The New York City Gang Of Four

[kolakoski]

Well met!

At last!

Also, see bio in comment to blog post.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

I'll be testing my new custom, Gráinne O'Hara, in Thrasher's scenario for 7/5 below:

Originally Posted by ThrasherDarkrai

Apologies for my tardiness in getting this posted! Here are the full details for the scenario I'm hosting next week. The map, Wildwood Shrine, was specifically designed by yours truly for the scenario.

But first, some flavor text...

All throughout Valhalla, the Wildwoods remained little more than a myth, a fairy tale. Once, the legends went, a power-hungry Kyrie wizard sought a new way of warfare, a way to destroy his enemies without risking Kyrie lives (and thus earning the enmity of his people). A master botanist, the wizard journeyed deep into his people’s sacred grove – a place of seemingly limitless growth, apparently endless green – journeyed farther and farther until he found a willow branch as tall as he, taller even, absolutely brimming with life and vitality. Infusing the branch with arcane power, his people’s grove sprung to life; small saplings running from place to place, darting as if searching for something; willows shifting from side-to-side, standing guard against forces unseen; and at the center of it all, a bulking, misshapen hulk, groaning and heaving beneath its heavy vines and heavier bark. Carrying the branch with him, the wizard declared himself monarch of his people, leading his Awakened Forest to victory after victory. And the people rejoiced amidst their ever-growing forest.

Until one day, the forest grew too great. Their produce was crushed beneath heaving vines that snaked and rattled and wrapped around their cattle until the cattle breathed no more; the people suddenly felt the weight of bark behind them, atop of them, felt it more and more and more until they felt stillness, quiet; quietness. The wizard was right to believe his people would willingly accept endless war if their own lives weren’t at stake, but wrong to believe he could ever control the power he unleashed. Finally realizing his mistake as he stared upon ruined homes and unrecognizable bodies, he expended the last of his magic to blast the branch into the sky right as a massive botanical mass groaned and heaved and crushed his fragile body. From then on, the Awakened Forest and its Wildwoods became the boogeyman of every Kyrie living in Ekstrom, a perpetual warning for those arrogant enough to declare themselves ruler of forces older and stronger than any mere mortal.

Then the Wellsprings emerged. Ekstrom’s archkyrie, the gallant, learned Ullar, drank from the Wellsprings, becoming one of the Valkryie warring to claim Valhalla. From his great castle, Ullar found himself ruling over an ever-growing number of people, living in magnificent trees cultivated in fertile soil by his increasingly powerful cadre of elven wizards. As Ullar’s new empire grew, he remembered the bedtime stories his mother and father recited to him even as he forgot all their lessons. Just as he united elves and vipers and bandits – so disparate, yet so beautiful in their own special ways! – into a greater, more magnificent whole, so too did Ullar grow to believe he could form a beautiful garden from even the basest of ingredients, precisely manicure untamed growths and rambunctious firs into a gorgeous wooden tapestry, all for the benefit of his people. Sending his Protectors far and wide, he eventually found what he sought disturbingly close to home: a mysterious pedestal in a deep forest, a massive, blooming branch impaled into it as if it had fallen from some great height. Ullar claimed the branch, and the Wildwoods stirred.

Now, the Awakened Forest once again grows too great. Tremendous vines spill from cracks all throughout Valhalla, strangling life wherever they emerge. Ullar’s Wildwoods have retaken the branch from him, and now they have returned it to its rightful place, to the grove where a wizard and ruler once arrogantly ventured. A forest, once awakened, grows and grows. A war, once everlasting, temporarily halts; its generals, the Valkyries, call a truce. Mighty armies are massed and sent to the borders of the Awakened Forest, where an army of Wildwoods and fey spirits guard their true Monarch and the mighty Branch that gave them life. But the Branch’s clarion call proves tempting, and power – great power – too tantalizing. When the Branch is found, can any of these armies resist the urge to declare mastery over nature?

Objectives

Players 2-6 win if they have a figure with the Glyph of Brandar (henceforth referred to as the Branch of Rampant Growth) in their collective starting zone while also having having more points’ worth of units in said starting zone than any other player. Points are calculated via Partial Point Scoring rules. Player 1, the Wildwood Army, wins if no other player wins by the end of Round 10.

