Warlord Spotlight - Broderick Worr

Warlord Spotlight - Broderick Worr

Introduction
Worr’s been out for a few months now and boy has he shaken up the game, already becoming the most successful warlord for this Store Championship season given he was released at the start of the season, and sporting all of the top 3 slots at The Siege of Terra (European championships): http://www.cardgamedb.com/forums/index.php?/topic/28921-road-to-worlds-2016/. At the time of writing, Worr is leading with 29 Store Championship wins globally with Kith trailing in second place with 16 wins, albeit one of those wins involved the largest recorded Store Championship of the season (44 people), and Ragnar coming third with 14 wins.

The reason for Worr’s success is because he has a combination of a great ability and a great selection of signature cards, as well as a good card pool to back them up, thereby creating a complete package. As a comparison, warlords like Baharroth and Ku’gath have good abilities on themselves and decent card pools, but are pulled back by their signature squad (Hawks/Nurglings), which are both far too situational to be consistent.

The following section goes into his abilities as well as that of his signature cards. If you feel comfortable in your understanding of how he works, skip ahead to the “Tactics” section.

Signature cards


Let's start with the big boss himself. His ability on his Hale side is as follows:

Army units that retreat from this planet are destroyed instead.

Each other [Astra Militarum] unit you control at a [Strongpoint] planet (green) gets +1 ATK and gains, “Cannot retreat or be routed”

The first ability makes him a deadly command sniper since unless the command unit he’s sniping can scare him off, it will die. It also guarantees that battles going in Worr’s favour can end up becoming very costly for his opponent, especially if they’re bringing in a bunch of troops with their warlord from their HQ. The downside here, of course, is that his own units are too scared to retreat from him and can similarly meet their end due to his fearsome presence, unless he retreats first. An important thing to note here that a lot of less experienced players overlook is that retreating is not the same as routing, which means that units can be successfully routed away from Worr’s planet without fear of being blown up. Also, since only army units are affected tokens, synapse creatures and warlords can all retreat safely.

However it’s the second ability that really seals the deal. He boosts all AM units at all green planets irrespective of where Worr is, further allowing Worr to get the best use out of his first ability at other planets if required. The damage boost means that every AM unit suddenly becomes combat capable, including the command cappers. It gives Sanctioned Psykers a much needed attack stat, allows the Shrine Guard and Tallarn Raiders the potential to swing for 3 for only 1 cost, and makes the Guardsmen tokens mini killing machines with their 2 attack and hp. The immunity to routing also means that units can be placed without fear of removal, which is particularly useful for the more expensive units. However, the downside here is the inability to retreat, resulting in every green planet battle going to the death. This will inflict maximum casualties on the opponent’s side but will frequently result in needlessly losing certain units. At least the boosted attack means they won’t go down quietly!


Moving onto the rest of his signature cards we have the Anxious Infantry Platoon. It is a 1/3/3 (command/attack/hp) unit for 2 cost with the text:

Forced Reaction: After a combat round at this planet ends, you may pay 1[Resource]. If you do not, retreat this unit.

At first glance this looks terrible. “Why would I want a unit that will spend my money faster than my terrible poker skills”, I hear you ask. The answer is that it won’t. Stick this bad boy on a green planet and suddenly he’s now benefitting from Worr’s “Cannot retreat” clause, meaning that at the end of each combat round you choose to not pay the resource, forcing him to retreat, but resulting in the retreat being prevented by the fact it can’t retreat. This means that, whilst Worr’s Hale, the unit is a 1/4/3 at green planets for a measly 2 cost and no downsides, which is some insane efficiency. Better still, you get 4 of them! However, what this does mean is that at non-green planets the unit becomes pricey fast, and worse still if Worr happens to be with them the ends of combat rounds turn into “Pay or die” sessions. As such, it’s generally advised to play these guys to green planets exclusively if able.


Next up is the signature event, Summary Execution. It’s a 0 cost event that reads:

Play only during a battle.
Combat Action: Sacrifice a unit at a planet with your warlord to have that planet gain a [Strongpoint] icon (green) until the end of the battle. Then, draw 1 card.

