W3 Wardens of the Wood - released

WARDENS OF THE WOOD
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Figures:
D&D, Dragoneye, Druid of Obad-Hai #27
D&D, War of the Dragon Queen, Warden of the Wood #18
D&D, Tyranny of Dragons, Wood Elf Druid

General: Ullar
Planet: Feylund

Species: Elves
Unique Squad
Class: Druid
Personality: Devout
Medium 4

Life: 1
Move: 5
Range: 5
Attack: 2
Defense: 4
110 Points

RITUAL OF OAKENSHIELD
All friendly figures that follow Ullar that are adjacent to at least one Warden of the Wood roll an additional defense die. Ritual of the Oakenshield does not affect a Warden of the Wood.

STRENGTH OF ULLAR
When attacking an adjacent figure, each Warden of the Wood receives 1 additional attack die for every other Unique or Uncommon Army Card you control that follows Ullar up to a maximum of +3 dice.

Character Bio:
The Wardens of the Wood are an elected group of elven druids from Feylund.  The druids are chosen by the elders of the druidic order and are ordained by great hierophant of the Waylan Woods.  Each Warden is assigned an area of elvish land to foster and protect, tending to the health of all life (both plant and animal).  As a symbol of their authority, each Warden carries a sacred staff blessed by the hierophant.  Each staff is unique to its bearer and allows the druid to channel bolts of force at short distances.  The energy of the bolts can be controlled to simply be a push or to impact with the power to break bones.  

In addition to their enchanted staves, the Wardens are instructed in many rituals.  One of these incantations is the Ritual of Oakenshield.  Cast each day at sunset, the spell provides magical protection from harm for the Warden and his allies within a 5 foot radius.

There are currently three Wardens of the Wood on Valhalla.  First among the group is Hrothan, Warden of Aubria.  Hrothan wears the mask of the Heartsinger Stag and he is the guardian of the great animals of the forest.  Next is Krista, Warden of Ashra, who bears the Talon of the Eagles.  Krista is guardian of all creatures of the sky.  Finally there is the stoic Saylo, Warden of Llmovar, the guardian of the mountain.  Saylo carries the Staff of Shepherds which allows him to communicate with the gentle animals of the woodlands.

When the Elves of Feylund arrived in Valhalla, they became great allies to Ullar.  Initially the Wardens of the Wood helped their brothers and sisters to understand the different flora, fauna, and animals of the forests of Valhalla.  But now as the battles have grown closer to the new demesne of the collective elves of Valhalla, the Wardens have been brought to the front lines to keep Utgar and his minions at bay.  

To aid the fight, Ullar and the Druids have developed a new ritual.  Cast the night before a battle, and focused through an oath to serve Ullar, the Wardens can call upon the strength of the great heroes and heroines that will fight the following day.  With this ritual, the Wardens can perform great feats of strength and skill in combat, making them formidable combatants.  




- Rulings and Clarifications -
_______________________________________



- Combinations and Synergies -

Synergy Benefits Offered
-Ullar figures: Ritual of Oakenshield
All friendly figures that follow Ullar and are adjacent to a Warden of the Wood, may benefit from RITUAL OF OAKENSHIELD defense bonus.
-Divine Grimoire: Devout figures and Bishop Thaddeus
Having a Devout personality, a Warden of the Wood may benefit Bishop Thaddeus with a Gold Devotion Marker if they are destroyed

Synergy Benefits Received
-Acolarh: Ullars Amulet
Being a figure that follows Ullar, a Warden of the Wood may benefit from Acolarh’s ULLAR’S AMULET movement bonus.
-Aristeos: Nature’s Aura
Being a figure that follows Ullar, a Warden of the Wood may benefit from Aristeos defense Aura.
- Unique/ Uncommon Ullar figures: Strength of Ullar
All Unique/ Uncommon Ullar figures adjacent to the Wardens of the Wood, may benefit the Wardens of the Wood STRENGTH OF ULLAR attack bonus.
-Count Raymond: Devout Leadership
Having a Devout personality, a Warden of the Wood may benefit from Count Raymond’s DEVOUT LEADERSHIP movement bonus.
-Divine Grimoire: Devout figures and Bishop Thaddeus
Having a Devout personality, a Warden of the Wood may benefit from Bishop Thaddeus’ DIVINE GRIMOIRE Gold Devotion Marker removal attack bonus.
-Baron Sebastian: Forced March
Having a Devout Personality, a Warden of the Wood  may benefit from Baron Sebastian's FORCED MARCH movement bonus.

