Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion

[BiggaBullfrog]

I'm still a little bummed to see that the availability is so low, as I could see this being a unit that people will want more than the "usual" 3 of (might just be me, but I could see running a full army of these guys pretty fun, kind of like running a full army of Chainfighters). After thinking about it, I'm willing to go with it here.

I like the card overall, and I'm interested in seeing how it plays. I don't think it will boost the playability of the Drow a ton competitively, but it will give a Drow army options and I think it will be cool to include in dungeon scenarios.

to review Drow Assassin.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Compare and contrast . . .

[Leaf_It]

WOOOOO! Thank you Bigga.

But more importantly, I just finished a deal with a guy in Australia for 43 of this figure. I think Availability is no longer an issue. This puts my total, for just the figures that I have available, up to 96 figures, and puts the total figures available through both myself, and the usual online stores, at 176. I'll take a picture in 2 weeks when the international shipping finally arrives.

Originally Posted by kolakoski

Well met!

[HOPLITRON CARD IMAGE]
[DROW ASSASSIN CARD IMAGE]

Compare and contrast . . .

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but let them take their time, and be patient.

[dok]

Originally Posted by kolakoski

Compare and contrast . . .

One bonds with a squad and has synergy with Deathreavers; the other doesn't.

[Astroking112]

As a quick question, would the SoV be willing to consider a repaint of an Einar Imperium in the vein of Tyrian the Kyrie Warrior (so really just changing the pants color and maybe the mask)? I have an idea that I'm tinkering with for another Einar Kyrie hero, and I'm having a lot of trouble finding a sculpt that would fit.

I know that Tyrian was a special case coming at a time when the Protectors of Ullar were more common (and that there is a lore reason for him looking like one), but the Einar Imperium are easier to find online and won't see much play without another hero anyway. I also think that figures such as Sir Hawthorne or Master Win Chiu Woo establish a precedent of repainted commons becoming heroes in their respective factions, which could be justification for doing the same for this Einar Kyrie.

Also, would a repaint of some Izumi Samurai figures be acceptable for a new Samurai unique squad? I think that many players will have multiple copies of them from the first Master Set, and I'm having difficulty finding good, plentiful Samurai sculpts. My main concern is that a repaint of them would likely have to be slightly more involved, on account of their armor.

[Scytale]

Originally Posted by Astroking112

I know that Tyrian was a special case coming at a time when the Protectors of Ullar were more common (and that there is a lore reason for him looking like one), but the Einar Imperium are easier to find online and won't see much play without another hero anyway. I also think that figures such as Sir Hawthorne or Master Win Chiu Woo establish a precedent of repainted commons becoming heroes in their respective factions, which could be justification for doing the same for this Einar Kyrie.

I suppose I wouldn't have a problem with it, though the paint job would have to make him look very different that the others somehow. Also, I find it hard to believe there are enough available EIs out there for sale for reasonable prices, but I haven't looked.

Originally Posted by Astroking112

Also, would a repaint of some Izumi Samurai figures be acceptable for a new Samurai unique squad? I think that many players will have multiple copies of them from the first Master Set, and I'm having difficulty finding good, plentiful Samurai sculpts. My main concern is that a repaint of them would likely have to be slightly more involved, on account of their armor.

I would probably say no to that. An Izumi repaint would look like an Izumi repaint. The Elite Onyx Vipers did set a precedent there to some extent, but that was at least turning a Common squad into a Unique one.

[superfrog]

I vote to review the Drow Assassin by Leaf_It.

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by Scytale

I suppose I wouldn't have a problem with it, though the paint job would have to make him look very different that the others somehow. Also, I find it hard to believe there are enough available EIs out there for sale for reasonable prices, but I haven't looked.

For the paint job, I thought that it would be best to keep it relatively simple, only changing the pants to be black and the mask to be silver. I could see potentially painting the wings white to match Kiova, but that seems much more involved to me in order to make it look good, so I'm not keen on the idea.

The Einar Imperium are usually sold for around $15 on eBay for the full squad. Most other websites like Miniatures Market don't carry much HeroScape stuff anymore, sadly, so the only alternative would be this website or AllThingsHeroScape, which is usually on the higher end of eBay prices.

