CR <3 Heroscape

[Chaosraven]

I enjoy Heroscape. Really. I would go so far as to say it has reached Eon Cosmic Encounter Status in my Gaming Loves.

Carbon Unit Designated "Wife" purchased the Five Flabearers and the Archkyrie Castle for my Holiday Gifts.

(I was allowed the Flagbearers early to actually play with)

So I figured as I talk about the most inane things I might toss in a few anecdotes about the game I enjoy so much. (I hope to stay away from the Rimmer-Risk Stories, let me know if I stray that way)

Plus some of my opinions on the sets.

[Chaosraven]

Malliddon's Prophecy (2004) — Wave 1 — each came with a new glyph as well as the normal contents of wave releases

* Grut Orcs — 7 figures (4 Blade Grut Orcs, 3 Arrow Grut Orcs), 2 army cards, 2 two-hex tiles, 2 one-hex tiles, 1 glyph, 1 glyph card.
* Snipers & Vipers — 7 figures (3 Venoc Vipers, 3 Omnicron Snipers), 2 two-hex tiles, 2 one-hex tiles, 2 army cards, 1 glyph, 1 glyph card.
* The IX Roman Legion — 7 figures (4 Roman Legionnaires, 3 Roman Archers), 2 two-hex tiles, 2 one-hex tiles, 2 army cards, 1 glyph, 1 glyph card.
* Heroes of Bleakwoode — 5 hero figures (Taelord the Kyrie Warrior, Tornak, Venoc Warlord, Kelda the Kyrie Warrior and Marcus Decimus Gallus), 1 two-hex tile, 2 one-hex tiles, 5 army cards, 1 glyph, 1 glyph card.

Utgar's Rage (2005) — Wave 2

* Drones & Minions — 6 figures (3 Marro Drones, 3 Minions of Utgar), 2 two-hex tiles, 2 army cards.
* Knights & The Swog Rider — 5 figures (4 Knights of Weston, 1 Swog Rider), 2 two-hex tiles, 2 army cards.
* Minute Men & Wolves — 7 figures (4 4th Massachusetts Line figures, 3 Anubian Wolves), 2 two-hex tiles, 2 army cards.
* Heroes of Barrenspur — 4 hero figures (Khosumet the Darklord, Me-Burq-Sa, Krug, Sir Denrick), 2 two-hex tiles, 4 army cards.

Orm's Return (AKA Hyperion's Return) (2005)

* The Heroes of Laur — 5 figures (Charos, Dund, Brunak, Deathwalker 8000, Su-Bak-Na), 5 army cards. Sometimes referred to as Wave 2.5, it shipped with Road to the Forgotten Forest, listed below.

The Road to the Forgotten Forest (2005)

* The Road to the Forgotten Forest — 1 figure (Dumutef Guard), 5 trees, 2 stone walls, 1 five-hex road tile, 8 one-hex road tiles, 8 two-hex road tiles, 1 army card, 1 game and scenario guide. Sometimes referred to as Wave 2.5, it shipped with Orm's Return, listed above.

Jandar's Oath (2005) — Wave 3

* Gorillas & Hounds — 6 figures (3 Marrden Hounds, 3 Gorillanators), terrain, 2 army cards.
* Kilts & Commandos — 7 figures (3 Microcorp Agents, 4 MacDirk Warriors), terrain, 2 army cards.
* Monks & Sentinels — 6 figures (3 Shaolin Monks, 3 Sentinels of Jandar), terrain, 2 army cards.
* Heroes of Nostralund — 5 hero figures (Alastair MacDirk, Concan the Kyrie Warrior, Deathwalker 7000, Johnny 'Shotgun' Sullivan, Saylind the Kyrie Warrior ), terrain, 5 army cards.

Volcarren Wasteland (2005) — exclusively distributed through Toys "R" Us in North America.

* Volcarren Wasteland — 3 figures (3 Obsidian Guards), 1 army card, 11 one-hex molten lava tiles, 5 one-hex lava field tiles, 5 two-hex lava field tiles, 4 seven-hex lava field tiles, 1 game and scenario guide.

Zanafor's Discovery (2006) — Wave 4

* Greeks & Vipers — 7 figures (4 Greeks, 3 Armoc Vipers), terrain, 2 army cards.
* Lawmen & Samurai — 6 figures (Deadeye Dan, Guilty McCreech, James Murphy, 3 Tagawa Samurai), terrain, 4 army cards.
* Heroes of Trollsford — 5 hero figures (Sudema, Valguard, Morsbane, Parmenio, Major X17), terrain, 5 army cards.
* Soulborgs & Elves — 7 figures (4 Gladiatrons, 3 Aubrien Archers), terrain, 2 army cards.

