Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion

[Scytale]

I suspect that She-Kal-Ra's Influence doesn't work like you intend, and I'm not sure there's a way to make it work like you want. Right now, as long as any Marrden Hound is standing next to a Shard, you can reroll a Marro Plague roll for any figure anywhere on the map. That's because you're rolling for the power on a card of a figure adjacent to a Shard. Is that what you want?

[superfrog]

I think that is intended, and the once-per-turn and 30% chance of dying are ways to mitigate the abuse of it in that way. I'm curious what d20s have been the most boosted by this in testing.

But I vote regardless, it's a cool repaint and a cool unique squad power, even if the d20 boost doesn't come up much, as I expect it won't.

[ryguy266]

Originally Posted by superfrog

I think that is intended, and the once-per-turn and 30% chance of dying are ways to mitigate the abuse of it in that way. I'm curious what d20s have been the most boosted by this in testing.

My first thought was stingers. It's most efficient since you only roll for stinger drain once per turn anyway. The odds of you failing drain with the reroll are only 6% down from 20% (since you wouldn't reroll on a 5 or higher, unless you were desperate I suppose). With Lodin or SBN it drops to just under 4% chance of failing both rolls. I would roll for stinger drain every turn with the shards, and it would probably make up for not having an extra squad of stingers, especially since the shards are decent cleanup in their own right. SBN, Shards, and 4x stingers is 470 points and has huge damage potential. Toss in MWs for water clone shenanigans at 520.

This analysis above is based on my understanding that the adjacent figure doesn't have to be activated as long as it's the power on the same army card. So I could leave one stinger and shard next to each other in my SZ and send 3 different souped-up stingers out for battle each turn. If that's not the case (using shared mind needs to be by an activated figure) then it's not quite as strong.

[SkyWhale]

The intent is for the Shard to only have to be adjacent to any of the figures from the card, not necessarily to the one that is benefitting from the roll itself. They are influencing the army, not just one specific unit. And superfrog hit the nail on the head for what prevents someone from just spamming the power every chance they get.

Stingers have definitely been most changed by the d20 roll, but I don't believe it's in such a way that makes them overpowered (at least, not any more than they already are). I really like that the shift in risk and reward makes Drain actually worth rolling for, as ryguy pointed out, and I think that makes the Stingers a more fun unit to play.

My favorite boost is probably that with the Drones, as it makes turns of 6 or 9 much more likely, again with a higher risk.

Here is some basic stats, which I believe I did correctly:

Spoiler Alert!

Stingers alone: (20%/25%/55%) to (destroy/nothing/+1 attack die)
With Shards: (9%/4.5%/6.75%/79.75%) to (destroy both/destroy Stinger/do nothing/+1 attack die).
This is assuming you always reroll if you don't get the +1 attack.

Drones alone: (60%/20%/20%) to (use 3/use 6/use 9)
With Shards: (24%/24%/16%/36%) to (destroy a Shard and use 3/use 3/use 6/use 9).
Again, assuming you always reroll if you don't get the activation for 9. Realistically, you would generally be fine settling for 6.

I think the Marrden Hounds are the official squad with a d20 roll that benefits the least from She-Kal-Ra's influence, and I think the benefit is best reserved for poor movement rolls more often than the Plague.

[Scytale]

Interesting. That makes them pretty clearly designed as a cheerleader for certain Commons with good cleanup power. Seems interesting to me.

to review the Shards of She-Kal-Ra

[Scytale]

Bridghe by @Shadowking has passed United Fanscape Review and moves forward in the process.

[Astroking112]

My apologies for taking a long time to post this review, everyone; life has a way of slipping away and then convincing you that things are just about to calm down. I'm also resigning as an SoV judge to open up the space for people who are better able to maintain that commitment; it's been my pleasure to serve the community over the past years, and I look forward to seeing where it goes next.

Shadow Wraith by @Sir Heroscape

Spooky things lurk in (and sometimes are) the dark. With the addition of the Shadow Wraith, are these shadows ready to stretch and cover more ground, or are they merely illusions lurking in the dark?

