The Book of Darrak Ambershard

[BurnyFlame]

The Book of Darrak Ambershard
Battle for the Underdark – Master Set 3 – DnD

If you cannot see the Army Card graphic, checkHasbro's Unit Page for stats and special powers, plus "character biography" and other non-game unit info.

Character Bio (from back of the box): Darrak sneaks across the battlefield, hiding in the shadows until he finds the right moment to strike! Using stealth and guile, he catches enemies by surprise and finds the chinks in their armor.

Originally Posted by Confred

SNEAK ATTACK 2
If Darrak Ambershard is attacking an opponent's figure that is adjacent to at least one other figure you control, add 2 dice to Darrak Ambershard's attack.

DISARM TRAPS
When you roll the 20-sided die for a Treasure Glyph trap with Darrak Ambershard, you may add 4 to your die roll.

HIDE IN DARKNESS
If Darrak Ambershard is attacked with a normal attack and at least 1 skull is rolled, roll the 20-sided die. If Darrak Ambershard is on a dungeon space, add 3 to your die roll. If he is on a shadow space, add 6 to your die roll. If you roll 1-15, roll defense dice normally. If you roll a 16 or higher, ignore all damage that would be inflicted by the attack

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-Rulings and Clarifications-

- TBA

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received

Axegrinders of Burning Forge: Dwarven Strategic Bonding:
As a Dwarf Hero, Darrak Ambershard may benefit from the Axegrinders' DWARVEN STRATEGIC BONDING activation synergy.

Synergy Benefits Offered

Otonashi : Tricky Speed 4:
As a unit with a Tricky personality, Darrak Ambershard may enable Otonashi's TRICKY SPEED 4 movement bonus.

Terrain Benefits Received

Dungeon Tiles: Hide In Darkness - Plus 3 to die roll.
Shadow Tiles: Hide In Darkness - Plus 6 to die roll.

C3V and SoV Custom Synergies

Spoiler Alert!

Synergy Benefits Offered

Synergy Benefits Received

ELARIA THE PALE : QUEEN OF THIEVES
As a Tricky figure, Darrak Ambershard may benefit from Elaria the Pale's 20-sided die enhancement.

MYRDDIN : MYSTIC SACRIFICE
As a Medium Unique Hero, Darrak Ambershard may benefit from Myrddin's 20-sided die enhancement.

NOTTINGHAM BRIGAND: ROGUE HERO BONDING
As a Rogue Hero, Darrak may benefit from the Nottingham Brigand's activation synergy.

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-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

- TBA

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-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Power Rankings

Jexik: Darrak Ambershard- Bonds with a solid squad? Check. Nice oomph for his cost? Check. A-

OEAO: A-

Cleon: Tier 8 (35/208)

dok (VC inclusive): B+

Master Index
Darrak Ambershard Pre-Release Discussion Thread

Unit Strategy Review

- TBA

[SmoKingToad]

I hope they include more dungeon spaces in upcoming packages. But for 60 points Derek seems like a real bargain, however i dont think his cape should be target area.

[Vilsara]

For 60 points, you get a lot here. He's probably going to end up being one of the best filler units for Melee-based armies. I see plenty of synergy already.

-I'm not the only one that noticed this, but the Dungeon Campaign should be easy with getting Darak and Tandros adjacent to an enemy- they can only attack Tandros, and Darak gets 6 attack per turn. Othkurik better watch out.

-Any maps with Shadow Tiles will benefit Darak greatly, more than some people suspect- 2 defense is a letdown, but a chance at ignoring wounds is pretty powerful. It allows him to run forward into enemy fire and, if you're lucky a few times, completely negate attacks- what a great distraction! Well placed shadows will keep him alive long enough for reinforcements to come- move them in, then Sneak Attack with Darak. Even without Shadows, Darak still has a chance to Hide, but Shadows let him really shine.

-Just think of how much of a boost the rats will get from Darak, potentially- they've been hailed as the ultamite unit tie-ups, so why not use that to hold down enemies while Darak runs around the board, attacking the wounded? The combo is also pretty cheap, as 3x Rats + Darak is only 180 points. That leaves room for range support and bonding- possibly Axegrinders? Speaking of,

The Axegrinders will be a great bonding option despite slowing him down, since they give the enemy just as many figures to deal with while Darak takes them down one by one. Plus, there's the 5 attacks per turns- on the front lines, that's 4 attacks of 3 (or 4 against larger foes) and an attack a 6 O.O That could be quite harsh.

He truly fits the Rogue Dwarf idea, in my opinion- drawing fire from the shadows, then pouncing into battle when his friends have arrived. Even if he ends up not being tourney-worthy, he'll be fun to play on the right maps, for sure.

But for 60 points, he could make a great filler in any defensive army, regardless of use or context. I'll be looking forward to building armies around and with him, especially on Shadow-based maps.

