Opinions on the Airborne Elite?

[MBSowards]

My friends and I are pretty new to the game, we each bought the master set, and he's got most of the expansions, and I've got some of them. But, we still haven't played too many games.

Anyway, the last time we played before the end of the semester and him going to Slovakia for a mission trip, I used the Airborne Elite and basically destroyed everything on the board.

They are expensive, but placing them on the board on height or near glyphs makes them pretty valuable right? I mean, if you wait to drop them when you go first in the round, you can do some damage, because you can get them attacking for 4 or 5.

I was just wondering what some of the pros thought about them.

[LilNewbie]

AE are very powerful if played correctly but they are also risky since you have to bring them in with the Drop roll (unless playing by house rules or special scenario rules) and I've seen games where they never appear. If an opponent's army is wiped out before the AE can come in, they are out of the game. They are a good unit though and pretty well balanced, imo.

Newb.

[MBSowards]

Yeah, I played with my dad and brother one time once I got home from school, and I picked them and couldn't get them out. I had one viking left, sitting on defense plus one at my home base while they fought it out, and I couldn't roll at 13 for about three more rounds of battle. Risky, but I think if I had got them out I would have dominated the board.

[Pilgrim]

Yes, the AE are very tough and are often drafted in our games. Their downside is their low defense and the potential of a non-drop game.

I found they are particularly useful when 1) I can drop them later in the game after play has developed and 2) I focus on using their range and normal attack, rather than trying the grenades. Keep the grenades in your jacket unless the targets are too good to pass up.

The continuing effectiveness of the AE, even in the face of multiple expansions, shows what a great job the game designers have done at protecting the game from power creep in the newer characters.

[Jason]

The AE is probably the 2nd best squad overall, especially if there are glyphs. The Krav Maga are hands down the Best unit though

[feekonea]

^^^^ I completely agree.

[Jandars_Hope]

The AE are good if u manage to go first cos then they can use their grenade attack and do early damage!!! After that...RETREAT!!!!

[skyknight]

Ae has determined more outcomes than any other unit on my games, when they drop early it is alot of times lights out for the opponent!!

[Jandars_Hope]

Totally agree! Then they can be used as decoys so that u can move in ur other units while ur opponent is fighting the AE off!

[shakey_snake]

I've found th AE are best used agressively.

You want to drop them early. You might not nessicerily want to 'nade first turn. Put them up high on the map.

Use your order markers on them, but don't expect them to last. Keep them together, and when rushed at, then grenade.

You want to take out more than 110 pts, without sacrificing order markers for the rest of your army.
Then they'll die, no big deal-- they're not supposed to last long.

[feekonea]

Ya once I played the AE vs charros powered up with raelin, and my raelin and charos lost without even doing a single damage to them.

[Oprime]

I mean, if you wait to drop them when you go first in the round,

You roll for drop first .
Then you place markers and roll for initiative.
You shouldnt know if you are going first thats part of thier risk.

[UranusPChicago]

The AE can be summed up in my book as...

too risky to take most of the time because of the Drop, but they always cause me ulcers when facing them.

For me, when fighting against them, their power decreases the longer that it takes them to drop. If they drop after the 3 round they are generally only good for a full attack (all 4 figures) for one turn.

[Barfodor]

The Ae are good figs. Whenever I face them, they can always kill a large number of my army, but when they get attacked themselves, by Syvarris or a melee attacker, they go down fast. They dont last long unless you play argressive defense. Basically staying near you starting area, but coming out to attacked whenever someone comes near. The AE and Syvarris are both good for that, but Ae would be better cause there are 4 of them instead of 2 shots.

[feekonea]

melee shouldnt get to your ae, they should be able to pick them off before the reach them.

[bobofett]

The AE rock if positioned correctly but if they get swarmed they are gonna die.
Oh and keep them away from DW8K at all costs: low defense against DW8K's rapid fire special= :johnwoo2:

[Mr. Underhill]

In the short time I've been playing the game with my kids, we've found that the AE (if placed on the high ground) can totally wipe out most adversaries.

Although we've only played a dozen or so games so far, so we haven't had the experience yet where the AE were kept out of play for more than a round or two.

