There’s a new booster team heading to the RUMBLESLAM ring this Friday. And Rumblefans know what that means: old cards are getting updated!
That’s right, with the release of the Rotten Rodents this week, we’ve taken the time to revisit one of the most reviled teams in RUMBLESLAM. And actually one of the least played teams. It’s about time the Furry Fury get a glow up!
These team of no-good dirty rats was released in the very first wave of RUMBLESLAM miniatures many years ago! They’ve always been quite tricky to play, but never really excelled in the ways they should have done. So we’ve revisited the rules and are going to be releasing some updated cards for free digital download on Friday.
The Furry Fury
On the surface, the Vermin Brawler won’t look that much different. He’s lost his special Turnbuckle Ability (his generic Turnbuckle Attack is pretty good now anyway), but has gained an extra Copper dice in DEX. This is one of the fastest rats around – get used to getting the first activation each round!
The Vermin Brawler has also gained the Skitter Passive Ability. This is a new one for the rats, although will be familiar to Cold Bloods players. This version is even better than the one they got though! Rather than one square, the Vermin can move 3 squares at the end of the round!
With all this Skitter around, it’s worth mentioning that the player with the Initiative completes all of their “at the end of the round” actions first, then it carries on in Initiative order. Another reason that the extra DEX is helpful!
The Vermin Grappler has had some similar changes, gaining DEX but losing a poor Turnbuckle Ability. The Grappler also has the benefit of receiving a new Crowd Pleaser! Between the Brawler and the Grappler, you can potentially increase the difference in MP by 2; giving -MP to your opponent, and +MP to your team!
Both Vermin have also received a new Passive Ability to replace their old one. Dirty Fighter will be familiar in name to Furry Fury players, but its rules have changed entirely. Rather than helping to hurt wrestlers that are Knocked Down, it now allows you to re-roll Dirty rolls. That includes using Trip or No Class actions! The rats really do fight dirty!
The Ratmen have received some more extensive changes to their stats. On the whole their offensive ability has gone up, with the Ratman Brawler’s GRP being the same as its ATT. That puts it in a great place for offensive strikes. Unfortunately its DEF has gone down, as has its DEX (before the Ratmen were quicker than the Vermin, which didn’t seem right). Although with an increase to 5MP, this rat is still fast!
The Ratmen have also received Skitter although it’s only 1 square this time. Still, that takes it up to 6 squares a round. And if you include the new Crowd Pleaser, that’s 9 squares!
Most importantly, the Ratman Brawler (and Grappler below) have reduced in cost, coming in at 25K cheaper each.
The Ratman Grappler has seen similar changes to the Brawler, making him equally good at ATT as GRP. With some minor changes to his skills as well.
The Ratmen go one further than the Vermin, gaining the all new Filthy Fighter ability. This one does the same as Dirty Fighters, but also increases all attacks by +1 DMG if the opponent is Knocked Down. It used to just be Brawls, but now it’s everything! Combined with the Grappler’s Suplex, you can do some serious damage.
If you want to Trip opponents, it’s usually a Dirty skill. A re-roll is good, but the Ratman Grappler’s new Crowd Pleaser allows you to just pass it automatically, which is even better! Oh and almost the whole team’s Crowd Pleasers have lowered in AP cost as well, which is nice.
Finally we look over to the Rat Abomination. A combination of speed and strength, this WEIGHT 3 wrestler is still a powerhouse. Like his smaller brethren though, his DEF has gone down (well, technically up, but it’s more unreliable now) and his MP has gone up. He’s now one of the fastest WEIGHT 3s in the game!
While the Abomination has lost a Rope Ability, it has gained Filthy Fighter, meaning you can spam Brawl attacks if you want. Considering they do 2 DMG thanks to Claws & Teeth, that’s not a bad idea!
Although if you spam Brawl attacks, you’ll be missing out on the Abomination’s upgraded Crowd Pleaser. No longer a flat 1 DMG, the new version deals out 1C damage to every wrestler in base contact with a friendly wrestler. Unreliable, but consider doing 3 DMG with each friendly wrestler and your opponents don’t get a chance to protect themselves!
Oh and the Rat Abomination is only 275K now. I should have probably led with that. :O
What are you going to do with all that spare Dosh? Well how about some little rodents?
While there’s no official miniature for this little fella (yet), we thought we’d include his card anyway. Break out your giant rat minis! The Gutter Rat is a new sort of character. On its own it really doesn’t do anything (it has 0AP and no Crowd Pleaser), but thanks to the Fleet of Claw special rule, you can swap its position with another Skitter character at the end of the round. That offers some incredible options, and you can fit 3 of these into 1 million Dosh!
So you now have a team that is blisteringly fast, can reposition themselves anywhere with ease, and can out-activate your opponents three times over!
The Superstars
But you want to see new things, don’t you? I knew it. Well, we’ve already seen one of the Superstars coming this Friday, so let’s look at his rules.
Sir Scratch Flagon is joining the Feral Den, and he’s one of the only babyface wrestlers in the whole casino! Scratch lives for the roar of the crowd. He’s an honourable mouse in a den of rats.
Scratch offers something that you may think is lacking in the Furry Fury: decent DEFENCE! Scratch is clad in full plate armour, which affords him an incredible 2G+1 DEF value. As a tiny WEIGHT 1 mouse he only has 5 Stamina, but that’s okay if they can’t hurt you!
Scratch comes with a full complement of special abilities: Grapple, Rope, and Turnbuckle. Each adds something different as well, which makes him a really great all-rounder toolbox wrestler.
Scratch’s main draw though is his chivalry. The Skittering Shield ability allows Scatch to get in the way of someone once a round, and take the entire attack instead of them! With that crazy DEF value, this is best saved to protect against Turnbuckle attacks or Rope attacks which will helplessly bounce off his shield and armour. The only drawback is that he only protects characters that are quick enough to dodge out of the way: they have to have the Skitter special ability. Luckily enough, most of the Furry Fury have that!
But you still want more rules? Well okay! This is the last wrestler we’re going to be talking about today…
Trash Ratus is joining the Feral Den!
We haven’t shown her model yet – you’ll have to wait until Friday for the full unveil. But we can have a look at her rules today.
As with the rest of the rats, Trash has a pretty low DEF value, but that’s made up by her high ATT and DEX. She’s also got 5MP and 5AP, which is very handy! With Skitter she gets 1 extra square on that (and can swap places with Scratch).
Trash Ratus has some really powerful unique abilities. My favourite is Chick Kick, which is all the power of 3 Brawl attacks in one go, with the added benefit of Dazed as well. It’s simple and effective, and you can do it after a Barking Bulldog to Knockdown your target.
Trash’s most useful skill is Ratusphere. This is a rare counter ability for RUMBLESLAM – a move that happens out of sequence with the regular game. Essentially Trash can guard a Turnbuckle. If someone goes up there while she’s within 3 squares, she dashes over, smacks them, and throws them back into the ring! It’s a very risky move for both parties though, as if it doesn’t work, she becomes a prime target for a follow up Turnbuckle attack. But with that high ATT value, it’s usually a great idea, and stops some really powerful attacks before they even happen.
These two brand new Superstars will be available to pre-order on Friday, along with the brand new Rotten Rodents. We’ll be having a look at the booster team’s new rules tomorrow. I can tell you now: there’s a wrestler that’s even faster than the Furry Fury!
These updated Furry Fury cards will be available to download on Friday as well, in the Resources section of the TTCombat webstore.