part about the early Hellbred game is actually the follow-up Well game, which I'll discuss in a moment.
If you run out the little guys early, the centerpiece of your plans is generally the Sprite. You need to set her up to punish and so you need to practice using the puppets. Often, especially when you are going second, you can shift such that you can really punish your opponent with a potential vortex during the next turn. Perhaps the most common way to punish your opponent with a Puppet is to pile all of your guys in the center cell. This way, with the option to vortex or not depending on next turn's initiative roll, you can either crush your opponent with a shift-strike or puppet his guys away so he can't strongly shift-strike you. Note that if he has enough pieces on the board and is a good enough player he might position decently to protect against this kind of set-up, but when you have active puppets on the board you can very frequently set up punishing formations. Don't forget that occasionally your puppets can vortex your Crypt Worm into position too!
The Mid-Game: Playing the Wells
Knowing when and where to play your Unwishing Well is of dire importance, and it is much harder to do correctly then even some of the best players at this game think it is. I play out my Unwishing Wells much less agressively then most players do. It seems people have latched onto this common rule of thumb, that if you won the initiative and can nab an important guy with a Well, then you should always do it. This is just not the case, particularly when it also involves haunt gambiting. The main reason is that your very own Crypt Worm has a tendency to fall down your very own Well, especially if your opponent has Siren or Voodoo Manipulator, but even expel and lure blades will send him to death. What you have to realize, is that while it may be great to take a Barag right out of the game on turn three or four, soon your Unwishing Well that you paid five spawn for is hazarding you more then your opponent. Your Crypt Worm typically likes hanging out in the center row, which is where that early Well often ends up. This is why you should often just strike at that Barag with eight or so dice and chance the miss. As a side note, sometimes I like gambiting the Barag into my lone Crypt Worm even if I'm going second, usually when my opponent would benefit from a shift-shift that turn. It puts them in a hard position. Often they'll go for the disrupt and miss, and then they'll really be behind.
All of this brings me to the next logical point, with this warband you really want your Unwishing Wells in the high scoring cells! They're often better there in other warbands too, forcing your opponent to awkwardly shift around them, but for us, they make our puppets twice as deadly and they don't leave our Crypt Worm vulnerable.
If you can gain control of the game via Crypt Worm without playing a well out early, you will probably dominate the game. This is because they often don't have any way to deal with your worm other then your own Well. In fact, I've occasionally put a Well in the center row on the far edge of the board, outside of a 1 cell, just because my Crypt Worm probably won't end up in that cell but can still gambit pieces into that cell.
Remember that a Well in your reserves does work for your board position for free, because it is acting as a threat and it keeps your options open, which are great reasons to hold back on playing a Well.
Now, all that being said, the Wells are in here to be spawned. Sometimes they do come into the center row, and sometimes early. I'm just cautioning you to think twice before you windmill-slam the stupid piece down onto the table. Its really important that you recognize when it's a good idea to run a guy into the three cell not just because he can steal turns there, but because you would be really happy if a Well ended up there, ready to swallow up enemy guys even in the four cell assuming you have a puppet online.
By the way, in case you didn't know, if you can sneak a Well into that four cell it's fantastic. Conversely, Wells in your opponent's high scoring cells are obviously terrible, and should only be played there out of absolute neccesity. And I almost never play a Well if I'm not getting a guy out of it, and I usually want to be getting a decent sized guy out of it (four or five near the low end). This warband is not Chaos Wells. This warband often does not like a lot of Wells sitting around the board, and does not want to go out of its way to spawn a Well if it doesn't need to.
Specific Matchups
Valor Passion: This matchup is in your favor. Protect Screamer early. Your Worm is the complete key. Well in the center is bad because of Siren, but can be correct to deny them a good temple spot. Remember that they are more scared of your Well then you are of their Dragons, and punish them when they are forced to run those guys out. However, do not miss that stupid “shift up Ragedrake, roll an advance blade or two, murder you” play that they have. Unsated Ragedrake is always closer to the action then you think. Sprite is ocassionally good in this matchup, but he isn't the key. Sometimes I murder the Gothic over the Barag. Since they are gambit heavy too, punish them by jamming turns with your Pariahs.