Synergy Imposed
-Baron Sebastian: Forced March
Having a Devout Personality, a Warden of the Wood may be wounded from Baron Sebastian's FORCED MARCH.

First idea:

Option 1:
WARDENS OF THE WOOD

General:   ULLAR
Species: Elves
Type: Unique Squad (3 figures)
Class: Druid
Personality: Devout
Size: MEDIUM 4

Points: 110

Stats
Life: 1
Move: 5
Range: 5
Attack: 2
Defense: 4

RITUAL OF OAKENSHIELD
All friendly figures that follow Ullar that are adjacent at least one Warden of the Wood add 1 die to their defense.  Ritual of the Oakenshield does not affect a Warden of the Wood.

SUMMON THE STRENGTH OF ULLAR
Each Warden of the Wood receives 1 additional attack die for every other unique or uncommon Army Card you control that follows Ullar (to a maximum of +3 dice).

Spoiler:

==
Option 2:
WARDENS OF THE WOOD

General:   ULLAR
Species: Elves
Type: Unique Squad (3 figures)
Class: Druid
Personality: Devout
Size: MEDIUM 4

Points: 80

Stats
Life: 1
Move: 5
Range: 4
Attack: 2
Defense: 3

RITUAL OF OAKENSHIELD
All friendly figures that follow Ullar that are adjacent at least one Warden of the Wood add 1 die to their defense.  Ritual of the Oakenshield does not affect a Warden of the Wood.

WILDSHAPE
At the beginning of each round, place one white combat die on this card for each Druid you control. Set each of the dice on either a Skull, Shield, or Blank. For each Skull placed, add 1 to this card's attack value. For each Shield placed, add 1 to this card's defense value. For each Blank placed, add 1 to this card's move value.

They look pretty good. They can pod up really well with Kytela and Raelin and with some of the other cheap heroes. Their low range keeps them in check though. They still would be fairly tough for melee, but what isn't.

Original Post

Spoiler:

Really like option 1 better, but like adding the disclaimer of adding elven figures that follow Ullar that have an order marker on them. You could kind of combine the 2 powers (strength of ullar and wildshape) and say that if you reveal the x marker at any point you add 1 to your defense instead of attack.

SUMMON THE STRENGTH OF ULLAR
Each Warden of the Wood receives 1 additional attack die for every other unique or uncommon Army Card you control that follows Ullar (to a maximum of +3 dice).

becomes

Strength of Ullar (although I think in compendium there is some unused elven power mentioned that could work-I'll look it up)
Each Warden of the Wood receives 1 additional attack die for every order marker placed on an elf figure who follows Ullar. Or, at the start of your turn you can reveal the X marker on any elven card that follows Ullar and instead the Warden of the Wood receives +1 defense (or 1 auto sheild).

Great start and very good looking figures. Not sure if range is really represented by any of their sculpts though.

Thanks for the feedback.

The Druids will use magic spells for their Ranged attacks (sort of like Arkmer or Ana K.).

Nice start! Ullar could use another unique squad.

I prefer option 1. I like that it is not just limited to elves, but you can also get the benefits if you include the Wardens in a Viper build or with Jotun/Charros/Greenscales, etc.

I have done some research on Druids and would like to suggest a name change to the second power:

Spear of Lugh or Spear of Esras

FYI: I also learned that Myrrdin was the original Welsh/Scottish name for Merlin.

Cool, sounds like Option 1 is the way to go.


I would like to keep Strength of Ullar for all Ullar unique army cards and not just Elves. There aren't that many Ullar units so we can test out the power to see what combinations work.

With at least 3 other Unique army cards, the Druids will be a 5 Move, 5 Range, 5 Attack, 4 Defense squad. That is very potent until you loose some Uniques

I will work up some Army ideas.

I received these figures and the Obad-Hai druid and the Warden of the Wood are great ... just about the same size as a Warrior of Ashra, but the 3rd Elve (Mialee) is really small (maybe Goblin Cutter size) - so I don't think she'll do well to complete the squad.

