Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion

[IshMEL]

As for checking synergies, you might consider the Hextreme spreadsheet. Even if you don't use it for tracking a collection, the List Builder function can help you find, say, all Utgar Human Champions or what have you, at least from the official roster.

[Scytale]

I haven't been able to think of an issue with Tactical Repositioning, so...

I vote to review Grommel Bronzewielder.

[caps]

I'm appeased by the new card. If there are other issues, we will catch them as we evaluate the new unit.

to review Grommel Bronzeweilder.

[UtahScott]

Originally Posted by Super Bogue

Hey folks, we've got new cards. Go see them.

Question on printing the high-quality cards (Have the same issue with the Samuel Brown card): What % do these have to be shrunk by to match actual army card size?

Thanks in advance.

[caps]

Originally Posted by UtahScott

Question on printing the high-quality cards (Have the same issue with the Samuel Brown card): What % do these have to be shrunk by to match actual army card size?

Thanks in advance.

If you're using the .pdfs, they should not need to be shrunk at all.

[qt.bangerang]

Originally Posted by Son of Arathorn

I would like to submit my custom, Grommel Bronzewielder, for SoV review:



Balance- Bronzewielder walks a fine line between commander and warrior, his two powers allowing him to move his own troops in reaction to an opponent’s actions, or put the hurt down on any opponent’s figures that make the mistake of clumping when he’s near, particularly high-cost squad figures. However, he is limited by his survivability. While his high life will keep him alive for a limited amount of time, the defense of 3 keeps his cost in check, forcing a player to use Axegrinders in order to ensure his survival against hordes or very big targets. Considering the value of order marker tricks, coupled with a semi-reliable D20 power and relatively reliable stats, rolled together in a nice little bonding package, 140 points seemed right after playtesting was concluded, not a significant change from what I had originally intended.

Playability- The powers are relatively simple. Tactical Repositioning might need a second glance, but it’s little more than an altered Scatter taking place at a different time in the turn process. The master stats are appropriate for the miniature, and for the design. Unlike most previous dwarf heroes, the mini is clearly lightly armored, thus contributing to both his move of 6 and defense of 3. His attack of 4 is on par with other dwarf heroes, and the life of 7 makes up for his less-than-stellar defense. As a small figure, Grommel Bronzewielder goes on a typical HeroScape single-hex base. As a dwarf, garbed in red and gold, hefting a war-hammer, I’d say he’s visually distinctive from other units, easily. The point value is slightly above previous dwarf heroes, but I think he deserves it, given his abilities to move his men and inflict heavy damage on a decent D20 roll.

Creativity- Bronzewielder brings in a new strain of dwarf hero, deviating somewhat from the trend of dwarves possessing some sort of defensive special power. Instead, he swaps it out for a nice way to mess around with your opponents plans by moving your dwarves out of danger (or into it). He can order his men to tie down a dangerous ranged figure, back away from a raging melee beat-stick, or simply snag a glyph. While he is the third dwarf hero to possess a D20 power, it is entirely distinct from the previous two, Hide in Darkness and Commander’s Strike. As a mixture of commander and melee fighter that can bring the hurt or reorganize the troops, Grommel Bronzewielder brings a whole new type of unit to Einar’s forces, not only in his powers, but in that he is the first dwarf to reach the imperialist armies. Small note here, Bronzewielder’s first name “Grommel” is derived from the respected WWII Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, known as the Desert Fox for his tactical prowess, while “Bronzewielder” is a simple play on the color of his armor.

Theme- As a species already being developed in ‘Scape, Grommel’s not breaking new ground on that front. Some eyebrows might be raised by Einar summoning a dwarf, but with the Aquilla monopoly on the species officially broken by C3V, and Grommel’s powers clearly illustrating a knowledge of battlefield tactics (not to mention the red and gold color scheme, very Einar/Roman), Einar is the perfect fit.

Accessibility- The figure name is #14 Warpriest of Moradin, from the D&D War Drums set:



Cool Stuff Inc has 12 in stock, Strikezoneonline has another 13 in stock, while Miniature Market has 79 in stock, plus a promo repaint for a bit more money (5 dollars rather than the 2 the mini typically goes for). The promo has another 81 in stock.

