The Book of Runa

[dnutt99]

The Book of Runa

Dawn of Darkness - Collection 6 - "Heroes of Durgeth"

If you cannot see the Army Card graphic, check Hasbro's Unit Page for stats and special powers, plus "character biography" and other non-game unit info.

Character Bio: The grass is singed black, as Runa slowly floats to a landing. Three sentinels collapse to the ground behind her while she stares at Raelin, eyes unwavering. "Not even your staff can protect them from me, Raelin. Nor can it protect you." With a flash she charges forward, spear directed at the throat of her prey. Sometimes even the most beautiful of beings hold within their chests a blackened heart. Raelin dashes to the right, though it is to no avail; her shoulder catches the tip of Runa’s spear and she tumbles through the air, crying out in pain. Some say that Runa is born of Utgar himself, for her cruelty nearly matches that of the evil Archkyrie. Even her comrades fear her malice. Raelin rights herself and climbs high into the sky in hopes of escape. Runa lifts her fiery red gaze and whispers under her breath, "We’ll meet again, pathetic warrior." (Hasbro)

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-Rulings and Clarifications-

• - N/A

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received

• - MINIONS OF UTGAR : Utgar’s Orders
  As a Kyrie warrior that follows Utgar, Runa may benefit from Minions of Utgar UTGAR’S ORDERS activation synergy.
  
  - ORNAK : Red Flag of Fury
  As a Unique Hero that follows Utgar, Runa may benefit from Ornak’s RED FLAG OF FURY activation synergy.
  
  - ATLAGA THE KYRIE WARRIOR : Kyrie Leadership
  Being Kyrie, Minions of Utgar receive one addition movement from Atlaga's KYRIE LEADERSHIP.

Synergy Benefits Offered

• - N/A

C3V and SoV Custom Synergies

Spoiler Alert!

Synergy Benefits Offered

Synergy Benefits Received

ELARIA THE PALE : QUEEN OF THIEVES
As a Tricky figure, Runa may benefit from Elaria the Pale's 20-sided die enhancement.

EMPEROR ANDASK : KYRIE SUPREMACY
As a Kyrie, Runa may benefit from Emperor Andask's 20-sided die enhancement.

MYRDDIN : MYSTIC SACRIFICE
As a Medium Unique Hero, Runa may benefit from Myrddin's 20-sided die enhancement.

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-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

• - TBA

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-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Power Ranking and Master Index

Originally Posted by MKSentinel

Power Ranking
Runa- Too random to ever be viable, Runa just doesn’t have it. C-

Runa
Overpriced? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=8044

Unit Strategy Review

• 
  Unit Strategy Review: Runa

[riledguy]

I was playing a game against her and I had a group of 8 figures all close buy. She came up on them and started using that helm of hers...

nothing happened. I think a total of about 12-18 tries were made and nothing.

The power is a bit worthless to me seeing as how it affects everyone including her own army.

If it was army selective them maybe it would be OK or if it was as is but hit on 18-20 then maybe she would be worth it but as is she will NEVER get her points total in a fight.

[Eclipse]

Originally Posted by riledguy

I was playing a game against her and I had a group of 8 figures all close buy. She came up on them and started using that helm of hers...

nothing happened. I think a total of about 12-18 tries were made and nothing.

The power is a bit worthless to me seeing as how it affects everyone including her own army.

If it was army selective them maybe it would be OK or if it was as is but hit on 18-20 then maybe she would be worth it but as is she will NEVER get her points total in a fight.

I once took her on with a horde of zombies. I ran her down and surrounded her with about 12 of them. In the full round it took for me to take her down (mostly because I wanted to see how much damage she could do), she didn't kill a single one...

[MattserTruckRally]

Runa would've been nicer with probably an extra defense die.

Maybe an extension of her radius (4-5)

Ok nevermind I'll just use Deadeye Dan.

[riledguy]

Originally Posted by MattserTruckRally

Runa would've been nicer with probably an extra defense die.

Maybe an extension of her radius (4-5)

Ok nevermind I'll just use Deadeye Dan.

or.. blow a few extra points and take Sudema who can actually get her power to work with some regularity.

[Eclipse]

Originally Posted by MattserTruckRally

Runa would've been nicer with probably an extra defense die.

Maybe an extension of her radius (4-5)

Ok nevermind I'll just use Deadeye Dan.