Armies

Player 1 must play the following Wildwood Army:

Wildwood Monarch 140 Points
Wildwood Sentinels x3 300 Points
Wildwood Runners x5 200 Points
Eilan Sidhe x4 160 Points
800 Points Total

The Wildwood Army always places first. Place the Wildwood Monarch on the Branch of Rampant Growth. All other figures in the Wildwood Army must be placed adjacent to a tree or bush.

Every other player brings a preconstructed 600-point army of no more than 24 spaces and shares a start zone (comprised entirely of rock tiles on one end of the map). Classic/VC/AoA allowed, no Marvel. Players place their armies one at a time, rolling the D20 to determine who places first, second, third, etc. Remember: to win the game, it is not enough to carry the Branch to the starting zone! You must also have more points’ worth of units in the starting zone than any other player to win!

Special Rules

The Branch of Rampant Growth: Represented by the Glyph of Brandar, this magic branch is the source of the vegetation infestation currently bedeviling Valhalla. So long as the Branch is on its pedestal, the Wildwood Army controls the Branch (regardless of whether any Wildwood figure is currently on the Branch's tile), and gains the following benefits:

• Whenever the Wildwood Army places a Wildwood figure, they may place it adjacent to any tree or bush.

• The Wildwood Player can place two Runners instead of just one at the end of the round and upgrade a Runner into a Sentinel regardless of when said Runner was placed.

• Wildwoods cannot be Mindshackled or otherwise controlled by another player.

Non-Wildwood Players cannot claim the Branch of Rampant Growth or move on its tile until the Wildwood Monarch is destroyed, and a new Wildwood Monarch cannot be generated from a Wildwood Sentinel until the Branch is claimed by a non-Wildwood player.

Inert Wildwoods: If the Wildwood Monarch is dead but none of the invading armies currently possess the Branch of Rampant Growth, the Wildwoods become inert. Until a player takes the Branch, inert Wildwoods cannot move, attack, or make leaving engagement attacks; other players’ figures can move through inert Wildwoods as if they had Ghost Walk. Inert Wildwoods cannot be attacked or harmed by any means. The Wildwood player can still place two new Runners on the board (adjacent to any tree or bush) or upgrade a Runner into a Sentinel as normal at the end of the round even if their Wildwoods are inert, so long as the Branch remains on its pedestal.

Transporting the Branch of Rampant Growth: If any figure controlled by Players 2-6 begins their normal movement on the Branch of Rampant Growth, they must place the Branch on a space occupied by that figure when its movement ends. If the figure moving the Branch dies during its movement, the Branch must be placed on a space the figure occupied at the time of its death. Figures cannot fly while carrying the Branch and cannot take the Branch with them if they teleport to another space. If the Branch of Rampant Growth is still on its pedestal, any non-Wildwood figure that ends its movement on the Branch must immediately make a second move, during which they can carry the Branch in the manner described above. If a figure attacks the Branch of Rampant Growth’s current carrier and destroys them, the attacking figure may immediately claim the Branch by moving it onto a space the attacking figure currently occupies.

Transferring the Branch: At any point during its movement, a figure transporting the Branch (see above) may choose to transfer the Branch to an adjacent figure in the same army. Move the branch from the transporting figure's tile to a tile the recipient occupies. The recipient of the Branch cannot move until its commander reveals their next order marker.

Addendum: The Branch of Rampant Growth does not count as a Treasure Glyph. Consequently, all abilities that affect Treasure Glyphs - such as Heirloom's Mage Hand, Arthur of Sherwood's Treasure Grab, and Locksley's Steal from the Rich - cannot affect the Branch.

Truce of Necessity: At the start of the game, every non-Wildwood player is considered to be allied with each other. During this alliance period, non-Wildwood players cannot designate each other’s figures as the primary target of an attack or special ability, may never make leaving engagement attacks against each other, and may freely move through each other as if they had Ghost Walk. Allied players’ figures can still be harmed as the secondary target of an attack. After the figure that first claims the Branch of Rampant Growth makes its required secondary move in the manner described above, the non-Wildwood players immediately become hostile to one another. All inert Wildwoods become active once again, and a Wildwood Sentinel can now grow into a new Wildwood Monarch at the end of a given round, as usual.

Furious Forest: If the Wildwood Player does not control the Branch of Rampant Growth and has 100 or less points’ worth of figures remaining in their army, they may, at the end of the Round, place a Wildwood Runner, Sentinel, and Monarch adjacent to any tree or bush.

