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The Book of Empress Kiova

dnutt99

dnutt99

Well-known member
The Book of Empress Kiova
Dawn of Darkness - Collection 6 - "Heroes of Durgeth"

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Spoiler Alert!
If you cannot see the Army Card graphic, check Hasbro's Unit Page for stats and special powers, plus "character biography" and other non-game unit info.

Character Bio: Her stark beauty is like the golden sun setting against a snow-covered horizon. Her family has ruled in Lindesfarme for
generations beyond count. Just as her father before her, she inspires an extreme sense of loyalty in all of her servants. Einar holds Kiova in
high honor. She is spotted frequently in his court. Some tale-bearing Kyrie say that her visits serve not only to share plans of battle. Perhaps
Kiova¹s stone heart is not so hard as she would have many believe. The Empress is never seen without her personal escort of Imperium. When
attacked, Kiova draws a rune-engraved sword and sings out in a clear and icy voice. Her song is a hymn of battle; its words bear an ancient magic.
It is a prayer of protection for those who serve her. (Hasbro)
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_________________________________________________________________
-Rulings and Clarifications-
  • - STEALTH FLYING : Walking Away From Engagements
    Does Empress Kiova have disengage when walking?
    No. If Empress Kiova’s flying power is negated, or if she decides to walk away from an engagement, she
    will take any leaving engagement strikes. If Empress Kiova begins her move engaged and chooses to fly,
    she will not take any leaving engagement swipes. (dnutt99)
_________________________________________________________________
-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received
  • - N/A

Synergy Benefits Offered
  • - GIFT OF THE EMPRESS : Kyrie Units that Follow Einar
    - SACRED BAND : Disciplined Army Defense Bonus
    • * Having a Disciplined personality, Empress Kiova may aid the Sacred Band with their DISCIPLINED
      ARMY DEFENSE BONUS.
      *NOTE: See The Book of Sacred Band for proper application.


_________________________________________________________________
-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

  • - TBA

_________________________________________________________________
-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Power Rankings

Jexik: Empress Kiova- Though extremely limiting, Kiova has decent stats for a Kyrie. C-

OEAO: C-

Cleon: Tier 2 (197/208)

dok (VC inclusive): C-

Master Index
MKSentinel said:
Empress Kiova
Synergy with Raelin? http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=6736
Click to expand...

Unit Strategy Review
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Another to go in my 'probably won't ever use' pile.

The only Kyrie I seem to ever use is the healing and defense girls. (who'se names escape me for the moment).

Maybe that'll change when I get a chance to use my EI.
 
you're thinking of Kelda and Raelin. They're the only kyrie I use with any regularity as well - of course I've yet to obtain Saylind or Concan, so that might be part of the reason.
I use Taelord from time to time, but he's so gosh darn expensive.
I don't have enough Minions (one squad) to justify Runa (she's a good decoy to play off of them) or Imperium (one squad) to justify Kiova yet. But it seems like both would become more valuable with more of the common squad they work well with.
 
I find Two Einar Imperium combined with Realin and Thorgrim makes their army quite hard to kill. My brother used Grimnak against them but then I just charged them in and killed Grimnak. I held off his whole army with those five people and their wings help shield Realin and Kiova from ranged attacks.
 
Imperium + Kiova + Raelin :ponder: sounds like a great combo!

Unfortunately because i usually play random drafting with my dad most of the time one person gets the Imperium while the other gets Kiova! :duh:
 
I thought Empress Kiova was priceless until I realized that Gift of the Empress Aura only applies to kyrie... she's still pretty cool, just not as useful as I thought she was.
 
If you consider all of the Kyrie heroes in and of themselves - i.e. isolated from their allies - then Kiova is the second best, next to Concan, on raw stats. Don't count their non-flying powers (if they are more than 4 spaces from allies these don't count), and Kiova is attack 3/defense 4, Concan is attack 4/defense 4, while the others are all worse than Kiova (3/3 or 2/3) and none of them have Stealth Flying.
 
Sisyphus said:
cosmosis said:
Man, if only the Einar Imperium bonded with Kiova... or even movement bonded :shock:
Click to expand...

Yeah, a unit that boosts the defense of a single non-ranged squad doesn't seem useful to me unless there is some kind of bonding.
Click to expand...

Although if I were going to pick one non-ranged squad to receive a hero who helps their defense and has no other use, I don't think I could pick better than the Einar Imperium.
 
These aura Kyries certainly shine in a high point siege scenario.
In "The Battle for Aaryglynn", one attacker can pick
Empress Kiova, Raelin, Marcus, and 3 or 4 squads of Einar Imperium.
(The imperium are good for castle sieges where the defender has figures on every hex of the castle top, say with 4mass raining down death.
This is because there are very few places to land on the castle top, and when you do land, you want multiple attacks. And the Imperium have a move of 6 with Marcus. Raelin+Kiova will keep them mostly alive while
the holes in the defense are made.)
And Taelord is good for one of the other attackers to give that +1 boost to attacks in an attempt to break an opening in the castle top.
This has worked for the attacking force in the last few games of this scenario that we have played.

