The Book of Arkmer

[spiteofthedice]

The Book of Arkmer
Defenders of Kinsland - Collection 8 - Elves

Spoiler Alert!

Heroscape Character Bio:
The Order is of one mind. Power freely flows from one into the other as they lend their strength to each other's magic. Such strength now surges through Arkmer's body and into his staff, the ancient magic of Lerkintin stored there pulses outward in waves. The wolves drive forward, biting and slashing, but their attacks fall flat against the power of Lerkintin. Arkmer cuts the charging wolves down one by one as they approach. Jorhdawn and her father Chardis rain fire down upon the advancing wolves. An inferno ignites around them. It is not enough, the wolves are endless in number, and even more troublesome they don't seem to be dying. The elves slash and stab with swords and spells, but there is no blood, no feral cries of pain. Their swords and their magic meet with only air. Their attackers vanish before the killing blows can land. Some strange new magic is at work here. (Hasbro)



(photos courtesy of Truth )

Originally Posted by Confred

STAFF OF LERKINTIN
When defending with Arkmer, add as many defense dice as the number of Elves you control adjacent to Arkmer.

ENGAGEMENT STRIKE 13
If an opponent’s small or medium figure moves adjacent to Arkmer, roll the 20-sided die. If you roll a 13 or higher, the opponent’s figure receives a wound. Figures may only be targeted as they move into engagement with Arkmer.

_________________________________________________________________
-Rulings and Clarifications-

- Staff of Lerkintin : Base Defense + Special
Does Arkmer's Defense, with Staff of Lerkintin, include his initial 2 Defense dice, or is his base Defense replaced by the sum of Elves surrounding him?
Yes. Arkmer's Defense, with Staff of Lerkintin, includes his base 2 Defense. When Arkmer is attacked, add the number of adjacent elves you control to calculate his total Defense.

-Staff of Lerkintin : Kyntela = +2 Defense
Does Arkmer's Staff of Lerkintin entitle him to 2 additional Defense Dice from Kyntela Gwyn, an elf whose Strength of Oak Aura 1 gives adjacent elves 1 additional Defense die?
Yes. Arkmer receives one additional Defense die for his own Staff of Lerkintin, and another for Kyntela Gwyn's Strength of Oak aura 1. Arkmer's Defense, with only Kyntela Gwyn adjacent, would be his normal Defense of 2, plus an additional 2, for a total of 4.

_________________________________________________________________
-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received

- ACOLARH : Leaf of the Home Tree Aura
As an elf, Arkmer may benefit from Acolarh’s LEAF OF THE HOME TREE AURA defensive bonus.

- ACOLARH : Ullar’s Amulet
As a follower of Ullar, Arkmer may benefit from Acolarh’s ULLAR’S AMULET movement bonus.

- EMIRROON : Elven Summoning Spell
As an elf, Arkmer is subject to Emirroon's Elven Summoning Spell.

- KYNTELA GWYN : Strength of Oak Aura 1
As an elf, Arkmer may benefit from Kyntela Gwyn's STRENGTH OF OAK AURA 1 defense bonus.

- ULGINESH : Mind Link
As an Elf Wizard, Arkmer may benefit from Ulginesh's MIND LINK activation synergy.

- ELVES: Staff of Lerkintin : As elves, the following may aid Arkmer with his Staff of Lerkintin Defense enhancement.

* Acolarh
* Aubrien Archers
* Chardris
* Emirroon
* Jorhdawn
* Kyntela Gwyn
* Morsbane
* Sonlen
* Syvarris
* Ulginesh
* Warriors of Ashra

Synergy Benefits Offered

- CHARDRIS : Fire Strike Special Attack
As an Elf Wizard, Arkmer may aid Chardris with his Fire Strike Special Attack.

- EMIRROON : Elven Summoning Spell
As an elf, Arkmer may aid Emirroon with his Elven Summoning Spell.

- JOHRDAWN : Rain of Flame Special Attack
As an Elf Wizard, Arkmer may aid Johrdawn with her Rain of Flame Special Attack.

