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The Book of Zelrig

spiteofthedice

spiteofthedice

no baby bump - false alarm!
The Book of Zelrig​
Aquilla's Alliance - "Heroes of the Quagmire"​


lew3_zelrig_original.jpg

Character Bio: The young Icarian’s thoughts leap around in his mind. He nervously plays with the loose skin at the nape of his beloved pet’s neck. The 20-pound pelloe lizard that the boy carries in his arms releases a satisfied croak in its low rumbling voice. Gidan Vade is the eldest son of his clan. He stands surrounded by much older men, each one of them holding close their annual offerings as they wait for the stone gates to open.
Gidan is much too young for the responsibility given him, but with his father sick from a poisonous skrager bite, and his grandfather much too old to make the journey, his clan is left with few options.
Vivid descriptions and dozens of epic tales concerning the Great Dragon Emperor spring, all at once, into Gidan’s memory. His knees begin shaking involuntarily.
“Emperor Zelrig is to be loved and feared,” Gidan’s father explained before sending the boy off. “He protects us from wandering dragons who would eat us for sport, if not for hunger. But he requires our very best be offered unto him at every year’s passing. The other men will be carrying precious ore, fine works of art, and all sorts of extravagant foods. Gidan, we have very little, but you must choose from what we do have the gift that you believe the Emperor will find most precious.”
The stone gates scrape open on their massive hinges. A red glow and a blast of heat rush past Gidan as he stands clutching tightly to his pet. The young Icarian’s muscles freeze tight as he gazes up at the mighty Dragon Emperor. Never in his short life has he seen a dragon, and this dragon is a god amongst its own kind.
Gidan’s body tells him he is terrified, but his heart swells with a sense of adoration and love for the grand dragon. He shuffles forward with the others around him. One by one the men place their gifts at the mountainous feet of the dragon. Gidan mimics the others by lifting up his pet pelloe lizard and then placing it at the dragon’s feet.
Suddenly, Gidan is struck with the overwhelming feeling that one of Zelrig’s eyes is upon him. Gidan’s knees lock. He is unable, or unwilling, to lift his head. A powerful voice speaks and Gidan cannot tell if he is hearing the voice or if the dragon is speaking directly into his mind.
“What is this you bring before me?”
The boy manages to speak past a tight throat, “Emperor, we have little to give. My father told me to bring the most precious gift I could. I give you the only thing we own that I hold dear. He was born in the spring. I have named him Rallie.” Gidan’s voice cracks as he tries to hold back a sob. “I love the lizard. He is the best pet a boy could ask for. I hoped since he is so precious to me, that he would be precious to you. Please, spare my family.” He ceases holding back the sobs. He lets them rock his body as tears stream down his soft face.
A short silence passes. Then the great dragon speaks again. “I am pleased Gidan Vade, I am pleased.”

special powers said:
MAJESTIC FIRES SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 7. Attack 3.
Choose a figure to attack. Any figures adjacent to the targeted figure are also affected by Majestic Fires Special Attack. Common Squad figures roll 2 less defense dice against Majestic Fires Special Attack. Roll attack dice once for all affected figures. Each figure rolls defense dice separately. Zelrig cannot be affected by his own Majestic Fires Special Attack.

FLYING
When counting spaces for Zelrig’s movement, ignore elevations. Zelrig may fly over water without stopping, pass over figures without becoming engaged, and fly over obstacles such as ruins. When Zelrig starts to fly, if he is engaged he will take any leaving engagement attacks.
Click to expand...
_________________________________________________________________
-Rulings and Clarifications-
- MAJESTIC FIRES SPECIAL ATTACK : Common Squad Defense Modifiers
When a Common Squad figure is attacked with Zelrig's Majestic Fires Special Attack, is the attacked figure's Defense still subject to the usual modifiers such as height, Raelin, etc?
Yes. The Defense of a Common Squad figure against Majestic Fires equals the figure's normal Defense, plus all normal modifiers, minus 2 for Majestic Fires. EXAMPLE: (normal Defense) + (modifiers) - (2) = Total Defense

- MAJESTIC FIRES SPECIAL ATTACK : Self-Targetting
May Zelrig target himself with his Majestic Fires Special Attack in order to destroy the enemy figures surrounding him?
No. No figure may target itself with any attack.

​
_________________________________________________________________
-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received
- GREENSCALE WARRIORS : As a Unique Huge Dragon Hero, Zelrig may be chosen as to benefit from the Greenscale Warriors' LIZARD KING BONDING activation synergy.
​
Synergy Benefits Offered
- GREENSCALE WARRIORS : Loyalty to the Lizard King
As a Unique Huge Dragon Hero, if selected as the Greenscale Warriors "Lizard King," Zelrig may aid the Greenscale Warriors with their LOYALTY TO THE LIZARD KING Attack and Defense enhancements.

