Acolarh - Flagbearer - Crest of the Valkyrie

[Grungebob]

Originally Posted by Thor

But that still requires you to place order markers on Acolarh to get him into position at some point in the game when you could of been moving another unit or hero instead. Like I said, Acolarh just seems counter productive. He is suppose to make your units quicker, but since he needs to be adjacent and only gives +2 move he actually hinders their movement more then boost it since you need to waste a turn moving him up with the unit as well. For an ability that is suppose to boost manuverability this guy sure requires you to slow down and waste a lot of turns to get that measly 2+ move bonus.

The only figures he seems to work well with is elves. I can see you wasting a turn to keep him moving with the Warriors or Archers so they get the extra durability and also the +2 move. Of course if he is moving with the WoA and giving them +2 move he is going to fall behind quickly since he only can move 5 spaces himself compared to their 7.

Acolarh should have had at least 6 move. He also should of had his move ability work well with all units in Ullar's army. Of all the figures Acolarh seems the weakest.

I have used him in a couple of games. It really only takes one order marker to get him into position on most maps. I started him adjacent to Theracus in another game and never even used an order marker on him after Theracus dropped him off. What I love about him is how he keeps the elves alive for a little longer. I nust have good luck or something because I have seen him refuse death on multiple occasions in just a couple games. He even saved Syvarris from doom. I'm wondering why he would get a bad rap at all.

[nickmodaily]

If you just position six WOA, Vipers, or Archers around him at the start of the game and then don't move him again, you're right he sucks. He can only give the movement bonus to those six figures.

But if you move him on his first turn (with or without Theracus) to the center of the board, you can have every figure in your Ullar army pass by him and receive the movement bonus on their next activation. This way he's closer to the action and can save fallen elves and he can help more than just the six figures adjacent at the beginning of the game.

You just have to position your figures in your starting zone so that after you have moved Acolarh with your first order marker, they will be able to stop adjacent to him at the end of their own movement phase.

That's how I would use him. But to be honest, I think he is the weakest of the flagbearers. Rolling 3 out of 10 symbols to save an elf is too much of a longshot.

[gamjuven]

My roommate and I played two games with the dude. The game I used him he sucked, he didn't do anything. Not one save roll, and just took up an order marker, space, and more importantly, points. In the second game he faired better saving 5-6 times out of 10 I'd say. Not too shabby, a lot of really lucky rolls. He didn't do any damage to anything though. Perhaps 110 pts could be best spent elsewhere, but only more trials would be able to tell

[Thor]

Originally Posted by netherspirit

It does.

Oh really? So using at least one turn to move Acolarh up, or into position earlier in a game is worth taking the place of a squad or hero's normal move? Because last I checked every squad or hero can move at least 4 spaces, while Acolarh only grants +2 move when you are adjacent to him. I dunno about you, but to me it doesn't seem very productive to waste turns moving Acolarh to try and get him adjacent for the +2 move when you could just spend those turns moving the squad instead, now does it?

Keep in mind we are talknig about all non-elves that Ullar controls. Other then the +2 move Acolarh grants them no bonuses. Unless you are moving Acolarh adjacent to them for the +2 move, there really isn't much point in using him with non-elves. He isn't a very powerful hero on his own rights after all so it's not like his attack is going to be substantial when compared to other hero options you could choose instead.

And Grungebob, I am not argueing Acolarh all around is a bad figure. His other ability is really quite nice. It's just a shame his +2 to move ability is so restrictive. It's suppose to make your figures more manuverable, but since you have to spend a minimum of 1 turn getting or keeping Acolarh adjacent it really makes the ability more of a burden to use.

On the other hand other flag bearers like Laglor and Gilbert have abilities that work extremely well. Move Laglor into position and then just sit next to other Vydar range units granting them the bonus to their range attack. Gilbert can also be placed in a group of defenders and grant them the extra defense. He can be bonded with squads and keep up with them to grant this bonus, or you can move him into a large cluster of figures and give them all extra move since his aura radius is so large.

Acolarh only grants +2 move and you need to be adjacent to him, making it not even worth the order marker to use him when you could be using the same marker to move a squad their normal move, which will be at LEAST double the bonus Acolarh would grant.

[nater]

im limited to a master set here but i figure if you keep him near Sylvaris and get syv a height advantage then he can really pick oponents off before they get too close to glyphs or any of your key figs

[Fourshadow]

Yes, it would seem fair to extend the make the move bonus aura a little larger than adjacent. Perhaps within 2 hexes like Ornak's Orc attack boost?

[Aldin]

Tactical flexibility.

Imagine a viper army with Mittens, Acolarh & Theracus in it. At any given moment, Aco&Ther can be eleven hexes away, boosting vipers that could then ALSO move eleven. I don't know if it's a viable army or not, but if speed kills...

~Aldin, who isn't quite sure whether spending 150 is worth the move boost to a viper army or not, but thinks it might be worth a try, especially in a 500+ point army

[kenjib]

Originally Posted by Thor

Oh really? So using at least one turn to move Acolarh up, or into position earlier in a game is worth taking the place of a squad or hero's normal move? Because last I checked every squad or hero can move at least 4 spaces, while Acolarh only grants +2 move when you are adjacent to him. I dunno about you, but to me it doesn't seem very productive to waste turns moving Acolarh to try and get him adjacent for the +2 move when you could just spend those turns moving the squad instead, now does it?

