Prepping for Monster Wasteland’s first con outing was a way bigger task than expected so I missed last week’s blog, but it was all worth it because TokenCon was a blast. I met some amazing people, played some incredible upcoming games, and got invaluable advice from folks who’ve been to this rodeo many times before. I also had some awesome playthroughs got to show off Monster Wasteland to a bunch of lovely people. If you’re one of them – hi!

I’ll do a full roundup of TokenCon in my email this week (assuming Mailchimp customer service can help me with some verification issues…) but for now, let’s talk about the last two factions!

The Order of the Tellers

A mysterious sect of cowled figures with an uncanny knack for knowing the unknown. People follow them almost anywhere, because they know the Order will see things that they cannot and steer them clear of hidden danger.

The Order of the Tellers is a group of mystics who have mysterious precognitive powers that help keep them safe from Monsters and the perils of the Wasteland writ large. Mechanically speaking, they run board control, allowing players to have a small hand in controlling otherwise threatening or unpredictable Monster behavior. It’s good to keep the Tellers’ Heroes on Settlements or, paradoxically, Monster Lairs, because their Faction’s power prevents Monsters from spawning on them. This lets them pull double-duty as Settlement builders and tenders, since you’ll want them there anyway if shit hits the fan. An Order of the Tellers player should be eagle-eyed and always thinking a couple turns ahead, so that when a Monster spawns or moves, they can tip the scales in the Factions’ favor.

The Heroes from the Order of the Tellers are Speaker Tenebrius and Listener Malach. Tenebrius has the power to move Monsters one space in any direction after cancelling their movement. While the obvious use is to stop a Monster from attacking other units or Settlements, you can also change a Monster’s territory by pushing it into another section, prevent Monster spawning by pushing it onto a Lair, or even mess up another Monster’s turn by pushing it into the way of the movement path. Listener Malach, on the other hand, has the superpower to stop a Monster from spawning entirely, replacing it with another, smaller Monster. While most players I’ve seen use the power to blank the first Colossal Monster spawn of the game, he can also be used in response to a Monster spawning on an inconvenient space since you reroll the spawn entirely. Big baddie about to spawn right on top of your favorite hero? Use Malach’s power, change your fate, and save the day!

The Cult of Desmani

Whoever Desmani was is lost to the ages, but these weirdos will follow her ideals to the ends of the Earth. Their numbers are unknown, and cultists disappear and reappear as they please… even after unfortunate accidents.

As the proud parent of a baby game, I’m not allowed to say that I play favorites. But I’ll tell you what – the Cult of Desmani may be my favorite of the Faction designs. Shhh, don’t tell the others. While magic doesn’t explicitly exist in the Wasteland (the Tellers could be a bunch of grifters for all we know), the Cult of Desmani makes the strongest case for it being more than a bunch of hokum. Whereas the Tellers manipulate the Monsters on the board and the Vernese Rangers manipulate units, the Cult of Desmani manipulates the entire metagame. The Faction’s power – the ability to return Basic Items to players’ hands after playing them – allows more leniency with what you use in the Wasteland, so long as you’re willing to sacrifice followers to the cause. The best Cult of Desmani players are willing to go the extra mile here: Followers to them are just another resource, one that can be gained as well as lost.

The Cult of Desmani Heroes, First Moon and Third Winter, lean in to metagame management as well. First Moon’s ability to replace face-up items, Objectives, and Settlements can change how players approach the game at the drop of a hat. Suddenly running in to a lot of Objectives that want you to build weapons? Either restock your items to make sure you can craft the right stuff or redraw the Objectives to pivot you in the direction you want to take. Settlement build requirements too stringent for you? Throw ’em out and try again! I personally like First Moon’s power because it keeps the game from going stagnant and players from feeling stuck when their goals and the cards don’t line up. Third Winter, on the other hand, is the one you break in case of emergency. They’ll put six followers back on any number of Heroes, which you can either use to supplement the other Factions if they’ve taken a beating or just top yourself off if you’ve been feeding Followers to the Cult’s Faction power. It takes a certain type of player to really exploit the Cult of Desmani but once you do, they can help you run away with the game very fast.

That’s all for now! Next time I’m going to talk about some terminology changes that took me way too long to make, why I didn’t make them sooner, and why it matters.