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Baldur the Stonesoul

While the last tenuous thread of his life was held fast by Megalith, Baldur’s spirit was subsumed within the entirety of Orboros, and the fundamental principles of the world were made clear to him. He has returned to serve as a conduit for a torrent of destructive power. In the midst of battle Baldur can tap into this endless flow to empower himself beyond his mortal limits, but the longer he fights, the more his body tears itself apart.

Basic Info

Baldur2

COST	{{{cacost}}}
UNIT SIZE	{{{casize}}}
FA	{{{cafa}}}
Warcaster 0
BASE	Small
SPD	5
STR	7
MAT	7
RAT	N/A
M.A.	N/A
DEF	13
ARM	17
CMD	N/A
ESSENCE	{{{essence}}}
FOCUS	N/A
FURY	6
THRS	N/A
HP	18
F. Field	N/A




WJP	{{{wjp}}}
WBP	+30
IHP	{{{ihp}}}
FA	N/A
UNIT SIZE	N/A
COST	N/A
N/A
N/A




N/A
Warcaster 1
COST	N/A
N/A
Understanding the Statblock

Warlock - All warlocks come with a stack of standard special rules - most notably being awesome. Click here for a newbie-friendly recap, or click here for the full rules.

Feat: Hallowed Ground

Friendly Faction models currently in Baldur's control range are affected by Roots of the Earth (refer to his Spell list) for one round.

Abilities

Pathfinder
Devourer's Debt - During your Control Phase, place one Wurm token on this model. This model gains +1 STR for each Wurm token on it. At the end of each of this model's activations, it suffers 1 damage point for each Wurm token on it. This damage cannot be transferred.
Elemental Mastery - Construct warbeasts in this model's battlegroup beginning their activation in this model's control range can charge and make power attacks without being forced. This model can heal friendly construct models in its battlegroup.
Ritual of Renewal (★ Action) - Remove all Wurm tokens from this model.

Weapons

Tritus

	RNG	POW	P+S
	2	7	14
Weight of Stone - When a model is damaged by this weapon it suffers –3 SPD and DEF for one round. Damage Type: Magical

Spells

	COST	RNG	AOE	POW	DUR	OFF

Crevasse	3	8	-	12	-	Yes
If Crevasse boxes its original target, you can make a SP 6 attack using the boxed model as the attack's point of origin. The SP 6 attack can target models in the boxed model's back arc. Models hit suffer a POW 12 magical damage roll. Models boxed by Crevasse are RFP'd.

Ground Zero	3	SELF	5	13	-	No
Center a 5" AOE on the spellcaster. Each other model in the AOE is hit and suffers a POW 13 damage roll. Immediately after this damage is resolved each enemy model damaged by Ground Zero is pushed d6" directly away from the spellcaster in the order you choose.

Rock Wall	2	Control	-	-	Upkeep	No
Place a wall template anywhere completely within the spellcaster's control range where it does not touch a model's base, an obstruction, or an obstacle. The wall is an obstacle that provides cover.

Roots of the Earth	2	6	-	-	Round	No
Target friendly Faction model gains +3 ARM, cannot become knocked down, and cannot move or be placed. Roots of the Earth lasts for one round.

Theme Forces

Secret Masters. In this theme he gains Sacrificial Pawn [Minion Warrior].
The Bones of Orboros. He can start the game with friendly upkeeps in play in this theme.
The Devourer's Host
The Wild Hunt

Thoughts on Baldur the Stonesoul

Baluder2 in a nutshell

Baldur the Stonesoul is the Circle brick-caster. His key feature is both the Roots of the Earth spell and the ability to put it on his entire army with his feat. A circle army that can take the alpha strike is very unusual, and Baldur therefore lets you play in a way that is most unlike normal Circle casters. In a ranged heavy meta extra ARM really matters because boosting is rarer for ranged than melee attacks.

Because of the his own lack of a damage buff (beyond free charges) when he runs Wold heavy he needs 3 Blackclad Stoneshapers and because he has Crevasse Baldur tends to be best bricking into infantry rather than winning brick-on-brick action.

