Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion

[wriggz]

I done see any obvious issues with Swaysil. I like the theme a lot and I think she fills a gap in the current figure set. I vote to review.

[Ixe]

She looks interesting. I have some questions as to her balance but those are open enough to be answered in testing. I vote YES to review Swaysil of the Northlands.

[Scytale]

I'm not keen on the unnecessarily long name, and I'm a bit concerned about her potency for only 50pts, though that would be up to playtesting to determine. The Bold Centaur Archer concept is well-realized, and I like units that reward risky play.

to review Swaysil of the Northlands

[vegietarian18]

I'm not worried about power level too much since Me-Burq-Sa is also a 50 point 8 move 6 range hero, but he has bonding. Cool figure idea, very offensively powerful, but gives up survivability to use the full suite of abilities.

[Scytale]

Swaysil of the Northlands has received 4 Yea votes to review (wriggz, Ixe, Scytale, and vegietarian18 ) and moves forward in the process.

[Kinseth]

Originally Posted by Scytale

Swaysil of the Northlands has received 4 Yea votes to review (wriggz, Ixe, Scytale, and vegietarian18 ) and moves forward in the process.

Glad to see this, looking forward to hearing how this figure fairs in testing.

[Sir Yeshua]

Real quick, is this a single or double based figure?

[Maklar the Silver Prince]

Originally Posted by Sir Yeshua

Real quick, is this a single or double based figure?

Double based, thanks for noticing

[Sir Yeshua]

Originally Posted by Maklar the Silver Prince

Double based, thanks for noticing

Okay, good. Cause that kinda mobility on a single spaced figure would be disgusting lol

[Scytale]

Swaysil of the Northlands has passed United Fanscape review and moves forward in the process.

[wriggz]

Executioner 616 by Dysole
First Deathwalker 7000, then Pelloth, and now Executioner 616; it seems that Utgar has an unnatural fascination with summoning units bent on destroying his own army. Perhaps the Archkyrie is a gambler at heart, let’s see if his latest gamble pays off or blows up in his face.

Balance: The balance of a figure is greatly impacted by the mathematics of its survivability and attack output. While 6 defense seems stalwart, with only 3 life he is only moderately more durable than Warden 816, and is on par with an Iron Golem against normal attacks, neither of which are known for being specifically durable. Deadly Strike with 2 attacks is on par with similarly priced units such as Migol Ironwill. The question is whether Executioner is over, under or correctly priced when you consider Remote Detonation. After running the numbers, the cheapest attack is with Deathreavers (40% chance one or more wounds at 10 points). The best value is likely with Deathstalkers or Hoplitron (75% chance of one or more wound at 33/35 points). These percentages are fairly balanced compared to standard attack probabilities, especially when you consider the cost of the lost figure and the difficulty in setting up the attack.

Theme: Executioner 616’s figure is imposing, and with a raised axe—not unlike the Minions of Utgar—Deadly Strike makes logical sense. Move, range and defense numbers all indicate a slow moving harbinger of death. A tormenting executioner is exactly the type of hero that Utgar would summon to join his forces and marries well with the theme of Warden 816. Finally we have Remote Detonation. If Saturday morning cartoons taught me anything it is that robots explode with very little provocation, so I have no problems with Executioner 616 blowing up his comrades or himself. All in all, a very cohesive design.

Creativity: Remote Detonation is one of the cleverest custom powers I have seen. It takes the idea first forwarded by Deathwalker 7000 and Pelloth and amps it up into an interesting, complex and fun power. With Executioner 616 you don’t feel like blowing up your own figures is wasteful, and Remote Detonation covers so many units that there are so many different army builds that he really adds to the Heroscape metagame.

Playability: Full disclosure, when I first saw Executioner 616 I was so impressed that I printed a card and added him to my personal collection. Being “forced” to play game after game to test if he qualified to be officially inducted into Fanscape was one of the most enjoyable playtesting assignments I’ve undertaken. Because of the extensive passive synergy that Executioner 616 has with all soulborgs due to Remote Detonation and the active Synergy with Deathcommander and the Zettian, he required extensive testing of multiple army permutations. I was specifically looking to see if there was one build that outshined all other builds, was he broken with cheap Deathreavers or near guaranteed wounds on high life figures from Hoplitrons or Deathstalkers, and would Executioner 616 out class other Deathborg units.