I guess my point is, in a large siege scenario, where the attackers have many points to spend, it is more about getting a good combination of units that can break through the castle's defenses. (Because if not, eventually, all the attackers' points will slowly be killed by the ranged fire from the top of the castle anyway.) And the attacker shouldn't worry about the Kyries getting shot at first, because if the defender is shooting at the supporting kyries, then the defender is not shooting at the actual attacking units.
 
Very nice. After finally getting a match in with her, I can honestly say I like her. She could only help the Imperium's ferocity, and once they were gone, she could still hold her own with some height and her good defense. Plus, a VERY nice sculpt. Her vs. Kee-Mo-Shi on a bridge over lava... epic looking stuff.
 
If you can only have one or the other, take it from a chap who made the error of choosing Raelin that the better pick is iova (OK, there were other good reasons to have Raelin, but all things being equal, Kiova's the girl for the job).

Raelin will give you two extra defence dice, for a total of 5 (6 with height), so long as you are within 4 spaces.

Kiova has an aura range of 5 (so one up on Raelin so far), has a defence herself of 4 (making her a bit more durable), and allows the EI to reroll missed defence dice.

Assuming the EI throw 3 defence dice (and it's better if they have height, for one extra die), if the EI score two shield out of 3, that's only one "extra" dice - but then, 2+ shields is pretty good going. If they only manage 1 shield, Kiova allows them 2 rerolls (the equivalent of two extra dice, just like Raelin). But if they whiff, it's three "extra" rolls. Advantage Kiova.

But if the EI are higher than their attackers (and with stealth flying, they probably will be a lot of the time), Kiova gets even more useful.

Raelin PLUS Kiova, and maybe some height too, make the EI close to impossible to kill with normal attacks, though.
 
RichardD said:
If you can only have one or the other, take it from a chap who made the error of choosing Raelin that the better pick is iova (OK, there were other good reasons to have Raelin, but all things being equal, Kiova's the girl for the job).

Raelin will give you two extra defence dice, for a total of 5 (6 with height), so long as you are within 4 spaces.

Kiova has an aura range of 5 (so one up on Raelin so far), has a defence herself of 4 (making her a bit more durable), and allows the EI to reroll missed defence dice.

Assuming the EI throw 3 defence dice (and it's better if they have height, for one extra die), if the EI score two shield out of 3, that's only one "extra" dice - but then, 2+ shields is pretty good going. If they only manage 1 shield, Kiova allows them 2 rerolls (the equivalent of two extra dice, just like Raelin). But if they whiff, it's three "extra" rolls. Advantage Kiova.

But if the EI are higher than their attackers (and with stealth flying, they probably will be a lot of the time), Kiova gets even more useful.

Raelin PLUS Kiova, and maybe some height too, make the EI close to impossible to kill with normal attacks, though.
Click to expand...
Chances are, if you have to leave them like that for a while while you get Raelin into posistion, they probably will die. Then again, you COULD have the 1 order marker on Kiova, 2 on Raelin, and 3 on the EI. That will allow you to get where you want in an orgainized manner.
 
RichardD said:
If you can only have one or the other, take it from a chap who made the error of choosing Raelin that the better pick is iova (OK, there were other good reasons to have Raelin, but all things being equal, Kiova's the girl for the job).

Raelin will give you two extra defence dice, for a total of 5 (6 with height), so long as you are within 4 spaces.

Kiova has an aura range of 5 (so one up on Raelin so far), has a defence herself of 4 (making her a bit more durable), and allows the EI to reroll missed defence dice.

Assuming the EI throw 3 defence dice (and it's better if they have height, for one extra die), if the EI score two shield out of 3, that's only one "extra" dice - but then, 2+ shields is pretty good going. If they only manage 1 shield, Kiova allows them 2 rerolls (the equivalent of two extra dice, just like Raelin). But if they whiff, it's three "extra" rolls. Advantage Kiova.

But if the EI are higher than their attackers (and with stealth flying, they probably will be a lot of the time), Kiova gets even more useful.

Raelin PLUS Kiova, and maybe some height too, make the EI close to impossible to kill with normal attacks, though.
Click to expand...

Note, however, that while using Kiova, the maximum defense possible is 3 (plus height), while with Raelin, you can get up to 5 (plus height). Kiova gives you a better chance to get the max, maybe, but with Raelin the possibilities are higher. Plus Raelin can boost anyone else who is nearby.

!Docker
 
Billtog said:
I thought Empress Kiova was priceless until I realized that Gift of the Empress Aura only applies to kyrie... she's still pretty cool, just not as useful as I thought she was.
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing when I first looked at her card. "Sweet, she can buff Samurai." Nope, no she can't.
 