This card exists to mitigate Worr’s main weakness, being a lack of green planets. Should a crucial fight occur on a non-green planet this will certainly help you win it, but could easily be a dead card should there be a lot of green planets (however it’s still a shield in those scenarios). It’s worth pointing out that should it be required to sacrifice a unit for another effect (triggering Cadian Mortar Squad, Engiseer Augur, Vanguard Veterans etc) and the planet is already green then this card can be used and will cause the planet to have multiple green icons, however will not allow you to draw a card since the planet hasn’t technically “gained” a green icon.


Moving onto the signature attachment, the Commissarial Bolt Pistol, we have a 1 cost attachment with 3 shields that reads:

Attach to a Commissar unit.
Attached unit gets +1 ATK
Reaction: After an army unit you control at this planet leaves play, deal 1 damage to a target army unit at this planet.

As it stands the only Commissar unit available is Worr himself, and as such he’s the only eligible target. Nevertheless the extra attack is always useful and the reaction can be very troublesome for the opponent to deal with indeed. The issue, however, is that it makes Worr an even bigger target than he already is and as such is sometimes better spent as a shield card instead. Also, it won’t trigger off of tokens dying since it specifies army units, but it will trigger off any allied units brought in from other factions. I, personally, tend to use this as a shield rather than playing it since I’d generally prefer to send Worr away from battles, meaning the attachment’s ability won’t fire, but that’s just my playstyle.


Finally, the pièce de résistance, his signature support; Forward Barracks. It’s a 2 cost support that reads:

Reaction: After a combat round ends, if you control an [Astra Militarum] unit at the planet where the battle is taking place, put 1 Guardsman token into play at that planet.

For clarity, a combat round ending is not the same as a battle ending. The former can lead to the latter, but is not a condition for the latter to occur. Simply, a battle can end without a combat round ending. The end of a combat round is the moment in which neither players have a readied unit at the planet and neither players have any further Actions. At this stage Forward Barracks would trigger, a Guardsmen would enter play, then each player would decide whether or not they will retreat their units.

This support wins games. Given the right conditions the support will create an endless stream of tokens that will make a planet near impossible to capture without substantial casualties, if possible at all. Better still, if that planet is green then the tokens are boosted! At the very minimum it allows for some extra bodies to be dumped at later planets for future battles should your warlord go command sniping, since he would swing (let’s say killing the enemy’s Void Pirate), resulting in both sides having no readied units, causing a combat round to end, triggering a Guardsmen, readying the remaining units, then winning the planet. This card alone has forced the meta to at least seriously consider cards that deal with supports since its effects can be game changing and it helps mitigate Worr’s non-green weakness whilst making the smallest number of units suddenly look like huge threats.

Tactics

So now that we know what Worr does, how do we use him?

The first thing to mention is that Worr is fragile in 2 ways. Firstly, he has only 6 hp which makes him very susceptible to bloodying. Secondly, if he does get bloodied the power of your army is weakened considerably, making him a higher priority target than most other warlords. As such, he is generally best played as a command sniper or stuck behind something that will take the hits for him (Bodyguard, Steel Legion Chimera, Front Line ‘Ard Boyz). Worst case, there’s always the ol’ “Ranged retreat trick” that can be used to retreat Worr as a ranged combat attack via the Preemptive Barrage. Similarly, crowd control effects (Suppressive Fire, The Emperor’s Warrant, Inquisitorial Fortress, Captain Markis) will help keep both Worr and other important units alive.

Moving onto the core deck structure, there are many different ideas that can work with Worr. Firstly, the standard AM cards and tricks work perfectly fine within Worr, unlike how standard Dark Eldar tricks do not work with Urien, for example. This means that cards such as Preemptive Barrage, Suppressive Fire, all of the three 1 cost 1 command (1-1) units and Troop Transport are all potential staples. Given his boost he also makes the otherwise weak 2 cost 2 command (2-2) units combat ready, particularly with the Sanctioned Psyker combined with the Forward Barracks or Troop Transport.


