Fen Hydra Pre-Release Discussion

[Fedex worker]

My bonding-galore idea

2x Hydras- 240
Ornak- 340
2x Blade Gruts+Nerak+Fillers 500
or 4x Blade Gruts, 500

I really like this idea. You move both your Hydras with Ornak, then move the blade gruts to get Ornak further up the battle field. Nerak just stays behind your orc pod, and once the Hyrdas are killed, you still have a pretty good army left with Ornak's orc battle cry and Nerak's defence boosting.

[killercactus]

Originally Posted by Fedex worker

My bonding-galore idea

2x Hydras- 240
Ornak- 340
2x Blade Gruts+Nerak+Fillers 500
or 4x Blade Gruts, 500

I really like this idea. You move both your Hydras with Ornak, then move the blade gruts to get Ornak further up the battle field. Nerak just stays behind your orc pod, and once the Hyrdas are killed, you still have a pretty good army left with Ornak's orc battle cry and Nerak's defence boosting.

I like adding Marcu+Isamu here, as it gives Ornak 2 more good targets to activate, and you get the extra bonus of avoiding Eternal Hatred when you activate Marcu.

[Kinseth]

I don't really any squads with Ornak, feel hes a lacking hero in the end. And you dont want him actually fighting. You want your #1 and #2 best heroes going first. Thats the real advantage, because having to move ornak is a big pain.

So Ornak works best with heroes that have great mobility and firepower.

[Tai-Pan]

Originally Posted by Kinseth

I don't really any squads with Ornak, feel hes a lacking hero in the end. And you dont want him actually fighting. You want your #1 and #2 best heroes going first. Thats the real advantage, because having to move ornak is a big pain.

So Ornak works best with heroes that have great mobility and firepower.

Actually, an orc-centered build with Ornak and any combination of Krug, Mimring, Tornak, Grimnak, or Nerak is pretty impressive. The entire army is able to keep up and you can throw a lot of attack dice in one round.

[Kinseth]

Just realized how close the Reach ability is to one of the figures I made sometime ago.(Jan 2008 it appears)

http://www.heroscapers.com/community...9&postcount=40

Feels kinda cool to know my ability is close to something that the designers came up with.

[dok]

Originally Posted by Tai-Pan

Actually, an orc-centered build with Ornak and any combination of Krug, Mimring, Tornak, Grimnak, or Nerak is pretty impressive. The entire army is able to keep up and you can throw a lot of attack dice in one round.

Yeah, Ornak is the one figure out there that really made me want to play 1000+ point games. You could do something like:

160 Arrow Gruts x4
100 Swog Rider x4
280 Heavy Gruts x4
50 Nerak
80 Raelin
100 Ornak
120 Grimak
120 Krug
150 Mimring
1160, 46 hexes

All OMs go on the Gruts, except some OM1s on Ornak. At this point level, he looks pretty sweet. Nowadays, you toss in a couple Fen Hydras for 1400 points, and maybe Kelda for 1480.

I don't play those sorts of epic battles, but if I did... that would be a really cool army.

[Acinonyx]

So how do you handle hydra vs. hydra show downs?
'Welp, you won initiative, gg!' You'd lose 1-2 heads on average from the first attack and then it would be all down hill.

I also think the hydra will actually turn out to be pretty good against Krug and other melee only big hitters. If you got some wounds on Krug from range, the hydra could polish him off effectively when he got close, or you could tie him up with a squad or two, and crush him with a reaching hydra. Two OM's on a 4 headed hydra should finish a healthy Krug on average I think. I'm not sure I'd want to wade right in with a big hitter like Jotun or Tor-Kul-Na if there was a hydra waiting in the wings.

[Kroz]

Originally Posted by Acinonyx

So how do you handle hydra vs. hydra show downs?
'Welp, you won initiative, gg!' You'd lose 1-2 heads on average from the first attack and then it would be all down hill.

I also think the hydra will actually turn out to be pretty good against Krug and other melee only big hitters. If you got some wounds on Krug from range, the hydra could polish him off effectively when he got close, or you could tie him up with a squad or two, and crush him with a reaching hydra. Two OM's on a 4 headed hydra should finish a healthy Krug on average I think. I'm not sure I'd want to wade right in with a big hitter like Jotun or Tor-Kul-Na if there was a hydra waiting in the wings.

Krug if he had enough wounds and good enough rolls could massacre the fen hydra.

[NecroBlade]

I agree. The Hydra can get in a few wounds, but then he'll lose a few heads and it's all downhill from there. (One gets stronger while the other gets weaker.)

I think Acinonyx was suggesting you shoot Krug with something else, then have a Hydra move in and finish him off before he can retaliate. In that case I ask why not have something else shoot the Hydra first for the same effect?

[Kinseth]

Krug is still better, he's better as the game gets later(when games are won). He has more bonding options.

The Reach plays a part, but really only a real advantage when you have 4 heads attacking.

Hyrda has the advantage that its uncommon and you may have more than one. Too bad you have to split order markers between the two of them. That definitally brings the power of them down.

[Rich10]

I still prefer Krug. Rats will really slow down the Hydra. After the first attack, two other rats scatter and the Hydra is stuck. To Krug, disengagement hits are generally not a problem. To the Hydra, they are a big problem.

[skyknight]

Originally Posted by Kinseth

Just realized how close the Reach ability is to one of the figures I made sometime ago.(Jan 2008 it appears)

http://www.heroscapers.com/community...9&postcount=40

Feels kinda cool to know my ability is close to something that the designers came up with.

keep digging, Reach has been around since like 2006 in one version or another. We had big debates on it back in the day.