Unit Strategy Review: How to use Runa

[killercactus]

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Unit Strategy Review
Unit: Runa
Author: killercactus (With thanks to the other Unit Strategy Reviewers)

Runa, the unreliable, evil Kyrie rumored to be the bed companion of Taelord, is perhaps the most maligned figure in all of Heroscape. Her base stats are very average and her special ability is a complete longshot. She can kill her own companions in battle and usually can't hold her own against the opponent's forces when placed close enough for her special power to affect many of them. In this article, I will discuss potential strategies to mitigate these problems and find advantages that are hidden between the lines.

Let’s take a look at Runa's stats:

Analyzed Statistics
Cost - 120 – Knight Class Unit
Size - Medium - Vulnerable/Concealable
Life - 5 – Average
Move - 6* - Fast
Range - 1 - Close Range
Attack - 3 - Average
Defense - 3 - Vulnerable
Tournament Readiness - Low
Helm of Mitonsoul Aura – 5% chance of automatic destruction on all figures within 3 clear line-of-sight hexes – longshot
* Move is enhanced by Flying, not affected by terrain.

In-Depth Analysis

Each unit is complex, and must be well analyzed to be truly understood. For Runa, let us begin with her cost. By cost, we refer mostly to her value in points, but also to her importance in your army. To simplify analysis, Agatagary has created several categories of cost, based off of chess, for comparison and nomenclature. For reference,

Pawn class (expendable, units that can be useful, but are not worth enormous trouble to protect)
Bishop class (more useful than a pawn, but still somewhat expendable)
Knight class (units that are interestingly powerful and can have a significant impact on the game in of themselves. It is advisable that they be kept alive, but if absolutely necessary they may be sacrificed)
Rook class (units that almost inevitably have a significant impact on the game, and whose death should be avoided as much as possible)
Queen class (devastatingly powerful or important units that should be protected at all costs)

Class:
Runa is a Knight class unit. Like others with auto-kill abilities that rely upon the D20, she can significantly impact the game with one lucky roll. However, the chances of this happening are slim (only 5% per roll) and Runa is only a 120 point figure. In order for Runa to earn back her points, she needs to be within three spaces of enemy units, and so may very well be killed. As I will discuss below, there will be situations where sacrificing Runa will help your army more than protecting her.

Offense:
With a range of 1, Runa has got to be adjacent to an opposing figure to attack. However, with an attack rating of 3 and a threat range of 7, she is still capable of destorying a squad figure with her normal attack and that should not be overlooked. She can also fly, which gives her the ability to gain height advantage on many squad figures. Runa is drafted for offense, but not for her meager attack. Her Helm of Minonsoul Aura is where she can do the most damage, as it is able to kill any figure instantly, regardless of size or race. It also affects all figures she can see within 3 hexes, and has a threat range of 9. What this means is that Runa can, in theory, destroy your opponent's entire army with one use of her Aura (and your own, if they are near her), although the chances of that (5% per roll) are astronomically slim. What this does not mean is that Runa should be charged directly into the largest cluster of squad figures you can find, hoping for the best.

Survivability:
Runa's survivability is mediocre, with 5 life points and her defense of 3. With her Medium height of 5, she is susceptible to nearly all special abilities that reduce defense dice or automatically destory units. There are also certain other aspects of Runa that are detrimental to her survival. Runa has an auto-kill D20 ability, which, like her counterpart D20 killers, paints an invisible bullseye on her back because she poses a potential threat.

The temptation also exists to charge Runa into the biggest pack of figures available, in order to maximize the chances of destroying a figure. She will die very quickly if she is alone in a cluster of your opponent's figures after she's failed to destroy anyone via her Helm of Mitonsoul Aura. Even if you succeed on one squad figure out of 12 rolls, chances are that the other 11 are going to rip you apart.