The next step is to determine the focus of the deck, and this means choosing an alliance. The Ork alliance will bring tough 2 cost units (Snakebite Thug, Evil Sunz Warbiker) that will help out on non-green planets, an expensive damage soaker (4 cost Front Line ‘Ard Boyz), card regeneration (Ammo Depot) and support destruction (Squig Bombin, Deathskull Lootas). The SM alliance, on the other hand, will bring board wipes (Exterminatus), tough 3+ costed units (Blood Angels Veterans, Imperial Fist Devastators, Land Raider) that will, again, help out on non-green planets, Area of Effect (Tactical Squad Cardinis, Daring Assault Squad) and crowd control (Hallow Librarium). Lastly, the neutral cards bring the typical 1 costers (Void Pirates, Rogue Traders) and Promotions to help win command, as well as a surprise Inquisitor Wroth for the lower cost curve decks.

When it comes to out of faction units one must determine whether they are worth taking over the in faction units given the lack of synergy with Worr. One side will argue that taking them mitigates the risk of a bad (read: non green) planet flop whilst the other will argue a higher vulnerability to routing effects and a weaker green planet presence. Both arguments are valid, but I feel that a gameplan should be laid down prior to constructing the deck. Ask yourself these questions:
- What will I play to green planets?
- What will I play to non-green planets?
- Is there an overlap between the two? (this helps versatility)

Furthermore, AM brings to the table three good 1 cost units, all of which are proficient as command cappers and combat units. The slight adjustments to that are the fact that Shrine Guards should rarely be played to non green planets, whilst the Tallarns/Ratlings don’t mind going to non greens. Similarly, the two 2-2 units both help the command game considerably and, generally speaking, the Iron Guards will go to non greens whilst the Psykers will go to greens (so that they get an attack value in the case of a warlord snipe). Going back to the 3 questions above, both categories have answers that satisfy all 3 questions but with a leaning towards the green side, hence the possible need for balance. However, should the balance come entirely from within the AM roster then the deck has much less to fear for the green battles.



So going back, it can work to splash in some non-AM units, but I’d advise against depending on them. They’re best used to fill a gap that the deck can’t otherwise fill with AM units, such as card draw (Void Pirates if the Ammo Depot is not used), combating Sowing Chaos (Blood Angels Veterans, Front Line ‘Ard Boyz) and boosting non green planets (Ork 2 costers, Space Marine AoE and 3+ costers). It also helps if the deck can use these units in some other way. For example, should non-AM Soliders or Warriors be used then the Elysian Assault Team can be used to pack in an extra punch should they go down. Similarly, if the units cost 2 or less they can be brought in mid combat via Staging Ground.

When it comes to the out of faction non-army cards there is more flexibility since the warlord will not have an effect on their versatility. Squig Bombin helps tremendously in the mirror match, as well as against Zaraswarm, Catachan Ragnar, and Aun’shi decks (which are all strong against Worr) along with helping against the signature support of most other warlords + a few others miscellaneous cards (e.g. Archon’s Palace). Exterminatus punishes an enemy for thinking that “Oh, Worr will build up on these green planets so I’ll focus on those blue ones instead” by wiping a planet clean. Hallow Libarium can force an enemy warlord onto the planet you want them to go to, allowing you to get a quick bloodying on them before they can get it on you, with the benefit of making the battle a lot easier if they don’t go to that planet. Lastly, Ammo Depot works amazingly with the low cost curve of the AM units you’re likely to be running and allows for a full swarm build to hit the table.

Finally, there are several other in-faction cards that will help certain builds. Engiseer Augurs help you find your supports faster and if even they miss they’ll push you closer to the supports you need (Forward Barracks, Troop Transport). Mystic Wardens work great with the Ammo Depot and/or Staging Ground by acting as a deployment stall, emptying your hand, and providing a 2 or 3 damage attack for free. Steel Legion Chimeras (and Front Line ‘Ard Boyz) help keep your fragile warlord alive by diverting damage towards themselves, allowing your warlord’s ability to ensure that the opposition is slaughtered. Cadians + sacrificing (Summary Execution, Markis, Noble Deed, Death Korps) allow for silly amounts of damage to be dealt in the ranged phase.

