Islandscape Army Poll

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Once again, the stars have aligned, and I am going to Islandscape!

We're taking our cue once again from a Gen Con HS event. Bring an 18 hex 500pt army. All of your army must be from 1 of the following alliances: Jandar / Ullar / Valkrill; Utgar / Einar; Vydar / Aquilla. No more than 300 points from 1 general.

Hamlet-like as usual, I've agonized for days over my army - and its still a month away. Just for fun, I'm putting the armies I've considered in a Poll, and invite you all's opinions . . .

1. Romans I.
150 Romans x 3
130 Deathcommander Mk3
120 Fen Hydra
100 Marcus
500, 15 spaces

2. Monks.
185 Nilfeim
160 Shaolin Monks x 2
115 Ashi-Duluh
40 Siiv
500, 10 spaces

3. Knights I
140 KoW x 2
140 Racheim
115 Ashi-Dhulu
105 Sir Gilbert
500, 12 spaces

4. Knights II
140 KoW x 2
115 Ashi-Dhulu
100 Syvarris
105 Sir Gilbert
40 Siiv
500, 12 spaces

5. Knights III
140 KoW x 2
115 Ashi-Dhulu
105 Sir Gilbert
100 Sir Denrick
40 Siiv
500, 12 spaces

6. Romans II.
150 Romans x 3
130 Deathwalker 8000
120 Fen Hydra
100 Marcus
500, 15 spaces

[kolakoski]

Well met![

Power mad, the lot of you!

[ollie]

I voted for 6 for affinity reasons. I like Deathwalkers a lot and I'm not so keen on the Deathcommander or on Gilbert. #2 was my second choice.

[kevindola]

I went with Knights I. (Army #3)

I think Ashi and Racheim complement each other better than Ashi + Syv or Denrick.

As for discounting the others I have a personal preference for most other Roman bonding options than Marcus, so those armies don't suit my tastes much, and while I do love monks, I think they're map and format dependent and I'm not sure I like that combo set.

The all look fun though

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Originally Posted by kevindola

I went with Knights I. (Army #3)

I think Ashi and Racheim complement each other better than Ashi + Syv or Denrick.

As for discounting the others I have a personal preference for most other Roman bonding options than Marcus, so those armies don't suit my tastes much, and while I do love monks, I think they're map and format dependent and I'm not sure I like that combo set.

The all look fun though

Racheim and Ashi complement each other how? Personal preference for eschewing Marcus?! Really? How's that work?

[Cleon]

Went with army #6. I like army #4 too, probably cuz I like Syvarris.

I will suggest Einar/Utgar allows for Romans + MBS/NGS. Both are really good with the romans.

Also army #5 has more than 300pt. from jandar so it's not legal

[kevindola]

Originally Posted by kolakoski

Racheim and Ashi complement each other how? Personal preference for eschewing Marcus?! Really? How's that work?

What I meant was that Ashi has a nice ability to destroy squads. Obviously it is deadlier to high priced squads, squads that split up can be picked off one on one, and bunching squads allow Ashi to maximize his output of 2 offensive powers per turn. What he doesn't really like is range. Racheim however with his Range 6 attack and flying OR flying + tripple attack can cover those weaknesses for Ashi by sniping enemy range or flying in and with triple attack really damage the range enough to soften them enough for Dhulu. So I feel like between the two of them, they can handle most any single type of unit. That is what I meant by 'complementing' each other. Strengths against different opponents.


My other comments was just that I'm not a big fan of Marcus compared to other Roman bonding options in general, so that influenced my voting.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Originally Posted by kevindola

My other comments was just that I'm not a big fan of Marcus compared to other Roman bonding options in general, so that influenced my voting.

I heard what you said, but still don't get why. My understanding is that Marcus' giving the Romans 5 Move makes him vital to any Roman build. Why do you prefer to omit him?

[kevindola]

Well this probably isn't relevant to this poll so I won't get into it in depth here, but my short answer is that I think the movement boost for Romans is overrated and based on that assumption the 100 points for Marcus can be used in other ways. But this certainly can vary depending on the playstyle.

[sam268]

Romans II for sure.

The real weakness in it though is that you have no dependable scout/anti ranged units. You are going to find yourself caught in a bit of a crossfire with your Romans, trying to determine whether or not to break fromation or stick together, and if DW 8000 goes down, your disorganized Romans are going to be all over the place trying to hunt down enemy ranged troops if your opponent has good ranged and plays it smart.

Honestly, I would scratch Fen Hydra, and replace with Krug. Why? Because like I said, your real weakness here is getting picked apart by ranged, and whereas Hydra will likely get weaker and weaker as it approaches pesky archers and ilk, Krug will be eating arrows and bullets as energy bars, and make the crossfire strategy somewhat unattractive to your opponent.

[flameslayer93]

I went with Monks because they seem like fun. Nilfy can be a powerful piece too.

[Rich10]

You can't play army 5 because you can't have more than 300 points from any general.

I would play armies 4 or 6. Between them, I'd take army 4 since they could be members of the Valhalla Society.

Hopefully, I'll see you on Saturday.