- OTONASHI : Tricky Speed 4
As a unit with a Tricky personality, Arkmer may aid Otonashi with her Tricky Speed 4 movement bonus.

C3V and SoV Custom Synergies

Spoiler Alert!

Synergy Benefits Offered

Synergy Benefits Received

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

HADUC : AEGIS OF THE CRIMSON SIGIL
As an Elf Wizard, Arkmer may benefit from Haduc's AEGIS OF THE CRIMSON SIGIL defense bonus.

HADUC : ELVEN SUPREMACY
As an Elf, Arkmer may benefit from Haduc's 20-sided die enhancement.

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

ELVES: Staff of Lerkintin : As elves, the following may aid Arkmer with his STAFF OF LERKINTIN Defense enhancement.

* CORMIN THE DARK
* ELARIA THE PALE
* HADUC

Synergy Imposed

TOMB SKELETONS : SKELETAL FORM
The Tomb Skeletons cannot receive their defense bonus from SKELETAL FORM against Clerics & Wizards.

_________________________________________________________________
-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

Originally Posted by The B.I.V.

Shurrak can Knockback and Jotun can Throw figures into engagement with Arkmer which triggers Engagement Strike.

Drow Chain Fighters can Chain Grab and Warforged Warriors can Tactical Switch figures into engagement with Arkmer which triggers Engagement Strike.

_________________________________________________________________
-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Power Rankings

Jexik: Arkmer- Not only is he the best Elf Wizard for his points, but Arkmer also has some uses outside of that specific build. B

OEAO: Arkmer- Arkmer's biggest problem is that both the Marro Warriors and Me-Burq-Sa exist. 4 dice at 5 range is very strong and Engagement Strike 13 is super nice. Arkmer straddles the line between a screen unit and a bruiser and somehow manages to be extremely solid at both at a budget price. B+

Cleon: Tier 6 (96/208)

dok (VC inclusive): B

Master Index
Arkmer Revealed!
Arkmer - What's Your Army Idea?
How to choose, and use, the Elven Army.

Unit Strategy Review

TBA

[Rifier_Ace]

In my mind this guy is worth his weight in gold with elf wizard armies. He, in my opinion is just about 25 points less in value than Chardris. Lets compare.

Offensive:
Arkmer- He has a base attack of 4 w/ 5 range.
Chardris- Has a special attack with a possible 5 attack dice and six 6 range. I give the slight advantage to Chardris.

Survivability:
Arkmer- 3 life and two defense, with a catch. All elves adjacent to him add 1 to his defense. So he has decent survivability.
Chardris- 6 life and two defense. He also has decent survivability.I give them a tie with the slight advantage going to Chardris.

Plus Arkmer has another ability to boot! Engagement strike.

After all of this I don't think that Arkmer should be 40 points less than Chardris. I think that Arkmer is fine at 50 it's just I think that Chardris is a little much at 90, especially when you compare him to Jordawn. I think that he should be in the 75-80 point range.

Overall though I enjoy playing the elf army not because it is super competitive but because it makes me think hard about every decision I make and it brings an interesting dynamic to the game.

[Jexik]

Originally Posted by Rifier_Ace

After all of this I don't think that Arkmer should be 40 points less than Chardris. I think that Arkmer is fine at 50 it's just I think that Chardris is a little much at 90, especially when you compare him to Jordawn. I think that he should be in the 75-80 point range.

Overall though I enjoy playing the elf army not because it is super competitive but because it makes me think hard about every decision I make and it brings an interesting dynamic to the game.

I agree with this. I wish that Ulginesh were cheaper, or that Emiroon were, or that they could mind link three at a time, or that Sonlen were a Wizard... or something. They just seem to lack that little something it would take for them to win a little more often. They're like the opposite of Deathwalkers. Every turn, they take a little bit of damage, and before long, your whole army is gimped once a few certain elves are hurt.

I'm interested to see what the 9th wizard does. I hope it has something to do with lightning.