My advice would be to pick a stream (hunt warlords, swarm the table, general versatility, specific combos) and build around that ideal. Below I’ve included some example decks that show how the different ideas can be used, all of which are decks I’ve created but are likely similar to many of the decks out there (along with links to successful decks in each archtype). Their structure should be taken with a pinch of salt and are clearly open to interpretations, but the decks show the core idea of the model they approach. I’ve left out Promotions since I personally don’t think they contribute much to Worr, however I appreciate the viewpoints of those whom believe otherwise. By leaving Promotions out of these sample decks, however, I allow the reader to determine what they’d prefer to cut in order to make space for them. In my eyes, Promotions replace units and units in Worr are fighters, which I’m not willing to sacrifice.

The deck I’m currently using is a take on the Ironwall one below with a hybrid approach in order to also hunt their warlord, and can be found here: http://www.cardgamed...ampionship-r726

I hope that this article’s enjoyable, even if I’ve accidentally made it as long as a book. Good luck and have fun!

Sample Decklists

Warlord hunt:
Total Cards: (50)

Warlord:
1x Broderick Worr (Decree of Ruin)

Army Unit: (29)
4x Anxious Infantry Platoon (Decree of Ruin)
1x Captain Markis (Core Set)
3x Elysian Assault Team (Core Set)
2x Imperial Fists Devastators (Deadly Salvage)
3x Iron Guard Recruits (The Scourge)
3x Ratling Deadeye (Core Set)
3x Sacaellum Shrine Guard (Boundless Hate)
3x Taurox APC (What Lurks Below)
1x Seraphim Superior Allegra (The Great Devourer)
3x Tallarn Raiders (Zogwort’s Curse)
3x Void Pirate (Core Set)

Attachment: (3)
1x Commissarial Bolt Pistol (Decree of Ruin)
2x Honorifica Imperialis (Gift of the Ethereals)

Event: (10)
2x Summary Execution (Decree of Ruin)
1x Exterminatus (Core Set)
2x Inspirational Fervor (Deadly Salvage)
3x Preemptive Barrage (Core Set)
2x To Arms! (Gift of the Ethereals)

Support: (8)
1x Forward Barracks (Decree of Ruin)
2x Catachan Outpost (Core Set)
2x Hallow Librarium (Descendants of Isha)
3x Troop Transport (Boundless Hate)

The aim is to chase down their warlord whilst bullying green planets. Inspirational Fervour allows for over commitments to green first planets that then bite the enemy warlord wherever they go, whilst the Hallow Librarium punishes the enemy warlord for committing away from an important battle. Honorifica Imperialis complements the Hallow Librarium by sticking the opponent between a rock and a hard place; either send the warlord there and suffer armourbane ranged or lose the attack value of their units. Imperial Fists make the non green fights easier and help take out the most troubling supports (the fact they trigger off blue planets synergises well)

Other versions:
http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/wh40kconquest/warhammer-40-000-conquest-decks-section/_/warhammer-40-000-conquest-decks/blackcrusade-winter-2016-winner-r765 (Black Crusade champion)

Staging Worr:
Total Cards: (50)

Warlord:
1x Broderick Worr (Decree of Ruin)

Army Unit: (30)
4x Anxious Infantry Platoon (Decree of Ruin)
2x Elysian Assault Team (Core Set)
2x Enginseer Augur (Core Set)
2x Evil Sunz Warbiker (The Threat Beyond)
3x Taurox APC (What Lurks Below)
2x Mystic Warden (Gift of the Ethereals)
3x Ratling Deadeye (Core Set)
3x Sacaellum Shrine Guard (Boundless Hate)
3x Sanctioned Psyker (Core Set)
3x Snake Bite Thug (The Threat Beyond)
3x Tallarn Raiders (Zogwort’s Curse)

Attachment: (1)
1x Commissarial Bolt Pistol (Decree of Ruin)

Event: (8)
2x Summary Execution (Decree of Ruin)
3x Preemptive Barrage (Core Set)
3x Suppressive Fire (Core Set)

Support: (11)
1x Forward Barracks (Decree of Ruin)
3x Ammo Depot (Gift of the Ethereals)
2x Catachan Outpost (Core Set)
2x Staging Ground (Zogwort’s Curse)
3x Troop Transport (Boundless Hate)

Less AM dependance allows for more planetary spread and the low cost curve provides an ample opportunity for the Ammo Depot to see constant use. The main concern is Sowing Chaos but the constant stream of units makes this hard to deal with regardless.