Balance

Defense boosters always warrant some level of concern, even when they look a little underwhelming initially. Looking at Kyntela Gwyn as a comparison, the Wraith has -1 life, +1 attack, a slightly worse defensive aura, and much better mobility for 5 more points. When paired with Xundar and a Shadow Fiend, the Wraith is as mobile as a flying figure, able to teleport after the Fiends’ move and through any inconvenient obstacles. Still, this looks about in the right ballpark, especially since the Wraith is as dependent on other figures for move as Kyntela is.

The 2 defense/1 life is also a considerable weakness, and when combined with their adjacency defense aura, frequently results in the Wraiths being the first targets to go. Drawing fire has its own utility, though, and the Wraith can be taken in multiples unlike most cheerleaders, which makes direct comparisons harder. If anything, I found the Wraith to consistently be undertuned in comparison to the other shadows (or diversifying the army to handle bad match-ups).

Theme

The Wraiths paint a decent theme with their excellent Shadow Phase really capturing a creature shifting in and out of the darkness. The Deepened Shadow feels more like a stretch to me to justify adding some defense dice, but the Shadows do have an overarching mechanic of boosting each other when surrounding enemies. This isn't quite that, but it's close.

If I had a minor quibble, it’d probably be that the card doesn’t particularly evoke a wraith, instead aiming to shore up one of the faction’s greater weaknesses. Stealth Flying like most of the other “ghost” figures would fit the sculpt pretty well over the Phantom Walk + Shadow Phase combo, but the teleport does feel thematic.

Creativity

Having a cheap common hero as a defensive cheerleader feels unique, and it also nicely gels with diversifying the Shadows’ roles. I appreciate pairing this with a more offensive statline as well in contrast to the more traditional cheerleader figures.

Playability

Here comes the rub. The Shadow Wraith never quite worked as well as I felt it should have. One of the more consistent uses that I found was setting up some beacons or checkpoints during development with Fiends and Wraiths, but those early turns also could have been spent getting more useful shadows into reach.

When combined with their excellent mobility and stats, I was frequently finding the Wraiths lasting a single turn after deploying them against shrewder enemies. Even when forcing more favorable match-ups that didn’t include ranged or mobile figures, the Shadows often don’t have the board presence to block enemies from reaching the Wraith, still resulting in their death anyway.

Usually there’s value in drawing attacks like this, but each Wraith takes at least one turn to get into position and rarely lasts more than one attack, so it’s usually an even trade in activations when the opponent kills them. This encourages attacking with the Wraith when moving them into position, which would often leave them either in a worse position or in more danger than it was worth.

This changes a bit when you start spamming Wraiths or employ other defensive strategies with figures like Raelin or Azazel. But even when playing more defensively, you’re probably better off with the Binder for the same points and defensive statline over the Wraith. A mix can at least get the Binders or Hounds up to 5 defense, but that still generally fell flat.

That said, Shadow Phase is a very fun addition to the faction, and I feel like it'd be a great addition on a different package. It fits the Shadows' aggressive and surrounding focus, and it’d be nice if the Wraith played more into those strengths.

Summary

The Shadow Wraith never quite found a home in any of the games or scenarios that I played, frequently being outclassed by other options within and without the Shadow faction. Coupled with the theme mostly being carried by Shadow Phase, I don’t think that this design quite passes muster and unfortunately vote NAY to induct it into the Soldiers of Valhalla.

[Scytale]

Thank you, @Astroking112 , for your time as a Judge, and for posting a final review.

We are discussing things behind the scenes about how to handle the open position. Expect news soon.

[Scytale]

The Diorite Defender has passed United Fanscape Review and moves forward in the process.

[Scytale]

Master Aldorn and the Visages of Aldorn by @Leaf_It

These two units are very closely tied together, so I'm reviewing together.

Balance

Master Aldorn has some use without the Visages, but his value is largely due to the Visages, so they should always be played together and likely always will. This makes them essentially a 120-point unit spread across two cards. The 120 is a point value burdened with a number of high-powered units like Krug, Kaemon Awa, and the Fen Hydra, so the Undead Archmage has a lot to live up to. To some extent he does, combining a solid mid-range attack with some bonus attacks from his Visages, but he also provides support for some decent units including the Specters of Aldorn and the Zombies or Morindan. Specializing in neither combat power nor cheerleading, Master Aldorn is a bit tough to gauge, but the overall package is certainly worth more than 100 but probably not 150 or higher.

