[1moreheroscaper]

Well I tried some more of the HelmAverse Havokscape/Battle Ball Customs today.

Asyassin.................125
Brutus....................100
Dark Isis...................80
3 x Black Harts.........150
Total: 455

vs.

Syvarris................100
Alastair.................110
1 x MacDirks...........80
Marror Warriors.......50
Airborne Elite.........110
Total: 450

We played two games with the same armies.

The first game, the Black Harts charged across the field and put some devastating hist on the Marro Warriors and Syvarris in the first two rounds. By the third round the Airborne Elite dropped a used their grenade to kill 4 Black Harts that were adjacent to Dark Isis--she only took 1 Wound from the grenade attack. My opponent eventually cloned back 3 of the Marro Warriors that I destroyed in the first two rounds (he was rolling high 20-sided die results most of the game). It was the Marro and Alastair, that destroyed the last of my army. My last stand was with Brutus and Asyassin against 4 Marros and Alastair (with 2 life left).

In the second game, I tried a little bit different startegy by gradually moving out the Black Harts, in order to have reinforcements within striking distance--at least with the use of BLITZ. During this game I tried to keep all of the Battery Balls on Asyassin in order to keep his attack at 5. In the end, Asyassin was trying to take on 2 MacDirks, 2 Marros, and 1 Alastair (with 1 life remaining).

Reflection:
Black Harts: It was really, really fun playing the Matt Helm customs. The BLITZ special ability for the Black Harts was awesome, but not too powerful, since it can only be used once per round. In both games, these guys were great for taking out the Airborne after they dropped. Gang Tackle ability was perfect against Syvarris and the Airborne. There was a question about Blitz, can you take an additional turn with any of the Black Harts, or only the same ones that were activated by the Order Marker that turn. I played it as the later because of the precedent established by the Venoc Vipers/Aubrien Archers Frenzy ability.

Dark Isis: She didn't get to show her full potential because the adjacent Black Harts were destroyed (in the 1st game) before she could get her attack bonus against the enemy, in the 2nd game she was destroyed becasue she could get an attack in. Her fast movement makes her appear to be a greater risk, therefore a bigger target.

Brutus: During the 1st game, I had two times that I could have used his Running Throw and Bear Hug special ability, but I just forgot to use them, so I can't truly comment on him--besides the fact that he did have the defense to stay alive through a few attacks.

Asyassin: Originally, I didn't like that the sculpt was one of the sculpts that I included in my BlackHearts Custom unit, but after playing the figure I forgot about my intial dislike because I really enjoyed the possibilities of his unique special ability. I kept him back in both games until the end, but I did throw two of his Battery-Balls to Dark Isis and Brutus in the first game. Both throws were a success, but I really did need to consider how far I wanted the receiving figures to be when I took a turn with him, and to allow him to throw a successful Battery-Ball completion.

Overall: I can't say enough how fun it was playing these units. The only thing I do ponder is the cost of Dark Isis and Asyassin. I wonder if Dark Isis could be 10 points cheaper, and if Asyassin could be 10-15 points cheaper. Besides the point costs, they were all awesome. Keep up the great work Matt Helm, I'm loving this HelmAverse Havokscape Custom thread.