- SACRED BAND : Disciplined Army Defense Bonus
Having a Disciplined personality, Zelrig may aid the Sacred Band with their DISCIPLINED ARMY DEFENSE BONUS
*NOTE: See The Book of Sacred Band for proper application.
​
C3V and SoV Custom Synergies
Spoiler Alert!
_________________________________________________________________
-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-
-TBA
​
_________________________________________________________________
-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Master Index
Modifiable Defense Against Majestic Fires?
Army Ideas
Can Zelrig Target Himself?
Zelrig + Reavers = Majestic Rat-bombs?
Zelrig vs "The Map"

Power Ranking
Even if he doesn't kill his points, Zelrig is bound to make your opponent rethink the placement of his common squad figures. A-​
Unit Strategy Review
TBA​

zelrig.jpg

(Photos courtesy of Truth :truth:)​
 
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I started playing right before wave 7 came out, and that wave really had nobody that "Changed" the game. Cyprian Was really cool and fun, but not game changing, with the exception of Q9 I am curious has anybody had the potential to change the game more than Zelrig since the game came out? I guess 4th mass too? Seriously, most tournament worthy maps, he can nuke the starting zone from the very first order marker, to top it off, the first order marker everybody is conveniently bunched together.... I just think considering most tournament armies are full of common squads, can't imagine anybody having the potential to change the game more than this guy, and was curious if people agreed, or if any others had done it in the past?
 
Well with him, I was able to eliminate 6 Venoc's in one turn.8)
A Crowded Starting zones worst nightmare.
 
Shades fan said:
Well with him, I was able to eliminate 6 Venoc's in one turn.8)
A Crowded Starting zones worst nightmare.
Click to expand...
I know, thats my point, I took out like 5 4th mass before he got to take a turn, another game, I had wiped out all his commons before zelrig got killed and I finally brought out the rest of the army which cleaned up without taking any additional wounds. I am thinking zelrig leaving massive dents in armies after only 1 round is not going to be uncommon. I think armies with far fewer commons will be greatly increasing in popularity... At least there will be fewer "obvious" choices for armies. What were great choices are not great choices unless you are facing Zelrig...
 
Wow! This guy is completly broken!;)
Nah, but I do belive he changes the meta game a bit, after all common squads fear his majestic flame, and crowded start zones will feel his Imperial wrath!
 
I expect to see a lot of this guy in future tournaments, then he will end up like Q9 where many almost feel it is bad taste to use him. (not me) He isn't that hard to kill except for the fact that he can usually do so much damage before you kill him.... Not broken, but definatly game changing.
 
Zelrig's probably my favorite of the heroes in Aquilla's Alliance, or Wave 8 for that matter. He and the rest of the AA heroes look so much better when you get a chance to pick up the sculpts for yourself, although those photos above from truth are very nice. He's also a lot of fun to play, and pretty powerful too.

There's a good discussion going on right now about how powerful he is in the Power Rankings thread.
 
My girlfriend beat my head in when I had Zelrig. She used the Sentinels, KoW, and backed them with SotM Raelin. I lost first round initiative and never got a good enough jump to catch her in clusters. Zelrig got brutalized. I quit putting anything but the "X" marker on him.

He's got weaknesses.
 
Lord Pyre said:
Just a note; the synergy still has the Tagawa's name on it.
Click to expand...

Blast! Thanks, LP. Fixed.

I think, as Soul Shackle says, balancing him out isn't so much about discovering the limits of his abilities. It's much more about discover which counter-drafts are likely to have his number.
 
Elf_Archer said:
Major X17 is a good counterdraft to him. Once he's tied down send in glads/blasts.
Click to expand...

X17 only works on Small, Medium, and Large (right?), and Zelrig is Huge. No dice.

Personally, Zelrig doesn't scare me much. I'm more of a fan of Unique Armies, you know, Hero heavy stuff. If anything, he'll make potential future tournament armies easier to beat!
 
johnny139 said:
Elf_Archer said:
Major X17 is a good counterdraft to him. Once he's tied down send in glads/blasts.
Click to expand...

X17 only works on Small, Medium, and Large (right?), and Zelrig is Huge. No dice.

Personally, Zelrig doesn't scare me much. I'm more of a fan of Unique Armies, you know, Hero heavy stuff. If anything, he'll make potential future tournament armies easier to beat!
Click to expand...

For people like you who prefer uniques, I doubt he seems that powerful, for the rest of us... well I guess there are about to be more like you who start using uniques more, at least competitvely
 
Zelrig certainly is the big game changer. If I can go to a tournament , you know who I'm bringing. His power is just awesome, and he's no joke after the starting zone is toast either.
 
Einar's puppy said:
Zelrig certainly is the big game changer. If I can go to a tournament , you know who I'm bringing. His power is just awesome, and he's no joke after the starting zone is toast either.
Click to expand...

