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C3V and SoV Customs A place for C3V and SoV customs |
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#7093
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Tatomb has been removed by the designer's request.
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#7094
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
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#7095
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Late to the party but here's a suggestion for a name:
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#7097
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
I would like to nominate my custom M.A.R.S. for SoV review. Here is a link to his previous submission for reference.
The figure used is a Mechwarrior Solaris VII figure from the Heavy Class Action set. This is one of the unused figures from a pack used by C3V. M.A.R.S. is single-spaced. CHARACTER BIO:
Spoiler Alert!
CARD TEXT:
Spoiler Alert!
BALANCE M.A.R.S. is interesting in that, like many other Soulborgs, he is very all-or-nothing. Some of my games have seen his deadly missile barrage be used to great effect, but other games see him quickly engaged and whiff a crucial defense roll. Other times still he finally sets up the perfect attack to hit 6-7 figures (or even 11 once!), but only rolls 1 skull and does minimal damage. He has the potential to really shine for 110 points, but he also has a lot of potential to waste time and points with his frail defenses and reliance on a single attack roll. The 4 move is another critical balancing factor, as it often takes a significant investment to put him in favorable positions. Balance was a significant concern in his last submission. I've recorded some of the playtests that I played with him to help ease this point of contention if it's still a concern, which can be viewed here. I would like to stress that he often underperforms and has some very deep flaws baked in to his design to counteract the sheer power of a double explosion Special Attack. On paper, he's terrifying, but he's surprisingly well balanced when all is taken into account. PLAYABILITY As a single-spaced large Soulborg, M.A.R.S. can take some hits, but he won't last long once engaged (and he's still prone to losing most of his life in a single attack with some poor luck). As his single power suggests, he is very focused on one niche: blowing up everything in sight. Despite his 4 move, M.A.R.S. is highly incentivized to rush into dangerous positions and maximize the number of targets for his Guided Missiles. He might look a little flat in terms of gameplay, but the Special Attack has such a high risk factor that he actually plays very dynamically and encourages both players to change their playstyles to either maximize or minimize the ensuing damage. Because of how strong the Vulcanmechs are, I thought that it was for the best that M.A.R.S. has no complex synergies beyond being a Soulborg. He's definitely a simple card, but one that is still consistently interesting and engaging to use. He won't always earn his points back (and he might kill some of your own figures if your opponent is playing smartly), but trying to do so is a lot of fun. I've found that he doesn't need any strong synergies to be worth playing. CREATIVITY While we have definitely seen some of the same themes and styles of play before, M.A.R.S. puts a unique spin on things. He combines slow movement with a potentially devastating Special Attack, making opponents rush to engage him and quickly put an end to his murderous spree. The Special Attack is similar to what we've seen before, but by allowing two figures to be targeted, his potential threat level is greatly elevated it and makes him stand out. Other explosion-style attacks generally either have their own quirks and changes or are on figures with much stronger synergies, like Deathwalker 9000, so M.A.R.S. is not overshadowing any niches, even though he can choose two figures. THEME M.A.R.S. (Mass Artillery Response SoulBorg) definitely has a place in the lore. The Incendiborgs were a great addition by C3V to the canon, having burned Alpha Prime to the ground in the past, and adding a new hero that acted as a terrifying demolitionist during the time period is a natural expansion to that idea. He fits Valkrill's purely destructive theme very well and also thematically ties into his Soulborg brethren by having 3 life (much like the markers for his squad). Despite the lack of explicit synergy, he still wears many of their same themes on his shoulder, much like Zetacron with the Omnicron Snipers or Major X17 with the Gladiatrons before him. For the name, Lazy Orang made some great points about just how well it fits the theme. Each general's Soulborg faction has a unique naming scheme for their heroes (be it Major letter-number, Greek letter-cron, or Deathwalker X000), which means that Valkrill's Soulborgs would need a new naming convention. We haven't seen acronyms before, letting M.A.R.S. stand out, and the actual abbreviation itself is inspired by the Roman god of war. This ties perfectly into the destructive nature of the unit, along with matching the Latin use of Vulcan in Vulcanmechs. Also, to quickly touch on the theme of his Guided Missiles Special Attack, it is specifically designed to target two figures before rolling dice to simulate a targeting system "locking on" to multiple opponents before finally releasing a large volley of missiles. This is a style of weapon used in many other games, but it is unlike anything that we've seen in HeroScape so far. AVAILABILITY M.A.R.S. is noteworthy in that many fans of C3V and SoV already own him. He is one of six figures included in the Mechwarrior Solaris VII Heavy-Class pack, of which 4 have already been used (Deathcommander Mark 3, Executioner 616, Major J15, and Deltacron). For people who do not yet own the miniature, the entire pack is still sold from Hill's Wholesale Gaming for $18. Thanks for your time and consideration. It's taken a while to iron down the stats after the last submission, but I think that the design is still remarkably fun to play despite being a minor tweak on a common HeroScape trope. Proud Member of Platyfly!