One last note that should be mentioned in this section is her sculpt - much like Sudema, Runa is very thin. Therefore, she can sometimes be hidden from line-of-sight behind trees, one-hex glaciers and some other figures quite effectively. The Minions of Utgar, with their impressive wing span, would be a good figure behind which to hide Runa, as are Krug and Nilfheim. Places like those may be excellent places to put her the turn before she brings her assault to the enemy.

Tournament Readiness:
Runa excels much more in a counter-drafting role than she does in a tournament setting. When Runa is counter-drafted, you know she will have decent targets to try and assassinate. Tournaments tend to include many common squad figures, which reduce Runa's effectiveness. However, being a Kyrie Warrior that follows Utgar, she benefits from Utgar's Orders and therefore has synergy with a very strong squad in the Minions of Utgar.

The Helm of Mitonsoul Aura:
The only real reason to draft Runa is her Helm of Mitonsoul Aura. It is what sets her apart from the other Kyrie figures, all of whom posses the same set of stats. Therefore, I have chosen to devote an entire section to analyzing it.

As I said above, a great temptation exists to send Runa, alone, directly into the largest pool of figures the opponent has clumped together as quickly as possible. Runa is usually the first character to get order markers, valiantly charging out into battle to try and devestate a cluster of enemies with her Aura. Some will even use Brunak to slingshot her into the fray with Ornak's Red Flag of Fury to get her there faster. The logic behind this, of course, is to maximize the amount of rolls you get for the Helm Aura, and also minimize the amount of rolls for the Helm Aura on your own figures.

While this may seem to make sense, this is not the way to maximize the power of the Helm of Mitonsoul Aura. It should be remembered that Runa is not a Valiant character (she's Tricky, as a matter of fact). She should not charge directly at the opponent alone, and realistically cannot destroy an entire cluster of squad figures alone. But what she can do is attempt to destroy a vital part of the opponent's army while the other units in battle with her acts as a distraction. Runa, as her personality would suggest, should attack when the opponent is least expecting it, and then continue to attack while the opponent is focusing his thoughts and efforts elsewhere. This is the only way she will get multiple chances to destory a vital part of the opponent's army, and thus earn back her points. So, how is that accomplished?

Strategy:
Strategy for Runa really begins during the draft phase. Contrary to popular belief, do not draft Runa if your opponent is heavy on common squads. The exception to this rule would by synergistic armies, such as the Orcs. Orc armies usually have many common squad figures, but also a couple of heavy hitters that are worth Runa's time. I would even go as far as saying do not draft Runa unless your opponent has at least one hero in his army greater than 120 points in cost, or a lower-cost unit that is very valuable (Laglor and Raelin come to mind). If your opponent is fielding 2 or more valuable heroes, Runa might be a good choice. I view Runa as an assassin for those heroes, and any squad figures killed by her along the way are collateral damage if they die while Runa is attempting to kill her target--they are complete icing on the cake.

So, now that Runa has at least one worthy target, let's not send her straight after it one-on-one. Odds are Runa loses that fight. Her 5% chance to kill it and her measley 3 attack and defense won't hold up in single combat against most 120 point and above heroes. We need to send her in with backup - backup that is a threat to your opponent. Backup that will draw their fire and hopefully last a while. The Minions of Utgar seem perfect for this task - they are a great threat with their Deadly Strike ability, can survive for a while with 6 defense and you can also use Utgar's Orders to move Runa instead - the ultimate surprise attack. Now, with the Minions and Runa closing in, your opponent has to make a choice. Does he attack Runa, with her Helm Aura that has a 5% chance of killing something? Or does he attack the Minions, who can threaten to wound his troops severely, but have big defense? This puts you at an advantage, because with your order markers on the Minions, you can choose to move either the Minions or Runa, and your opponent doesn't know with whom you're planning to attack. The truth is, you should be planning to attack with whoever your opponent does not attack. If he focuses his attack on the Minions, they should survive long enough that Runa will get many rolls for the Helm Aura at her target, along with anything around it. If he attacks Runa, her 5 life should keep her alive long enough for the Minions to close in and begin their slaughter. I believe this approach gives Runa a decent chance to earn back her points.

