Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion

[Scytale]

Uzog by @Kinseth

For this review I had to wait until the release of Uzog's C3V brethren, the Durgeth Ravagers. Now that the swamp-dwllers have risen to terrorize the armies of Valhalla, let's see how well this big brute fits in.

Balance

It's a bit tricky to compare Uzog directly with other units because of his combination of attributes. He's clearly a front line bruiser with 5 Attack and the very solid combination of 6 Life and 3 Defense, putting him in a combative class with Alastair Macdirk on stats alone. He also sort-of bonds with the Durgeth Ravagers and has a cheerleader ability in Gruesome Display that also boosts himself. The Ice Troll Berserker is a good comparison in terms of his combat ability, as the troll's significantly weaker defensive stats are alleviated somewhat by Cold Regenerate. I'd say Uzog wins out thanks to his cheerleader potential. As a bonding cheerleader we can compare him to similarly-priced Viking Champions. Once again I'd say Uzog is better, despite not having a Spirit power, as his stats are quite a bit better.

The large Durgeth seems to have the upper hand over similarly-priced heroes, though not by a lot. It appears that the price takes into account the disadvantage that comes with the loss of movement he suffers whens adding Trophy Skulls to his collection.

Theme

The durgeth are ugly savages, and the miniature used here fits that well. Uzog is quite a bit larger than the Ravagers, which some could argue as a break in theme, but we don't really know much about durgeth physiology. Perhaps he's an oversized member of the species, or a member of a larger offshoot, or something else. Personally I'm fine with it.

The concept of a brutish slayer who likes to make trophies out of the skulls of his victims is pretty neat (if somewhat disturbing). It is easy to imagine the sight of his enemies demoralized by his gruesome display, becoming easy prey for the crazed savages. The class and personality fit this picture as well.

Creativity

Gruesome Display alone gains points for creativity in my book. It takes the concept of kill trophies and makes it worthwhile within Heroscape, and it fits thematically with Valkrill and works well for the durgeth faction. Once-per-round abilities without a tracking marker are borderline problematic, but there is precedent and not a problem as long as these "memory" mechanics remain rare.

Playability

As a solo hero, Uzog is pretty darn competent. As good as anything in his price range, in my opinion. While he only has a single attack, it's a potent 5 dice, and it's relatively easy to "boost" by reducing his target's defense dice, as long as you can get that first kill. Which isn't too difficult, again because of the solid base attack and enough survivability to stay in the fight.

Is he too good as a solo hero at 85 points? I wouldn't consider him a must-buy by any stretch, and a single attack is limiting against many armies, but he is at least as good as other beatsticks in that price range, giving even Crixus a run for his money.

But that's not all Uzog can do, and not what he's best at. The Durgeth Ravagers are more potent that you might expect (as long as they aren't facing special attackers), though reliant on getting a couple of Hide In Swamp rolls to keep up the momentum. Momentum is key to the Durgeth's game, and that's where this big brute comes into play. If the Ravagers can get some kills, they grant Uzog some free turns to move up and get some kills himself. When doing so, he can stop and make himself some Trophy Skulls, which helps the Ravagers get more kills with Gruesome Display, which gives Uzog more free turns. This does, of course, require Uzog to be on the front lines engaging multiple figures, but he's pretty happy there with his solid Life/Defense and with his buddies cutting through the chaff around him each turn.

It's a self-reinforcing feedback loop that makes Durgeth momentum all the more powerful. And I love it. It fits perfectly with the Durgeth playstyle and has a terrifyingly destructive potency when it gets rolling, which fits Valkrill all so well.

The problem is the point value. I can't claim that at 85 points Uzog and his Ravager companions will eat up the competitive scene, or even make a dent given the current metagame. But the more I played with them the more that Uzog's low point cost just feels inappropriate for the unit's value.

As I noted above, the lower point cost may take into account the disadvantage of not being able to move normally after using Trophy Skulls. Except it's really not a disadvantage at all. Note that the power is optional. If you expect to take more turns with him that round, don't use Trophy Skulls. If it's your last order marker of the round, or the last on Uzog or Ravagers, or if you have another Savage Cry option, or if Uzog is already engaged with more figures, go ahead and boost up. These situations come up plenty, so I rarely felt any pressure to give up movements to make some Trophy Skulls. The "disadvantage" here is that sometimes you don't use the power, not that it limits Uzog from taking turns.

Summary

Uzog is a fun unit that works so well with the Durgeth Ravagers it's scary--in both a good way (thematically) and a bad way. I just don't feel comfortable releasing a unit with this level of potency at such a low price. Not that he breaks the game, or that he clearly outclasses other units, but simply because a hero with his stats and boosting potential belongs at a higher point total.

