W3 Guardians of Davion - released

GUARDIANS OF DAVION
NWHC Wave ? – Wave Title - Pack Title




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Figures:
Heroclix, Marvel, Thor The Dark World Movie Gravity Feed, TYR #006  
Heroclix, Desolation of Smaug, MIRKWOOD SENTRY #004
Heroclix, Marvel, Thor The Dark World Movie Gravity Feed, EINHERJAR #002

General: Ullar
Planet:  Davion

Species: Human
Common Squad
Class: Protectors
Personality: Bold
MEDIUM 5

Life: 1
Move: 5
Range: 1
Attack: 3
Defense: 4
Points: 95

Special Powers
DIMENSION DOOR
Instead of moving a Guardian of Davion normally, you may choose any empty space that is within 4 spaces.  Place the Guardian of Davion on the chosen space.  When a Guardian of Davion starts to use Dimension Door, if he is engaged he will not take any leaving engagement attacks.

PHASE STEP 15
If a Guardian of Davion is attacked and at least 1 skull is rolled, roll the 20-sided die.  If you roll a 1-14, roll defense dice normally.  If you roll a 15 or higher, ignore all damage that would be inflicted by the attack, and the defending Guardian of Davion may immediately use Dimension Door.  [/color]


Character Bio:
An elite band of warriors, these enchanted knights hail not from a planet but from a mystical realm outside of Earth's material plane.  Davion was just one of many diverse domains that was created thousands of years ago by powerful mages.  These ethereal domains had magically forged atmosphere and gravity and they were only accessible through hidden gateways.  These portals allowed the Davions to travel between worlds.  The largest portals could act as a bridge from one realm to another for a few hundred people or supplies.  But most were small, secret passages only large enough for a few to travel together.

To the outside world, the Davions were sometimes labeled aliens or witches or even gods.  But in truth, they are a magically gifted people not much different than Earthlings.  Most Davions have a talent for infusing magic into items such as tools or weapons to strengthen or sharpen them.  Because of this, the armor and shields of the Guardians are lighter and stronger than they appear.

For more than an Age, the benevolent Davions would transverse between worlds, often acting as scholars, teachers and protectors.  In their travels, they also learned the ways and culture of many races.  When they returned home, the collected artifacts from their journey would be added to their libraries and chronicled in works of art.

Key amongst the gifts of the Davion people is their ability to temporarily shift their entire body from the material plane into the ‘space in between.’  Most witnesses see this as a form of teleportation, where the Guardian simply vanishes and returns moments later in a new location.  In actuality, the Guardian opens a ‘door’ into an ethereal plane, slips inside for a few moments to traverses the distance there, and reappears in the new location back in the material world.  With the ability to create these dimensional doors, the Guardians can seemingly walk through walls, appear and disappear on the battlefield, and if timed correctly, avoid attacks altogether.

There are less than five hundred members of the House of Davion.  All have some minor magical talents like the Guardians, but a small number of the most gifted are elected to a governing council.  The twin siblings, Michael and Alyssa, are intrepid soldiers that serve the council as explorers.  Both Michael and Alyssa have shown a greater mastery of dimensional travel, allowing them to travel greater distances than most Guardians.  

Michael has honed his abilities and coupled them with his expertise at swordsmanship.  He will engage an opponent in combat and then suddenly disappear – reappearing in moments to either attack the same target from behind or launching a new assault on an unsuspecting foe a few yards away.

A skilled warrior herself, Alyssa can cross blades with equal vigor.  However, Alyssa is one of the rare dimensional navigators of Davion.  Navigators can open doorways that allow others to travel with them (even those not born with the magical heritage of the House).  When she finds the right doorway, Alyssa can take as many as two travelers with her.  In this role, Alyssa can reinforce a battlefront, or assist in a rapid withdraw.

While traveling through worlds, Michael, Alyssa, and several companies of Guardians, fell through a portal into Valhalla.  They encountered forces of Utgar and would have been captured if it were not for the intervention of Elves from Ashra and Aubria.  The Davion guards were brought before Ullar to share their tale as well as to hear what dangers lie in Valhalla.  The General promised to share his wealth of knowledge about other realms with the Davions in exchange for their aid in the fight against Utgar’s villainous army.  Michael and Alyssa agreed to the alliance, giving Ullar new allies in the Battle of All Time.