Theme

The theme of a powerful undead wizard with deadly visages floating around is interesting. It's not what I was expecting for the master of the Specters per se, but that's not a bad thing.

Creativity

As noted, Master Aldorn and his Visages are not entirely cheerleaders nor combatants but capable at both. It's dangerous to try to do too much with designs, but overall they gives off a "terrifying undead leader" vibe that works pretty well, and the Phantom Walk + Levitation combo along with the figures themselves make them feel themtically tied to the Specters of Aldorn.

I was concerned about how well the miniatures stand out from the ones used by the Specters. The Visages are quite a big larger and stand out nicely, and Master Aldorn's staff is conspicuous.

Playability

As a cheerleader, Master Aldorn takes a little work to use well, but doing so is rewarding. It depends on your opponent's army, though. Moving close enough to range units to make use of his aura tends to just get the Undead Archmage killed, and the Visages offer practically no help in that situation. On the other hand, setting him up near the center of the battlefield can work well against melee armies, where you can use Visages to block some hexes around the Archmage while rushing forward with the terrifying commons. And you can often get a solid attack in at range when positioning. Both Specters and Zombies love the additional attack dice, and Master Aldorn often lasts into cleanup in the middle of the mess thanks to the sharkish nature and movement capabilities of those squads.

As a combatant, or rather group of combatants, these units fare pretty well, though perhaps not as well as other 120 point units may be capable of. The Master's aura also boosts the Visages, which can often provide a couple decent melee attacks to supplement Aldorn's Attack 4 at Range 5. The Visages aren't especially reliable at respawning, but as Defense 0 melee units you don't feel the need to protect them and instead just get as much out of them as you can. And a couple respawns can turn the tide in the final stages of a game.

Summary

I don't think any of the terrifying squad armies are much better with Master Aldorn and the Visages, but I don't think they're worse either, at least not at standard tournament point values. The pair can be especially valuable when starting zone spaces are limited or in Heat of Battle scenarios, and they handle cleanup pretty well in standard games.

I vote Yea to induct Master Aldorn and the Visages of Aldorn into the SoV.

[Shiftrex]

About a month later we are back with the refinement and changes. It's been up and around in the discord and in the pre-sov thread several times.

Biggest issue from last time was some inconsistency with the movement abilities being different numbers and these guys getting locked down so they couldn't go after their target. I think it's important for them to have disengage all the time, showing their focus on the hunt. I've seen the most success with them in small number, letting them passively move around and try to get at a specific target and then putting a couple of order markers on them when they are at a threatening range or... Rygarn is also fun to use.

Definitely not something you make your entire army out of but can also work in pod style armies. Nice for a 100 or 150 points worth of sharks alongside something else.

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WULFING HUNTERS
TUNDRA NOMADS



The figures used are #001 and #014 from D&D ICEWIND DALE: RIME OF THE FROSTMAIDEN.

CARD TEXT:
[spoiler]GENERAL = ULLAR
PLANET = EARTH
SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = COMMON SQUAD
CLASS = HUNTERS
PERSONALITY = FEARSOME
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 1

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 3
POINTS = 50

STALKERS
At the beginning of the game choose an opponent's unique Hero. After that Hero takes a turn you may immediately move up to 4 Wulfing Hunters 3 spaces each.

STRIKE AND FADE
After attacking with the Wulfing Hunters, you may move any Hunters that dealt one or more wounds to an opponent's figure up to three spaces each.

STEALTHY 3
When an unengaged Wulfing Hunter is attacked with a normal or special attack, add 3 defense dice to the defending Hunter.

DISENGAGE
Wulfing Hunters are never attacked when leaving an engagement.

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[Scytale]

The changes directly address my concerns. The lack of a point change despite the boosts is probably fine, as they felt weak even at their best before.

to review Wulfing Hunters