[spiteofthedice]

Proxied him last night. (Wouldn't it be great if that were a credential for posting in the Book?)

First, it is SO great having two bonding options with the Axegrinders. Could not be happier with their bonding synergy (unless they had, I dunno, three options...)

Darrak is a steal at 60 points. It is really not that hard to maneuver him up next to an opponent you've already engaged. And although he doesn't last as long as other heroes in the set, he is such a troublemaker for 60 points. For me, he put the hurt on Othkurik, which is practically all he needs to do to earn his points. Just the threat of his 6 Attack influences the way the game plays out.

I never got him working with Tandros, which is an obvious choice. But the fact that he bonds with the Axegrinders means that they can always give him targets with allies already adjacent.

Having a second bonding option for the Axegrinders also means they can leave Migol behind for a while and use him as cleanup, which he is very well suited for (especially when he's between Raelin and Ana).

~Spite, playing it fast and loose with the word "insight"

[Vilsara]

Oh look, Christmas Day and I'm still posting here. Merry Christmas day to all.

Originally Posted by obsidian lol

On a dungeon and shadow based map, he might go well with the Drow. Once the drow are engaged, there's an extra threat to leaving an engagement with them; this can help with the sneak attack. They can both hide in darkness, too.

I think they go less well with the Drow than they do the Dwarves. Lack of bonding and having less per squad can really hurt, especially since the Drow don't have much over Dwarves in terms of regular offense or defense.

Per chance you're Dwarf Deficient, however, the Drow do possibly have a chance to work well with Darak if you're into slower-paced battle. Hide in Darkness is definitely a plus on a Shadow Map (though I'll stress that a few unlucky rolls are tougher on your Drow than a four-man squad). And, of course, engagement is a plus to tie down foes. They won't last long, but a few lucky rolls will nail you a kill with Darak.

I just don't understand what you're getting at with the whole "leaving engagement" quote, though, since a tied down opponent is more likely to attack the Drow than run, especially Squads.

It all comes back to the idea that Dwarves, for the same price as Drow, are probably a better choice in Darak's army because of bonding and an extra man. Testing will tell, testing will tell...

[chaoserver]

I really wanted to test him but without axegrinders at my disposal he is taking backseat to the others in the set.. I will probably draft him as filler next game, having six attack with only needing a little set up is pretty crazy for those kind of points, feral troll is 30 more points and needs an enemy with 3 wounds to match that!

[GromBloodboy]

This guy makes a perfect linch pin for dwarven armies in 450 pt armies.

Migol-110
X4 Axegrinders-390
Darrak-450

He gets you right on that mark of 450 without putting you over, which is quite nice for some of the smaller tournaments.

[vertigosmooth]

I love this guy, I tried him the other night with 5 squads of dwarves, Migol and a filler( I forget which one) for 540 and he worked wonders. He was alot of fun and pretty easy to set up for his special attack. I find when you use him with bonding you just bring him close to the enemy and hide him behind something until all your figures get engaged, then bring him out to sneak people. I would move him behind an obstacle then use Migol with the dwarves until the time was right. He is a great addition to the dwarves and I'm looking forward to seeing more dwarf heroes coming out in the future.


Dustin

[Richard]

So far after reading the books of the figures from this set and as a D&D player, I found the abilities and stats of the figures to be rather faithful and sensible to the source. Granted in D&D each class has far more abilities and the game in general is more complicated, r&d did a great job translating them into Heroscape. Most impressive... I'm tempted to buy a set and get back into Heroscape again.

[screwDriver]

This guy is "backstabbing" personified... errr, figurize? Hehe. It's just plain evil teaming him up with Tandros. Have the fighter activate his combat challenge (which is not hard to set up) and then this guy waltz around to pick off the enemies. Throw in Ana to buff up and heal the tank though.

[LeviofDoom]

sick army =
60 Darrak Ambershard
210 Axegrinders x3
120 Tandros Kreel
110 Mikka Connour
500

whatdaya think?

[TGRF]

I think this guy's pretty cool. First, he only costs 60 points. If you just glance at his stats - 4 life, slow move, fairly good attack, weak defense - it looks like he would go down easy. This is his only shortcoming. Occasionally he can hide, but when he gets hit, it can really hurt. he has a pretty low defense, so a lot is going to get through. And with only four life, he won't last long.
His up side is the attack. His normal attack is already considerable. But, although he is rather slow, he can walk up to a cyberclawed/knight/Tandros held figure and wallop it with six attack. Tandros is a pretty good combo with him. Tandros has better defense and better life, and the engaged figure has to attack him... which shields Darak.
If he's handled right, This little guy can be well worth, or more, sixty points. Probably the only reason he is sixty points is because a good ranged unit or squad can come up and shoot him down before he can do much.
Still, he's pretty useful.