Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion

[Sir Heroscape]

Originally Posted by Scytale

As a general rule, they need to all be unique molds. There are exceptions, though. The Red Ants use a single figure; in that case, the figures would be expected to look almost the same anyway. That would not be the case for a squad of, say, dwarves.

Mmmk, thanks. And I always have a hard time finding where the figure count guideline is for availability. Could you link it or post it for me here please?

[Ixe]

Agent Fawcett by Soundwarp SG-1

Does Agent Fawcett have what it takes to slip into the halls of Valhalla or will this agent only be an angel in the afterlife?

Balance

Agent Fawcett does not hold up well if you compare her to other ranged filler. While you may be able to position her without using order markers, she still touts only half of Guilty McCreech's offense and has less attack and life than Kira Jax, not to mention the Mariedians special power. As I will discuss in playability, however, Agent Fawcett does not actually function as filler. Instead she augments your agents turns so, while she may not always do much, she will always do something.

Theme

Agent Fawcett really captures the theme of the supporting agent. She isn't going to be in the limelight but she'll work with other agents with Ghost Protocol. Stealth Suit 1 really captures that spy trope and plays into Ghost Protocol for actually allowing her to sneak around. She really would be a tricky agent in every sense but unfortunately Agent Skahen would make her move a bit too much so we'll have to settle for precise.

Creativity
Ghost Protocol and Stealth Suit 1 are both novel powers that provide interesting new game play. The latter power is ready for future use that could use multiple markers which I must admit I'm curious how that would actually play.

Playability

As I mentioned in the balance section, it is misleading to think of Agent Fawcett as ranged filler. In truth she acts as an extension of your agents and will almost never take an order marker herself. If she does, something has gone terribly wrong to your other agents (and probably the rest of your army).

This means that all Agent Fawcett really does is move around the map a little each time you activate an agent. While that may not sound like much, it is a little bit of advantage you can eke out for the low cost of 30 points and a single space in your start zone. Worried about melee coming your way? Agent Fawcett can take a choke point and help stall them for a second. Getting peppered by ranged attacks, Fawcett can by you a moment's reprieve or maybe just take an important glyph while your agents return fire. It isn't that she's great in any given category. She may die to a single attack when she's engaged and with only 3 move per activation it may take her a round or two to actually take a glyph, but she's able to accomplish this all while you take your actual turns with your agents and have them win the day.

In this way she is deceptively powerful support that make each of your agents' turns just a little bit more powerful. As opposed to other filler units, Agent Fawcett won't just sit in your start zone and collect dust half the time but always give some value to your army, even if it is only a little in most games.

Summary

While Agent Fawcett plays a subtle form of support for your agents to make them look better. She won't win the day herself but she plays a versatile support role that offers rich tactical gameplay.

I vote YEA to induct Agent Fawcett into SoV.

[BiggaBullfrog]

Alright, first time nominating stuff. Let's see how this goes.

I would like to submit my custom Jack of Blades.



Figure Used: Tooth Gang Knifer - Legends of Golarion - Pathfinder

Balance and Stuff: I originally designed this card years ago (almost five, to be exact), and have been playing with it regularly ever since. I feel he is very balanced at 60 points. In my games I’ve found him to be a fun, effective assassin who you keep near the front lines ready to pounce when a key figure gets close, or lurking behind to help with cleanup. I’ve found him to be playable in many formats, from your classic Kill Them All to Dungeon Crawls to Heat of Battle. And even though he lacks the range of other 60-pointers like Sam Brown and Zetacron, he’s still a good investment of points who I’ll often turn to.

He does have an unusual range of 3, which is intentional for his play style and theme. He’s meant to be more of a melee figure than a ranged one, as evidenced by his Blade Flurry power, but a range of 3 does give him a little versatility. You can occasionally get an attack from height on a figure you can’t/don’t want to get too close to, but the range is limiting enough to make those kinds of decisions vital, as it can open him up for counterattack, which I think lends to his assassin play style. I’ve found it to be a tactical feature, and not a bug.

Availability as of this posting:

Troll and Toad - 15
Miniature Market - 6
Noble Knight Games - 4
Strike Zone Online - 10
Brap's Magic - 4
Paizo - In stock (I could put 99 in my cart, not sure if that's accurate or not though)

eBay stores:
Magic Minis and More - 7
kingsofflight - 8
suncitygames - 9
figurephenatix - 2
Plus several other singles that I won't bother listing as they'll probably disappear, but worth acknowledging.

Total = 65, plus however many paizo actually has and any singles on eBay.

