Marro Powers Summary for Custom Creation

[Taeblewalker]

With all the Marro units out to date, it is hard to keep track of them all. Here is a table showing the basic groupings of Marro (and Nagrub and Wulsinu) powers. The point is not to list what they do; that's what the books are for. The point is to show some pattern to the vast array of powers available so that one may consider them collectively when deciding how to make Marro Customs.

When deciding what powers a new Marro custom should have, it might be worth taking a look at which units have which powers. Warlords and Overlords tend to have purely psychic powers; Hivelords tend to have purely biological powers (excepting Su-Bak-Na who has both). Squads tend to have purely biological powers, excepting the Drones whose primary power is clearly psychic, and secondarily, the Grok Riders and Nagrubs whose "psychic" powers are not so much psychic as bonding and supplementing attacks. The Hive and Warwitch each have both as well.

If making a custom Overlord or Warlord, one should probably consider purely psychic powers like Mindshackle; a Hivelord should probably be a brute with biological powers like Coil Crush and Trample Stomp. Heroes with "odd" classes like Hive and Warwitch are the best candiate for mixes. Squads should mostly have powers that affect how they move and/or attack; if they have psychic powers, those powers should (following the official examples) only the sort that allow them extra activations or boost their attacks (Hive Mind, Hivelord Life Bonding and Mark of the Warlord all lack the "mind blast" or "mind control" aspects of the other psychic powers.

These groupings are not sacrosanct; feel free to suggest others. Also, take my advice with a grain of salt. I am no expert on making customs! A squad of Marro that somehow controls the minds of other units could be cool - perhaps some sort of distracting buzz power that does the same thing as the Fyorlag Spiders' webbing.

Have fun!

Biological Powers

Antigenesis – causing harm through pathogens or toxins; canceling biogenesis powers
o Marro Plague (Marrden Hounds)
o Toxic Skin (Kee-Mo-Shi)
o Grok Training (Grok Riders)
o Self-Replicating (Marro Dividers)

Biogenesis – creating new life; organically supplementing biological systems
o Cell Divide (Marro Dividers)
o Hivelord Life Bonding (Marrden Nagrubs)
o Marro Rebirth (Marro Hive)
o Water Clone (Marro Warriors)
o Stinger Drain (Marro Stingers)
o Swamp Water Strength (Marro Drudge)

Physical – Physical Attacks; Physical movement
o Climb x2 (Marrden Nagrubs)
o Coil Crush (Wo-Sa-Ga)
o Flying (Su-Bak-Na)
o Slither (Wo-Sa-Ga)
o Swamp Tunnel (Marro Drudge)
o Trample Stomp (Tor-Kul-Na)
o Wild Pack Movement (Marrden Hounds)

Psychic Powers

Apportation - movement through psychic means
o Teleport Reinforcements (Tul-Bak-Ra)
o Teleportation (Tul-Bak-Ra)

Domination – control an enemy’s unit; mental attacks
o Mindshackle 19 (Kee-Mo-Shi)
o Mindshackle 20 (Ne-Gok-Sa)
o Mind Blast Special Attack (Tul-Bak-Ra)
o Paralyzing Stare 16 (Me-Burq-Sa)

Mind Link – inspiration bonuses; communication between allied units
o Hivelord Life Bonding (Marrden Nagrubs)
o Hive Mind (Marro Hive)
o Hive Supremacy (Marro Hive)
o Hive Swarm (Marro Drones)
o Mark of the Warlord (Grok Riders)
o Marro Warlord Bonding (Grok Riders)


Squads to Date
Grok Riders
Marrden Hounds
Marrden Nagrubs
Marro Dividers
Marro Drones
Marro Drudge
Marro Stingers
Marro Warriors

Heroes to Date
Kee-Mo-Shi
Marro Hive
Me-Burq-Sa
Ne-Gok-Sa
Su-Bak-Na
Tor-Kul-Na
Tul-Bak-Ra
Wo-Sa-Ga

[evil beagle 111]

nice list, taeblewalker. the grok animal training would do well under physical powers though. the groks inability to clone is due to the fact that, although the hive can clone the riders, it can't clone the grok riders mounts as they are not marro. just a related species, like nagrubs, hounds and probably su bak na's dragon. a very good list, otherwise.

[Creationist]

Agreed. I think that self-duplicating should be under antigenisis since it prevents the hive from rebirthing the dividers. On another note, this list is starting to sound like Sonny 2. Biological. Psychological. Keep it up.

[Simpsons Scaper]

Nice list! However, you put Trample Stamp instead of Stomp. +Rep!

[Anthasu1]

Originally Posted by Simpsons Scaper

Nice list! However, you put Trample Stamp instead of Stomp. +Rep!

Ummm... It says Trample Stomp on the card...

[Taeblewalker]

I fixed Trample Stamp (heh) and put Self-Replicating where it belongs (both typos).

