wriggz's Customs: Battle Ball - 2024-03-28

[wriggz]

Originally Posted by Cyber Controler

Those commandos look sweet. What figures did you use?

They came from the AT-44 sets. They feel so Heroscape to me, and bring in that near future era that is not so easy to find (not sci-fi but not modern either). I thought Einar could really use the extra fire power.

[wriggz]

Aquilla Kyrie
Bio: A patrol of Marro recently emerged from their grotesque hive marches through the dense Ticalla Jungle. These spawn of Utgar’s lust for power and dominion are an affront to Aquilla’s rule, and the order has already been dispatched for their quick destruction. Already the trap has been set as Aquilla’s most loyal and fearsome warriors are waiting to strike. Emboldened by heroic leadership the Marro fall to Aquilla’s Moon Tribe, before any cry for alarm can be raised. The jungle is cleansed for now, but secretly Aquilla fears these guerrilla tactics can only protect her lands for so long.

Designer notes: It has always rubbed me the wrong way that the mythic Moon Tribe never saw official production. After coming across a few Mage Knight sprites I knew I had my Moon Tribe squad. Sadly there were only two useable figures, but with the proliferation of 2 man squads in the fan era, and the opportunity for bonging I was less concerned. The Valiant and Resolute bonding brings a few of the lesser used Kyrie (Saylind, Concan, SotM Raelin) to the table and allowed me to put a couple more heroes with Aquilla. I like Hunters advantage as it makes them feel more opportunistic, which is a quality I fell matches Aquilla well.


When It comes to Kyrie Heroes, I like drawing inspiration from Glyphs in the vein of Kelda. In this case Oreld works well with Hunter’s advantage for both Flettu and the Moon Tribe. She makes a great clean up figure too since, you have a good chance of gaining height and gaining that extra attack before the end of round. The X marker keeps her in check since it prevents a single remaining unit from have all the order markers removed.


Drifa with her Horn of Lodin was an old design, that I stepped up with Kyrie Attack Aura when the bonding presented itself. I realize that she looks very different than the rest of Aquilla’s kyrie, but Kelda doesn’t really fit in with Jandar, so I don’t feel it is too earth shattering. That 5% bonus to all D20 rolls and 10% on Aquilla is very tough to balance for. Currently I’m not to bothered by it since she is 80 points with almost no attack output. I suppose with Manauvi and Jarek Guy she may be a bit over powered, but I’m not sure enough to change it.


Next Week Jandar Lawmen

[IshMEL]

I like the Moon Tribe, will have to keep an eye out for those figures. Just curious, why Guardians? Hunters or Sentinels might also make sense. Just a thought.

Oh, and what are the figures for the two heroes?

[TheAverageFan]

I really like the squad: Heroic Kyrie bonding is a great idea (SoV worthy, perhaps???)

Horn of Lodin is confusing to me though: I didn't think you rolled initiative for any particular Army Card, or is that supposed to be any 20d roll, not initiative?

~TAF

[wriggz]

@IshMEL

For the Squad they already bond with Concan so the Sentinel boost would make them more dangerous. Hunters is fairly generic and I wanted something that would limit possible future synergy.

The Figures for the Squads are:
Warrior Sprite #008 Mage Knight Sinister
Crystal Sprite #012 Mage Knight Whirlwind

Flettu:
Crystal Protector #012 Mage Knight Minions

Drifa:
D&D Anglefire #10 Trumpet Archon
@TheAverageFan

You will never find enough spirites for SoV, I wish is was otherwise, but Dem's the brakes.

Horn of Lodin triggers on Initiative rolls OR when rolling for a card you control. Basically this way you exclude glyphs.

[TheAverageFan]

Originally Posted by wriggz

Horn of Lodin triggers on Initiative rolls OR when rolling for a card you control. Basically this way you exclude glyphs.

Oh right, my bad. I missed that tiny little "or" in there. Oops.

~TAF

[flameslayer93]

Wow these were nicely done Wriggz! I like how you handled the Horn of Lodin, but I'm not sure about the +1 to Aquilla rolls. It feels a little tacked on for color there. Not in a game-breaking sense, but more in a thematic sense. I can see the other side of the coin there too, you may want something that looks like it was brewed for Aquilla.

Absolutely love the Moon Tribe though! Hunter's Advantage would've made for an excellent official power.

[wriggz]

Jandar Lawmen

It was a lost cause and they all knew it. Lt O’Malley was doing the best he could organizing the evacuation out of the tunnel. He had decided he would be the last man out only after every civilian had reach safety. O’Malley wasn’t alone as there were more than a few other officers form the 44th that felt the same way. In his gut he knew that he would never see the sun rise again, but felt pride that he had done good work. That bus of kids, the newlyweds, and the plumber heading home, all would tell the tale of the fearless cops that risked their lives to get them out. Then it all went black.

Soon after awaking in Valhalla, O’Malley was protecting people in a whole new way. Honoured with the sword of the legendary warrior Astrid, while his fellows received some form of magical protection better than any vest, they were tasked with upholding law and order on a whole new world. It is here where tales of their bravery would be sung for a thousand years.