I vote Nay to induct Uzog into the SoV.

[Scytale]

We have completed our deliberations for the new Judge position. As usual, the choice was a difficult one as there were multiple candidates with strong submissions.

I am pleased to announce BiggaBullfrog is the newest SoV Judge! We look forward to his contributions to the project.

[Dad_Scaper]

I've always appreciated BBF's contributions as a playtester for the C3V. Excellent choice, and congrats!

[bmon]

Excellent. Congrats to Bullfrog and a shout out to him for stepping up and taking on the role of judge!!

[BiggaBullfrog]

Thanks guys! I'm super stoked to help out here and hope I can at least partially measure up to the other great judges (both present and past).

[flameslayer93]

Congratulations @BiggaBullfrog ! I look forward to reading your reviews!

[Scaperedude]

I KNOW THAT GUY!!! (Sorry, I'm just excited.....) Congrats @BiggaBullfrog !

[Sir Heroscape]

Way to go Bigga! You'll do great!

[Tornado]

Grats Bigga!

[The Dewk]

Judging maps AND units?? @BiggaBullfrog , you're living the dream!

I'll give you your first unit to critique as an official judge of the SoV!

[The Dewk]

If you've got 10 points left to fill in an army, you've got two options. And unless it's General Wars and you're playing Vydar or you have a funky strategy to get a glyph on OM 1, you're going with Isamu. Don't get me wrong, I love both of the little ninjas, but I also love variety. That's where this custom comes in.
I put the initial iteration in the Pre-SoV Workshop thread nearly six months ago, received some great feedback, made some appropriate tweaks, and have tested the bajeezus out of him since. He is ready for submission. I present to you, a third 10 point filler, Bol.



Bio/Theme, Creativity, Accessibility, Balance, Playability, Fun:

Spoiler Alert!

Bio/Theme "General Forgehammer! General Woo! Apologies for interrupting, but we captured a goblin spy in one of the inner camps! He offered no struggle, but demanded to be brought to you." The tiny prisoner was thrown to his knees before the Aquilla tacticians. "Not a spy." he muttered as he rose to his feet, and repeated, more forcefully "NOT a spy. Recruit. Ally." The deep laugh from General Forgehammer was as unnerving as it was rare. "A goblin ally? Do you take me for a fool? Soldier, take this cutter away and do whatever is necessary to extract the truth." But Woo motioned for the soldier to stay "Let us hear him out, Mogrimm. He did make it to the inner camps without detection or mayhem. Goblin, what is your name?" The goblin uttered a single syllable: "Bol".

"Bol?", questioned the monk.

"Bol. Big gruts say "No battle today, let's throw the bol!""

"I see... well, Bol, what made you think we wouldn't kill you on the spot?"

"Bol hear that Aquilla like skill, no care about past. Bol have skill. Skill for Aquilla."

"Ridiculo..." started General Forgehammer, but was interrupted as the goblin revealed and offered up a parchment he had, until that moment, kept hidden.

"Bol take from body of Bol's taskmaster. Maybe important".

The generals took the parchment and peered over it. It was General Woo that was laughing this time, while General Forgehammer uttered, dumbfounded, "Utgar's troop movements for the next fortnight..."

Goblins have always struck me as sly opportunists. Whether it's stealing shiny items or important looking documents, or engaging in "dishonorable" combat techniques like backstabbing or groin-kicking, goblins have a keen sense of primal pragmatism. The theme of Goblin Opportunism is more along the lines of the former (while Ankle Shank has the latter characteristic in mind) - "My ally received his orders, and was poised to strike, but was himself struck down... I am aware of his orders, and can perhaps use this opportunity to get in an unexpected strike of my own!"
As mentioned, Ankle Shank was created along much of the same line - "I will strike where I can with what I can, you big brute!"
And the other two maneuverability abilities are quite goblin-like - a small, wiry frame and lean muscle make for a mobile, slippery target!

He has petitioned to join Aquilla, the "chaotic good general", because she would be the most accepting of a wayward goblin who is tired of being kicked around in the ranks of Utgar or Valkrill armies. She is the general who first recruited a Rogue, and has a lot of unique species in her ranks (Dragonborn, Quasatch, Wyvern, Hybrids, and a number of other unexpected species). Just as Utgar has been known to recruit the normally Aquilla-aligned dwarves to his armies, Aquilla can get great use out of this ex-cutter.


Creativity: Hailing from Eberron like other goblins, Bol uses his small stature and scrappy frame to be a tricky opportunist - whether it's ankle-shanking large foes, jumping into the fray to take advantage of sudden disarray or losses, or running away when things are looking too hairy.
He has pretty standard mobility abilities, a superior Sir Denrick-like offensive ability, but most of the fun (and creativity) lies in his Order Marker "insurance" ability. Yes, his card has four abilities, which may be eyebrow-raising, but it isn't unprecedented. Two of them are simply related to maneuverability, and it is certainly less cluttered than some cards that only have 3 or even 2 abilities, so I feel this is okay.

