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Unit Strategy Review: How to use Acolarh
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Unit Strategy Review Unit: Acolarh Author: Taeblewalker (with thanks to my sewing circle) Ullar began with an elf, and when it came time to choose his flagbearer, he chose an elf again. From Rise of the Valkyrie through Swarm of the Marro we have seen Syvarris, Morsbane, Alcolarh, Kyntela Gwyn, and Sonlen for heroes, and Aubren Archers and Warriors of Ashra for squads. Additionally, we can expect Ulginesh and what look to be three other elf heroes who follow Ullar in Wave 8, plus another elf who currently looks to belong to Utgar. While Ullar has branched out to include a whole nest of vipers, a dragon, a kyrie and even some humans, he has continued to emphasize elves in his army. This places Acolarh in a unique position as flagbearer, for he has the power to enhance much of Ullar’s army. His usefulness will only increase with Wave 8. Let us begin our analysis by looking at Acolarh’s stats. Vital Statistics Cost – 110 – Knight Class Unit Size – Medium – Vulernable/Somewhat Concealable Life – 5 – Average Move – 5 – Average Range – 1 – Melee Attack – 3 – Average Defense – 2 – Poor Tournament Readiness - Medium Leaf of the Home Tree Aura – 22% - subreliant – negates killing wound or wounds to elves with 8 clear sight spaces of Acolarh. Medium tactical advantage. Ullar’s Amulet – adds 2 Move to units that follow Ullar who start their movement adjacent to Acolarh. Medium tactical advantage if used well; low if not. In-Depth Analysis We shall now look carefully at Acolarh’s statistics, and draw strategies from our conclusions. Let us start with cost. Below is an explanation of Agatagary's cost classification: Pawn class (expendable, units that can be useful, but are not worth enormous trouble to protect) Bishop class (more useful than a pawn, but still somewhat expendable) Knight class (units that are interestingly powerful and can have a significant impact on the game in of themselves. It is advisable that they be kept alive, but if absolutely necessary they may be sacrificed) Rook class (units that almost inevitably have a significant impact on the game, and whose death should be avoided as much as possible) Queen class (devastatingly powerful or important units that should be protected at all costs) Class: Let us begin with an analysis of Acolarh’s size and cost. Acolarh is a Knight Class unit. He is central to giving an Ullar army initial mobility and to increasing Elves' survivability. His point cost is 110. To examine Acolarh’s core stats, we will break them up into two categories—offensive ability and survivability. Offense: By himself, Acolarh is competent on offense but not devastating. However, do not discount him! In the end game, when you and your opponent are down to few units left, Acolarh can come out swinging with his sword at an Attack of 3 and make a difference, even though he is limited to melee due to his Range of 1. With Ulginesh coming out with his Mind Link power, Acolarh will be able to take a free turn while allowing another elf wizard, perhaps Morsbane, Kyntela, or even wave 8 elves a turn as well. This combination will allow Acolarh to not only keep up with the pack -- enhancing the elves' chances of surviving a deadly wound and providing the Ullar Movement boost -- but to also take a swing or two of his own – all without “wasting” an order marker that you want to spend on a more offensively capable unit. This will be covered in more detail below; however, the bulk of this Strategy Guide will concern Acolarh himself. Ultimately, Acolarh’s true contribution to the offensive capability of your army will be in his ability to keep your other Ullar units both alive and mobile. Survivability: A Life of 5 should be more than adequate for a unit you intend to protect. His Defense of 2 is the 800 pound Gorillinator in the room – but with judicious use of support units such as Kyntela Gwyn, you should be able to keep him alive long enough to boost your army to new heights. He can hide behind Charos, Jotun, and other figures. Remember, his flag and oversized sword are not hit zones! Tournament Readiness: Acolarh can enhance an Elven army on the move, and he can keep some Elves alive. However, since he costs a fair chunk of a 500 or 520 point army, you will have to weigh the potential loss of Syvarris, a Wave 8 Elf Wizard, two Warriors of Ashra, or a squad of Aubrien Archers against the