Let's Discuss Lay of the Land and Corruption Rune

Welcome back to Impact 3! Last week, FFG dropped the newest article for the Darnati Warriors (FINALLY!!!) and spoiled two new upgrades that will be included in the box, Lay of the Land and Corruption Rune. After waiting for the Darnati Warriors since jumping into the game, I was very intrigued by the possibilities that these upgrades will provide for Latari, and overall, I think both are decent additions to Latari lists. Below are my initial thoughts on both upgrades and a few ideas on how they may be utilized.


First up is Lay of the Land:

I definitely think this is the better of the two new upgrades. It is easier to trigger, provides more flexibility in it's use, and is less random overall. At first glance, this may not look like a pretty simple upgrade, but as you consider all the different ways that Latari have to get shifts (whether on their dials or through other upgrades), more and more synergies become apparent.

One of the first things that jumped to mind when I saw this was how much my 3x2 block of Deepwood Archers with a Support Scion will love this. With both upgrades and some well placed Overgrown terrain, it is possible to get a maximum of 4 shifts in a turn allowing the Archers to very easily be wherever they want. Even better though, are all the different combinations this pair of upgrades allows if you are able to keep them close to Overgrown terrain. Want to march 2, reform, and shift twice, now you can! Want to dial in a ranged attack with a surge modifier and shift twice, now you can! want to Rally and shift 3 times, now you can! And that's just the beginning! The flexibility and maneuverability that these two upgrades allow is going to make the Deepwood Archers even better at being in the right place at the right time while avoiding retaliation from your opponent.

Another place I see a possibility for this upgrade is on the Leonx Riders. They are already extremely maneuverable, and this will only further increase that. Worried you are going to get charged and can't beat them to it? Now you can march 1 and shift twice to try to get out of the way. Want to completely reposition your unit of Leonx Riders? Try shifting 3 times to the side and see how your opponent reacts. Or even better, Shift twice and then reform to line up the flank charge on the next turn.


What your opponent will see as your Leonx Riders completely reposition with a triple shift.

While these are only a few of the many options Lay of the Land, provides, I think it is very clear that this only further puts Latari on top for most maneuverable of all the factions currently in Runewars. Of course, there are the downsides to this upgrade. First off is the opportunity cost of taking Lay of the Land over something like Rank Discipline on Leonx Riders, Close Quarters Targeting on Deepwood Archers, or any of the other 3-4 point upgrades available on any of our units. Additionally, Lay of the Land only provides a single shift, and it is conditional on you performing a shift before that. While this isn't a hard prerequisite to meet, it does limit some of your options, and sometimes an additional shift 1 just isn't enough. Further, a lot of the flexibility I discussed with the Deepwood Archers builds on being near Overgrown terrain which is not always guaranteed. Overall, I think Lay of the Land will definitely see some play, but it is by no means an auto-include for me quite yet.

The second upgrade spoiled is Corruption Rune:

Where Lay of the Land offers flexibility and maneuverability, Corruption Rune offers an element of control with the possibility of some light damage. One of the first things that jumped out at me when I read this card is how much randomness is built into it. The range can be anywhere from 1-4 and can never be guaranteed. On top of that, the amount of damage and type of bane handed out are completely reliant on your morale deck. With both of these in mind, this upgrade will take some effort to get good use out of, but the effects can be quite strong if you are able to make it work. Before discussing possible ways to use Corruption Rune though, I think it is important to understand the probability of getting various damage results as well as each specific bane token. (WARNING: basic math incoming)

In a standard Morale deck of 30 cards, there are 15 with 1 icon, 8 with 2 icons, and 7 with 3 icons. This means there is a 50% chance of doing only a single damage and almost an even chance of doing 2 or 3 damage (26.7% and 23.3%, respectively). Further, there are 12 Confusion cards, 12 Fear cards, and 6 Doubt cards. Thus, you have a 40% chance of getting either a stun token or immobilize token and a 20% chance of getting a panic token. While none of this is game changing, it definitely helps you know what to expect when you include Corruption Rune in your list. So with that in mind, we can move on to ideas for how to use Corruption Rune.

The first idea that came to mind for this upgrade was again in my 3x2 Deepwood Archers block with the Maegan upgrade being run alongside Aliana with Malcorne's Bequest to help with rune manipulation. This combination feels like it could be quite strong as Aliana can recast energy runes in an attempt to increase both the range of Corruption Rune and the splash damage provided by Maegan. Additionally, by including both the Corruption Rune and Maegan in the same block, you are able to double dip on the unstable runes while also applying control to the board. However, 50% of the time, the range of Corruption Rune will be only 2, and such a large block of Deepwood Archers doesn't typically like staying that close to my opponent.


Actual footage of my Deepwood Archers performing a "tactical retreat" as my opponent closes in.

A second idea to run Corruption Rune is to add it to a 2x1 Deepwood Archer unit. I think it would still be best to include Aliana (or Maegan) with Malcorne's Bequest to help get it off more often, but by including it on a smaller unit, it is less risky to have them closer to your opponent. With this idea, the unit would act as a 21pt control piece ideally sitting just behind your front lines and throwing out Stun or Immobilize Tokens to slow down your opponent or weaken their damage output in melee by cancelling hits and surges dialed in. While the unit has no where near the damage output the 3x2 Archers with Maegan does, the opportunity cost of using this smaller unit in this way is much lower than the big block or Archers who would get more use out of dialing in the surge on their second dial when attacking. With a small, inexpensive unit like this, it is less costly to have them dial in something other than an attack on their first dial (possibly a march to get them in range?) as you are losing out on less damage overall than if you were to do this with the big block of Archers.

Overall, I think Corruption Rune is a solid upgrade that has some great control elements that are balanced out by the randomness of the damage, range, and bane token handed out. However, add to this the opportunity cost of running this instead of Tempered Steel or another Equipment upgrade, and I am not sure how much play it will actually see, although I definitely plan to at least test it out.

Conclusion:
The Darnati Warriors are finally on the boat!!! (row faster little buddies...) In all seriousness, I think both of these upgrades are great additions to the Latari arsenal. Neither seem over the top while still being good enough to make it into some lists. I gave a few ideas above of how I might try these upgrades out, but I know there are several more. What are some of the ways you are looking to try these out? Where do you think they will see the most play? I'm looking forward to hear ideas from those of y'all who are more experienced than I am! And until next time, may the Morale deck always flip in your favor (especially if you are running Corruption Rune).