Halloween Custom Contest R1: Poll A

[Lamaclown]

Please vote for the entry you feel best fulfills the following:
1. Does the entry bring out the theme of the holiday?
2. Is the entry reasonably compatible with official HS game mechanics and rules?
3. Does the entry seem balanced pointwise?
4. Is the wording of the powers reasonably compatible with official wording

The design that gets the most votes will proceed to the next round. In the event of a tie for top spot, all cards in the tie will proceed to the next round.

Contest Details and Rules

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Machinekng

Spoiler Alert!

Name:
The Dullahan is a creature from Celtic mythology. An unseelie faerie, the Dullahan took on the appearance of a decapitated knight or rider, and was a harbinger of death.

This legend became the inspiration for successive myths of headless horsemen, most notably the Headless Horsemen from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by the American author, Washington Irving (who also wrote "Rip Van Winkle.") This horseman is often portrayed as having a pumpkin to replace its removed head, and this portrayal obviously lead into the figure design.

Theme:
There are numerous concepts that are crelated to Halloween, but the one that seems most present in the media and in popular culture is horro,r and accordingly, horror movies. Dullahan is based on the concept of a slasher flick villian, a psychotic and often supernatural force of evil and violence.

Left-Bar Stats

Undead: There were two choices regarding race. Either Dullahan was an Undead, as the Headless Horseman of Irving's story, or a Demon, the closest offical heroscape race to Faerie. I could have used Faerie, but Dullahan is so divorced from the original myth that it would be unthematic.

I choose Undead due to the numerous Undead syneregies in classic 'scape, C3V, and fan 'scape.

Unique Hero: I considered at one point of calling the figure a Headless Haunt, and making it Uncommon, but I decided against it for thematic and balance reasons.

Hewer: As a Slasher flick villian, the appropriate class for Dullahan would need to be sinominus with 'killer.' Hewer fit the bill.

Maniacal: I considered Terrifying for Dullahan, but decided against it. Terrifying does not aptly describe a creature's personality, but rather its effect on others. Maniacal describes the pyschotic personality behind Dullahan's evil, and further connects him with the concept of a slasher flick villian.


Right-Bar Stats

As an Undead monstrosity, I felt that Dullahan's vital force, his life, would only be average, but due to his powerful build and armor, his attack and defense would be slightly above average.

Decapitate:

All slasher flick villians have their respective murder methods, and what better method for Dullahan than one that ties back into the myhtology behind him? In mechanical terms, this allows for an autokill on the majority of squad figures. Dullahan's attack of 4 allows him to kill many squad figures on a regular attack, but Decapitate gives him an edge against high defense squad figures, such as the Setinels of Jandar and the Minions of Utgar.

Horrifying Carnage:

Dullahan needed a mechanic to reflect his ability terrify others, and this mechanic works well. It reflects that while slasher flick extras generally flee the villian, the star is often made of strudier stuff. Mechanicly, this ability is superb at decimating rat screens, if it works. My only reservation is on a lava map.

Role Summary:

Dullahan is best for a competive game. He is an exceelent counter to squads in general, and eats Deathreavers for breakfast. In a competitive enviorment, he is a Menacer. His higher defense allows him to take a good few hits before going down, and his abilities only require occasional order markers, once he is in a central position.

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wilabill 1


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tcglkn


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Taeblewalker


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TheSparkleInYourWater


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Scytale


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'Scaper94

[awesomeunleashed]

My vote goes to Entry 5. While I like the stuff befind Entries 1, 3, & 7, I do not feel that they bring out the theme of Halloween. I thought #5, with its Trick or Treat power, best brought out the theme of Halloween, though #4 was pretty close.


(Psst. Hey Lamaclown. Are we allowed to comment like this?)

[Lamaclown]

Originally Posted by awesomeunleashed

(Psst. Hey Lamaclown. Are we allowed to comment like this?)

Absolutely!

I hope most people will post their comments on why they voted as they did.

It will be helpful to the designers to hear it as well.

[awesomeunleashed]

Originally Posted by Lamaclown

Absolutely!

I hope most people will post their comments on why they voted as they did.

It will be helpful to the designers to hear it as well.

I was just wondering if you didn't want a designer of one the entries (not necessarily in this poll) to be commenting.

[qt.bangerang]

Going with #3 here...good job on wording and use of powers that already exist.

[Arch-vile]

I voted for #4, Monster Mash is a very cool and thematic power. I almost picked 1, because Decapitate is very thematic as well.

[mac122]

Originally Posted by qt.bangerang

Going with #3 here...good job on wording and use of powers that already exist.

That's not yours, too, is it?

[faure]

I thought #3 and #6 were closest to the spirit of the theme and the figure. Opted for the All Hallows Eve choice.

[Killometer]

I've always been very intrigued by the Revenant's Tome treasure glyph, and I like how it was thematically recycled for entry 3.

[tcglkn]

3 is a really good use of a Glyph power converted for the card. I think the theme represents what Halloween is.

[Yodaking]

I liked 3, 4, & 6 quite a bit. Went with #6 for my vote. I like the Terrifying Presence aura effect. It makes you want to put order markers on him in order to move him around as well as boost it's effectiveness.

[ullarted]

I think entry 5 is the best. While the card could have been slightly better, I like the theme quite a bit.