A long term goal of ours has been to establish an online database that allows players to submit the results of their games, and while development of this is well underway, up to this point we have been restricted to gleaning hero statistics from tournaments wherever we can. Hero statistics, their pick rates, ban rates and win/loss percentages, are a large part of the MOBA genre and provide a lot of appeal. Something we are keen to extend that to Judgement. These statistics will not only be of huge benefit to our players, giving them endless talking points and reference material when selecting their Warbands, statistics will also provide an invaluable tool for our design and balance team when putting together errata and future heroes.

As part of an initiative to bring together newly forming meta from around the world, we are running a series of Vassal leagues and are in the midst of season 2. With the play-offs about to begin, I thought it would be a fantastic time to publish, and analyse, the hero statistics from the 3v3 portion of the competition. Players were split into two pools of 7 where they played each other once across both the cobblestone and swamp maps. The league was played using the standard Judgement rules with the only exception being that all monster spawning pits spawned random monsters. We also allowed both Fazeal and Jaegar to be used in the league. 

For those interested in using the awesome Judgement Vassal module, you can download it here.

Statistics

The league initial phase comprised of: 

• 42 games
• 27 heroes (out of 30 available)
• 14 players
• 4 countries
• 3 continents

5 Most Popular Heroes

These heroes appeared in most of the 14 Warbands:

• Brok (5)
• Marcus (5)
• Thorgar (5)
• Skoll (5)
• Zhonyja (4)

5 Highest Ban Rates

The most banned champions measured by the ratio of getting banned over appearances. Only champions that were in 2 or more Warbands were considered.

• Svetlana 55.56%
• Doenrakkar 46.15%
• Zhonyja 44.83%
• Saiyin 33.33%
• Viktor 25%

5 Highest Pick Rates

Note that champions that were banned a lot would have lower pick rates because they were unable to be picked. Only champions that were in 2 or more Warbands were considered.

• Allandir 78.26%
• Haksa 75.00%
• Gendris 73.33%
• Fazeal 72.22%
• Brok 71.88%

5 Highest Not Picked Rates

These are the champions that were not picked once they were available to be picked, i.e. were not banned. Another term for this statistic is "being left on the bench". Only champions that were in 2 or more Warbands were considered.

• Viktor 33.33%
• Skye 32%
• Bastian 30.77%
• Xyvera 30.77%
• Zaron 30.77%

5 Highest Number of Games

• Brok 23
• Marcus 20
• Thorgar 19
• Allandir 18 
• Skoll 17

5 Highest Win Rates

Only champions that played 5 or more games were considered.

• Viktor 80% (5 games)
• Nephenee 80% (5 games)
• Svetlana 71.43% (7 games)
• Thorgar 63.16% (19 games)
• Fazeal 61.54% (13 games)

Full Statistics Table

Below is a table that contains the entire statistics from the 3v3 portion of the league, ordered by highest win %.

We will be collecting similar statistics for the play-offs which moves to 5v5. We also hope to launch our global results database in the new few weeks.

Zhonyja stepped down the last few stairs and out into the valley. She breathed in the sulphurous steam that greeted her, momentarily losing herself in the memories it evoked. She had been coming here since the first cycles of her life, when she had received the markings of her clan across her shoulders. Those same marks were still there, though they had been expanded and re-made a dozen times. Now, markings covered most of her skin, different ones visible depending on which tint she wore. Some were elaborate, like the massive serpent that wound around her left thigh to her hip. Others were simple, such as the skull on her left arm. It was tinted to show strongest when her skin wore the red of war, and least when she wore the green of home and peace, as she did now. Today though, she was here to wear something different, something new. Kruul had summoned her, and he intended to tint her himself, something that was almost unheard of in the last hundred cycles.

At her feet, the twisting path extended from the base of the stairs, out across the stony ground and into the mists. She could hear the bubbling of the mud pools all around her, the burps and splashes echoing oddly off the valley walls and providing counterpoint to the underlying snore of the gas caves that pocked the valley edges. Just to the side of the stairs was the first of those caves, and she could see the small tower of delicate yellow crystals that marked where the emerging hot gas met the cooler air of the valley. There were dozens of these caves, hundreds perhaps. The valley was full of vents, caves, pools, treacherous ground and boiling mud. It was a sacred place for her clan from before these more civilized times. The floor of the valley was littered with shards of stone, but with bone too. Bones of enemies from more recent times, bones of the witch doctors from after the fall of Edarr, when the orcs had turned on one another. All of the bones were ground to chips and dust, softened by the moisture and shattered by the feet of new generations. It was now a mark of respect to have bones of your ancestors in this place. Kruul and others had reclaimed it as a place of power long ago, and the legacy of the witch doctors was now returned to a level of respect, if not honour.

