Monsterpocalypse Monday: Of Mutates and Masters

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The time has come to return to the Masters of the 8th Dimension and the Legion of Mutates with a look at this month’s releases! This will be a jam-packed Insider, so let’s get right into it…

The Legion of Mutates returns with a monster and a unit blister coming your way May 7th. And that monster? He was the world’s strongest man…before taking the mutagen.

I know, I know—a rhino monster that likes rampages. Very inventive. But Taharka has much more going on than just rampaging through a line of buildings. Juggernaut and Rampager give him a very clear role: smash stuff for all the Power Dice. Yet Thick Skinned is something that works very well on him, too; being able to land in hazards during a rampage power attack opens this monster up to truly devastating attacks while preserving his massive 13 health total. He also helps out his Slashers, Bashers, and Blasters get to anywhere they need to be. (Note, too, that there is one more yet unannounced Legion of Mutates that absolutely loves the freedom Thick Skinned gives it!)

In hyper, Taharka really starts to throw his weight around. Strong Arm makes him extremely accurate with body slam and throw power attacks, which grant him an alternate playstyle for when a rampage just isn’t the right call. And not for one second does he forget his rampage roots, picking up Rampant Destruction to make those rampages even more efficient. When comparing Taharka to the other rampage-focused monster, Xixorax, Taharka trades maneuverability and raw damage output for more health and better unit positioning. They are opposite sides of the same flattened coin.

That brings us to the fastest things on two legs.

Currently, the only SPD 7 units in the game are all flying: Strike Fighters, Sun Fighters, and Hellions. But Slashers break that rule. At first glance, Strike Fighters seem to have them beat pretty much everywhere, yet the Legion of Mutates is all about layering buffs. Thick Skinned, Stampede, and King of Beasts all work very effectively on these speedy little buggers. They also have the potential to clear out a host of units with Cleave, and since it isn’t Chain Reaction, they won’t kill themselves. Best of all, they work especially well with the other unit in this blister pack.

Nowhere is safe from this next mutate.

Clickers feel a lot like the Hunters of the Protectors Agenda, but what they don’t possess in stopping power, they make up for in tactical support. Heightened Senses is nearly always better than Penetrator, so despite the fact that they have one less SPD and Boost Die on their blast attack, they’ll still have more potential targets to choose from. The real magic is when they hit with their tracer rounds—the arc of their gunfire allows fellow Mutates to know exactly where to go to find their prey on the chaotic battlefield. Was your SPD 7 move with a Slasher not enough to get to the enemy? In that case, Tag will give you a second SPD 7 advance.

Let’s start with the new units in the Masters of the 8th Dimension before the Faction’s monster. First up, this strange creature that draws from the same strength as The Preceptor.

The Abrogator is in step with The Preceptor by being focused on Power Dice generation. Power Sink is an extremely strong ability on a unit, as it can be in any Destroyers force. I know I’ll be getting this question: does Power Sink stack? The answer is a resounding yes. Since it doesn’t have the words “Once per turn” at the start of the ability, it will trigger once for every single model with Power Sink. Big stuff there. And yet Power Sink isn’t everything the Abrogator does; it also has Power Gorge and Siphon, making it a great choice to lead combined attacks.

Next… They are the jury at an unknowable trial.

Here is the first ever 3-cost unit. It’s stats are solid at SPD 5 and DEF 4, and it has good maneuverability with All-Terrain and Hover; however, it’s a 3 cost because of its other two special rules. Quorum is all about maximizing building corners. I especially like it on the new Downtown Beatdown map in the upcoming starter, where this unit can settle in and touch three buildings. Death Sentence is a powerhouse ability, especially with the amount of strange movement abilities that will be on the Tuner (a future unit), Conductor (a future monster), and Myriad Singularity (a future building). Do note that it is, in fact, a “Once per turn” ability, so you will only be able to trigger Death Sentence on one monster attack a turn, even if you have multiple Jurors. While the Juror will truly shine once the whole Masters of the 8th Dimension Faction is released, The Magistrate can sprinkle them all over the place all on its own.

Judge, jury, and executioner.

You’ll no doubt immediately realize why I wanted to bring the Juror up before talking about this monster. Two of its abilities tie directly into the Juror—Action: Extrude and Spawning Locus. Extrude allows The Magistrate to sacrifice its health to deal Super Damage, anywhere and anytime. Spawning Locus will allow your Jurors to get out there and constantly threaten Super Damage from any of your monster attacks.

All of that brings us to Action: Objection, a perfect counter to any action. This is the most powerful ability on The Magistrate’s alpha side. Being able to shut down an important repair or blitz can fundamentally change games. (Don’t expect to see this Action appear on another monster for some time; too many Objections can really make things weird.) And before anyone asks… Yes, you can use Objection on Objection if two Magistrates fight each other.

The Magistrate’s hyper is very similar to its alpha, trading Action: Objection for Entropic Presence and Grappler. Grappler might seem a little odd, coming out of nowhere, but The Magistrate’s overall theme is denial. Entropic Presence obviously plays into that theme, but Grappler is not just denial—it’s also flat-out annoying to deal with. If that doesn’t describe the red tape of an interdimensional judicial system, I don’t what does.

That’s it for this time. I hope you’re excited about the new tactics all these models bring to the table, most especially the Juror and the Clicker. You’ll have to be the judge of that…

Insider, Monsterpocalypse
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