Corpsebuilt: Sprite is often insane here. Always kill and never fear growing graveyards. An early Blind Envoy can make your slow, inevitable control of the game dangerously close to being too slow, so stay on your toes if that guy hits the board early. Regardless, Corpsebuilt hates Wells, it hates Worms and it has little utility. It's an easy matchup. Learn to abuse Puppet, and learn to abuse pinning down their big guys if you kill the skirmish pieces. Sludger is a pain, but don't fear him because he ruins their castle.
Hellbred: Admittedly I haven't tested it much. I've been informed that it comes down to a stupid coin flip over who gets to haunt gambit first a lot of the time, and unfortunately I assume that's true. Hope for low spawns because chances are your little guys will smash their little guys.
Chaos Wells: You have all of the key stuff early that they do, with an immensely stronger follow up game, but remember that they abuse the Wells more then you do, and so you want to resist throwing a Well on the board unless it's really strong. Practice this matchup the most, because it's the hardest to play and the better player will win. Some of your strategy depends on their specific build, so really take a gander at their warband. Are they light on the spawn-phase movers? If they're packing one Siren, one Sultan, and one Voodoo only, then break them that way. The second Voodoo changes things a lot I think. Puppet is very important to kill. Disrupt him to your spawn row, spawn on top of him, and murder that little jerk. If you end up on a demon early game, then do NOT let them win with an early well-placed Well. You have to be patient. Turn two Crypt Worm isn't as hot in this match because they can swarm him with expendable guys and Well him early. Whoever gets the first step up in this match will often be the victor; whoever gets off a whisper gambit, etc. Punish them for not including Lord Slobber. He can be your savior when this matchup becomes all about isolating one enemy straggler and landing an early whisper gambit. The most important thing to remember, is that Crypt Worm travels with friends. That's why killing or protecting pariahs in this match is gold, because they jump into Wells to take the bullet for guys like Crypt Worm. It can be correct, but resist stealing turns by chucking guys into Wells unless its really gonna put the pressure on.
Final Important Tips
- Though it can a correct assumption that you want diverse options on the board, don't be afraid to just scream that second Crypt Worm out when you have the option, as he is the hardest to play out once your screamer dies, and a second one is always useful when the first one dies unexpectedly.
- Your Sprite and their Sprite become less and less important as the game wears on.
- The best time to spawn Ekyon is generally when his ability will be effective immediately that turn. There are many important seven life creatures in the environment, and it's amazing what shifting an Ekyon up behind your (often lone) Crypt Worm will do to help him murder that stupid Gothic, Barag, or Warcharm.
- Often when you aren't sure what to spawn, when there's no particularly pressing need to spawn something in particular, its the turn to spawn Voodoo. Getting her out when you can, will pay dividends in future turns, I promise.
- I can't give you hard rules for when to gambit your opponent up to 5 and when not to, but by God it separates the men from the boys!
- Remember that Gothic can just absolutely punish opponents who run their guys up into the high scoring cells, and win the game by himself even without Crypt Worm doing anything.
- Remember how sometimes you make seemingly very silly disrupts in order to set up the above, especially when you disrupt a guy off a deathblow during their second action and you have yet to act and you aren't a noob who will send their guy into the far corners because you can instead shift a gothic towards their piece to strike either this turn or next turn? Good, just checking.
Flex Spots
The flex spots are the Lord Slobber and Jack of Blades. I'm pretty sure that unless you're in some really funky metagame that the rest is set. Yes you need all three pariahs (please just trust me and don't waste time trying to figure it out for yourself) and yes you need the Voodoo Manipulator. Also, I have tested Preacher a lot, in case you were curious. He's wrong in here. The Jack of Blades can seem unimpressive, and your turn 1 play of Jack and Pariah on 8 isn't the greatest or anything, but I think he still fits the necessary slot. Lord Slobber will not be spawned very many games, but when he is, he's usually a hero. That spot really doesn't need to be “another demon” or something like that. The warband is complete without him. He's just the feather in the cap, but he's a darn good feather. Also, Raise can be absurd for getting you out of holes.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoy the warband! It's a lot of fun, and great for both casual and competitive play. It isn't absurdly hard to play (and hopefully this article helped!), but it's also a great warband to practice with because it will hone a lot of different skills for you at once. I know I'll be taking it out to the player-run 1k in Rhode Island on September 9th and I can't wait to see people there! Until then I hope to see you on the message boards.