Zhonyja stepped out onto the path, lost in her reflections. She was sure-footed, as she had walked this path enough times that it was seared into her memory. She could walk it in her sleep. She passed a dozen sights that had fascinated her as a child, small fumaroles and vents that slowly dusted themselves in crystals of every colour. Those crystals formed part of the base for the tints used on orc skin. In some cases, they were also used in the marking dyes, allowing for marks that would show through one tint but not another, such as her skull mark. Today, Zhonyja strode past them without interest. She only paused when she reached the massive mud pool that she had always had to negotiate using a series of stepping stones, solid islands in a sea of bubbling, scalding mud. Someone had built a sturdy walkway across it, wooden planks arranged and moored to give a stable and simple passage. She watched it for a few moments, trying to asses whether it could perhaps be a trap or trick of some kind, but she could see that it was moored on those same islands she had used for crossing on her last visit. With a shrug and a hint of regret, she stepped out onto the boards and made the crossing, admitting to herself that it was considerably easier and would at least mean fewer orcs with burn-scarred legs and feet. Still, it felt like another minor yielding of culture to convenience... another softening. She remembered that the older orcs saw the marking as a test of their vitality. They had always said that if you were too old to cross, you should give yourself to the mud. She knew that Kruul would see it as another failing, though a treacherous part of her felt sure that he too would have used the bridge.


She stepped off the end of the boards and back onto the trodden path. There were cracks to all sides, venting the sulphurous steam and occasionally spitting scalding water. Each crack accumulated a slightly different shade of crystal, and she knew that the shamans all used each shade differently. The blues and dark greens favoured by the witch doctors were only found at the very back of the valley, and others were not allowed to enter unless specifically granted access.

The marking area was not much further in. She only needed to pass one more obstacle, which emerged from the mist in front of her now.  The ravine, or chasm, depending on who you asked, was hundreds of paces wide in some places, but here it narrowed to a mere twenty or thirty. There had always been stories of orcs in history who had jumped the chasm, but she had never believed them. Now she looked at it contemplatively, feeling the strength in her limbs and wondering whether the new power she had gained from her time Between might make it possible.

On the back of that, she wondered if perhaps those orcs of myth had simply been chosen like her. She hadn’t run across them if so. The orcs she had seen on the shadow plane seemed to all be from her own time, or very close: Haksa, Kruul and Rakkir. Even the new chosen, Sharn, a giant of an orc, seemed to be of this time, however where on Athien Sharn lived, Zhonyja did not know. She would surely have remembered such a large orc if they had crossed paths on Athien. All chosen orcs coming from the same point in time was an oddity as far as Zhonyja could tell. Kruul thought it was important, though he wouldn’t say, or didn’t know, why. At first, she had thought it meant that her race didn’t exist in the future, but she had spoken with the strange elf and a minotaur who also lived in the far future, who both confirmed that orcs still lived, though they were not comfortable discussing specifics. 

She snapped out of her reverie and stepped out onto the rope bridge that had been used by everyone she had ever seen cross. It consisted of three ropes, representing mind, body and spirit if you believed the shaman. Your spirit walked the path, guided by mind and body, so went the coda she had recited with her class the first time they had all crossed.

Today, with no one else watching, she indulged herself and placed her feet on the lower rope, the spirit, and walked without any other contact, hands by her sides. Her balance was better than ever, and she felt sure that she could jump from this rope to one of the others if she felt the urge to tempt the gods. Zhonyja did feel the urge and fought it. Having recently acquired a much more personal comprehension of the gods and their lesser cousins, the everlasting, she now knew that the old gods had no love for her. Crossing the path in five or six bounding steps, she did a summersault on the last to land on the other edge with both feet.

The rest of the path from here was under the eyes of the shaman and witch doctors. Though Kruul knew her nature, she wasn’t eager for the others to know as yet, so she consciously returned her stride to normal, and self-consciously adjusted the vest that covered the spreading tell-tale mark that gleamed dully on her chest above her heart, reaching towards her shoulder. The Chosen mark showed through every tint, and made that area of her flesh impervious to attempts to apply other ritual markings.

Fortunately, Kruul had always been her witch doctor, and had applied all her markings from the first, so she hadn’t needed to hide the developing marks from him. They had been a source of satisfaction for Kruul, despite the old cultural taboos that other shaman held concerning the shadow plane. He had told Zhonyja that he had been training her to join him as one of the summoned all along, from before her first marking. She had felt proud at her achievement, but doubts had slowly crept in, particularly about her parents, or lack thereof. She had suspicions now that she did not dare voice because, although Kruul treated her like a daughter, she feared him. He had never really given her cause; she had seen him kill on many occasions, but he had rarely even raised his voice at her. Nevertheless, as she grew older, she was coming to fear his intentions; his plans for himself, but also for her. 

Much as she respected him, the treacherous part of her suspected that he would not make a good god.

“You are late, daughter”, his growling voice emerged from the mists in front of her, moments before they parted to reveal him standing on the path. He wore full ceremonial garb, the robes and mask of a witch doctor over the deep black-blue tint that marked his whole body. On his arms and legs where she could see his skin, creatures writhed in brilliant ice-blue and sea-green. The eyes of the creatures were a ruddy red-orange of a banked hearth-fire and when she looked at them, they seemed to blink and stretch languidly as he moved his limbs. Only the witch doctors and shaman bore marks of such potency and of them she had only seen demons on Kruul. No other dared to carry them. She often wondered what that said about him and the state of his soul. She had never dared to ask.