If Runa is attacked first, or if there are multiple targets in the vicinity you need to kill soon, you should seriously consider sacrificing Runa. By this, I mean flying Runa into engagement with the vital hero you were targeting, attempting her Aura, and attacking. This will force the hero to either attack Runa, or take a leaving engagement attack to go after the Minions. Many times the opponent will attack Runa, because everytime she fails with her Helm of Mitonsoul Aura, she is one roll closer to succeeding and your opponent fears that. He fears it because the character you are targeting is a vital part to his army. So, if she is just killed by that hero and never Mitonsouls anyone, the Minions flying around unchecked, killing at will while that hero is chipping away at her 5 life should make up for her downfall.

If you don't have the Minions, Runa can still be dangerous but she has to be much craftier. She needs to charge at opponents who you believe do not have any turns, so she will get fewer chances, and they must still be worth her time. Squads usually are not worth her time, because she can't kill her points-worth before going down. Large heroes are better targets but normally have order markers on them[] because they represent a large portion of the opponent's force. Without backup, Runa will need to choose her targets very carefully in order to survive.

It is vital to remember that using Runa will always be a crapshoot. Even with backup, Runa will still need some luck to do the damage she has the potential to do. As a Knight class unit if she does fail, the game isn't over, so don't despair. But if she succeeds, you stand a much better chance of winning this game. Do not rely solely on the Helm of Mitonsoul Aura, because it will let you down. Instead, rely on Runa to use her Aura as a diversion to protect the Minions, draw enemy fire and maybe get lucky once with the Aura. If Runa does get lucky, make sure the kill is worth it.

Optional Strategy:
The Minions are not the only units that compliment Runa well: the Airborne Elite are a great compliment to the above strategy. The Airborne can drop anywhere on the board--far enough away from Runa to be safe--which gives them the unique ability to catch up with your army that is halfway across the board and provide excellent ranged support. They also have the uncanny ability to draw all of your opponent's attention. It is worthy to note here that this strategy does not work as well if the Airborne Elite are dropped in the first or second round. In this strategy, it may be best to forego the Drop until later in the game. If the Airborne Elite dropped while Runa and her Minions were attacking, I would probably give them the 1 and X markers, while giving the Minions 2 and 3. The opponent will probably assume the Elite have 2 turns and focus a lot of firepower on them. If the Airborne Elite win initiative, they fire off their four rounds of 4 dice and then draw fire. If not, hopefully 2 or 3 Elite are still available to fire, and the opponent will probably at least use 2 order markers this round to kill them. This gives Runa and the Minions at least one free turn to wreak havoc.

Units to Avoid:
Agent Carr - Carr is tough for Runa, even with the supprort of the Minions of Utgar. If Runa engages him, his 4 defense will ensure he doesn't take too much damage. He can then disengage, Ghost Walk through her if necessary, and kill a Minion with his Sword of Reckoning. If he decides to attack Runa, she won't last long either.

Most common squads should be avoided if possible, since they present more potential risk than reward, but these units should be given extra space by Runa:

Deathreavers - The robo-rats of Heroscape give Runa all kinds of headaches. She has no special attack to avoid Scatter, no disengage, and her attack of 3 will not pierce their armor that often. It isn't as bad if she is with the Minions since you can activate them instead, but even they will take a long time to clear the Deathreavers off of her.

4th Massachusettes Line / Ashigaru Harqebus / 10th Regiment of Foot - All of these units have the Wait and Fire special power and are usually encountered en mass. If Runa charges into a large pack of them, she may get to roll for Mitonsoul a dozen times, but will only kill two or less (probably less) and then get ripped apart by Wait and Fire. If you can avoid drafting Runa against these opponents, do so.

