Dangerous Delves, Preview 2

Hello! This is your friendly neighborhood Lead Design for Dangerous Delves—well, “lead” in name only, really. One of the most interesting things about this set were the amazing designs that Peter Lee had already done on many of the figures, when they were slated for Feywild.

So, my job was practically done for many of the figures before I even started. Sure, the team had some tweaking on the existing figures to do. Bump a figure’s cost here, change a role there, completely overhaul one there, and so on.

But, overall, the groundwork was already done when we took over. This, naturally, was both a boon and a bane. As designers for the DDM Guild, work on D&D Miniatures is obviously not our primary job, and time constraints are an ever-present monster in the corner—having a bunch of work done in advance went a long way to placate the time monster. On the flip side, we respected Peter’s work greatly, and didn’t want to stomp all over it. When you get a look at the whole thing, be sure to praise Peter and Wizards for everything you like (and blame me—or better yet, Kevin—for everything you don’t).

Rambling time over, let’s get to the BLOOD!

Today, we’re going to take a look at two common, low-level fodder that will be of great use in Limited events, and will be contenders in Constructed, as well.

First up is the Blood Scarab. This 7-pointer wants blood badly—and by that, I mean that he loves ongoing damage. With the right synergies, this burrowing critter becomes a monster—hitting at +9 for 20 damage. The butter on his biscuit is Blood Drain, a minor action which lowers enemy damage automatically. On the flip side, he’s a bit fragile and slow. Burrowing helps him get into place and drop damage where he’s needed.

Interestingly, while he’s beastly in nature, his Underdark-only faction means searching a bit more broadly for synergies than might be found in Wild. Then again, aren’t there a few great, cheap Spiders in Underdark he can pair with?

Next up is a bit less beastly and a bit more draconic. The Bloodseeker Drake checks in at 12 points and is more durable than his cheaper buddy. He isn’t going do dish out the same kind of damage as the Scarab, but his soldier-y nature affords him a certain amount of battlefield control.

Awareness means that enemies have to deal with him or risk some damage (though not a lot), and with his Speed of 7, he can easily get to vulnerable artillery or fodder. And speaking of getting to figures, his Bloodseeker power lets him speed to recently bloodied figures. Free movement is always exploitable by good players, and I expect to see quite a bit of experimentation with this Dragon at the table, especially as a fodder hunter. Oh, how those those delicious fodder get bloodied quickly.

Next Week: Goblins!

Stephen Hagan has worked on several D&D Miniatures restat sets, including Deathknell, Aberrations, and Dragoneye. Dangerous Delves is the first chance he’s had to take credit for other people’s work and get away with it.