All movement is not equal. It's not a zero sum equation. It really depends on when the extra movement kicks in and the position of the pieces when it does.

On the first order marker of the game, the move is giving you board position and helping to grab glyphs but it is not determining how quickly you close in on a ranged unit and whether you get attacked or not before you do. On later order markers it does determine this. That's why sacrificing some move early on to gain it later on can be a very good move, depending on the opponents you are facing and how your opponent plays them. You lose some board position in order to potentially prevent some extra attacks. Whether or not it's worth it depends in part on how good of a player you are and how you do or do not take advantage of this option depending on the field. It gives you tactical flexibility.

Furthermore, once Acolarh uses a turn marker all units passing by him will get that bonus without acolarh needing any subsequent counters. Activate that power 3 or 4 times and you're getting a net profit even under your terms.

Finally, he can benefit a bit in getting your common unit "refill" ranks up into the action when their bretheren have fallen, which can also be a really big deal tactically and worth much more than movement at the very beginning of the game.

[CupidsArt]

Acolarh 110
Syv 100
Theracus 40
2x Aubrien 140
2x WoA 100

Here you go then. This is what makes me believe Acolarh is worth his points.

When setting up starting zones, put him, Theracus & Syvarris towards the front in the shape of a diamond.

Syv in front, Theracus sideways behind him and Acol Behind Theracus. Put the marker on Theracus, move him and Acol up to high ground.

The next turn bring Theracus back for Syv.

The third turn bring forward your Aubrien Archers to a point near Acol.

Round 2

First turn leave 1 of the archers that you moved already in it's place and move two more from the back. You should be in a position by this time to engage the enemy. Attack with your archers if you get a frenzy you should be able to get rid of most of the frontline squad sent your way. They should also be within the aura of Acol.

Second Turn
Take Syv Towards Acol with Theracus.

Third Turn
Move Syv Closer towards Acol and attack any units heading your way (more than likely ranged units).

Round 3

Turn 1
you should be moving more archers up towards the enemy. But make sure you stay close to Acol, you can probably pull the enemy towards you if he isn't paying attention.

Turn 2
Now that you have the enemy a little closer, hit'm again with Syv. Your opponents forces should be slowly falling down in numbers. If the opponent decides to start sending in his reserve forces, you can keep pulling him in. He should be within range of the WoA.

Turn 3 bring in the WoA and tie him up. With the ability to do 1 shield as well as Acolarh, these babes will earn their points in kills.

If you play with a level head and keep track of what your opponent is doing, you should get a win with at least 2 AA, 3 WoA, Acolarh with 1 wound and Syv with 2 wounds.

[Hendal]

if your not using a lot of elves he isn't so great, but with an all elf or lots of elves he becomes pretty good.
We played a few on soulrazor last night and with out moving him the elves where almost always w/i LOS and 8 spaces I think I saved 6 archers and 2 of the elf chicks. He got into the frenzy at the end and did d alittle damage ,but I was up against q-9 and the krav and lost in the end, but did way better then I thought I would against the heavy hitters. I think against a lesser army i would have won easily.

If nothing else it is just fun rolling the extra dice while the other guy sweats it wondering if your going to roll enough to save your elves life.
I think he is better on some boards ,not as good on others.

[Thor]

When used with elves this guy is great, I don't think anyone is denying that. He has just over a 20% chance to save them from death and the ability can cover a large area to boot. Since the ability is important you will want to use a turn to move him with your elves to make sure they are in the aura, and at the same time you will be giving some of them the +2 move bonus too.

However, Acolarh doesn't boost any other Ullar units for crap. Why would you waste 110 point to give your other heros and squads a measly +2 move when you also have to spend turns getting Acolarh adjacent just to grant it? Sure he can make Theracus move 11 spaces and carry him, but so what? Other then grabbing glyphs it's kind of pointless. Neither Theracus nor Acolarh can do crap for damage.

Originally Posted by kenjib

it is not determining how quickly you close in on a ranged unit and whether you get attacked or not before you do. On later order markers it does determine this.

Who is to say that range squad won't move up a space or two and get an extra round of shots off while you are taking turns moving both Acolarh and the squad into position? Or maybe that measly +2 move isn't going to get a squad engaged any faster with a ranged squad then normal. Maybe the enemy range figures are on a cliff, or the squad you are enhancing only has 5 base move while the range squad has 8 range. There is really a lot to take into consideration with your tactic.

Originally Posted by kenjib

Furthermore, once Acolarh uses a turn marker all units passing by him will get that bonus without acolarh needing any subsequent counters. Activate that power 3 or 4 times and you're getting a net profit even under your terms.

This again is conditional. You can't do that in narrow areas too well, or areas with a lot of terrain differences in height. Not only that, you might have to waste more movement trying to go towards Aco then you would gain overall from the +2 move bonus. Things would have to be placed perfectly. If Acolarh is 3 spaces away from a figure with 6 move there isn't any point in stopping by him to get that extra +2 move your next turn, now is there?

To me Acolarh's move bonus just seems kind of poorly thought out. It could have been better with a large radius, but instead it really seems to fall short and not accomplish what it is suppose to, and that is more manuverability for your troops.

[Chimpy]

The only time I see Acorlah's movement bonus really being used is when Theracus carries him around. Otherwise, I really do not see the point.