- Rulings and Clarifications -
_______________________________________



- Combinations and Synergies -

Synergy Benefits Offered
-Protector: Dimensional Leap
Being a Protector, a Guardian of Davion may aid figures with the DIMENSIONAL LEAP placement power.  Figures with the DIMENSIONAL  LEAP power include Alyssa Davion, Michael Davion.
-Zogross Hardscale: Tribal Protection
Being a Protector that follows Ullar, a Guardian of Davion prevents an engaged figure from attacking Zogross Hardscale.

Synergy Benefits Received
-Acolarh: Ullars Amulet
Being a figure that follows Ullar, a Guardian of Davion may benefit from Acolarh’s ULLAR’S AMULET movement bonus.
-Aristeos: Nature’s Aura
Being a figure that follows Ullar, a Guardian of Davion may benefit from Aristeos defense Aura.

Synergy Imposed

Figure: Marvel Heroclix Thor The Dark World Movie Gravity Feed 011 Fandral

MICHAEL DAVION
General: Ullar
Species: Human
Type: Unique Hero
Class: Protector
Personality: Inspiring
Size: MEDIUM 5

Points: 120

Stats
Life: 5
Move: 5
Range: 1
Attack: 4
Defense: 5

Special Powers
DISENGAGE
Michael Davion is never attacked when leaving an engagement.

DIMENSIONAL LEAP
Instead of moving Michael Davion normally, you may choose any empty space that is within 6 spaces or a space adjacent to a Protector you control.  Place Michael Davion on the chosen space.  

TELEPORTING STRIKE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range: 1  Attack: 4
If Michael Davion did not use Dimensional Leap this turn, you may attack with Teleporting Strike.  Once per turn after attacking with Teleporting Strike Special Attack you may chose any space that is within 3 spaces of Michael Davion.  Place Michael Davion on the chosen space and if he is engaged he may immediately attack with Teleporting Strike.

Figure: LOTR Heroclix The Two Towers 020 Eowyn


ALYSSA DAVION
General: Ullar
Species: Human
Type: Unique Hero
Class: Protector
Personality: Precise
Size: MEDIUM 4

Points: 95

Stats
Life: 4
Move: 6
Range: 1
Attack: 3
Defense: 5

Special Powers
DISENGAGE
Alyssa Davion is never attacked when leaving an engagement.

DIMENSIONAL LEAP
Instead of moving Alyssa Davion normally, you may choose any empty space that is within 6 spaces or a space adjacent to a Protector you control.  Place Alyssa Davion on the chosen space.

DIMENSIONAL NAVIGATOR
When a figure you control uses Dimension Door, instead of being placed with 4 spaces, you may instead place them adjacent to any Protector you control.

This is sounding pretty cool so far. Are you changing your mind from a common squad to unique heroes? Or, are you thinking of doing heroes in addition to the common squad?

Heroes in addition to the Common Squad.

For the Heroes I am thinking of the figures on the ends (Fandral and Eowyn).

Several changes/edits to the Guardians of Davion. I am liking these guys but their heroes were a little powerful out of the gate. I adjusted Michael - their combat leader and made Alyssa into more of a cheerleader. They play well and are highly mobile. With only 3 attacks per OM they are about average on offense but have a strong defense.

With the 20 sided roll to ignore an attack and a defense of 4, the common squad seems pretty stout. I would start them at 100 points as mentioned it the OP.

I'm thinking Ullar. Armocs and Protectors are the only others with the same class. Plus, they would have the synergy with Zogross.

So I snuck in another Davion play-test with the new stats for the Heroes.  It was a really fun match.

ULLAR
Guardians of Davion x3 ... 285
Michael Davion ... 405
Alyssa Davion ... 500
= 500 points

versus

AQUILLA
V. Swiftfangs
V. Darkclaws
V. Quickblades
V. Grey Spears
Arktos
= 505 points

I thought that this would be a blow-out for the Wolfen, as they come out so strong on OM1.  With 7-8 activations per OM, the Wolfen are particularly fast and vicious and the Guardians of Davion with just 3 was going to be interesting.