[S1R_ART0R1US]

Yes! I am so happy the new books are up. Thanks so much.

Arkmer is good, but like so many of the new elves, he just isn't really viable in builds that are non-elven.

[dok]

Has anyone attempt to use uneven terrain or blockers to isolate a strong double-spaced hero in an engagement against Arkmer? Ideally, you would have the opposing hero adjacent to Arkmer, with KG and two other elves behind Arkmer, not touching the opposing hero. This forces the hero to attack Arkmer's defense of 6; quite an improvement over the normal elf wizard defense of 2.

I could see this strategy potentially paying dividents against Q9, Q10, Zetacron, Brunak, and the Hivelords. It could also work against Krug, Nilfheim, or Charos, but they would probably just disengage and look for weaker targets. Against Q9/Q10, you would probably want to wait for the third order marker to try this, and hope to set up the full quartet on an initiative switch before the major has a chance to respond.

I'm not suggesting this is something you could pull off with any regularity, but if you could manage it once in a while against a key opponent, it could help out. Just something to look for in the terrain.

[chispito]

Originally Posted by dok

Has anyone attempt to use uneven terrain or blockers to isolate a strong double-spaced hero in an engagement against Arkmer? Ideally, you would have the opposing hero adjacent to Arkmer, with KG and two other elves behind Arkmer, not touching the opposing hero. This forces the hero to attack Arkmer's defense of 6; quite an improvement over the normal elf wizard defense of 2.

I could see this strategy potentially paying dividents against Q9, Q10, Zetacron, Brunak, and the Hivelords. It could also work against Krug, Nilfheim, or Charos, but they would probably just disengage and look for weaker targets. Against Q9/Q10, you would probably want to wait for the third order marker to try this, and hope to set up the full quartet on an initiative switch before the major has a chance to respond.

I'm not suggesting this is something you could pull off with any regularity, but if you could manage it once in a while against a key opponent, it could help out. Just something to look for in the terrain.

I think you'd be wasting a lot of turns moving everyone into position, and your opponent would have to have stopped on the exact position you needed for it to work. Arkmer would be much more valuable, IMO, taking shots of 5 from height at the attacker, and warding off small and medium figures.

[dok]

I just want to emphasize again, that I would really only consider this an occasional strategy, as oppose to something that would work often.

Originally Posted by chispito

I think you'd be wasting a lot of turns moving everyone into position,

Well, one turn, anyway. With Emirroon you'll have everyone close together to start. The only real wasted turn would be activating Kyntella Gwyn to move behind Arkmer after he steps into the breach. So that's one half of a wasted order marker (i.e. one Ulginesh mind link). The other two moves to back up Arkmer can be figures that would be attacking anyway, like Chardris or Jorhdawn.

Originally Posted by chispito

and your opponent would have to have stopped on the exact position you needed for it to work.

Certainly, and this is why it's a rare strategy. However, it's not hard to imagine Q9 ending a turn with a toe in one of the single-space gaps on, say, Actic Divide, giving Arkmer an opportunity to step into the other side.

Originally Posted by chispito

Arkmer would be much more valuable, IMO, taking shots of 5 from height at the attacker, and warding off small and medium figures.

Here I disagree. It's hard to imagine a bigger impact than forcing Q9 to take shots at a defense of 6 in stead of a defense of 2. Particularly when it comes to the elves, the best offense is a good defense.

[Tai-Pan]

Actually, with a little luck, you could get these guys set up a lot quicker. Mind Link Emirroon to move up, roll for the summon, and summon at least Arkmer into position, potentially the whole group. 2nd half of Mind Link, move up an additional elf if you didn't get to summon as many as you wanted.

With Emirroon, two order markers and a little luck. With Ulginesh and Emirroon, one order marker and a little luck.

[chispito]

Originally Posted by dok

Certainly, and this is why it's a rare strategy. However, it's not hard to imagine Q9 ending a turn with a toe in one of the single-space gaps on, say, Actic Divide, giving Arkmer an opportunity to step into the other side.

