By Pat Neven

The years pass by in their endless procession. 2nd Ed rolls into 3rd Ed. New endless spells roll out for 3rd Ed in GHB 2020, that rolls into GHB 2021, twice for some stupid reason, then rolls into GHB 2023 and here we have another set of Endless Spell Warscrolls.

GW making Geminids OP again

Anyways, the 2023 GHB is a week and a bit away, the leaks have arrived and we here at the Craichouse are determined to leech every last click out of the bait before the book drops.

We divided the book up amongst the Craichouse staff. Editor Pete stuck me with the unwelcome chore of writing a brief review of the new endless spells. Probably to keep me from live updating him every time something bad happens to England in the Ashes. Don’t let the nicest man in Warhammer crap fool you, like most miserable Poms he can be a spiteful bastard.

So the plan is to go through the endless spells, make note of any changes in this edition and share my thoughts on how they will play out. Just for the lols I’ll have a guess at their eventual points cost as well.*

^{All endless spell images credit Games Workshop duh!}

First Thoughts

The baby wizard/Andtorian Locus (AL) edition seems intent on adding a lot of juice to the magic phase. More Wizards, extra spell casts and Primal Magic (PM) dice. The mechanics of primal magic are particularly relevant to endless spells. You roll normally and then decide whether to add PM dice to boost the result. Two 1s gets you a super miscast, two 6s gets you a non-unbindable spell. Total Power from way back in WHFB.

This obviously makes it easier to cast the high value spells and your opponent also gets a buff to unbind them. However you are going to see a lot more high casting totals and Total Powers than super miscasts. People who have a six on the table will gleefully commit dice to securing another one just so they can send out a big fuck you to Nagash or whichever master magical Chud is on the opposite side.

I think this will make endless spells strats a lot more viable for magically weaker armies. Go ahead and throw that Brawler Guts Tyrant with an Arcane Tome in the Bringy Dinghy for an assassination mission. You’ve got 3 PD dice to make it stick: fuck Lord Kroak, he’s not your Dad.

On the flip side the high value endless spells will be way easier to get rid of for magically weaker armies. No more praying for a 9 to banish that stupid Rat Trap. Throw enough PD at it and it’s history. It’s not like you were going to unbind Thanquol with his plus 5 to cast anyway.

As an aside the Baller gut check moment for magic in this GHB is going to be when you roll a 6 and a 1 for your spell and you have to decide to commit a dice to risk a miscast or gain total power. Anyways on with the spells.

Horrorghast

Unchanged in this GHB. Didn’t see as much of it as I thought in the last edition; then again switching off inspiring presence is one of the more common abilities in the game – 60 pts

Aethervoid Pendulum

Same range, same speed, CV gone up from 5 to 6. A couple of important changes here. The Spell can now travel in Reverse accompanied by a powerful moral obligation to make the truck beeping noise. Its damage has gone up to its AOS standard d6 mortals.

When GW launched AOS3 they made endless spells easier to control and move more often while generally nerfing their impact. Well time is a flat circle and this thing is way better than it ever was. Depending on the final points cost expect to see this one back in the arsenal of the magic heavy hitters. I’d put it at a solid 80 points but knowing the rigor of GW playtesting it will start at 50 and find its way there over battlescroll points hikes. 50pts

Chronomatic Cogs

Gone is the ridiculously large 12 inch reroll casting bubble that effectively negated miscasts for magic heavy armies. Credit where it is due, this is a welcome change at the right time. We will be spared the sight of LRL or Seraphon rerolling anything with a 1 in it.

What does it do now? A free Arcane Bolt or Mystic Shield and neg one to hit from shooting. Not bad, but are you going to use an endless spell slot for it? It will depend on the points cost as it’s still useful as an offensive weapon. 40pts

Really clever redesign for this GHB

Emerald Lifeswarm

Unchanged workhorse of the endless spell world. 60pts

Geminids of Uhl-Gysh

Full disclosure, I fucking hate Geminids. My most regular opponent included the stupid things in just about every list he ran in AOS 2. They were powerful, irritating and undercosted. I will go to my grave convinced the original 18 inch casting range on them was a typo they were too embarrased to correct. I was glad to see them drop out of play and I’m pissed to see them comng back.

Like anything that shuts off command abilities, the effects range from good against most armies, very good against OBR types, and outright lethal against the KO. In practice you will generally only use them on your turn as nobody with an unbind and a PD will be leaving them up in their turn. (Btw if you’re not rocking at least two unbinds in every list this edition you will suffer for it).

My Geminid-inspired trauma may have led me to make too much of these wretched things. They do level the playing field for turning off command abilities and their current range is poor. Then again their short range bothers Seraphon players even less than the thought of giving their opponents an enjoyable game, and they are the ones who will be spamming Geminids.

I will never know why they didn’t keep the restrictions on extending the range of endless spells they so painstakingly worked out in 2nd ed. If it’s good for Seraphon, it will be painfully cheap to begin with. I expect price hikes and restriction on the number of units they can affect over the year of the GHB. – 70pts

Malevolent Maelstrom

I honestly can’t remember what this thing did in any other edition so I suppose it is due a buff and boy did it get one.

