Shadowking's Customs v.2 - 02/18/24 Bike Ninja!

[Shadowking]

Back at it again, this time with a Zulu hero:



This guy went through a few versions but other than potentially some minor stat tweaks (not sure if 80 points is exactly right, and also not sure if 13 is the exact right number for Commander's Ambush - might need to be a bit higher) I think I like where he ended up.

His Commander's Ambush power is designed to work well with the Mohican's pseudo-bonding and the Teeth of the Makwa, letting you chain a Mohican turn into a turn with him which lets you move six Teeth, and if Nkonikoni is positioned right during that you can also roll two Commander's Ambushes during that sequence. He has a decent survivability into normal attacking range with 5 life and pseudo-4 defence, but is squishy into melee (and he needs to be somewhat up front to trigger his Ambush) and into specials.

[Shadowking]

Come to think of it, does the timing work how I want it to work with Commander's Ambush and moving the Teeth? Is it happening technically outside of a turn, or does it still count as Nkonkoni's turn when you move them (and thus still correctly triggering Commander's Ambush)?

[Sherman Davies]

It should still technically be Nkonkoni's turn when the Teeth are moved, so I think the power is still limited to two rolls per order marker. If I'm reading the cards right, it would go something like this:

Turn A - Reveal an OM on Mohicans; after their turn they trigger War Cry (and possibly Commander's Ambush)

Turn B - War Cry triggers a turn with (for example) Brave Arrow. Brave Arrow ends his turn and triggers Commander's Ambush. Teeth of the Makwa move with Hunting Party, but do not trigger Ambush because they're not technically taking a new turn, so Ambush has already triggered "this turn."


Alternate possibilities after Turn A would be:

Turn B - War Cry triggers a turn with (for example) Brave Arrow. Brave Arrow ends his turn and does not trigger Commander's Ambush. Teeth of the Makwa move with Hunting Party and trigger Ambush.

Turn B - War Cry triggers a turn with Nkonkoni. After his turn, the Teeth move with Hunting Party and trigger Ambush.

[Shadowking]

Yeah that’s the intent, only a cap of two uses per activation of Mohicans with War Cry and not three. Mohicans and Teeth don’t hold up to Dwarves or Romans in terms of power but that probably means it wants to be a higher roll despite the set-up compared to Mogrimm; triggering twice is a pretty big upside and it can happen passively so likely 15 or 16 is right (a 16 still gives a ~50% chance of a free wound if you trigger it twice, a 15 would be 60% - 13 sits at 80% roughly which is pretty high).

[Shadowking]

I actually got a chance to playtest some stuff (sadly only against myself); Codename: Scarlet and Agent Krey and agents VS Abdul (who I renamed) and Rogues.

Agent Krey I think is in a really good spot like this, she can be nasty to buff up Microcorp Agents but is pretty squishy - although the opponent has to be careful about how little they commit to killing her due to surprise Stealth Armor. Scarlet is also pretty fun, it very quickly became apparent she 100% did not need Sighting so I took that off her card, my only thing is whether she needs to cost 140 points and have 6 life and if that makes her card better overall or not.




Abul (who I renamed Yasir) has had some tweaks, mostly +1 move and +1 attack, and some jiggling around of where the abilities are VS his squad. I also changed his class to Rogue to allow him and his squad to slot into builds with Locksley and Brigands, who benefit a lot from a way to spawn a Treasure Glyph into the game naturally (and it fits nicely with a tricky, shifty merchant-type character). Even with this possibility I don't think it makes the Rogue build too good, but adds some new ways to play around with things. My one concern left is that his start-of-game roll can be affected by things like Myrddin and Elaria which feels really weird but I don't know how to fix it.



The Merchant Guard (also renamed) I tested at 3/3 which I think at 4/4 with the Glyph holder was a bit silly, 2/3 seems more measured although I think they want an extra ability honestly - apart from a bonding option expanded to all Rogues not just Yasir (which is fun with Kha and similar) they are a bit non-interesting potentially but we'll see. Losing the extra attack also allowed me to lower their points a bit.

