Scytale's customs

[Scytale]

Originally Posted by Typhon2222

Inspired idea to use the Aspect of Loviator as a Beastmaster (Beastmistress?), whip in hand. The battlefield pic of her lined up with her menagerie is just wonderful.

Thanks! Though I used that figure mostly because there aren't many figures with whips available. A little paint and she looks fine.

I was pleased to discover there was a famous historical figure named Nadezhda Durova who was renowned for (amongst many other things) her talent in training animals. I (obviously) named my figure after her.

[Kaemon Awa 123]

Cool...

[Scytale]

Set 3 up today. A mix of units to round out a virtual wave.

Thanks to everyone who has commented thus far, both in this thread and with rep. It's always nice to get feedback.

[quozl]

WHOA!

Now how did you make those mods?

[Scytale]

Originally Posted by quozl

Now how did you make those mods?

Those are Omnicron Snipers, minus their heads and guns. The weapons are from Minions, Carr, and a Tarn. The rest is just paint.

[Scytale]

New set of units up again today. This set is the first half of the demon army. Created as a pseudo-squad with Rayne as its leader.

[Uchiha Blood]

Would love to see the cards for the Cerebrilith and the Doomdreamers. Your lesser demons are great. Very thematic!

[Scytale]

Originally Posted by Uchiha Blood

Would love to see the cards for the Cerebrilith and the Doomdreamers. Your lesser demons are great. Very thematic!

Thanks! The cards for the Cultists and the Greater demons will be uploaded soon. I didn't want to dump too much out at once.

[PCServbot]

I'm glad to see these are being uploaded now.

I'm Scytale's cousin and I helped him do a bit of tweaking to a lot of the characters before he came and put them up here. I drove 5 hours to his house to spend about 3 straight days playtesting these armies with him (and it was a ton of fun). I figured I would add to the thread by giving some of my comments after playing a few games with each of the units (although I might lump some factions together, unless people are interested in hearing more of what I have to say).

I'll just start with what was uploaded first...

Gnolls (Common)

Spoiler Alert!

Gnoll Raiders common squad of gnolls
Gnoll (D&D Aberrations) repainted
Gnoll Sergeant (D&D Giants of Legend) repainted
Gnoll Barbarian (D&D Blood War) repainted

Gnoll Brute uncommon gnoll hero
Gnoll Maraduer (D&D Dungeons of Dread) repainted

Hyena common beast hero
Hunting Hyena (D&D War of the Dragon Queen)

These guys were the first ones that Scytale sent me, and it immediately got me interested in seeing everything he had made. I don't know why but I've always loved Gnolls in D&D and I was very excited that he had made units for them.

My initial thought when seeing this army was the same as dalu's, "Pack Attack and Harry combined can be devastating." I was really concerned about this and brought it up, but Scytale assured me of the same, that it doesn't actually happen that often. After playtesting them, I feel comfortable agreeing with him. I honestly don't even remember getting Pack Attack all that often, unless you can successfully isolate a hero. The Gnoll Raiders aren't that fast, and as long as a person remembers that you have Pack Attack, it's not too difficult to maneuver around it. However, I think that the Gnolls having the capability of getting either Harry or Pack Attack on a semi-regular basis is what really makes these guys on par with other common melee squads. The fact that they have only 3 figures in their unit really keeps Pack Attack + Harry from getting out of hand.

Anyway, a note on the heroes. I love the Hyena, I've loved it from the first time I saw it. I'm not sure what exactly struck me about this unit, but I immediately thought it was a great design. It could have been either Animal Instincts or Harry (I like them both a lot), or maybe it was just the fact that there was a new 20 point unit choice that could fit into a lot of armies. The Gnoll Brute is pretty straight forward, but adds a big hitter to the Gnoll army. Maybe he doesn't hit all that hard on his own (only 1 more attack die than the Raiders), but if you're going to get Pack Attack, bonding with him increases your chances greatly. Moving 4 Gnolls on a turn will give you a much better chance than moving 3. Not to mention this guy most likely won't die in one hit, so he'll be in the thick of battle longer.