“I am sorry, father. I took time for…. reflection.” she responded quietly, eyes downcast. She rarely played the role of daughter now, but in this context, at the place of marking, tradition demanded certain things.

He nodded as his eyes scrutinised her from behind the mask. “Some reflection is good. Today though we focus on your future, not your past.” She bowed her head in assent and he turned to lead her off the path and out into the mists.

Zhonyja stood for a moment, uncertain. Previously, she had always been marked in the same place, only another two dozen paces down the path. A large tent would be there, waiting. She had never been led elsewhere before, and she was not sure what it meant. A worm of fear twisted in her gut at the thought that perhaps he had seen her doubts, seen her treacherous thoughts and meant to… what? He would not dispose of her, she was far too valuable to him. She had served as an enforcer of his will, a symbol of his power among the tribes. She had never voiced her doubts publicly, and while she was useful, she was confident that he would not wish to lose her. He was nothing if not practical.

“Come, daughter”, his voice drifted back to her, impatient. “Why do you linger?”

“Sorry father”, she muttered, forcing her legs into motion and stepping where she’d seen him step.

In this place, a misstep could cost you the skin on your feet at least, so all orcs learned early to memorise where others stepped without thinking. In a few steps, she could see him again and he strode onwards. She followed and the path fell into the mist behind her. We have literally stepped off the path of spirit, she thought, more than a little troubled. Kruul abandoning tradition was almost unheard of. So much so that she thought it more than likely that he was reinstating another of the lost traditions that he occasionally uncovered in his research of the time before Edarr.

That wasn’t particularly comforting; a lot of those traditions had been… unpleasant. She hissed as a slight misstep put one of her toes onto the bare earth off Kruul’s steps and a searing flash ran up her leg. She steadied herself back into the footprints and paused for a second.

“Careful daughter, this way has been freshly revealed. It is not yet as…tamed as those we have followed in the past.”


“Is it a new way, father? Or is it an old way come again?”


He laughed quietly. “You were ever perceptive, my child. This one, this is a little of both I think.”


They continued on for a while longer, and Zhonyja wondered how he could possibly have found this path. They wound among dozens of small fissures and vents, at one point walking the edge of what must have been a small crater, the rubble and dirt falling steeply away to their right into darkness and mist. She began to lose track of time and felt sure that she would not be able to find her way back, memory or no. They had wound around too many times, jumped too many fissures, landing gingerly on exact footprints, wincing when she slipped a little and the scalding sand bit into her feet. Through this all they moved in silence, Kruul clearly focussed on finding the path, occasionally his staff would spring out to steady him or probe where footprints appeared to split in many directions and she realised those must represent either failed exploration or deliberate false trails. Given the cost to the explorer of each exploratory footstep, she felt sure that this path represented years of work. Judging by the familiar prints, it was work that Kruul had performed alone. In fact, she might be the first orc to walk this path after him. That was a great honour, if true. It seemed extremely unlikely that he would go to these lengths for punishment.

At last, after what must have been several thousand steps, he stopped and she stood behind him as the mists opened on a site unlike any she had seen on Athien. She recognised it immediately, of course. She had seen a hundred variations, just never on this plane.

The Effigy was a dozen feet tall, towering over them. It was hewn of black volcanic rock and she couldn’t recognise which of the gods, old or new, it represented. Nonetheless, she knew it to be an effigy. The glow of power, nowhere near as visible as on the shadow plane, was nonetheless undeniably present. It depicted a creature she didn’t recognise, a giant lizard of sorts with wings of all things. Its eyes glowed ruby red and it was perched atop a giant skull that looked human, though it could easily have been orc or dwarf. The roughness of the sculpture made it distinct from those she had seen in Between. 

She was completely at a loss for words, mind whirling with questions and confusion. This, as far as she had thought she knew, was impossible. She did not pretend to understand how the planes worked, but she knew, or believed, that the energy required to cross the planes was enormous. To place an effigy here from one of the other planes implied projection to this plane from one of the others….

As far as she knew that had only happened for one being. Edarr. Edarr had crossed between the planes first in the direction of ascension and then back in the catastrophe of incarnation.

“Can you feel its power?” Kruul asked quietly and she nodded, feeling a thrum in her chest, beneath the hidden runes that denoted her as one of the summoned.

“I felt it for years before I finally found it. Many years.” There was a slight tinge of bitterness to his tone.

Zhonyja stepped forward, ignoring the prints she could see in the sand, ignoring the spikes of pain in her fascination with the effigy. She circled it slowly. It looked far more real than those Between, the crafting here on Athien was limited by more than just imagination and will. It showed markings where the tools used had hewn the black stone, chipped it steadily into this shape from a massive block of black stone bought here from the gods alone knew where. Its base was fused into the stone of the valley floor somehow, but a string of small vents emerged around its base and she saw there were also small vents in the statue itself. The nostrils of the beast were leaking wisps of mist and each had an accumulation of tiny blue-black crystals. Each of the vents were growing the same crystals and she could see that they had been harvested. Kruul noticed her attention and spoke softly.