CV 5, range 8, move 8. This bad boy brings the fun of book keeping to AOS. Essentially you throw it out, cast some spells, kill some stuff till the number reaches 6 then it goes boom at the end of the phase, spamming mortals in a 7-12 inch radius.

I sense that from a game design point of view there is an expectation that this thing will be pretty interesting in play. The range is short, you might hurt yourself in the explosion or use it to make your opponent think twice about casting spells. There are some risk/reward considerations here.

Well someone needs to remind the designers of the amazing job they did on Seraphon cause this thing is a must have for magic heavy armies. If the points are right this spell is going in every frog spam list. Port the casting-range-from guy forward, cast the endless spell, cast your other spells, it explodes at the end of the phase for an extra AOE bomb on anything that’s left. Good Game. Honestly won’t be surprised to see this come in cheap. 40pts

I’m pretty sure this is a the right one, I’ve never seen it on the table

Prismatic Palisade

This one caught a buff and depending on rules interpretation it has the potential to be a massive hit.

The next turn is where it gets interesting. The spell takes effect at the start of the hero phase, same time as endless spell dispels. Obviously an LRL player will dispel this before you shut down his Sentinels but there is some debate at the Craichouse over who gets to go first.

Normally the active player goes first and you would get your dispel before the opponent got to roll for his ability. However the Prismatic Pallisades abilities are not linked to any player. It was summoned by one side but it isn’t predatory, it isn’t bound and it affects everybody equally.

You can make the case that its an environmental effect and should happen before player actions, It’s not even clear from the text who makes the roll. This one could use an FAQ. Regardless I am here for anti-shooting tech. 50pts

Purple Sun

The big purple poster child for piss poor design and playtesting in AOS3. Thankfully they’ve stuck with the latest amendments. Easier to cast and unbind in practice this GHB. 80pts

Quicksilver Swords

Unchanged and still plenty useful. I’m assuming AL’s with bodyguard shrugs are going to be doing big business this GHB and this is a good way to get rid of them. 60pts

Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws

Unchanged and why mess with perfection. Wakka Wakka Wakka! 70pts

Looks weird when it’s not Painted Pac-Man Yellow

Soulsnare Shackles

Like most endless spells that are most effective in your opponent’s turn, this bad boy will probably be dispelled start of the hero phase and have no effect. That’s even easier to do with PD but it does take up enemy resources. Meh 40pts

Suffocating Gravetide

There has been a lot of chatter about the bump this one caught and given that I can’t remember ever seeing it in a tourney list it was probably due.

Given the base size of this thing, you should be able to clip a couple of different units in a go, making it a brutal horde clearer against zombies and still quite useful against 5 man elite units. Win all around – there will be a few people slapping paint on these 5 years after Malign Sorcery. 70 pts

The Burning Head

It’s hard to think of an endless spell that has seen more redesigns than this little guy. I first used it as a source of rerolling 1’s to hit for Ironblasters way back in the day.

Attaching endless spells to units is a pretty cool idea and I hope they continue with it. It would make a nice option for an Emerald Lifeswarm. Good design. 30pts

Umbral Spellportal

If there’s one spell that could use a redesign it’s this tired old crutch. Got a plan that involves a short range spell, then wheel out a spell portal you clichéd hack.

More importantly you can now unbind it from the other end. Something that should be extended to any prick that measures their range from another point. 80pts

I cop a bit of flak for bagging playtesters but on release you could put an unlimited number of spells and endless spells through these things. From memory they got FAQ‘d within 2 weeks

Soulscream Bridge

Another tired crutch, the Soulscream Bridge has been the Basic Bitch of AOS strategy since its miserable inception. Got a problem you can’t solve with a spell portal, this is what’s behind door No. 2.

Whichever unit you throw across the bridge cannot issue or recieve commands until your next hero phase. People are less likely to take this thing with elite units and good riddance. 70pts

Shards of Valaghar

Another seldom seen endless spell, this one has had a bit of a redesign.

The old Shards used to move one of its two pieces and effect everything hit by a line between them. The new Shards move slower but affect everything within 6 inches of both pieces, so this is a pretty big buff. Then again, anything that moves away from the aura is not affected, so nerf I guess.

It doesn’t half movement anymore, still stops teleport moves and you can’t teleport into its area of effect. That said like most spells that do their best work in your opponents turn, it can easily be dispelled before it takes effect. 40pts

Lauchon the Soulseeker

Fuck you Thanquol, catch an uber you dirty stinking rat.

Thanqoul was the most frequent user of this service and now he is walking. Skaven players will just have to suck it up and come to terms with the huge buffs to AL casting they are getting. 50pts

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. After going through the endless spells I have developed a new respect for the process of revamping them. On top of the usual balancing issues the games designers try to make them relevant to the GHB and eliminate the useless ones. Not an easy job and for all the times they get it wrong they also do a pretty good job, although that said, Seraphon are entirely their fault.

One final thing to keep an eye on is The Rupture spell from the new Andorian Spell Lore. Whatever you are doing with a predatory endless spell this GHB, someone can take it off you and stick it somewhere painful. Keep an eye out.

One way or another, they’re gonna get you

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*Pete here – thought I’d put this part in bold, in case some dipshit skim-reads the article and thinks these are leaked points. They’re not. I can guarantee that some donut will still end up whining that they were “wrong” though. You can take a horse to water…

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