: (

I'm sure we can find another Druid figure to take the place of the mini-mini.

I'm sure we can find another Druid figure to take the place of the mini-mini.

I hope so, these guys are off to a great start.

I guess I will post this under the WARDENS OF THE WOOD ..

ARMY # - Ullar's Elves
Wardens of the Wood
Kyntela
Theracus
Sylvarris
Emirroon
Warrios of Ashra x3
= 500 points

versus

Gnoll Raiders x3
Le-Orex (Gnoll Hero)
Phantom Knights x3
Isamu
Marcu
= 500 points

Battlefield:  BLACKROOT  (no glyphs, no treasures)

GNOLL versus DRUID Playtest
ROUND 1
Valkrill: OM 1, 2 – Phantoms OM3, X - Gnolls
Ullar: OM 1, 2 – Emirroon OM3 – Druids OMX – Sylvarris

Ullars wins initiative (18 to 14).  Emirroon moves up first and rolls a 16 for summoning – bringing up two elves:  one Druid and one Ashran.  Phantom Knights move into position for a melee lunge.  Emirroon moves again and gets a 7 on summoning bringing the 2nd Druid adjacent to him.  He has engaged one of the PK’s and slices through it with 3 skulls! (go elf wizard).    Two PK’s pounce on the 1st Druid (one gaining height).  She goes down fast to a 3/4 skull attack.  Emirroon fends off another PK.  The remaining Druids go on OM3.  The Obad-Hai druid moves adjacent to Kyntela and Sylvarris in the start zone and roles 3/5 to attack a PK at range 5.  The PK rounds 4/8 shields for the block.  Ugh.  The other Druid rolls 2/6 skulls from height but the PK gets 2/7 shields for the block.  Why did I pick PK’s for the Gnoll army again?  The Gnoll Raiders are the last to go and I roll a 14 for their Feral Pack Movement – so a full 3 member squad can move.  They positions on the road.

ROUND 2
Valkrill: OM 1, 2 – Phantoms OM3, X - Gnolls
Ullar: OM 1 - Emirroon OM 2,3 – Warriors OMX- Druids

The plan before initiative is to pull Emirroon back (taking a leaving engagement) to regroup in a position to summon more Warriors.  He’s over-extended.  Unfortunately, Valkrill wins initiative (20 to 4).
PK1 jumps into the starzone next to Kyntela and the Obad-Hai druid, while PK2 engages Sylvarris, Theracus and a Warrior, while PK3 goes to height after Druid # 3.  Three full blanks then 3 shields and blank are worthless attacks and a final 1 skull is blocked by Sylvarris.  Emirroon (no longer engaged) retreats to the start zone and rolls a 3 on summoning.  Luckily he is next to two Warriors so he can at least pull back the lone Druidess and position her to provide a defensive boost to others.  
PK’s drop a 3/3 skull attack on Kytenla but she rolls 2/3 shields with a buff from the Druid.  Still she’s half dead.  Emirroon takes a wound an a Warrior’s Agility saves her from a PK with height.  Warriors start to fight back and kill 2 out of 3 PK’s.  The Gnolls advance (rolling 12 on Feral Pack so normal movement).  Two Warriors move up in screen/roadblock position but only get 1/3 skulls.  Warrior back in the start zone blanks on the remaining PK.

ROUND 3
Valkrill: OM 1, 3 Gnolls OM2 – Le-Orex (Hero) OMX- PK
Ullar: OM 1, X - Warriors OM 2 Druids OM3 – Sylvarris

Going with Gnolls for OM1 even with their Feral Pack potential flaw since 2 are engaged.  Hoping that OM1 for Warriors clears out the enemy figures to let the two remaining Druids drop two attacks of 5 at Range, then have Sylvarris start a barrage of arrows.  Valkrill wins initiative though (13 to 11).