Raknar's Vision (2006)

* Heroes of Lindesfarme — 5 figures (Jotun, Major Q9, Braxas, Nilfheim, Theracus), 5 army cards. Sometimes referred to as Wave 4.5, it shipped with Thaelenk Tundra, listed below.

Thaelenk Tundra (2006)

* Thaelenk Tundra — 3 figures (Dzu-Teh), 1 army card, 6 glaciers, 21 ice tiles, 12 single-hex and 12 double-hex snow tiles. Sometimes referred to as Wave 4.5, it shipped with Raknar's Vision, listed above.

Fortress of the Archkyrie (August 2006) - Castle and terrain, no figures. 141 pieces and new castle scenarios.

Thora's Vengeance (2006) — Wave 5 [2]

* Ninjas & Samurai - 6 figures (3 Ninjas of the Northern Wind, 3 Kozuke Samurai), snow terrain, 2 army cards.
* Gladiators & Agents - 6 figures (3 Nakita Agents, Spartacus, Crixus, Retiarius), snow terrain, 4 army cards.
* Warriors & Soulborgs - 7 figures (3 Warriors of Ashra, 4 Deathreavers), snow terrain, 2 army cards.
* Soulborgs - 7 figures (3 Deathstalkers, 4 Blastatrons), snow terrain, 2 army cards.

Crest of the Valkyrie (October 2006) — 5 figures exclusively distributed through Toys "R" Us.[3] Flagbearers represent each of the five Valkyrie Generals, the major factions of Heroscape. Each flagbearer includes special dice that activate some of their powers and embroidered dice bag. The five flagbearers are:

* Utgar is represented by an Orc named Ornak.
* Einar is represented by a Samurai named Hatamoto Haro.
* Ullar is represented by an Elf named Acolarh. He can stop other elves from dying.
* Jandar is represented by a Knight named Sir Gilbert. He grants extra defense and move bonuses.
* Vydar is represented by a Primadon (a type of cybernetically enhanced Gorilla) named Laglor.

Dawn of Darkness (December 2006) — Wave 6

* Archers & Kyries — 6 figures (3 Tagawa Samurai Archers, 3 The Einar Imperium)
* Shades & Orcs — 7 figures (4 Heavy Gruts, 3 Shades of Bleakwoode)
* Zombies — 6 figures (2 sets of 3 Zombies of Morindan)
* Heroes of Durgeth — 5 hero figures (Kee-Mo-Shi, Eldgrim, Empress Kiova, Runa, & Kaemon Awa)

[edit] Promotional Figures

Nerak the Glacian Swog Rider (2005)

* This was a promotional figure distributed free of charge at Gencon in August of 2005 and again later on at special Toys "R" Us events. The figure sculpt is identical to the Swog Rider from the Knights & The Swog Rider expansion, but the swog is cast in grey/white plastic. The army card gives this unit an extra power and it costs 25 more points to recruit.

Elite Onyx Vipers (2005)

* This was a promotional squad that was only available bundled with Master Sets sold at Wal-Mart during the 2005 holiday season. The figure sculpts are identical to the Venoc Vipers, but were cast in black plastic. The squad is much stronger and costs more than double the amount of points as the Venocs.

Sir Hawthorne (2006)

* This was a promotional figure distributed free of charge at Gencon in August of 2006. The figure sculpt is identical to one of the Knights of Weston, but is detailed in black armor instead of its original coloring. This figure, at the time of its release, is the only figure named after a fan of the game. Named after Jerry "Grungebob" Hawthorne, a long time fan and contributor to the HeroScape community. Unlike the previous promotional figures, Sir Hawthorne's abilities bear little similarity to his original unit, but the two armies do share a synergistic bonding ability.


-Wikipedia (which amazingly Avoided any of the "[)r/-\90nz roxxorz" kind of nonsense... tho maybe I hit it at a good time)

[Chaosraven]

Malliddon's Prophecy (2004) — Wave 1 —

* Grut Orcs — 7 figures (4 Blade Grut Orcs, 3 Arrow Grut Orcs)

Honestly I think in large numbers the Orc Army is devastating.
Cheap as Vipers with 4 instead of 3 Attacks, the Blade Gruts are great for pinning down the opposing heroes (I'm a firm believer that Piece Count is equally as important as Attack Dice) With all the potential Bump Ups for them they are well worth the points.
Arrow Gruts are an amazing thing. One attack. It's almost more fun just to roll a 50% chance for a wound to make the enemy roll multiple Defense dice and hear him Cry Aloud when he whiffs... Yes, I've killed a Soulborg, Samurai, and Plenty of Utgar Kyrie with Lousy Orc Archers.
Put two sets of Arrow Gruts together with the Troll and you get a marvelous 200 pt army.