Gráinne O'Hara's card is below.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

I was originally going to field Anitar's Sgt. Drake in Thrasher's scenario above.

210 Drake
150 Romans x 3
100 Marcus
90 Ne-Gok-Sa
50 Me-Burq-Sa
600 points, 17 spaces

“It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.” ~ Grantland Rice

However, when my tentative SoV candidate custom concept recently came together, and I inquired, Thrasher, who was also instrumental in the aforementioned process, gave me permission to field an army featuring it.

So . . .

140 Buccaneers x 2
120 Gráinne O'Hara
110 Laglor
100 Tombstone Gunslingers x 4
70 Josie Whistlestop
60 Cal the Smuggler
600 points, 16 spaces

But, with the Gang, you never know . . .

[Taeblewalker]

My army: Isamu, Moltenclaw and Einar Imperium x3.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Originally Posted by Taeblewalker

My army: Isamu, Moltenclaw and Einar Imperium x3.

Moltenclaw? Wyverns would be cool . . .

[chas]

Women With White Hair

Elaria The Pale 60
Kelda 80
Sgt. Drake II 170
Major Q9 180
Airborne Elite 110
600 Points, 9 Spaces

[chas]

Kolakoski, who is famous for being first with his army and then changing it multiple times, left out his intermediate draft:

Drake III (AOA by Anitar) 210
Romans x3 150
Marcus 100
Ne-Gok-Sa 90
Me-Burq-Sa 50
600 Points, 17 Spaces

For the second time, K. planned to run one of the AOA SOTM fan cards from Anitar, rather than mine.

And so far, I seem to be the only one who's actually read the scenario...

[kolakoski]

Well met!

I read the scenario! Drake III was chosen for his Grapple Chain special power, and the Roman army (with Ne-Gok-Sa) made perfect sense to complement him. It was just that I could not resist the opportunity to test Gráinne O'Hara.

Speaking of changing my army multiple times: This morning, before seeing chas' army, I asked him in an email to replace Cal the Smuggler with Elaria the Pale. He said OK, but I'll have to use a proxy. Great guy, our chas!

[chas]

Guess what K.? I found another and different proxy who is also a woman with white hair for your Elaria The Pale. (My other white haired woman is Kelda).

We very rarely have the same character occurring more than once in the same game (in different armies). Famously, the only time we had three of the same was a game with three Agent Carrs. Mine was the only one still standing at the end.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Good deal, chas. Speaking of alternate sculpts, as SoV prefers futuristic units, these could more easily gain approval:

Echani Handmaiden from Pathfinder minis Knights of the Old Republic

Captain Echani
General: Vydar
Human, Unique Hero, Outlaw, Reckless, Medium 5
Life 4, Move 6, Range 7, Attack 3, Defense 3

Double Attack
When Captain Echani attacks, she may attack one additional time.

Elusive 15
If Captain Echani is attacked by an opponent's figure that is not adjacent and at least 1 skull is rolled, roll the 20-sided die. If you roll a 1-14, roll defense dice normally. If you roll a 15 or higher, Captain Echani takes no damage and may immediately move up to 3 spaces.

Queen of the Buccaneers
After taking a turn with Captain Echani, you may take a turn with a squad of Rogues you control.

120 points

OR

Cad Bane from Pathfinder minis Star Wars, Galaxy at War

Captain Kliig
General: Vydar
Clone, Unique Hero, Outlaw, Reckless, Medium 5
Life 5, Move 5, Range 7, Attack 3, Defense 3

Double Attack
When Captain Kliig attacks, he may attack one additional time.

Elusive 15
If Captain Kliig is attacked by an opponent's figure that is not adjacent and at least 1 skull is rolled, roll the 20-sided die. If you roll a 1-14, roll defense dice normally. If you roll a 15 or higher, Captain Kliig takes no damage and may immediately move up to 3 spaces.

Scourge of the Seven Seas
After taking a turn with Captain Kliig, you may take a turn with a squad of Rogues under your control.

120 points

[chas]

And it turns out that she was a real historical Irish Clan Chieftess and Pirate of the Elizabethan Age, who supposedly went to London to visit the Queen, and used two pistols:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_O%27Malley

[ThrasherDarkrai]

To be honest, I prefer Gráinne O'Hara over the sci-fi pirates. Availability concerns might force one of the Star Wars models anyway, but I'd personally prefer to get some ordinary human pirate heroes into C3V before branching out into space-faring pirates.