If the Middle Earth Strategy game is starting to peak your interest and the updates to the rules are starting to really look good (Im thinking so), here is the next update and changes for Magical Powers.
via the Warhammer Community
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/08/25/24th-aug-big-rules-changes-magic-middle-earthgw-homepage-post-3fw-homepage-post-4/
we have made a few changes that directly affect Magical Powers, all of which will help to make magic that bit more subtle – just the way Tolkien intended! Let’s have a look at some of the changes.
One thing we found was that when a Magical Power was resisted by a Hero, then said Hero became all the more easy to target in future turns – essentially, there was no chance for them to regain Will points. To improve a Hero’s chance to resist multiple powers over different turns, there has been a small change to what happens when you make a Resist test.
Now if your Hero rolls a Natural 6 when making their Resist test, they get the dice that rolled the 6 added back to their Will store!
Here in the Middle-earth team, we spent quite a long time reassessing every Magical Power in an effort to re-balance them for the new edition. One of the things we have done with this is to move every Magical Power from a model’s profile into the main rules manual – this has allowed us to assign them to other profiles as well if needed, and also given us the chance to give them all a channelled version too!
Some Magical Powers have been changed in this edition, either their normal or channelled effects (and sometimes both). Much of this has been done to tone down the huge impact they had on the game, in favour of the more subtle approach that magic in Middle-earth is known for. Here are two examples:
Sorcerous Blast has had a small but significant change in that it can no longer will blast the target through whole ranks of models – instead, it will stop when it hits the first model and knock both Prone. This means Sorcerous Blast requires a little more finesse, as you have to really to position your Wizard strategically to get the best results with this power.
Fury is another Magical Power that was particularly prevalent, and we’ve slightly changed how it works as a result. Firstly, Fury will now only affect models with the correct Keywords, so Moria Goblin Shamans will now only affect Moria Goblins and not those from Goblin-town. Also, the standard version of the power will make all friendly models with the correct Keywords pass Courage tests, whilst the channelled version now provides a 6+ save. These changes ensure Fury is still an excellent Magical Power, but stops it dominating the Matched Play scene.
There is also a selection of brand-new, never-before-seen Magical Powers, and so we thought we would share two of them with you.
Protection of the Valar is a new power that has been designed to help protect key models from enemy special rules and Magical Powers. This power is ideal for casting on your leader or a model that is carrying an objective, preventing your opponent from bombarding them with powers of their own in order to gain the upper hand. Gandalf the Grey is one Hero who has Protection of the Valar.
Enchanted Blades is a new power that improves a model’s chances to wound enemy models, especially if it has been channelled. This power is great for casting on a Hero who is fighting a foe whose death help you win the game. Celeborn is one such Hero who has Enchanted Blades.
Sounds exciting! But what’s even more exciting is that The Lord of the Rings™ Battle of Pelennor Fields and all the accompanying releases for the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game are available for pre-order right now! Order your treasures of Middle-earth here.
