Weekly Waffle #395 – The Morticians’ Master of Strings
4th October 2025
For this week’s weekly waffle I have continued with the Guild Ball theme, because I’m really enjoying painting them at the moment. But I have been looking to the future with a miniature from the past. That all sounds very fluffy but what I have done is taken some inspiration from both Studio Jolly Roger and Scar Hand Painting to come up with new look for a Morticians team. I have an old metal mini for Obulus and wanted to take inspiration from these teams to paint something different.
The real aim was to give you something that you can compare to my original Obulus so can get a comparison of two very different colour schemes. Now this isn’t the exact same sculpt. The original was a Kick Starter only mini I think but this is nearly the same pose. Just one or two minor changes to the original. But it is a metal mini as opposed to plastic or 3D printed.
What I wanted to do was take inspiration for. New colour scheme but still do something of my own. So instead of the original very dark version I have gone with something much lighter. But I’m hoping it still fits because it is more ghostly as opposed to just deathly dark.
Keeping a nice pop of colour to try to make a few bits of detail stand out. And to give it some pop on table top. Which is something I think. I have achieved. And I think I’ve done it in a way that I can repeat for a whole new team of Morticians which may be making their into future updates. In amongst the other updates I have planed for you.
But for now what do you think of this new colour scheme for Obulus.
You can see more Guild Ball miniatures at my gallery here
Now let’s spend the rest of this week’s weekly waffle delving into the world of Guild Ball and in particular what makes Obulus tick.
There’s a moment, in every game of Guild Ball, where you realise you’re not the one in control. You think you’ve got the ball, you think you’ve got the play lined up, you think you’re about to make the kind of move that wins you the cheers of your club night comrades and a pint on the way home. Then you look up, and you see Obulus smiling that smile. The smile that says, actually, friend, you were never the one making the decisions here.
Welcome to the world of Obulus, the Morticians’ Captain, the man who makes even other Guild Ball captains look like they’re dancing on strings. If ever there was a character who embodies the idea that Guild Ball isn’t just about smashing skulls and scoring goals, but about pulling every single psychological lever available, it’s this fellow.
And today’s waffle is all about him, the lore, the role, and the reason why half your mates groan when they see you put him on the table.
Let’s talk about the man himself. In the official fluff, Obulus isn’t just some necromancer cosplay with a taste for melodrama, he’s the Morticians’ answer to every question you didn’t want to ask.
He runs his team, not with camaraderie or loyalty, but with the terrifying charisma of someone who sees people not as allies, but as tools. A tool for fear, a tool for leverage, a tool for getting what he wants. Every character in the Morticians’ lineup has a story about how Obulus holds them in check, how he knows their weakness, their secrets, or the one thing they can’t bear to lose.
It’s a running theme in the Morticians, the guild isn’t built on trust, it’s built on coercion. Where the Brewers drown their doubts in ale, and the Masons hold together with honour and pride, the Morticians run on the cold currency of fear. And at the centre of that spider’s web sits Obulus, smug and untouchable, the one who pulls the strings.
He doesn’t even need to dirty his hands. The very existence of Obulus suggests that the Morticians don’t play the same game as the rest of the world. Everyone else shows up to Guild Ball to kick a ball around and murder a few opposition players for the crowd’s entertainment. The Morticians show up to remind you that you’re never as free as you think.
Right then, enough mood-setting. What’s Obulus actually like on the table? In one word: infuriating.
If you’re on the receiving end, he’s the kind of captain that makes you reconsider your life choices. If you’re piloting him, you’ll spend half the game stifling laughter as your opponent realises their plan isn’t worth the dice it was scribbled on.
Obulus is all about control. Forget raw damage output or blistering goal-scoring pace, his entire kit is designed to mess with positioning, momentum, and activation order. He doesn’t just play the game; he makes you play his game. Puppet Master is his big ability that can make opponents sigh loudly enough to rattle the beer glasses of the spectators. Want to move your opponents striker out of goal range? Done. Fancy dragging the ball carrier straight into the waiting maw of your team’s bruisers? Sorted. Puppet Master is one of the most thematic and most powerful abilities in the entire game, because it turns your agency into Obulus’s personal plaything.
Momentum manipulation and character play denial, are the kind of tricks that make event veteran players pause to rethink. with Misdirection and Control Strings Obulus doesn’t just control where you stand, he controls what you can do.
Finally whilst he isn’t a frontline brawler, he can still generate momentum, snatch the ball, and contribute to the score line. Tactical Flexibility makes him slippery rather than strong, evasive rather than tough – the sort of captain who’s infuriatingly hard to pin down.
Obulus’ game plan is simple to describe, but devilishly hard to stop. whatever they want to do, Obulus makes it harder. Once they are out of position or forced to overcommit, the rest of the Morticians swoop in. He doesn’t rush the Morticians to victory, he sets up situations where the opponent slowly realises they can’t win.
If you’re a control player, someone who enjoys outthinking the opponent rather than outmuscling them, Obulus is your man. But be warned – he’s a high-skill-cap captain. You don’t just plonk him on the board and expect miracles. You have to see two or three moves ahead, like chess but with more coffins.
Let’s not sugarcoat it, facing Obulus is rough. He thrives on punishing players who make even the smallest mistake. If you leave a model out of position, he’ll make you regret it. If you hoard momentum, he’ll bleed it out of you. If you get too confident, he’ll drag your star striker halfway across the pitch and feed them to Ghast.
The trick is discipline. You’ve got to play tighter than tight, keep your spacing neat, and never underestimate how far Obulus can reach into your plans. He’s not unbeatable – but he’s the kind of captain who makes you feel like you lost three turns ago, and are only just realising it.
Going off on a slight tangent, every gaming group has one. The control player. The one who doesn’t want to charge in swinging or go for the quick flashy goal. No, they want to sit back, grin, and ask “are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
That’s the Obulus player. They’re the same people who picked blue in Magic: the Gathering, who played Imperial Guard artillery lists back in Warhammer 40K, or who still think poker nights are about bluffing, not about losing your beer money on a dodgy hand of two sevens.
Playing against them is an exercise in patience. Playing as them is an exercise in smug satisfaction. And honestly? That’s the fun of it. The Morticians need that kind of vibe. They’re not there to be everyone’s best mate, they’re there to remind you that sometimes, you’re just the puppet.
So summing up, Obulus is the perfect encapsulation of the Morticians’ Guild: manipulative, sinister, and always three steps ahead. He’s not the most straightforward captain, nor the most forgiving, but for players who want to win by pulling strings rather than swinging fists, he’s the ultimate choice.
On the table, he turns games into mental battles. In the lore, he’s the spider at the heart of the web. And in the hearts of his opponents, he’s the source of more groans and muttered curses than a dodgy dice roll.
So, the next time you face Obulus, just remember: you’re not in charge here. He is. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
That’s all for this week but I hope to catch you all back here again, same time next week. Until then keep safe and may all your hobby projects be successful.