benefits he brings. Be sure to keep him in a relevant position throughout the game! General Strategy: We will look at some creative ways to use Acolarh, then we will look at how some of his support units can affect him. EDIT: Bonus Section Please see fomo6's great take on how Acolarh can foil the Wolves of Badru! http://www.heroscapers.com/community...447#post551447 On Golden Wings Many units benefit from +2 move. Ullar’s Amulet is a great way to send your first assault wave into battle to reach the enemy sooner. There are many situations where only one or two more movement points will mean the difference between attacking this turn or waiting until the next. We will consider the ones you will most likely want to boost. Theracus: This gryphillin is, and always has been, in a class by himself. Sending him away with a passenger at Move 9 is a great way to get any powerhouse into the battlefield quickly. In fact, any unit, regarldess of its allegiance to a specific general, could be said to gain Theracus’ Move 9 flying if he carries them, effectively allowing you to use Ullar’s Amulet on any small or medium figure. Powerful heroes like Kee-Mo-Shi, Sgt. Drake Alexander, and Valguard can all lead the assault with Order Marker #2. The following units, however, are the most desirable to carry with Theracus while Theracus is boosted by Ullar’s Amulet: 1) Acolarh himself! If you are trying to boost your army across a long battlefield, consider placing Order Marker #3 on Theracus and bringing Acolarh along for the ride. You will have already sent two units up ahead (perhaps the Armoc Vipers and Venoc Warlord with Bonding on Order Marker #1, and Saylind on Order Marker #2, or some other combination), and now you can Carry Acolarh to be adjacent to these same figures on the following round. This also keeps Acolarh close in case you have any elves to benefit from Leaf of the Home Tree Aura. Of course, you get a free attack with Theracus to boot! 2) Saylind. Sending her ahead allows her to summon a powerhouse like Charos or Jotun even further away from your starting zone. If you send her on Thercaus first, then activate her second, she can move a total of 15 spaces, and try to summon an ally like Jotun up to 16 (really 17 for a double-space figure) spaces from where she started! If you summon a ranged unit, add that range to its effective reach. 3) Sonlen. This mighty archmage is a terror to behold. Better still, he can heal Theracus. Sending him ahead post-haste with Theracus is just scary. 4) Venoc Warlord. He gets to benefit from his own Scout Leadership. The Venoc Warlord can ride along with Theracus for a total Move of 11, then slither off with 7 Move to attack a target using an Attack of 4. His high survivability (Life 6, Defense 3) make him a great unit to send ahead of your main forces. If you also field the Armoc Vipers, they can bond with him and catch up while he takes turns on the forefront of the battle. 5) Dead-eye Dan. Move him once, then snipe! 6) Agent Carr and Syvarris are powerful figures to bring ahead and make a first strike against your foes. Further, Theracus is great for moving certain types of units ahead. 1) Crowd clearers. Certain figures are great at moving into an available space and taking out a bunch of figures that are in the way of progress. These figures can be blocking a clear landing zone for Charos, or they can simply be threatening engagement with any unit that tries to get past them to the Rook and Queen class units being protected behind them. We are talking about classic swarm strategy, folks. If you send certain units ahead on your faithful Gryphillin with Order Marker #1, they can break up those swarms on Order Marker #2. The following units will clear out a whole mess of roadblocking units: Alastair MacDirk if he Overextends, Cyprien Eisenwein, Deathwalker 7000, Einar Imperium*, Eldgrim if he Overextends and his targets have low Defense, Guilty McCreech if his targets have low Defense, James Murphy, Johnny “Shotgun” Sullivan, Kaemon Awa, Kee-Mo-Shi, Master Win Chiu Woo, Raelin the Kyrie Warrior (Swarm of the Marro version), Shaolin Monk*, Sonlen, and Syvarris. The following figures can take out extra units, but their powers are less reliable than Double Attack, Whirlwind Strike, and the like: Frenzy units such as Aubrien Archers, Elite Onxy Vipers and Venoc Vipers, Ne-Gok-Sa and Kee-Mo-Shi with Mindshackle, and Runa. 2) Crowd holders. A single Gladiatron or even Major X17 can tie down your opponents, allowing your