I was testing out a new mechanic - where instead of "teleporting" 4 spaces a Guardian of Davion could teleport adjacent to any Protector (no range limit) as long as Alyssa Davion is in the Army.  That 95-point investment in Alyssa is what now puts her in the cheerleader class.  It was very helpful .. as once one Guardian made their way across the board - more Guardian squad figures could teleport right into the action.  It allowed the Guardians to keep pace with the rapidly moving Wolfen.

Still, the Wolfen were kicking some butt until at a critical time - the Guardians won initiative and if the dice were with me, 3 Guardians could attack the 3 remaining Grey Spears (who had 2 OM's on their card).  The Guardians killed 2 of the 3 Greyspears so Wolf Pack bonding still allowed other Wolfen to move/attack but they didn't take out any Guardians.  On OM2, the Guardians finished off the Grey Spears which forced Aquilla to lose OM2.  The Guardians took the Defense + 1 glyph and made some other attacks to thin out the other Unique Squads.

The Wolfen did destroy more Guardians until only 2 squad figures remained plus the two Heroes.  Michael Davion jumped in and started his double special attack.  He was about 1/2 with his OM"s and then he took 2 wounds back (I had reduced his defense from 6 to 4 - and that made a difference).  He held out against some attacks from Arktos as did the Guardian on the Defense Glyph (yeah for Phantom Step's "magic pants").

The final confrontation came down to Michael with 1 Life, 2 Guardians, and Alyssa (who teleported adjacent to her brother - who is a Protector - clear across the board - about 12 spaces).  Michael put 2 wounds on Arktos and was then dropped losing an OM.  Aquilla had Arktos, 1 Dark Claw, and 1 Swiftfang left.  Arktos took a shot at Alyssa but it didn't get through her 5 Defense + 1 for the Glyph.  Then the remaining 2 Guardians "teleported" adjacent to Alyssa (a Protector) and killed Arktos with a 3/3 skull attack and the Dark Claw.  Aquilla lost OM3 and the Guardians finished off the Swiftfang for the surprising win!!!

--
Very fun match, and I am likely the Guardians more and more.  The "Dimension Door" teleport is pretty powerful with Alyssa in the army - but you are taking her for more mobility over another squad of Guardians.  Michael is much more balanced now - sort of a Kaemon Awa with Stealth Flying but no Counterstrike.

And I now have 4 complete squads of the Guardians .. I just need to rebase them : P

--
Also these Confrontation figures are nice proxies:

Spoiler:

Sounds like a very fun battle. With the brand new mechanics on a whole army scale we will have to playtest thoroughly . . . and I'm looking forward to that!

I will be more than happy to do the rebasing.

Could you post the line, set, and figure info for the common squad?

Ran two more playtests of Davion vs Wolfen ... the Guardians actually pulled out a surprising win, and then were DOMINATED in the re-match : P

I bumped some stats for Michael Davion - the main hero.

In the re-match, I tried to maximize the movement bonus from Alyssa Davion's Dimensional Navigator. The Guardians were zipping across the board (about 8-10 spaces) so they are highly mobile when they go to join another Protector. Very fun to bounce around.

I think they need a test against a dedicated Ranged unit.

Peace, *Kai

I'm sorry but this is the first time I really looked at their powers. Are the powers listed what you are play testing? In the tests the guardians of Davion seem to be moving anywhere on the board next to a protector. Have the heroes been changed as well? I am having a hard time following where things are at. Would it be possible to have a thread for each individual character or squad? And if changes are made to note that in a post and reflect the changes in the OP. Not trying to be a pain, but without knowing when, where, and what has changed with whom I am feeling a little lost here. I really like the thought behind these guys but not real sure where they are at as my only exposure has been in this thread.

Sorry about that.  I have been updating the original stats .. but I can do revisions as I go.  Alyssa changed the most and after play-testing, she was a pretty broken out of the gate.