Their is always the Slugfest.:twisted:
He is a great unit, that can be really scary on a small map, makes dragon perches that much worse.:?
 
I've had Zelrig be both impressive and game changing and other times do nothing. You got to keep him out of harms way and just let him roast everything else. I like using the Izumi Samurai or some other high defense unique squad to tie stuff up and then blast the samurai with majestic flames and everything around him. It's a little risky, but has proved to be effective so far...
 
The key to taking him down is to spread your units out which makes teams like Romans obsolite against him. If you keep your commons spread out then he can only kill 1 per turn at maximum (3 attack dice isn't too reliable) while you can fire away multiple attacks from range at him. He is most devistating at the beginning of the game when all your units are clumped and vulnerable so be sure to create as much space as possible between units when the game starts. Also, if your opponent keeps order markers on him those are order markers that they aren't putting on other units so once he is destroyed you should probably have control over most of the board and can work form there. He is a strong unit but with a little stategy and some luck he can be dealt with.
 
i actually think its a bad play to move him up quickly and smoke out several of their units fast in the starting zone. Chances are they will have some ranged squad moving first and Zelrigs 4 defense vs any tourny worthy Ranged squad isnt that great.

You have to kill 185 points fast to make it pay off.
 
Kinseth said:
i actually think its a bad play to move him up quickly and smoke out several of their units fast in the starting zone. Chances are they will have some ranged squad moving first and Zelrigs 4 defense vs any tourny worthy Ranged squad isnt that great.

You have to kill 185 points fast to make it pay off.
Click to expand...

I think your right on here. While he can be devastating when he does this it's not guarantied that he will cause any damage and then he is in a very vulnerable state. I think he is best kept at a distance and used to intimidate your opponent and to pick off any clumps of common squads that end up in a bunch while the rest of your army goes to work as well.
 
ariealaviator said:
Kinseth said:
i actually think its a bad play to move him up quickly and smoke out several of their units fast in the starting zone. Chances are they will have some ranged squad moving first and Zelrigs 4 defense vs any tourny worthy Ranged squad isnt that great.

You have to kill 185 points fast to make it pay off.
Click to expand...

I think your right on here. While he can be devastating when he does this it's not guarantied that he will cause any damage and then he is in a very vulnerable state. I think he is best kept at a distance and used to intimidate your opponent and to pick off any clumps of common squads that end up in a bunch while the rest of your army goes to work as well.
Click to expand...
This all depends on the closeness of the start zones. If you the center of your opponent's start zone is 13 hexes away, I'd say overload OM's on him right away. You'll never have a better shot at all those juicy clumped commons.
 
I've found him a bit hit 'n miss so far.
First time I used him he killed 4 KoW and put two wounds on Sir Gilbert in one turn and then killed 3 Omnicron snipers and Zetacron the next turn. Awesome!

In the next game he killed nothing and got absolutely savaged by Nilfhiem and Kravs.

Fun - yes, potentially lethal - yes, 100% reliable - definately not.
 
darkmantle said:
I started playing right before wave 7 came out, and that wave really had nobody that "Changed" the game. Cyprian Was really cool and fun, but not game changing, with the exception of Q9 I am curious has anybody had the potential to change the game more than Zelrig since the game came out? I guess 4th mass too? Seriously, most tournament worthy maps, he can nuke the starting zone from the very first order marker, to top it off, the first order marker everybody is conveniently bunched together.... I just think considering most tournament armies are full of common squads, can't imagine anybody having the potential to change the game more than this guy, and was curious if people agreed, or if any others had done it in the past?
Click to expand...

I don't see how he changes the game since I have been doing a good bit of damage when attacking the starting zones with Mimring's Fire Line for the past three and a half years. One time I took out a whole 600 pt army with only Mimring and one squad of Arrow Gruts.

It seems to me that all Zelrig is is a slightly beefed up Mimring. Instead of shooting out flames he hocks and explosive lugee.That's not a bad thing, though.
 
Galaxy Crusher said:
First time I used him he killed 4 KoW and put two wounds on Sir Gilbert in one turn and then killed 3 Omnicron snipers and Zetacron the next turn. Awesome!

In the next game he killed nothing and got absolutely savaged by Nilfhiem and Kravs.
Click to expand...

Look at the two armies you have Zelrig facing off against. The first army is full of common squads, which is what Zelrig was made to defeat. The second game Zelrig went head on with two Units that are anything but common.

Is Zelrig broken, no. As many people have pointed out, there are many ways to take the emperor down. On the other hand, will people think twice about fielding 4+ squads of the 4th? Maybe, not that Zelrig will stop them from doing it though. I am just happy that they are finding ways to put the hero back in Heroscape.


DD
 
The first time I played him, I sent him out first thing and kept placing all my O.Ms on him until he, um... fainted. (No, I don't play Pokemon.) Any way, he toasted half my opponents' army before he, um... fainted. =)
 
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