The Book of Ana Karithon

[dok]

I guess I don't really see the point of Migol, though. Sure, he's a nice tank, but unless your opponent is forced to attack him before Raelin, I don't see how you really profit from the synergy with Ana. Tandros's combat challenge makes it a bit easier to force opponents to go through him before digging into AnaRae... but honestly, I'd rather have some rats or other blockers that can cover more hexes.

Here's a bit more in-depth analysis of AnaRae pods, since this is the only thing I've been really proxy testing out of this set. Ana+Raelin is 180 points; that's the no-brainer element of this pod. At that point, there's a few things you can really use:

1. Some long range attack (at least 6, preferably 7+) that will keep ranged figures from stringing you out and denying your figures healing/defensive bonuses
2. A reliable way to deliver multiple attacks per OM from range.
3. Blockers, or at least some hero that is really tough to beat with melee, is nice.
4. A special attack is a bonus.

Captain America gives you 2, 3, and 4, and buffs everyone up on top of that.
Syvarris gives you 1 and 2.
Sonlen gives you 2 and a bit of 4, and heals on top of that.
Kaemon gives you 1 and 2 (not at the same time, though), a bit of 3, and 4.

In my opinion, those are the "big 4" that really go well with the AnaRae pod. Other notables include Silver Surfer (1&4) and Iron Man (1&2). Tandros and Rats are the obvious choices for blockers. If you go with Sonlen, you can throw on Q9 or Q10 (1, 2, and 4) as an untethered hero, who doesn't worry about adjacency with Ana, in stead relying on Sonlen healing and Raelin defense.

Some sample builds:

Syvarris loves ladies of all races
80 Raelin RotV
100 Ana Karithon
20 Kyntela Gwyn
100 Syvarris
300, 4 hexes

A nice lightweight build, even if it only has one offensive threat. Pretty strong if the sightlines are open and your opponent doesn't have rats. Toss in some rats (or WoA, who stick by Kyntela) at 380/400.

No-Marvel medium hero pod
80 Raelin RotV
100 Ana Karithon
160 Sonlen
120 Kaemon Awa
460, 4 hexes

Pretty solid, especially with some blockers thrown in. Sonlen and Kaemon provide a nice 1-2 punch. Sonlen activations give you double healing. Ranged squads are an issue, since they can attack 3-4 times to your 1.

No-Marvel hero pod with soulborg assistance
80 Raelin RotV
100 Ana Karithon
160 Sonlen
150/180 Major Q10/Q9
490/520, 5 hexes

This is probably the most reliable build if you can't use Marvel. Machine Pistol or the Q-gun really solve your problems with ranged squads, and Sonlen can heal the soulborg. Again, rats or other blockers are nice to slow down advancing figures.

At higher point levels, if you're playing on a map with lots of LoS blockers, you can try to use Nilfheim+blockers in stead of the Major. I haven't tested that, but I think it could work.

Wohoo! Marvel!
80 Raelin RotV
100 Ana Karithon
100 Syvarris
220 Captain America
500, 4 hexes

This is the army I brought up before. If Marvel is allowed, Captain America is about as much of a no-brainer with Ana as Raelin is, really. Opponents are typically going to try to take out Raelin first, and buffing her defense is a real enhancement to the build.

The AnaRaeCap trio is 400 points, and Syvarris makes perfect sense to hit 500. Given that Captain America also boosts regular attack, and comes with his own multiple special attack, I much prefer adding Syvarris over Kaemon in this build. You can throw in Kyntela and/or blockers, too, of course.

---

One thing I didn't note in my first message is that the first step of this army, "Find a high spot, and form a diamond with Syvarris at the tip, Raelin in the back, and CA and Ana adjacent to both", is easier said than done. Most "good" maps getting built these days tend to deny you nice high spots within one walking activation of your start zone. Your shooters can shoot as they move up, so this might not be an issue for them, and Raelin flies into place pretty quickly. But spending two OMs on Ana can cost you precious time. This can tempt you to add Theracus/Brunak/Saylind to the build to help get Ana into place, although this cuts into a build that is already tight on points. Of course, a well-positioned Theracus could really clog things up for a melee army.

[Xn F M]

Originally Posted by dok

Here's a bit more in-depth analysis of AnaRae pods, since this is the only thing I've been really proxy testing out of this set. Ana+Raelin is 180 points; that's the no-brainer element of this pod. At that point, there's a few things you can really use:

1. Some long range attack (at least 6, preferably 7+) that will keep ranged figures from stringing you out and denying your figures healing/defensive bonuses
2. A reliable way to deliver multiple attacks per OM from range.
3. Blockers, or at least some hero that is really tough to beat with melee, is nice.
4. A special attack is a bonus.