* Snipers & Vipers — 7 figures (3 Venoc Vipers, 3 Omnicron Snipers)

Frenzy is Awesome but these guys are Popcorn. Combined with the Venoc Warlord (2 sets of Viper + Warlord = 200 pt) you have a Swift Army that has on occasion gone for 3 rapid turns in a row... at 3 Attack Dice for 3 guys for 40 points they're marvelous Lethal Fodder
The Snipers on the other hand are too expensive. One attack die for 2.5 times the cost of Arrow Gruts? Sure the skull counts for 2 wounds, but I don't think that makes up for the cost. Perhaps there will be bonus stuff for them eventually.

* The IX Roman Legion — 7 figures (4 Roman Legionnaires, 3 Roman Archers)

Haven't cared for the Archers very much... they're slow and don't have Help from Supporting Powers on other Army Cards. If only they had been SOLDIERS.
That beng said, for 50 pt the Legionnaires are the equivalent of the Blade Gruts above with their own Defensive Bonus. Good Fodder for a Warlord.

* Heroes of Bleakwoode —

Taelord the Kyrie Warrior - awesome ability but too expensive.
Tornak - Cheaper than Grimnak but a Decent Champion. Good *with* Grimnak in Point Games of 300+
Venoc Warlord - Adds so much to those Units that fill his special ability classifications, think of him as an Upgrade ot them with the bonus of being an entity in his own right.
Kelda the Kyrie Warrior - Healing is great, but wasted if you take squads or figures with only one Wound. Excellent in Concert with High Wound Heroes (especially Dragons)
Marcus Decimus Gallus - Well Rounded Warlord, worth the cost



Most of the time we've played this game as a Draft. So your strategy may need to adapt as the enemy drafts.

[Lee]

Nerdy question: How would it be playing by myself? Always been fascinated by the game, but I have no one to play games with.

[SlapBone]

I shun any type of hobby that strives to turn me into a collector. Mainly because it exposes one of my fatal flaws...the fact that I'm a completist when it comes to collections. If I can't have all of it, I don't want any. I don't even collect this Heroscape stuff and that bragging dipshit Chaosraven is already starting to piss me off with his Gencon this and Toys R Us that.

[Chaosraven]

Nerdy question: How would it be playing by myself? Always been fascinated by the game, but I have no one to play games with.

I imagine you could set up scenarios for that... Perhaps an infantry charge against a Ranged Defender?

Honestly I think it would greatly lose part of the flavor as the Rounds are a series of 3 Turns... you have 4 markers numbered 1 2 3 and X. X is the fake and your opponent doesn't know which unit you are activating until you flip over the Marker at the corresponding turn.

[Chaosraven]

I shun any type of hobby that strives to turn me into a collector. Mainly because it exposes one of my fatal flaws...the fact that I'm a completist when it comes to collections. If I can't have all of it, I don't want any. I don't even collect this Heroscape stuff and that bragging dipshit Chaosraven is already starting to piss me off with his Gencon this and Toys R Us that.

I still don't have the Gencon guy...

Actually all you need is one guy dumb enough to buy everything. Or, uh, multiple copies of some of them

[Chaosraven]

Utgar's Rage (2005) — Wave 2

* Drones & Minions — 6 figures (3 Marro Drones, 3 Minions of Utgar)

The drones piss me off. Because you need to have at least three sets of them and nobody needs three sets of the Minions. Having 4 sets of minions IMO is the best as even after you lose 3 guys you can still function at max efficiency. The random roll for the Drones allows you to move and attack with 3, 6, or 9 Drones. Powerful infantry as even 3 drones are good in HtH.
Minions are expensive, but have excellent Defense and the same Deadly Attack that the snipers do, each hit counts for two. With Flying and a good move, these guys almost always have high ground for the extra die. But their ability to use the Utgar Hero instead is not as powerful as the various Jandar Squads that let you use a Champion *first* as you get to use the squad thereafter.

* Knights & The Swog Rider — 5 figures (4 Knights of Weston, 1 Swog Rider)

Knights are slow but have good attack and good defense. They work well with the new flagbearer and are primarily used to tie down opposing figures as they roll an extra die against the breakaway move.
Swog Rider is a good addition to the orc archer army. Cheap and I wish I had more than two of them...