Blessed is a big counter to Baldur2 so he has some hard match ups from the Protectorate of Menoth

Maximising his Feat & Spells

Roots of Earth is that rare thing - a non-upkeep ARM buff (meaning that it can be spammed - and indeed is spammed on feat turn). It's also normally cast multiple times even on non-feat turns, leaving Baldur with a very tough battle group. Making your models unable to be moved is also great.
Rock Wall is great for providing cover and should be out almost every turn. As an obstacle it can't be charged or slammed over. More importantly enemies can't end their movement on top of it, meaning it's awesome for blocking huge bases.
Crevasse is normally cast via Megalith/Woldwardens. It's a pretty decent spell with a nice remove from play effect (making it a problem for Ghost Fleet). It can also do interesting things to shield walls.
Ground Zero is mostly for owning control points.

You feat at the obvious time - it's pure defence.

Drawbacks & Downsides

Slow, heavy, and hard hitting. Is this why you chose Circle? Effective tho.
His feat casts a spell on everyone. It therefore is vulnerable to blessed weapons.
The only damage buff Baldur himself brings to the party is free charges for the normally pillow-fisted Wolds.
His play-style is predictable.
Blessed Weapons deny his feat.

Tricks & Tips

Remember that if you don't clear away the Wurm tokens then by turn 5 he hits like the Butcher. He's not an assassin - but can kill anyone that gets too close.
Take control points - and then prevent the enemy pushing you off them.

List Building Advice

Strategy

Baldur2's normal win strategy is to take the best the enemy can throw at him, then grind them into dust. The Woldwrath is pretty central to this strategy... with a huge number of hitpoints (2nd-most in the game) and high armor with Roots of Earth, he can be difficult to deal with, especially if you're using Rock Wall to limit how much can attack him. More importantly, while the Woldwrath *can* be removed, it usually takes so many resources that the rest of the army is unscathed afterward. Baldur2 can push forward aggressively in the early game, contesting zones and flags early on. His army almost always survives the enemy's first strike thanks to Baldur2's feat, and can then counter attack to claim sole possession of the objectives. Even if the enemy manages to make some headway against your battlegroup, claiming the objectives can usually force them to spread ever dwindling resources out against your tougher models or risk losing the game on scenario.

Theme Thoughts

Bones of Orboros - Preferred theme

Baldur the Stonesoul is one of two warlocks who frequently plays with the The Bones of Orboros theme (the other one being Bradigus) - free points (normally spent on a Blackclad Wayfarer or two to start) for taking a rock-based army that he wanted to take anyway.

Shifting Stones and Sentry Stone & Mannikins - not only are both these choices simply good but they fit Baldur thematically.
Celestial Fulcrum - it's a tough shooter you can make tougher.
Well of Orboros - cheapish, buffs constructs not effected by roots of the earth with hyper aggressive and has a high base armour. Bringing in another solo is also useful when you have the tools to protect it.
See the Battlegroup section for which rocks to take.
Chuck Dogwood in bones chuck can sit back and boost to hit capabilities of the battlegroup, with puppet master and vet leader, very handy on a caster who’s only hit fixer is on his melee weapon.

Devourer's Host

This theme gets you access to Loki, who is reasonably durable. The loss of Construct warbeasts makes it probably not worth it, though.

The Wild Hunt

Warpborn Skinwalkers - the only 8 wound heavy infantry that's not carting half a ton of metal, making the tough tougher is always good.

Battlegroup

Megalith is his pet warbeast, which he can take in any theme.

Megalith is Baldur's pet warbeast, so he can take him in any theme. Megalith gains Baldur's construct-buffs. Giving Baldur automatic healing is great; it means the first two Wurm tokens do nothing to hurt Baldur so by turn 4 or 5 he can be a wrecking machine in melee. He also has a great spell list for Geomancy - both Roots of Earth and Crevasse are Geomancable.

He likes Construct warbeasts (which are not allowed in Devourer's Host).

Woldwrath - the only actually really hard hitting option in Bones of Orboros a double Woldwrath list is not unknown. It also has great armour even before you throw Roots of Earth on it.
Woldwarden - free charges, a combo smite, and great geomancy. Plus extra self healing.
Woldwatcher - ARM 21 in Stone Form before Roots of Earth.
Wold Guardian - ARM 20 before Roots, self healing from theme, free charges, and harder hitting than the Warden. And Shield Guard.
Woldwyrd - Zap zap zap. It's pretty good and fits the theme.

