I got a little behind on review writing compared to my testing, so I have a bit of a buffer of reviews I haven't posted. Which means y'all get another from me this week.
Ashi-Dulu by Megasilver
Lo! 'tis a gala night
Within the lonesome latter years!
An angel throng, he winged, bedight
In veils, and drowned in tears,
Sit in a theatre, to see if Ashi-Dulu can conquer the Soldiers of Valhalla!
Balance
For the most part, Ashi-Dulu is basically a non-bonding Grimnak. He's a bit better than our favorite Dino-Rider going solo in most cases, thanks to the higher attack and better mobility, but Grimnak's true value comes from bonding with the Heavy Gruts and his other Orc synergies. Without comparable bonding and synergies, Ashi isn't going to obsolete big Grim anytime soon. Ultimately, they play different roles and fit in different armies despite their similarities.
Theme
A giant worm erupting from the sands and scarfing down some helpless sap? Ashi's theme is pretty spot on, whether you're thinking Dune or Tremors. There really isn't much to say here, Ashi's card just nails the 'Giant Worm of Death' thing perfectly.
Creativity
It's pretty obvious what powers a giant death worm should have: burrow around and eat things. That being said, the mechanics of this particular take on the idea are both elegant and fun.
Playability
Ashi-Dulu plays a bit like Grimnak did in the very early days of just the first Master Set, back when big Grim had no Orc buddies to boost. There are some key differences though; Stealth Underground movement gives Ashi far better mobility that can't really be prevented or locked down, making him a decent assassin, and the 2 extra attack gives him more punch against the enemies that aren't on his menu. He does lack Grimnak's potentially game changing ability to insta-kill Unique Heroes though, and he has no way to bypass the Counterstrikes of the Unique Samurai squads, meaning even 'Retro' Grimnak would still have the edge in some match-ups. In some sort of 'Unique Only' tournament, Grimnak is probably the better pick between the two of them even when denied his greatest asset, though neither would be my first pick.
The biggest limit to Ashi is it's not that easy to actually get an attack in after devouring, a smart opponent will keep his figures spaced out to deny it in most cases. Ashi's attack value might be much better than Grimnak's, but that doesn't matter all that much when you can go whole games without actually attacking with him (which I did have happen on more than one occasion).
Ultimately, Ashi has his uses, but he never felt overpowered or game breaking. Which is right where he needs to be.
Summary
Awesome theme and solid mechanics certainly earn Ashi a spot in the SoV for me. Hopefully, the time will soon come where I can bring the conqueror worm to bear in one of the online events.
I vote
to induct Ashi-Dulu to the SoV.