The True Dominion
After the fall of the Forgotten King and destruction of Moonreach, the Commonwealth quickly became the dominant faction on Tauber. Their good intentions failed and the other denizens felt an oppressive thumb over them yet again.
The then Goblin King and Diana, Queen of the Fae, decided to take matters into their own hands. They drew the attention of Duchess Noravia de Faulte who brought the power of the ousted Moonreach Nobles with her. They formed the True Dominion at midnight and they adopted the moon as their icon to reflect the skies above their treaty; the moon also reflects their opposition to the Commonwealth, who they began fighting immediately.
A delicate peace has been in place for many years now, but the two factions still distrust each other. The Dominion counts almost all species in their ranks - chaotic and sneaky goblins, enigmatic and subtle faeries, outcasts, and massive trolls. Most of the Dominion first owe loyalty to themselves, and only come together when the need is truly pressing.
For New Players
Maybe a brute force approach isn't for you? Maybe the crude smashing and bashing of humans is not your preferred path to victory? If a sneaky approach to combat and large piles of energy is more to your liking, then the Dominion is for you. Unlike the Commonwealth, the Dominion relies a lot more on synergy, especially within the two main groups of goblins and faeries. Despite the fact goblins and faeries can be used together, they are usually less efficient mixed together than gnomes and humans, for example. They also generally carry a better evade stat than their Commonwealth counterparts and generate more energy. The downside to this extra agility comes in the form of flimsiness, especially with their wounds.
When it comes to fighting in an underhanded fashion, the goblins are the masters. If a more sneaky and evasive gameplan is what intrigues you, the faeries are the way to go. Of course, you could just drop subtlety entirely and run a wall of trolls at your opponent…
Dominion Subfactions Overview
Goblins (Difficulty: Medium)
Playstyle: Will always lose in a fair fight, but great at setting up unfair fights; will manipulate energy and trigger random effects for crazy combos and super charged activations.
Melee: ☆☆☆☆☆
Ranged: ☆☆☆☆☆
Toughness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆
Harvesting: ☆☆☆☆☆
Key Box Sets: Starter Set / Goblin City, Mushrooms & Mayhem, Rule the Roost,
Death & Taxes
“Now Gary is the One True God, but frankly I’m stunned the goblins haven’t killed themselves off yet. Perhaps they have some inferior, bird-brained god of their own? It’s laughable, I know! Pass the cheese puffs and hand me a mimosa…”
- Friar Flavious
Faeries (Difficulty: High)
Playstyle: Very reactive, will often want to activate second to play around the opponent, then hit them with nasty arcane attacks and fiendish movement shenanigans.
Melee: ☆☆☆☆☆
Ranged: ☆☆☆☆☆
Toughness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆
Harvesting: ☆☆☆☆☆
Key Box Sets: The Enclave, Shadowglade, Blood Magic, Vespa
“Faeries are the most untrustworthy, backstabbing, selfish species on Tauber. Only the most skilled can take them on and survive.”
- Gertrude, the Faerie Hunter
Trolls (Difficulty: Medium)
Playstyle: Typically tough and even tougher with the right support, the trolls will outlast and crush all in melee while squatting on any moonstones they find!
Melee: ☆☆☆☆☆
Ranged: ☆☆☆☆☆
Toughness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆
Harvesting: ☆☆☆☆☆
Key Box Sets: Knoll, Ribald, Bristlenose, Boulder, The Masquerade.
“The collective noun for a group of trolls is a ‘cuddle’. From experience, I can say this does not quite live up to expectations when encountered in the wild.”
- Old Calders
Nobles (Difficulty: Medium)
Playstyle: Lots of disruption - sap energy and wounds from your opponent, control the table and punish them anytime they target your models.
Melee: ☆☆☆☆☆
Ranged: ☆☆☆☆☆
Toughness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆
Harvesting: ☆☆☆☆☆
Key Box Sets: The Masquerade, The Cursed, Gotchgut, Eternal Servitude.
“Even if she is a self-titled ‘Duchess’ now, Noravia will come round to our way of thinking - she is my niece after all. That doesn’t mean I’m opposed to killing her if needed though, My Liege.”
- Viscount Compte De Faulte
Pirates (Difficulty: Medium)
Playstyle: Highly mobile and armed to the teeth with pistols - will dash up, unload a broadside of pistols, then charge to finish off the survivors!
Melee: ☆☆☆☆☆
Ranged: ☆☆☆☆☆
Toughness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆
Harvesting: ☆☆☆☆☆
Key Box Sets: Booty’s Bilge, Black Powder, Mushrooms & Mayhem, Ribald.
“Loyal t' yourself first, then yer crew, yer ship 'n yer gods. Salt water be a darn sight thicker than blood! Course, these are jus' guidelines…”
- Seasick Stu on the Pirates’ Code
Rogues (Difficulty: High)
Playstyle: Evasive and tricksy, destroy your opponent with arcane attacks then swoop in at the last second to steal the rest of the enemy’s moonstones.
Melee: ☆☆☆☆☆
Ranged: ☆☆☆☆☆
Toughness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆
Harvesting: ☆☆☆☆☆
Key Box Sets: Blood Magic, The Masquerade, Shadowglade, Outlanders
“Warning! Thieves and bandits operate in these woods, watch your belongings at all times. Alternatively, insurance and safe travel can be acquired at the Rogues’ Guild main office.”
- A sign outside Weaselbottom
Soldiers (Difficulty: Medium)
Playstyle: Through the use of underhand tricks (especially double activations, by order of the King), these troupes can put out a surprising amount of damage by focussing all their Goblin Soldier eggs in one Goblin Soldier basket!
Melee: ☆☆☆☆☆
Ranged: ☆☆☆☆☆
Toughness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆
Harvesting: ☆☆☆☆☆
Key Box Sets: Goblin City, Rule the Roost, Firespitter, Death & Taxes.
“Heed my words - Doug’s infamous ‘gases’ are bad enough, but adding naked flames… Well, that makes for a particularly lethal combination.”
- Hoff
Dominion Tactics
Grub grabs things, kills things, reads things he shouldn’t