Not quite as wildly available as I would hope (there were more on Troll and Toad last week which is what prompted me to submit now, but that's dwindled a little already), but the availability is there. I'm not sure how paizo works - I think it's been discussed in this thread before but don't remember what was said. Was this the one where it's easier to e-mail them to request how many are available? That's something I'd be willing to do if that information is desired.

[superfrog]

I don't like 3 range here. I think I like everything else. Convince me why it's not 4.

[wriggz]

Jack of Blades

I like the theme you have going here, and always felt that Vydar Assassins were a good addition to the canon. I don't mind him throwing knives 3 space 50 spaces up any more than I mind Arrows going that far. I don't see a planet listed - but I don't assume he is from Earth.

That said, he has 3 powers that all trigger on Attack (double skulls, D20 roll on wounding, Multiple attack). This is a degree of complexity that I don't fell is necessitated since 2 attack without Deadly strike or dropping Poison Weapons since it seems overkill on heroes would work equally well.

It is not without significant consideration I vote no to review.

[BiggaBullfrog]

Originally Posted by superfrog

I don't like 3 range here. I think I like everything else. Convince me why it's not 4.

That depends; why don't you like 3?

I like the feel that having a range of 3 gives to this guy. For short range attacks and powers, it's not secret that 4 is the general threshold. That's why I went just under it - I want him to feel a little less precise than other figures in the game. I want there to be more of a risk/reward decision going on when deciding whether to attack from a ranged high point or to run in and engage at a more compromising position. I don't want him to feel like a ranged character - he's not a guy who throws knives and then gets vicious up close, he's a guy who wants to stab guys but can chuck a knife when needed.

In my experience playing him, I have loved the 3 Range. He feels different. He feels like he's trying to get closer to the enemy so he can take them out. He doesn't have Range 4 because he doesn't want to hang back in safety. Rather, he wants to be close to the action, ready to jump in and posing a constant threat for your opponent who's watching out for that danger. He also isn't Range 1 because that would also lead to him hanging back in safety, relying more on his 6 move to get him where he needs to be when something opens up. 3 range means he's wanting to get in there, will run up to throw a knife and then rely on his 6 move to not only get him next to his target, but get as good positioning as he can at the same time. You know how when you're playing a Hydra you're balancing between utilizing it range with Reach and maximizing its damage with Hydra Heads? It's very similar, and I don't think that feel carries through with 4 Range.

But wait, there's more! If you (or any other judges) want more of my reasoning I've posted more of my explanations/feelings here and here in the Workshop Thread (props if you actually go through them). And I really am serious when I ask why you don't like it. Naturally I trust the judges' opinions when they do or don't like something, but it's difficult to assume why you do or don't like it, and I'm genuinely interested in hearing your concerns so I can better address them.

But anyway, TL;DR: Range 3 is different and fun. For reals.

[Scytale]

Range 3 doesn't bother me. There is some weirdness with height, but used sparingly it can be interesting. And it seems interesting here, making decisions between striking at range or stepping in close for Blade Fury, made all the more so by his extra damage potential against choice targets.

to review Jack of Blades

[superfrog]

I think I buy your reasoning, range 3 seems like a melee figure in a way that range 4 does not. I'm going to vote

[Sir Yeshua]

I like way Jack of Blades looks on paper, but a quick question:
Is Deadly Strike supposed to activate if he's making a ranged attack? Because the first time I read it, I assumed that was the case because the power only appears on melee figures. But when I took a closer look, I realized it's always active.

[Dad_Scaper]

Is the idea that those are throwing weapons? Why does he get to keep throwing, when he's only holding two and there are no others on his body, AFAICT? I don't see the connection between the mechanics and the mini. I also agree with @wriggz that three powers triggering on attack seems like a bit much; even if they can all be arranged to fit together so as not to cause rule problems, it feels unrestrained.

Nobody asked me, but I'll offer my opinion anyway, here as well as later, in private, if it gets that far. Too many attack powers and no mini-based reason for the Range of 3. I didn't participate in workshopping this unit, if it went through the process, but if I had I might have suggested dropping the Range to 1 and changing one of the attack powers to a Vydar-themed defense power, to help him get to his targets. That would be valuable both thematically and mechanically, to develop the theme of the needle in the dark.

I like where this is going very much. I don't think it's done yet, though.

Here endeth my unsolicited 2 cents.

[Lazy Orang]

Because three range gives him something both thematic and tactically interesting we haven't seen before? Because it's a game not a simulation and no one else runs out of ammo when they reasonably should? Because at that short range they're credibly retrievable?

[Dad_Scaper]

Because the mechanics say one thing and the mini says another.

It's my opinion. I gave my reasons for it. You don't have to agree.