Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion

[Scytale]

When Tyrian was submitted there were still a number of Protector packs around. I am not willing to simply allow repaints of official units unless there is some way to get them. Please prove that the Warforged Captain is still widely available.

[Kinseth]

ABprices has 25 listed.

I'd suggest going through the list I compiled of websites that carry DND miniatures and seeing what more availability you can find.

[Dad_Scaper]

Interesting. In tournament play, I believe it is almost universally acceptable to use one mini in the place of another if the only difference is paint. EOVs, for instance, could be used as an extra squad of Venocs. That's why I commented that this would be acceptable to me, regardless of the availability of the actual mini. If I don't have the actual D&D mini, I can just use an extra Warforged. If I'm using actual Warforged in my army, I can put a little rubber band on him or something so people don't get confused.

[Kinseth]

Same way you differentiate Uncommon heroes.

[Dad_Scaper]

Precisely. Nothing to it.

[William099]

In previous submissions the fact that it was the same as one of already existing sculpts seemed to handwave the accessibility portion of submission. Thus why I was less thorough with that part.

[Dysole]

Originally Posted by Kinseth

ABprices has 25 listed.

I'd suggest going through the list I compiled of websites that carry DND miniatures and seeing what more availability you can find.

I was able to dredge up ~40 (although about 3 or 4 of those were significantly more expensive than the others) from those other sites. I may have missed some.

~Dysole, not sure what the warforged availability is at the moment

[William099]

Originally Posted by Dysole

I was able to dredge up ~40 (although about 3 or 4 of those were significantly more expensive than the others) from those other sites. I may have missed some.

~Dysole, not sure what the warforged availability is at the moment

Judges in the past have been willing to just assume that the majority of people already had warforged soldiers. Least that was the impression I had. Either way that's 65 which meets the benchmark for unique heroes.

[Scytale]

Regardless, the numbers are good enough for me.

to review Rampage.

[Scytale]

Executioner 616 by Dysole

Utgar returns to the prison planet of Isadora to find new soldiers for his army. This time he finds not a warden but an executioner.

Balance

In terms of stats Executioner 616 doesn't stand out as particularly great. The 115 point total puts him almost in the 120 point sweet spot, and I think it's pretty clear he doesn't look great against those titans. He does compare pretty well against the 110 point Migol Ironwill, another Deadly Striker with solid defenses and bonding capability. I'd say Migol comes out on top stats-wise with One Shield Defense and more Life, though that seems fair with the potential of Remote Detonation. Overall, seems reasonable from a Theoryscape perspective. The question is how powerful Remote Detonation is in play.

Theme

It makes some sense that Isadora would have executioners, and it fits that Utgar would take interest in them. While I assume 616 would be primarily concerned with executing Mariedian prisoners, the ability to remotely detonate other Soulborgs whose programming may have become corrupted or are otherwise compromised is understandable. It is more of a stretch to believe that all Soulborgs can blow up in a destructive fashion; after all, the only Soulborg able to do that on its own is Deathwalker 7000. It's not a deal-breaker but it is a little strange. Maybe Executioner 616 plants bombs in them.

Creativity

I like the executioner interpretation of this axe-wielding figure. Deadly Strike fits the concept fine. Remote Detonation, though I can find a little thematic issue with it, is a neat power that feels like a good fit for Utgar. Best of all, Remote Detonation is a power that lends itself to lots of different synergistic builds.

Playability

A 'Scaper only aware of official Heroscape may assume Executioner 616 does not have any strong synergies. That's definitely not the case in Fanscape--there are a number of units that work well with the Executioner. It bonds with both the Zettian Infantry and Hoplitrons, providing free turns for 616 while setting up figures for Detonation. Deathcommander Mark 3 can activate 616 when engaged, potentially giving a Marked for Destruction bonus to the Executioner's Deadly Strike as well as setting up the large, double-spaced Deathstalkers for Detonation. Deathreavers don't synergize directly but make really cheap Detonation options, and even Gladiatrons can be used as Detonation targets after tying down multiple figures.

With all the different build options I had to do a larger amount of testing than normal to make sure none of the army builds were overpowered. The one that concerned me the most was Deathreavers, which are already the best screening unit in the game and are a very cheap Detonation option. In my testing this combination proved to be a fairly poor, though. Deathreavers can position themselves well and are cheap to pop, but the chance of them doing damage is poor for the cost of giving up the attack action and losing a figure.

The Zettian Infantry work pretty well, but they lack the defense of other options, making them somewhat unlikely to stick around long enough for 616 to Remotely Detonate them. In this army the Executioner can somewhat play as a defender.

My favorite pairing was with Hoplitrons; their Large size makes them reliable poppers. I found this to be a potent combination, particularly in a Heroes-only format. The lower number of figures and fewer figure activations definitely hurts them, though.

A Deathcommander Mark 3 army with Executioner 616 and some Deathstalkers can do some real damage, but it can be difficult to manage. It's great while DCM3 is engaged, but that's risky play. Deathstalkers are great to use as Remote Detonation fodder though: large, double-based, solid defense, fast, and you move three at a time. Just try to spread them out.

I had some luck with Gladiatrons too, though it's less optimal.

Lots of combinations, but none of them stood out as problematic. The range limitation of Remote Detonation definitely matters, pulling the Executioner closer to the front lines than you always want. When I first read all of the text of Remote Detonation I thought that the all of the size-related details where unnecessary, but that is key for keeping all the different builds viable.

Summary

There are lots of different builds the Executioner 616 fits into. They are all interesting without any of them greatly outshadowing the others, and most importantly none of them are too powerful. Regardless of whether your strategy is focused on maximizing Remote Detonation or uses it as an occasional bonus, playing your army well requires careful positioning and calculated gambles. I found this unit to be a solid addition to the game.

I vote to induct Executioner 616 into the SoV.

[caps]

to review Rampage. He's come a long way and I like this iteration a lot.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

I'm not sure there's much point to Rage being so complex when it seems you'd basically always want to have it on, but I'm willing to give this guy a shot.

to the King Crab 2.0.