Visions in the Flames: The Halfhand
As we move closer to the updates coming for Night’s Watch, let’s take a look at one of the most prolific legends of the Watch: Qhorin Halfhand.
Qhorin is available in two forms, his Attachment version, the Grizzled Ranger, and his NCU version, the Unwavering Ranger.
We’re not going to dwell too much on his Attachment version, except to note that it is receiving a reduction in cost from 3 points to 2 points. While his specific combination of Abilities is indeed fearsome, 3 points was a steep price for their benefit - especially in a faction with already expensive units.
We will, however, go over the changes to his Unwavering Ranger version.
Qhorin had the unique benefit of being able to sacrifice himself to partially* shut down a chosen Unit (Combat or NCU) for the round. The *asterisk there because it prevented the unit from Activating, but not performing Actions, meaning the Tactics Board and other effects could still allow such. That wasn’t very fitting for a unit that is literally sacrificing itself for the rest of the game to stop a foe for 1 round. In this effort, we boosted the effect to prevent actions of any kind, so you can be sure the unit is entirely shut down. More so, we also changed the timing from the Start of the Round to the beginning of any Turn (so long as Qhorin had not yet activated), to give a bit more control to his owner, since you were indeed losing him for the rest of the game.
Beyond all this, however, the Ability was still the ultimate “Once Per Game” in the fact that, aside from being usable once, it also meant losing Qhorin for the rest of the game. This essentially made him a blank NCU otherwise- a hard investment at 4 points. While the option to lower him to 3 points existed, that was not the route we wished to take, for a number of reasons. Instead we retooled him to be the “offense-focused” NCU option for the Watch (Commander Othell aside). This represents the fact that Qhorin is largely viewed as one of the best and deadliest Rangers to ever, well, Range.
Now, when utilizing Qhorin, Infantry units he Influences will receive enhanced speed and a small boost to their attack. Independently the buffs are minor, but combined together and factoring in the various tools available, they stack up very quickly. Plus, flat bonuses to both Speed and Attack Dice are buffs no one will ever complain about receiving.
And that is going to wrap up our look at the changes coming to Qhorin Halfhand once the update hits. There are still more surprises in store, for both sides of the Wall. Join us then!
