NAME OF THE TEST UNIT: VARKANAAN RUNE CASTER
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.
FUN TEST: Was the unit fun to play? INCONCLUSIVE, but a little more intriguing this battle.
FUN OPPOSITION TEST: Was the unit acceptable to play against? Could it be considered annoying? PASS.
USAGE TEST: Were all of the powers on this card used, or at least usable? PASS.
STRATEGY TEST: Does the unit offer any real strategy or interesting tactics to the overall game? PASS. The Rune Caster saved a few Blade Dancers with the aura, but something seems to still be missing to make them still worth playing.
BONDING TEST: Compare the unit card with all currently existing Bonding abilities. Are there any Bonding loops that do not stop appropriately? PASS.
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? PASS.
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? PASS, but I have a Blade Dancer engaged with three figures, height, and +2 shield aura from a ranged attack – I got to roll 9 defensive dice! And the Dancer barely survived an attack of two.
DRAFTING TEST: Is this unit worth drafting? INCONCLUSIVE.
MIRROR TEST: Consider the test unit against itself. Are there any loops that would upset the balance of the Game? PASS.
ARMY TEST
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. I went with Syvarris instead of Manauvi in this battle. Syvarris put two wounds on Charros and killed a couple of Bluecoats before falling. I’m still not sure if someone else would have been a better addition to the x4 Dancers than the Rune Caster. 80 points seems about right for the numbers and potential. For the record, here are the results of the 3-dice rolls before each round:
Round 1- 2 skulls, 1 blank. Too early to get an attack off for the Rune Caster.
Round 2- 2 skulls, 1 shield. The Rune Caster got an attack of 4/6 skulls on Charros, who blocked it with 4 shields.
Round 3- 1 skull, 2 shields. The 4th didn’t try any ranged shots on aura protected Dancers.
Round 4- 1 skull, 1 shield, 1 blank. The bonding got the Rune Caster into a spot to protect, but he didn’t get an attack in. The extra die may have protected a couple of Dancers.
Round 5 – 1 skull, 1 shield, 1 blank. The Rune Caster got a couple of wounds on Thorgrim with his bonding turn.
Round 6 – 1 skull, 2 shields. The shields were useless with only one Dancer left way back in the start zone.
Map: Custom by Damon that included RotV and BftU
Army 1 (Damon): Syvarris, Rune Caster, Blade Dancers x4 = 500 points.
VS
Army 2 (Damon): Charros, Thorgrim, 4th Mass Line x3 = 500 points.
Battle Report:
Rd 1: The 4th killed a Dancer on the Def+1 glyph, Charros counter-struck another, Syvarris rolled 5/6 skulls in two attacks on Charros, but he defended.
Rd 2: All 4th – Syvarris put two wounds on Charros and killed a couple of 4th after they put two wounds on him. Charros left high ground to engage Syvarris and put a wound on him. The Rune Caster hit Charros with a 4 skull attack, but Charros laughed it off with 4 shields.
Rd 3: Charros killed Syvarris and a Dancer with counter strike, but the Blade Dancers rolled well to kill Charros and a 4th, who took out a Dancer on the glyph to close the round.
Rd 4: The 4th killed a couple of Dancers and put a wound on the Rune Caster, while the Dancers failed their 3 attacks.
Rd 5: The Rune Caster and Blade Dancers teamed up to kill Thorgrim and a 4th, but the pummeled 5 Blade Dancers with their muskets.
Rd 6: The 4th won initiative and used Wait and Fire to kill the Rune Caster, who lost all OMs. The Bluecoats moved forward and were able to take out the last Dancer camped in the startzone to end the game.
Final Score: Seven 4th remained for a total of 124 points.
Final thoughts: A much better showing this time, still, I wonder if the Rune Caster can be tweaked slightly to make him and the Blade Dancers more enticing. Perhaps allow the shields on the three die roll to add to his defense against ranged attacks. Perhaps, remove any die of the three to allow bonding (not just blanks). I think the latter might be worthy of consideration.
Is the Rune Caster the official name or just a place-holder until we come up with one?