I'd say she really just needs stealth flying. She's actually pretty dangerous with the right castle setup. If you have to chase her and she can just keep flying away and trying for the kill, she's pretty scary. Of course, her cost simply comes from the gamebreaking possibility of wiping out 200+ points in a single turn. Like all probability characters, she might prove her worth once out of 20 games or so

[IAmBatman]

From what I've read from other posters on here, she's best used with a couple squads of Minions (her 120, plus 220 for Minions, so 340 of your army, leaving another 160 for some range, etc).
Then put all your turns on the Minions and keep them guessing whether you'll activate her or not. Basically she becomes a 120 point decoy, more valuable for her possible threat than anything else. But if it extends the survivability of the Minions, those added chances at deadly strike x3 can be quite nice.

[chickenchaser]

Originally Posted by IAmBatman

From what I've read from other posters on here, she's best used with a couple squads of Minions (her 120, plus 220 for Minions, so 340 of your army, leaving another 160 for some range, etc).
Then put all your turns on the Minions and keep them guessing whether you'll activate her or not. Basically she becomes a 120 point decoy, more valuable for her possible threat than anything else. But if it extends the survivability of the Minions, those added chances at deadly strike x3 can be quite nice.

This is the best strategy I've heard for Runa. I wouldn't use her so much as a decoy but as surprise attack. If I were to use her, I would have Minions, Runa, and maybe Atlaga (heavy hitters, cavalry, and range). What makes the Runa Minions combo so great is not the Helm ability (that's just a bonus), but the fact that you can move her at anytime instead of the Minions, and that her speed is 6 (Atlaga puts it up to 7). That's pretty fast especially when ignoring terrain.

Takes a bit of patience, but when you attack you go after their figures that have no order markers on them. Best to pick an opponent that has all their order markers on figures away from their starting location so you can fly her in there and possibly maximize the benefits of that helm. In the mean time the minions can stand against some pretty hefty attacks.

Basically she is one of those characters that assassinates high cost low defense figures while they are sleeping (good agianst: sgt Drake, sir dupius, Airborne elite, most of the Vydar ranged squads, Syvaris, what do I do now that my swog riders are dead, among other characters) Good to go against something that could become a possible threat to you, or that will hinder their ability, even if you don't get your point value right away (like swog riders).

Now I'm not trying to promote her as a B+ figure, but she has the opportunity to really surprise your enemy in some casual play, especially in a 3 or more player game(then you have someone else to distract your opponent while you go in for the kill? rack up your kill points and get out). Maybe, hopefully, this is a strategy you hadn't considered for this gal. Atlaga may have boosted her value a little as well.

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

One of the rare, shining games I'll probably ever see with Runa was when she took out 400 points of a 600 point army.
With two consecutive 20s, I destroyed Charos, then Raelin.
For the win, Runa took out Brunak.
A succesful, but rare Runa date.

Yeah, I know I've related this tale before, but c'mon, it's Runa!!!

[philowar]

Originally Posted by MKSentinel

Runa- Too random to ever be viable, Runa just doesn’t have it. C-

This pretty much says it all. I've had her for months but have never once used her because of her trash stats. Someone always comes up with a "Well, if you get 'em on top of a castle..." or some other such uncommon situation as an apology for crappy figures, but that doesn't make them any less horrible. Honestly, I don't know why they bothered. Who playtested her, and how many times? It's a real shame, as she is one of the coolest sculpts in the game. I would much rather have seen some friendly figure boosting or true squad-killing ability than a very lame d20 special. Honestly, the only thing she's good for is a proxy if you want to use her as an evil Raelin.

[Kroz]

I used her right off the bat with Realin's defence aura and some other defensive boosts such as Thorgrim and placed her right in the middle of a three way melee and proceeded to destroy Agent Carr, Kee-Mo-Shi, and some other powerful heroes. And their people while they kill her it took them quite some time. Too bad she isn't an Einar Kyrie or her and Empress Kiova with Realin would be a pain as they can all fly.

[DingoDarkly]

Originally Posted by IAmBatman

The freakiest avatar around here, IMO, is the little crayon drawing of a guy hanging himself that says something like "this is how I plan to kill myself" ... something not right about that whole deal.

I think that avatar is quite funny.
AS for Runa - i think out of all the games i've played with her she may have destroyed one figure (if that) with her Helm of M.