Forbidden Chambers Board Pack – Part I

Today I am taking a quick look at the Forbidden Chambers Board Pack released by GW in Spring 2019. Both sides of this board pack have interesting features.

This first article focuses on the side with the three lethal hexes. Let me take a brief moment to appreciate the fabulous work of Terres D’Exil who designed the customised 3D version for shadespire.blog (as seen in the featured image). Thank you, Vincent!

Forbidden Chambers Board with three lethal hexes

How to use this board?

This board is very strong when you win the roll for board placement and be allowed to rotate boards. If you have to place first your opponent could ruin your match by forcing you into bad starting positions. I believe there are better options for the first placement.

If you won the role-off however there are two extremely powerful ways of placing this board.

1. Aggressively
   As we have three starting hexes on one of the long edges you could decide to place this long edge adjacent to the opponent’s board (see picture below) not leaving a spot to hide for your opponent. This board is the only one with three starting hexes on one board edge!
   
2. Defensively
   Rotate the board 180° compared to the aggressive placement so the three starting hexes are as far away from your opponent. Then shove the two board until only three connecting hexes are left next to the lethal hexes. I am calling this placement “The Gandalf”.
   
   It is obviously less defensive than connecting the short edges, but it leaves only a small corridor for your opponent which can be blocked easily and now and then will allow you to push the balrog characters into the lethal hexes.
   
   I would recommend this placement for warbands with a mix of strong characters who want to get into a brawl midgame and weaker characters who need to stay back and be saved (e.g. to hold objectives). Good examples would be Spiteclaw’s Swarm or Eyes of the Nine. Imagine a Blue Horror with a grey beard screaming at Mollog “You shall not pass!”.

That’s it for now. Part II will examine the other side of the board pack. Stay tuned for the next article!