“These crystals are the truest pigment I’ve found. They suit both tint and marking.” He gestured to his calves where the blue marks twisted. “The marks show on this tint, but on no other. They are marks of power. I suspect they will only mark the chosen, though I haven’t tested it yet.”

“You shouldn’t,” she felt certainty “This is not for others.”


Kruul nodded “I agree. Those who deserve it, if they exist, will find it.”

Zhonyja shivered with anticipation. Today would be a marking that would stay with her forever, a tinting that would mark her indelibly as aligned with the witch doctors, aligned with this effigy, this power. A small part of her felt trepidation, but it was drowned in the surge of pride that she should be only the second orc to bear this sign! This sign would echo into the future, she could feel it. With this she would change the planes, change the future of her race.

“What marking would you bear, daughter?” Kruul’s tone was formal, ceremonial. A question she had been asked a hundred times. But this time...

“I would bear a mark of our past and of our future, father. A mark of the power of our race and a mark to command respect. I would bear the mark of the fallen one. She who rose in the name of mortals and fell in the fight against the old gods. The one whose fall shattered the world.”

“Speak her name, daughter.” His voice was low and soft but intense.

The entire valley seemed to fall silent, as if holding its breath. She felt the Effigy before her thrum with a power that she now recognised as she breathed out, letting the word fall from her lips.

“Edarr” 

The highly anticipated Scorched Earth neoprene mat is available for pre-order. The new map is the best quality neoprene we have produced so far and features a number of new features that take your Judgement games to a new level.

• Pre-marked terrain
• Six dynamic and challenging scenarios
• Teleportation stones
• Shrines to Eldir (Earth) and Forin (Fire)
• New neutral monster (Dor'gokaan the demon)

We estimate the mats will ship within 2 weeks and are offering free shipping on pre-orders. Use the code "ScorchedEarthFreeShipping" to receive free shipping for pre-orders. We have ordered a limited initial run of these so make sure to pre-order if you want to secure one from our first batch.

Jeff and I are immensely proud of the fact we have built Judgement, from scratch, while being based in Australia. The tyranny of distance has been a hurdle we have had to overcome every step of the way, however it has also meant we have had to work harder, and smarter, as we transition from Kickstarter to retail. A journey that continues today.

Forging strong partnerships with like minded companies has enabled us to extend our reach to North America and Europe, and now allows us to re-launch our web store as US based. This means our products are setup in US prices and we can ship using US & EU carriers. So no more exorbitant shipping costs for our North American and European player bases. 

To celebrate the launch of our US based store, we are offering free shipping for USA customers for a limited time. This includes everything that is currently in stock on our website. To receive free shipping on your order, simply use the "USAStoreLaunch" code during checkout.

The free shipping offer, for USA customers, will be available for a limited time so be sure to get in quick to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.

Adepticon 2019 saw us run a tournament, outside of Australia, for the 1st time ever. With that in mind, we were very pleased to have 16 players compete for the title, 15 from the USA and 1 competitor all the way from down under. The tournament was aimed towards new players as we got permission to allow unpainted models and we ran with the popular 3v3 pick & ban format. All 4 scenarios of the cobblestone map were played across the 4 rounds and once the dust settled, local boy, Tony Reische continued is early meta dominance by taking out the title. 

Another Chicago local, Chad Kaufman, faced off against Tony in the final which proved to be a tightly contested battle. A level 3 Skoll, combined with a rampaging Thorgar, enabled Tony to get the upper hand which he relentlessly took advantage of to secure the win and 1st place in the tournament. The lone Aussie in the field, Byron te Velde, lost his 1st round match however cleaned up the backfield to go 3/1 and secure 2nd place courtesy of his fully painted Warband. Jordan Kaase was another strong player who lost to Tony in the 3rd round however his strong play across the 4 rounds saw him amass 14 souls and 14 levels.

In keeping with our vision of beautifully painted models gracing the plane of shadow, we set the number of painted models as the 1st tiebreaker, followed by number of souls and finally the number of levels gained.

The medal winners: Sean Stevens (Best Painted), Tony Reische (1st Place), Byron te Velde (2nd Place)

The official Adepticon medals are amazing!

Chad and Tony face off for the final.

One of the coolest things about Judgement is the fact we can accumulate statistics about heroes similar to MOBAs so we thought we would dive in and have a look at some of the stats from the tournament.

The class breakdown is pretty much in-line with other tournaments we have run with Aggressors taking around 45% of the Warband slots and Defenders/Supporters sitting around the 20% mark. It is a healthy looking class split and what you would expect from a 3v3 tournament.

24 of the 28 heroes were included in the event, which is fantastic to see, including a solid spread across each of the classes. Interestingly, Marcus was the most selected hero with 7 out of 16 players including him in their Warband. Zhonyja (6) and Bastian (6) were the next two most selected heroes which meant we had 3 different classes fill the 3 most popular picks. Watching the games, it was obvious that Zhonyja and Thorgar were causing a number of headaches for many of the players and they slowly became priority ban targets. One of the remarkable things about the final was that Chad and Tony had 10 different heroes across their Warbands, and there were 11 different heroes out of the 15 that made up the top 3 player's Warbands.

