Zombicide: White Death Design Diary 2 - New Folks!
Hi everyone! This is Nicolas Raoult again, one of the designers of Zombicide, including Zombicide: White Death. Last time, we talked about the setting of the game, the frozen, besieged city of Wintergrad (if you haven't yet, read it here). This time, let’s talk about some of the undead attacking us and the Survivors fighting back against them!
As we said in the first article, Wintergrad is surrounded by great walls the Zombies can’t normally cross. But that’s not true for every Zombie, and in fact, they might not even have to cross them to take our city!
First, we meet the Khan Abomination. You might have guessed by its huge arms, but it can climb ramparts freely.
Next, enter the Defiler Necromancer, who plays in a completely different way compared to previous Necromancers. The cities in Wintergrad always contain a Beacon, which must be protected at all costs. Instead of trying to exit the board (a task made difficult with all the walls), a Defiler Nercomancer does not move from the Zone he spawned in, and his evil influence creates a new Corruption token every time he should move. The trail of Corruption grows from him, going towards the Beacon’s Zone. If the Corruption reaches the Beacon, the city (and the game) is lost.
But that’s not all corruption does. It neutralizes a Zone’s special abilities, even Ramparts! This is the main way for Zombies to cross the huge walls to enter the city. Zombies can spawn in Corruption as well. So, Survivors have to eliminate the Defiler as soon as possible. More often than not, that means climbing down from the ramparts, going into the Zombie fray, and reaching the Defiler on the other end of the board.
These new and specific mechanics called for the creation of the Abomination and Necromancer decks. These allow for a greater flexibility in tailoring the game, without hindering the main Zombie deck.
But this time, for the first time ever, the Survivors have help! Guards are special NPCs representing Wintergrad’s resistance force. They won’t act on their own, but they take orders very well!
Once during each of their turns, a Survivor can command Guards in a designated Zone. Being maneuvered this way by the whole Survivor team, Guards can be split into small groups to control key crossroads on the board, or gathered in a single battle unit working as a steamroller in a single area. Guards can also stand on top of Battlement Walkways, repelling Zombies, moving, or even pouring Cauldrons. Guards are great allies to Survivors.
We hope you enjoyed these Designer Diaries and stay tuned as we find out more about the Frozen North!
Sign up here to be notified when the Kickstarter campaign launches.
