Agent Carr's Legacy

The Mohican River Tribe has gotten me thinking.

(EDIT: BUT OTHER STUFF GOT TY THINKING MUCH SOONER: LINK)

Even though Agent Carr hasn't seen that much play at my table once we started to buy expansion packs, I've always felt that he introduced a great concept to the game. Ghost Walk and Disengage (later combined to form Phantom Walk to save space on newer cards) allow him to move about the battlefield and pick his targets at will, which is an important trait for a hero who does not bond.

More importantly, I like his Sword of Reckoning 4 ability. It's a simple way to use the rules of the game to show that he has two weapons. He can fire off attacks of 2 dice from 6 range with his pistol, or smack an adjacent figure for 6 dice with his sword. Although Mimring's special attack has a similar effect, I think of Agent Carr as being the first melee/ranged hybrid unit.

The way target selection and height advantage function, it is generally preferable for units to use their range and to stay unengaged. Because the engagement rules are a lot of what makes this game interesting to me, I especially enjoy it when figures have powers that further entice you to consider the costs and benefits of engagement. Here's to Agent Carr and those that came after:

The Gladiatrons and Blastatrons are an interesting case because they split the hybrid idea into two symbiotic units. The Gladiatrons benefit from being engaged, yet the Blastatrons do not (unless they're aiding the homing bonus of other unengaged Blasts).

Nilfheim, Braxas, and Zelrig all have decisions to make between using their breath weapons from afar and bringing down the hammer up close.

Unlike most of these offensive examples, the Nakita Agents force small and medium ranged opponents into an interesting gamble- waste time with smoke powder, or risk death to engagement strike?

Kaemon Awa and the Tagawa Samurai Archers combine decent ranged attacks with the threat of counterstrike in melee.

I really like the Sgt. Drake Alexander remake. It gives him a weak ranged special attack to make him a more varied figure.

The 10th Regiment of Foot provide all sorts of options. Should you Wait Then Fire? Engage for bayonet charge and melee defense?

Who can forget the relatively new Wolves of Badru? They're the first common squad with a ranged special attack that does not require them all to combine for one powerful hit, but it is not without great risk.

And now (or at least by July) we have the Mohican River Tribe, which continue to blur the line between ranged and melee figures. I can't wait to play around with Concealment, Battle Fury, and War Cry. Figuring out 'the best move' will be a little bit more unclear with units like these, and I like it.

Continuing with the idea of units that blur the line between melee and ranged, I figure I should also mention the Marro Stingers. Although they're definitely a ranged unit, and gain no particular benefit from being engaged, their base stats are so tough that they don't immediately crumple when they get caught. As the only squad with a range of 5, they also are rather likely to get engaged. The popularity of Stingers in tournament play seems to be a subtle buff to tough, slow, melee squads like the Knights... and perhaps the upcoming Gladiators?

Sujoah and Cyprien also fly so quickly that they might as well be ranged, but will likely die when faced with tough melee opponents.

Thanks Agent Carr for leading the way!