The Book of Acolarh

[master4sword]

Originally Posted by rednax

Acolarh has become my new favorite flag bearer. Here are some of my favorite armies for him:

Acolarh 110
Sonlen 160
Kyntella Gwyn 20
WoA x4 200
Otonashi/Isamu
Total 500

Acolarh 110
Theracus 40
Syvarris 100
WoA x5 250 (I only have 4, so I might sub in Arkmer.)
Total 500

Acolarh 110
Theracus 40
Aubrien Archers x5 350
Total 500

I'm not saying they're the best, but they fair averagely.

Acolarh's effectiveness relies heavily on having lots of figures to keep alive so you have lots of chances for Leaf of the Home Tree to activate, so yeah, tons of squads works well with him. Pairing him with WoA can make them a nightmare to kill with a normal melee attack...with 3 defense there's about a 70% chance of rolling at least 1 shield (someone check my math, that's bound to be incorrect) and about a 22% chance of Leaf activating should you miss the roll (based on the chart listed earlier in the book), leading to about a 6% chance of losing a WoA in a regular melee attack (again, someone better with probability should check my math).


Also, under Synergy Benefits Offered, didn't they change it so you can't Mindshackle uniques who are already in your army, so you wouldn't be able to synergize with a Mindshackled Acolarh. And the other Elf wizards are missing links.

[rednax]

The other important thing people forget about Acolarh is his move boost. Having a 9 move Theracus fly out with Acolarh, and set him in a nice little perch, is a very effective way to make use of him. Not to mention, 7 move WoA and Aubriens are always nice.

Edit: Another army:

Acolarh 110
Atlaga 90
WoA x6 300
Total 500

You can also substitute WoA squads many different ways for units like Syvarris, Theracus, and Arkmer.

[DrummerScaper97]

I just got this guy on Ebay today for $40! But to contribute to the discussion, here's what army I will use with Acolarh:

Acolarh - 110
Morsbane - 100
Syvarris - 100
Kyntela Gwyn - 20
Sonlen - 160
Isamu - 10
500 pts.

I know it seems kinda limited, but I don't have the elves set from wave 9 (i believe that's what wave t's from) but I think it will work well (until I get the elves set) and I can't wait to try it out.

[chaoserver]

Heh, drummer, very risky using acolarh in an army like that(he's terrible in it unless insanely lucky).. I would know, I tried to integrate him into elves/elf wizard armies but it just doesn't work. I did recently have a game however that his ability worked an incredible percent of the time(against a Brunak that otherwise would have endlessly cleaved onwards) to the point he was considered the greatest hassle on the map! I do like him, but he is strongly lacking, though not as much as taro.

[Dredd Stev]

Originally Posted by chaoserver

Heh, drummer, very risky using acolarh in an army like that(he's terrible in it unless insanely lucky).. I would know, I tried to integrate him into elves/elf wizard armies but it just doesn't work. I did recently have a game however that his ability worked an incredible percent of the time(against a Brunak that otherwise would have endlessly cleaved onwards) to the point he was considered the greatest hassle on the map! I do like him, but he is strongly lacking, though not as much as taro.

He starts to fit in much better when you draft the rest of the elf wizards. Getting him into position for the move bonus is not nearly so much a waste of time when it's only HALF your activation. Also you really need all the wizards to stay alive as long as possible for them to remain effective, so even one successful LotHT roll is often a big deal.

[killercactus]

Originally Posted by Dredd Stev

He starts to fit in much better when you draft the rest of the elf wizards. Getting him into position for the move bonus is not nearly so much a waste of time when it's only HALF your activation. Also you really need all the wizards to stay alive as long as possible for them to remain effective, so even one successful LotHT roll is often a big deal.

Not to mention you can use him to boost Emirroon's move, then summon him up with Emirroon in the same turn and use him to boost the movement of other wizards.

[chaoserver]

I feel it would be better to drop him or focus on an army dedicated to him though, sure if you do get the roll in an ideal situation in the elf wizard army you are golden, but with so few attempts its far from a guarantee, not to mention activations would be better spent elsewhere.

[DrummerScaper97]

Yeah, I think on a large map he wouldn't be as effective as he would be on a smaller map. So then you would get more situations to svae the elves/wizards with kyntela boosting his defense and Sonlen nearby to heal him.Then he could help boost move at the start of the game to get everyone in a good position to attack/defend.

[Dredd Stev]

Originally Posted by chaoserver

I feel it would be better to drop him or focus on an army dedicated to him though, sure if you do get the roll in an ideal situation in the elf wizard army you are golden, but with so few attempts its far from a guarantee, not to mention activations would be better spent elsewhere.

Well that completely depends on how you and your enemy deploy.

Once the attacking has begun and figures start entering each others threat range... your right, picking him as an activation is probably not the best choice. You'd be more likely to activate two offensive figures to deal with the approaching enemies.

But at the start of the game, or when the battle lulls for a turn or two for re-positioning and re-enforcement having a half turn with the flag bearer can be a great move! You can get him next to key offensive figures for the meaningful +2 move, you can get him next to defensive boosters and move up the boundaries of his life-saving aura! All at the cost of half a turn without ever having to place an OM on him.

As far a support figures go, he's actually pretty darn good. My biggest complaint about using him outside of an elf wizard army is that you have to eat OM's by positioning him properly in order to get the most benefit out of his abilities. Within his wizard gang though, he is just another mind-linked elf - OM's become a non-issue.

He does have his uses in big masses of common elf squads (gets to use his LotHT a LOT more) but in many cases it's not as big a deal to save the life of a WoA on the front lines... it's ALWAYS a HUGE deal if you prevent the death of any one of the elf wizards, from Arkmer to Ulginesh! (although clearly ol' Ulggy needs to be kept alive the longest...)

[Aldin]

Acolarh forces your opponent to decide whether to go after the elves that are dealing damage or to go after the protector of those elves. Putting him adjacent to Kyntela Gwyn is almost cruel - inexpensively boosting his defense while simultaneously making her a less attractive target.

Because he only negates the wounds caused by the attack that causes death, I prefer him with elf squads over the high life, low defense elf wizards. After the 300 point core of Ulgy, Arkmer, Emirroon and KG he's third on my rankings of the final four (after Jorhdawn and Morsbane but before Chardris).

~Aldin, raising the banner

[Fen_Hydra]

I find this guy not to work as well as I might like. Getting 3 symbols is pretty hard to roll, and without having many squads of archers or WoA, (which is also rather expensive), he isn't really worth his points.

He wouldn't really work in an elf wizard army, and other armies start to get expensive to buy. (ex. Acolarh and WoA X6 + other stuff.)

[Dredd Stev]

Originally Posted by Fen_Hydra

I find this guy not to work as well as I might like. Getting 3 symbols is pretty hard to roll, and without having many squads of archers or WoA, (which is also rather expensive), he isn't really worth his points.

He wouldn't really work in an elf wizard army, and other armies start to get expensive to buy. (ex. Acolarh and WoA X6 + other stuff.)

I could not disagree more, he works splendidly in an elf wizard army, just not in a 500-point elf wizard army. Granted his LotHT aura will get more chances to activate if you bring along a bunch of squads, but like I said before I'd much rather save a wizard's life once than a whole squad of Ashra! Keeping ALL the wizards alive for as LONG as possible is very important to the success of the army, and the ability to reposition Acolarh for movement boosting and his aura without spending OM's on him is a major plus.