They seem to be quite useful... so far.

Hey, as long as they achieve their objective, which is to destroy more enemies which are of more value then they are themselves, then I reckon they're pretty good value*


Slàinte!

Mr. Underhill



*Disclaimer: I am a total newbie.

[Teamski]

I have seen them fail miserably many times. The 2 dice grenade attack is extremely weak, and easily whiffed. I don't play them like I used to,hehehehehe.....


-Ski

[mr_grey]

I mean, if you wait to drop them when you go first in the round,

You roll for drop first .
Then you place markers and roll for initiative.
You shouldnt know if you are going first thats part of thier risk.

Are you sure thats the way they are meant to be played. I always thought you had to place an order marker on them in order to roll for their drop. That to me is the risk in playing the AE. If they don't drop then you waste a turn!!!

Can someone clarify this for me?

[Teamski]

I mean, if you wait to drop them when you go first in the round,

You roll for drop first .
Then you place markers and roll for initiative.
You shouldnt know if you are going first thats part of thier risk.

Are you sure thats the way they are meant to be played. I always thought you had to place an order marker on them in order to roll for their drop. That to me is the risk in playing the AE. If they don't drop then you waste a turn!!!

Can someone clarify this for me?

As per the card, you roll for drop then you place markers.....

-Ski

[toddrew]

Are you sure thats the way they are meant to be played. I always thought you had to place an order marker on them in order to roll for their drop. That to me is the risk in playing the AE. If they don't drop then you waste a turn!!!

Can someone clarify this for me?

If this were the case, I don't think they would ever be drafted :)

Yeah, my experience with the AE is that if the map has easily defendable elevations and one can drop them early, they will rule the board. If defending against them, I will draft Saylind and stay out off their way, if possible, or charge in quickly.

[Jason]

I don't see how Saylind is much of a facotr against the AE. Her summon fails 40% of the time and she can only summon 1 figure per turn. In my opinion in order for her to be good she would need to be able to summon an entire squad at once. I personally rank her as the worst figure in the game

[shakey_snake]

I don't see how Saylind is much of a facotr against the AE. Her summon fails 40% of the time and she can only summon 1 figure per turn. In my opinion in order for her to be good she would need to be able to summon an entire squad at once. I personally rank her as the worst figure in the gameRead me (http://www.sonshi.com/clausewitz3-9.html)

[Jason]

That article fails to mention all the wasted turn markers following an unsuccessful summon. Heck even in a best case scenario you summon your 1 figure then your turn ends. The fact is that soon as you summon the turn is over and then your opponent can slaughter you. Any figure who increases the likelihood of wasted turn markers is terrible in my opinion. That's not even mentioning the fact that her summoning can be negated by cyberclaw

[shakey_snake]

That article fails to mention all the wasted turn markers following an unsuccessful summon. Heck even in a best case scenario you summon your 1 figure then your turn ends. The fact is that soon as you summon the turn is over and then your opponent can slaughter you. Any figure who increases the likelihood of wasted turn markers is terrible in my opinion. That's not even mentioning the fact that her summoning can be negated by cyberclawOur differing opinions must stem from the different maps we play.

[Grungebob]

Saylind often gets MVP in the games I have observed her use. BUT, she is rarely if ever included in a tourney army and that is probably due to the unpredictable nature of her ability. Worst figure?.. Far from it!! Best figure? wouldn't go there either, but she has her uses and fits in with the game. I draft her often, but I am not a seriously competetive person.

[Teamski]

I have had a lot of good games with Saylind. She is definately worth every point. Just about every figure in the game has some sort of reliance on luck, some more than others. It's all part of the drafting strategy to determine just how much you want to push your luck. Some guys swear by Deadeye, which has one of the longest shots in the game!

I mopped up a slew of Marro Drones, Mimring AND Brunak when I used Saylind to summon my Monks. She successfully moved 5 monks to the top of a ruin capped cliff. They then jumped into the boney mess and those 5 Monks dealt a lot of oriental magic. I am sold on her abilities....