Outside the Bones theme he likes other tough models:

Feral Warpwolf - Although it's not allowed in Bones, Baldur's normal theme, the ARM buff it's probably the toughest non-character Circle heavy. And a Feral really likes being made immune to knockdown.

Starting a 25 point Brawl list

In 2021.12 Phillip Melvin, one of the LOS authors, put together this list for the Brawlmachine format. He even wrote about it's playstyle and expanding it beyond 25 points, which you can read here.

Theme - The Bones of Orboros

Baldur the Stonesoul: [+30 WBP]

Megalith: [17 pts]
Wold Guardian: [16 pts]
Woldwarden: [13 pts]

Blackclad Stoneshaper: [2 pts]

Chuck Dogwood: [4 pts]

Sentry Stone & Mannikins: [free] (5 pts)

Shifting Stones: 3 pts

For more Brawlmachine list ideas, see Category: Brawl List

Other

Trivia

Released in Hordes: Domination (2011)

Video Battle Reports

2019.05 Feat Fetish, vs Skarre2
See also Category: Video Battle Reports for more casters with videos.

Other Circle models

Circle Index (Edit)

Battlegroup & Similar
Warlocks	Baldur1 - Baldur2 - Bradigus1 - Grayle1 - Iona1 - Kaya1 - Kaya2 - Kaya3 - Kromac1 - Kromac2 - Krueger1 - Krueger2 - Mohsar1 - Morvahna1 - Morvahna2 - Tanith1 - Una2 - Wurmwood1
Lesser Warlocks	Krueger0 - Una1	Warlock Attachment	Druid Wilder - Tharn Blood Shaman
Light	Argus Moonhound - Winter Argus - Wild Argus - Gorax Rager - Razorwing Griffon - Rotterhorn Griffon - Scarsfell Griffon - Wold Wight - Woldwatcher - Woldwyrd
Heavy	Gnarlhorn Satyr - Riphorn Satyr - Shadowhorn Satyr - Feral Warpwolf - Pureblood Warpwolf - Warpwolf Stalker - Wold Guardian - Woldwarden Brennos the Elderhorn (Satyr) - Ghetorix (Warpwolf) - Loki (Warpwolf) - Megalith (Woldwarden)
Gargantuans	Storm Raptor - Woldwrath

Units, Solos, Battle Engines, & Structures
Units	Druid Mist Riders - Druids of Orboros & CA - Reeves of Orboros & CA - Sentry Stone & Mannikins - Shifting Stones & CA - Stoneward & Woldstalkers - Tharn Bloodtrackers & Character UA - Tharn Bloodweavers & CA - Tharn Blood Pack - Tharn Ravagers & CA - Tharn Wolf Riders - Warpborn Skinwalkers & CA - Wolves of Orboros & CA Brighid & Caul - Death Wolves
Solos	Blackclad Stoneshaper - Blackclad Wayfarer - Bloodweaver Night Witch - Chuck Dogwood - Druid Wilder - Gallows Grove - Kogan the Exile - Krueger0 - Lord of the Feast - Reeve Hunter - Primal Archon - Shivers - Tharn Blood Shaman - Tharn Ravager Shaman - Tharn Ravager White Mane - Tharn Wolf Rider Champion - Una1 - War Wolf - Wolf Lord Morraig
Battle Engines & Structures	Celestial Fulcrum (Engine) - Well of Orboros (Structure)

Theme Forces
Secret Masters - The Bones of Orboros - The Devourer's Host - The Wild Hunt

Minions
Refer to Who Works for Whom and/or Category: Circle Orboros Minion
This index was last updated: 2021.10

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Feat: Hallowed Ground

Since the feat applies a spell to all models, it will be ignored by Blessed. (Infernal Ruling)
However, he is not actually casting the spell, so isn't subject to stuff like Arcane Consumption. (Locked thread)

Rules Clarification : Weight of Stone (Edit)

If you hit an enemy model that is already moving (ie a free strike), then Weight of Stone doesn't slow them down.

