The Tower
An organisation of powerful mages, skilled at teleportation and wielding the arcane power to destroy their foes and secure objectives.
Tower units have above average mobility, good range on their attacks, and very reliable damage dealing capacity, however, they do tend to be a little squishy. Blink Dodge compensates for this a little, but don't over-rely on it or you might find yourself forced away from a key objective.
Let's take a look at some core models from the faction...
Arc Mage
Perhaps the most common enforcer agent on Tower strike teams. Skilled with using both fire and lightning to stun enemies and dish out damage. Unsubtle, but effective, they are not keen on the nickname “sparky”, often used in a derogatory fashion by higher ranked tower mages.
The Arc Mage is a versatile damage dealer for the Tower, able to deal both fire and lightning damage. Like most Tower models they can be easily killed via a crit due to having VIG 1, this is mitigated a little by Arcane Retort which deals 2 damage to anyone who manages to crit them. Blink dodge also makes it quite hard to crit them with Melee attacks as you can usually choose to accept a compulsory move to reduce damage from melee attacks by 1. They are good value bringing 1 Mark to your unspent mark pool.
Aegis Mage
A less common tactic, but often equally effective, used by more cautious mages in spell duels. The Aegis mage is an expert at blocking access and protecting both himself and others.
The Aegis Mage is one of the best ground-contesting models in the game. Like most Tower models they can be easily killed via a crit due to having VIG 1. He is an expensive asset bringing 0 marks to your unspent mark pool. He is also an example of a 2AP model. Most models in Deneb have 1AP, a rare few have 2AP, and they are generally ones that have no direct form of dealing damage with AP, the Aegis Mage is no exception. These 2AP models are often excellent at grabbing objectives (being able to move and “use” all in the one turn). His real power though is creating impassable walls that block enemies but other mages can easily blink past.
Enchanter
Enchanters focus on enhancing the abilities of others by channelling aetheric energies through their allies bodies.
The Enchanter is a flexible support model for the tower. Like most Tower models they can be easily killed via a crit due to having VIG 1, this is mitigated a little by Arcane Retort and Blink Dodge. They are good value bringing 1 Mark to your unspent mark pool. Enchanters can really boost the power of other Mages, buffing attributes, increasing damage dealt and even granting an additional AP.
Gatekeeper
Masters of the aetheric world between worlds, Gatekeepers learn how to open portals to let their allies travel great distances, crossing the battlefield in the blink of an eye.
The Gatekeeper is a support model for the tower that has options both for enhancing mobility and area control. Like most Tower models they can be easily killed via a crit due to having VIG 1, this is mitigated a little by Arcane Retort and Blink Dodge. They are good value bringing 1 Mark to your unspent mark pool. During play-testing some testers suggested this model should be renamed “Trapkeeper” because of how heavily the Trap Gate got used!
So that’s the basic Tower Models done, the core rules also include a couple more advanced options for the Tower.
The Golem Mage is an interesting option that can throw opponents used to facing Tower forces where they don’t expect such study targets, or one’s willing to get into melee and go toe to toe with other melee focussed models. The “Aggro” status effect created by its Roar can certainly interfere with your opponents plans.
The Mirror Mage is a very unusual Mage who can copy the spells of any other Mage in your strike team and (with an upgrade) give any Mage access to a spell from another Mage. It can be a little mind-bending tactically to take maximum advantage, hence not recommended for a basic force. However, there are some synergies with Enchanters and Mirror Mages that can be quite devastating.
Full art, rules and unit cards for these models can be found in the free rulebook download in the rules section.