GUARDIANS
Originally allowed Dimension Door to teleport 4 spaces or adjacent to any Protector.  Removed the 'any Protector' in favor of making this Alyssa Davion's Special Power.

MICHAEL DAVION
Originally had 4 Life, 6 Defense ... the was too tough so dropped to 4 Defense, but he fell too quickly for a melee unit so current stats are 5 Life, 4 Defense

ALYSSA DAVION
Originally had her with a Once per Round ability to teleport herself and 3 other adjacent figures 10 spaces.  Even though this was only Once per Round - it was automatic and not d20 based - so it was pretty powerful (especially since you could teleport any Small/Medium - and not just Protectors).

So the current version added Dimensional Navigator for the ability for Guardians to teleport adjacent to 'any Protector.'  Still powerful but much less broken.  Alyssa ends up sitting in the start zone .. so not really getting into the battles.

She is much less 'broken' this way - but the question is whether 95 points is balanced for the big teleporting strides that the Guardians can now take.

Guardians of Davion x 3
Michael Davion
Alyssa Davion

versus

Charos
4th Mass Line x4

It was time to test the Guardians of Davion against an A+ army, so the Minute Men volunteered.

I tried to abuse the Dimensional Navigator bonus from Alyssa to move the Guardians larger distances.  Tracking over 3 Rounds, with a total of 8 OM’s assigned to the squad, the Guardians were still averaging around 5.08 spaces of movement per OM (to compare to Stealth Flying).  

Dimension Door – spaces moved (normally within 4 spaces or adjacent to another Protector)
Figure 1/Figure 2/Figure 3

Round 1:  
OM-1:  4/5/4
OM-2:  3/7/7
OM-3: 1/4/4

Round 2:
OM-1: 9/1/4
OM-2: 6/4/4
OM-3: 11/4/15

Round 3:
OM-1: 4/4/0
OM-2: 3/7/7

The Guardians can certainly abuse their “adjacent to a Protector” boost from Alyssa.  The first squad figure activated can move 4 spaces and then the second squad figure can teleport adjacent to that Guardian (so at least a move of 5 spaces but it could be farther if a squad figure from deeper in the start zone zips up), and so on.  This works well on OM1 to start a wedge that Guardians can then teleport to the sides if the board is split, say between two glyph locations.  Late in the game, Guardians from the start zone or other areas of the board can move great distances (the farthest in this game was 15 spaces (from my start zone to the near the 4th Mass start zone).  Those are some huge strides and when looked at individually – a figure moving 15 spaces is pretty broken (but Saylind can do that with Summoning Spear or Tul-Bak-Ra with Reinforcements).  Once the melee battles are joined, the movement is much less, but still – it is pretty powerful – though it requires an investment in Alyssa at 95-points.

For Phantom Step, which is basically like a Teleporting Vanish of the Ninjas but with a higher target number like MicroCorp Agents, the Guardians did about average.  They were 5 for 21 to avoid damage (even with a Glyph of Lodin for the first 3 rounds of the game).
In combat, the Guardians are solid melee – 3-attack, 4-defense is pretty consistent.  I think of them in the same class as the Kyrie squads.  You’ll likely have 2-3 squads but they’ll stick around for a while.  They might be better at 110-points to mirror that analogy (they could be thought of as a 4 Move with Stealth Flying, 3 Attack, 4 Defense squad) but they need some play-testing without Alyssa too.

The game was pretty balanced for the first few rounds, and then the Guardians made a surge into the 4th Mass start zone.  At the end of Round 3, there were 11 of the 16 Minute Men destroyed but also 7 of the 9 Guardians and Michael Davion was down 2 Life.  Charos was untouched.  It was probably a mistake to get too close to the 4th Mass start zone – as then it was simple enough to just Wait-the-Fire at the Guardians.  Probably should have lured them out.

The last 3 rounds was Michael and Alyssa versus Charos .. and it was laughable.  Charos had picked up both treasures, which both ended up being +1 Attack … so the big green killing machine was a 7 Attack, 5 Defense, countering striking monstrosity.  He ended Michael quickly and then Alyssa bounced around a bit and took out the remaining 4th Mass line, but she never successfully wounded the dragon lord.

