Rendar Fy by
@
capsocrates
The Mariedians are one of VC’s additions to the HeroScape canon, with plenty of unique tools in their arsenal already. A new soldier, Rendar Fy, is gunning to join them in Valhalla. Will he be able to hold his ground, or will his position be compromised?
Balance
At first glance, Rendar Fy is worrying. For 85 points, he potentially offers a souped-up Kaemon Awa, offering one or two attacks of 4 at +1 range with the same durability. This comes with some heavy restrictions—the big one is preventing him from moving during that turn, but his reliance on Sighting to do damage is also key—but the Mariedian faction provides ways to get around this without wasting turns getting him to height.
In practice, though, I’ve found that those shortcomings balance him out nicely. The potential for a Kaemon Awa like figure at 35 fewer points is severely held back by him both needing height to get 4 attack and the fact that he only gets one attack at a modest range if he has to move at all. Rendar Fy won’t be replacing Kaemon Awa any time soon, especially since the Samurai’s double attack comes from a Special Attack that can ignore some pesky defensive powers, has the potential to move up
and get 5 attack from height in the same turn, and comes packaged with Counter Strike.
After determining that his weaknesses do a good job of keeping him in check and stop him from eclipsing any existing units, I was still concerned about special scenarios that remove these weaknesses from play. Things like Castle Sieges and Heat of Battle are common outside of the tournament structure, after all. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily, depending on your view of balance), Rendar won’t really be a problem in those settings. Taelord and some Omnicron Snipers (or really any ranged squad of your choice) are a far better option in those situations, and Rendar’s 5 range for his double attack really holds him back there. In Heat of Battle, the opponent can start close to Rendar and remove his height advantage, bringing his attack down to 2 and neutralizing him before he becomes a big threat.
So overall, I find Rendar to be a tightly balanced unit that is far less problematic than he appears on paper.
Theme
No major complaints here. He’s a Mariedian with a battle rifle. The armor and color scheme fit the faction well, he looks like a
humanMariedian, and Battle Rifle really evokes the idea of him standing still to unload some extra rounds or take aim at a further target. Soldier is a fitting class, and the statline appears weak but is easily buffed by his abilities in the right circumstances.
I do think that Sighting is a little less justified here (though the Precise personality does help), but it’s an important way to keep the design in check and it wouldn’t work half as well without it. We’ve also seen other similarly high-tech characters with the power before as well, so it gets a pass from me.
Creativity
The only new power here is Battle Rifle, but it’s used to great extent in defining the playstyle of this design. Used in conjunction with Sighting, it creates a unique yet very thematic unit that wants to get to the high ground and stay there, which is fun to play with. Making him a Mariedian for the Guerilla Tactics is another great move to take full advantage of Battle Rifle, emphasizing its importance to the entire design.
Playability
The Mariedians are the obvious choice to pair with Rendar Fy, and they work especially well together. The M-43 Resistance Fighters’ paltry 2 attack is often underwhelming on its own, but it comes with useful positioning utility with Guerilla Tactics. Without Rendar Fy, they only have a handful of options to move, and while each is a fun addition to the faction, it’s Rendar who really shines in coordination with Guerilla Tactics. Not only is he a heavy hitter like Jarek Guy or the B-11s, but he also wants to avoid moving on his own turns to get his full value. If the other players let him march to height unopposed while the M-43s skirmish, then he can be an absolute nightmare to take down later on and deal a ton of damage.
However, if he gets intercepted before he can reach the high ground, he’ll struggle to do much of anything. Even 2 attacks of 2 on equal ground (if you don’t move) is worse than the M-43s, which makes balancing Order Markers on him and correctly predicting your opponents’ movements of the utmost importance. With smart counterplay, stopping him from going on a big destruction spree is definitely doable, and most well-designed maps ensure that even if he does eventually reach height, you can avoid his threat range to greatly reduce his attacking potential.
Without the Mariedians, Rendar struggles a lot more to find value. He’s far from useless, though, on account of being a decent filler at an odd point total, and he does have at least some potential in the less conventional scenarios mentioned above.
Summary
Overall, I found Rendar Fy to be both heavily limiting to play to his fullest potential and a welcome addition to the Mariedian ranks. His weaknesses do a great job of balancing out his strengths, but even when placed in scenarios that mitigate them he still doesn’t dominate the game. Above all else, he's a fun unit that fleshes out a faction in a unique way. It’s my pleasure to vote
to induct Rendar Fy into the Soldiers of Valhalla.