Master Aldorn and the
Visages of Aldorn by
@
Leaf_It
These two units are very closely tied together, so I'm reviewing together.
Balance
Master Aldorn has some use without the Visages, but his value is largely due to the Visages, so they should always be played together and likely always will. This makes them essentially a 120-point unit spread across two cards. The 120 is a point value burdened with a number of high-powered units like Krug, Kaemon Awa, and the Fen Hydra, so the Undead Archmage has a lot to live up to. To some extent he does, combining a solid mid-range attack with some bonus attacks from his Visages, but he also provides support for some decent units including the Specters of Aldorn and the Zombies or Morindan. Specializing in neither combat power nor cheerleading, Master Aldorn is a bit tough to gauge, but the overall package is certainly worth more than 100 but probably not 150 or higher.
Theme
The theme of a powerful undead wizard with deadly visages floating around is interesting. It's not what I was expecting for the master of the Specters per se, but that's not a bad thing.
Creativity
As noted, Master Aldorn and his Visages are not entirely cheerleaders nor combatants but capable at both. It's dangerous to try to do too much with designs, but overall they gives off a "terrifying undead leader" vibe that works pretty well, and the Phantom Walk + Levitation combo along with the figures themselves make them feel themtically tied to the Specters of Aldorn.
I was concerned about how well the miniatures stand out from the ones used by the Specters. The Visages are quite a big larger and stand out nicely, and Master Aldorn's staff is conspicuous.
Playability
As a cheerleader, Master Aldorn takes a little work to use well, but doing so is rewarding. It depends on your opponent's army, though. Moving close enough to range units to make use of his aura tends to just get the Undead Archmage killed, and the Visages offer practically no help in that situation. On the other hand, setting him up near the center of the battlefield can work well against melee armies, where you can use Visages to block some hexes around the Archmage while rushing forward with the terrifying commons. And you can often get a solid attack in at range when positioning. Both Specters and Zombies love the additional attack dice, and Master Aldorn often lasts into cleanup in the middle of the mess thanks to the sharkish nature and movement capabilities of those squads.
As a combatant, or rather group of combatants, these units fare pretty well, though perhaps not as well as other 120 point units may be capable of. The Master's aura also boosts the Visages, which can often provide a couple decent melee attacks to supplement Aldorn's Attack 4 at Range 5. The Visages aren't especially reliable at respawning, but as Defense 0 melee units you don't feel the need to protect them and instead just get as much out of them as you can. And a couple respawns can turn the tide in the final stages of a game.
Summary
I don't think any of the terrifying squad armies are much better with Master Aldorn and the Visages, but I don't think they're worse either, at least not at standard tournament point values. The pair can be especially valuable when starting zone spaces are limited or in Heat of Battle scenarios, and they handle cleanup pretty well in standard games.
I vote
Yea to induct
Master Aldorn and the
Visages of Aldorn into the SoV.