BiggaBullfrog's Customs - Update 3/28 - Just eight new cards

[Sir Heroscape]

Great custom! Seems very balanced. Love the Ambush ability...I may have to use it/variations of it in some of my own customs And I appreciate the rant

[TREX]

I have used an ability eerily close to ambush on an old weretiger custum i did a while back. Now i have to go see if i put it on here ever or see if i pulled it off when i revamped my customs. i hear you about play testing. If you only knew how much i have put in for hoss. Well over 100 games.

[obfuscatedhippo]

Wolf Huntress is really cool! At first glance seems powerful with Ambush but that can be countered with an X-order marker.

[BiggaBullfrog]

Thanks for the feedback y'all! The mechanic I used for Ambush (extra attack/negative defense against figures with no order marker) is definitely one I've seen a lot in CustomScape, and I'm surprised it never made it into Classic. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the C3V uses it (I think I remember seeing a concept unit with a draft of something similar when I got to look around the sanctum - and that's not an information leak, it's a tease for you to look forward to, assuming they kept it). I really like how it turned out on Pakhet because it gives her a great hunter feel as she looks for particular targets. It also makes her good against cheerleaders and figures that are activated through bonding, and it makes playing with and against her a lot of fun. I'm a fan of order marker mechanics for that reason.

[Sir Heroscape]

Yes I agree. I believe her ability enhances the order marker mechanic that makes Heroscape so unique. Her ability will make opponents think more about order marker management.

[Smurf_Scape]

Wow really loving your Pakhet the Huntress!

Added her to my list:
http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=53407

Look forward to playing with her!

[BiggaBullfrog]

Hey all! I'm back with some new units in the pipeline! I've got some good ones coming through that I'm really excited about. But the most recent one to make it through playtesting is:

Shield

When it comes to bodyguards, Shield is as tough and loyal as they come. He runs into battle alongside those he protects, ready to switch places with them at a moment's notice to shield them from harm.

I feel like this is a unit that would have been added to Heroscape eventually (I mean, not exactly this, but a bodyguard-type unit), and I know I've seen other variations of this power on other units. It's a tough power to nail down when it comes to wording, but I think I got it. It's also really tough to playtest, and I had to run through several variations of the figure before I found what worked just right. As is, Shield is great to protect your cheerleaders or damage dealers, but you need to put effort into bringing him up with them. Since I didn't want him to be too strong (as his ability could get out of hand if he was - a 10-life Raelin can, after all, be a pain), he doesn't play very well in competitive play, but if you have a dungeon crawl or casual game going on, he's a great choice to field.



Figure Used: Warforged Bodyguard (Dungeons and Dragons: War Drums)


As usual, I'm always looking to improve my custom-making skills, so feel free to let me know what you think!

[Ixe]

Shield
He's a little tough to position properly but probably would be pretty decent just to set him next to Raelin. Bodyguard is an interesting power but it reads a little clunky in that the guarded figure still rolls defense but he becomes the target of the attack after wounds are applied. Being that you can only apply it to normal attacks, switching him to the target after only matters for a few things (Deepwyrm Drow, anything else?). You could switch him to target before defense and clean up the language but that obviously makes the power much stronger. It doesn't protect quite as well against ranged squads but seems like it could be decent against even melee squads since he can switch his charge out of harm's way. Cool hero in any case.

[TREX]

Originally Posted by Ixe

Shield
He's a little tough to position properly but probably would be pretty decent just to set him next to Raelin. Bodyguard is an interesting power but it reads a little clunky in that the guarded figure still rolls defense but he becomes the target of the attack after wounds are applied. Being that you can only apply it to normal attacks, switching him to the target after only matters for a few things (Deepwyrm Drow, anything else?). You could switch him to target before defense and clean up the language but that obviously makes the power much stronger. It doesn't protect quite as well against ranged squads but seems like it could be decent against even melee squads since he can switch his charge out of harm's way. Cool hero in any case.

These are great points, I was thinking the same thing on multiple points but was too tired to post before going to bed last night. Switching him before the attack would represent him throwing himself in front of the individual and then rolling dice. From theme and mechanics this would work better. Otherwise this is a simple yet fun design for a bodyguard.

[TheAverageFan]

Indeed, the mere existence of Raelin alone makes Bodyguard-type units extremely difficult to make. When I designed one, I had to make it so the protected unit becomes temporarily Negated just to counteract her ridiculous Aura.

It's unfortunate, because it's a type of unit I'd like to see more of.

~TAF

[BiggaBullfrog]

Thanks for the response, guys! For the case of when to activate the switch, I play tested it multiple ways and found that I liked the after defense dice are rolled version better. I made it that way because, as Ixe and TAF said, switching before rolling defense dice means that, in the common case of switching with Raelin, the opponent would go from attacking a 3 defense figure to a 7 defense figure, which was just too much of a headache, especially for melee figures since Raelin is usually hiding at some kind of chokepoint anyway. I feel like there's a point where a power just becomes too annoying no matter how many points you attribute to it, and this crossed that line (especially when you had to fight through that plus Rats). Using the primary figure's defense dice means that Shield will usually be taking more damage, and also throws in some strategic value of deciding when to switch and how much damage to take. Thematically I think it also fits, as in my mind it's a kind of quick switch right before the first defender is hit, which leaves Shield open to the attacking figure's swing. A more controlled and prepared version of that where full defense is rolled would be more along the lines of Combat Challenge, I think.

And @Ixe , with the Deepwyrm Drow, there are a few more powers that matter for the target remaining after assigning wounds - off the top of my head there is the Werewolf Lord, Master of the Hunt, Wo-Sa-Ga, and Whetstone of Venom, even though that's not technically a power. Then for figures that exist in my home metagame there is also my custom Jack the Pale, as well as HoSS's Dengar.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts! It's greatly appreciated!

[BiggaBullfrog]

Chisak

Some leaders like to lead through inspiration, cheering their troops on to victory while trying to not get in the thick of things themselves. Other leaders like to lead by example. Charging into battle and using his own wounds to spur himself on to defeat his foes, Chisak definitely prefers to head the charge himself.

I love playing orcs - they're one of my favorite factions to field and Heavy Gruts are my second favorite squad in the game. That said, I always wished that they had a Champion to bond with who encouraged a different play style. I love Grimnak and Nerak, and even field Tornak, but they all get their primary value out of their auras. I wanted someone who was more into getting their own hands dirty, someone less like Sir Gilbert/Finn/Thorgrim and more like Alistair for the Knights. That's Chisak. With one of my favorite powers I've come up with - Battle Rage - he has the potential to pack a nasty punch and the lack of an aura encourages a different play style with the orcs that I really enjoy, especially (as usual, for my customs) in a dungeon. His weakness is his life though. I kept it at 4 both for the mechanics and because he really isn't huge, and I couldn't justify tacking 5 life on him because of his sculpt.



Figure Used: Orc Warrior with Scimitar (Reaper: Legendary Encounters)


As usual, I'm always looking to improve my custom-making skills, so feel free to let me know what you think!