You determine the number of inches a model is able to move at the start of its movement, so Weight of Stone won't impose the SPD reduction on movement that has already begun.

(Infernal Ruling)

	Rules Clarification: : Magical Damage (Edit) (Click Expand to read)
	* The "Damage Type: Magical" is not inherited by "secondary" damage from a weapon. That is, stuff like arcs (Electro Leap) or hazards (Scather). (Infernal Ruling) All spells have "Damage Type: Magical" (refer errata). This is inherited by "immediate" secondary damage (such as Eruption of Spines). (Infernal Ruling) and might be inherited by "lingering" secondary damage (see below). If a spell leaves a template in play that does damage to models that walk around in it, then: if it is not described as a hazard it will do magical damage to models that walk around in it. (Example: Razor Wall) if it is a hazard then it will not do magical damage to models that walk around in it. Instead, it does whatever damage type is specified by the spell description. (Example: Breath of Corruption). (Infernal Ruling) If a weapon/spell includes Magic Damage and another kind of elemental damage it will still damage Incorporeal models. Incorporeal models are not affected by the rule "if an attack does multiple types of damage and a model is immune to at least one it is immune to the entire attack." The phrase "immune to non-magical damage" should be interpreted as "immune to damage that doesn't include Damage Type: Magical" (not interpreted as "has immunity to Corrosion and Electricity and Cold and etc.")

Rules Clarification : Pathfinder (Edit)

Pathfinder (Edit) - Pathfinder does not apply to involuntary movement (pushes & slams). (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Elemental Mastery (Edit)

Elemental Mastery's "can heal constructs" rule trumps "construct warbeasts cannot be healed" rule and the more generic rule of "cannot trumps can". (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Devourer's Debt - None yet. (Edit)
Rules Clarification : Ritual of Renewal - None yet. (Edit)

Rules Clarification : Crevasse and/or Jaws of Urcaen (Edit)

If the model boxed is not the original target (for instance a Shield Guard took the hit and got boxed) then Crevasse/Jaws will not trigger. (Infernal Ruling)
Crevasse only
- The spray generated by the spell is a magic attack.
However, when it comes to stuff which triggers from spell-casting (like Arcane Vortex) the spray is a bit weird, because you are already halfway through the spell-casting sequence (refer Appendix A).
- You can use Arcane Vortex vs Crevasse when the first target is picked. You can't use Arcane Vortex when the spray target is picked. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Ground Zero (Edit)

Push - General (Edit) [Show/Hide]
- Pushed models do not change their facing.
- Pushed models move at half rate through difficult terrain. Also, Pathfinder doesn't apply during pushes.
- Pushed models stop if they contact anything - a model of any size, or any obstacles or obstructions.
- You don't get free strikes against pushed models, because it is "involuntary movement" and therefore does not count as an advance.
- Pushed models suffer the effects of anything they move through (such as acid clouds).
- If you use a Push vs a charging model (via a free strike for example), this will stop the charge movement (refer core rulebook).
  - However, if the pushed model is in melee range of its charge target after the push, then it is considered a successful charge. (Infernal Ruling)
  - In that scenario, you measure whether the charging model moved 3" or less excluding the push distance. (Infernal Ruling)
- If you push a model to a position where it regains Incorporeal (for instance you push it out of range of an Exorcist) then what happens is (Being Checked by Infernals)

Not blast damage (Edit)

Due to the way it is worded, this spell/weapon does full POW to all models in the AOE. It is not blast damage and it is not halved.
For the same reason, it doesn't do "two damage rolls to the model directly hit". (Infernal Ruling)
Models that are immune to blast damage have no defence vs this spell/weapon.

Rules Clarification : Rock Wall (Edit)

The size of the wall template is 0.75" by 4". (Infernal Ruling)
The upkeep spell is not "on" any model, not even the original caster.
- It can't be dispelled by stuff that targets models (such as Dispel or Hex Blast).
- It can be dispelled by stuff that doesn't target (such as Purification). But only if the template is in range of the Purification - the position of the original caster doesn't matter.

Rules Clarification : Roots of the Earth (Edit)

This spell prevents voluntary movement, as well as the enemy moving you.