Astro's Custom Units [Update 5/26/21: WWII Medic]

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by Noziroh

@Astroking112 Arboris is so cool!!! Do you know the name of the figure? I have to have it!

I'm actually not sure, but @Dr.Goomonkey might know. I love the sculpt, but if I remember correctly, pretty much all of the minis used in the Springtime Custom Contest were pretty rare.

I'm hoping to get Arboris inducted into the SoV at some point, so I was waiting to see if a more widely available sculpt would come along for him (or if I would need to change anything when C3V releases what might be an Ent/Tree faction). It pains me a little bit, because I think his current sculpt looks awesome.

[Dr.Goomonkey]

Originally Posted by Astroking112

I'm actually not sure, but @Dr.Goomonkey might know. I love the sculpt, but if I remember correctly, pretty much all of the minis used in the Springtime Custom Contest were pretty rare.

I'm hoping to get Arboris inducted into the SoV at some point, so I was waiting to see if a more widely available sculpt would come along for him (or if I would need to change anything when C3V releases what might be an Ent/Tree faction). It pains me a little bit, because I think his current sculpt looks awesome.

The Spring figures were, sadly, all pretty rare. Arboris is an Oak Warrior from Mage Knight, and last I checked online he was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, the Summertime figure is readily available!

[Pumpkin_King]

Arboris does seem a little overcosted, though. I'd put him at like 50.

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by Pumpkin_King

Arboris does seem a little overcosted, though. I'd put him at like 50.

He was a huge costing headache. The idea came to me rather late in the competition submission timeframe, so I didn't have any time to playtest (and then finals came along shortly thereafter), which I think may be the only way to accurately price him. His strength varies greatly by the nature of his powers, from using markers for health to having anywhere from 2 to 5 defense.

I'd agree that 95 is too high (my initial price was 90, but I upped it at the last minute), but 50 seems a little dangerous to me. If the player leaves him in their starting zone building up markers until the clean-up phase, then he could be very powerful. Once I wrap up some of my other units and can begin testing him, I intend to start at 80 and adjust the price as needed until he feels right, which I personally anticipate being in the 70-90 range.

[Pumpkin_King]

True - let us know, I'd be interested to see how he ends up.

[Astroking112]

I'll definitely update the thread with any changes that I make! It may be a little while before I get back to Arboris since I have other units to worry about right now, but I definitely don't intend to abandon him.

[Heroscaper 101]

You have some very interesting customs. They might need some playtesting before you can make their army card.

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by Heroscaper 101

You have some very interesting customs. They might need some playtesting before you can make their army card.

Thanks for checking out my stuff! Were there any units in particular that you were concerned about the balance of?

I'm still learning the ropes of PhotoShop, so I haven't quite gotten to the point where I can churn out a card pretty quickly yet. For the time being, I'm just relying on old-fashioned text to get the concepts across.

[Heroscaper 101]

Originally Posted by Astroking112

Thanks for checking out my stuff! Were there any units in particular that you were concerned about the balance of?

I'm still learning the ropes of PhotoShop, so I haven't quite gotten to the point where I can churn out a card pretty quickly yet. For the time being, I'm just relying on old-fashioned text to get the concepts across.

Your custom Eltris sounds like something from the movie Dragonheart.

[Whiskey McGreggor]

Dang I remember reading Eragon way back when I was in elementary, good book. Honestly the movie was ok but the book outshines it by a mile, anywho good luck on your dragon rider customs I look forward to seeing their progression.��

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by Whiskey McGreggor

Dang I remember reading Eragon way back when I was in elementary, good book. Honestly the movie was ok but the book outshines it by a mile, anywho good luck on your dragon rider customs I look forward to seeing their progression.��

I have an even stronger opinion about the movie being much worse than the book, but to be fair, that's probably to be expected of anyone who loves the source material (although the movie was one of the least faithful adaptations that I've seen).

Thanks! After Eltris (hopefully) passes into the SoV, I'll work on developing some of my other ideas further!

[Astroking112]

I just added a new Common Hero for the Black Hart squad that I developed. He's a double-spaced brute who should help them get their Group Tackle bonus more often.

Heavy Tackler - Common Hero for the Black Harts


Traits and Abilities:

Spoiler Alert!

GENERAL = EINAR
PLANET = EARTH
SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = COMMON HERO
CLASS = ATHLETE
PERSONALITY = INSPIRING
SIZE/HEIGHT = LARGE 8

LIFE = 1

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 30

THROW 14
After moving and before attacking with a Heavy Tackler that you control, choose one small or medium non-flying figure adjacent to that Heavy Tackler. Roll the 20-sided die. If you roll a 14 or higher, you may throw the figure by placing it on any empty space within 4 clear sight spaces of that Heavy Tackler. If the figure was placed on a non-water space on a level equal to or lower than that Heavy Tackler's height, roll the 20-sided die. If you roll an 11 or higher, the thrown figure receives 2 wounds. The thrown figure does not take any leaving engagement attacks.

TEAM PLAYER
After taking a turn with a Heavy Tackler, if that Heavy Tackler is unengaged, you may take a turn with one squad of Black Harts that you control.

Miniature:

Spoiler Alert!

The figure used is the Heavy Tackle for the Black Hart team from the game Battleball.

Thought Process:

Spoiler Alert!

I initially intended to pair my common Black Hart squad with a common squad of Iron Wolves, but now I feel like it makes more sense to package them with a common hero designed specifically to go with them. I was interested in fleshing out the faction a little more and adding some synergies, but I didn't want to do it through a conventional way such as adding more attack or defense.

I admittedly have little interest in Football, but Throw seemed like a perfect ability to throw on to a sports-inspired figure, especially a large one posed with a raised and open hand such as this. Originally, I planned on giving this power to a different figure in the set, but upon some reflection I realized that it could actually combo quite nicely with the Black Harts' Group Tackle ability. In order to capitalize on this strategy, I added some pseudo-bonding with the relevant squad (if the roll fails and the attack misses, then the extra turn is lost), which should help the faction considerably.

I think that Black Hart builds would still be vulnerable to swarm armies (due to the large figure counts, when the Black Harts excel at surrounding single targets), but the Heavy Tackler should go a long way towards helping them find more uses.