army to move around them. *You will only be able to carry one member of these squads, of course. Go Forth and Summon Even without using Theracus to boost her, Saylind can go far on her own. The benefit is that you can summon with her immediately, then use Order Marker #2 on your summoned figure. You can use her to transport other figures the way you do with Theracus, only less reliably but with a wider range of units from which to choose. She can even summon Acolarh to keep him in the battle. If her Spear of Summoning fails, don’t worry; you can always try again next round, and Acolarh will be right next to her when it works. Out of the Gate Sending Jotun and Charos directly from Acolarh’s side can bring them directly into the fray on a small battlefield. Even if they can’t reach the enemy in one turn, the extra movement points might save them an order marker spent reaching the enemy. For example, Jotun can reach and enemy 14 spaces away in only two turns if he starts his first move next to Acolarh. Help Dan Stop Faster! Dead-eye Dan’s enhanced Move of 7, combined with his special power range of 10, can place him close enough to take meaningful shots on his second order marker. Send in the Squads If you thought the Venoc Vipers and Elite Onyx Vipers were fast before, try sending them off with Acolarh. The extra move will let them reach glyphs and enemies faster, and will let them climb higher on their first move if the terrain is right. Now, they needn’t stop short at the base of a height 4 cliff just because they burned 5 movement points getting there (assuming Scout Leadership)! Monks can now get closer to those high points, perhaps close enough to Stealth Leap on their second order marker. It can be frustrating to move them only 6, then be one or two spaces shy of leaping onto a castle wall. Armoc Vipers, Aubrien Archers and Warriors of Ashra round out the list of units who can blaze into battle on the first order marker. With the Armoc Vipers, remember that you can also send Venoc Warlord out with them on the first turn, all at Move 9 if you cluster them around Acolarh. Don't forget that the Aubrien Archers benefit from Leaf of the Home Tree Aura. Remember also that squads benefit the most from Leaf of the Home Tree Aura, as the power only blocks wounds that would kill an elf. Units that Enhance Acolarh One of the most interesting aspects of Acolarh is how seemlessly he fits into an army that includes a lot elves. He is an integal, valuable part of Ullar's elven forces. He is an Elven Wizard and can therefore be affected by Ulginesh's Mind Link Power. Since he can only move 5 hexes, and Mind Link has a clear sight range of 6, Acolarh need never be outside the range of effect since Ulginesh has a flying movement of 7. Your enemy won’t know whether to fear his Range of 6 and Attack of 3, or whether you will pull a bluff and move up two other elven wizards instead. If you move Acolarh as one of the two elven wizards, you can keep the flagbearer near the army with all the benifits that brings. Edit: Since the new Elves from Wave 8 have come out, we have a few more reasons to draft Acolarh. Best of all, Emiroon can now summon him to the forefront along with Ulginesh and perhaps someone else. You can use the combination of Mind Link, Emiroon's Summoning power and Ullar's Amulet to race across the battlefield. Acolarh can also keep the somewhat fragile collection of new Wizards alive, given their low Defenses of 2 and 3. Kyntela Gwyn and Morsbane are also influenced by Mind Link (more elven wizards are probably on the way with wave 8 ) and can therefore work quite well with Acolarh. Actually, they do so with or without Ulginesh. Few things say “stay away” like Morsbane’s chance of negating an important enemy. As told in his own Strategy Guide, his Life of 6 means that he will be tough to take out. Put him next to Kyntela Gwyn and Acolarh, and he is a powerful and powerfully protected elf wizard who can make attacks against Acolarh more trouble than they are worth. As for Kyntela, in a stationary scenario, you need only place her next to Acolarh, where her small size will not interfere with his line of sight, and where his flag, thick sword and body can shield her from line of sight of attackers. Draft her! If you must, you can send her out on fleet feet to provide her Defense of the Oak power to some of your other elves. The other Elves can also be aided by Acolarh. The aforementioned Ulginesh seems custom made to work with Acolarh. Leaf of the