How Does Grave Grim Fit Into the Boiling Tension Metagame?

We left off in the last article by asking the question: how does the Grave Grim fit into the Boiling Tension metagame? Let’s look at his stats.

Grave Grim is the first-ever common hero with more than 1 Life. We’ve seen uncommon heroes like the Feral Troll with more than 1 Life before, but those required separate army cards to track and played more like unique heroes you could field multiples of. With the advent of multi-life squad figures such as the Frostclaw Paladins, the door has now opened for common heroes with more than 1 Life. Much like a common squad (as covered in the last article), fielding multiple common heroes in your army provides both redundancy and flexibility.

Grave Grim’s Stats and Abilities
Grave Grim’s single base and 6 Move let you navigate the board with ease. His large size makes him immune to negative abilities targeting small and medium figures such as Adelbern’s Crushing Blow. His base Attack, Defense, and Move are all strong, but his 2 Life—while notable for a common hero—is still very low. His 4 Defense has to do a lot of work to keep him around. Grave Grim comes with two abilities: Guide of the Dead and Harrowing Presence.

Guide of the Dead: Who Benefits?
In the current Contemporary meta, Guide of the Dead allows Grave Grim to move Kilkorax, Misaerx, Necrotech Wraithriders, and the Revnan Acolytes. Kilkorax and Misaerx are cleanup figures at best, and most contemporary competitive armies don’t currently have a place for them. The Wraithriders already boast a Move of 8 (and often can get 10 with a vile injection from Iron Lich Viscerot), so an additional 3 spaces isn’t usually necessary—though it can help with grabbing an out-of-the-way glyph. That leaves the Revnan Acolytes.

Wait—didn’t the last article say the best way to move the Acolytes was by killing them and then having them “Rise by Revna”? That’s correct. However, there’s rarely a single “optimal” move in Heroscape. Maps, glyphs, initiative, your opponent’s army, and their playstyle all influence how you respond on a given turn. Grave Grim allows you to play more defensively with your Acolytes, letting you “slow roll” them up the board. Another key point: Grave Grim also follows Revna, so he benefits from the Acolytes’ rerolls.

Flexibility in Action
Picture this: on Order Marker 1, Grave Grim advances 3 Wraithriders and 3 Acolytes towards the Glyph of Wannok (wound). Perhaps he stations a Wraithrider, via Guide of the Dead, within reach of the Glyph of Kelda (move +2) on the opposite side of the map. Now you’ve created flexibility for your next move. You could place another Order Marker on Grave Grim to reposition Acolytes near where you plan to move Iron Lich next turn (since Iron Lich also benefits from Acolyte rerolls). Or you could advance an Acolyte to clog a choke point, slowing your opponent’s progress—knowing that if it dies, Risen by Revna will bring it back. Don’t forget: Grave Grim himself has 4 Attack and 4 Defense, making him a credible combat presence when paired with Acolytes. Just be aware: with only 2 Life, he’s especially vulnerable to leaving engagement attacks.

Harrowing Presence: Bonus Utility
What about his other power, Harrowing Presence? Absolutely useful—but better thought of as a bonus rather than the centerpiece of his design. It hinders figures like Queen Maldrix (Infestation) or Sgt. Drake Alexander (Grapple Grab) and adds subtle tactical value. Braxas especially dislikes facing Grave Grim—not only is he immune to her Poisonous Acid Breath thanks to his size, but he also makes it harder for her to roll it against smaller figures.

Tournament Results: Grave Grim in Action
So, is Grave Grim actually good? Looking at the top 16 armies from the 2025 Renegade World Championship at Gen Con: BritMage ran Grave Grim x1, Iron Lich Viscerot, Revnan Acolytes x1, and Scavorith. Board Hero piloted Grave Grim x2, Iron Lich Viscerot, Revnan Acolytes x2, and Scavorith to a 2nd-place finish in OST (Online Scape Tournaments) Season 12—specifically crediting Grave Grim + Acolytes as the key to two of his wins.