* Minute Men & Wolves — 7 figures (4 4th Massachusetts Line figures, 3 Anubian Wolves)

The 4th Mass Line is an excellent Ranged unit... but once again you really want to have more than one set to keep them active. What they really need is infantry support to keep them alive.
The wolves are almost useless without Khosumet the Darklord as there are only three of them and each turn you use them you roll a 20 sider. On a 1 you lose a figure. Khosumet adds one to make this impossible, so he becomes the weak link target in this infantry army.

* Heroes of Barrenspur — 4 hero figures (Khosumet the Darklord, Me-Burq-Sa, Krug, Sir Denrick)

Khosumet works with the Wolves and the Road Guard pretty well but is pretty easy to kill compared to many heroes.
Me-Burq-Sa is low cost and potentially a deadly shot, very quick. One of my favorites despite the sngle shot.
Krug - Deadly and Tough. His drawback is being unable to climb many hills or fit on the bridge. Ranged units will be able to slaughter him if they find an innaccessible niche beyond his reach. But is a beast and fits in a 200pt ork army (2 arrow gruts + Krug)
Sir Denrick - decent human champion but his main abilities are rather limited. More of a counter-draft as he works better against bigger figures and guys who will need to breakaway.

[Chaosraven]

Orm's Return (AKA Hyperion's Return) (2005)

* The Heroes of Laur — 5 figures (Charos, Dund, Brunak, Deathwalker 8000, Su-Bak-Na)

Charos is a mighty dragon but very expensive. No ranged ability is his drawback. Ranged guys that find areas he cannot fit into can pepper him safely.
Dund - devastating ability (remove order markers from a unit) but doesn't fit into any army combos.
Brunak - Nasty against squads and works well with a decent hero partner.
Deathwalker 8000 - shooting over and over is good but unreliable as it requires both a successful attack *and* an *unsuccessful* defense. Could potentially wipe out an entire army on a set of lucky vs unlucky rolls. I don't like the fact that the Utgar Soulborg have only one life as that's a bunch of points tied up into a guy that falls to a single skull when you whiff on the defense roll.
Su-Bak-Na - A must for decent Marro/Wulsinu armies but only in higher point games... excellent attacker but low on the defense.

The Road to the Forgotten Forest (2005)

* The Road to the Forgotten Forest — 1 figure (Dumutef Guard)

The roads were a great addition to the map as it provides a focus and allows more strategy in both map setup and movement within the game.
That being said, the Dumutef Guard is really only used to fill out point totals. I'd rather have Swog Riders.

[Chaosraven]

Jandar's Oath (2005) — Wave 3

* Gorillas & Hounds — 6 figures (3 Marrden Hounds, 3 Gorillanators)

Marrden hounds - nasty evil beasts that are unfortunately unpredictable. Can be as devastating to your own army if you aren't careful. Good feature is that they are Large so they are immune to many abilities that target Small and Medium figures.

Gorillanators - relatively useless by themselves with only one defense die (but an automatic shield) against anything with more than 2 attack dice.

* Kilts & Commandos — 7 figures (3 Microcorp Agents, 4 MacDirk Warriors)

Microcorp Agents - IMO the best squad unti for its point cost. Bonus for defense when in water, bonus for height with attack, and a decent roll for invulnerabilty. I'd take 2 sets of these for a 200pt army easily. Hell, I'd take 3 of them for a 300 pt army.

MacDirk Warriors - these guys need to hang back and then come in after the Hero has taken the brunt of the damage because they fall too easily. Expensive for what they do.

* Monks & Sentinels — 6 figures (3 Shaolin Monks, 3 Sentinels of Jandar)

Shaolin Monks - great against squads and great for getting to those hard to reach enemy units.

Sentinels of Jandar - Each shield rolled counts as 2, flying. Tough bastards and work very well. Expensive for 3 guys.

* Heroes of Nostralund — 5 hero figures (Alastair MacDirk, Concan the Kyrie Warrior, Deathwalker 7000, Johnny 'Shotgun' Sullivan, Saylind the Kyrie Warrior )

Alastair MacDirk - designed for the MacDirk Warriors. Probably one of the Best Human Champions and nasty in HtH. Taking a second turn is great.
Concan the Kyrie Warrior - Good with Sentinels, not so much with the Knights. Powerful guy all by himself. If there was a Kyrie Unit that let you Move a Kyrie Hero first (like the Human Champion Bonded ones) would be #1 on my list for Best Hero.
Deathwalker 7000 - Not sure I like the blowyourselfup for *possible* death... but good against Ranged units. Once again an Utgar Soulborg that only takes one hit to kill.
Johnny 'Shotgun' Sullivan - decent for his point cost. I'll take him if someone has already drafted Syvarris and Agent Carr but low on my list otherwise.
Saylind the Kyrie Warrior - good for extracting heroes who are in trouble especially if you have the Healer Kyrie.