Is Arkmer expendable enough that you would always use him to engage an opposing ranged unit? Say, Q9? what if Kyntela was dead already and the most you could give him was an extra two defense? Arctic Divide appears to me to have exactly three hexes on which the opposing figure would have to have stopped (with your elves in range) for you to singularly engage him with Arkmer and have Arkmer boosted by three friendly elves.

I see the merits of you strategy, I just wonder about the other 95% of the time, when you can't employ it.

[dok]

Originally Posted by chispito

Is Arkmer expendable enough that you would always use him to engage an opposing ranged unit? Say, Q9?

He's roughly equally as expendable as the other ranged "striker" wizards, i.e. Jorhdawn, Chardris, and Morsbane. But the point here is not to sacrifice him, any more than hanging back would mean you wanted to sacrifice whichever wizard gets targeted in stead. Q9 is going to attack somebody, so it may as well be someone with a lot of defense.

Originally Posted by chispito

what if Kyntela was dead already and the most you could give him was an extra two defense?

In that case, the most you could give him would be an extra three defense, and yes, that would still be worth it. Five defense is a LOT better than two.

Originally Posted by chispito

Arctic Divide appears to me to have exactly three hexes on which the opposing figure would have to have stopped (with your elves in range) for you to singularly engage him with Arkmer and have Arkmer boosted by three friendly elves.

There's a lot more than that.

There are three two-hex locations where it's trivially obvious: the leftmost gap between the 1-hex glacier and the mid-size hex glacier, the gap between the 1-hex glacier and the giant glacier, and the gap between the two 1-hex glaciers on the right. I assume those are the three you were referring to.

For the record, those spots are especially notable, because in those spots, this strategy allows Arkmer to lock up ONE-hex heroes, too. You can pin down a Deathwalker, or Kaemon Awa, or Skahen. So those choke points are particularly notable.

But there's also a LOT of other spots where it works, too, if you think about it. For example, say Q9 is in the two hexes that both border both 1-hex glaciers on the right. Put Arkmer in the same level snow hex directly under Q9 in the image, and put the three fellow elves under that. Q9 can't slide one space down/left and engage one of the other wizards, because he would be on two levels. And movement beyond that means he takes disengagement. All Q9 can do is slide on and off the glyph.

Once you wrap your head around that, you will see that there's another six or seven spots like that on the map, where a two-spacer has to disengage in order to engage someone other than Arkmer. If we expand our criteria to spots where Arkmer only has 2 elves backing him up (max 5 defense), in stead of three, then there's even more.

Originally Posted by chispito

I see the merits of you strategy, I just wonder about the other 95% of the time, when you can't employ it.

I'm not sure it's only 5% of the time. But I agree that it's hardly a universal strategy. It's just something to keep in mind, and use when the opportunity presents itself.

[chispito]

Originally Posted by dok

But there's also a LOT of other spots where it works, too, if you think about it...

Once you wrap your head around that, you will see that there's another six or seven spots like that on the map, where a two-spacer has to disengage in order to engage someone other than Arkmer. If we expand our criteria to spots where Arkmer only has 2 elves backing him up (max 5 defense), in stead of three, then there's even more.

I'm not sure it's only 5% of the time. But I agree that it's hardly a universal strategy. It's just something to keep in mind, and use when the opportunity presents itself.

Yes I see now there are quite a few such spaces, and thoughtful play might even bait the Q9-playing opponent into such a position. If you are willing to give up height advantage to the big boring robot in exchange for a net gain of 3-4 defense against him, there are even more spaces, ones that would ostensibly be desirable. Granted, if I were playing Q9 I would disengage at that point and obliterate the supporting units.

[dok]

Originally Posted by chispito

Granted, if I were playing Q9 I would disengage at that point and obliterate the supporting units.

Yeah, I probably would as well, even with a high defense, low life figure like Q9. It becomes a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. Still, if you can manage to force Q9 to take a couple disengagement swipes, you improve your odds.