IshMEL's Customs: Updated 7/11/2018

[Ixe]

I like your changes, though I would advise against having his power be used before or after moving. One, it's a little ambiguous if you could use it twice in a round. Two, it is not really done in Heroscape in general. I would just pick one and go with it (probably after moving so there can be a bit more choice with it). I doubt it will be used all that much since you're probably better off having the squad member (maybe with the Skeletons if he's loaded with units and getting low on health), but it stands as a possible option and is thematic at the very least.

[IshMEL]

So I've dusted off Baldur's Gate 2 again and have been enjoying the dungeon crawl. Especially, of course, because of Minsc, the crazy Ranger with his miniature giant space hamster, Boo. It looks like no one's done a card for him yet, so just for fun, here goes:

Minsc
Aquilla
Human
Ranger
Protective? Unhinged?
Life 7
Move 5
Range 1
Attack 3
Defense 4
120 points?

Go For The Eyes, Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!!! Special Attack
Range Special Attack 3 + Special
Minsc may use this Special Attack once per round. When using this Special Attack, Minsc must attack all adjacent figures. Roll each attack separately, and add 1 skull to whatever is rolled. After all attacks are made, place one wound marker on this card.

Butt-Kicking For Goodness!
When making a normal attack, Minsc may roll 1 additional die if the target follows Utgar or Valkrill, and may also roll 1 additional die if the target is engaged with another Unique Hero you control.

Figure: D&D Stonechild. He's a bit on the stony side, but he's big and bald and has a two-handed Sword. Works for me!



Using Tandros as a base here, without the ranged option, and with a potential to boost his normal adjacent attack one higher. The SA represents his Beserker power, which I never actually use in-game, but which seems like a good way to capture his personality. If you know Minsc and Boo and their liberal butt-kicking, let me know what you think!

[Ixe]

Baldur's Great 2 is a fantastic game and Minsc is easily my favorite character in it. It's great to see some love for this Rashemi berserker.

My gut is telling me that Minsc is a little overpriced for this build, but I may be underestimating the Go for the Eyes Special Attack. It is a consistent attack that is effectively an attack of 5 on average to each adjacent figure, so it really is nothing to scoff at. However, it does wound him in the process and even then he's not capable of spamming it.

Otherwise, comparing him to Tandros, the fighter's best ability is really his Combat Challenge coupled with his survivability. Minsc lacks this, his versatility, and even only conditionally matches his attack. I would think he should have a higher base attack at the very least.

In general, I could see having fun dragging Minsc into dungeon crawls but I wouldn't say he's a great option for more competitive formats, which is fine.

[IshMEL]

Thanks for the feedback -- I knew there would be some Minsc fans here! He probably is overpriced, especially without range and no Combat Challenge. I think you're right, his base attack should be at least 4. I'll noodle around with it.

A ways back I picked up some Heroclix Living Mummy figures to use as proxies for the C3V mummies. There aren't that many still available, but they are still really really cheap. Now that the Crypt Guardians are out, here's my proxy card:

Spoiler Alert!

I'll eventually add to my "CheapScape" section (and withdraw the Mummy design I had thrown together.)

[TexHex]

Just wanted to say "thank you" for fully inspiring this card. Other than very slight modifications, it's all you:

[IshMEL]

Cool! Let me know how she plays, I haven't actually tried her yet. Other than the name and General did you change anything else?

[TexHex]

Just her personality to "Tricky" as opposed to "Brash" for the sake of in-game synergy.
We have played with her (that sounded odd) multiple times within our gaming group as we usually have weekly Scape sessions. So far the response has been great as she is an enjoyable figure. We love taking opponents out with her "And Laugh at Death" special.
I am currently working on making a pirate crew for her as most of our games our heavy on synergy use.

[IshMEL]

I like all those changes! Glad she has seen some action. Do the points seem right at 80? I think I used my formula to set her initial cost.

And hey, Sayyida is an Actual Historical Personage. (I suppose " Sayyida al-Hurra ibn Banu Rashid al-Mandri al-Wattasi Hakima Tatwan" is too long to fit on the card, eh?)

I'll make a new version of the card soon (I'm picky about the typography).

Look forward to seeing your Pirate Crew!

[TexHex]

The points feel right at 80 as affordable figures are much more likely to be drafted as opposed to higher priced units (we rarely have a game without Isamu or Guilty McCreech as they make great fillers).

I came across Sayyida after researching historical female pirates (and yes, her full name is a bit long).

I was originally going to replace the figure with Natalya Vancaskerkin from the Pathfinder line of miniatures...


and change her name to Riptide from Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Darkside...


But I felt bad neglecting the old Mage Knight figure that I had never used. Besides, she IS packing heat with her flintlock pistol.
Keep your powder Dry!

[IshMEL]

Sometimes I look back on a design and say, what was I thinking? Case in point, the Dread Warrior :

Spoiler Alert!