[Dan_Theman]

Yeah, it's a cool game - I picked up a few more sets for "my son" for the holidays, as we get a kick playing together whether it's a formal game or an imaginary one (if that makes sense).

It's a fun, yet simple, strategy game with lots of flavor.

[Chaosraven]

or an imaginary one (if that makes sense).

I have a seven yr old who has the Lil Star Wars guys and KNOWS that the Lil Troopers can wipe out Grimnak and his Ork buddies.

[Dan_Theman]

or an imaginary one (if that makes sense).

I have a seven yr old who has the Lil Star Wars guys and KNOWS that the Lil Troopers can wipe out Grimnak and his Ork buddies.

It's so nice to know someone who understands my life, lol

[Chaosraven]

Heh... I ran the Demo for the Toys R Us in Dearborn when they were giving out the Nerak Glacian Rider. My kids got to play with about four other kids their ages.

The enjoyed it so much I was easily able to justify the purchase of the Walmart Onyx Vipers Base Set... (see honey, now they have some figures of their own! Uh, no... not the Black Snakes... those go in my set )

[Kehama]

I'd been looking for a game my wife and I could play together and I showed her all the suggestions I'd gotten in another thread. There were a couple of those she thought was ok but she told me she still really wanted to try Heroscape, probably because it's the only one she's actually held in her hands at a store. We decided to wait until after Christmas and just use some of the gift cards we knew we'd get to buy a game.

The questions I still have about this game are this: how long does an average game last and how rule intensive is it? Since every unit seems to have their own individual types of attacks and benefits is there an easy reference for that sort of info or are you expected to just remember it all after reading through the rule book or an expansion pack insert?

Also, my other worry is that since we have a 6 week old at home, is this the kind of game you can stop in the middle of, go do something, come back and pick up where you left off without getting completely lost?

[SlyFrog]

I shun any type of hobby that strives to turn me into a collector. Mainly because it exposes one of my fatal flaws...the fact that I'm a completist when it comes to collections. If I can't have all of it, I don't want any. I don't even collect this Heroscape stuff and that bragging dipshit Chaosraven is already starting to piss me off with his Gencon this and Toys R Us that.

This is known as being a "completist." I have the same disease. Much like an alcoholic with liquor, I am no longer allowed to touch collectible card or board games. Fortunately, I realized this a long time ago, and am therefore not out the thousands upon thousands of dollars that many Magic players are.

Yes, I know, you made it all back plus a profit by selling it to someone else while it was still hot. Strangely, so did everyone else. Oddly, no one lost money, as everyone found a buyer who was willing to pay more for it. This is the first recorded time in history where money was created out of thin air so that no one lost out in buying and selling cardboard.

[Chaosraven]

The questions I still have about this game are this: how long does an average game last and how rule intensive is it?
The rules are actually pretty simple and have pictures illustrating them in the rulebook. Most games we've played last from an hour to two (2 players could finish one in an hour) but it depends how many points you use.

Since every unit seems to have their own individual types of attacks and benefits is there an easy reference for that sort of info or are you expected to just remember it all after reading through the rule book or an expansion pack insert?
The abilities of the Units (hero or squad) are on their Army Card which you use both as a Reference for their stats/abilities and where you place your Order Markers.

Also, my other worry is that since we have a 6 week old at home, is this the kind of game you can stop in the middle of, go do something, come back and pick up where you left off without getting completely lost?
That's a bit tougher. I think it would be manageable if you made sure to use a piece or code to remind yourself if you were going to get up from the table before finishing a Move or Attack or Defense...

[Kehama]

Thanks CR. I'd just about decided I was going to pick up the basic set anyway, but I still had those reservations. Now that I have an idea of what to expect I guess I'll be picking it up in the next day or two.

[Chaosraven]

I'd suggest doing it slowly. Many of the expansions are excellent but work better if combined with certain others.

Haven't got the latest Wave or the Ice Tundra, but the Lava set has seen very limited play with us... we seem to abuse it to kill our own guys to keep other players from getting our points (we generally avoid "scenarios" and play to a predetermined point total killed based on our starting value).

As I've noted above I'm usually inclined to purchase at least two of any Common Squad packs as it enhances their Effectiveness.