-Ski

[TheRealQ]

I have had a lot of good games with Saylind. She is definately worth every point. Just about every figure in the game has some sort of reliance on luck, some more than others. It's all part of the drafting strategy to determine just how much you want to push your luck. Some guys swear by Deadeye, which has one of the longest shots in the game!

I mopped up a slew of Marro Drones, Mimring AND Brunak when I used Saylind to summon my Monks. She successfully moved 5 monks to the top of a ruin capped cliff. They then jumped into the boney mess and those 5 Monks dealt a lot of oriental magic. I am sold on her abilities....

-Ski

Out of curiosity, what was your opponent doing during the 5-10 turns it took to summon all those monks? I would have thought he would have countermeasured with that much time. I know I would have.

Sadly, I have used Saylind in three different armies and all three times she failed me. I haven't given up on her yet but I am not as willing to experiment with her.

[Teamski]

Out of curiosity, what was your opponent doing during the 5-10 turns it took to summon all those monks? I would have thought he would have countermeasured with that much time. I know I would have.

Sadly, I have used Saylind in three different armies and all three times she failed me. I haven't given up on her yet but I am not as willing to experiment with her.

Well, here is the map. So, you tell me, hehehehehe..... The Marro are on the bottom right and my Monks on the upper right. Saylind went straight for the hex castle and my Monks jumped off the walls and into the face of the marro.

http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/21eb0c3b18.jpg

[TheRealQ]

I see...he shouldn't have been foolish enough to pile up his units so close to you. It shocks me that so many people are afraid to retreat when it is the best strategy. I still find it hard to believe he didn't move his troops out of reach, couldn't he tell you were planning something. I can understand your side of the story I just can't understand your opponents.

[Jason]

That Hex castle is still 1/2 a board a way from the Marros. You make it sound like after summoning you were in range to attack. From the looks of the board that appears to be far from the case

[Teamski]

That Hex castle is still 1/2 a board a way from the Marros. You make it sound like after summoning you were in range to attack. From the looks of the board that appears to be far from the case

You guys don't let up do you! :brickwall:

Saylind flies to the castle. She gets there in 2 turns. She takes 5 (successful) turns in a row to summon 5 Monks. Now, the Marro drones have no range, so they have to move up to the castle to engage anything. So, by the time they get there, my Monks are ready to jump. My Monks jump into the water, 3 hexes away and start attacking. In following turns, they jump over the marro to get height and continue attacking everything in sight. So, when they are done, the 3 active monks on the ground have chewed everything up.

My opponents weren't the wisest of players. Since most of my pick-up players have very little HS experience, they don't necessairly do the right thing or draft the right units. There are a couple returnees that get it right after a while....

-Ski

[gibberish_47]

I hardly ever use the grenade. It's pretty close to worthless. I prefer to use the AE as a four man sniper unit, which works wonders.

[Jason]

That was nice of them to walk up to you with their drones and then stop in range so that you could proceed to get adjacent and then attack

[TheRealQ]

That was nice of them to walk up to you with their drones and then stop in range so that you could proceed to get adjacent and then attack :shock: :rofl: Be nice now. He already explained that they were new to the game and he wasn't going to tell them they were being stupid. :buttkick: We've learned about as much of this situation as necessary. :deadhorse:

[gibberish_47]

Ya, it's fun playing with noobs sometimes. I'm not that I play rough with them. :lol:

[Fallen Templar]

It depends on when you drop them. I have wiped a couple hero's off the board by ambushing them with the drop.

[TheRealQ]

It depends on when you drop them. I have wiped a couple hero's off the board by ambushing them with the drop.

This is true and should be considered when drafting them. I never plan on using them during the first round. If they happen to make that first drop then its a bonus. I use them for strategically placing high powered ranged figures at just the right places all over the board.

[mr_grey]

Are you sure thats the way they are meant to be played. I always thought you had to place an order marker on them in order to roll for their drop. That to me is the risk in playing the AE. If they don't drop then you waste a turn!!!

Can someone clarify this for me?

If this were the case, I don't think they would ever be drafted :)

Yeah, my experience with the AE is that if the map has easily defendable elevations and one can drop them early, they will rule the board. If defending against them, I will draft Saylind and stay out off their way, if possible, or charge in quickly.