[Shadowking]

I also repainted my Nakita today, so we can have a Scarlet card with an actual picture and hitzone finally! I did decide to bump both her life to 6 and her points to 140 in the end, as reflected on the card render - whether that's correct I am still not 100% sure but hopefully I can test her out in actual games against an opponent that's not myself a bit in the future to get better information.

[Shadowking]

OK, after some conversations on here and in the Discord, I am putting these two cards here again for hopefully some final thoughts before I finalize them for potential SoV submission:




Jan I am pretty good with as-is unless anyone points out any issues I might have missed; Kafnirra I would like to get a chance to test some with a version of her power that affects figures within 2 clear sight spaces, and there has been some suggestions to give her a range of 5 - I think 4 plays better but some theme concerns were brought up, I would appreciate if anyone else could weigh in on whether 4 seems like it is believable (the lowest range archers currently have a range of 5, but her figure has a primitive-looking bow and I think it makes sense for her theme that it'd be a shortbow more suited for close-range hunting in tundra forests etc).

[Son of Arathorn]

If you're aiming to submit one or both of these to SoV, I hope these notes might be helpful.

Jan Sobieski
There are a lot Human Champions out there ( 8 of them, to be exact ), so any additions to those ranks should be pretty distinctive and avoid outclassing/being outclassed by the existing options. Evasive makes sense on a skilled horseman, and Hussite Charge isn't trying to do too much, which I like, although I think you could get away with just reusing the Templar Cavalry's Galloping Charge and save yourself some complexity and text on the card. Whether Jan is balanced is going to be a large consideration, since he bonds with a top bread-and-butter melee squad, and while he doesn't look overpowered for his points to me, testing will tell. 120 is a tough point total to hang in, but if anyone can do it, it's an 8-Move Human Champion.

The one change I would really encourage you to make with Jan is the name. Having dabbled with importing real historical figures into HeroScape myself, I have soured on the idea. "Real" historical figures do make it into the game now and then, but they're usually ones we don't actually know much about (like Spartacus and Tomoe Gozen). Importing a real-life figure without the benefit of a generic name to distance them from their real-life actions (and the historical record you're contradicting by sending them to Valhalla) can get messy in a hurry, especially since HeroScape is not well-equipped to handle the implications of those actions. I'd encourage you to nip that problem in the bud and select a different name for this unit, but that's just my

Kafnirra
The 4 Range is interesting, but ultimately I think it's trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. Sure, the weapon looks primitive, but so what? HeroScape distance is really weird in general, and I think you could easily sell that sculpt (which is gorgeous by the way, and a good choice for this unit) as a 5 or even 6-range archer.

Why is Kafnirra a Champion? She looks much more like a Hunter, or heck, even a Tribesman. Is it just to give her bonding with the MacDirk Warriors and Knights of Weston? As I said before, there are so, so many Human Champions. That's not to say Kafnirra can't bring something new and exciting to that crowded table! But it feels (to me - others may disagree) like the class is in conflict with the sculpt and, to an extent, the powerset.

Guardian Totem reads as a buff for the MacDirks and Dreadgul Raiders, and I like it (I did a similar thing with my own custom, Connor MacDirk). The theme works with the sculpt and the power looks like it will play well off of the MacDirk's Highland Fury special power.

Strike and Shoot Special Attack feels like it won't come up as often as you might want it to, but I could be wrong about that. If I'm engaged, the only time I'd use it would be if I can't get on high ground to roll 4 dice with her normal attack.

Have you considered leaning into the Arctic theme and adding Snow and Ice Enhanced Movement?


Overall, I think there's a lot to like in the core of both these units. I hope you arrive at versions of both that you're happy with.

[Shadowking]

Originally Posted by Son of Arathorn

If you're aiming to submit one or both of these to SoV, I hope these notes might be helpful.

Jan Sobieski
There are a lot Human Champions out there ( 8 of them, to be exact ), so any additions to those ranks should be pretty distinctive and avoid outclassing/being outclassed by the existing options. Evasive makes sense on a skilled horseman, and Hussite Charge isn't trying to do too much, which I like, although I think you could get away with just reusing the Templar Cavalry's Galloping Charge and save yourself some complexity and text on the card. Whether Jan is balanced is going to be a large consideration, since he bonds with a top bread-and-butter melee squad, and while he doesn't look overpowered for his points to me, testing will tell. 120 is a tough point total to hang in, but if anyone can do it, it's an 8-Move Human Champion.

