C3V/SoV-inclusive Power Rankings

[Arch-vile]

I am also probably too generous with guessing the ranking for VC units. I view a "B" unit as an average unit - not overpowered/metagame defining yet it has the ability to compete with top-tier armies, though it will probably lose to the top tier armies more often than it wins. A "B" unit always feels playable, unlike say, all the Thralls but the Bloodburst, who often feel outclassed by nearly any other squad when not fighting heroes.

I'm not guessing the ranks for all the units, just the ones I feel like I know well enough. The cheap solo heroes are much tougher to rank because you can't build an army around them.

Xualtiaca Fire Ants: B. Swarm Sting is brutal. The Ants are fast. Low defense keeps them in check. They are a major threat to any army that can't kill Ants quickly.

Zettian Deathwings: B. Great defense and mobility for a squad, plus they can do some major damage with Detonation. They're better when not the core of an army, IMO.

Achillean Gladiatrix: A-. It's a ranged common Gladiator hero. Yeah, it's good. Crixus is overall more consistent, but the Gladiatrices allow Capuan builds at more point totals.

20th Maine: A-. So much fun to pair with Romans, and causes opponents to make bad decisions to avoid Downhill Attack. The 20th are a very solid squad yet are quite difficult to use effectively since you're juggling OMs around each round.

Tomb Skeleton Archers: C+. Very weak offensively and you can't use a screen to protect them, but super cheap and has long range. Great against ranged units with 6 or less range, but their weakness to melee kills them.

Beorn Boltcutter: B+. Sabotage is much stronger than upgrade when it applies. But upgrade is really useful when you upgrade Zetacron or Omegacron. Axegrinders + Beorn + one of the Jandar borgs is the way to go, IMO. Being a cheap 5th attack for the Axegrinders makes Beorn worthwhile; the Upgrades and Sabotages are just bonuses.

The Varja: ??? My few games with the Varja were very swingy. The Varja has the ability to wipe out your entire army while you helplessly can't make a move. But it can also be surrounded by your melee troops and hacked down easily (3 defense is low). I think the Varja will be a force to be reckoned with in tournaments, but I'm not sure it's consistent enough to win one.

Bramcephys: B to B+. Bram is a big target and doesn't have the firepower most big Dragons have. But he has a good defensive power and when Enraged can cause a lot of damage. The reason 4 defense + Evil Eye is bad on Torin and Gurei-Oni is because neither of those units is a threat offensively. Bram is very much a threat.

[Smithy Winfred]

As it seems people are conflicted on the rating for the Varja, I thought I would give my humble opinion.

I played two games with him, and one against me, all three times he was able to shift the power of the game, he not only can dominate a lot of powerful units (I had him take out 2 squads of 4th Mass by himself) if he gets lucky with his storm power, he can ruin your opponent's strategy, not only that, he still has enough life to survive if he does get tied up by melee squaddies, but he also can move away and shoot them from range. I simply think that any unit that is totally feared by top tier units like Krav Maga, the 4th Mass, and the Blast+Glads combo should be something to be feared, even if he does have his occasional weaknesses. -A/A

Btw, by far my favorite single unit C3V has released so far. My friend is a huge fan of the new Gladiator, he ran it last night and loved it, it really is a cool way to get the steamroller mechanic into a tournament point army.

[Rich10]

Zettian Deathwings: I'm not sure how they aren't an A- or better. I played a couple of games with them and found that they could wreck heroes and defensive lines with their Detonation Special Attack. They seemed to be a very potent rats, Raelin, Q9, Krug, Nilfheim, ... counter. Combined with a very good defense against range (including special attacks), I would think that 200 pts (or so) of the ZD's would be a very powerful part of an army.

[Foudzing]

It's only 5 attack, nothing incredible, and they don't have stealth Flying to get to the heroes easily.

[Rich10]

Originally Posted by Foudzing

It's only 5 attack, nothing incredible, and they don't have stealth Flying to get to the heroes easily.

I used them as a screen buster to get to Q9, but found that they took out a few rats and Q9. I'll agree that one game doesn't make a ranking, but they looked pretty good to me.

[caps]

Lol. FWIW Garret was not designed as a "Krav counter." He's just another cowboy with another neat, themey Wild West type power. 3 attack with 7 range isn't terrible. Of course other units are better, but he's more of a theme guy than a shake-up-the-metagame guy.

[Dad_Scaper]

Originally Posted by Foudzing

I gree, he was designed to counter the Kravs,

You are adorable.

[Just_a_Bill]

Garrett is a big theme win. Nice sculpt, great name, fun powers, and affordable (both his draft cost and the mini price). Regardless of his letter grade, he'll see play at my table. The new Old West figures have me right on the verge of spraypainting some glaciers/outcrops to look like the desert rocks we almost got. (If I haven't already done it by the time we get the Teeth of Makwa, they will probably put me over the edge.)

[Foudzing]

I dunno 2 years ago someone presented him to me as, word for word, "the Krav counter", I am a little bit disapointed waiting 2 years for this. He explained to me the power I was like "hmm good good", the power is good but with such weak firepower it's just not effective at all.

Originally Posted by Just_a_Bill

Garrett is a big theme win. Nice sculpt, great name, fun powers, and affordable (both his draft cost and the mini price). Regardless of his letter grade, he'll see play at my table. The new Old West figures have me right on the verge of spraypainting some glaciers/outcrops to look like the desert rocks we almost got. (If I haven't already done it by the time we get the Teeth of Makwa, they will probably put me over the edge.)

Originally Posted by capsocrates

Lol. FWIW Garret was not designed as a "Krav counter." He's just another cowboy with another neat, themey Wild West type power.

Wtf guys, this thread is not about rating the theme nor the fun. It's about rating the strengh of the figure in a competitive environment.
The question is not "Do you like this figure?" but "Is this figure strong?"

Originally Posted by capsocrates

3 attack with 7 range isn't terrible

In a competitive setup, it's very weak, you're basically doing nothing with a single attack of 3 per turn. If he had some synergies why not, but as a standalone he can be to easily ignored by the opponent.

Or maybe being weak is part of the cow-boy theme and that's why you made 2 weaks cowboy on purpose.

[Dad_Scaper]

Originally Posted by Foudzing

I dunno 2 years ago someone presented him to me as, word for word, "the Krav counter", I am a little bit disapointed waiting 2 years for this.

Oh, no! "Someone" has leaked all of our secret information! And he had access to *everything*!!

Well, thank you for explaining what the thread was for, because I thought it was a thread for wild guesses and rumor-mongering, but apparently I was mistaken.

On a serious note: Like everything we make, Garrett was intended to be played with. If you don't like him, don't play with him. I am both sorry for, and uninterested in, your disappointment.

edit: Nice try on the edit, but I caught it first.

[Foudzing]

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

On a serious note: Like everything we make, Garrett was intended to be played with. If you don't like him, don't play with him. I am both sorry for, and uninterested in, your disappointment.

At the beginning at didn't say that I don't like him or that i was disapointed, because that's not the point of this thread, I said he's weak. If you disagree, I would be pleased to hear your arguments, instead of basically saying "Yes he's weak, if you don't like him, your problem"...

[Dad_Scaper]

Excellent! I am pleased to hear it.