There are some fancy looking mummies shambling into the ring this week, but who are they and what do they do? Let’s see!
The Pyramid Piledrivers are the newest team to enter the RUMBLESLAM ring, and they’re doing so… well, kind of slowly if we’re being honest. What do you expect? They’re shrivelled up zombies!
This new team might not be especially spry, but they do have a lot of other things going for them. So without any more ado, let’s dive in and have a look what they bring to the ring.
There are two Shabti in the team, and – other than the great art by Rei – they are exactly the same. There’s not much difference between different shambling zombies, really.
With 1 Copper ATTACK and 1 Copper GRAPPLE, these wrestlers aren’t going to be doing much damage. Although a decent DEFENCE and 5 Stamina means they’re not too easy to take down (that’s that undead energy).
However, the Shabti only have 3AP and 3MP, making them some of the worst WEIGHT 1 wrestlers around. In fact, they’re not just slow at walking, they’re slow at bouncing too. Thanks to the Shambling passive Ability, they only move 4 squares when bouncing off the ropes. They’re seriously just not very good.
But considering they only cost 100K in Dosh, what would you expect? Other than the Halfling Ref (who doesn’t really count), they’re the cheapest wrestlers in the game. Their Active Ability doesn’t even do any damage, it just does -1MP! Terrible.
So how do you balance two absolutely terrible wresters? How about a really, really good wrestler?
The Anubti Doorkeeper is probably the best WEIGHT 2 rookie in the game. Just look at those stats! Those stats are close to a Superstar in their power. 3 Silver on ATTACK and GRAPPLE means the Anubti is a real powerhouse of a wrestler. She’s also got a crazy good Grapple ability in Bast Bodypress, which dos 3 Damage and has Fury for an extra Brawl (and with 3 Silver, that’s going to be a good Brawl).
Not only that, but the Spiritwalker special Passive Ability means that at the end of the round if the Anubti is Knocked Down, she just gets right back up again! She is really going to be one to watch out for, and more than makes up for the two wastes of space that are the Shabti.
But let’s not speak to soon, eh? Here’s the Withered Master, and she’s where this team really starts to look different to the rest.
The Withered Master is a full-on support character, the type of which we haven’t really seen much in RUMBLESLAM before. Don’t get me wrong, she can usually hold her own in battle (2 Silver+1 on her offensive stats is pretty reliable), but her main use is hiding in the back.
Marching Orders is a handy little skill, costing 1AP to move any Shambling wrestlers up to 3 squares total (so you can move one of them 3 squares, or one Shabti 1 square and another one 2). So those slow Shabti are a bit faster with some help. This can be especially useful for activating them early and getting in the way of opponents – block them in or stop rope attacks!
Tethered Together is the biggest bonus for the Withered Master though. Basically it allows you to use her Afterlife Armbreaker special Grapple Ability on any friendly wrestler with either Shambling or Spiritwalker (spoiler: every other member of the Pyramid Piledrivers). And when I say “on” I mean “they get to use it instead”. You use the Withered Master’s GRP, and she can even get the Crowd Pleaser bonus (which is an amazing +2 AP!), but you can march your Shabti up to wrestle and keep the Master safe!
Tethered Together even allows you to use Horus’ Lariat with the Anubti Doorkeeper or the Yeetle – giving some very handy Knockdown, using the Withered Master’s AP to do so, leaving them free for whatever they want!
Finally, our last member of the team is the Yeetle! While they Withered Master ties everyone together into a cohesive whole, the Yeetle is a force unto itself!
With high DEFENCE (like, crazy high) and GRAPPLE stats, your opponents will struggle to do any damage to him. He even springs back upright if Knocked Down thanks to Spiritwalker. Although if you do face a heavy opponent, watch out because the Yeetle only has 8 Stamina – pretty low for a WEIGHT 3. He has a squishy inside, you just have to get through the hard (and glittery) shell.
Yeetle does a bit of everything: he has a Dazing Grapple Ability in Solar Smash, and has a massively damaging Diving Carapace from the turnbuckle (which he can do in one round by the way).
However, you really want to know about Khepri’s Blessing, right? Well, the Yeetle summons the power of the sun and lobs it at your opponents! It’s 1 Gold dice in WEIGHT (although on a blank the Yeetle takes damage instead), which means you’ve got a decent source of high damage throws – pair it up with a low DEX enemy and you’ve got a lot of easy damage. Nice!
So how best to use the Pyramid Piledrivers in the ring? Well, I’ll leave that up to you all to figure out! I will say that they take a bit of getting used to. Having 2 utter deadweights is tricky, but with careful use of the Withered Master, those Shabti can actually become really useful. Either activate them early in the round to get into position, or late in the round and allow the Master to move them about. The Yeetle is best used picking his targets carefully, and try to make the most of his sun throwing – it’s always fun to KO a weaker opponent in one throw! Finally, make sure to deal as much damage as possible with the Anubti Doorkeeper, but keep her safe. She’s such a high priority target that you’ll need to protect her a little – use your Shabti to block access with Marching Orders.
Are you up for the challenge? They’re not a team designed for beginners, but a careful player will be running circles around their opponents (alright, maybe slowly shuffling circles around them).
If you are up for it, the Pyramid Piledrivers will be up for pre-order tomorrow, so you won’t have to wait long to start up a(nother) brand new casino for your RUMBLESLAM collection!