8th Ed. Revenge is sweet ... or how to kill a Khemric Titan

[Dyvim Tvar]

With Tomb Kings being the only blemish on my record at Buckeye Battles, I matched up against them yesterday. It wasn't the same player, and we were playing an uncomped 3000 point game in which we were allowing both special characters and big monsters from Storm of Magic and the Monstrous Arcanum. My opponent took the opportunity to field a Khemric Titan, a monstrosity that has T8 and 10 wounds, and a special rule that it cannot be wounded by attacks with strength less than 4.

I had some REALLY bad luck in the magic phase. Turn 1 was a 12 on Winds of Magic for me, and my Loremaster Slann promptly failed to cast and broke concentration, ending my magic phase. Turn 2, more modest Winds, I immediately cast Soul Quench irresistibly, roll a 12 on the miscast chart, and lose 3 magic levels after doing 1 wound to a unit of Ushabti.

I overcame that and won the game in large part due to the fact that I killed the Khemric Titan in 1 round of combat. I charged it with a horde unit of 40 Saurus Warriors (including Cowboy Scar Vet) and 2 bases of Jungle Swarms. The thing is on a massive base, so I got a whole bunch of poisoned attacks and did 9 wounds in total. The thing killed a fair number of Saurus in return but still popped from combat res.

Good times.

 

[Sleboda]

Good for you! Poison is definitely the way to handle this beast.

I don't think I've ever talked to someone who has played with or against the Titan, and since I am looking to take one to a tournament this coming October, I wonder if you might be able to give me some input on some rules questions.

I know you and your opponent are not an official source, but at least you've seen the thing in action, which is better than nothing!

Here are the questions:

1) Did you play the Shrine as an innate bound spell (it's listed in the special rules, not as an Item), per the BRB rules, or did you play it as a Magic Item with a regular bound spell?

2) Wrath of the Sands lists no duration or target. It is a Hex spell. As such, it cannot be cast. Hexes can only target enemy units. What was this spell supposed to list as its target? How long does the effect last? At present, even if you were allowed to cast it, its effect would come to an immediate end and thus be useless.

3) What is the recommended base size?

4) Can the special attacks of the Titan be parried?

5) Are the special attacks independent from the Titan's Thunderstomps? For example, can it Thunderstomp and do the hits from Reaping Blades? Can it still Thunderstomp after Breath of Night? The answer should be yes or no to both.

6) Does Soul Slaying Hunger actually use the template? If so, what are the restrictions on placement of the template? Where does it start from? Can it be angled? Can it hit several enemy units the Titan is fighting? Can it damage units the Titan is not in contact with but are still hit by the template? Under which circumstances are models permitted a Look Out, Sir roll?

7 ) We are instructed to pick one enemy unit to suffer the Titan's special attacks. If Breath of Night is rolled when in combat with multiple units, how is combat resolution determined versus the unaffected units?


Thanks!

 

[Dyvim Tvar]

I will do my best, but many of these questions did not arise ...

1) Did you play the Shrine as an innate bound spell (it's listed in the special rules, not as an Item), per the BRB rules, or did you play it as a Magic Item with a regular bound spell?

Played it as an innate bound spell.

2) Wrath of the Sands lists no duration or target. It is a Hex spell. As such, it cannot be cast. Hexes can only target enemy units. What was this spell supposed to list as its target? How long does the effect last? At present, even if you were allowed to cast it, its effect would come to an immediate end and thus be useless.

We reasoned that since the default rules in the book are that a spell has to have a target, this spell has to have a target, and since hexes target enemy units, the target has to be an enemy unit. Since no range is listed, we assumed it could target a single enemy unit anywhere on the board. And since no duration is listed, we assumed it would last for the remainder of the game. That being said, he only tried to cast it once and I dispelled it.

3) What is the recommended base size?

I don't know that there is a recommended base size. He had it on something really huge (it's an in-progress conversion from a Starship Troopers big alien thing). If I recall correctly, it was as wide as 8 Saurus Warriors. Similar depth.

4) Can the special attacks of the Titan be parried?

Never came up since my Saurus had spears.

5) Are the special attacks independent from the Titan's Thunderstomps? For example, can it Thunderstomp and do the hits from Reaping Blades? Can it still Thunderstomp after Breath of Night? The answer should be yes or no to both.

We played the Thunderstomp happened in addition to Reaping Blades since that's the only special attack that was ever rolled ... but my read of Breath of Night is that it also precludes Thunderstomp since it does say that the Titan does not attack and a Thunderstomp is an attack.

6) Does Soul Slaying Hunger actually use the template? If so, what are the restrictions on placement of the template? Where does it start from? Can it be angled? Can it hit several enemy units the Titan is fighting? Can it damage units the Titan is not in contact with but are still hit by the template? Under which circumstances are models permitted a Look Out, Sir roll?

Never came into play and I did not focus on the rules for this. If it uses a Template, Look Out Sir! should be available as normal.

7 ) We are instructed to pick one enemy unit to suffer the Titan's special attacks. If Breath of Night is rolled when in combat with multiple units, how is combat resolution determined versus the unaffected units?

Never came up. That being said, since it says that the Titan automatically wins combat I read that as applying to the entire combat that it's in.