Overall I give the Gnolls a big thumbs up. I think they are a lot of fun to play. Their bonding and Pack Attack + Harry potential make them powerful, but their 3 figure common squad keeps them in check. I'll comment on Dagnyr when I get to Heroes of the Sindian Fields.

Beasts and the Drider (Common)

Spoiler Alert!

Black Bear common beast hero
Celestial Black Bear (D&D Aberrations)

Cougar common beast hero
Hunting Cougar (D&D War Drums)

Panther common beast hero
Guenhwyvar (D&D Underdark)

Drider Fanglord uncommon drow/arachnid hero (single-based)
Drider Fanglord (D&D Savage Encounters)

Scytale hadn't told me there were more beasts than the Hyena from the Gnoll army, so I was surprised when he showed me 3 more and a Beast Master, but I was pretty excited another army of common heroes (like the elemental army before them).

The Black Bears are definitely tough in melee combat, but a good ranged unit or a first strike from a melee unit can pick them off fairly easily. When I first saw the Black Bear I thought it was too good for his points, but when you think of them as a 3 figure unit for 75 points (since that is one of their major intentions) they're balance becomes a lot more clear. They are a tough melee 3 figure unit, or just 25 point filler, but they are surprisingly fragile because of their 5 speed (what can you expect from a bear walking on 2 legs right?). Although, like with all of these animal figures, an opponent needs to be aware of the Animal Instincts ability.

The Cougar has honestly never seemed like anything too special to me, but it's a cheap special attack and a figure that costs that awkward number of 15 points. They'll die fast and they won't hit terribly hard, but when they move up with a group of other units (either while bonding or because of Animal Instincts) they can give you an extra one or two, 2 die attacks that will easily kill some Warriors of Ashera. I also like how this figure actually looks. It's my favorite of all of Scytale's animal figures.

Panthers are the ranged killers of the Beast Tamer Army. There's no doubt about that. They are fast, can't be shot from a distance and get extra attack dice when moving into combat. They will tear up any ranged units that got separated from the rest of their army. At first I thought they were too cheap for what they did, but after playing them, they either die quickly once they've made their initial charge or they aren't a huge factor as long as you stay engaged with them.

Overall, I didn't have too many complaints about these heroes, although I had to be convinced of some of their prices, and after playing with them, I was pretty well convinced. I'll comment on their army as a whole when I get to the Heroes of Sindian pack.

I've got to go for now, but I'll pick up with the Drider Fanglord when I get back.

[Scytale]

Thanks PCServBot! There is a great deal of value in getting the perspective of a playtester other than the designer. Hopefully your comments will provide insight into how these units play when on the battlefield.

New set up today. Cultists to go along with the previous update, more soulborg for Valkrill, some treants, and the missing lizardfolk hero.

[PCServbot]

Alright, moving on...

Spoiler Alert!

Drider Fanglord uncommon drow/arachnid hero (single-based)
Drider Fanglord (D&D Savage Encounters)

When Scytale told me he was filling out the Drow army a bit more, I was excited. I really like Drow, but to be honest, wasn't blown away by the official Drow units that had come out. First off, the Drider looks awesome, but of course that's less important than how it plays. It's really nice to have another Arachnid available to choose from for the Drow army, and I guess another Drow to blow up with Pelloth (although I wouldn't suggest it unless really necessary). I do think these guys fit into any army pretty well, but they give something to the Drow army that I think it really important. The Drow don't have large numbers and they don't bond, which to me means they move pretty slow and they are likely to get overwhelmed by guys. The Drider can really give the Drow the tool they need to not get completely overwhelmed. Immobilizing Web is an awesome ability that really doesn't work all the time, but it scares away heroes, and it's bound to work on a group of charging melee unit a time or two. It gives the Drow heroes time to move up and the Deepwyrm a chance to maneuver and get their best attacks. Filling this niche makes these guys feel like a completely natural fit into the Drow army. However, these guys aren't my favorite Drow that Scytale added...

Well, I just thought I'd drop this in here quick. I'll add more in a little while.

[Typhon2222]

Out of curiosity, how are you gents fitting the Drider Fanglord to 'Scape hexes? We bought the figure with something similar in mind (a 'general'-style figure for the Drow), but it spills over more than two hexes. Its footprint is simply too big to fit. We're considering chopping off the front two legs....