Heroscapers
Go Back   Heroscapers > Blogs > Aldin

Notices


Rate this Entry

The Lady and the Tiger... sans Tiger

Posted March 26th, 2009 at 12:33 PM by Aldin
Shiori raced up the back side of the hill, ducking behind a jungle tree. Sometimes, if you were patient and quiet, they ignored you until it was too late. Glancing out from behind the brush she saw the Nakita Agent below. Smoke powder was no bar to a ninja with shuriken, and the lovely lady fell – a thin rivulet of blood fanning from her neck. Now, without the Nakita blocking the way, that Krav Maga Agent was about to taste her Kunai…

Ah Shiori! She of the awkward abilities and cost. How could it be that she should capture my heart? Is it because she’s an underdog? Partly, perhaps mostly. The truth is that when I look at her I see hidden depths. I see a lady who can accomplish important tasks when a situation arises that fits her abilities.

Unlike the Deathstalkers, Shiori wasn’t love at first sight. If anything, I didn’t much care for her. But as her list of vocal detractors grew, I sought to know her better. And I’ve grown to appreciate who she is. She isn’t a frontline unit, to carry the battle to the enemy and raise the flag. Neither is she cleanup, to wait until the battlefield is strewn with the dead and wounded in order to descend as an angel of destruction. Really, she is best forgotten… until an opportunity comes her way.

Opportunity for Shiori is almost always spelled “unique squad”, although it is occasionally spelled “wounded hero” as well. It is almost never spelled “common squad” or “Q9”. If you find yourself facing Q9, Deathstalkers and Minions or 8xStingers you may as well just accept that Shiori isn’t going to do you much good. But if you find yourself facing the Nakitas and KMA, well, keep your eyes open for her shining moment.

You see, Shiori offers a set of skills that is difficult to replicate at her price. For a ranged special attack, the Roman Archers have her beat, but they’re slower, die easier and have a much more difficult time actually pulling off the attack. For a base attack of four you have the underrated, but single-lifed Dumutef; the betraying Marcu and the support-staff-needing Arkmer. She is also the only non-Marvel figure with both Disengage AND a ranged Special Attack.

Her obvious target, therefore, is the Nakita Agents. Secondarily, she is fast enough and tough enough to handle the KMA with the right OM management. Both of those squads appear regularly in tournament play and both tend to frustrate teams with common ranged attacks. Also, in both cases, killing even a single figure is arguably worth sixty points since these unique squads become more than a third less effective upon losing a single figure.

So when considering 5xStingers or 4x10th Foot in an army, instead of looking to Q9 or Nilfheim to address their weaknesses, perhaps it would be wiser to invest in a certain Kyrie Warrior and a little respected lady named Shiori to take care of those couple of unique squads that will otherwise give you fits.
Posted in A Yellow Wood
Comments 4
Total Comments 4

Comments

Old
ZBeeblebrox's Avatar
Wow Aldin,

Your blog actually makes the teenage-ninja sound useful...well done.
Posted March 26th, 2009 at 02:55 PM by ZBeeblebrox ZBeeblebrox is offline
Old
Aldin's Avatar
Thanks, Zaphod. Where ya been, man?
Posted March 26th, 2009 at 04:30 PM by Aldin Aldin is offline
Old
Jexik's Avatar
I guess my problem with picking Shiori is that even when she is going after a single Nakita or Krav Agent, she might still flub her single attack of 3v3 or even 4v3 against the Krav with concentrated will or height. (Also, my friends don't ever seem to play the Nakitas or the Gorillinators. She'd be great against the poor gorillas).

If she were a little cheaper, like in the 30-40 point range, I'd be more likely to pick her up as filler in more armies.
Posted March 26th, 2009 at 05:12 PM by Jexik Jexik is offline
Old
Einar's puppy's Avatar
Lady and the Tiger: I forget who it is by, but it is a short story in which the law of the land is dictated by a random choice of a door. Behind one door there was a woman, and the other a tiger. If the accused picked the door with the woman, he was obviously innocent (odd logic, but okay) and he was immediately married to her...even if he was married prior to the accusation. If he picked the door with the tiger behind it, he was promptly eaten.

A man is accused of being the princess's lover, and is sent into the arena. The princess is a very jealous woman, and she wants the man for only herself. She finds out what is behind what door, and he tells the man to pick a certain door. But what did she tell him? Did she want to lose her love to a woman she despises, or to a tiger? You don't find out, and it is the reader's choice.

Excellent reference Aldin! I love the titles of these blog entries. I've read the story once or twice, and I've even seen a play rendition of the story (it was short, but there were a few other plays we saw that day as well, including the Open window, the Fall of the House of Usher, and the Most Dangerous Game. All were superb)

Now for something of merrit to the blog: I don't Shiori, and I don't think I ever will. She doesn't work for me.
Posted March 26th, 2009 at 08:04 PM by Einar's puppy Einar's puppy is offline
 
Recent Blog Entries by Aldin

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:11 PM.

Heroscape background footer

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.