Thanks ski and toddrew for clearing that up. The card does in fact say to roll first then place markers. This will teach me to read more carefully!!!. The AE just got a whole lot better!!!!!!!

[Teamski]

Are you sure thats the way they are meant to be played. I always thought you had to place an order marker on them in order to roll for their drop. That to me is the risk in playing the AE. If they don't drop then you waste a turn!!!

Can someone clarify this for me?

If this were the case, I don't think they would ever be drafted :)

Yeah, my experience with the AE is that if the map has easily defendable elevations and one can drop them early, they will rule the board. If defending against them, I will draft Saylind and stay out off their way, if possible, or charge in quickly.

Thanks ski and toddrew for clearing that up. The card does in fact say to roll first then place markers. This will teach me to read more carefully!!!. The AE just got a whole lot better!!!!!!!


No problem! The real key is winning initiative. If you place your markers on the AE and don't win initiative, you could be in a world of hurt. I have lost the entire squad when I lost iniative and they got picked off one by one! I was trying a first round grenade attack on my opponent's group hug. This happens quite often.

-Ski

[mr_grey]

Are you sure thats the way they are meant to be played. I always thought you had to place an order marker on them in order to roll for their drop. That to me is the risk in playing the AE. If they don't drop then you waste a turn!!!

Can someone clarify this for me?

If this were the case, I don't think they would ever be drafted :)

Yeah, my experience with the AE is that if the map has easily defendable elevations and one can drop them early, they will rule the board. If defending against them, I will draft Saylind and stay out off their way, if possible, or charge in quickly.

Thanks ski and toddrew for clearing that up. The card does in fact say to roll first then place markers. This will teach me to read more carefully!!!. The AE just got a whole lot better!!!!!!!


No problem! The real key is winning initiative. If you place your markers on the AE and don't win initiative, you could be in a world of hurt. I have lost the entire squad when I lost iniative and they got picked off one by one! I was trying a first round grenade attack on my opponent's group hug. This happens quite often.

-Ski

So does that mean that if you successfully roll for drop that you have to drop them on that round or does it just give you the right to drop them when you feel like it from then on?

[Grungebob]

If you roll successfully but decide not to drop them you may attempt to roll for drop at the beginning of the next round. In other words anytime you wish to drop them you must roll.

[toddrew]

Thanks ski and toddrew for clearing that up. The card does in fact say to roll first then place markers. This will teach me to read more carefully!!!. The AE just got a whole lot better!!!!!!!



Mr. Grey, I forgot to mention in my original post that when we first started playing we misread 'the drop' as well and thought that one had to use an order marker before finding out whether or not they would be deployed :) , needless to say, it was a while before they were used much.

It may have already been pointed out, but the larger one's army, the wiser it is to select them, more or less.

No problem! The real key is winning initiative. If you place your markers on the AE and don't win initiative, you could be in a world of hurt. I have lost the entire squad when I lost iniative and they got picked off one by one! I was trying a first round grenade attack on my opponent's group hug. This happens quite often.

-Ski

And yeah, getting initiative when putting them deep in enemy territory is pretty important. Many of our games have hinged on that situation. Of course, even more important is getting favorable rolls :)

So does that mean that if you successfully roll for drop that you have to drop them on that round or does it just give you the right to drop them when you feel like it from then on?

'May' is an important word in the cards' text. I think it (or 'can', or some other conditional qualifier) is always present when an ability is optional.

[Agent Minivann]

On a related note, consider this scenario:

You roll for the drop early and there are multiple elevated positions on the map. Do you drop them all on the same position, or take more than one? I know it depends largely on the actual layout. But if they are pretty isolated and don't have overlapping "kill zones", do take all the peaks or choose one hill to defend?

[Teamski]

On a related note, consider this scenario:

You roll for the drop early and there are multiple elevated positions on the map. Do you drop them all on the same position, or take more than one? I know it depends largely on the actual layout. But if they are pretty isolated and don't have overlapping "kill zones", do take all the peaks or choose one hill to defend?

