The Nerf Bat Has Fallen

One week late, but I'm here. For anyone that catches this that hasn't seen, The Dreamer, Daydreams, Lord Chompy Bits, and Bury all have brand new errata as of Wednesday. I direct your attention to the stickies located here. 


I am personally of the belief that the Alps and Nekima got hit a little too hard with the Nerf Bat. Nekima is far over-priced for only being able to affect Tots and Young with her Nephilim Heart. In large Soulstone games, she really helps to boost a grow list - but that's 13 SS that you're spending just to help with some growing. Hamelin is just as effective, and at a lower cost. Lower cost means more Nephilim running around the table. And the Alps deserved everything they got, but I feel that making them insignificant really pushed them over the ledge from fixed, to unplayable.

Taking that into mind, I think the new errata is actually pretty well thought out, and doesn't make anything unplayable, but brings them down to the level of most other crews. So what does it all mean?

No Longer the Boogeyman of Tournaments;
Still Head Boogeyman of Malifaux

Daydream
Change into Nightmare Ability description now reads: “If this model is killed or sacrificed by an enemy model's Strike or Spell, its controller may place one buried non-Master Nightmare within 6" of it before it is removed from the table.”

Lord Chompy BitsAll Done Trigger description now reads: “After damaging defender, bury this model and replace it with a friendly buried The Dreamer.” as indicated in the 2nd printing of Rising Powers.

The DreamerAll my Friends Trigger description now reads: “This model’s Controller may place any number of friendly buried non-Master Nightmares within 6” of this model.”
Frightening Dream Spell description now reads: “Place one friendly buried non-Master Nightmare within 6" of this model.”. 

As you can see, Lord Chompy Bits is no longer allowed to play in reindeer nightmare games. This is but one part of why the slingshot is no longer viable. Although, Daydreams can still bring out LCB in a pinch, it'll just cost them their life (via Call Nightmares). And of course, he can no longer be dropped as part of the All My Friends trigger (he's been unfriended...). Dreamer can still drop him, at the cost of one of his (0) actions. 

More importantly is the new vulnerability of LCB. The changes to the All Done trigger are huge to Dreamer players as well as opponents. LCB now has to do damage in order to turn back into the Dreamer. I learned early on just how vulnerable LCB is if you leave him out, and that is not something you want to happen at all.This will make a high Tomes in your hand extremely important, or at least a companioned Daydream in range to Calm Nightmares. This is the key to beating dreamer lists now (in my opinion) - get Chompy to miss that trigger, and he's 'all done' on your terms. 

The Bury errata affects dreamer lists equally, if not more than the LCB exclusions.

Buried: Some models may begin an Encounter buried, or become buried as a result of a Talent or Spell during the Encounter. When a model is buried outside its activation, remove it from the table. 

To bury a model during its activation, resolve any effects which occur before the model’s activation would end, then end its activation, and finally remove it from play. This includes models that were activated through a simultaneous activation (Companion, for example) but have not yet spent their AP. Those models are considered to have started their activations, and therefore their activations end immediately when buried.

While buried, a model is out of play (remains removed from the table), but is still in the game. Effects on a buried model resolve as indicated in their descriptions.

If an effect would remove a buried model from the game:

• That model is still counted toward victory conditions as normal.
• Any Counters the model carries are discarded.
• Any Talents or Spells the model would be able to use when removed from the game, such as the Slow to Die Ability, do not occur.

A model is immediately unburied and returned to play when an effect would allow it to do so - even if that effect was generated by another model than the one which buried it.  
So where once models entered a void in time and space, now they only enter a void in space; and the clock keeps ticking...

Who can read that thing anyway?

This means no more Terrifying, Foggy Stitched ready to go for the next turn. No more super buffed Bete Noir. The clock ticks on, the effects expire. 

Poison still won't affect buried models, as they don't get to activate, so there's no chance for Poison to be applied. But Burning Tokens are a different story, as they take effect outside a model's activation.

The jury is still out on Two-Sided on Lelu and Lilitu. Personally, I don't think it's intended that these models take Wds because they're buried, it doesn't seem right, and obviously was not the purpose of Two-Sided since it was written based on previous Bury rules. It also seems that Lilitu still cannot heal herself while buried, though there's been no definitive ruling on that either. Will update when I found out. 

And then we come full circle back to the Dreamer slinghot. With the new rules for bury, if a model is part of a companion chain, and is buried before it gets to activate, it counts as having activated. So don't companion Dreamer with his Daydreams, only to bring out LCB right away - because then you just blew all of Dreamer's activation.

Finally, Dreamer players can put LCB on the table without hanging their heads in shame, and Dreamer opponents can play a fun game with a realistic possibility of winning (except Marcus (just kidding)). 

REJOICE!