The Bloody Cardinal: Larger-Than-Life Villainy

Every now and then, do you feel the urge to play as the baddies? After all, every fantasy tale needs a villain...and this one's larger than life...

One of the joys in Champions is that that the game offers a range of choices for a brand-new fantasy wargamer, but also the chance for existing players to easily try out a brand new faction without the need to build a whole army. If, for example, you're a Kings of War player who's ever cast a jealous eye at the fiery Forces of the Abyss, then we reckon today's Champion will be right up your street...

Dive into a faction introduction below, including notes from Champions game designer Rob Burman!

No More Mr Nice Guy - Meet Your Champion

Just who is the Bloody Cardinal? Excellent question - so let's meet this larger-than-life villain (once a simple Basilean clergyman) in all his gluttonous glory:

"An insatiable appetite in life forced a once proud Basilean cardinal, Alustus Cassius, down the path of greed. He would hold grand banquets using donations gathered from his flock. Now, reborn as an Abyssal lord his appetite is never sated and he stalks the battlefield searching for his next victim."

There's even more to learn about the history of this fiendish fellow and his ferocious feasting in the Kings of War: Champions rulebook...

Plus, while the rest of his company may be in hard plastic - the main man himself is coming in our new MasterCraft™ resin. We've already used this new material for our Halo Show Specials, and absolutely love it. In a nutshell you can expect lots of detail, easy-to-build designs, and enough durability for worry-free gaming.

The Devil Makes Work for Idle Chums

Three units of loyal followers join the Bloody Cardinal as he carves a crimson path through those unfortunate to find themselves in his way.

The Cackling Choir (Lower Abyssals), Macabre Missionaries (Abyssal Berserkers) and the Slithering Bishop (a lone but deadly Nagarri) are all here to share in the mayhem and appease their vile master's will...

This is a stunning company of minis for a new wargamer, featuring not only The Bloody Cardinal himself but also some of the very latest new faction models - the fantastic Abyssal Berserkers and Nagarri. These were both new units that just made their debut in Pannithor at the end of 2024, so we're delighted to also bring them to the (smaller) field of battle right here in Champions.

And next, let's look at how they play - and get the ultimate inside track from the mind behind the game...

Game Designer's Notes - Tips from Rob Burman

"The Bloody Cardinal may be slow but he makes up for it with a powerful melee attack - six attacks hitting on 3+, combined with Crushing Strength (2), which means his attacks reduce the opponent’s defence by -2. What’s more, unlike traditional Kings of War, the Champions get bonuses for attacking in the flank or rear, so it’s worth thinking about how you position the Cardinal to get the most out of those attacks.

To represent the Cardinal’s insatiable appetite, he has Life Leech (1), so will recover a point of damage each time he successfully causes damage in a melee attack. This is handy because, unlike many of the other units, the Cardinal doesn’t have Regeneration.

Because you’re likely to be getting stuck into combat alongside your troops with the Bloody Cardinal, his Champion Rule (Feast & Famine) sees enemy units within 9” suffer a -1 to their Nerve, which makes them slightly easier to rout. Make sure you carefully position the Cardinal to impact those units with a high nerve or high defence, which could make all the difference when it comes to that all-important Nerve roll.

The main thing with the Cardinal is to get into combat as soon as you can and start swinging that massive hammer!

Faction Orders

Like the Cardinal’s Champion Rule, the Faction Orders are focused on making your troops more effective in close combat. Battle Rage forces you to take one point of damage in order to gain +1 attack for the subsequent Round. Potentially you don’t even have to worry too much about that damage because all the units - apart from the Cardinal - have Regeneration, so there’s a good chance you may be able to heal back up. If you do choose Battle Rage, make sure you combine it with Feast and Famine for a potentially devastating one-two punch.

However, if you have taken a little too much damage and are worried about a unit being wiped out, then consider giving them the Blessed by the Abyss order. This allows a unit to re-roll ones when taking a Regeneration test. This is perfect for The Slithering Bishop (a foul Nagarri) which normally regenerates on a roll of 3+! Chances are that combined with the faction order, you could potentially heal most of its damage. Nasty!

Play Style Summary

• The Forces of the Abyss are all about getting into melee as quickly as possible, then hopefully healing up any damage suffered with the Regeneration rule. The Macabre Missionaries (Berserkers) are one of the fastest units in the game, with a speed of 6, which means you may be able to get up close and personal in an early turn, or hold them back and wait for the enemy to approach before charging in and catching them by surprise.
• Meanwhile, the Cackling Choir (Lower Abyssals) are useful for grabbing objectives and have a decent amount of attacks (12, hitting on a 5+). Keep them near the Cardinal to have even more chance of wiping out some enemy units while you’re sitting on an objective, then just keep healing up with the Blessed by the Abyss Faction Order.
• Overall, the Forces of the Abyss are great for those players that like to get stuck into a scrap! There’s no messing about here - just charge straight in and start swinging those claws."

Thanks Rob! The Bloody Cardinal and his crew will be shipping from the 14th April as part of the Faith and Fury 2-Player Set, and on retail shelves shortly afterwards.

Join us later in the week for another faction preview - and don't miss Andy's 'How to Play' video series on YouTube!