Judgement is certainly exploding in the USA write now and we look forward to growing the game across various cities. Next year we are planning on running two events, a 3v3 and a 5v5 across 2 days, and we hope to have much bigger fields contest both tournaments. 

Adepticon 2019 is almost upon us as Judgement's Andrew "Guns" Galea prepares himself for the long haul flight from Sydney to Chicago. Just like 2018, we are guests in the MuseOnMinis stall and look forward to introducing a bunch of new gamers to 54mm battles on the shadow plane! We are running a Judgement tournament for the first time this year, a 3v3 pick & ban event on the Saturday, and will be looking to provide as many demo and pick up games as we can.

Stall 201 (MuseOnMinis)

You will find us, alongside the other exhibitors, in the Discovery Hall. We are sharing stall 201 with MuseOnMinis where we will have the entire Judgement range for sale, including all our accessories. 

You will also be able to have a close up at the prototype of Jaegar the Goblin Hunter!

Check out the Jaegar prototype at the MuseOnMinis stall!

3v3 Pick & Ban Tournament

The Judgement tournament is being run on the Saturday and is a 4 round, 3v3 pick & ban event with all games played on the Cobblestone map. We had 17 players registered once ticket sales were closed so we do have up to 7 spots available for those that want to enter at the convention itself. The tournament is being run in the Utopia room kicking off at 9am and it promises to be an awesome day of gaming on the shadow plane. Judgement creator, Andrew Galea, will be running the event and will be on-hand to help out any new players that want to learn the game in a relaxed environment. 

Full details of the event have been published on Facebook.

Demos and Pick Up Games

Outside of the tournament, you will be able to dive into demos and/or pick up games in the Utopia room foyer or at the MuseOnMinis stall. Get into contact with Andrew via Twitter (@JMTAndrewG or @PlayJudgement) if you are unable to find him and want to have a Judgement demo!

New Plastic Token Sets

We have been working with the Muse guys for a while now and are very happy to announce the release of a complete set of plastic tokens for the game. The tokens are broken into sets of "Core", "Wave 1" and "Wave 2" that include everything you need to play the game. In addition to the token sets, you will also be able to pick up the illustrated plastic measuring widgets.

The Core Token Set

The Wave 1 Token Set

The Wave 2 Token Set

The illustrated plastic widget set

Track Down Guns!

Keen for a demo? Have a bunch of questions or just want to say hello? Then you can track down Andrew (Guns) across the weekend via social media:

• Twitter (@JMTAndrewG or @PlayJudgement)
• Facebook - tag him on the Judgemental group
• Discord - ping him on the Judgement Discord channel

Andrew will also be posting stuff consistently across the 4 days of the convention on the social media channels above. We are really looking forward to spending time with all our North American Judgement players and can't wait to introduce a whole lot more of you to this awesome game. See you in Chicago! :)

The King of the Grove series is in its second year and is starting to gain momentum with local (Australian) players. Today we ran heat 2 and 10 players converged on the Rebel Outpost hobby store on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The format was 3 rounds of 3v3 pick & ban on the Cobblestone map, and once the dust had settled, Steve "Fury" Drury emerged victorious with 3 flawless victories. New kid on the block, Harry James, took out 2nd and veteran Byron te Velde, who is competing in the Adepticon tournament in Chicago in 2 weeks, sailed into 3rd place.

The top 3 from left to right. Harry James (2nd), Steve "Fury" Drury (1st), a Jaegar cosplay by Jeff Galea and Byron te Velde (3rd).

You can view the full results of the tournament here.

Rebel Outpost is a fantastic tournament venue with plenty of room and a great atmosphere for the players and we will definitely return in the future for more Judgement action.

Hero & Warband Statistics

There were several interesting Warbands with a definite skew against Soulgazers in this tournament. In fact, there were only 6 Soulgazers, across the 50 heroes which made up the 10 Warbands. As to be expected, Aggressors were the dominant class with Defenders and Supporters/Hybrids also well represented.

We had an impressive 22 of the 28 eligible heroes used in the tournament with the mighty Thorgar the most popular with 5 of the 10 players fielding him. Interestingly the class breakdown of the top 5 most used heroes were 2 Aggressors and 1 Supporter, Defender and Hybrid.