Jandar wins with 210 points remaining.

As a follow-up to the play-test against the 4th Mass Line ... Michael Davion suffered from the normal problem for melee heroes -- multiple ranged attacks can just mow you down. Even with 5 Defense, he took some serious shots from the 4th Mass (averaging around 3-4 attack dice with some height and/or WTF).

He is probably balanced at 120-points. With a double-attack, he is about on par with Kaemon Awa though his Dimensional Leap makes him highly mobile. He can jump 6 spaces or adjacent to a Protector. In the late game, he moved 14 spaces to join the action from the start zone (on Round 3, OM3). After that he was moving around 3-4 spaces .. and when he uses his normal move he can attack, then teleport 3 spaces and attack again.

He's fun - but very fragile against big ranged attacks (like Stingers, 10th Reg, 4th Mass).

Damon wrote:Could you post the line, set, and figure info for the common squad?

I'm thinking of ordering some . . . but I don't know where to find them. Thanks.

Nomad wrote:

Damon wrote:Could you post the line, set, and figure info for the common squad?

I'm thinking of ordering some . . . but I don't know where to find them. Thanks.

Sorry about that. Troll and Toad is a good source for the Thor: the Dark World Heroclix (so 2 of the 3 squad figures).

Bummer, I just sent my orders in.

I'll get these guys next time . . . do you know the name and # of the figures?

Nomad wrote:Bummer, I just sent my orders in.

I'll get these guys next time . . . do you know the name and # of the figures?

Yes, I added it to the Posts wit the custom stats but here it is again:

Marvel Heroclix Thor The Dark World Movie Gravity Feed 006 Tyr
Desolation of Smaug 004 Mirkwood Sentry Common
Marvel Heroclix Thor The Dark World Movie Gravity Feed 002 Einherjar

Marvel Heroclix Thor The Dark World Movie Gravity Feed 011 Fandral
LOTR Heroclix The Two Towers 020 Eowyn

I wouldn't mind if we put the squad in one thread, Michael in a second thread, and Alyssa in a third thread. I share the opinion that it will be easier to track and easier to discuss specifics about each squad/figure.

Kai, when you calculated the average move in your play test, did you count moves of 0 or 1 in your total? Meaning, if they were already engaged or chose to move less than their card value because they were already in the fray I don't think that should be included in their average move. I think we would find that every figure's move would be much lower than listed on the card (once ranged figures get to height, they seldom move. Once melee figures get engaged, they seldom move). Just curious . . .

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT: Guardians of Davion

THEME TEST: Are there are any powers or stats on the test unit card that do not accurately reflect the theme or likeness of what the character should be able to do? Also consider whether or not this character's powers should affect destructible objects. PASS. Normal attack on destructible objects.

FUN TEST: Was the unit fun to play? PASS.

FUN OPPOSITION TEST: Was the unit acceptable to play against? Could it be considered annoying? INCONCLUSIVE. One game, they were pretty annoying because they were hot with the 20-sider to ignore attacks. The second game, not hot at all. Being able to place the figures clear across the board with Alyssa was disturbing in the first game . . . I just couldn’t get away from them.

USAGE TEST: Were all of the powers on this card used, or at least usable? PASS. All powers were used and are usable.

STRATEGY TEST: Does the unit offer any real strategy or interesting tactics to the overall game? PASS. A whole new book of strategy and tactics, both playing them and against them. The squad has similar powers of the Microcorp’s magic pants, Tul-Bak-Ra’s teleporting, and Isamu’s vanish.

BONDING TEST: Compare the unit card with all currently existing Bonding abilities. Are there any Bonding loops that do not stop appropriately? PASS. No bonding at present.

SYNERGIES TEST: Think of all the current cards that would have synergy with the unit card. Are there any factors that could break the game by making a unit too powerful or too weak? INCONCLUSIVE. They have dimensional leap enhancement with Alyssa. The can leap next to any Protector, which includes all of the Davion figures, Protectors of Ullar, and Armoc Vipers. Zogross’s Opportunity Strike could also come into play. Much play testing needs to be done.