The one change I would really encourage you to make with Jan is the name. Having dabbled with importing real historical figures into HeroScape myself, I have soured on the idea. "Real" historical figures do make it into the game now and then, but they're usually ones we don't actually know much about (like Spartacus and Tomoe Gozen). Importing a real-life figure without the benefit of a generic name to distance them from their real-life actions (and the historical record you're contradicting by sending them to Valhalla) can get messy in a hurry, especially since HeroScape is not well-equipped to handle the implications of those actions. I'd encourage you to nip that problem in the bud and select a different name for this unit, but that's just my

Kafnirra
The 4 Range is interesting, but ultimately I think it's trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. Sure, the weapon looks primitive, but so what? HeroScape distance is really weird in general, and I think you could easily sell that sculpt (which is gorgeous by the way, and a good choice for this unit) as a 5 or even 6-range archer.

Why is Kafnirra a Champion? She looks much more like a Hunter, or heck, even a Tribesman. Is it just to give her bonding with the MacDirk Warriors and Knights of Weston? As I said before, there are so, so many Human Champions. That's not to say Kafnirra can't bring something new and exciting to that crowded table! But it feels (to me - others may disagree) like the class is in conflict with the sculpt and, to an extent, the powerset.

Guardian Totem reads as a buff for the MacDirks and Dreadgul Raiders, and I like it (I did a similar thing with my own custom, Connor MacDirk). The theme works with the sculpt and the power looks like it will play well off of the MacDirk's Highland Fury special power.

Strike and Shoot Special Attack feels like it won't come up as often as you might want it to, but I could be wrong about that. If I'm engaged, the only time I'd use it would be if I can't get on high ground to roll 4 dice with her normal attack.

Have you considered leaning into the Arctic theme and adding Snow and Ice Enhanced Movement?


Overall, I think there's a lot to like in the core of both these units. I hope you arrive at versions of both that you're happy with.

Thanks for weighing in! I had initially considered some things with Jan along similar lines to you, but Ranjit Singh seems to also do the same things as Jan does (be a real person that breaks with historical timelines to appear in the game, as he died in his sleep after health complications and not in a battle or other event where his summoning would be plausible without screwing around with stuff). It's def. an option and I can just give him a more generic Polish name - which still sells the theme/concept fine - but tying it to the figure and especially the artwork I did enjoy. I am unsure if the way Ranjit was handled is considered a mistake generally, or is OK precedent to use for this sort of thing.

For Kafnirra, I actually designed her low-range mechanics first and I think she plays better at a lower range. I tested her at 3 to start but someone (Caps, I think?) pointed out that was probably below the "believability bar" which I was also starting to consider independently, 4 is fine and I did a bit with 5 and while I don't think it's going to ruin anything at 5 the higher her range gets the more I think she becomes annoying when played alongside specifically Knights.

But yeah, both her and Jan I like as diversifying the "role" of what a Human Champion gets to be. A mounted one feels like an oversight to me as missing in terms of the original Classic designs, and Kafnirra is pushing the boundaries in other ways in terms of her mechanics and theme but in a way that (I hope) still sells the term and role and is tied to the other squads that are similar to her in general terms. A lot of the existing Human Champions seem very themed to go with Knights (even the three Classic Viking Champions are quite knightly in their looks compared to both historical and trope-y depictions of Vikings) and I feel like that's a shame to pigeonhole the class and theme like that personally. But yeah you're not wrong her figure could work nicely as a Hunter or a Tribesman also. Her special does work better the lower the defence of the target(s), I have found throwing a 3 and a 2 against things with 1-3 defense can often work out well especially when scoring those two kills is required to clear the board for your own positioning, but as you say it's not *super* powerful/not always clearly better than her regular attack - that was by intention, and I think it can lead to some interesting decisions in terms of play with her.

