Cinder has three Character Traits on the back of her card, so let's look at them. We're gonna discuss Grim Vengeance last, since it's the pretty much the coolest thing on there and there's a lot to talk about, so let's quickly run through the other two.

Firstly, she has Searing Strike. This is a rule her Master Furnace has, and it's real cool. Whenever she damages an enemy model, the enemy model suffers the burning condition and –1 ARM for the remainder of the turn. This is pretty sweet, since she's less reliant on the Masters of the Blacksmith Guild for set up than most Apprentices, and is also the reason why Impale on the surface looks a little underwhelming. It's not just 3 damage, it's 3 damage, –1 ARM and the burning condition, which is a pretty solid use of 2 Influence.

She's also borrowed Sweeping Charge from Tater in the Farmer's Guild. This rule really spikes her damage up to silly levels, if she Charges and hits that momentous 7 it's actually effectively a momentous 10. OH BOY. THAT'S A WHOLE BIG NUMBER. Not to mention she also smacks everyone else within 2" for 3 damage too, allowing her to burst out some mega damage if the opponent has clumped up. Oh and don't forget Searing Strike on all those models too, making them easier for the Blacksmiths to murder at their leisure. What with this and Impale, she's actually a very flexible damage dealer, capable of spearing a single model down or debuffing and setting up a bunch of models for later.

And so, now we've discussed the latter two rules on her card, let's look at Grim Vengeance. This is one of the most flexible rules in the game, and really shows that she ain't playing. Whenever Cinder inflicts the taken-out condition on an enemy model, she can immediately make a 2" Dodge, a Kick, or an Attack. This is a suuuper cool rule which gives Cinder a huge amount of tactical options. If she's tackled the ball she can kill someone then kick it back to safety (or even score), or throw out another Attack for free on another enemy model, OR make a 2" Dodge to reposition herself to exactly where you want her. This can be used to move her forward to engage an enemy model to provide a gang-up or crowd out where you want it, or pull her back to the safety of a Master's Sentinel aura, or really just whatever she likes. Moving 2" for free is real good. There are a TONNE of options with even just this part of the rule.

Something you will notice is that Cinder has no specific interactions with any Masters. This is very intentional based on where the story takes her. Lord, we wish we could give some stuff away right here, but it ties into the Season 4 story pretty heavily, so you'll all just have to wait for the Loremaster to hand down his divine word on this.

There we have it though, Veteran Cinder. A strong option with terrifying burst damage, good ball handling skills, and the ability to strip ARM from enemy models. Plus a tonne of flexibility. We reckon she's pretty damn cool, let us know what you think on our forums and social media outlets! If you think she's an absolute essential to have, you can pick up the Faithful box below.