1. Thorgar (5)
2. Bastian (4)
3. Thrommel (4)
4. Rakkir (4)
5. Kvarto (3)
6. Brok (3)
7. Nephenee (3)
8. Kogan (2)
9. Saiyin (2)
10. Marcus (2)
11. Skye (2)
12. Zhonyja (2)
13. Skoll (2)
14. Kruul (2)
15. Haksa
16. Barnascus
17. Loribela
18. Svetlana
19. Piper
20. Istariel
21. Zaron 
22. Styx

The heroes that were not picked in any of the 10 Warbands were:

1. Gendris
2. Xyvera
3. Viktor
4. Doenrakkar
5. Allandir
6. Zaffen

Current Standings for the King of the Grove Invitational

Top 8 players in the King of the Grove leaderboard, at the end of the year, will be invited to compete in the invitational final. The current top 8 are:

10pts - Tobias "Desert Spiral" Ford (auto-qualified)
10pts - Steve "Fury" Drury
9pts - Byron te Velde
9pts - Harry James
9pts - "Loud" Chris Davis
8pts - Lloyd Mirto
7pts - Anthony "Tort" Tortorici
6pts - "King" Kyle Elbourne

The full leaderboard and rules for the series can be found here.

Our next event in the series is being held at The Hall of Heroes store in Campbelltown in Sydney's South West on the 27th April. Details for the event will be posted shortly.

The Season 2 Vassal league has kicked off involving 16 players representing the USA, Canada, The Netherlands, England and Australia. It is fantastic to see the league grow and we are really looking forward to some epic battles over the coming weeks.

Season 2 has seen us expand the format with a 7 round group stage, followed by an 8 player play-off series. For the group stage, players are divided into 2 pools of 8 and are scheduled to play each other once using the 3v3 pick & ban format on both the cobblestone and swamp map. Warbands are locked in for the entire group stage forcing the players to pick 5 heroes that can navigate their way through a variety of maps and monsters.

The top 4 from each pool will then progress to the play-offs where the game are stepped up to 5v5 with pick & ban, before the 5v5 final is played using a full 30 hero draft! You can view the standings, entire draw, and each player's Warband on the season 2 page.

Statistics

We all love statistics so here are some Warband numbers! First of all, 28 of the 30 heroes are represented with only Barnascus and Loribela not getting selected in any player's Warbands.

1. Skoll (6)
2. Zhonyja (6)
3. Brok (5)
4. Thorgar (5)
5. Marcus (5)
6. Skye (4)
7. Bastian (4)
8. Jaegar (4)
9. Saiyin (3)
10. Haksa (3)
11. Fazeal (3)
12. Gendris (3)
13. Rakkir (3)
14. Svetlana (3)
15. Thrommel (2)
16. Viktor (2)
17. Xyvera (2)
18. Doenrakkar (2)
19. Allandir (2)
20. Kvarto (2)
21. Nephenee (2)
22. Piper (2)
23. Zaron (2)
24. Kogan
25. Kruul
26. Istariel
27. Styx
28. Zaffen

Class Breakdown

Race Breakdown

The Season 2 Vassal League page will be updated as the results come in and we look forward to seeing who will be crowned the season 2 champion!

Herein lies the sixth clarification and errata document for Judgement. From the very beginning we socialised the fact Judgement would be a regularly "patched" game, in keeping with its MOBA origins and to ensure the game's rules are kept in an optimal state. Our patch schedule is quarterly, with the changes becoming official on the 1st day of the start of the next quarter. Therefore the official date for this patch is the 1st of April 2019.

Remember that all hero, monster, magical artefact and rules can be downloaded from the Print & Play section of this website. Both our Android and iOS apps will also be updated to reflect changes from this patch.

If you want to discuss the patch notes, or anything at all about Judgement, please join our Discord channel!

Clarifications

Clarifications are provided for rules that are normally played a certain way, however the rules as written do not necessarily support that. Clarifications can also be  quality of life changes that do not necessarily change rules. 

New Monster Cards Icon

This is a general quality of life change. Up to this point, the monsters and hybrid class heroes have shared the same icon on their cards, the paw print. We have created a new icon for Monsters, and therefore updated all their cards to include the icon.

• Updated the icon on all monster cards

Soul Spawn Pits (p28)

With maps that have multiple Soul spawning pits, it was not clear where the 1st Soul spawns.

• The "Step 4: Spawn Soul and Monsters Rule" step of the Communion Phase has been updated to state that on maps with multiple Soul pits, you randomly determine where the 1st Soul spawns in the game.

Combat Manoeuvres (p16)

General clarifications for the two generic combat manoeuvres.

• Push combat manoeuvre changed to say "up to 1 inch".
• Knocked Down combat manoeuvre clarified so that the hero that suffers knocked down as part of the triple J combat manoeuvre also suffers a critical hit.

Active Abilities (p18)

As the interactions between an increasing number of heroes becomes more complicated, unforeseen issues may arise that require clarification. This is one of those times.

• Following text added: "Active abilities can only be executed during the owning hero’s activation."

Aiming Bonus (p17)

The aiming bonus can become complicated with various timings of events. This is an attempt to make it clearer.

• Following text added: "A model must declare they are claiming the aiming bonus at the start of their activation."

Soul Harvesting (p24)

Another few clarifications that cropped up due to the increasing permutations of interactions between our heroes.

• Clarified that regardless of the method used to Harvest a Soul, the hero gains a level and has the Soul bound to them.
• Clarified that "gains Soul" is different to "harvests Soul", the former not affording the hero a level.
• Specified that a hero must be alive to successfully harvest or gain a Soul.

