Gargoyle by dok
dok's Gargoyle is a screening unit, an area that is not heavily mined in Heroscape and generally dominated by Deathreavers (with some builds using Gladiatrons and Sentinels in that role). Being very different than Deathreavers and much more affordable than Sentinels, I was interested in giving this unit a try.
Balance
There is not a great comparison to the Gargoyle in a similarly-costed unit, but other Common Heroes around that price point compare fairly. Four move, 3 attack, and 4 defense are weak stats for a single-activation unit (even with flying), but the Gargoyle's real value is in its use of Stone Form. At times I felt it was ridiculously hard to kill for 30 points, but that's how it should be for a unit that is not made to serve any other purpose. The Sentinels of Jandar provide a decent comparison, which are 110 points for three figures instead of 30 points for one figure with similar stats and role. The additional 20 points for the Sentinels is more than fair considering you get to activate three figures instead of one.
Theme
In terms of abilities, the theme is fantastic. A Gargoyle turning to hardened stone when not active is spot-on.
Creativity
I really like the concept of a Common Hero that is useful as a screen or glyph-grabber, and a gargoyle is a perfect fit. Stone Form is a clever concept that naturally limits the figure so that they operate optimally in small numbers.
Accessibility
While I did prefer the original D&D miniature used, the Reaper miniature is, I believe, still in print, and therefore has acceptable availability.
Playability
The Gargoyle is limited in usefulness due to Stone Form; without it, it's an overpriced single-activation figure. Thus is it not useful in large numbers nor is it particularly effective at cleanup (though Flying does help with that somewhat). The two things it is capable of are holding glyphs and working as a screen, especially in choke points. I focused my testing with that in mind.
The primary issue to consider with any low cost (30 points or less) unit is order marker value. The unit needs to provide enough value to spend a precious turn activating. Some do so with free activations such as bonding (Swogs, Elementals, etc), with a heavy attack (Sahaugins, pre-Death Knight Dumutefs), special abilites (Drow Chainfighters), or as cleanup filler when anything will do (Marcu, Isamu). Gargoyles are valuable in that they do not require order markers -- at least not after they are in position. They do take order markers to get into position, and this is where I think they do not quite succeed.
Gargoyles, whether used as glyph-holders or screens, require order markers very early in a game. Early game order markers are very precious for gaining and securing board positioning. In the games I played the Gargoyles were just too slow to get into position; I always felt my turns would have been better used gaining position with my main forces. They held out well once they got into position (in a "could die at any moment like a Deathwalker" sort of way), but by then I was already behind and was not able to take back the board control I gave up. Their slow speed of 4 (with Flying) is what holds them back; I may have felt differently if their move was even one higher. It may not seem like much, but even if the extra move does not decrease the number of turns to get to a destination it allows one to start with them farther back in the starting zone, or have the freedom to hide behind obstacles while waiting for the next order marker to be revealed. Yes, I used Warden 816 with them in some games, and I liked the Gargoyles better, but I felt that if I was going to drop 90 points on the Warden or play them only in specific Guard builds I wanted them to be a little more impressive.
They do a bit better in scenarios where they don't need to move at all, such as Bridge to the Forgotten Forest in the Road to the Forgotten Forest set. However, even in those games I did not find them especially impressive; killing off the opponent's other units forces the Gargoyles out of Stone Form, making them vulnerable.
Not every unit needs to be tournament-competitive, certainly, but a unit needs to provide sufficient value in point cost and order marker cost to see even casual play. This is especially true if the unit does not function well in the cleanup filler role. The Gargoyle is close, but just a bit lacking in what it intends to do, which sadly would leave it gathering dust.
Summary
I really like the concept and the simple design. On paper it is interesting, but I found it to be frustrating in play. It's a little too slow to be worth using. I might feel differently if it was changed to 5 move, but for now I'm going to have to vote
for the Gargoyle.