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That's Magic! - Dysartes | |
| With the advent of 6th edition Warhammer, the magic system underwent a huge change. Gone was the poker game that 4th and 5th edition had used, with the Winds of Magic deck. No, the cards could now be banished to a box at the bottom of a cupboard. Warhammer magic as now based on dice - d6, to be precise. Magic users now generated a number of power and dispel dice, determined by their level. They were also limited on how many dice they could use to cast a given spell, again based on their level. This came as a change to the 4th and 5th edition methodology, where even the lowliest mage could cast the most powerful of spells with the same skill as the mightiest sorceror. A dice-based system required a change to the way in which Total Power occured, whilst at the same time making spell-casting potentially more dangerous to the caster. A roll of the power dice which gave two or more 6's would cause Irresistable Force to come into play, making the spell impossible to dispel. On the flip side, a roll which gave two or more 1's was judged to have been a Miscast, with effects ranging from the magic phase ending to creatures of the Warp attempting to eat the spell-casters brain. The more dice you used, the greater the chance of getting Irresistable Force, but the greater the chance of a Miscast as well. This helps to represent that the more power you try to channel, the more likely it is that something will go wrong. This is more balanced than the previous system, during which many players removed Total Power from their Winds of Power deck. A disparity between Power and Dispel dice?When there are no magic-users on the table, there is a perfect balance between the number of power dice and the number of dispel dice. - each side, unless they are Dwarfs, have two of each. At this point, however, the only use each side has for these dice is if their opponent fetched any magic items with Bound spells, that would require their dispel pool to dispel. Once we start adding magic-users, however, the balance no longer exists. While level 1 mages will generate one of each dice, a level two mage will generate two power dice but only one dispel dice. In a game under 2000pts, that can be up to eight power dice, but only five power dice. Level 3 and 4 mages have this problem too - level 3 mages generate three power dice butoly two dispel dice, while level 4 mages generate four power dice and only two dispel dice. In a worse case scenario at 2000pts, one side can have a massive twelve power dice and seven dispel dice, while their opponent may, if they fetched fewer mages, only have five or six dispel dice to try to counter this magic with.This does sound unbalanced on paper, but when you think about it, it isn't as bad as it first appears. Firstly, every spell needs to be cast before a dispel attempt is made (unless your opponent is using Tomb Kings). While this sounds like a simple point, just think on it for a second. Taking the scenario above, if your opponent uses three dice on a spell, and fails to cast it, the situation is looking better already - nine power dice versus six dispel dice. A failed spell means wasted power dice, and wasted power dice means your opponent is better situated to counter any other spells you wish to try to use. Secondly, your dispel pool is not the only weapon at your disposal when it comes to countering enemy magic. There are two other common elements as well - Magic Resistance and the humble Dispel Scroll, with the Dispel scroll being the more common of the two. The Dispel scroll is used to stop enemy spells with all the subtlety of a half-brick in a sock, automatically dispelling a spell which has not been cast with Irresistable Force. Magic Resistance, on the other hand, adds a number of Dispel dice to counter any spell cast on the unit or character with Magic Resistance, reducing the drain on your Dispel pool. The Role of the Scroll CaddyA term that is often bandied around when looking at mages is the Scroll Caddy. This character is assumed to have a dispel scroll production line set up somewhere, as he never fails to turn up to a game with as many dispel scroll as his points allowance will let him. He will also spend large portions of the game sat somewhere where the enemy can't get to him, such as the middle of a particularly dense forest, casting spells that do not require line of sight, such as the majority of the Lore of the Heavens.For some reason, this type of character is generally disliked , but is still often used. The main reason he is disliked is that he is generally reasonably cheap, yet is a fool-proof counter to any two spells you wish to name during the game. He is liable to only be a level 1 mage, thereby reducing his cost but at no reduction to his anti-magic potential (as he still generates the same number of dispel dice). And, usually, he is an anonymous character, making no effort to make a name for himself. Unfortunately, I think this character is necessary for armies which aren't tricked out to be as magically powerful as they can. In most armies, there is a desire for some combat-orientated characters, or, at the very least, a Battle Standard to help their army hold in place. For such armies, a Scroll Caddy is a must, if only as a reflection of the desire for self-preservation. No-one wants to be defeated by a force they cannot counter, and so players will continue to use the Scroll Caddy. Variations on a ThemeWhat I've described so far can be taken to be a fairly general view of magic. There are a number of variations on this vanilla theme, from armies with no magic at all (Khornate Chaos, or most Dwarf armies) through those which have methods of generating more power and dispel dice, be it mid-game or prior to the game (Orcs & Goblins, Tzeentch/Khorne Mortal Chaos), to those whose spells are always successfully cast, but with differing levels of power (Tomb Kings). Each of these armies are different in their approach to magic, and tend to alter the playing field for anyone trying to counter their magic or to use magic against them. |
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