Dread Warrior
General: Utgar
Species: Undead
Common Hero
Class: Warrior
Personality: Mindless
Medium 5
Life: 1
Move: 4
Range: 1
Attack: 3
Defense: 1

Points: 15

Base: Single
Planet: Feylund

Dread Rising
A Dread Warrior does not start the game on the battlefield. Instead, if a medium Squad figure you control is destroyed within 4 clear sight spaces of a Wizard, Shaman, or Sorcerer you control who follows Utgar, you may replace that figure with a Dread Warrior in your army. Undead, Cyborg, Soulborg and Construct figures may not be replaced with Dread Rising.

Mindless Minion
A Dread Warrior may not make a normal attack unless it started or ended its movement within 2 clear sight spaces of a Wizard, Shaman, or Sorcerer you control who follows Utgar.

Figure: D&D Dread Warrior

Here's my revised idea:

Dread Minion
Utgar
Undead
Common Hero
Minion
Terrifying
Life 1
Move 4
Range 1
Attack 2
Defense 3
15 points

Dread Rising
This Dread Minion does not start the game on the battlefield. Instead, at the beginning of the game, place it on the Army Card of any Unique Wizard or Sorcerer Hero you control. After taking a turn with that Hero, you may remove it from that Army Card and place it adjacent to that Hero, if possible.

Dread March
After revealing an Order Marker on the Army Card of a Unique Wizard or Sorcerer Hero you control, you may choose up to 4 Dread Minions you control within 4 clear sight spaces of that Hero. You may move all chosen figures up to 4 spaces each. Figures moved by Dread March will take any leaving engagement attacks.

Minions of the Magus
Figures engaged with this Dread Minion cannot make normal attacks or leaving engagement attacks on a Wizard or Sorcerer you control.

My original idea was replacing destroyed figures with Dread Warriors (that's the D&D version). But I already have an Undead filler for that (the Soul of Vengeance) and while it's thematically cool I couldn't see an actual use for them. This version does away with the replacement -- your Wizard just raises the bones of whatever figure is interred from a Scape battle of long ago. Now you have a pseudo-squad that bonds with your Wizard and can screen, or enable her to slip past defenses.

Their base stats are from the Zombies, minus 5 points as they don't regenerate or combine attacks.

Some possible tweaks:
* Increase attack to 3 for those few times you will put an OM on one.
* Make their Minion power work with any Unique Hero you control.

As always, your input is welcomed!

[obfuscatedhippo]

Originally Posted by IshMEL

Here's my revised idea:

Spoiler Alert!

Dread Minion
Utgar
Undead
Common Hero
Minion
Terrifying
Life 1
Move 4
Range 1
Attack 2
Defense 3
15 points

Dread Rising
This Dread Minion does not start the game on the battlefield. Instead, at the beginning of the game, place it on the Army Card of any Unique Wizard or Sorcerer Hero you control. After taking a turn with that Hero, you may remove it from that Army Card and place it adjacent to that Hero, if possible.

Dread March
After revealing an Order Marker on the Army Card of a Unique Wizard or Sorcerer Hero you control, you may choose up to 4 Dread Minions you control within 4 clear sight spaces of that Hero. You may move all chosen figures up to 4 spaces each. Figures moved by Dread March will take any leaving engagement attacks.


Minions of the Magus
Figures engaged with this Dread Minion cannot make normal attacks or leaving engagement attacks on a Wizard or Sorcerer you control.

As always, your input is welcomed!

I like these guys. Cool design and I like how they are placed on the Army card first.

Comment 1:
What about making them Thralls instead of Minions?

Comment 2:
Did you want to extend it beyond Wizards and Sorcerers? Since they are Utgar, I could see extending to Arachnomancers or War-Witches.

Comment 3:
Did you want to give them any offensive punch, or just a screen? You could add a power that when you reveal an OM on the Dread Minions that instead of taking a turn with this Dread Minion all Dread Minions that are engaged may attack.

[Ixe]

I much prefer this version of the Dread Warriors to the old ones. The last power on the old version struck me as making them incredibly useless once they lost their controller.

For this version, however, they'll still be tricky to use. Given Dread March, I am going to assume that you want at least 4 of them to get the most use of that ability. That means that you won't have a the numbers for that power until after the first turn of the second round at the earliest. You can better that to two turns with Ulginesh, but this quickly relegates them to be used just about only with the Ullar wizard army (which is a bit of a theme break).

In any army you put them in, they would probably best be used purely as a screen. Any Order Marker you put on them will only get you a single attack of 2 (increasing their attack won't really help), so you will almost always be better off focusing your OMs on your other units and mobilizing them as a screen with Dread March. They might not fair terribly in this roll alongside Ulginesh and other Elf Wizards, in particular. You could consistently get out your entire army of them 2 at a time and move them with OM reveals from Ulginesh, but it's also possible you'll just be better off getting another elf wizard for your points.

Personally, while a little thematic, I would recommend dropping the Dread Rising power entirely. It is cool but makes them mobilize a bit too slowly to be useful when they need to be. This opens up room for possible powers like obfuscatedhippo's 3rd comment, which would actually make giving them the occasional Order Marker worthwhile. I do think they are still an improvement on the original in any case.