The end of January will provide a bountiful harvest for Grymkin players as two powerful new solos are about to be released for their Faction. The first is the Defiled Archon, which we previewed a couple of months ago, but today we’re here to talk about the other solo.
Isaiah the Dread Harvester is a Dread Rot dragoon solo that not only buffs other Dread Rots in your army but also packs a pretty mean melee punch. Let’s start at the beginning, though: Who is Isaiah?
Among the dread rots of the Grymkin, there is one dark soul spoken of in hushed tales meant to terrify misbehaving children. His name is Isaiah, and they call him the Dread Harvester. Myths claim dread rots visit the wicked and exploitative mortals living in rural areas, claiming them as their own, but the folklore surrounding Isaiah is far more brutal.
It is believed that Isaiah punishes not just the wicked individual but also the individual’s community for allowing such sins to take place without retribution or justice. The stories say that entire villages will vanish on those cursed nights when Isaiah and his legion of dread rots come to pay a visit.
Now that we have an idea of who Isaiah is, let’s talk about what he does on the tabletop. While mounted, Isaiah is a real terror to other infantry, capable of getting up to an effective P+S 16 on his thresher weapon master attacks once he has collected a few corpses. Keeping a few Dread Rots near him will help protect Isaiah from enemy fire as he uses his Sacrificial Paw ability to shunt away bullets. Terrain, and even buildings, won’t protect your enemies when Isaiah is ready to strike, thanks to his Spectral Onslaught ability, which grants him Ghostly while moving as part of a charge.
Once dismounted (and beheaded), Isaiah picks up a tool in his arsenal, a way to replenish some of those Dread Rots he used as sacrificial pawns along the way. In his dismounted form, he gains a ranged attack called “Thrown Head,” which…well, it’s pretty self-explanatory. He also picks up Assault in his dismounted form, so he can continue charging enemies with Wicked Scythe for more big thresher attacks but also gets a chance to throw his head and perhaps turn an enemy soldier into a friendly Dread Rot with Death Toll.
Of course, Isaiah does more than just punish the wicked by himself; he lends a bit of army support as well. Like other Dread Rots, Isaiah can collect corpse tokens (up to 3 on him!), and other non-Dread Rot models in your army can take those off of him for themselves as needed. Isaiah also has an Elite Cadre ability that grants his new Spectral Onslaught ability to all other Dread Rots in your army as well as Gang!
Elite Cadre doesn’t have any range requirement, so no matter where Isaiah is on the table, all of your Dread Rots will benefit. Running a massive mob of Ghostly Gang Dread Rots can be a really horrifying threat to your opponent—just make sure you bring someone who can help deliver that many models. The Wanderer is a good choice in my opinion, thanks to Fog of War and Star-Crossed.
The final rules for Isaiah will be uploaded to the card database and onto War Room when the model releases at the end of this month, but for now we hope you enjoy the preview. Don’t forget to pre-order your Isaiah and Defiled Archon(s) with your LGS—they’ll be here before you know it!