Throughout testing, Executioner 616 felt like he always belonged with the other Utgar Soulborgs. With Deathreavers, I found he was normally within range of attacking anyway and the loss of my screen and 10 points was not worth the meager chance of taking out a squad figure or two. Also Deathreavers placement could be tricky; since there were a few times I would have wounded my own figures with an exploding rat. With Deathstalkers the choice between of 3 attacks of 3 dice with the chance of automatic wounds, and one Remote Detonation costing 33 points was about equal, although setting up the Deathstalkers normally took some considerable planning. Because the Zettian Guards have to go second when bonding, they rarely remained long enough in melee to be blown up and were more useful backing Executioner 616 up with cover fire.

Hoplitrons were likely the best pairing, but did not overshadow other options as only two activations and such a shallow life pool is a dangerous combination. I also found Deathcommander to be a good partner with Executioner 616 without feeling like a necessary choice. There were times when blowing up an embattled Soulborg hero or Incendiborg was of value and cleared away multiple commons or a high attacking hero. Finally with Gladiatrons or Omnicrons, I found it more advantageous to include other units than Executioner 616. In the end I didn’t find the “Perfect” build, but instead a number of fun variations on the theme. It is worth noting one of my favorites was an Axegrinder army with Beorn Boltcutter and an upgraded Executioner 616 showing the diversity of the figure.

There were 2 aspects of Executioner 616 that I found very surprising. The first was how often I found myself using Remote Detonation on Executioner 616. More than a few times I found that towards the endgame after Executioner 616 had fewer friendly targets and had sustained a wound or two, it made sense to self-destruct to either clench the win or turn the tides of battle. This was definitely the case against a half-life Nilfheim or a pair of sole surviving B-11’s on high ground. The second surprise was how differently Executioner 616 fared against different units. Samurai forces were able to tear him apart, while I found his army succeeded over most Kyrie Builds. I really appreciated how he added to the Rock-Paper-Scissors aspect of Heroscape.

Summary: Executioner 616 is the first unit where I felt excitement in destroying my own figures – which is saying something. He works well with so many Soulborg builds and even Dwarves that he really adds to the overall game without ever feeling overpowered or necessary.

I vote to induct Executioner 616 into the SoV.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Viceron the Blood Knight by Ixe

His is the fury of the wildfire, the boiling blood of the volcano. I will review him not because he has wronged me, but because he is here... again

Viceron is back with a few changes and a new title. Having already reviewed Viceron once, I'm not going to give another full review; Instead, I'm just going to go over how he's changed and if it's enough to change my vote.

1. First off, his title has changed from the Dark Knight to the Blood Knight.

This has no mechanical effect of course and is just a matter of theme. I'll miss the Batman jokes, but he still looks like Beaker so I can live with it.

2. His points have decreased from 150 to 145.

This is mostly irrelevant really. It helps him pair with the Death Knights a little better now that he bonds with them, but 5 points isn't enough to quibble over.

3. His personality has gone from Merciless to Relentless

Not a fan of this thematically. Merciless really fit Viceron and his crazy sadomasochistic rush tactics, Relentless is just there to give him Death Knight bonding. Considering the Death Knights are already a total mess thematically, I see it as a step backward for no real reason.

Playability wise, he's obviously gotten better thanks to the bonding. However, outside of getting the free turn, he and the Death Knights don't really pair together in any special way. He doesn't want them around him because of his Special Attack, and none of their powers give them a reason to be. It's basically as generic a bond as bonding can give really.

4. His Life has gone from 4 to 5

This is a big one here, more life equals more Bloodstorms after all. I'm not a fan of this change; it makes him a heck of a lot more powerful for one thing, I was already fine with his power-level the first time round, and it takes away a lot of the swingyness I liked about the design. But beyond that, something about it just feels off. It is hard to put into words, but having straight fives for his life, attack, and defense takes away from his character for me.

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I thought long and hard on this one; it's tough to vote no to a unit that's been changed based on feedback from other SoV Judges, but they're not changes that I though were necessary or even improvements. Ultimately, the changes feel like a mistake to me, and I can't in good conscience vote yes to him.

I vote to induct Viceron the Blood Knight into the SoV.