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C3V and SoV Customs A place for C3V and SoV customs |
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#6385
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Kha by
@kolakoski
Kha is capable of slipping between the lines of an enemy force to strike where he’s most deadly, but can this dashing serpentfolk slither into my heart? Balance: Finding an easy comparison for Kha is surprisingly difficult, but Arthur of Sherwood is probably the closest. Both bring multi-kill potential to the Rogues at a similar point cost. With better hero killing potential and a bit more flexibility in choosing his targets, Kha looks to have the advantage over Arthur’s speed and T-glyph utility. At only 75 points, Kha risks offering a little too much for his cost, but the design doesn’t appear blatantly unbalanced. Theme: The restraint on Kha’s stats ties the whole design together nicely. While not terribly strong or durable, he uses guile and dexterity to get the upper hand. Plus, 5 range seems about right for his little wrist-mounted crossbow. Creativity: This unit shines in its clever re-use of existing powers. Normally stacking multiple attack-based powers on a design is inadvisable, but the combination of Double Assault and Poison Weapons provides a wealth of interesting decision-making. Disengage works well on the card in that it allows those decisions to stay relevant and engaging, and in doing so avoids feeling tacked-on. Playability: It didn’t take me long to decide that Kha is a joy to play. He’s an excellent low-investment unit to try and get the most out of, his powers practically daring you to take the risks that will make this affordable unit pay off big time. Of course, it isn’t quite so easy. Kha excels at attacking figures or positions that have already been weakened, where the opponent won’t be able to easily counterattack. This makes him preferable as a mid-game unit, where he can find opportunities to launch a Double Assault with less fear of reprisal. His multi-attacking option is his most important power, particularly in Rogue builds where those are a rare commodity. While Poison Weapons looks like it would limit him to an anti-hero role, it actually functions to even out the value of him targeting heroes versus squads--without it, it would almost always be preferable to keep him sweeping squaddies off the board while leaving heroes to the likes of Locksley or Darrak. This design decision plays out well in practice, as it means you always have to make meaningful choices about who Kha should target. Ultimately, my main concern with Kha was that he might be a little too consistent and versatile for his points. As an offensive bonding figure with powers useful against both heroes and squads, Kha almost always has the potential to do some damage. Making the most of him requires some setup, though, and it can be tricky to find the time for Kha to rush in without him taking serious fire on the enemy’s next OM. This problem is compounded by high-defense units, who will usually survive his initial assault and be able to retaliate in force. While Kha has a certain amount of freedom to choose his targets, his best damage is done in melee, making him difficult to use as strictly an assassin. In bad matchups, you can save him for the endgame, but doing so doesn’t make the most of his abilities. Overall, my initial worries about Kha’s balance did not bear out in testing. That being the case, and as I very much enjoyed my time playing him, I vote to induct Kha into the SoV. |
#6386
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Woot! Congrats
@kolakoski
!! That's enough votes to move him on, and I'm super excited to get Kha rocking and rolling in our Utah scene!
Monthly Utah Tournaments in SLC!!
Maps | Customs | Battle Reports 10 Points Under Videos "I'll save myself some time and say I pretty much 100% agree with Bigga" ~Flash_19 |
#6387
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Well met! Quote:
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#6388
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Quote:
Monthly Utah Tournaments in SLC!!
Maps | Customs | Battle Reports 10 Points Under Videos "I'll save myself some time and say I pretty much 100% agree with Bigga" ~Flash_19 |
#6389
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Quote:
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#6390
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
First, Swaysil has received 5 Yea votes to review (superfrog, All Your Pie, wriggz, Scytale, and casocrates) and moves forward in the process.
Also, Kha has received 4 Yea votes to induct (Scytale, superfrog, and BiggaBullfrog, and All Your Pie) and moved to Final United Fanscape Review. |
#6391
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
A big congratulations,
@kolakoski
! And a big congratulations to the SoV on its first Ullar induction! The SoV has a unit from every general now. I'm curious as to which milestone will be reached next, a squad for every general or 50 inductions...