Edit: I also dual-place Hivelord Life Bonding under Biological (Biogenesis) and Psychic (Marshalling).

Edit of Edit: I changed Marshalling to Mind Link.

[Taeblewalker]

I was thinking it would be interesting to have a sort of Hive clinic, wherein I create a Marro Squad, a Warlord, a Hivelord, and an "other" (Overlord, Warwitch, etc.), just to see how we might use this information. To celebrate Wave 9, I will begin by attempting a common squad.

The cardinal rule of common Marro squads is that the number of figures is 3. The unique Marro Warriors are the exception, and pretty much have to be with Water Clone given that they are unique. Since we want a common squad, we will be conservative and start with three figures.

Stats are next. We will leave things like class and personality for later. Most existing common Marro squads move 5; only the Drones Move 6, and the Groks 7. Since it would be more complex right now to deal with another mounted squad, we will leave the Groks alone, and concentrate on Medium 4 or 5 bipedals. The ranged squads have Move 5, and the self-replicating Dividers do as well - only the very basic Drones (whose only "power," while very useful in its own right, is to use more of them) move 6, and that would seem to be because their only real strength is in numbers. Tentatively, we will consider a Move of 5, if only because we want to come up with something more "special powery" than a squad that does nothing but attack and defend. Mind you, I love the Drones - it's just that they've been done.

What about range? Of the ranged Marro, and we may consider all Marro units here, all seem to have some sort of plasma gun, save for the Mental Blast of Tul-Bak-Ra. The Marro Drones’ and Me-Burq-Sa’s guns are basic Attack 3 affairs without other powers (Paralzying Stare 16 being not really part of the apparatus), but the Drudge and Stingers have very biological powers associated with their guns. All of these have an Attack of either 2 or 3, so we have a pretty good idea of our parameters. Defense tends to follow Attack, being the same number in each case of the common squads (differing only with the unique Marro Warriors). For the Range 1 squads, even the Groks, Attack and Defense are 3, so should we choose to go with a melee squad that will be our starting point.

So we have a common squad Marro of 3 figures that will probably be Move 5, Attack 3 and Defense 3, with a Range of either 1 or 5-6. Now we should look at the sort of powers they should have, which will help us determine their range.

Nothing under Antigenesis seems to fit. Marro Plague-type powers are too much for the 50-60 point squad we are probably going for, and it would be a shame to deny the Hive a chance to Rebirth our creation. Biogenesis has two subcategories. We can leave out the ability to self-replicate, since we are letting the Hive handle this. The only power types under Biogenesis would be gun powers, like Stinger Drain and Swamp Water Strength, and the dual-category Hivelord Life Bonding (which is also a Mind Link power under the psychic header). If anything, I’m thinking a gun power, but we’ll move on and see what else is offered.

Physical powers are essentially “normal” movement like Flying and Swamp Water Tunnel (i.e., not teleportation) and brute force attacks like Coil Crush. I am somehow not seeing any devastating physical attack, though perhaps a flying Marro squad is in order! I am struck by the thought of insectoid Marro that fly around the battlefield, harrying enemies with powers more psychic than biological. Which also makes me wonder about their size – perhaps they should be small 3? Rannveig notwithstanding, they needn’t have the Climb power.

Since we are considering giving them Flying, Apportation powers are not necessary. In fact, it really wasn’t on the table. These are near-mindless Marro like the Drones, not some futuristic breed! The Domination category seems to fit, as they surround and harry and annoy enemy units. A chittering sound, like that of cicadas, combined with a bit of a psychic edge, could distract a unit enough to remove order markers…I am seeing these guys like the Fyorlag Spiders, but flying and Move 5. Perhaps a Bonding power could work here, too, in the spirit of Predator Bonding.

Before we commit to anything else, it is time to revisit their stats. Their Range can be comfortably placed at 1, while their Attack and Defense, so much less needed than for the Dividers or Drones, can probably be lowered to 2 each. Move could go up to 6, but let’s bear in mind that they fly and that their power will let them remove order markers. Stealth Flying is also an option, given their ability to distract opponents.

Now we come to their left-side-of-card traits. Their species is Marro, of course. They are a common squad. Their class is based on their name, which we don’t yet have; we’ll say Trills for now. What about their personality? A brief review of the likely personality types suggests Wild, and that seems to fit, even comparing them to the Spiders who are also Wild. That said, I rather like the idea of a Tormenting personality for a unit based on annoying, loud insects. So, if we import the wording of Entangling Web almost wholesale, plus Fly, we have this:



In a future installment, we will consider a name change, and possibly tweaking the powers and stats.

[evil beagle 111]

nice, I like the trills. 40k tyranids could work as models. the cost should probably be about 40-50 points, their just non-bonding spiders with flying. the hivelord and warlord should be interesting. you should add to your marro clinic list of categories a wulsinu squad. maybe wild groks without riders?

[evil beagle 111]

oops, double posted.