Attack Process (p16)

We often see players calculating their attack dice pools in various orders, however the sequence to generate the attack dice pool can make a significant difference to the final number of dice you roll. Therefore, we have added a few more clarifications to assist in this area.

• Add all dice from abilities that affect the attacking model in a positive way. E.g. Bastian’s Heroic Ballad.
• Subtract all dice from abilities that affect the attacking model in a negative way.
• Apply effects that specify “after all other modifiers”. If multiple effects, of this type, are present, the active player gets to choose their order of application.
• For magic (MAG) and ranged (RNG) attacks we added a clarification so the attacking model does not deduct a dice from its own attack pool when it is engaging a model it is shooting.

Shrines (p23)

• Added the point that they are non-hero models.

Summoned Models (p31)

There have been questions around what happens when a summoned model kills an enemy hero or monster.

• The following paragraph was added: "If a summoned model inflicts the killing blow on an enemy hero the summoner harvests the enemy hero’s Soul. Similarly, if a summoned model inflicts the killing blow on a monster the summoner will gain a level and is eligible to collect the monster’s bounty assuming the summoned model, or the summoner, are within 2” of the monster when it is slain."

Frequently Asked Questions (p34)

We have added a Frequently Asked Questions section at the end of the rulebook.

Errata

Errata are changes to the rules that we believe improve the player experience, close loop holes or are simply just kick-ass changes that make Judgement even better.

Purchase a Magical Artefact (p14)

We love magical artefacts and what they bring to the game. Being able to change up the way your Warband plays, mid-game, is a unique element of Judgement and something that stands it apart from a lot of other table-top miniature games. We often look for ways to promote magical artefact use and make them more accessible to players, so in this patch we have introduced a number of changes to the way magical artefacts work, including a significant change where you are allowed to sell items back for the Fate you spent to buy them originally.

• Title changed to "Buy/Sell/Trade Magical Artefacts".
• Heroes can now purchase more than 1 artefact during their activation and it still costs only 1 action.
• Clarified rules around trading in magical artefacts.
• Added rule where heroes can sell magical artefacts back for their original fate cost (fate gets added to their Warband's pool).

Monster Bounty (p21)

• Added clarification that heroes can buy/trade/sell magical artefacts when collecting a monster's bounty, just like they were in base-to-base with their Effigy.

Magical Artefacts (p26)

• Added "Selling Magical Artefacts" section.
• Clarified the entire section to reflect the fact heroes can now purchase/trade/sell/pass on more than one artefact at a time.
• Added the "One Use Only" section. Artefacts that have the  "One Use Only" keyword phrase are removed from play once they are used.
• Added the "Active Component" section (p27) which specifies they must be used within the activation of the hero that possesses them.

Fate (p25)

This is something that has been discussed among the design team for about 6 months. A player getting an early advantage and then snowballing the game to victory, with little counter play from their opponent. Similarly, artificially boosting the fortunes of a player losing a game is also not great. However, we do feel that having a single turn where one player is shut out of generating Fate is a difficult thing to comeback from. Therefore, after much deliberation, we have decided to make the following option available for players that find themselves in that position.

• If a Warband has zero Fate in its Fate pool, after the completion of the “Step 3: Generate Fate” step of the Communion Phase, one hero, that is alive and not suffering the curse condition, can be dealt 1/3 (rounded up) of its maximum health or 5 health (whichever is greater), in True Damage, to add one Fate to the Fate pool. Any temporary health will count towards the “maximum health” when working out how much health to be dealt. If both Warbands have zero Fate, the player who is going 1st this turn will decide whether to take advantage of this rule followed by the player who is going 2nd.

Hero Updates

As the game continues to grow, the adding of heroes, different maps, magical artefacts and monsters creates many options for players. We continually revisit various elements to ensure they are balanced and players are faced with legitimate and interesting challenges while designing their Warbands. All the changes are carefully measured and, as is always the case, we will continue to monitor things over the next three months  as we march towards the next patch.

There has been some concern about the lack of counter-play for Taunt. In isolation, Taunt is in a decent place, however the way that Viktor is able to get to it, at level 1, via Al'garath, meant we feel it can lead to poor player experiences. We like Taunt, and what it brings to a battle, however we wanted to balance the risk/reward journey that Viktor goes through when summoning his favourite demon.

• Reduced Taunt range to 4".
• Al'garath must be in taunted model's LoS at the start of their next activation or Taunt is ignored.
• Increased Eldritch Discharge damage to d3+1 from d3.
• Eldritch Discharge changed so that if it kills Viktor, his soul is harvested.

We feel Gendris is in a decent place and she has a very interesting, and diverse, kit of abilities. We just felt she could do with a slight buff, to keep her on par with other heroes that fill a similar role. This change increases her viability and also provides greater incentive to get her to level 2.

• Added Steady to her Root ability.

Piper inherits the same change to Taunt, although being a level 3 ability, it is seen less and it not so much a problem. Piper is simply collateral damage.

• Reduced Taunt range to 4".
• Piper must be in taunted model's LoS at the start of their next activation or Taunt is ignored.