Braxas - Not quite that scary to Runa, but the Minions are petrified of the Dragon Queen. I wouldn't draft Runa and the Minions against Braxas, but if you must face her, try to engage her with Runa and divert her attention from the Minions.


For additional information see the Book of Runa

[Junge Roman]

Runa is one of my favorite units, and I really like the article. I was curious if you did it in collaboration with other "Unit Strategy Review"ers.

In any case... I fielded Runa and 3x minions yesterday. Unfortunately, the way it played out, I was not able to utilize Runa until most of my Minions had been wiped out by Braxas and Q9. The distances involved meant that I had to use most of my turns to advance the minions, who with their 4 move, were sitting ducks. In a tighter arena with more LOS blockers, this strategy has played out decently for me.
I am thinking she would also be great with rats! Oh, I cursed 3 rats that time? Oh well, I also took care of Charos.

[Fezzikthedoor]

Edit: What a great article!

[Scape_Scrub11]

Originally Posted by Fezzikthedoor

Here we go again...your P.M. is in the mail.

What?

[jcb231]

Originally Posted by Scape_Scrub11

What?

Fezzik doesn't like people making their own guides, so he PM'd killer cactus to tell him so, I assume.

[Fezzikthedoor]

Edit: No, really, this is a great post!

[theodorelogan]

Fezzik doesn't like people making their own guides, so he PM'd killer cactus to tell him so, I assume.

Really?

That's lame. What's wrong with other people adding more content? Just don't sticky the ones you don't like. Problem solved.

[Aldin]

Originally Posted by theodorelogan

Really?

That's lame. What's wrong with other people adding more content?

Nothing wrong with content. Lots wrong with stealing someone else's format. I've changed the title.

~Aldin, who notes we're pretty serious about protecting original work around here

[theodorelogan]

Well, it's your site.

[killercactus]

Edit: Thanks!!

[Fezzikthedoor]

Originally Posted by killercactus

First off -

I would like to apologize to all writing "Unit Strategy Reviews" for using their format without asking (no hint of sarcasm). I give full credit for the format of the article to Agatagary and the others who have joined him in writing the strategy guides.

I wrote the guide on a whim of inspiration I obtained from successfully playing Runa two nights ago, and borrowed this format for the sole reason of simplicity and consistency. I should have known, especially on these boards, to ask permission first and will immediately PM Agatagary, Taeblewalker and Fezzikthedoor apologizing and belatedly asking permission to use it. I honestly was not aware that something like this would be viewed as something close to plagiary - I just thought Agatagary presented a format to the forum to outline a strategy article. Again, I apologize.

Secondly, I'm glad someone enjoyed the article....

Hey, man, I know you didn't do it to be a crap. No worries.

Edit: Plus, this is a great article! I honestly haven't changed my opinion of a unit this drastically since I read Agatagary's original Dund write-up. I'm jazzed to have KC in our writing circle.

[killercactus]

Originally Posted by Junge Roman

Runa is one of my favorite units, and I really like the article. I was curious if you did it in collaboration with other "Unit Strategy Review"ers.

In any case... I fielded Runa and 3x minions yesterday. Unfortunately, the way it played out, I was not able to utilize Runa until most of my Minions had been wiped out by Braxas and Q9. The distances involved meant that I had to use most of my turns to advance the minions, who with their 4 move, were sitting ducks. In a tighter arena with more LOS blockers, this strategy has played out decently for me.
I am thinking she would also be great with rats! Oh, I cursed 3 rats that time? Oh well, I also took care of Charos.

Edit: Thanks again!!!

Anywho, that is one problem with it. I don't think I would use it on a large board (the Minions have problems on large, flat boards), and I actually meant to add a "Units to Avoid" section but ran out of time on my lunch hour. Braxas would've been a "Unit to Avoid" She's a hero that the Minions have a real problem with, unless Runa can hit that D20 roll early.