Designer notes:
Lately I have been lamenting the lack of Jandar units in the world of Heroscape. Something about the challenge of designing figures matching the “Paladin” trope seems to keep them down. I found some great Police figure in the Heroclix/Horrorclix line. Lt. O’Malley’s figure had a wicked sword, so I knew had to make him interesting. After multiple iterations I settled on a Skahen clone with more melee attack power in place of Stealth dodge. He costs a bit less, but I think he captures the spirit of Jandar well. Also lore bonus for Saber of Astrid.


Continuing in the spirit of Vydar clones are the 44th Precinct Detectives. Against low attacks they function just like the Krav Maga Agents, and only when attacked at higher levels (3 skulls or more) does the difference present itself. Is that worth 10 points, maybe not, but there are fewer Vydar synergies here (Langor) so I’m okay with the price difference.


Finally we have the Delta Platoon (nod to the LAPD SWAT), a fairly simple short range squad. I think they could give the 10th or stingers a run for their money. I’m tempted to add a “special attack” caveat to Body Armor, to help retain the special in special attack.


Next Week... Valkrill Units

[TheAverageFan]

O'Malley: This guy seems way too good for 110 points. He doesn't have Shaken's Stealth Dodge, but he does have more life and better Melee offensive output for fewer points. Also his Cover Fire can be used to move 4th Mass into position without activating their WtF. A simple price hike should take care of most of that, but it's all my opinion. I ain't played him yet.
Precinct Detectives: Not as good as the Krav Maga, but as close as you'll be able to get to having a second squad of them. Valiance also helps 4th Mass.
Delta Platoon: Interesting balance between Melee defense bonus and nonadjacent attack bonus. Probably best with dealing with other Common Squads.

~TAF, always pleased to see more Jandar units

[wriggz]

Originally Posted by TheAverageFan

O'Malley: This guy seems way too good for 110 points. He doesn't have Shaken's Stealth Dodge, but he does have more life and better Melee offensive output for fewer points. Also his Cover Fire can be used to move 4th Mass into position without activating their WtF. A simple price hike should take care of most of that, but it's all my opinion. I ain't played him yet.
Precinct Detectives: Not as good as the Krav Maga, but as close as you'll be able to get to having a second squad of them. Valiance also helps 4th Mass.
Delta Platoon: Interesting balance between Melee defense bonus and nonadjacent attack bonus. Probably best with dealing with other Common Squads.

~TAF, always pleased to see more Jandar units

O'Malley is on the "Better than average side" however he is not a guaranteed draft choice. He seems to boost the 4th, but really you are better off giving up WTF and moving 4 than hoping for Coverfire - a turn with the 4th is never wasted. I don't feel he out classes Skahan, which is what I was going for. You may be right about upping his points - I have been batting around with his totals for years (really!)

Flushing out Jandar has been a challenge, but I think these Cops do a good job.

[wriggz]

Valkrill Kyrie

Bio: Throughout Valhalla sinkholes have appeared, scaring the war torn lands. There are those that claim this is the very world responding to the wars above. The more scientifically minded link the holes with the depletion of the wellsprings as they are taxed with summoning vast armies to server the Archkyrie. There is one who knows their true purpose. The vile general Valkrill has been guiding the great earth worms to bore out these caves to serve as homes to his bat like followers. Soon the longest night will arrive and his Soldiers will fly out to bring chaos and destruction to all.

Designer notes: Like Aquilla, I wish Valkrill had been fleshed out a bit more with Heroscape staples like Cowboys, Flag barriers and complete factions (heck even a single hero would have been nice). I was able to pick up a few D&D harpies which looked vile enough to serve Valkrill. The different colouring and wings are a bit of a stretch, but beggars cannot be choosers. There are those that may question using Harpies as Kyrie, but I would happily point to the Minions (demons) as a counter example. The movement bonding keeps cheerleaders in tow (great with Andask) and thematically harks back to Utgar’s orders.


Vigdis was another old design, and I was amazed how much she matched Andask when he came on the scene. Here is another Kyrie using a glyph (Wannok in this case) for inspiration. She can be a very annoying clean up figure since that auto wound a figure. She is also great against hero heavy armies. She would be broken against Marvel.


With Odyrskot I recycled a power I designed for Starscream (Deceptions forever!). He just seems like such a devious figure taking free shots at figures within range. As another Mage Knight figure he matches Andask perfectly and the skulls on his cloths are a nice addition to any Valkrill unit. Pairing him with the Harpies is a perfect marriage and fleshes out the faction nicely.


Next Week Vydar Unique Squads

[IshMEL]

Hey Wriggz, I picked up a Crystal Protector and am eager to give Flettu a try. FYI, there's a typo on her card -- "form the choosen" instead of "from the chosen." (Also, you've got Precint instead of Precinct on the title of your 44th card.)

Thanks for the great customs!