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Kai-Mu
Bloodthirsty lord of Darkness

Frontal Assault - Strategic Field Commanders (3/3)



The figure used is Arkhan the Cruel from Descent into Avernus: Arkhan the Cruel.

CHARACTER BIO:

Spoiler Alert!

"I answer to none, I am Kai-Mu and soon I shall rule this land too!"

Utgar summons a powerful being from the lands of Eberron, red scales and black armor adorn the blood soaked figures. Cruel fangs and sharp claws cast the minions aside that blocked his path from the outside world. He walked without fear among creatures of varying origin, not caring for their species nor allegiance.

A wide swath was cut for him, despite being summoned specifically to wage war against Jandar and his Kyrie it seemed that he had little care for allegiances or allies. A claw clad in steel touches his shoulder and he whirls around, the black axe in hand sparks against a technological arm attached to a fearsome marro. In that moment he met a Warlord that would not yield before him, someone worthy of joining forces with.

CARD TEXT:

Spoiler Alert!

GENERAL = UTGAR
PLANET = EBERRON
SPECIES = DRAGONBORN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = DARKLORD
PERSONALITY = RELENTLESS
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 6

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 130

HATRED OF KYRIE
If you control any Kyrie then Kai-Mu cannot move or attack. When attacking a Kyrie, each skull rolled counts as 1 additional hit.

OVERWHELMING AURA
Unique Heroes adjacet to Kai-Mu have all powers on their army card negated.

VIOLENT TENDENCIES
After moving Kai-Mu must attack all adjacent figures.

DESIGN NOTES:

Spoiler Alert!

Unlike the other commander units created in this wave Kai-Mu fits the archetype of a cruel leader that leads by inspiring fear and destroying everything in his path. I took this miniature in a couple of directions before I decided upon this one. In Eberron (D&D), red Dragons are supposed to tend towards evil, pride and power and the same is often said of Dragonborn that are of the Chromatic Red variety. I wanted to maintain those themes so it was believable that Kai-Mu came from that world.

With this iteration I wanted an Anti-Raelin unit that also couldn't be played with Raelin. While the 80 point figure from the first master set is great for making some units playable and some units broken, I wanted something that just couldn't be played with her at all and was also good at destroying her, so I created a character that just wanted outright war on all Kyrie. That makes his place in the lore a bit shaky and shows that he is probably being compelled by Utgar to participate in these battles or he is doing it for his own glory and has no intention of actually submitting to his Kyrie summoner if he can help it.

The tag of Darklord fit the type of character that I was going for and the Relentless personality should communicate the ferocity he shows on the battlefield well. Despite that the miniature isn't much bigger than the standard cast of Heroscape, so he doesn't have the soft protection given by a Large size.

The stats make him a solid fighter, able to punch, block and weather quite a few attacks before going down but I don't have to worry about his 4 defense becoming 6 because Raelin being in his army makes him useless. While his powers make him a frontline fighter that you want to engage the enemy, destroy the enemy and keep acting as your spearhead into both squads and heroes that have unique powers. Kai-Mu excels at taking the front line because he wants to engage multiple figures and he wants to engage hero figures that have powers whether they are offensive or defensive. Though he is not good for fighting around your own figures because he will wind up throwing 4 dice at everyone around him regardless of if they are friend or foe, again communicating the dangerous and bloodthirsty Darklord theme. The Aura power that he has also works on both your figures and your opponents which should encourage his placement away from your own heroes and communicate his role as a shock trooper fairly well because he can move up, throw a lot of attacks and then the Wolves of Badru or Death Knights can come in and attempt to clean up squad figures he missed or heroes that he has weakened and negated.

-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received

• WOLVES OF BADRU : DARKLORD BONDING
  Before taking a turn with Wolves of Badru, you may first take a turn with any Darklord you control.
  
• DEATH KNIGHTS OF VALKRILL : UNHOLY BONDING
  Before taking a turn with the Death Knights of Valkrill, you may first take a turn with any small, medium, or large relentless Hero you control.
  
• KHOSUMET THE DARKLORD : RELENTLESS ASSAULT
  Each friendly figure adjacent to Khosumet with a relentless personality receives an additional attack die.
  

Synergy Benefits Offered

• KNIGHTS OF BLACKGAARD : RELENTLESS ARMY ATTACK BONUS
  If every Army Card you control has a relentless personality, each Knight of Blackgaard receives 1 additional attack die.
  

Comments and ideas welcome! Kai-Mu has gone through a few revisions at this point where his focus and design direction have changed, let me know if the themes are working for the miniature and powers. As always, let me know if I've missed synergy notes or made something hilariously broken that I am unaware of. Thanks!

EDIT: Update made so that Kai-Mu cannot move or attack while you control a Kyrie, this was changed from the previous "cannot place order markers" on him due to his bonding options from wolves of Badru and Deathknights.