Captain America gives you 2, 3, and 4, and buffs everyone up on top of that.
Syvarris gives you 1 and 2.
Sonlen gives you 2 and a bit of 4, and heals on top of that.
Kaemon gives you 1 and 2 (not at the same time, though), a bit of 3, and 4.

In my opinion, those are the "big 4" that really go well with the AnaRae pod. Other notables include Silver Surfer (1&4) and Iron Man (1&2). . . .

It seems to me Laglor gives you 1 and 4, as well as 2 and 3 (these are debateable, auto load goes off ~50% of the time and six health healing frequently will take a while to wear down). If you include Skahen in that pod (who has nice synergy with Ana due to her low life score) you have a reliable super-long range double attack on top of that. Compared to your Cap+Syvarris pod, you're paying 11090 points less for one less attack power on your double attack, and a less reliable (though still pretty decent) special attack.

80 Raelin
100 Ana
110 Laglor
120 Skahen
410 points

For blockers you have 1x Rats @ 450, Izumi Samurai @ 470, and 2x rats @ 590.

[dok]

Originally Posted by Xn F M

80 Raelin
100 Ana
110 Laglor
120 Skahen
410 points

For blockers you have 1x Rats @ 450, Izumi Samurai @ 470, and 2x rats @ 490.

Yessir! I flat-out forgot to mention that build, which I had played with on paper but never got around to playtesting. Because of Skahen's stealth dodge, it's a bit more dependent on blockers than some other builds, but it can definitely work at 490. On a wide-open map, it can be really good. Nice spot.

Originally Posted by Xn F M

Compared to your Cap+Syvarris pod, you're paying 90 points less for one less attack power on your double attack, and a less reliable (though still pretty decent) special attack.

Well, Cap's tactician bonus makes Syvarris's attack that much more awesome, as well as making Raelin (target #1) harder to kill. And Cap's special (same as Nilfheim's) is a lot better than Laglor's. I really like getting to attack 3 times when the enemy gets close.

I like the Vydar build a lot if Marvel is disallowed, but I'll stick with CA otherwise.

[dok]

Originally Posted by dok

[...] the first step of this army, "Find a high spot, and form a diamond with Syvarris at the tip, Raelin in the back, and CA and Ana adjacent to both", is easier said than done. Most "good" maps getting built these days tend to deny you nice high spots within one walking activation of your start zone. Your shooters can shoot as they move up, so this might not be an issue for them, and Raelin flies into place pretty quickly. But spending two OMs on Ana can cost you precious time. This can tempt you to add Theracus/Brunak/Saylind to the build to help get Ana into place, although this cuts into a build that is already tight on points. Of course, a well-positioned Theracus could really clog things up for a melee army.

I just completed some more tests of this army, and boy, did this bear out. It was the following 570/580 fight:

80 Deathreavers x2
80 Raelin RotV
100 Ana Karithon
100 Syvvaris
220 Captain America
580, 12 hexes

versus

105 Sir Gilbert
140 Knights of Weston x2
140 4th Mass x2
185 Nilfheim
570, 19 hexes

I played this fight out three times, all on Fossil. The glyphs were Valda and Lodin.

For the AnaRae pod, the strategy was to set up on the sandy 7-hexer; this isn't the highest ground on the map, but trying to set up in the middle of the map was pretty much a non-starter. For the other army, it was pretty much Nilfheim, then knights, then 4th.

In the first two games, Nilfheim pretty much singlehandedly ruined the pod. He was able to kill a couple rats on the way in, then (disengaging if needed) land in the middle of the 7-hexer and start going after Raelin and Ana immediately. With the cheerleaders taken out, things were pretty much over.

It was only on the third run-though that Nilfheim's kamikaze charge was blunted - I managed to swarm him with a full squad of rats, which bought enough time to set up the pod. When Nilfheim was forced to contend with the organized diamond, he was less effective. He managed to kill four rats and put two wounds on Raelin, one on Ana and one on Syvarris before going down. That may sound like a lot, but it really didn't matter once the pod was set up. The remaining rats slowed the advance of the knights enough for Syvarris and Captain America to bring them down. While the 4th used height advantage to take down Syvarris and, finally, Raelin, it was too little too late. Captain America (who never took a wound all game) easily cleaned up.

The moral of the story is that this army, while potentially very, very effective, is extremely map/situation dependent. Ana is well worth her points if the pod actually gets set up, but getting set up in the right spot can be a real challenge.

