Games Workshop’s Shadespire has released two new expansions and does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. This week we are going to focus on Spiteclaw’s Swarm, a fast moving bunch of rats that become inspired when you use a ploy on them.
Skritch is the leader and his special ability lets him bring back a dead rat that is not named “Krrk” as an action.
As usual, this just focuses on the Core Set and the Spiteclaw’s Swarm expansion, to see the other posts on individual warbands I have written follow these links:
- Core Universal Cards Tips and Tricks
- Garrek’s Reavers
- Ironskull Boyz
- Steelhearts Champions
- Sepulchral Guard
First, let’s look at what comes in the expansion.
Spiteclaw’s Swarm Objectives
- Arm’s Length (1 glory): Score immediately if you kill an enemy fighter while they are adjacent to none of your fighters.
- Brilliant, Brilliant! (1 glory): Score in end phase if you scored two or more other objective cards.
- Feast-feast (3 glory): Score this in an end phase if all enemy fighter has been taken out of action.
- Honed Survival Instincts (1 glory): Score this in an end phase if no friendly fighters were taken out of action.
- Leading From the Back (1 glory): Scot this in the third end phase if your leader is in your territory and not adjacent to any enemies
- Live to Fight Another Day (2 glory): Score this in the third end phase if your only surviving fighter is your leader
- Lives are Cheap (1 glory): Score this in an end phase if two or more friendly fighters were killed in the preceding action phase
- Numberless Swarm (1 glory): Score this in the third end phase if there five friendly fighters on the battlefield.
- Skritch is the Greatest, Yes-yes (1 glory): Score this immediately if your leader takes an enemy fighter our of action.
Universal Objectives:
- Alone in the Darkness (2 glory): Score this in an end phase if there are no adjacent fighters on the battlefield
- Butchery (2 glory): Score this in an end phase if your Warband took three or more enemy fighters out of action in the preceding actions phase.
- Cover Ground (1 glory): Score this immediately if a friendly fighter makes a Move action of six or more hexes
- Escalation (2 glory): Score this in an end phase if three or more upgrade cards were played in the preceding action phase
- Master of War (1 glory): Score this in an end phase if you scored an objective card, played a ploy card, and played an upgrade card in this round
- Miraculous Escape (1 glory): Score this immediately if one of your fighters is the target of an enemy attack action with Dice characteristic of three or more and it fails.
- No More Tricks (1 glory): Score this in an end phase if you have no power cards in your hand
- Overextended (5 glory): Score this in an end phase if you hold every objective
- Ready for a Challenge (1 glory): Score this in an end phase if all remaining enemy fighters (at least three) have an upgrade
- Tactical Genius 3-5 (3 glory): Score this in an end phase if you hold objectives three, four, and five
- The Bigger They Are (1 glory): Score this immediately if a friendly fighter takes an enemy fighter out of action with an Attack action that has a Damage characteristic of one.
For my swarm deck, I am going to want to be aggressive with my Skaven, throwing my underlings forward while using Krrk and Skritch to pick off wounded targets. Starting out I am going to take Arm’s Length, Skritch is the Greatest, Yes – Yes, and The Bigger They Are. Numberless Swarm you can usually score at the end of the first round, but if you draw it later it might be worth discarding. After that Lives are Cheap will be easy to score as your opponent mows through you tiny Skaven. Then, in true Skaven fashion, I would shoot for Live to Fight Another Day, Leading from the Back, and Denial to get some bigger glory points in the third phase.
Spiteclaw’s Swarm Ploys:
- Aversion to Death (Reaction): Play this after an Attack action that takes a friendly fighter out of action. Push up to two friendly fighters one hex each.
- Frenzied Stabbing: The first attack action with a Range of one or two in the next activation has +1 Damage.
- Heightened Caution: Roll an extra defense dice for the first friendly fighter to be targeted by an Attack action in the next activation.
- Momentary Boldness: Choose a friendly fighter adjacent to two or more friendly fighters. That fighter makes a charge action.
- Musk of Fear: Choose a friendly fighter and put them on Guard.
- Nervous Scrabbling: Choose a friendly fighter. They switch places with any adjacent fighter.
- Scratching in the Shadows: Choose an enemy fighter and push them one hex.
- Skaven Courage: Play this if there are at least three friendly fighters adjacent to the same enemy fighter. One of those friendly fighters can make an Attack action.
- Sudden Skittering: Double the move characteristic of the first friendly fighter to make a Move action in the next activation. They may not make a Charge action. Once they have moved, they cannot be activated again in this phase.
- There Are Always More: Choose one friendly fighter that is out of action (other than Skritch or Krrk). Remove all wound tokens from them and place them on any starting hex.
Universal Ploys:
- Blinding Flash (Reaction): Play this during an Attack action with a Range of three or greater (before dice are rolled). The Attacks characteristic of that Attack action is changed to (duel swords) one.
- Curious Inversion: The first attack in the next activation, (hammers) characteristic becomes (duel swords) and vice versa, and (dodge) characteristic becomes (shield) characteristic and vice versa.
