Swaysil of the Northlands by
@
Maklar the Silver Prince
Will Swaysil be Heroscape's first centaur or will the horsewoman just not quite fit in?
Balance
When Swaysil was first submitted, this was my biggest concern. Her printed stats are comparable to Me-Burq-Sa's (she has slightly better survivability against attacks 3 and greater), but she has two relevant and consistent powers against Me-Burq-Sa's unreliable stare. She doesn't bond, however, making her more of a filler or clean up unit and enough of a difference for me to agree to testing.
Theme
Heroscape could use a centaur and Swaysil fits the bill nicely. While you could play her conservatively, she shines when you play her boldly into her powers. Run Down is a great thematic power for a centaur and Point Blank Shot 1 adds to her personality. Ullar is the perfect home for a centaur and her figure fits right in.
Creativity
Swaysil has two novel powers that are both simple and thematic. I believe design is at its best when the theme helps players understand the powers and Run Down works perfectly in that regard. I can easily see Point Blank Shot being used again in future customs as well.
Playability
As a lone hero with poor defense and offense linked to being close, Swaysil is really more of a clean up hero. A single attack of 3 or 4 at range could be what you need, but there really are better options near her price point if you are just looking for some ranged filler.
While I certainly wouldn't use her much early, I wouldn't count her out entirely of the mid game. She is fast enough and strong enough that you can pretty easily keep her out of harm's way and bring her through for a surprise attack to punch through some damage and just ruin your opponent's plans. Even if they kill her soon afterwards, two Order Markers on Swaysil can pretty consistently get 2-3 kills which can be just what you need to knock out a hero or cripple a squad.
In the late game, her strengths are even more exaggerated. She's fast enough that she can simply run and gun melee units (although her double base can make that a little tricky at times). Once they are close enough that they would be able to attack her, she can easily charge in and pick off two units with solid consistency. Ranged opponents can at least keep up the attacks against her but are just as susceptible to her getting one or two kills a turn.
This comes down to the crux of my problem with her. Swaysil is not broken and works for 50 points, but her Run Down feels just a little too likely for her cost. Couple that with her Point Blank Shot and you are easily looking at an automatic wound killing a squad and following that up with an attack of 4 or easily 5 for another kill. While the design clearly intends for these charges to be a bold or risky play, the auto wound power stands on enough on the side of reliable that it is so often the best choice, especially in clean up. The fact that she does it in addition to her attack means that even missing isn't that big of a deal since you can still follow it up with a solid attack against the same figure. Even when the opponent ties her down, I wouldn't bat an eye to take a leaving engagement attack with her 4 life to keep using Run Down.
Summary
In the end of the day, Swaysil is still a lone hero with low survivability. She really could still work at 50 points without breaking the game or being substantially better than some existing units. However, I feel that Run Down is just a bit too likely for a unit of her cost and what the design is trying to accomplish. Swaysil is otherwise a great thematic and fun design that I would love to play more but the reliablity of Run Down pushes her just enough that I don't feel she fits in.
I vote
NAY to induct
Swaysil of the Northlands into SoV.