Spotlight on the Tanuki Tricksters

We’ve already discussed the Revnan Acolytes as a new Renegade-introduced common squad. Another common squad from Boiling Tension is the Tanuki Tricksters. This is a 2-figure common squad—a rarity in Heroscape, only previously seen with the Mezzodemons and Death Knights. Most common squads run 3–4 figures, so by default the Tanuki only offer two activations per Order Marker—a notable disadvantage. Let’s see how their stats and abilities offset that: Nage-Waza 9, Tanuki Aruki, and Phantom Walk.

Abilities Breakdown
Phantom Walk prevents Tanuki from being “locked down” by engagement, letting them reposition freely—often on height. Paired with their 4 Range, this makes their mobility dangerous since they can disengage, claim height, and attack down. In the current Contemporary meta, Tanuki Aruki works with Tuck, Glide Strikers, Decker, other Tanuki Tricksters, and (from the Gen Con previews) Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. This special ability lets you reinforce your board position without committing more Order Markers—a huge boon. You can push board control forward while still keeping your Order Markers elsewhere. It also lets you develop figures like Decker (with his Special Attack) into key positions.

The Power of the X Flex
With Snake Eyes’ Assassinate, Storm Shadow’s Whirlwind Assault, and Decker’s Drill Drive, you can leverage the “X Flex.” The X Flex threatens to activate a high-value figure even when the X is just a bluff. Your opponent never knows if Storm Shadow actually has an Order Marker—forcing them to avoid clustering for fear of his whirlwind. Similarly, Snake Eyes pressures opponents to keep high-value figures protected, and Decker discourages tight formations.

Nage-Waza 9: Tactical Kicks
The Tricksters’ last ability, Nage-Waza 9 (kick), has many fun applications: kicking into lava, kicking into a Nakita Agent’s Engagement Strike, or away from a knight triggering Coward’s Reward. But its most practical use is kicking enemies off height—or down a level—so your Tanuki can now attack them with height advantage.

Tournament Results: Tricksters Shine
So, how strong are the Tanuki Tricksters? Once again, we look to Gen Con 2025: 5 of the top 16 armies included them. JustKen (no relation) ran 7 squads of Tanuki plus Raelin the Kyrie Warrior, barely missing the top 4 by losing to Nick Elder, who won the entire tournament with Queen Maldrix, Festering Honor Guard, and Tanuki Tricksters x4. Nick typically led with Queen Maladrix and her Guard, then transitioned to Tricksters mid-to-late game.

Raelin BT: The Fourth Kyrie Warrior

Finally, let’s consider Raelin the Kyrie Warrior—the fourth iteration, nicknamed “R4elin.” Like her predecessors, she’s a support figure, but this time she isn’t afraid to wade into combat. Whirlwind Assault makes her a useful X Flex threat, while her real strength lies in Vengeful Swoop 8. The passive auto-damage punishes high-defense units that otherwise shrug off attacks.

Synergy with Tanuki
Tanuki Tricksters in particular benefit from Raelin. As a 2-figure squad, their offensive output is limited, but Raelin boosts their punch with her Swoop. Even when her roll misses, she forces the opponent to deal with her—either focusing her down (giving you time to develop) or risking disengagement (opening the door for another Swoop). She shines against multi-activation armies, like Festering Honor Guard bonding with Queen Maladrix or through Iron Lich Viscerot’s special ability. That allows her to Swoop twice. The only drawback? If you swoop into the Queen, or a vile-injected Scavorith, you may not be around very long to tell others about it.

Tournament Recap
Looking back to Gen Con 2025: JustKen piloted 7 squads of Tanuki with Raelin to a top 8 finish, falling just one Festering Honor Guard short of the semifinals. Raelin gave his Tanuki the extra offensive boost they needed, plus a body to kick away from with Nage-Waza 9.

Final Thoughts
That’s all we have time for today. Stay tuned for future content—and until then, happy Scaping!

(Photos by Vecna)