No, you guys really don't want to know how much money I've sunk into this game. Suffice it to say it ranks up there with Warhammer 40K...

But the bright side is that I have a set for multiple people to play rather than a Fabulous 40K army that sits and waits for someone else to sink money into as well

[Chaosraven]

Volcarren Wasteland (2005) — exclusively distributed through Toys "R" Us in North America.

* Volcarren Wasteland — 3 figures (3 Obsidian Guards)

The terrain seems generally used to make impassable areas for groundpounders. Obs Guards are relatively useless outside their terrain. Brunak also has the ability to navigate the terrain but is plenty powerful outside it. Good for scenarios.

Zanafor's Discovery (2006) — Wave 4

* Greeks & Vipers — 7 figures (4 Greeks, 3 Armoc Vipers)

Greeks are good with their Warlord and a decent replacement for RomanLegionnaires. HtH basics.
Armoc Vipers are Bonded with the (Venoc)Warlord and are decent Viper Units but gain nothing from his Bonuses... more like his bodyguards.

* Lawmen & Samurai — 6 figures (Deadeye Dan, Guilty McCreech, James Murphy, 3 Tagawa Samurai)

Deadeye Dan - Best Range in the game (at this time) and a Deadly Hero. If he doesn't move before attacking he has a 50% chance to wipe out a single squad unit, or a wound on a small/medium hero, or a 1 in 10 chance of destroying any Figure outright.
Guilty McCreech - the Dumutef Guard of heroes. Point fodder.
James Murphy - has a shotgun blast and a Nifty Whip that can negate defense up close.
Tagawa Samurai - Best Samurai unit. They can rapidly become 6 attack dce and already have 5 defense dice. My vote for BEST infantry unit.

* Heroes of Trollsford — 5 hero figures (Sudema, Valguard, Morsbane, Parmenio, Major X17)

Sudema has a Gaze Attack but is the first Undead Hero... hoping to see support for her soon.
Valguard is the Viking Warlord. Not bad.
Morsbane has a VERY powerful Negation ability though unreliable. Decent hero and good against Unique Squads/Heroes
Parmenio - Greek Warlord... use with the Greeks, has a bonus ability to keep Point Fodder within the Greek Army Parameters.
Major X17 - Soulborg HtH Hero. Powerful.

* Soulborgs & Elves — 7 figures (4 Gladiatrons, 3 Aubrien Archers)

Gladiatrons - HtH fodder Soulborg. Expensive to use.
Aubrien Archers - Ranged Unit with Frenzy (25% chance to take another turn) Good unit to add to Viper Army or Elf Army.


Raknar's Vision (2006)

* Heroes of Lindesfarme — 5 figures (Jotun, Major Q9, Braxas, Nilfheim, Theracus)

Jotun - the Giant. Incredibly Powerful but Incredibly Expensive.
Major Q9 - Soulborg Repeat Fire Hero, doesn't have the Utgar Drawback of One Wound... but is very expensive.
Braxas - the Black Dragon is Absolutely Devastating against Squads and Smaller figures.
Nilfheim - White Dragon. Decent Dragon but Ice Breath is limited compared to other Dragons.
Theracus - the Mount of Choice for Heroes that want to get to those Hard to Reach Places. Good unit as support.

[Kehama]

I'll definitely be waiting to see if this game clicks with my wife before I even think about any expansion pieces. It should really be interesting to see how this turns out because my wife has a habit of really wanting to do something, trying it once, and never going back to it (learn guitar, gaming on the pc, making bead jewelry, catering parties, etc.) whereas I tend to start something and take it to it's ridiculous extreme until somebody tells me I need to back off on it for a bit (EQ2, collecting DVDs, building a library in our home, etc.)

I doubt she'll stick with Heroscape but it looks fun to me so I figure a $39 game isn't much of a risk. Besides, I can always say I'm getting now so I can build up a nice set by the time my kid is old enough to play with me.

[Chaosraven]

Fortress of the Archkyrie (August 2006) - Castle and terrain, no figures.
Haven't used it in play as I just received it for Xmas. Looks very cool.


Thora's Vengeance (2006) — Wave 5 [2]

* Ninjas & Samurai - 6 figures (3 Ninjas of the Northern Wind, 3 Kozuke Samurai)

Ninja - Devastating Infantry, very hard to kill.
Kozuke Samarai - Great Attacker but low defense. Bonus to move if able to get into Combat so defeats some lesser Ranged Units.

