Heroscapers
Go Back   Heroscapers > Official Valhalla HeroScape > Official Units
Official Units Discussion of official HeroScape units

Notices


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old May 17th, 2007, 02:04 AM
dnutt99's Avatar
dnutt99 dnutt99 is offline
 
Join Date: September 7, 2006
Location: CA - Oakland
Posts: 1,293
dnutt99 has disabled reputation
The Book of Shades of Bleakewoode

The Book of Shades of Bleakewoode
Dawn of Darkness - Collection 6 - "Shades and Orcs"


If you cannot see the Army Card graphic, check Hasbro's Unit Page for stats and special powers, plus "character biography" and other non-game unit info.

Character Bio: In the heart of Bleakwoode lies a great source of magic. It is rumored to make the trees grow to incredible heights, and to grow dark, move in close to each other, and shut out the light. Foul creatures dwell in the everlasting night they create. The power of perverse creation is so strong in Bleakwoode that some say souls are born in that place- empty, hateful souls. (Hasbro)


_________________________________________________________________
-Rulings and Clarifications-
  • - SOUL DEVOUR : How Many Shades Can Attempt
    If I have more than 3 Shades of Bleakewoode engaged with unique heroes at the start of my turn, can I attempt Soul Devour with all of them or just one squads worth?
    You may attempt Soul Devour with ALL Shades of Bleakewoode that are engaged with unique heroes at the start of your turn. (dnutt99)

    - STEALTH FLYING : Walking Away From Engagements
    Do Shades of Bleakewoode have disengage when walking?
    No. If a Shade of Bleakewoode’s flying power is negated, or if it decides to walk away from an engagement, it will take any leaving engagement strikes. If a Shade of Bleakewoode begins their move engaged and chooses to fly, it will not take any leaving engagement swipes. (dnutt99)
_________________________________________________________________
-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received
  • - DUMUTEF GUARD : Devourer Attack Enhancement
    As Devourers, Shades of Bleakewoode may benefit from Dumutef Guard’s DEVOURER ATTACK ENHANCEMENT.

Synergy Benefits Offered
  • - N/A
C3V and SoV Custom Synergies
Spoiler Alert!

_________________________________________________________________
-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-
  • - TBA

_________________________________________________________________
-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Power Ranking and Master Index
Quote:
Originally Posted by MKSentinel
Power Ranking
Shades of Bleakewoode- Though a high “cool” factor, the Shades are the worst thing to come out of wave 6.
Seven stealth flying can be handy at times, though. C-

Shades of Bleakwoode
Effectiveness? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=7468
Color? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=7633
Soul Devour Clarified? http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ead.php?t=8375
Ghosts? http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ead.php?t=7437
Multiple Engaged? http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ead.php?t=4996


Unit Strategy Review
Unit Strategy Review: Shades of Bleakewoode

Last edited by R˙chean; April 11th, 2015 at 03:35 PM. Reason: VC synergy added
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old May 17th, 2007, 04:27 AM
DingoDarkly's Avatar
DingoDarkly DingoDarkly is offline
 
Join Date: May 24, 2006
Location: USA - California - San Diego
Posts: 33,081
DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa
I only realised the other day that the shades could be enhanced by Dumutef.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old May 18th, 2007, 02:57 PM
Chimpy's Avatar
Chimpy Chimpy is offline
 
Join Date: August 21, 2006
Location: Rochester, MN
Posts: 2,962
Chimpy knows what's in an order marker Chimpy knows what's in an order marker
Base a Competitive Army Around: Shades of Bleakewoode
• Round IV
http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ead.php?t=6314

EDIT: This is one thread I you need to read if you want to widen the strategic value of the shades. Several people cast very different views on both how the shades should be used, what their weaknesses are, and what works best with them. Overall nice discussion.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old May 18th, 2007, 04:15 PM
GForce3062's Avatar
GForce3062 GForce3062 is offline
 
Join Date: November 3, 2006
Location: VA - Richmond
Posts: 2,154
GForce3062 has disabled reputation
I've had some insane luck with these guys using their Soul Devour ability. I've devoured 3 figures with them- Raelin, Kiova, and Hatamato Taro. All of which were during games played with my mom. There 7 move plus Stealth Flying is really good, and 4 defense isn't bad either. But 2 attack won't get it done.... which is why you use that Stealth Flying and 7 move to get height! And 3 att. 5 def.

Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old May 20th, 2007, 07:39 PM
mathguy's Avatar
mathguy mathguy is offline
math olympian
 
Join Date: May 10, 2006
Location: USA - Hawaii
Posts: 610
mathguy is inducted into the Halls of Valhalla mathguy is inducted into the Halls of Valhalla mathguy is inducted into the Halls of Valhalla mathguy is inducted into the Halls of Valhalla mathguy is inducted into the Halls of Valhalla mathguy is inducted into the Halls of Valhalla mathguy is inducted into the Halls of Valhalla mathguy is inducted into the Halls of Valhalla mathguy is inducted into the Halls of Valhalla
The Shades of Bleakewoode is only the second unit that probabilistically has a better than 50% chance of beating Krug, namely 63.7%. (The other unit is Sudema, with 61.6%.) The Shades accomplish this against Krug by skipping their normal attack, and only attempting to devour. If they use their normal attack also, then they only have a 46.8% chance.

So, strategically for Krug, the best would be to disengage so that Krug attacks the Shades one at a time so that Krug is only adjacent to only one Shade at the end of Krug's move. (And the Shades are better off choosing NOT to take the free swipe at Krug.). Hmmm, I'll have to calculate what the odds are in this scenario.... (The matchup calculator is not set up to do such a weird scenario. I'll have to custom calculate it.)

Okay, I just did the custom calculation and in the scenario where Krug can maneuver to engage only one Shade at a time, the Shades' win percentage drops to 30.9%. So the 63.7% number is only when Krug can't maneuver sufficiently. And I imagine it is somewhere in between the two numbers if Krug can maneuver only a little.

[edited to include the second scenario numbers]
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old May 20th, 2007, 10:57 PM
playa1's Avatar
playa1 playa1 is offline
 
Join Date: May 31, 2006
Location: IL - Champaign
Posts: 827
playa1 knows what's in an order marker playa1 knows what's in an order marker
I have rarely seen a game where soul devour has not had some effect -- and never in cases where two squads of shades were used. I feel that these guys are better than what their power ranking suggests, but I know they have some severe drawbacks which makes them very risky tournament figures:

First, there's the all squad enemy. Without soul devour, these guys will never pull their weight -- so an all squad enemy (even a unique squad) will assure they are a liability. Samauri armies without the flagbearer and Kaemon will be very effective against the shades. Leading a Samauri army with the Tagawa and other unique samauri squads is a good counter for a shade draft. Also, an all 4th Mass line army would do well against the Shades. A shade army better have some kind of effective anti-squad backup in a tournament.

Also, without stealth flying, these guys are not effective: A Gladiatron army will be very effective, since Gladiatrons can still hold them in place. A shade army facing gladiatrons should concentrate on eliminating the Glads with ranged units and then move in with shades. This will be a very difficult task.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old May 20th, 2007, 11:14 PM
Chimpy's Avatar
Chimpy Chimpy is offline
 
Join Date: August 21, 2006
Location: Rochester, MN
Posts: 2,962
Chimpy knows what's in an order marker Chimpy knows what's in an order marker
@playa 1

I would disagree with you on one point: it is high defense squads, not squads, that the Shades have trouble fighting.

The Shades can take on the Microcorp, Romans, or Orc Archers and win any day. They have the defense to stay alive when these guys target them, and the mobility to strike them when they don't expect them. I see the shades as the ultimate killer of ranged units.

Of course, this does not work against high defense squads. The samurai eat Shades for breakfast. Minions and Sentinels kill them upon engagement. Any squad that does not die fast to the weak attacks of the Shades will in turn destroy them.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old May 21st, 2007, 05:29 AM
DingoDarkly's Avatar
DingoDarkly DingoDarkly is offline
 
Join Date: May 24, 2006
Location: USA - California - San Diego
Posts: 33,081
DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa DingoDarkly is a puppet of Ne-Gok-Sa
I played a castle game yesterday and found it quite difficult to keep the dumutef guard and shades together, mainly because the DG doesn't fly!
It was an Utgar Vs Einar&Castle and all but one of Utgar's Special Attackers had been wiped out so i was going to use the Shades to fly over the wall and Soul Devour a hero or two, so i couldn't keep the DG together with the Shades.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old May 21st, 2007, 01:55 PM
Revdyer's Avatar
Revdyer Revdyer is offline
Our Invaluable & Highly Esteemed Resident Chaplain
 
Join Date: May 9, 2006
Location: AR - Little Rock
Posts: 13,323
Images: 11
Blog Entries: 18
Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth Revdyer is a man of the cloth
Quote:
Originally Posted by dnutt99
Quote:
Originally Posted by Revdyer
I want to make sure that I'm playing the Shades correctly. With the devour, if I happen to have five Shades next to unique figures (granted, an unlikely, but possible situation), and have a turn marker on my Shades card, do I get to roll for devour for all five of my adjacent Shades (the way I've been playing it) or only the three that will eventually "move" (even if they move zero)?
Rev, I'm shocked!!! That's the first Q&A given in the 'rulings and clarifications' section,...
Be shocked. It just seems too good to be true, as I build 400 points of a 500 point army out of Shades. The card wording is slightly ambiguous ("before moving" can be interpreted as "well, only three are going to move, so only three can try to devour"), so I wanted to be very, very sure. (Too busy doing the indexing actually to read all 102 of these.)
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old May 24th, 2007, 10:03 AM
playa1's Avatar
playa1 playa1 is offline
 