You can put them anywhere you want, except on glyphs or adjacent to eachother. So yes, you can be the king of the hill for every high elevation on the map if you wanted to....

-Ski

[skyknight]

this is usually how i play them, it is a pain to get those little suckers off different pieces of high territory

[toddrew]

On a related note, consider this scenario:

You roll for the drop early and there are multiple elevated positions on the map. Do you drop them all on the same position, or take more than one? I know it depends largely on the actual layout. But if they are pretty isolated and don't have overlapping "kill zones", do take all the peaks or choose one hill to defend?

Like you said, of course depends on the board, but usually I want the AE's ranges to overlap, so as to be able to take down some high life figures that may advance upon them, or a high defense squad on the march. Even with the height advantage, as soon as the opponent is able to attack, the AE are in bad shape. Unless one has a defense glyph or other boosts.

Spread out, they may be harder to reach as a group, but not as effective attacking. So, very much objective/opponent dependent.

What a wishy-washy response :)

[TheRealQ]

I like to drop them concentrated and consider their movement value when placing them. If I get a first round drop I place them behind cover but close enough to the opponents start area that they can move their full movement and be within range to do maximum damage with their grenades. This way if I fail to win initiative my opponent doesn't have the chance to run out and destroy me.

If I get the drop on the second or later round I will pile them on a hill together or I split them into 2 sets of 2 for crossfire depending on the battlefield. The only exception is when the +1 Attack glyph is clear. I'll park one of my AE by it and take it on my very next move.

[deliverymanxas]

This is the first AE topic I found, and not sure if it meets the criteria...but I had a friend ask me a question, and could not answer it...here goes:
After you drop, can you move your AE?
I've read the card several times and it does not say on the card anything about not being able to move, only that you cannot drop your figures in an adjacent hex or on a glyph. I was lost for an answer and let him move his AE. Which he used to move onto three glyphs...
Can somebody clear this up for me? And sorry if this has been brought up in the 'stupid questions' thread...

[bushi96]

You can move them on your turn, if you place an order marker on them. You cannot drop and then move, without having an order marker on the card.

[RobWeaver]

On a related note, consider this scenario:

You roll for the drop early and there are multiple elevated positions on the map. Do you drop them all on the same position, or take more than one? I know it depends largely on the actual layout. But if they are pretty isolated and don't have overlapping "kill zones", do take all the peaks or choose one hill to defend?
I usually leave at least a pair at any one position. That way they can support each other by fire. If you scatter 'em all over the map they run the risk of being overwhelmed one at a time. "A bridge too far" situation.

[deliverymanxas]

You can move them on your turn, if you place an order marker on them. You cannot drop and then move, without having an order marker on the card.

Hmm...we have been dropping on the first order marker (say O.M. #1 and 2 are on the A.E. We would use the first O.M. to drop the A.E. and then attack, but not move. Then on the O.M. #2, we would move the A.E.)...so guessing by your post, we have been doing this wrong. The drop does not need an actual order marker to be used? And you use the drop before you use your first turn marker (second part of this question is can you attack immediately after the drop, or is The Drop only The Drop and nothing else?)
Hope this is not too much trouble or too confusing...
Thanks
Dman

[happyjosiah]

I just used them in the SWOGG Heart of War tourney and got 2nd place. For what it's worth.
I really like them a lot.

[toddrew]

You can move them on your turn, if you place an order marker on them. You cannot drop and then move, without having an order marker on the card.

Hmm...we have been dropping on the first order marker (say O.M. #1 and 2 are on the A.E. We would use the first O.M. to drop the A.E. and then attack, but not move. Then on the O.M. #2, we would move the A.E.)...so guessing by your post, we have been doing this wrong. The drop does not need an actual order marker to be used? And you use the drop before you use your first turn marker (second part of this question is can you attack immediately after the drop, or is The Drop only The Drop and nothing else?)
Hope this is not too much trouble or too confusing...
Thanks
Dman

No trouble - I think lots of people mistakenly use them this way the first time, then don't bother to check the text and continue to do so (I thought Saylind could summon any figure regardless who controlled it for a good while...)