Home Tree Aura extends out a generous 8 spaces. Ulginesh has a Move of 7. If he stands next to Acolarh, he gains a Move of 9. If Ulginesh starts directly in front of Acolarh, you admittedly cannot take advantage of the extra move and still keep Ulginesh within range of Leaf of the Home Tree Aura. However, this is not a bad thing! You want your non-elves or slower-moving elves in front of Acolarh, since it doesn’t matter if they use maximum speed. They either can’t benefit from Leaf of the Home Tree Aura or they won’t be out of its range. Once Ulginesh is finally out on the battlefield he becomes the ultimate bluffer with Mind Link. One of the newest elves, Sonlen, comes with a built-in Defense of 3, higher than normal for elves. He has great stats – Range of 6, Attack of 4, Life of 6 – and greater specials. So why not give it all to him and allow his survivability to increase with the aid of Acolarh? Sonlen can even heal Acolarh, an ability that won’t cost the Archmage a turn and can really keep Acolarh in the fight. This powerhouse can also be sent ahead if need be – and with Range 6 and Attack 4, your enemy had better watch out! The original elf, Syvarris, only grins when he is standing on higher ground, nestling between Acolarh and Kyntela Gwyn. His range keeps enemies at bay, making him a great protector of both your army and Acolarh himself. Even more than Morsbane, Syvarris says, “I dare you to come close!” On the road, Syvarris can clear a path for your elven army, allowing Acolarh the safety to stay with the pack. Syvarris’ Range of 9 is even deadlier when you can surprise your enemy by moving Syvarris up faster to engage them. Combine Ullar’s Amulet with Theracus and you can Carry Syvarris into bowshot of nearly the whole board! As an Elf Wizard, Acolarh enhances Rain of Flame and Fire Strike for Jorhdawn and Chardris, repsectively. If one of those Elves is moved alongside Acolarh with Mind Link, you can use Acolarh to enhance the power. In this case Ulginesh shouldn't get too far ahead of Acolarh (using Ullar's Amulet) or Mind Link won't work. Nonetheless, Ulginesh is powerful enough in his own right to synergize, moving ahead when needed, making a ranged Attack, then using his next order marker to activate Jorhdawn with Rain of Flame and then Acolarh himself to swipe at any units in melee range. Both of the elf squads gain from his presence as well. The notoriously low defense of the Aubrien Archers is given a new lease on life with Leaf of the Home Tree Aura. If any of those archers are standing next to Kyntela Gwyn as well they have great survivability. The Warriors of Ashra have only normal Defense of 3 against ranged attackers, so they benefit from Acolarh as well. Even Defensive Agility requires at least one shield! If you want to take them on the road, Acolarh need only stay within 8 spaces to give his benefit. Also, Ullar’s Amulet can send them scurrying on ahead while still staying within his protective aura, at least for the turn. If you move them and Acolarh together across the battlefield, your elf combo can really clean up the battlefield with high survivability being their primary trick. Even if their attacks don’t destroy the enemy quickly, their increased maneuverability and survivability can really bog the enemy down while your powerhouses come in to mop up. This ability to turn a competent Aubrien/Warrior gambit into a nigh unbeatable one is a part of what makes Acolarh a Knight unit. You boost their Move and Survivability, and combine that with the awesome powers of Frenzy and Defensive Agility. Bring in Jotun, Charos, Sonlen and Ulginesh when you have the enemy right where you want them--under you heel! Finally, both the Venoc Warlord and Theracus should be drafted along with Acolarh. The Warlord can round out your Acolarh army in several ways. First, he gets to move faster if he starts next to Acolarh. Second, he is a great protector of Acolarh--you can send him out to engage any enemy that dares threaten him. Third, with your Leaf of the Home Tree Aura making the Aubrien Archers more viable, Venoc Warolord’s cost effectiveness goes up a bit. The Aubrien Archers will likely stay alive long enough to Frenzy often. Give him some Armocs, and Acolarh can send the combo blazing across the battlefield – or simply allow them to speed around a defensive position, keeping Acolarh alive. I have already written a great deal on Theracus, so here I will only point out that he is great at getting himself and another hero very