POWER CHECK: When considering the test unit against all existing units (including released C3V and SoV units) and all glyphs, are there any powers that could be overamplified and break the game? INCONCLUSIVE. More play testing needs to be done.

DRAFTING TEST: Is this unit worth drafting? PASS. The seem very fun at this point.

MIRROR TEST: Consider the test unit against itself. Are there any loops that would upset the balance of the Game? PASS.

ARMY TEST 1

Did the unit perform adequately? What should be the unit's point value? Give a brief summary. [insert pass/fail, point value, and brief summary] INCONCLUSIVE.

Map: Dance of the Dryads.

Units:

Army 1: Gaurdians of Davion, Michael Davion, Alyssa Davion = 500 points

VS

Army 2 (battle #1): Uglinesh, Wardens of the Wood, Kwyntela, Emiroon, Arkmer, Chardris = 500 points.

Army 2 (battle #2): Kyrllin, Warriors of Ashra x4, Wardens of the Wood, Arkmer = 500 points.

Battle #1: Kai hit around 40% with Phantom Step 15 . . . often times after I rolled 3 or 4 skulls in my attack. My army was pretty weak and I didn’t play them that well. My pod of elves just couldn’t get away from the Davions – I would kill one, and two more just teleported right into the frey. Davions won with a full life Michael (couldn’t bust through his awesome defense), full life Alyssa and a 4 Guardians remaining (or there abouts) . . . honestly, after reading through their stats and powers, considering the army I was using and how poorly I played, I would have figured that I would have been trounced by even more.

Battle #2: Kai only rolled 2 out 20+ Phantom Steps and the Warriors and Wardens of the Wood took out the Squads fairly well. Michael didn’t roll defense all that well, so he went down. I spent a few rounds trying to chase down Alyssa. Kyrllin had one wound and I had 2 or 3 Warriors left at the end, but it wasn’t really that close as Alyssa was able to take out 3-4 figures while getting fortunate on some defensive rolls.

Final thoughts: On paper, I was worried that these guys would be way too powerful. After the two battles, I’m not so sure. With Alyssa, their teleporting powers are more powerful than Tul-Bak-Ra because they can land on any level where Tul-Bak-Ra can only teleport to the same level. Their Phantom Step is better than the Microcorp’s Stealth Armor, some 20-sider roll, but they get to move 4 spaces. Their attack and defense seem appropriate. I think that the Guardians will need to go through quite a number of play tests and perhaps some tweaks. All in all, a very inventive and creative design. I wouldn’t mind if Phantom Step 15 was renamed – Deceptive Defense 15, Step of Deception 15, Evanesce 15 . . .

Thanks for the play-tests!!! So much better than gaming against yourself : )

The Guardians are super-mobile and that means that they can keep the pressure on (or escape) very rapidly if Alyssa is in the army.

Defensively:
The key difference on Phantom Step versus MicroCorp Stealth Armor is also that you roll for Stealth Armor when the Agent would be destroyed from wounds. This could be a d20 Dragon Swoop from Sonlen or after failing to roll shields from Sonlen's normal attack.

The Phantom Step is more like Vanish - where you roll the d20 before rolling defense but then you get to move.

I am sort of taking the target number 15 from Stealth Armor but allowing the movement of Vanish. Phantom Step won't work against things like Dragon Swoop or Searing Intensity, but right now it works against Special Attacks (and I did that because the target number is much higher than the Ninjas).

--

And it is called Phantom Step because the Guardians can 'disappear' like ghosts using their teleporting magic. They 'phase out' and then 'phase in' to dodge attacks. It could probably use a better name .. but that is the imagery/rationale.

Phantom Step reminds me of Phantom Walk, which the Ninjas have that allows them to move through figures and not take leaving engagements. They just sound too similar to me.

Evanesce means to vanish, disappear, phase out. I like Evanesce 15, personally.

I'm OK with the power . . . I still think it is better than the Microcorps even though they can't use it on d-20 powers. If I surround a Guardian with a few melee squad figures, and he hits a 15 or higher and vanishes 4 away on my first attack, I lose my other attacks.