But, yeah, before anyone places order markers at the beginning of the round is when the drop is rolled. If successful, place the figures, then place order markers and proceed as normal, if unsuccessful, wait'll next round (assuming the rest of your army makes it through the round ;) )


Airborne Elite do not start the game on the battlefield. At the start of each round, before you place Order Markers, roll the 20-sided die. If you roll a 13 or higher you may place all 4 Airborne Elite figures on any empty spaces. You cannot place them adjacent to each other or other figures, or on glyphs.

[Eclipse]

They're really good, but not in the way most people try to use them. Nearly every time I've dropped first round with initiative and thrown grenades into the starting zone, I've been disappointed with the results. I find it much better to use them to secure the high ground and act as snipers. With their great range and nearly guaranteed height advantage, they can do a lot of damage as a squad of 4. They're actually sort of my nemesis when it comes to map building. Having a high area to fight for is almost certainly means that someone will take the AE and abuse it.

[Bobbo]

Well, if my opponent drops the AE, I'd much rather he put them all on a single hill. If all the AE are on a single hill, then you have to take the hill without losing 110 points worth of figures. There are plenty of ways to do this (Drake, Hounds, Sentinels, even Gorillas have a decent chance of charging and taking the hill if you can manage to hit an AE or two before taking return fire). If the AE are split up and on 4 different "hills" and can all shoot into different parts of your start zone, then you have a couple of options.
1) Hunt them down with a hero that kills them one by one
2) Split up a squad and sent different figures after each AE
3) Combo of 1 and 2 (bonding)
4) Ranged attacks.

I think for the sheer headache factor, it is worth splitting them up along multiple fronts. If you activate them once, and your opponent activates 4 or more times to kill them, I think that you have the advantage.

Maybe thats just me though...

[happyjosiah]

I killed Braxas in two turns on Wolfswamp Road (FLAT) with them. Not all of them even had height. I just spread them out in four corners and one hopped onto the attack glyph. They were all still within the 8 range, but far enough apart that the poison breath couldn't take down even two of them at once. That's nasty.

[theats]

they can be good.

[RobWeaver]

Well, if my opponent drops the AE, I'd much rather he put them all on a single hill. If all the AE are on a single hill, then you have to take the hill without losing 110 points worth of figures. There are plenty of ways to do this (Drake, Hounds, Sentinels, even Gorillas have a decent chance of charging and taking the hill if you can manage to hit an AE or two before taking return fire). If the AE are split up and on 4 different "hills" and can all shoot into different parts of your start zone, then you have a couple of options.
1) Hunt them down with a hero that kills them one by one
2) Split up a squad and sent different figures after each AE
3) Combo of 1 and 2 (bonding)
4) Ranged attacks.

I think for the sheer headache factor, it is worth splitting them up along multiple fronts. If you activate them once, and your opponent activates 4 or more times to kill them, I think that you have the advantage.

Maybe thats just me though...

The technical word for spreading them out is "dispersion." Yeah, clumping them together on the same hill will result in heavy losses. You just have to be careful you don't disperse them so far that they each become individually weak hill holders.

[Wilkerson74]

I love the AE (except when they are used against me). positioning them correctly when they drop is key, and initiative is most the time critical, but for the amount of damage they can do its worth the risk.

One mistake I see new players do is trying to force the grenade attack. As someone stated earlier, only use it when the target is too good to pass up. Other wise, get hieght and take advantage of their 8 range.

[deliverymanxas]

No trouble - I think lots of people mistakenly use them this way the first time, then don't bother to check the text and continue to do so (I thought Saylind could summon any figure regardless who controlled it for a good while...)

But, yeah, before anyone places order markers at the beginning of the round is when the drop is rolled. If successful, place the figures, then place order markers and proceed as normal, if unsuccessful, wait'll next round (assuming the rest of your army makes it through the round ;)
Cool Thanks.
Dman

[toddrew]

I love the AE (except when they are used against me). positioning them correctly when they drop is key, and initiative is most the time critical, but for the amount of damage they can do its worth the risk.