Because of Kiova's stats versus Raelin's (ROTV), when you position the Empress, you don't have to avoid the enemy. I charge her right in, kill some poor squaddie, and then follow up with the EI. She has a little bit of holding power and the ability to flee if it gets too hot. That's why I like her. The only issue I've found, is that she's so tough that I sometimes put too many order markers on her, not leaving anything for the EI to kill. (a slight exaggeration)
 
Kiova is like a themed scenario kind of figure. I mean, you only play her if you have at least two squads of EIs. Otherwise, she is almost useless, compared to the alternatives. She was designed obviously for that specific purpose.

You can use EIs to attack a castle for instance just to see how it turns out (in addition of simply shooting at the door with long range, etc.). It is fun to get in there with the EIs and try to muscle your way to victory or open the door. I mean, every time you move a full squad of EIs you get 6 attacks. Stealth Flying is a must when attempting to take a castle on with "air force".

As mentioned above the edge over Raelin is Stealth Flying, larger aura and higher self-defense. Moreover, Raelin can give the EI two additional defense dice, but Kiova can mean up to 4 with height advantage when you need to re-roll if you did not get any shields the first time. On the other hand, if you get all shields in the first roll, you missed on rolling for two additonal ones if you had Raelin. Nevertheless, we all know how low the probability is of getting 6 shields is and if you got three shields in your first roll you did good already. Without getting into the specific formulas and probabilities, it seems clear that the EI are better off with Kiova than with Raelin.

Additionally, stealth flying allows for tactical positioning at no risk of facing leaving engagement attacks or just moving over figures. You can't do that with Raelin. It should be a fun scenario IMO.

Had there been bonding, this combo would mean a lot more trouble. Can you imagine if the knights or sentinels could bond with Concan?
 
Regarding the topic of Kiova versus Raelin,
With Kiova, the probability of rolling a shield per given defense die is 5/9. So an EI with defense of 3 with Kiova would have an expected average of 5/3 shields. On the other hand, this same EI with Raelin instead would have defense 5 where each die has a 1/3 chance of shield and so would have an expected average of 5/3 shields also. The conclusion is that without any height bonus, both Kiova and Raelin give the EI the same expected average number of shields. The difference is that variance is higher with Raelin, namely that with Raelin it is possible to get 4 or 5 shields whereas with Kiova it is not, but it is tougher to whiff with Kiova ((2/3)^6=8.78%) than with Raelin ((2/3)^5=13.17%).

Since the EI only have one LIFE, the intuition would be that it is more important to not whiff than to be able roll more shields (which might be wasted) unless the attacker has high attack. Indeed if you look at the probability of an EI getting killed, the EI have a better chance of surviving with Kiova than with Raelin if the attackers have attacks of 1-5 dice, and better chance with Raelin if the attackers have attacks 6 or higher. With Deadly Strike/Shot, with Kiova is better when the attack is 1-2. Here is a table:
Code: 
PROBABILITY OF KILLING EI with def 3
ATT   with Kiova  with Raelin
1     0.043895     0.065847
2     0.148148     0.181070
3     0.292867     0.320988
4     0.447960     0.462963
5     0.590449     0.591821
6     0.708633     0.700039
7     0.799769     0.785815
8     0.866314     0.850807
9     0.912889     0.898293
10    0.944402     0.931962
 
PROBABILITY OF KILLING EI with def 3 with Deadly Strike/Shot (Double skulls)
ATT   with Kiova  with Raelin
1     0.208505     0.230453
2     0.458505     0.469136
3     0.656379     0.655864
4     0.791752     0.785751
5     0.877658     0.87037
6     0.92972     0.923225
If the EI have height advantage to boost their defense to 4, as others have pointed out already, we expect Kiova to give better expected defense. Indeed with Kiova, the expected average number of shields is 20/9 = 2.22 whereas with Raelin the average is 6/3 = 2. And in this scenario, the EI have a better chance of surviving with Kiova than with Raelin if the attackers have attacks of 1-13 dice. With Deadly Strike/Shot, with Kiova is better when the attack is 1-19.

So probabilistically, it appears that Kiova is more helpful than Raelin in keeping the EI alive (about 1.5 to 3.3 percent difference) in most common cases of attacks 1-4. [Raelin is better with higher attacks, but in those cases, the difference is only about one percent or less.]
 
You can only turtle with melée units if that's all your opponent has. The EI are an OM nightmare. The best way Ive seen them used is as guards for a powerful ranged unit/squad.
 
I think Kiova's stock will go up in the post-Zelrig era. Looks to me like the correct move will often be for her to engage Zelrig as a blocker, giving you time to move attackers into position to shred him before that range-7 explosion can nuke all your EI.
 
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