Abomination (Butcher's Circus)

## Combat Skills

The Abomination has two different sets of abilities, which changes whenever he switches form using Transform. Transforming into Beast form does not count as an action, allowing the Abomination to use *Transform* and another skill on the same turn. Additionally, he will return to Human form if he suffers an Affliction while in Beast form.

The Abomination will suffer 12 Stress for every turn he is in Beast form, not counting the turn he transforms.

(All buffs and debuffs last for 3 rounds unless otherwise specified.)

### Beast form

\* *Transform* can be used four times in total, twice to transform into Beast form and twice to transform back to the Human form.

## Tactical Analysis

### Using an Abomination

The Transformation is not as risky as before, as the Abomination no longer inflicts Stress on the party. Instead, he becomes a source of Horror on the entire enemy party, and this lets him be a flexible unit in a Stress team. Transform can now be used two times in battle, letting both forms of the Abomination see more use in battle.

In his human form, the Abomination is used mostly for controlling the enemy's actions. *Manacles* backed up with his Spiked Chain trinket give him a long-reaching Stun that can smack around opponents and deny opening plays. *Beast's Bile* spreads Blight and inflicts Stress, on top of enabling a short-lived Riposte on him that threatens a Blight and Stress retaliation should the opponent attempt an area attack. *Absolution* contributes to his longevity, combining good numbers of healing and Stress relief to let him withstand attacks on both body and mind.

His beast form is built on raw damage and can help burst down squishy targets with *Rake* and *Rage*. *Slam* sees a lot more use here as it lets him force his way out of position 3, knocks away melee combatants, and its newfound Guard-breaking ability can counter enemy Men-at-Arms and Houndmasters. Bear in mind that the Abomination still takes 12 Stress for each turn he spends while Transformed, so you can opt to revert if he's at risk of becoming Afflicted.

Choosing when to *Transform* is up to your discretion. If you notice the enemy has stun-vulnerable units and you're going first, it might be more valuable to delay Transformation in order to deny one action with *Manacles*. Otherwise, a common opening move is to *Transform* rightaway and optionally *Slam* away any vulnerable frontliners. Many players then choose to revert to human form either when he's getting very Stressed or as the enemy's Horror is about to expire, so that they can optimally Transform again for maximum Horror duration.

Since the Abomination has vulnerability to Stun and Move, consider the Exotic Snuff to prevent him from being counter-Stunned or shuffled to position 4. Players who are focused on his beast mode can find value in the Nepenthe which reduces his innate Stress over time, or the Numbing Incense which also provides a boost to Stun resistance. Combining the Wretch's Cloak with Clasp of the Beast allows a transformed Abomination to gleefully spread Stress on enemy lines; the Shattered Padlock also lets him inflict DoTs and power through high-defense teams.

### Fighting an Abomination

For all his utility, the Abomination has his fair share of weaknesses. He's got relatively low Stun and Move resists, so you can Stun him yourself to prevent him from locking down your units. If you're acting before he does and he's in position 2, you can knock him all the way to the back of the formation where he's forced to spend turns getting back into position. The Abomination gains a +40% Move resist buff on Transformation so you have to knock him back before he gets a chance to act; if he is a little too far behind in the party you can pull the other units forward to force him into position 4.

If the enemy Abomination has just transformed and has a reasonable amount of Stress accumulated, you can focus your Stress attacks on him to turn him Afflicted. His innate Stress over time while transformed will accelerate this process. If he does go Afflicted, he is forced to revert to his human form and gets Dazed on top of that. You then have the luxury of focusing him down before he can recover.