Just my random musings about Heroscape...
Unit Anatomy: Major Q9, Part 1
Posted February 4th, 2012 at 10:44 PM by Elginb
I've always wondered exactly where various units derive their point value, and I've decided to start doing some heavy analysis to figure it out. To that end, I'm going to be asking the following questions:
1) How much are this unit's stats worth?
2) How much are this unit's powers worth?
3) How much are this unit's synergies with other units worth?
After that, I might consider the following:
4) How much are this unit's terrain or glyph bonuses worth?
5) How much is this unit worth in best- and worst-case scenarios?
I'll start with the unit everybody loves to hate: Major Q9 (180 points).
1) Stats - Major Q9 is a Large 7, 4 Life, 5 Move, 8 Range, 4 Attack, 7 Defense. How much of Q9's value is earned from these stats alone?
I think the best comparison case is Zetacron. Like the Major, Zetacron is Large 7, 5 Move, and 8 Range. His special power means that he averages the same number of skulls as if he had 4 Attack. He's essentially a powerless Q9 with 2 less life and 3 less defense. From this, I think we can ascertain that Q9's raw stats are worth somewhat more than 60 points, but this gets us into the right ballpark.
Another good comparison is Warden 816, who comes off as a baby Q9 stats-wise. He's Medium 5, 2 Life, 5 Move, 7 Range, 3 Attack, and 6 Defense. With his powers, he comes to 90 points, but without them, he looks comparable to Zetacron: he loses size immunities, a little bit of range and firepower, but gains maneuverability from being single-spaced and significantly better defense.
A less intuitive comparison is Brunak-- Huge 8, 3 Life, 6 Move, 1 Range, 4 Attack, 7 Defense-- who looks an awful lot like Major Q9 without range (he even has a somewhat similar special attack). From that it kind of looks like Q9's range is worth around 60 or 70 points, which, coincidentally, is about what Zetacron costs, a unit that's pretty much one big piece of artillery.
If you look at Major Q10, who has nearly identical stats to Q9 but with 5 defense, it looks an awful lot like rolling 2 extra defense dice is worth 30 points.
So I'm thinking that a powerless Major Q9 is probably like Zetacron with 30 or 40 extra points for greater life and defense.
Major Q9's Estimated Stats Value = 90 points
1) How much are this unit's stats worth?
2) How much are this unit's powers worth?
3) How much are this unit's synergies with other units worth?
After that, I might consider the following:
4) How much are this unit's terrain or glyph bonuses worth?
5) How much is this unit worth in best- and worst-case scenarios?
I'll start with the unit everybody loves to hate: Major Q9 (180 points).
1) Stats - Major Q9 is a Large 7, 4 Life, 5 Move, 8 Range, 4 Attack, 7 Defense. How much of Q9's value is earned from these stats alone?
I think the best comparison case is Zetacron. Like the Major, Zetacron is Large 7, 5 Move, and 8 Range. His special power means that he averages the same number of skulls as if he had 4 Attack. He's essentially a powerless Q9 with 2 less life and 3 less defense. From this, I think we can ascertain that Q9's raw stats are worth somewhat more than 60 points, but this gets us into the right ballpark.
Another good comparison is Warden 816, who comes off as a baby Q9 stats-wise. He's Medium 5, 2 Life, 5 Move, 7 Range, 3 Attack, and 6 Defense. With his powers, he comes to 90 points, but without them, he looks comparable to Zetacron: he loses size immunities, a little bit of range and firepower, but gains maneuverability from being single-spaced and significantly better defense.
A less intuitive comparison is Brunak-- Huge 8, 3 Life, 6 Move, 1 Range, 4 Attack, 7 Defense-- who looks an awful lot like Major Q9 without range (he even has a somewhat similar special attack). From that it kind of looks like Q9's range is worth around 60 or 70 points, which, coincidentally, is about what Zetacron costs, a unit that's pretty much one big piece of artillery.
If you look at Major Q10, who has nearly identical stats to Q9 but with 5 defense, it looks an awful lot like rolling 2 extra defense dice is worth 30 points.
So I'm thinking that a powerless Major Q9 is probably like Zetacron with 30 or 40 extra points for greater life and defense.
Major Q9's Estimated Stats Value = 90 points
Comments 6
Total Comments 6
Comments
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Posted February 5th, 2012 at 02:59 AM by ZBeeblebrox
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I think the problem is that those 2 defense dice are undervalued... Q10 is a very strong figure, but doesn't feel absurdly hard to wound the way Q9 can sometimes.
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Posted February 5th, 2012 at 11:26 AM by dok
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Well, Q9 may not be the best unit to start this with, since he's arguably under-priced. Working out his values could be off by 10 or 20 points...
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Posted February 5th, 2012 at 08:08 PM by Elginb
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Great post! May I recommend the Iron Golem as the next unit to dissect? He has the Brunak Syndrome, with occasional sparks of glory, but his value appears to be slightly enigmatic.
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Posted February 8th, 2012 at 10:20 AM by Filthy the Clown
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No you may not..you may take two ballerina steps
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Posted February 8th, 2012 at 12:49 PM by Onacara
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And the band played on...
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Posted February 9th, 2012 at 10:30 AM by Filthy the Clown
Updated February 9th, 2012 at 10:47 AM by Filthy the Clown (Toned down the 'violence' joke.) |
Recent Blog Entries by Elginb
- Selling My Collection (July 25th, 2012)
- Elgin's Custom Unit Ideas (February 19th, 2012)
- Unit Anatomy: Major Q9, Part 1 (February 4th, 2012)
- Elgin's 1/28/12 Event Battle Report (January 29th, 2012)
- Tournament Armies Used & Unit Frequency (October 18th, 2011)