* Gladiators & Agents - 6 figures (3 Nakita Agents, Spartacus, Crixus, Retiarius)

Nakita Agents - makes Gorillanators worth something, hard to Kill with both Ranged defense and HtH ability against being engaged.
Spartacus - Good for a Pure Gladiator Army. Powerful Hero.
Crixus - Hard to Kill Hero. Best with Spartacus
Retiarus - Nasty against Small or Medium figures. Best with Spartacus

* Warriors & Soulborgs - 7 figures (3 Warriors of Ashra, 4 Deathreavers)

Warriors of Ashra - excellent HtH but fall to ranged.
Deathreavers - really only good to tiedown enemy units

* Soulborgs - 7 figures (3 Deathstalkers, 4 Blastatrons)

Deathstalkers - odds of using Unblockable Ability very slim.
Blastatrons - excellent in Conjuction with Gladiatrons. Limited use after Army has suffered Major Losses. (ie not good Late Game)

[Dan_Theman]

I was trying to pick up the Thaelank Tundra for my son, but every place was sold out. Thankfully, his birthday is coming up in January so I'll be able toget back to the stores after they restock.

[Chaosraven]

I haven't got the Tundra either...

But I got to use the castle! It's pretty tough. Although I think it sort of needs a scenario to make people use it otherwise it sort of sits and looks pretty.

[hentzau]

Great writeup, CR!

This fall I picked up four of the castle sets, just to get the flagbearer figures for free from TRU. I haven't had a chance to try them out yet, though.

Oh, and I got two tundra sets for Christmas. One I found at TRU the week before Christmas. I bought it for myself and wrapped it up for myself from my wife. She was quite surprised when I unwrapped it.

[Bob]

No, you guys really don't want to know how much money I've sunk into this game. Suffice it to say it ranks up there with Warhammer 40K...

At least you got all those basic sets cheap. I'm glad they found a good home.

[coopasonic]

Anyone want to move to Dallas to play this with me?

[Chaosraven]

No, you guys really don't want to know how much money I've sunk into this game. Suffice it to say it ranks up there with Warhammer 40K...

At least you got all those basic sets cheap. I'm glad they found a good home.

Thank you for sharing with me, I had to pass half of them on to a friend who was obscenely jealous when he heard...

[Chaosraven]

Great writeup, CR!

This fall I picked up four of the castle sets, just to get the flagbearer figures for free from TRU. I haven't had a chance to try them out yet, though.

Oh, and I got two tundra sets for Christmas. One I found at TRU the week before Christmas. I bought it for myself and wrapped it up for myself from my wife. She was quite surprised when I unwrapped it.

So what does the Tundra do?

BTW - Flagbearer Impressions:

Einar - Samurai (lets Samurai and Ashigaru use the Extra Side as a defense so they defend 50% rather than 1 in 3... very powerful for the Samurai) and he gets an automatic shield if he's adjacent to an Einar fig... Very good

Utgar - Great for a Blade Grut army... 100 for Ornak, 120 for Grimnak, 100 for Tornak, 80 for 2 sets of Blade Grut. 400 pt army with Nasty HtH potential. Talk your opponent nto going for 450 and add Nerak the Glacian.

Ullar -(elf Alcorh) - Meh. The odds of rolling 3 "ones" on ten dice is not good. The bonus move is ok.

Vydar - pretty good. Bonus range for Vydar? Yikes. Agents were already nasty... His own 3 die attack where he keeps attacking if he rolls a 1 is cool since the "missed" shot becomes another chance. Odds are low to roll a "one" on 3 dice though.

Jandar - Sir Gilbert - This guy RULES with Champion Bonding Squads... suddenly the Knights are Pretty frickin' good. Put an order marker of the Squad, they say take a turn with a Human Champion First. Use Gilbert. His ability is to roll TWELVE dice and move up to 4 Jandar Squad guys up to X where X is the number of "ones" rolled. THEN move and attack with the Knights. He also gives an extra attack die to his buddies adjacent to him.
This makes Knights 4 attack, 4 defense when next to him. Their movement of 4 gets an average +2. I love this guy. Six wounds? Take some MacDirk Warriors and go ahead, put Gilbert on the front line, they get better as he gets injured. I prefer the Knights as the MacDirk guys only have 2 Defense.

[Jow]

Haven't played this in a long time. Whatever happened to the idea of getting a Heroscape fest together?

Actually, I've been on the verge of selling all my stuff off ever since my interest in dice-driven games started to wane. I've only played 2 or 3 times in the last year or so and those few times were played with someone else's stuff, so basically my Heroscape crap has been sitting dormant on the shelf for over a year now.

[hentzau]

Great writeup, CR!