Creating separate threads for the Unique Heroes.

Ran a play-test last night with the Guardians of Davion against the Axe-Grinders

ULLAR
Guardians of Davion x3 … 285
Michael Davion … 405
Alyssa Davion … 500
vs
AQUILLA
Axe-Grinders x3 … 210
Mogrimm … 330
Darrak … 390
Sylvarris … 490

I started off the game not really sure what Alyssa’s Special “Dimensional Navigation” power would be.  As I moved out of the start zone, I was just analyzing how the power could be used … I looked at Derek’s suggestion about using Dimension Door within 6 clear sight spaces of Alyssa instead of an unlimited leap.  It would require her to be activated and move into the fray much more.  It takes her from a cheerleader (in the start zone) role to more of a Raelin or Empress Kiova figure – where you’ll need to keep an OM on her to utilize her power more consistently.  Since mobility is key for the Guardians, hard to say if they’ll be sticking close to her.

Unsure of which direction I wanted to go with her, I eventually just left her in the start zone and didn’t use Dimensional Navigation at all.  She’d be a weaker version of Michael for this game.

The first round was mostly positioning and then I went with a high investment in Michael to get him into the fray.  With Mogrimm’s “Tough” not working against Special Attacks, I thought it would be a good opponent for Michael to engage.
Forgehammer proved tough though, rolling two back-to-back 20’s on Commander’s Strike and popping the Davion hero down to 1 life by the end of round 2.  Michael inflicted a few wounds on Mogrimm but not as much as hoped.

The remaining rounds were basically all OM’s on the Guardian squad against the Dwarf Heroes, Grinders and Sylvarris.  I rolled some fantastic Phantom Step rolls to “magic pants” my way out of trouble and for a while there, I hadn’t lost a Guardian but Michael went down.  Another Commander’s strike and then some big swings from Darrak Ambershard (I never played him before – man, he packs a punch!) and the Guardians were in trouble.  But a late rally with good positioning and poor defense rolls by Sylvarris made it a close game.

It came down to a 3-Life Mogrimm, 2-Life Darrak versus a full squad of Guardians and Alyssa back in the start zone.  Mogrimm was in a spot where only one Guardian could be on even-ground and the other two attacking up and his Tough lasted through 3 turns of full assault.  Eventually he killed one Guardian, and then the following round the Guardians gave up and jumped Darrak but he rolled a Hide in Shadows to stay alive.  Next round the two Guardians took out Darrak but then Forgehammer finished off one in response.  The remaining Guardian took Mogrimm down to 1 Life before dying.

Now it was a 4-Life Alyssa with a 3 base attack against Mogrimm.  Once they met up on even ground they traded blows, with Alyssa finishing him with the first shot when Mogrimm blanked and Tough didn’t absorb the remaining skull.

Winner:  Ullar with 95-points remaining
--

It was a pretty solid match up, though a 4th squad of Guardians would have been better than Alyssa just sitting there … but it worked out in the end.

Unbelievable showing by Mogrimm (probably 4 out of 7 Commander’s Strike’s and his +3 initiative made a difference more than once).  The Guardians had a few clutch Phantom Step/Magic Pants rolls to keep the pressure on.

The Guardians are pretty fun, and they look great now that they are rebased (thank you!!!).  95-points might be low if we are going for B/B+ figures.  I think they are in that Kyrie category – like the Sentinels – where you are only going to have 2-3 squads on the battlefield but the squad is solid.

Michael Davion performed as expected, though I lowered his defense from 5 to 4 for this game, and I think that is more balanced for 120-points.  With his 6-space teleport, he’s very mobile, but it is sort of like Stealth Flying so maybe he’s 130.  His double attack is about the same as Kaemon Awa, though he lacks a true ‘ranged’ attack (but able to attack in melee then move 3 spaces and attack again).  He does have 1 more Life than Kaemon.

Alyssa is the mystery, of course, and while I loved my play-tests when Guardians could teleport just about anywhere I can see how that is likely ‘broken.’  I’ll see what limitation or power changes that I can come up with to make her balanced and a unique addition to the Guardian army.