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#6393
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
I'd like to formally submit Kate Crawford.
I'll be submitting her as my own design, and separately than Clayton's submission. If that is a problem (in terms of technically having more than one submission in the process, so to speak) then I will happily rescind the submission. I playtested her numerous times in the course of playtesting Clayton, and she was a fun addition to a Lawman army with a unique but simple special attack. Her availability looks good right now - as I said in the pre-sov thread, the usual sites are somewhat low, but ebay has a handful of sellers "with more than ten available". |
#6394
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Please list the availability you've found. Unfortunately, ebay sellers are rather unreliable, so they usually aren't accepted as sources. As supplemental, perhaps, but you really need to have reliable sources with numbers.
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#6395
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Ooof. That may be a problem, then.
TnT 3 CSI 8 Suncity 5 Pop's culture shoppe 10 There was 50+ among four or so ebay sellers. I suppose that's not high enough. Damn! |
#6396
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Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
Beakface Archer (primary) and Beakface Rogue (secondary)
Balance- Are the points correct? The archer and the rogue are both well pointed for what they offer. The archer would be overpriced splashed into another army, but alongside other Raptorian figures she adds her value nicely. The rogue offers some punch to Raptorian and/or Rogue builds that both factions lack, but his relative fragility keeps him in line. Playability- Both cards are very playable. I enjoyed the games I played with multiples of these two alongside a bushel of Sneaks and the Quorik Warwitch. Significantly, many of my friends chose the Raptorian armies I had put together when we did army drafts; they all liked playing the army and felt like it had some fun potential. I agree. I particularly enjoyed mixing Raptorians with Rogues; using the Sneaks as a screen, the Beakface Rogues as heavy hitters, the Archers to move the other around, and the Merry Men as the main draw. It never lived up to my hopes, but it feels similar to an army I might see at Reverse the Whip at GenCon; maybe alongside Raelin. Powers: Are the powers clear and understandable? Check. Improved Flocking is a mouthful, but less so than many others that have been through VC. Every other power on the cards is re-used from somewhere. Appropriate Stats: Are its master stats appropriate? Check. Both figures feel like the other Raptorian figures we've had before. Visual Distinctness: Is it visually distinct from pre-existing units? Both figures look (in their pictures, I didn't buy them) good alongside the other Raptorian figures. They appear to be just distinct enough to not blend in to the crowd of sneaks. Creativity- Does it add something new to the game? There are at least two kinds of creativity in new Heroscape cards; new powers, and old powers used in new ways. The Beakface Rogue is a combination of all old powers that work very nicely; as @dok said "It's a Beakface. It's a Rogue. It's a Beakface Rogue." The Beakface Archer presents a new power called Improved Flocking which is really two separate powers with an "or" clause between them: Improved Flocking (Flocking without the attack requirement) and Raptorian Hero Bonding. This is something new to the game, but I would have rather seen either power instead of both powers mashed together. Improved Flocking that moves 4 Raptorians after an attack could be cool. Raptorian Hero Bonding is simple and thematic and would work. Visually the Archer looks very much like the other Raptorians that have Evasive, so passing on that power feels like a missed opportunity to make the Archer feel more like a Raptorian instead of just an Order Marker Hub. Theme- Does it fit in the HS universe? The Rogue and Archer are a nice fit alongside the other Beakface cards and they all fit nicely in Heroscape together. -- I enjoyed my games with the Beakface Archer and Rogue. I like the Rogue as-is and would definitely approve it on its own. I think it's a great addition to the Merry Men and a great addition to any army that uses at least a few squads of Beakface Sneaks. But the Beakface Archer's Improved Flocking feels just a little over-designed. I vote to induct the Beakface Archer into the Soldiers of Valhalla. Unfortunately that vote applies to the Beakface Rogue as well because of how they were submitted. Formerly known as capsocrates -- Remixed Master Sets - challenge yourself with new terrain combinations! -- Colorado Fall 2023 Multiplayer Madness -- caps's Customs Redux - caps's multiplayer maps - caps's maps - Seagate -- Continuing Classic Heroscape: C3V SoV |