[Rich10]

Originally Posted by dok

The moral of the story is that this army, while potentially very, very effective, is extremely map/situation dependent. Ana is well worth her points if the pod actually gets set up, but getting set up in the right spot can be a real challenge.

Would this have still worked if the 4th stayed back and just sniped off the rats from range? It seems to me that this Ana/Syvarris/Cap/Raelin pod would just be too slow to react. If you picked off the rats from beyond Syvarris's range, could you have broken up the pod and forced your opponent to come to you?

[dok]

Originally Posted by Rich10

Would this have still worked if the 4th stayed back and just sniped off the rats from range? It seems to me that this Ana/Syvarris/Cap/Raelin pod would just be too slow to react. If you picked off the rats from beyond Syvarris's range, could you have broken up the pod and forced your opponent to come to you?

Nope. After they engaged Nilfheim, the rats never really got more than 2 hexes away from the pod. Their goal was to keep figures from engaging Raelin (and, to a lesser extent, the other three pod members), not to move forward and deny ranged attacks on the pod. By the time I was pouring most OMs into the 4th, I only had 1 rat left anyway.

The 4th were actually able to approach behind LoS blockers and emerge on height, relative the pod. But they couldn't hit Raelin without going to even ground.

As I said, the real killer for the AnaRae pod was Nilfheim rushing in and keeping it from setting up in a decent spot. Any fast-hitting opponent is going to give the pod trouble.

[killercactus]

How about this, borrowing a little bit from KCU Master 2007:

AnaRaeSkaLagitas

Ana - 100
Raelin - 180
Agent Skahen - 300
Laglor - 410
Nakita Agents - 530

Instead of using Rats or WoA or what have you for a screen, use the Nakitas. Start the Nakitas in the front of the pack, but use Skahen for your activations and move the Nakitas with Cover Fire.

[Toad Rocket]

Her healing works all the time (as long as your hero is adjacent to her and is using OMs). I think that is where her real point value is. Utgar opponents are common enough so the small defense buff will work often enough. The undead blast thing...well, that will not be used so much. However, if you are drafting her for the purpose of fighting undead you are drafting her for the wrong reason.

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by Simpsons Scaper

Right, but if your using premade armies she won't be overly helpful. Unless you know your opponent just bought 5 packs of zombies......

Right, but the design team has stated time and again that this set is really aimed more at traditional Drafted armies and scenarios, not the tournament-centric 'metagame'.

[dok]

Right, what TR said. Briefly:

1. Healing Word is the primary reason to put her in an army. If you don't expect to roll for healing word many times, you're not using her right.*
2. Protection from Evil Aura is a really great bonus when you get it. It's useful against several common opponents you can expect to see in tournament play, and it also makes her even more useful as a counterdraft. If this power and Healing Word are both getting used frequently, Ana is well worth her points.
3. Turn Undead is nice when you get to use it, but isn't particularly useful except in rare situations (cleanup, or if Cyprien rushes your startzone while you're still setting the Ana pod up). If you're activating Ana a bunch in midgame in order to use this power, you're probably not using her right. It's more of a nice flavor power that comes in handy once in a while.

* I suppose I should add that sometimes the threat of Healing word actually influences who your opponents target. If your opponent tries to kill Ana first so that she can't use Healing Word on the figure getting OMs, then that's actually an effective use of Healing Word, too.

[Syvaris]

So I just got my Master Set 3 in and played a game against my friend. We played the last scenario map as a free for all, all good guys against all bad guys. I got to be the heroes. I lost Erevan and Darrack early on. I was able to hold a choke point with Tandros and Ana. It turned into a game of attrition. I finally wore my friend down to the Feral Troll and Pelloth. Ana's healing is invaluable. End game came down to troll vs. Tandros. Ana allowed me to hold out and win.

She is definitely a good figure in this type of game, we'll see how she does in a "competitive" game.

[Boondocksaint]

It seems she would go best with med. hero figures that have range on them. Off the top I think Kamon would be a good draft with her, even though he is often used as a clean up figure. The points and order markers would be a bit much for a tournment but I could see her working well with Skahan. Though generally if there are melee figures ajesent to Skahan she is going down quick.

Nothing tournment viable but just fun to play would be:

Laglor 110
Raelin:80
Ana:100
Skhan:120
Tandros:100

Total 510

Would be hard to set up and you would not get to many attack per order marker but in theory you should have a solid defence against range and Melee if you position Tandros Raelin and Ana right.