I did manage to play a couple of games with some variants (Kafnirra's aura being 2 spaces being the big one), but I felt like it was worse as a design than she is now. It almost makes the positioning too easy around her when it's a range of 2, and you go from being able to fit 3-6 figures around her due to terrain etc to being able to fit your whole army around her, which I think takes away a lot of the interest in terms of careful play. You can also then screen her with two space's worth of units protected by her (and thus difficult to break through) rather than just the one, which is in some situations quite frustrating. Adjacent seems like it strikes a much better balance overall for both players.

[Blue Trails]

Kafnirra seems like a fun bonding option for the MacDirks. I agree that 4 Range could be a thematic concern, though. As shortbow-wielding primitives, the Arrow Gruts are your closest technological analogue to Kafnirra and her somewhat crude weapon, and they have a Range of 6.

As an aside, if you're still working on Nkonkoni, I would recommend testing him with figures that can activate en masse (e.g. Thralls, Wildwoods, or Kurrok) or that can move during opponents' turns (e.g. Deathreavers). It's not hard to swing three turns per Order Marker in the VC era, and the fact that Commander's Ambush can activate on any turn gives Nkonkoni the potential to explode in value when played outside of his ostensibly intended Tribesman/Hunter army.

[Shadowking]

Originally Posted by Blue Trails

Kafnirra seems like a fun bonding option for the MacDirks. I agree that 4 Range could be a thematic concern, though. As shortbow-wielding primitives, the Arrow Gruts are your closest technological analogue to Kafnirra and her somewhat crude weapon, and they have a Range of 6.

As an aside, if you're still working on Nkonkoni, I would recommend testing him with figures that can activate en masse (e.g. Thralls, Wildwoods, or Kurrok) or that can move during opponents' turns (e.g. Deathreavers). It's not hard to swing three turns per Order Marker in the VC era, and the fact that Commander's Ambush can activate on any turn gives Nkonkoni the potential to explode in value when played outside of his ostensibly intended Tribesman/Hunter army.

Yeah the range thing is super weird, Brandis Skyhunter - an archer explicitly good at attacking things that fly - has a range of 5 which is lower than Arrow Gruts, Zettian Infantry with guns for hands and M.A.R.S the giant death robot with missiles have a range of 4, etc. She certainly still feels like enough of an archer at 4 range from what I have played; I think 5 plays a bit worse overall but I can change it and it's not gonna ruin the design or my vision or anything, I guess I should make a note of that in my submission if I submit it at 4 range.

Good thinking on Nkonkoni too, he does seem quite annoying with Rats who are already not awful pairings to screen for Teeth and Mohicans. I only played him with them so far and not in other armies, I suspect part of it can be addressed by making the range of his ability less than 4 spaces (which is pretty wide) so he can't cover as much of the board, but yeah if/when I get a chance to do more with him I'll have to see with some of that stuff if it seems to be problematic.

EDIT: As much as I like the goofy cross-theme army synergies I could also fix this by just making it "Hunter, Scout or Tribesman"-specific, which is on-theme and covers all the appropriate figures while keeping out Rats and Elementals and such.

[Shadowking]

A couple of new squads I have been working on:





The Chronotoll Adherents came about from wanting to do a unit that interacted with order markers in an interesting way, and time cultists seem like they fit that theme well (it's also cool to give Vydar more stuff in the vein of Rygarn in my opinion). I think you could do some fun builds with them and Ornak where you use OM1 on Ornak to activate two Utgar heroes and then OM2 and 3 on these guys where you maximize their uses without having to take the worse 3-activation.

The Rangers of Ashra I kinda wanted to be more like Celtic or Nordic woodsmen but it's hard to find minis for that, and Rangers of Ashra fit the theme well too with their Hand-to-Hand Specialist power (linking back to the Warriors of Ashra's Melee Defence thing). Scout Bonding has a lot of options and feels very different to most hero bondings - all the available options are utility heroes that cost 60 points or less and the pool doesn't have any "staple" heavy hitters, which allows for some cool builds that play different from most bonding armies. Kira Jax and Zetacron give ranged support, Maltis Tez and Clawfoot Interceptors provide some high-damage but fragile melee beaters, and Theracus allows for some fun play picking up Brave Arrow (who isn't a Scout but does buff the Ranger's attack) and dropping him next to a group of Rangers already in melee.