Boot Camp of Valhalla: Kobolds of Idona Keep (Reworking)

[Ixe]

Originally Posted by Lyrgard

The first is an idea of how to play them. Did someone tried to use just 2 squads of them as cleanup ? You just need to have a potential master in the rest of your army. As you used the master normally with the rest of your army, it already served its purpose, you cannot say that you need to add its cost to the kobolds' cost. So basically, you got cheaper Death Chaser of Thesk (with better move) for clean up. Just try to wipeout ranged opponent figure before going to cleanup !

I haven't tried it, but that sounds like a cool idea. I've mostly tested them in kobold heavy armies, but 90 pt clean up in another army might not be a bad idea as long as you have the hex space for them (6 is not insignificant). I'm sure there are some armies where that could work. I'm suspecting their swarming and avenge nature will make them pretty versatile, as well as all the different army types they can be built around.

I do like how they are not necessarily as good swarmers as the drones (physically weaker and a bit more demanding to build around, if more reliable) and not as efficient beaters as the Death Chasers (factoring in the cost of a dead warrior and especially that they lack bonding) but that they can straddle the line between the two and try to use both roles to their advantage as the game progresses. In the abstract, you would want to be swarming with them early to get them in position and drop low defense foes and then avenge in the late game when there are fewer left.

[Maklar the Silver Prince]

I just tested these guys. I hoped that this project hadn't died out, but its awfully sleepy here, since July at least. Maybe I can wake it back up.

The armies:

Kobolds of Idona Keep x5, Raelin the Kyrie Warrior ROTV, and Cyprien Esenwein, for 500 points

Vs.

Knights of Weston x4, Sir Finn Viking Champion, Sir Thorgrimm Viking Champion, and Sir Orrick

The battle took place on the map, A River Runs Through It (I'm pretty sure). Though the Kobolds are faster, they set up and allowed the battle to take place on their side of the map. I also suck at playing the Knights, so I guess they got kinda over-extended as they rushed forward to do glorious battle.

Let me tell you, this wasn't a fun playtest. The defense was really strong. Raelin wouldn't take wounds, Knights wouldn't die, Kobolds were steadfast, Cyprien was invincible, the champions were just champs at taking hits. Slowly, the knights whittled away at the opposing team. Sure, Cyprien got some chilling touches, killed some knights, and soon Finn was gone. Sure, the Kobolds got some mass swarms and height, and smacked a few knights. But it didn't really add up to much. And Raelin just wouldn't DIE!!! The kobolds were perfectly set up to avenge her. And then, a hit got through. Horray!!! The Kobolds charged, killing, mutilating, maiming, butchering. It was too late though. They're numbers were not great enough and there were too many knights. I rotated turns with Cyprien and my 4 remaining Kobolds and managed to kill many. Finally the final knights and Orrick (viking boosted) broke through and danced with Cyprien on height. He couldn't roll chilling touch, but he sure could defend. In the end, the last Kobold let lose a battle cry and charged fearlessly from his position, killing a knight. And then he died. Two Knights and a wounded Sir Orrick were left on the battlefield.

I'm not sure if the Kobolds are where they need to be. They didn't seem like they performed the way they should, but I didn't use them right. The plan was to set up, let Raelin get some wounds, and swarm, using numbers to harass the Knights. I think this would have been better against a lower defense for. They lost, as they should against such a difficult for, but not by much. I'm crediting this to my lack of skill with the knights and a not quite right army composition.

What does the Boot Camp think?

[flameslayer93]

Knights are a very strong unit, both because of bonding and because of their hefty stats. The (generally) low attack of the Kobolds shouldn't be enough to do anything to the knights, which is probably a good thing.

Excellent test Maklar!

[CrazyTankster]

Could we get the miniature information added to the first post? I couldn't find it.

[johnny139]

That test looks pretty good to me, Maklar. That's actually closer than I'd expect against a solid Knights army; these guys don't need to be A+ units, they just need to be solid enough to have a choice.

Is anyone else planning on running some tests? If not, we could submit this to SoV fairly soon. I think we have a solid testing base so far.

Originally Posted by CrazyTankster

Could we get the miniature information added to the first post? I couldn't find it.

It was hidden under a spoiler - thanks for the heads up, I moved it around some.

[Maklar the Silver Prince]

I feel like the Kobolds are pretty solid right now, and are perfectly ready for submission to the SoV. More tests would be nice, but I'm not sure if we'll get anymore.

Needless to say, this has been in the works for a while, and I think its time for the project to move.

[Serenity]

Do they bring something interesting to Heroscape? (I'm not saying they aren't, it just seems like the sort of question that should be asked.)

[flameslayer93]

Originally Posted by Serenity

Do they bring something interesting to Heroscape? (I'm not saying they aren't, it just seems like the sort of question that should be asked.)

They give players a new type of swarming unit by borrowing from non-swarm units (the MacDirks and Greenscakes) and then making it their own. They reward players who think well ahead of the game (like several other units do) without totally screwing over the players who're too young/drunk to think heavily about strategy.

When playing against Kobold Hordes, you are trying to minimize the value of your opponent's key warriors (most typically done via Counterdrafting or smart play).

They also don't help Raelin/Gunner outside of the core buffs. All units actually need OMs to do their job unlike Rats/Greenscales the closest comparison.

[Serenity]

Sounds excellent, flameslayer93. Thanks!

[johnny139]

So, does anyone else have an opinion here? Are we ready to go?

[flameslayer93]

Let's shoot the dice!

I'm ready to run Shurrak/Raelin in my next C3V legal tourney.

[Ixe]

Sure. I think they are in a comfortable place right now and I am confident they can find a home in VC. They're not the most dangerous swarmers nor the cheapest means of hitting hard if you suicide their master but stride an interesting middle ground between both worlds.