Kha by kolakoski
Ullar has vipers, Ullar has Merry Men, Ullar even has humanoid D&D reptilians. Somehow Kha is not a viper, not really like the other rogues, and not a lizardfolk. Does this misfit fit the canon?
Balance
Kha splits the difference between a melee hero and a ranged one. He doesn’t have a high attack, but has the potential to do massive damage in a single turn if the rolls line up properly. Because of this straddling of realms, there’s not a great comparison for Kha. A ranged attack of 3 is definitely within reason (James Murphy can do it explosion-style for 75 points), the possibility for a multi-attack is as well (Martial La Hire can do it with even more dice for 70 points), and a d20-to-add-wounds-if-you-dealt-wounds power also falls in the price range (Estivara, a not very good figure, has that and a potential insta-kill for 80 points). So, we find similar (but more potent) powers across the 70-80 point range. We’ll just have to explore whether the combination is too much.
Theme
The figure is obviously not a lizardfolk, for anybody who might think that from the head-on view. More angles reveal that he looks very serpent-y. I like the serpent/poison connection, and Kha certainly looks roguish enough.
Creativity
No new powers on this card. All straight copies (Double Assault from Evar Scarcarver, Poison Weapons from the Deepwyrm Drow, and Disengage from everybody
and their mother). That said, Kha manages to be unlike any Heroscape unit I’ve played. The interplay of the powers is quite nice.
Playability
Kha’s best utility is with Nottingham Brigands. Getting an attack of 3 (or 4) after his turn gives Kha the flexibility to go after big targets if he wants to. Together with Disengage, Kha usually has a few choices on his turn: stay back and take a shot, or charge forward to put pressure on an opponent’s hero. Sometimes he can get the two-for-one: Run forward, engage (and hopefully kill) the screening figure, and still take a shot at the hero.
Poison Weapons gives Kha a distinctive hero-killing flavor, and sure enough, he shines against hero-heavy armies. The elf wizard pod is one of his favorite targets, as they have low enough defense to make Poison Weapons come relatively often.
Despite his anti-hero abilities, Kha can hold his own against squads, as well. With brigands backing, they can manage 3 attacks of 3 (or 3 attacks of 4 from height), which is generally enough to thin out many squad threats.
The only thing that holds Kha’s offensive output in check is his survivability. Compare the 3 heroes I mentioned above in the Balance section. Each one has better survivability. And it gets worse: Kha works best offensively when he can get adjacent to a hero. But that sets him up to die quickly. Say you blow Kha past some 10th to get a few shots on Raelin. That’s all well and good, but you’ve now almost guaranteed 4 attacks of at least 3 on Kha the next turn. For 6 or 8 dice against Raelin, is it worth it? Hard to say.
Similar scenarios unfold across several matchups: Jarek Guy, Pel, MBS, Gilbert, they can all be juicy targets for Poison Weapons. But the opportunity cost to set it up (thanks to
@
Dysole
for introducing me to that term earlier today) can be pretty high, since it can take as few as one or two attacks to bring Kha down.
Summary
Kha is very fun to play as an addition to the Merry Men. He has a surprisingly novel playstyle, despite having no new powers. The interaction of the three powers gives lots of decision-making, and the stats show some much-needed restraint.
I vote
to induct Kha into the Soldiers of Valhalla