- Desperate Gambit: When resolving the first Attack action in the next activation, you and your opponent roll off. The winner chooses whether the Attack action fails or succeeds.
- Last Chance (Reaction): Play this during an Attack action that would take a friendly fighter out of action. Roll a defense dice. If the result would not normally be a success for this fighter, ignore the damage from that Attack action on this fighter.
- Momentary Madness: Choose an enemy fighter and roll an attack dice. If you roll (hammer) or (critical) make an Attack action with them as if they were a friendly fighter. Fighters do not provide support for this Attack action (in attack or defense).
- Rebound (Reaction): Play this during an enemy Attack action that would succeed. Roll a defense dice. On a roll of (dodge) or (critical) the attacker suffers the damage, rather then the target, and neither fighter is driven back.
- Rethink Strategy: Discard any number of objective cards and draw that number of objective cards.
- Sacrificial Pawn: Choose a friendly fighter. If they are taken out of action in the next activation, you gain a glory point.
- Shattershard: Choose an enemy fighter and choose one of their upgrades. Roll an attack dice. On a roll of (hammer) or (critical) that upgrade is discarded.
- Spoils of Battle: Play an upgrade card. This doesn’t cost a glory point.
Wow there are some amazing ploys in this expansion, and you could argue “Momentary Madness, Rebound, Rethink Strategy, and Spoils of Battle” could go into any deck. Along with those, in my Spiteclaw’s swarm deck I am also going to add “Aversion to Death, Frenzied Stabbing, Heightened Caution, and There are Always More”. This will help me use my opponent’s fighters against themselves as well as help get my Warband inspired by playing ploys on them. Finally, I would add Confusion and Sidestep from the core set to help keep control of the battlefield.
Spiteclaw’s Swarm Upgrades:
- Black Hunger (Hungering Skaven): This fighter’s attack characteristic with a Range of one have +1 Damage and target all adjacent fighters (friend and foe) – roll for each. Fighters do not provide support for Attack actions against friendly models (in attack or defense)
- Bodyguard for a Price (Krrk): If Skritch is adjacent to this fighter, Skritch is on Guard (even if Skritch has made a Charge action this phase)
- Expendable (Lurking, Hungering, or Festing Skaven) (Reaction): During an Attack action that will cause any damage to this fighter, you can remove them from the battlefield and deal one damage to their attacker.
- Festering Blade (Festering Skaven): On a critical hit, this fighter’s Attack actions with a Range of one or two have +2 Damage.
- Flee! (Skritich) (Action): This fighter and one adjacent friendly fighter can make a move action. Both fighters must end their move further away from all enemy fighters.
- Skitter-scurry (Skritch, Krrk) (Reaction): After any action that this fighter makes, you can push this fighter one hex.
- Sneaky Stab-stab: You can push this fighter one hex before they take an Attack action, though not when this fighter takes a charge action.
- Swarm of Rats (Krrk): Range one, three (dual swords) dice, one damage. Targets all adjacent enemy fighters
- Throwing Stars (Lurking Skaven): Range three, three (dual swords) dice, one damage
- Whirling Halberd (Skritch): Range one, two (dual swords) dice, two damage. Targets all adjacent enemy fighters.
Universal Upgrades:
- Acrobatic: If this fighter has a (dodge) defense characteristic or has a (shield) characteristic but is on Guard, roll an extra defense dice when they are the target of an Attack action.
- Awakened Weapon: You can re-roll one attack dice each time this fighter makes an Attack action
- Ethereal Shield: This fighters defense characteristic changes to (shield)
- Heroslayer: Range one, one (hammer) dice, four damage.
- Katophrane’s Hood: Cumulative armor that if you have two pieces allows you to re-roll defense dice. At three pieces re-roll attack dice. At four pieces After this fighter’s action, you draw two power cards. Finally, at six pieces you gain four glory points.
- Shadeglass Hammer: Range one, two (hammer) dice, three damage. When this attack action is successful, discard this upgrade. One a critical hit, this attack action has +1 damage.
- Shadestep: This fighter can move through other fighters during a Move action but must end their move in an empty hex.
- Sprinter: +1 Move
- The Fractured Key: If this fighter is holding objective five in the third end phase, score two glory points.
- Trickster’s Charm: If this fighter is on the battlefield, you can play a single ploy card at the beginning of each action phase.
For my aggressive swarm deck, I need to make sure that Skritch and Krrk can stay alive and do some damage, so I am for sure grabbing “Bodyguard for a Price, Acrobatic, Whirling Halberd, and Skitter-scurry”. Then to give my underlings a little more damage potential I am going to grab “Heroslayer, Shadeglass Hammer, Throwing Stars, and Expendable”. For my final two upgrade cards, I am going to take total offense and Great Strength from the core set to really maximize my damage output. If I can get some upgrades on the smaller Skaven as well, I can always bring them back as an Action and get their upgrades along with them.
Combine that with there already fast speed of 5 and they can be back in the fight in no time.
Check out more “newbie” tips for the Hobby