Custom Units — Maps & Scenarios Battle Reports The Case for a VC Master Set Last edited by Astroking112; August 2nd, 2021 at 11:48 PM. Reason: Changed name of SA to Missile Barrage from Inner Sanctum feedback. |
#7098
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
I really like the simplicity of the design. Really cool, and I think the best version I've seen of it! I also like that it's a "cheaper" soulborg but has some awesome potential.
Sir Heroscape's Content
Customs, Maps, Battle Reports YouTube Channel, Trade List, 'Scaper of the Month, Burnout Format Tourney Record: 309 - 141 Online Record: 19 - 22 |
#7099
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
I appreciate the reduced range on the normal attack, as well as the other smaller changes from the previous submission. I'll have to play it myself to see how effective 3 dice on a double explosion actually is. |
#7100
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Looks like a decent rat killer. Big fan.
Is that a Catapult from Battletech? Trying to remember what the other major missile mech is. Not a Longbow for sure. |
#7101
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
I’m sure it will get cleaned up in post but the special attack is misnamed within the ability text.
Customs here Master Set IV/Assault in the Mournlands. William099 is Lord of Blades... in THE FRACTAL COMPLEX |
#7102
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
It's hard not to see M.A.R.S. as overshadowing Deathwalker 9000. Much better special attack, better Lifense, cheaper price. Worse range on normal and doesn't provide the boost to adjacent friends, neither which is a huge deal. The synergies that VC has added matter, though.
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#7103
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
I have gone ahead and updated the submission with a new card and revised power text to fix the typo in the SA ability text. No mechanical changes have been made to the post.
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I would argue that this should be the case, though, given that M.A.R.S. lacks the other benefits of Deathwalker 9000 in a VC environment. If he was worse in both contexts, then there would never be a reason to play him. Deathwalker 9000 still has some critical advantages that ensure that the choice between the two isn't meaningless, too. They're very similar without any synergy on paper, but the differences that are there result in different playstyles and a unique niche for M.A.R.S. Proud Member of Platyfly!
Custom Units — Maps & Scenarios Battle Reports The Case for a VC Master Set |
#7104
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Scytale has a good point about overshadowing 9k, especially since the price of bonding is generally built into the bonder's point cost, not the bond-ee's. Not that that's the only factor, but it's still a concern.
I'm getting hung up on the choose two figures/roll attack dice for both clause of the SA. Mechanically it's fine, but it seems like a thematic break to me. If I'm targeting two figures who would share figures affected by the SA (either by being adjacent to both, or just choosing two figures adjacent to each other) then why do they only get hit once? It doesn't really make sense thematically, and the mechanics, while new, aren't interesting enough to justify the thematic break IMO. Monthly Utah Tournaments in SLC!!
Maps | Customs | Battle Reports 10 Points Under Videos "I'll save myself some time and say I pretty much 100% agree with Bigga" ~Flash_19 |
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