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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion

Rujin by @Sir Heroscape

Someone’s Rujin for a bruisin’. Can this swamp troll ambush Valhalla, or will he be found out while lurking in the shadows?

BALANCE
I generally didn’t find Rujin to be overpowered in my testing. The double healing on swamp terrain can be very potent, but without it he typically falls easily enough. His single attack also ensures that even if he lasts a long time, he won’t be killing everything on his own. It was normal to see him kill well under half his points, but most of his value comes from his healing and ability to distract the opponent.

There is still an important comparison to note here. The Feral Troll is very similar to Rujin, but with some small trade-offs. It gains some effectiveness against heroes in exchange for worse maneuverability, a lower base attack, no bonding, and no conditional terrain bonuses. Rujin only costs 10 points more, and outside of specifically engineered scenarios, I found that he was worth the extra points just about every single time. Even if Rujin in a vacuum isn’t overpowered, he does overshadow the Feral Troll a decent amount.

Also worth noting is that terrain-dependent HeroScape units are typically priced under the assumption that you won’t use them too much outside of their terrain. Units like the Obsidian Guards, Dzu-Teh, and Marro Drudges are essentially made for drafting on their specific maps (and they’re pretty bad everywhere else). Rujin really shines when he’s healing two wounds per turn, but he’s still decent even without swamp terrain. VC in general tends to avoid creating “bad” or very niche units, though, so I mostly gave him a pass there.

THEME
The theme here is simple but effective. Rujin’s a troll that hides in the swamp, and both his Ferocious personality and Savage class are good fits. If I had to nitpick, then I’d say that his Swamp Regenerate doesn’t really make as much sense as Cold Regenerate for an Ice Troll, but that never bothered me too much.

Although the many similarities to the Feral Troll were concerning, I like how they ensure that Rujin really does feel like a troll. The 1 defense and high life with constant healing makes both designs feel like they’re the same species, despite their differences.

CREATIVITY
On paper Rujin might just look like the Feral Troll in a swamp, but some important twists really showcase the creativity of this design. The Durgeth Ravagers are very momentum-based, relying on consistent kills to keep up the pressure with their Savage Cry. Their minimal defenses ensure that they don’t have much staying power once they start dropping.

Rujin is the complete opposite. He wants to sit in some swamp and can be very tough to take down in the right situations. Putting this as a bonding option for the Ravagers might seem weird initially, but it’s a fun addition to the faction that brings something new to their playstyle. Because Rujin also can’t heal unless he’s taking turns, he fits into their momentum-based playstyle really well despite being so different.

PLAYABILITY
As I stated above in Balance, Rujin pretty much outclasses the Feral Troll in normal play. A much bigger concern soon emerged from my tests, though, and it’s something that never went away: Rujin just isn’t fun to fight against.

On paper, healing 2 wounds in the swamp sounds fine. The Ice Troll Berserker can do it in snow and ice, after all. However, tundra terrain is usually much less common than swamp and generally has negative consequences. Furthermore, the Ice Troll only has a maximum life of 4, which greatly limits the potential frustration of trying to kill it in the wrong circumstances.

In contrast, swamp terrain is plentiful and lacks any penalties (in fact, the Durgeth Ravagers already benefit heavily from it), and Rujin can often safely sit in the swamp and heal if the opponent lacks range to force him to come to them. Lurking Assault directly encourages Rujin to do this by giving him more attack dice when the opponent finally comes close. There have been several times when I’ve seen a player in the endgame just run away with Rujin for as long as possible until he heals back up to full life, ready to go again with another Lurking Assault. Even if he doesn’t always win the endgame on his own, the level of healing on swamp maps has been a major pain to slog through and extremely prolongs the game.

Furthermore, most 2 attack squads struggle to kill Rujin in the first place. That issue really comes to a head in clean-up, when both armies have been thinned out a bit. If Rujin survives to this point, then neither side is in for a fun time.

SUMMARY
Rujin adds something new to the Durgeth Ravagers while still matching their overall themes really well. Unfortunately, he also overshadows a forgotten D&D unit, is a nightmare to play against in the endgame, and slows down the entire game with a healing rate that many figures just can’t match.

I vote NAY to induct Rujin into the Soldiers of Valhalla.
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