It’s been a wee while since I last looked at the awesome game that is Godslayer from Megalith Games. As I wander ever further down the path of damnation with A Tale of Two Armies I thought I’d take time out to look at my other favourite fantasy game.
This time round I’m taking a look at the Shadow Element menace of the Troglodytes. The Troglodytes, for the uninitiated, are the servants of the fifth element of Shadow. Turns out that hot ginger chick wasn’t the fifth element after all. Shame. Shadow is the great cosmic balancer and the Troglodytes are the instrument with which this is achieved. They are also the doom of all mankind. Born from the loins of the greatest of the five elements, and created with the sole purpose to wage war, the peoples Calydorn are rather stuffed.
They’re big buggers too. Massive in fact. Something that doesn’t come across in the photography as they’re all in scale with each other. Only when you see them with another model from the Godslayer range do you appreciate the kind of beasties you have on your hands. It also explains why there’s only 5 models in the box for £33. To be fair £33 is quite expensive for the 8 models you get in the other boxes but consider as well you get a raft of cards as well as quick start rules in each one. Also consider that the likes of Games Workshop charge £31.50 for three models, and Megalith’s are metal.
But back to the Troglodytes and their massiveness. They are proper big and do an excellent job, through that simple fact alone, of feeling out-of-place with the rest of the range. And as they should for they are magical beasties of killy stabbiness. Compounded with the fact that the models ooze menace and you’ve got yourself quite possibly the most interesting faction in the game. Whereas the other forces in Godslayer are a specific people or peoples and have a clear look and feel, the various elements of the Troglodytes means that it doesn’t quite line up. Which is a good thing. They’re hardly a disciplined army like the Mortans or a bunch of tree hugging hippies like the Wyldfok.
This said the Duskborn and the Ironhide Brutes do tick all the design boxes of the hall of fame of historical ass holes. There are elements of the Mongols and Babylonians in there to name but two. The point that Megalith, I think, were trying to get across is that the Troglodytes are a powerful, brutal, invading force and their equipment is designed for long grinding battles. And they do the job very very well. It’s all spiky helmets, long armour scale skirts and heavy shields. There is no virtuousness in these creatures, only a self-righteous zeal and belief that the world should burn. Which is kinda cool.
The Feral Hammerfist, on the other hand is different again. It’s also even bigger than the other models. And its metal. So it’s very heavy. Which is a good thing. As mentioned before it doesn’t really feel like it quite marries up with the rest of the force but belongs there for that very same reason. It’s big it’s imposing and it has punch daggers the size of a large water melon. It’s style of war is one of pummelling everything within its reach then moving on to the next group of enemies and repeating. It is the Hulk of the Godslayer Universe. My one complaint, if I had any is that the head is a little flat. It’s meant to be mind, it wasn’t a miscast, but because the ears are wide as well it just gives the impression a little bit that something large stamped on its face. I also hate the spike on its head. That’s coming right off. Other than that it’s a good model with some nice detailing so it won’t be miserable to paint.
In the game Troglodytes, specifically these ones less I give too much away, are nasty. Their Melee is high and Defence monstrously so. Hurting them is very difficult and would require mob tactics to take even an Ironhide Brute down. Throw in the sub-faction special rule that allows them to regenerate and suddenly what we find ourselves with is kinda what the Lord of the Rings game never quite – for me – quite managed, which is towering creatures of ethereal power wading through hordes of mortals that wastes dozens of lives to bring them down. Which is all rather cool. But more importantly it makes for an interesting game.
Plus there are lots of other bits and pieces that will make your opponents groan. Like Ironhide Brutes ignore shields. Throw in stuff like Carnage and Rage for the Duskborn which is all geared around making life very unpleasant for those that get into combat with him.
What you end up with is a super elite force that you have to play with very tactically but equally one that’ll be very hard to manage if you’re on the other side of the board. And this highlights what I’ve always felt about Godslayer – which is the variety woven into the fabric of the game. No two units are similar. No two factions even vaguely follow the same path as the other. Even the sizes of the basic troops varies hugely. And that’s why it’s such a good game.
The Troglodyte starter set is available from Firestorm Games priced £33.08.