This is unfortunately higher than I'd like for C3V/SoV units, but I doubt that these minis will become completely impossible to find, unlike some of the other customs. I was hoping that the relative reliability of being able to get old HeroScape figures (especially since the Einar Imperium are one of the cheaper HeroScape squads for sale now) along with the fact that many community members will already have them would satisfy the availability requirements, since I don't see another way to reasonably make an Einar Kyrie.

Originally Posted by Scytale

I would probably say no to that. An Izumi repaint would look like an Izumi repaint. The Elite Onyx Vipers did set a precedent there to some extent, but that was at least turning a Common squad into a Unique one.

Nothing can be done to change the sculpts, but I was hoping that painting the skin red and the armor black to represent demonic samurai would look visually distinct enough. My plan was also to drop one member, turning them into a squad of two, in order to further make them stand out. Would you still find this unacceptable?

The only other way that I can see this squad coming to fruition would be taking a Kozuke or Tagawa Samurai member and mixing it with one Izumi figure for the squad, much like you did with your custom Shidou Samurai. I'd like to avoid this if possible, though, since it would require for people to dismantle two squads instead of one.

[DanieLoche]

"especially since the Einar Imperium are one of the cheaper HeroScape squads for sale now" uh.... really ?!

[wriggz]

With the Assassin we are looking at turning a 3 man 70 pt melee squad into a 4 man 105 pt conditional melee squad, which requires careful play and maybe some order marker management.

Thinking about it that way I don't see any real issues as I doubt the extra man will make much of a difference, while 2 of them eat up a whole squad worth of points.

I guess what it will come down to is if the neat tricks (sling shot the assassin, 5 sneak attack, using the chain fighter) are interesting enough to warrant the figures inclusion in SoV. Only playtesting can tell, so I vote Yeah to review.

[bmon]

I would be strongly opposed to repaints of existing HS figures. Perhaps a little less opposed when it comes to RotV since those are rampant. Any other figures though are a declining species. If we allow repaints, why not just find actively produced mini's to paint? There is a plethora of great miniatures (ie. Reaper Bones) that don't appear to be anywhere near end of life. If painting is going to be required, why not branch out?

Edit: Also, for what it's worth, I'm not suggesting unpainted minis be considered. I have no issues painting, but I think prepaints keep it more accessible to everyone.

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by DanieLoche

"especially since the Einar Imperium are one of the cheaper HeroScape squads for sale now" uh.... really ?!

Just because they're on the cheaper end of the HeroScape spectrum doesn't mean that they're cheap, unfortunately. It's regular to find HeroScape squads selling for $20+ on eBay now (even here, it's not uncommon to see other squads selling for higher).

Originally Posted by bmon

I would be strongly opposed to repaints of existing HS figures. Perhaps a little less opposed when it comes to RotV since those are rampant. Any other figures though are a declining species. If we allow repaints, why not just find actively produced mini's to paint? There is a plethora of great miniatures (ie. Reaper Bones) that don't appear to be anywhere near end of life. If painting is going to be required, why not branch out?

Edit: Also, for what it's worth, I'm not suggesting unpainted minis be considered. I have no issues painting, but I think prepaints keep it more accessible to everyone.

Just to be clear, i'm not suggesting that this become a widespread occurrence. There are just some things practically exclusive to HeroScape's world that it's very hard to find suitable sculpts for. I looked for sculpts fitting an Einar Kyrie or a two-person Samurai squad, and I couldn't find anything that was both widely available and pre-built/pre-painted.

HeroScape has an established precedent of allowing repaints of its older figures, though originally this was just for exclusive promotional figures like the GenCon heroes or the Elite Onyx Vipers. Because the community must now repaint figures like Samuel Brown and Tyrian the Kyrie Warrior, I feel like part of the appeal would be in the simplicity of any potential repaint. I personally have no painting expertise, but I'm sure that even I could handle Tyrian and an Einar Imperium repaint--but painting a whole new miniature? That sounds like it would be too much for me to handle, so I'm not comfortable with suggesting an unpainted mini to the community.

To that end, I feel like a repainted Einar Imperium would be more acceptable than the Izumi Samurai, since their repaint would be about as easy as Tyrian's. The main problem is their availability, as others have mentioned. Just like with Tyrian and Samuel Brown, though, you can still use the figure as another member of that squad if you need to, so I believe that it's less destructive than modding or other techniques used to create new heroes, and I don't see any other options for making these two units a reality.