GenCon 2021 is wrapped up. I had a fantastic time, especially at the Gruff World Championship! One thing that became apparent in the final championship decks is the overwhelming power of the card "Last Stand. I think it is time that we look back on it's rules and clarify it's function.

"Last Stand" was written as a worst-case-scenario blocking card, but in development we were also aware that the card can be used as a kill card. When combined with the card 'Startle", this interaction is powerful, repeatable, with very little room for interaction. After "Last Stand's" powerful presence in the championship decks, I think it is time to clarify the rules on this card.

The keyword "Fades" was introduced after "Last Stand's" printing in Clash of the Battle-Goats. I believe that if that keyword existed in Clash the card would have read "When this card Fades kill that gruff" rather than the much more vague language "When this card leaves play, kill that gruff."

As of today the official ruling at all official tournaments will be that the card should be interpreted as if it was printed with the card as shown below. I believe this reading on the rules keeps "Last Stand" interesting and powerful, but still leaves room for interesting interactions and counter-play. Feel free to print this image as a sleeve insert in your decks. 

-Brent Critchfield
(Design Director, Studio Woe, LLC)

You can show your excitement for Gruff: Whispers of Madness by using these profile icons. Adopting one of these images can have a future impact on the story of the game and who will ultimately prevail over the Betwixt. Fluttermind, or On'Eno!

The first skirmish in the epic war between On'Eno and Fluttermind will take place on Facebook. There are 2 posts on the Studio Woe Page. One with Fluttermind another with Xiaochang. 

Each like will give 1 point, each comment will reward 2 points, and each share will reward 5 points!
Whichever post receives the most points by the time the Kickstarter launches will award 1 victory to their side. We will encounter many challenges between now and the end of the campaign. Whoever has the most victories by the end of the campaign will be the ultimate ruler of the Betwixt!

It's time for a new adventure! Lets make the world a more excellent place for goat-battles by sharing our favorite deck lists on the official Gruff Facebook Page! https://www.facebook.com/Gruffgame/ A successful quest will include an image of your favorite deck. And a description of how the deck works, and why you think it is awesome!

For example "I really like this deck that I call Bluenose's Dream Team because it it focuses on making Bluenose an unstoppable killing machine by playing lots of Dream mutation token on both friends and foes!" Completing this quest will earn you a promo reprint card of Bubble's Block (which fixes a typo in the original version where it was not shown as being a condition.) 

As always, please send the link to your completed post to [email protected] along with your shipping address to earn your reward!

For February lets celebrate love and union by sharing the most lovely, most unified gruff ever... Mulch!

To get this lovely deluxe-frame version of Studio Woe's mascot, just make a post telling the world about the gruff that you love the best in a post at the gruff subreddit!  Tell us about the abilities you like, if there is something you find awesome about their look, your favorite gruff-battle story, or anything else you love about your monster goat! Post about it here https://www.reddit.com/r/gruff then send me an email at [email protected] with a link to your post to win this awesome promo card!

Happy New Year Gruffians! To Celebrate we are introducing a new quest for Shepherds of Woe. Just play a game of Gruff at your local board game hobby store, then send us an email at [email protected] with your mailing address and the name of the store you played at and we will send you a copy of Flame Jets! A new typo correction card from the original Gruff game!

The Holiday Season is here again, which means it is time for another Shepherds of Woe Quest! To participate simply give a copy of any Gruff game to a friend. Then send an email describing what happened to me at [email protected] along with your mailing address. When you do I will send this promo card your way!

Studio Woe has also just launched it's "Black Friday" sale, which will be running from now through November 26th, which gives you a super easy way to finish your quest! 

Pick one up at https://studio-woe.myshopify.com/ for yourself, or to share with a friend! Just remember to let me know about your act of generosity at [email protected] to get your reward!

The Shepherds of Woe program is getting a massive overhaul for the better! Each month a new quest will be available with a new reward. When you complete the quest, simply send an email to [email protected] with your mailing address and your reward will be sent to you immediately. Shipping costs may apply for orders out of the US, basically if the order costs more than $5 I may ask you to pitch in. 

There are some huge advantages to this system over the previous way of doing Shepherds of Woe. You will no longer need to register. There is no chance of not getting credit for points earned in the past. Rewards are sent immediately rather than at the end of the year, and this system is no longer a competition between shepherds! Everybody wins! 

The first Shepherds of Woe quest will earn you a promo reprint card that replaces Bubble's misprinted "Deep Secrets" card.  To earn the card, simply rate and write a brief review for Gruff: Stuff of Nightmares at https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/249677/gruff-stuff-nightmares then send a link to your review to [email protected] and we will ship the card over to you. If you have already written a review for Gruff: Stuff of Nightmares, that works too! Just send the link over to me and I will get you hooked up! I am really excited for this new program! Thank you all for your support!

-Brent Critchfield 
Design Director
​Studio Woe, LLC