The Book of Zelrig

[Einar's puppy]

Zelrig certainly is the big game changer. If I can go to a tournament , you know who I'm bringing. His power is just awesome, and he's no joke after the starting zone is toast either.

[Queenmojo]

I've had Zelrig be both impressive and game changing and other times do nothing. You got to keep him out of harms way and just let him roast everything else. I like using the Izumi Samurai or some other high defense unique squad to tie stuff up and then blast the samurai with majestic flames and everything around him. It's a little risky, but has proved to be effective so far...

[ariealaviator]

The key to taking him down is to spread your units out which makes teams like Romans obsolite against him. If you keep your commons spread out then he can only kill 1 per turn at maximum (3 attack dice isn't too reliable) while you can fire away multiple attacks from range at him. He is most devistating at the beginning of the game when all your units are clumped and vulnerable so be sure to create as much space as possible between units when the game starts. Also, if your opponent keeps order markers on him those are order markers that they aren't putting on other units so once he is destroyed you should probably have control over most of the board and can work form there. He is a strong unit but with a little stategy and some luck he can be dealt with.

[Kinseth]

i actually think its a bad play to move him up quickly and smoke out several of their units fast in the starting zone. Chances are they will have some ranged squad moving first and Zelrigs 4 defense vs any tourny worthy Ranged squad isnt that great.

You have to kill 185 points fast to make it pay off.

[ariealaviator]

Originally Posted by Kinseth

i actually think its a bad play to move him up quickly and smoke out several of their units fast in the starting zone. Chances are they will have some ranged squad moving first and Zelrigs 4 defense vs any tourny worthy Ranged squad isnt that great.

You have to kill 185 points fast to make it pay off.

I think your right on here. While he can be devastating when he does this it's not guarantied that he will cause any damage and then he is in a very vulnerable state. I think he is best kept at a distance and used to intimidate your opponent and to pick off any clumps of common squads that end up in a bunch while the rest of your army goes to work as well.

[Soul Shackle]

Originally Posted by ariealaviator

I think your right on here. While he can be devastating when he does this it's not guarantied that he will cause any damage and then he is in a very vulnerable state. I think he is best kept at a distance and used to intimidate your opponent and to pick off any clumps of common squads that end up in a bunch while the rest of your army goes to work as well.

This all depends on the closeness of the start zones. If you the center of your opponent's start zone is 13 hexes away, I'd say overload OM's on him right away. You'll never have a better shot at all those juicy clumped commons.

[Galaxy Crusher]

I've found him a bit hit 'n miss so far.
First time I used him he killed 4 KoW and put two wounds on Sir Gilbert in one turn and then killed 3 Omnicron snipers and Zetacron the next turn. Awesome!

In the next game he killed nothing and got absolutely savaged by Nilfhiem and Kravs.

Fun - yes, potentially lethal - yes, 100% reliable - definately not.

[ThrasherDarkrai]

Originally Posted by ariealaviator

I think your right on here. While he can be devastating when he does this it's not guarantied that he will cause any damage and then he is in a very vulnerable state. I think he is best kept at a distance and used to intimidate your opponent and to pick off any clumps of common squads that end up in a bunch while the rest of your army goes to work as well.

I disagree. The BEST usage, in my mind, is to send Zelrig out first. In no other situation in the game are you actually going to have as good of an opportunity to hit a clump. Using Zelrig is all about control - you need Zelrig to have the board under his claw-tips for him to be able to do real damage. If you send him out mid-game, then it will be harder for him to have such a foothold on the map then he would otherwise. Really, the best part about Zelrig is that if you send him out early, you can move from one perch to the next, strafing around the map and nuking people as they come close. You're robbed of that opportunity by sending him out late.

[ariealaviator]

Originally Posted by Bloody the Marro Stinger

I disagree. The BEST usage, in my mind, is to send Zelrig out first. In no other situation in the game are you actually going to have as good of an opportunity to hit a clump. Using Zelrig is all about control - you need Zelrig to have the board under his claw-tips for him to be able to do real damage. If you send him out mid-game, then it will be harder for him to have such a foothold on the map then he would otherwise. Really, the best part about Zelrig is that if you send him out early, you can move from one perch to the next, strafing around the map and nuking people as they come close. You're robbed of that opportunity by sending him out late.

I see your point but what if he gets killed early without doing any damage? Then your army is left sitting in your starting zone while your enemy has taken control over the field and any possible glyphs. Also, if he can't reach the starting zone soon enough the enemy units will be spread out already and he is in harms way all by his lonesome. Don't get me wrong it is probably going to be the most used tactic and can be very effective but I think he will have penty of oppurtunity to pick off commons during the midgame and your opponent will have to worry about him and all your other units.

[Boozehammer]

Originally Posted by Kinseth

i actually think its a bad play to move him up quickly and smoke out several of their units fast in the starting zone. Chances are they will have some ranged squad moving first and Zelrigs 4 defense vs any tourny worthy Ranged squad isnt that great.

You have to kill 185 points fast to make it pay off.

I agree with this. If used at all, (s)he needs to be carefully protected, not rushed out. I still think the Airborne Elite work best for the potential of a 1 round knockout of squads.

My playtesting showed Zelrig not making his points attempting the rush n' fire.

[Einar's puppy]

I've only not got Zelrig's points back in one game. It was on Marr highway (a.k.a the impossibly long map in the BOV.) The starting zone blitz works well for me, but he's not limited to it. I got him to get his points back against krav, tealord, concan, kelda, saylind, and realin. His explosion attack is useful even not against commons. I always have good luck with him, and my opponents kick themselves for that tons of commons army. (10x zombies o.O, 5 vipers 3 or 4 Aubriens, 2 deathstalkers aand marrden hounds) He does especially well against rats. Sure, he might not kill his points worth against them, but the IGPV will make up for it. They can be brutal on your ranged figure, so destroying a bunch early is great.

[Einar Gen.]

The first time I played him, I sent him out first thing and kept placing all my O.Ms on him until he, um... fainted. (No, I don't play Pokemon.) Any way, he toasted half my opponents' army before he, um... fainted. =)