Skye has been a difficult hero to balance from the start, as his version number attests. We feel that currently he is under the power curve and a little too niche to get the best use out of. With the changes, we have given him a significant boost at level 1 and also introduced a cool power at level 2, which we believe will see Skye compared much more favourably with other defenders.

• Heroic Stand updated so it cannot be used on himself. Note that you can Heroic Stand friendly defender models.
• Diversion updated so that damage can be redistributed between any friend models within 2" of Skye. It used to be 2" of the target of the original attack.
• Spirit Strike moved to level 1 and changed from 2S to 1J.
• Added the Dimension Warp innate ability at level 2.

Svetlana has been on our radar for a little while, and we feel she is in a good place. One of the core tenets of Judgement is ensuring heroes are viable, and balanced, in both forms of the game, and we feel Svetlana needs a little tempering for the 3v3 version of the game.

• Beast Command range reduced from 6" to 5".

Thrommel is in a great place, and we feel his kit suits a dwarf warrior perfectly. In saying that, Thrommel can be one dimensional and, as a quality of life improvement, it would be nice if he had something to do with his spare action from time to time. The new ability, Fierce Challenge, also fits his character perfectly.

• Added Fierce Challenge ability at level 1.

Similar to Skye, we feel that Zaffen is below the curve slightly, and struggles to find air time in an increasingly crowded role. As with all these changes, our main priority is to keep the flavour of the hero in tact and try to enhance his abilities within the context of how he/she currently plays. We feel we have managed to do that with this version of Zaffen.

• Increased Giant Crossbow range from 9" to 10".
• Changed Momentous Shot from 2J to 1S+1J.
• Removed Stun description from his 4th card (left over from previous incarnation).

We felt a need to just temper the power of Explode, for both Zaron and his skeletons, slightly. We also are conscious of the number of damage in the game that ignores RES.

• Explode no longer does True Damage.
• Shadow Rift terminology changed to the new "0A" notation instead of "N/A".

Quality of Life Changes for Hero Cards

The following hero cards have been updated with minor corrections and clean ups.

Nephenee

• She had an old definition of Dual Wield. This has been updated.

Brok

• Spelling mistake on 4th card describing Back Swing.

Rakkir

• Shadow Rift terminology changed to the new "0A" notation instead of "N/A".

Xyvera

• Unholy Harvest terminology changed to the new "0A" notation instead of "N/A".

Magical Artefacts

We always look for opportunities to introduce meaningful magical artefacts that provide new tactical options and cool interactions with our heroes. The Astral Stasis Potion is just that. Can't wait to see what you all do with it at your disposal!

The original intention was that Ogre Strength would not work against the Effigy and monsters, however making it hero models only meant it inadvertently meant it did not work against Summoned models either. We have added Summoned models into the wording.

The following Magical Artefacts were re-worded to be consistent with the new "One use only" definition. Their functions have remained the same.

• Healing Surge
• Ring of Invisibility
• Tome of Experience 

The Shrine to Forin is the last of the elemental character shrines set to be released this year, a shrine dedicated to the god of elemental fire. Forin is the most active of the old gods, full of fury and rage against the audacity of the demigods and one who is hellbent on their destruction. It was Forin that sent Inferno, one of his most powerful generals, to the shadow plane, to thwart the demigod's attempts of intercepting souls before they completed their journey to his home plane of fire.

The release of the new 5v5 map, code named "Earth & Fire", sees the battles on Between move towards the area where the shadow plane borders on the elemental planes of Earth and Fire, hence the reason the shrines to Forin and Eldir (Earth) feature heavily. All shrines are important in games of Judgement, they reward map control and are fantastic sources of Fate, the fuel that propels Warbands to victory. The character shrines add that little bit of spice because they also provide an additional buff beyond the standard Fate, and those buffs normally have a significant impact. The Shrine to Forin provides benefit more subtly than say the air (Arden) or water (Wellin) shrines do. 

First of all, the Shrine to Forin awards a hefty 2 Fate which is significant and can turn the tide of a battle on its own, however the 2nd part of the reward could, in the right situation, be even more impactful. Buying, selling, and trading magical artefacts, during the heat of battle, is not always easy to do, however Forin's shrine allows any friendly heroes, within 2", to do just that. This opens up a myriad of tactical options and has the potential to reverse the fortunes of players that are under the pump in any given battle.

The other aspect of the Shrine to Forin that has the potential to have an enormous impact is the fact any model that becomes base-to-base with it immediately gains the fire condition. When trying to secure shrines, a common tactic is to place yourself in base-to-base with it, therefore requiring your opponent to push you 3" to stop you contesting it, however that is obviously something that won't be advisable with the Shrine to Forin. Saiyin's Holy Shield will become a powerful ability on maps that contain the shrine, and once again the curse condition becomes very important as well.

We will be releasing maps 4-6, from the new 5v5 map, in the coming days and all 3 will feature the Shrine to Forin. The design team are once again very excited to release another character shrine and feel with the full set of 4 now release, there is tremendous variety in our maps that compliment the 30 heroes we have currently in the game.