It's time for another submission!!! It's been a while since I've submitted to the SoV, having worked on a number of different projects on and off...but sometimes you get truly inspired, and that is what brought this faction about. I've playtested the HECK out of these guys (with many of you many times, so sorry if I wore out my welcome), and gotten a lot of good feedback and a lot of needed changes. Anyway, I'll explain more later in the post for those who want to read more details so without further adieu I present to you SoV... THE SHADOW FACTION! At their head is Xundar (primary submission) and his conjured shadows (4 common heroes, all secondary submissions).
Bio:
Sgt Drake called out to halt the line of troops, something wasn't right. Marching on Utgar's forces in the middle of the night was supposed to be a tactical advantage, but the air was too still and shivers began to crawl down his spine. "March on!" Drake said, "but keep it quiet, there's something out there." As they took a bend in the road, pitch blackness awaited them. An eerie smile, lit only by the soft glow of a sorcerer staff, hung in the middle of the blackness as if suspended on it's own. "Welcome," it said "to my domain."
Xundar is the Drow Archmage from the D&D Rage of Demons line. All the common shadow figures are Reaper Bones: Shadow Demon, Shadow, Shadow Hound, Shadow Tentacle- Balance
Xundar: He's the army, plain and simple. Without Xundar, this faction falls flat. He's like unto other commanders that when they fall the army is less productive, but even without a commander the Ashigaru can fight well enough and the FE's without Kurrok are kind of a little army unto themselves and Elves without Ulginesh can do okay as long as they're near other elves. True to theme, the conjured Shadows fall away when their master has fallen. Hence I've made him fairly strong in his ability to move and command shadows in the same turn, but kept him balanced in high pricing, low defense, and a shorter range for his special to keep him from kiting the end game to effectively.
Shadow Hound: Tank of the army. Holds the line, but without other Shadows around really struggles to produce, also because his power only activates on figures he was not engaged to at the start of his turn.
Shadow Wraith: Easily the weakest of the lot, though still to be reckoned with when you've got swarming shadows around a poor hero weak of mind and ready to be controlled.
Shadow Demon: High movement allows this unit to be the shock troop of the army, swooping in to deal the final blow once the opponents units are confused and preoccupied. The low special attack keeps the from being too overpowered and the low defense makes them easier targets when they do fly in.
Shadow Binder: These guys strictly act as the map controllers for this army. Their offensive output if very weak (maybe killed like 4-5 figures in the 20 tests I've done), but they provide a tactical advantage for this army that helps them to set up their powers as well as take an opponent out of position.
- Playability Each unit has their own unique ability as well as one common thematic ability. All of their abilities tie them together, to their minis and to the theme. The abilities read easily, are understandable and operate as expected.
- Creativity These units have easily been the most creative I've worked on. Something is just exciting about a conjuring Drow Sorcerer on one end of the battlefield sending his shadow minions out to take an enemy head on. Each unit is created unique and all play AND look good together. They all just FIT.
- Theme Theme drips from the minis, the design and the way they play. Heck, look closely at the mini and you'll notice that Xundar's staff even has the SAME EXACT translucent purple at the top as the shadow minis themselves...just perfect. But yes, the cards powers all have theme roped into them tightly.
- Accessibility Xundar's miniature is widely available for ~3-$4 with over 80 figures currently in market. All the Reaper Shadow minis are also widely available and currently in production directly from the manufacturer (Reaper Minis). You can purchase them off of their website for about $3-$4 a piece.
Playtesting Notes:
- You almost always want 2 Binders in your army, 3 if you've playing a fairly high point game, but rarely 4 (save the points for the other commons)
- The most of a Wraith you should have is 1. Of course you can do more, but the most effective use is to have one on hand IN CASE your opponent has heroes and to try and bring it out into a spot where you can take the opportunity to soul manipulate. I often found though that it didn't pay off as well as I would have liked, but the Wraith was still a strong option and scare tactic.
- You typically want even numbers of Hounds and Demons though if you have an uneven number of them, take the extra Hound. Hounds are great for pushing the frontline and holding the map, while Demons are great for flying in as shock troops from the Startzone and killing something that's been bogged down.
- Keep Xundar safe! That should go without saying, but 6 life and the ability to move can make you a little cocky...because once he's caught, he goes down quick. More so than any other commander out there, he's the weakest defensively AND his army hurts the most once he's gone.
Thank you for your consideration!