Raelin/4th Massachusetts Line... why are they the best?

[TGRF]

Greetings, one and all! I am venturing out of the safe haven of the fan art and fiction forum in a quest for variety, and thought I would stop by here to ask a quick and simple question.
In my HeroScape experience (not the best) I have often been reminded of the Raelin/4th Massachusetts army. Many have said that it is the absolute best army you can have, or something along those lines. Is this so? And if so, why? What makes that army in particular so good that everyone here recommends it?
Obviously, you have the right mix of units. The 4th Mass offer a good ranged attack with four units, for a fairly cheap price. Raelin is clearly considered one of the best figures in the game, as everyone recommends her. She is low in cost, but provides an extra two defense, which can make the difference between victory and defeat for a figure. (I know that there si a lto more factors taht influence the outcome, but I am slightly short on time here, so you will forgive me if I do not post them all at the moment)
HOWEVER, Why this particular army? Raelin is indeed probably the best for defensive boosts, but surely there are others that could replace the line. Is the Raelin/Line army the absolute best combo for that army type? Or could another ranged squad perform just as well? Perhaps a hero could be fit in? If you switched out the Line for something else, would it still be able to stand against the drones, as I believe the line would probably be able to do so most of the time?
I leave the answers to these questions in your capable hands, my more experienced fellow 'scapers. If you feel inclined to help out a not-so-strategy-savvy 'scaper, feel free to post a reply. Thanks.
~ Game on, TGRF.

P.S. TO sum it up, what makes the Raelin/4th Mass army so good, and could it perform just as well, if something was switched out? Thanks again!

[Killometer]

I wouldn't go so far as to say that 4th Mass is "the best" army, but is is one of the top three in HS's paper/rock/scissors set up (4th Mass<rats+Q9<heavy Gruts<4th Mass).

The keys with all those armies' success are OM efficiency and numbers.

OM efficiency-If you can run all your units off just 1 or 2 cards it makes OM placement much easier, minimizing lost turns when OMs are placed on units that, for whatever reason (dead, poor placement, etc) can't be used fully. And when you activate those units you get a lot of bang for your buck-4th, Heavies and Q9 can all lay out numerous powerful attacks in a single turn.

Numbers-Having lots of units on the board offers many advantages. Most obviously, if one dies, you have another to replace them. Also, you gain map control-you can spread out you units to claim a large part of the map to dictate where fights occur, you have units in place to take advantage of your opponents moves, you can claim glyphs, etc.

[ROADRAGE]

I also wouldn't go that far and say their the absolute best. 4th mass have many reliable counters like Zelrig and Krav maga and many others, heck in one tournament I had goblin cutters tear my 4th up.

Raelin definately helps out your army but still can acidfied or chilled touch in one swift blow, so theirs no gurantees. She is a solid choice with many army groups in particular ranged ones.

I also noticed your in the local area, you should test some of those combinations and come play in the tournament on the 24th, here is the link
http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ad.php?t=37401

[TGRF]

Thanks for your opinions, guys. That evaluation was quite helpful, Kilometer. I can see the advantages of OM placement, as that is what I won with with my marro army. (Then Neo informed me that Nagrubs were Nagrubs, not marro, and I watched my best army fall apart.) Numbers is something I had always considered too, though not quite as much. However, is numbers better than power? I'm not totally sure on this. Say Tor-Kul-Na or someone came along and stamped out all of your squads? He then has the power to come along and wipe everyone else out, especially if he has some Nagrubs for a snack. I can see where numbers can be good for mobilization, but once they are mobilized, what's to keep them where you want them?

Roadrage, thanks for your evaluation, too. I agree that Raelin is a fairly solid figure. About the tournament, It might be fun to check out at a later date, but for now, I am 16, and therefore still in school. I cannot drive either, so that would be a problem. Thanks for telling about the tournament, though.

On a slightly different note, I came up with this during lunch today. It runs something like this: Raelin, for the defensive boost. Add in the Krav Maga (5 defense with stealth dodge), and you have a fairly solid defense. If you also put in some people with defense-related abilities, say warforged or Morgrimm, it should take longer than usual to take them out. Then they can run around adn take your enemy out. How do you think thsi would work against, say, one of those otehr armies that Kilometer mentioned above? I don't have a lot of figures, so I don't know of a lot. That's why I could use this advice. Thanks again, guys!

[Deroche]

Warforgedx4
Krav Maga
Raelin

500

This army made it into Day Two at this year's GenCon Main Event. Not bad against squad-heavy armies, but could have some trouble against high defense heroes if the Krav can't punch through with attacks from height.

[screwDriver]

Put Raelin together with the Krav Maga and Nakita Agents and you got some more extra defensive tactics plus some decent firepower. And add the necessary squads/heroes you want to complete the army. Major Q9 goes well in this setup.

[onibaku06]

I learned (the hard way, right killometer) about the importance of OM efficiency. In my first tournament, using the "Big Is Beautiful" format (base 460 points, but using huge sized figures gave bonus points). I used Krug, Frost Giant, Isamu, Krav Maga, Raelin and a squad of Axe grinders. My OM's were all over the place every other turn, and I had a lot of lost turns. Killometer stomped me into the dirt with stingers and minions. His OM efficiency was way better, and hence his victory.

I really don't think Raelin/4th is the "best army" but its a good one. Gotta keep in mind, this is a dice game, and as much tactics as you put into it, it all falls down to a roll of the dice.

[Killometer]

Yep. I knew that OM awkwardness would be a key balancing point of allowing armies with multiple Huge heroes so many more points.

[Margloth]

Another point that has not yet been brought up is the effectiveness of Raelin's defense boost in this army.

One of Raelin's main values is the fact that she "soaks" up a lot of the opponent's time and attacks, as they often are forced to kill her before they can effectively combat your forces. The beauty of the Raelin/4th Mass combo is that even once they spend the (likely) 1-3 OMs to kill her, when she dies, the 4th Mass still get a defense boost (+1 for all valiant army).

Essentially, you are forcing the opponent to either split their fire, concentrating on Raelin for several turns (meaning fewer 4th Mass losses, which translates to more attacks from the 4th Mass), or ignoring Raelin and killing far fewer 4th.

[TGRF]

That's a good point, Maqrgloth. I always considered the valiant army power a minor detail. With an army built like that, regardless of what your opponent does, you lose typically less 4th mass than you normally would.

[killercactus]

I personally think Raelin is terrible with 4th - she's only half as effective. I'll take another squad of 4th everytime I can.

[nyys]

Originally Posted by killercactus

I personally think Raelin is terrible with 4th - she's only half as effective. I'll take another squad of 4th everytime I can.

Yep, I had the same thought, the 4th already get a defensive boost with valiant defense (of which Raelin takes away).