Join Date: May 31, 2006
Location: IL - Champaign
Posts: 827
playa1 knows what's in an order marker playa1 knows what's in an order marker
Quote:
Originally Posted by Revdyer
Quote:
Originally Posted by dnutt99
Quote:
Originally Posted by Revdyer
I want to make sure that I'm playing the Shades correctly. With the devour, if I happen to have five Shades next to unique figures (granted, an unlikely, but possible situation), and have a turn marker on my Shades card, do I get to roll for devour for all five of my adjacent Shades (the way I've been playing it) or only the three that will eventually "move" (even if they move zero)?
Rev, I'm shocked!!! That's the first Q&A given in the 'rulings and clarifications' section,...
Be shocked. It just seems too good to be true, as I build 400 points of a 500 point army out of Shades. The card wording is slightly ambiguous ("before moving" can be interpreted as "well, only three are going to move, so only three can try to devour"), so I wanted to be very, very sure. (Too busy doing the indexing actually to read all 102 of these.)
Sure it sounds too good to be true, but the trick is getting them there without being killed: Having 12 shades should be pretty effective, but they are costly for 3 figs, and losing one of them can hurt. I have never seen enough survive to have more than 3 adjacent at a time, but it is cool soul devouring with the three and then still moving 3 other shades ...

Also, remember Rev, they can only devour Unique heroes, Unique squads are immune to them and are all very effective against them.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old May 24th, 2007, 10:10 AM
playa1's Avatar
playa1 playa1 is offline
 
Join Date: May 31, 2006
Location: IL - Champaign
Posts: 827
playa1 knows what's in an order marker playa1 knows what's in an order marker
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jandars_Hope
I played a castle game yesterday and found it quite difficult to keep the dumutef guard and shades together, mainly because the DG doesn't fly!
It was an Utgar Vs Einar&Castle and all but one of Utgar's Special Attackers had been wiped out so i was going to use the Shades to fly over the wall and Soul Devour a hero or two, so i couldn't keep the DG together with the Shades.
I have also found that coupling the shades with the Dumetef is a waste of time. The limited mobility that the Dumetef has makes trying to use the devourer bonus a liability rather than an advantage. However, It's pretty cool having shades fly right through castle walls isn't it? They are fun to play against castles -- fly in and open the door just to tick off your enemy.

Also, use the Shades early in any game where they are advantageous against heroes -- they are not endgame figs. You use them first and scare the hell out of his Krug or Kaemon while you can. It's no use taking control of a Kaemon or Braxas with one life left -- you lose the ghost to do it, and by the time you can use the new fig, she'll be dead! The only exception to this is armies with Samauri or lots of commons, but I'd even send in the shades first against a Samauri army with Taro as the only hero. It's fun seeing his army have to kill their own flagbearer!
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old May 24th, 2007, 12:05 PM
MattserTruckRally's Avatar
MattserTruckRally MattserTruckRally is offline
GenCon Main Event Champion - 2007, 2009, & 2012
 
Join Date: September 25, 2006
Location: OH - Columbus
Posts: 813
MattserTruckRally rolls all skulls baby! MattserTruckRally rolls all skulls baby! MattserTruckRally rolls all skulls baby! MattserTruckRally rolls all skulls baby! MattserTruckRally rolls all skulls baby! MattserTruckRally rolls all skulls baby!
Quote:
Originally Posted by playa1

Sure it sounds too good to be true, but the trick is getting them there without being killed: Having 12 shades should be pretty effective, but they are costly for 3 figs, and losing one of them can hurt. I have never seen enough survive to have more than 3 adjacent at a time, but it is cool soul devouring with the three and then still moving 3 other shades ...

Also, remember Rev, they can only devour Unique heroes, Unique squads are immune to them and are all very effective against them.
You know I never realized that and still engaged 2 Tagawa Samurai with them trying to take them over. I just ended up attacking them and killing them instead.

As far as the Shades go remember two things. Take advantage of terrain and height. With 7 movement and stealth flying you can usually find safe landing areas up high, behind trees, large glaciers, etc.

One other neat trick is taking advantage of a low initiative roll. If your #3 is the last unit to move for the turn you should move those Shades onto an enemy hero and hope to win an initiative roll. I took an enemy Jotun this way!

Grenade lobbyist
Reply With Quote
Reply

Go Back   Heroscapers > Official Valhalla HeroScape > Official Units
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:38 PM.

Heroscape background footer

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.