Other versions:
http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/wh40kconquest/warhammer-40-000-conquest-decks-section/_/warhammer-40-000-conquest-decks/worr-endless-hordes-dark-sphere-sc-130316-r741 (SC winner)

Not one step back!:
Total Cards: (50)

Warlord:
1x Broderick Worr (Decree of Ruin)

Army Unit: (31)
4x Anxious Infantry Platoon (Decree of Ruin)
3x Cadian Mortar Squad (Core Set)
2x Captain Markis (Core Set)
2x Enginseer Augur (Core Set)
3x Iron Guard Recruits (The Scourge)
2x Mystic Warden (Gift of the Ethereals)
3x Ratling Deadeye (Core Set)
3x Sanctioned Psyker (Core Set)
2x Tallarn Raiders (Zogwort’s Curse)
2x Vanguard Soldiers (Deadly Salvage)
3x Void Pirate (Core Set)
2x Death Korps Engineers (Deadly Salvage)

Attachment: (3)
1x Commissarial Bolt Pistol (Decree of Ruin)
2x Goff Big Choppa (Gift of the Ethereals)

Event: (10)
2x Summary Execution (Decree of Ruin)
2x Noble Deed (The Howl of Blackmane)
3x Preemptive Barrage (Core Set)
2x Suppressive Fire (Core Set)
1x The Emperor’s Warrant (Descendants of Isha)

Support: (6)
1x Forward Barracks (Decree of Ruin)
2x Catachan Outpost (Core Set)
3x Troop Transport (Boundless Hate)

Blow up your own units to fuel the Mortars. Goff Choppas work well on both the Mortars and the Psykers to help keep the damage output high whilst everything else (bar the void pirates) is a potential Markis target. If Preemptive Barrage has been used as well the Vanguards can be used to swing (after the Mortars), then blown up, readying the Mortars as well as another unit. The Death Korps add an additional way to fuel the Mortars that also takes out troublesome supports (Ammo Depot, Catachans, Orbital Cities).

Ironwall:
Total Cards: (50)

Warlord:
1x Broderick Worr (Decree of Ruin)

Army Unit: (30)
4x Anxious Infantry Platoon (Decree of Ruin)
1x Captain Markis (Core Set)
3x Elysian Assault Team (Core Set)
2x Front line ‘Ard Boyz (Boundless Hate)
3x Iron Guard Recruits (The Scourge)
2x Ratling Deadeye (Core Set)
3x Sacaellum Shrine Guard (Boundless Hate)
3x Sanctioned Psyker (Core Set)
3x Steel Legion Chimera (Zogwort's Curse)
3x Tallarn Raiders (Zogwort's Curse)
3x Void Pirate (Core Set)

Attachment: (4)
1x Commissarial Bolt Pistol (Decree of Ruin)
3x Hostile Environment Gear (Core Set)

Event: (8)
2x Summary Execution (Decree of Ruin)
3x Preemptive Barrage (Core Set)
3x Suppressive Fire (Core Set)

Support: (8)
1x Forward Barracks (Decree of Ruin)
3x Rockcrete Bunker (Core Set)
3x Troop Transport (Boundless Hate)
1x Inquisitorial Fortress (The Scourge)

Front Line’s take the damage whilst Steel Legions reduce the damage they take. Boosting the hp on Front Line’s just make them extra silly, but other units can easily have their hp boosted instead to spread the threat, especially since the Front Line’s are prone to routing effects.

Other versions:
http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/wh40kconquest/warhammer-40-000-conquest-decks-section/_/warhammer-40-000-conquest-decks/there-is-only-worr-siege-of-terra-champion-european-championship-r726 (Siege of Terra champion)

http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/wh40kconquest/warhammer-40-000-conquest-decks-section/_/warhammer-40-000-conquest-decks/black-crusade-winter-season-2016-top-8-worr-r747 (Black Crusde Top 8)