Gloomhaven is, by every definition of the word, a very big game. It is big in its story, a sweeping tale of fantasy both high and gritty of the strangeness and adventure that pour forth from the eponymous township. It is big mechanically, fusing tabletop movement and character sensibilities with a hefty system of card-based combat that draws in elements of magic usage, card synergy, and teamwork (with the added layer of hidden personal goals complicating matters). It is big physically, with the box and tokens far from a travel game - made even heavier by a hefty $100+ price tag. Even the PC adaptation, something of a simplification, has its fair share of aspects to master. With the wild success of the sequel's Kickstarter campaign, it is clear that the game and its worlds are on the path to getting even bigger.
Luckily for those who do not feel like diving in the deep end, Gloomhaven's creators are releasing a tie-in game that, while simpler and streamlined, promises to turn up the action and the pace: Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion. Set to release this Summer, Jaws of the Lion is a smaller board game that limits itself to the township, players taking on the role of a member of the Jaws of the Lion mercenary company. Among this cohort is Hatchet, an Inox with a habit of hurling axes at his problems to great effect. A master of keeping the enemy at a distance with a barrage of airborne blades, Hatchet is a ranged fighter durable enough to hold his own in a scrap, backed up by an interesting array of skill cards to keep mobile and keep fighting. This guide breaks down how exactly to keep the axe master fighting, making the most of his deck and combat capabilities.
Playing Hatchet in Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
As Redditor TravVdb rightly points out, the heart and soul of Hatchet's deck is The Favorite. The card functions similarly to the Hex spell in Dungeons & Dragons, allowing the player to add a big plus 3 boost to damage for subsequent attacks on the target. Following the play of the card, the token is persistent - it can be recollected from enemies killed with the Favorite attached to them and used on a new target. This ongoing damage boost helps guide the movements and actions of the Hatchet, setting him up to target and hammer down on select baddies, pick up his very best axe, and repeat. This process can be sped up by including some cards that facilitate recollecting the Favorite - Retrieval at first level and the more vicious Ripped from the Flesh at the fourth both combine an attack with the retrieval of the weapon. At fifth level, an upgraded version in the form of The New Favorite, a boost that adds the wound and push effects to the token at a slight cost. It is up to player preference to determine which is ideal for their loadout - cost or effect.
One of the key facets of Hatchet that players should keep in mind is his role as a ranged combatant. While there are certainly a number of cards, even from earlier levels, that will allow him to put out some decent damage up close (like the first level AoE Close Cuts card), the vast majority of Hatchet's abilities are at range 3 or above - with many imposing disadvantage for starting adjacent to the target. While the starting health of 8 is far from squishy, it still points towards the character's ideal location a ways out from danger. Luckily, the secondary actions available to Hatchet are uniquely suited to getting out of trouble; the secondary action of Stopping Power, for example, allows Hatchet to both clear three full hexes of movements and immobilize every enemy surrounding one of the spaces he passed through, essentially sprinting away and preventing a follow-up chase. Keep agile and out of the way as much as possible as the Inox hurler.
Hatchet is quite a versatile character in any team. An ideal pairing would be working alongside a Red Guard; keeping a tank like that between the player and enemies means more freedom to move around and pick angles, as well as being able to take advantage of some of the non-movement secondary actions on their cards. Being able to use abilities like Overwatch's secondary action, allowing automatic ranged attacks against any enemy unfortunate enough to stop within 3 hexes of Hatchet, opens up new avenues for big damage and pinpoint backup for team members. He can be used effectively with other classes - acting as a makeshift frontline for the Voidwarden or forming a violence-cyclone with the Demolitionist - but is best used as a second string, picking away at enemies from a ways off. Though not unusable in a scrap, by any means, and quite viable in front of the pack, Hatchet works excellently as an axe-sniper, barraging the enemy and occasionally passing around some health to the team with cards like Care Package.
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is available now.