Accessibility: This little guy comes from the D&D Miniatures line "Monster Menagerie 2", released relatively recently. Named "Goblin 3", there are tons of sculpts available from all the sites we know and love for less than $5. He even has a handy alternate - it is the exact sculpt, but he simply has an ax instead of a sword, and a hat. And beyond that, there is even an alternate-alternate sculpt, which is the same goblin, but with a bow (a quick snip of either end of the bow, and voila, you've got a Bol with a shiv)!

Balance: At first I said to myself, "I'll submit him at 30 tests!" But then when I tweaked him after 28 tests, I said, "I'll submit him at 40 tests!". But I decided 12 tests wasn't as good as 22 tests, so here he is, at 50 tests. Bol had 20 tests of this exact iteration, but with only 2 defense. He was fun, but seldom got his points in. So I upped his defense by one (the tweak I mentioned) and tested again. I'm now at 22 tests with this version, and he feels just right. He still doesn't always destroy his points worth, but I feel he is right where he needs to be.
Bol has been run through regular army battles (of various sizes and formats), special end-game scenarios, heat-of-battle, multiplayer, draft, and even a handful of dungeon crawls. His balance is great in all of these. Sometimes he took a hit from a ranged unit and did nothing. Sometimes it was found advantageous to sacrifice him to Wannok. Sometimes he scored an ally's Order Marker, advanced, and... was promptly squished (seriously, my notepad of Bol's tests looks like this "Game #22 - shot by Krav, Game #23 - dead to Wannok, Game #24 - received OM from destroyed Ornak, engaged advancing Romans, killed by said Romans, etc.). But a few other times, he finished off a wounded dragon, or dashed to a key glyph, or bogged down an incoming horde, or simply destroyed a squad unit. At the end of the day (or at the end of testing), I have found him to be perfectly balanced, and a very nice little 10 point filler. Sometimes his abilities aren't relevant. But other times they make for a very exciting endgame.
Goblin Opportunism is the strongest and most interesting of his abilities the majority of the time, obviously. He gets the most use out of it in builds that are a little more hero-heavy than normal.
Ankle Shank is situational, but a great, appropriate inclusion, and is another characteristic that sets Bol apart from Isamu.
The other two abilities are there for maneuverability, and while not always relevant, are still important and on-theme.
Lastly, unless I missed something big, there are only minor synergies associated with his characteristics, nothing overpowered. The most synergy he has is his ability to bond with the newly released Nottingham Brigand. When I was testing Nottingham Brigand & Co. for the C3V, I included Bol a number of times to see if it made him too strong to have something that bonds with him. It does not, as unless he is the absolute last unit that can be bonded with, every other bonding target the Nottingham Brigand has available is superior. However, Bol does fit in that particular army of pure-hearted bandits very well, and strengthens my idea of making a unit that will be more appropriate to select than Isamu in certain builds. It'll be fun when they all get released.

Playability: How to make a 10 point filler that people will want to choose over Isamu? By having him fill a different role. Isamu is an assassin powerhouse, whereas Bol will grant "extra" turns/Order Marker insurance in a Hero-heavy build. Is this better than Isamu? Not always. Probably not even the majority of the time. But we've got Eldgrim vs Guilty, Krug vs Kaemon, and heaps of other units that have the same cost, but different function, and we love the variety. Bol is (in my opinion, of course) the definition of playability. Goblins are flavorful. His abilities are relevant. 10 point fillers are needed in army builds all the time. And he doesn't even need to be rebased if you don't want to.

Fun: Bol is SO fun. Why? Because many times, fillers don't get a single Order Marker. Sniped early on, sacrificed to a Wannok wound, or a few other reasons can keep a filler from doing much of anything during a game. But another very common reason for this is that one wins the game without needing their filler to help achieve that victory. Bol has a good chance of defying this - even if he only gets one order marker off of your destroyed hero, it's fun to tromp him up the battlefield. It's that much more fun if it's more than one order marker and/or an enemy is in range of his short sword. Again, Bol is really, really fun!

Thank you for your consideration. I hope you find him as fun, interesting, and appropriate as I have.

[Scytale]

Having four powers is precedented but avoided without good reason. It's usually an indication of overdesigning. Disengage and Scale are simple and the latter is necessary, but you're pushing with Ankle Shank which is situational at best. The overall design is not complicated, though, and having a situational attack boost is common with 10pters.

to review Bol.