This fall I picked up four of the castle sets, just to get the flagbearer figures for free from TRU. I haven't had a chance to try them out yet, though.

Oh, and I got two tundra sets for Christmas. One I found at TRU the week before Christmas. I bought it for myself and wrapped it up for myself from my wife. She was quite surprised when I unwrapped it.

So what does the Tundra do?

Haven't even had a chance to break it out of the box. I'm down visiting my parents this week, but one of the sets I got was from them. (God, it rocks when you are over 40 and your parents are still willing to buy you toys!) An old buddy from high school is coming over tonight for some Plunder and Battlelore and Ticket to Ride action, after that I'll break it open and give you a report.

[Chaosraven]

Haven't played this in a long time. Whatever happened to the idea of getting a Heroscape fest together?

Actually, I've been on the verge of selling all my stuff off ever since my interest in dice-driven games started to wane. I've only played 2 or 3 times in the last year or so and those few times were played with someone else's stuff, so basically my Heroscape crap has been sitting dormant on the shelf for over a year now.

You mean I've been teaching new players and bringing them to the Light of the Scape and your faith is waning? Come brother, let us Slay Each Others Armies in glorious combat once again!

[hentzau]

Thaelenk Tundra (2006)

Boxed set that includes

• 6 Glacier mountains and bases
  21 ice tiles
  12 single hex snow tiles
  12 double hex snow tiles
  3 Snow Hunters, or Dzu-Teh (abominable snow man types)

Ice tiles - Ice comes in two types, normal and slippery. Normal ice has no effect on movement. Slippery ice counts as double movement. Landing on slippery ice also counts as double movement.

Snow tiles - Snow comes in two types, light and heavy. Light snow has no effect on movement, heavy counts as double movement. Landing on heavy snow also costs double movement.

Dzu-Teh - Three figures in the squad, Move 5, Range 1, Attack 4, Defense 3. They have the ability to Glacier Traverse (movement that allows them to pass through a glacier mountain, essentially), Glacier Camoflage (if adjacent to a Glacier Mountain, they can't be attacked by range), and no movement penalty for moving through ice and snow. 75 points.

[/list]

[Chaosraven]

Re Tundra: COOL

pun intended... Is that a Unique squad?

Dawn of Darkness (December 2006) — Wave 6

* Archers & Kyries — 6 figures (3 Tagawa Samurai Archers, 3 The Einar Imperium)
* Shades & Orcs — 7 figures (4 Heavy Gruts, 3 Shades of Bleakwoode)
* Zombies — 6 figures (2 sets of 3 Zombies of Morindan)
* Heroes of Durgeth — 5 hero figures (Kee-Mo-Shi, Eldgrim, Empress Kiova, Runa, & Kaemon Awa)

Ok so TRU by me has no idea these exist right now.
Walmart has an EMPTY display box of them... I feel robbed. I'll guaranttee you they sold within an hour of me arriving in the store

Tricksy they is, my precious, but gets them we will, oh yessssssss.

[Jow]

Meh. I think what's turned me off is a combination of the following:

1. Long setup time (with me almost always ending up being the mapbuilder)
2. When I DON'T build the maps, the tendency of the folks I used to play with to just build random (and often unbalanced) maps to play on. I much prefer doing scenarios.
3. God-damn merfolkin' dice.

[Kehama]

Well, I picked up the Valkyries master set the other day so I can begin to dip my toes in the Heroscape waters. My wife's at home right now reading through the rule book trying to figure out how to play. Said she'll show me what's what when I get home and we'll see how much we like it. ::crosses fingers:: Here's to hoping.

[hentzau]

Re Tundra: COOL

pun intended... Is that a Unique squad?

Sorry, forgot that. The Dzu-Teh are a common squad.

I wasn't aware that there was another wave due out so soon. I'll stop by the local Wal-Mart and see what they have going on, if anything. Hopefully I can taunt you with my spectacular find (heh, heh, heh...)

[Dan_Theman]

Target is a fallback location for me when shopping for these guys (and KMart/Sears further back than that). Walmart is usually cheaper by $1 when it comes to the common units, but ToysRUs usually has the best selection.

[VegasD]

I just picked up Heroscape yesterday and my wife her mother and I played last night for the first time using the master rules.

Pros: Easy to learn, fun to play, lots of replayability, interesting and already painted units

Cons: Long setup time for a given map, forget about putting the pieces back in the box that they came in.

If my wife continues to be interested, I'll be picking up expansions for sure.

[SlyFrog]

I should also mention that I think Duel of Ages is Heroscape done right, though you don't get all the pretty plastic.