far, very fast. If he can walk on road and take advantage of Scout Leadership, he can move 14 spaces--now, that's fast! Several scenarios, such as Volcarren Stone, rely on getting a unit or on getting several heroes across the board quickly and are ideal for using this ploy. So now it’s the endgame, and almost all of the figures on the board are destroyed. Remember that in the end, a knight class unit can be risked. With Attack 3 and Life 5, Acolarh is no slouch. He can come out, sword swinging, and win the game. If you can keep Kyntela Gwyn nearby until the end, you can increase the odds of Acolarh’s being among the last on the battlefield. Units to Avoid: Units with Instant Destroy Abilities: Acolarh is just too important to risk putting in the way of these units. Grimnak is probably the most dangerous of these owing to his greater chance of success than most. The Shades of Bleakwoode can also give him trouble if they come at him in numbers. Units with Area Special Attacks: Since you want to have units adjacent to Acolarh often enough to give them the Move boost, you will place Acolarh and his allies at some risk to Explosion, Fireline, Grenade Lob 12, and Shotgun Blast. Mind the positions of and order marker placement on Airborne Elite, Deathwalker 9000, James Murphy, Johnny "Shotgun" Sullivan, and Mimring. Dund is less of a problem, as you will probably not place too many order markers on Acolarh himself. For additional information see the Book of Acolarh Last edited by Taeblewalker; July 21st, 2008 at 11:18 PM. Reason: Changed contact info |
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Quote:
9 RotV - 4 SotM - 5 DDMS - 2 MarvelScape - 7 RttFF - 6 FotV - 5 VW - 4 TT - 4 TJ - 5 GC Xclusive - 6 FB's - 1,561 Figures - 7,147 Hexes - 174.24% Complete - (All for just $4,000 BUCKS) |
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Good work....this article is almost a two-fer-one on Theracus AND Acolarh! Nice.
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Whenever I play a game using all of Ullars figures I put Theracus, a squad of Aubriens, Kyntela and Syvarris next to Acolarh. Next to Theracus I place Deadeye Dan, thus allowing me to move the Gryphillin 11 spaces in total (also with Venoc Warlords 'scout leadership'), this allows DED to get to higher ground alot faster and can pick off oncoming squaddies whilst you bring in your backup!
The extra 2 moves the figures next to Acolarh get are very handy and I have had quite some luck with his Leaf of the Home Tree aura. I tend to keep Acolarh back until I am ready to move out the last elves in my army, although the past two times Cyprien used his chilling Touch on the elf he rolled 19 (+2 from Sonya) both times! |
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Good article. I'd add Syvarris as an obvious passenger for Theracus, and Agent Carr.
It might also be worth mentioning that Leaf of the Home Tree Aura benefits squad figures more than heroes, since heroes only get to roll their saving throw on a fatal blow. I think the question of whether or not to draft Acolarh depends heavily on the map/scenario and the starting zone. If 2 bonus movement will make the difference between reaching an important space or falling short, then perhaps he will be worth his value. It's unlikely that Leaf of the Home Tree by itself would justify his 110 point cost in most cases. |
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Nice article on my favorite flag-bearer!
The VW/Theracus/Acolarh is my favorite combo for those snatch and grab capture-the-glyph scenarios. I can't wait to team him up with Sonlen and Ulginesh! |
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Re: Unit Strategy Review: How to use Acolarh
I added a bit about the new Elves under Units that Enhance Acolarh. I also added a mention of Kee-Mo-Shi next to Ne-Gok-Sa among those units that Acolarh can send speeding ahead on Theracus.
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Re: Unit Strategy Review: How to use Acolarh
I have played with the elves quite a few times now. They work better than allot of armies I've created. I can't wait to get that flag bearer. I think I would probably go with more elf squads. Even though you said you would probably go without the WoA I would have to implement them into my army if I could. You could definitely do allot of damage.
He is not just a devastating opponent, he is the bait; hence the name Master of the Hunt.
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