My son hasn't advanced his war tactics enough to use the airbourne as bait and draw me to them to finish off my forces with other units (don't know that this would be effective anyway - most efficient use of order markers is probably to keep blasting away with the AE), so everytime he drafts them, as soon as they drop, either rushing in to pick them off, or draw them down from their roosts (if possible :!: ) is priority one. And I mean everytime. He doesn't draft them much anymore due to my being able to handle them (most times. Early drops near my starting zone with Jo getting initiative...well, sometimes there's only so much one can do :lol: ), coupled with a semi-recent game that lasted 5 rounds without a drop, even with to no avail stall tactics (the great escape of Sgt. Drake.)

After demolishing him a couple of times with drops both early and late, he was convinced that they guaranteed a win :lol: and he would draft them every other game (I gave up drafting them as soon as the look of resignation began to appear on his face whenever I did.)

[Pattar007]

Personaly I reall like AE. It's great to run in and Grenade the entire army. I beat my brothers 400 point army just using AE.

[dnutt99]

:ponder: It's hard to really describe my feelings of the AE. Primarily because the times we play they usually DOMINATE the board. In most cases the AE tip the scales of battle so heavily that your opponents army is crippled from the moment they touch down. Personally, I've never played a game when, (if drafted), they were never "dropped". But when they do,............... :johnwoo2: BAD THINGS HAPPEN!. One time my girl and I were playing and the scenario required us to make our ways down the board in order to take control of the castle. Once I rolled for the AE and dropped them, only one of her figs. made it to the other end. She even had the Krav Magas that were surprisingly easy to vanquish. It was frustrating for her to say the least :lol: but played right these guys can totally decide who will win in the end.

[anarki]

:ponder: It's hard to really describe my feelings of the AE. Primarily because the times we play they usually DOMINATE the board. In most cases the AE tip the scales of battle so heavily that your opponents army is crippled from the moment they touch down. Personally, I've never played a game when, (if drafted), they were never "dropped". But when they do,............... :johnwoo2: BAD THINGS HAPPEN!. One time my girl and I were playing and the scenario required us to make our ways down the board in order to take control of the castle. Once I rolled for the AE and dropped them, only one of her figs. made it to the other end. She even had the Krav Magas that were surprisingly easy to vanquish. It was frustrating for her to say the least :lol: but played right these guys can totally decide who will win in the end. i agree with u they are really lethel especialy in castle seige scenerios if u put them on the castle wall walks they can attack every1 else on the castle and they are really good for base defence with a range of 8 the enemy wont be able to come near u before dieng they would just gunn down the enemy :johnwoo2:

[Soul Shackle]

I've found a good counter to the AE is Cyprien with Sonya lurking in the SZ. After they drop, Cyp can reach them quickly with a move of 8 w/ Stealth Flying, and if your opponent wasn't smart enough to spread them out correctly, sometimes you can skate up to a couple, Chill one and attack the other with a pretty decent success rate (11 or higher to kill, then 3 attack v 2 defense, and not giving up height shouldn't be a problem).

Not to mention you're bound to hit Life Drain at LEAST once. Now, if I could only hit double-digits on Chilling Touch...

[Big Boss]

I think the AE are great. Until recently though, I thought they we're complete garbage :( However, the light shined on them one fateful day when the drafting choices were limited to Master Set I figures...

Anywho, like almost all before me have stated, their only major downside is The Drop. Their defense isn't really an issue because they can typically pick off anything that stands as a threat to them. Potentially 4 Attack and/or glyph control is an amazing thing to have on your side.


--Boss

[Soul Shackle]

Squeezing a lot of value out of that 110 points for sure.

[hobosock]

The AE are definitely an awesome army. Just yesterday my brother and I were playing a game with 700 point armies. My brother chose a lot of squads and attempted to rush me. I dropped my elite up onto a wall and wiped out half his army in one round (I placed all four order markers on them). He ended up surrendering. I didn't lose a single figure, and I kill most of his with just one army.

[donjake]

I love using these guys ever since I began playing Heroscape.I mostly use them to go behind or on the opponents flank and harass the opponent until the elites die or the battle ends.

[joe5joe7]

Might I add that they slaughter deadeye dan?