Thank you for you consideration,
~SoA

I wish he followed Aquilla, but I guess I have the C3V to blame for a dwarf not doing so.

I vote YES to review Grommel Bronzewielder.

[Super Bogue]

Grommel Bronzewielder by Son of Arathorn has received 4 Yea votes to review (Super Bogue, Scytale, capsocrates, and qt.bangerang) and moves on in the process.

[vegietarian18]

The Book of Cxurg'gyath is done and Tolamos is PMed. I'll give Tolamos one week from the time I PMed him yesterday to respond. If that is too long or not long enough, let me know and I will post it whenever the SoV desires.

[Scytale]

Wraith of Bleakwoode by qt.bangerang

When I first saw the Wraith of Bleakwoode I thought it was an interesting design. When I sat down to play it, I realized it was less interesting than it first appeared.

As a fast-moving hero the Wraith isn't bad for 100pts, but that's not why you draft it. You draft it to give improved survivability to your Shades of Bleakwoode. Shade Summoning gives all Shades you control an additional 40% chance of survival, with the penalty/bonus that the Shade is moved out of position. The Wraith by itself does not give as much value in an order marker as the Shades do, so you won't activate it until you're out of Shades. Actually, it's usually best not to activate it at all, as you want to keep it out of harm's way and starting zones are usually as safe as anything. On some maps it may be worth an early activation to move to a safer location, but that's about it. It's possible to move the Wraith closer to the front lines to have a closer point from which to launch Shades from, but that's risky since you don't want the Wraith to die until you get the most out of Shade Summoning.

After a Shade is attacked it has a chance of popping back to the Wraith, which is usually in your starting zone. At that point it's essentially the same as having purchased a bonus Shade at drafting time. After three Shades are summoned it is essentially the same as if you had simply purchased another squad of Shades for the 100pts, with the Wraith hero as a bonus. That's my issue with the unit: the Wraith really doesn't do anything or add any interesting gameplay value, it just increases the number of Shades you get per card (albeit with a random factor). At that point it's just a matter of numbers -- how many squads of Shades do you need before the Wraith provides a better value? (The answer is two: of the two squads 2.5 Shades are expected to Summon, of those 2.5 Shades 1 of them is expected to survive again, and then 0.4 of those, etc. One could also argue the Wraith gives enough value with even one squad of Shades, since you also get the Wraith as a hero.)

I should mention that the Wraith provides one tactical/gambling choice: Shade Summoning is optional. So you get the choice of whether to try for the Summoning role or let the Shade's fate be determined by defense dice. Four defense is reliable enough to shake off most 1-skull attacks, and it is often worth that gamble when sitting next to a hero. I did like that aspect.

But for the most part, the Wraith's only purpose is to, essentially, increase the number of Shades you get per card. That's kind of neat, but for a unit that does not provide much else I find it somewhat boring. A neat custom, especially as part of a scenario, but not SoV material.

I vote to induct the Wraith of Bleakwoode into the SoV.

[awesomeunleashed]

I suppose I'll post this again since Killo never did it... SB, could you change Priscus's card in the Display thread from Filthy's to the C3V version?

[Tiranx]

@Scytale

My favorite way to play the Wraith was to attack heroes with him. Having him already in place to position Shades adjacent to the hero you are attacking with the Wraith.

[Scytale]

Originally Posted by Tiranx

My favorite way to play the Wraith was to attack heroes with him. Having him already in place to position Shades adjacent to the hero you are attacking with the Wraith.

That's a possibility, but a painful one and hard to justify. Most of the Wraith's value is in his Shade-saving, which can vanish in a moment if you send the Wraith out to the front lines. Really, the optimal way to play him is to get the maximum use out of his Shade Summoning, which requires keeping him away from enemy fire. With the Shades as fast as they are, I found keeping the Wraith far away from the enemy was not really an issue for moving/attacking with Shades.