Prince Al'kahora, by capsocrates
Prince Al'kahora brings an odd little package of offensive capabilities to the game, and possesses little else to his royal name. Let's see if this Prince can live up to his title.
Balance
It's difficult to find an apt analogue to Prince Al'kahora. The 80-point mark is mostly occupied by cheerleaders and common squads, with few solo melee heroes in the mix. While Kumiko and Martial La Hire similarly offer offensive quirks and solid stats, Al'kahora deviates from each with subtle tradeoffs. The Prince lacks Kumiko's special attack, but has a better chance against high-defense figures. Al'kahora also lacks Martial La Hire's 4th defense die, but is faster and more offensively versatile. Prince Al'kahora rests comfortably at 80 points, not about to outshine his peers, but nothing to sneeze at either.
Theme
Here's where things get strange. A prince in name, but functionally a knight. A human wielding a sword, who arrives on Valhalla from a planet known to harbor at least one green-skinned assassin. It's enough to make your head spin. But our impression of Arctorus has yet to be fully sculpted by its units. One part of this design which continues to strike me as at least partially out of place is his personality. I'm not certain who he's supposed to be loyal to. However, I can appreciate the ability of a unit's background to bring explanation as well as entertainment. If we can forgive Prince Al'kahora's quirks, it's because he's coming to us from a (mostly) blank slate.
Creativity
HeroScape is rife with swordsmen, from the Knights of Weston to Agent Carr to the Tagawa Samurai. However, the game has yet to focus on something quite like Prince Al'kahora: a swordsman relying solely on refined techniques to rise above his peers. Both of Prince Al'kahora's powers (Razorpetal Stance and Strike of the Puma) are tweaks on existing powers (Double Attack and First Assault 3, respectively). When they appear on this Army Card, the former undergoes a limitation which can be frustrating at times, while the latter gets a rather lethal twist. Together, each covers the weakness of the other in an enjoyable manner. In Prince Al'kahora, the designer has put together a unit which is easily recognizable as a shark, but specialized enough to warrant the label of a niche unit.
Playability
Though both new to the game, Prince Al'kahora's special powers are simple and easily understood. None of Al'kahora's master stats push boundaries for Human units, and the emphasis of Move and Attack over Defense reinforce his role as an offensive unit. Rounding out the cursory glance, the miniature used for this design is visually distinctive from existing units.
When considering the unit, it's not easy to surmount Prince Al'kahora's status as a cheap, solo, melee hero since, once Al'kahora enters combat, he won't last long under focused fire. During play, Prince Al'kahora should not wade into the fray; instead, he is to be used like a scalpel, striking with precision.
When push comes to shove, Prince Al'kahora generally cannot rely on Razorpetal Stance to recoup his points. His low defense dice and average life value are incompatible with the kind of extended melee against sturdy figures which would permit a healthy return on his 80-point investment. Instead, Razorpetal Stance best serves as a backup tool, for when he's intercepted by petty screen units on his way to a target. While he can take leaving engagement attacks when necessary, sometimes terrain or special powers prevent disengagement. Then, and usually only then, is the proper time to go for the double attack over the more devastating strike, to clear the way.
A good opening tactic is to quickly get Al'kahora into a defensive position on the edge of the battlefield (behind a ruin or on a shadow tile), then place the X order marker on him from thereon. Then, keep the X order marker on Prince Al'kahora until a valuable target (cheerleader or bonding hero) comes within reach. Activate Al'kahora, and use Strike of the Puma can give Al'kahora the edge over his target.
Or, instead of waiting to strike, Prince Al'kahora can be paired with Theracus for an early bomb. Critical units like Raelin, Lizard Kings, and Krav Maga Agents are easy targets for Strike of the Puma here. However, it's unlikely that Al'kahora will be able to make a dent without a couple of successive order markers, which means the rest of your army will be unable to mobilize quickly in the first rounds of the game.
On to modes of play where Al'kahora functions best. I found he worked well at low point totals, accompanied by a ranged core. In such a scenario, Prince Al'kahora can have a much bigger impact on the game than he might in a standard 500-point, 24-hex game, where he can be easily outclassed by more powerful heroes and hordes of common squads.
Prince Al'kahora also works nicely in a dungeon crawl. As a cheap hero capable of landing a few wounds on a key enemy hero, why wouldn't he? If he falls, it's no large loss of points, so Al'kahora is free to make for the biggest monster in the room in hopes that he will wound, if not kill it, before going down for the count.
Summary
Prince Al'kahora is an elegantly designed melee hero who will likely never ascend to the heights populated by heroes such as Kaemon Awa, Van Nessing, or Crixus. His unique thematic flavor suggests a strange background, but coming from yet-untested waters, this is an exciting prospect rather than a head-scratcher. If properly applied, he can tip the scales in your favor by threatening a key piece on the battlefield. Altogether, he presents a pleasingly simple design capable of putting pressure on an opponent at just the right time in the game.
I vote
to induct Prince Al'kahora into the Soldiers of Valhalla.