Gnoll Raiders roll a 19 for Feral Pack Movement (ouch!) so 6 Gnolls get to move.  I move 6 different Gnoll figures and then attack with 2 that moved and a 7th that was already engaged at the start of the turn.  One of the Warriors drops when she rolls 3 skulls on defense.  Warriors strike back but again the Ashra in the start zone whiffs on the PK.  The other Warriors takes out a Gnoll Raider.  Le-Orex moves up on OM2 to take a road position.  He’ll add +2 to Feral movement now that he has a revealed OM.  The Druids get to attack:  2/5 skulls is blocked by 2/4 shields by an adjacent PK but then a lucky 1/5 skulls is not blocked by a Gnoll Raider.  On OM3 the Feral Pack moves again – with a roll of 3 (ack!) which is boosted to a 5 (so 2 Raiders can move).  No Gnolls were adjacent to start so one pops up to swing at a Warrior but 3/4 skulls is deftly dodged with 1 shield.  Sylvarris takes position in the middle of Warriors and Theracus and gets off a few shots (no height)  A 3/3 arrow shot takes out one advancing Raider.

At the close of Round 3:  Kyntela and Emirroon have 1 wound, one Druid and one Warrior are destroyed compared to 3 Gnolls and 3 PK’s destroyed.

ROUND 4:
Valkrill: OM 1, 2 – Le-Orex OM3, X - Gnolls
Ullar: OM 1, 3 - Warriors OM 2, Druids OMX- Sylvarris

Finally a win for Ullar on initiative (15 to 10).  I cheer on the Warriors but again the Warrior whiffs on the PK in the start zone.  Dude.  Le-Orex moves up with the 5 attack on a Warrior and beats her down 2/5 skulls to 2 skulls for defense.  Bam!    Druids are up with one still engaged by a PK.  He rolls 3/5 skulls and no defense from the PK.  The 2nd Druids takes an even-ground shot at Le-Orex and rolls 4/5 skulls.  The big Gnoll takes 3 wounds.  The Gnoll Hero advances and swings on the Warrior protecting the Druid.  He gets 2/5 skulls and she gets 1/4 shields so the lucky boost of the Oakenshield saves her.  Warriors attack back – taking out a Gnoll Raider then swinging at Le-Orex.  The Warrior rolls 2/3 skulls so the Claw-Shield does not come into play.  Le-Orex rolls 1 shield so he has only one remaining wound.  Gnoll Raiders go next and roll an 8 + 2 = 10 for Feral Movement.  Exactly enough for a full 3 Raider activation.  They manage to kill one Warrior as the round ends.

ROUND 5:
Valkrill: OM X – Le-Orex OM 1,2 – Gnolls OM3 – PK’s
Ullar: OM 1 - Druids OM 2, 3 - Warriors OMX- Sylvarris

Valkrill pulls out the initiave win (9 to 5).  Feral Pack roll is a 14 so full squad again.  Some decent rolls to attack but the Warriors roll the shields needed without Agility kicking in.  Druids are up first for Ullar and two attacks of 5 at range blast the Gnolls apart.  If they Druids were a full squad – three attacks of 5 at range 5 would be pretty disgusting.  On OM2 Gnolls roll a 4 for Feral Pack so 2 Gnolls can move.  Two are already engaged and only one more is on the board back in the start zone so he hops onto the road.  One of the Gnolls slides next to his Warrior to take a swipe at a Druid who has Height plus Kyntela.  Unfortunately for Ullar the Druid rolls 5 skulls for defense and goes down.  That Gnoll goes down to Warriors and then PK’s move up.

ROUND 6:
Valkrill: OM 1 -  Le-Orex OM2, 3 – PKs OM X - Gnolls
Ullar: OM 1, 2 - Warriors OM 3 - Theracus OMX- Sylvarris

I take a chance on Le-Orex over the Gnoll Raiders since he has a base 5 attack against the Warrior.  Initiative wins out for Valkrill (20 to 8)so I’m hopefully but then the 2/5 skulls is dodged again by 1/4 shields.  Warriors move up but Le-Orex defends (1/3 skulls vs 1/3 shields).  A Gnoll also defends and now the PK’s roll up.  Two attacks are launched and both Warriors whiff – so two surprising kills.  Warriors move to reinforce while taking out the 8th of 9 Gnolls.  PK’s continue the assault but defenses hold.  Theracus flies in to try to take out Le-Orex while carrying Kyntela to boost a lone Warrior.  Le-Orex defends (and I’m wishing he had counter-strike instead of Claw Shield).  

The game is suddenly tighter with Ullar down 5 Warriors and 2 Druids, and one wound on Kyntela and Emirroon.  The Valkrill forces are weakened – 8 of 9 Gnolls destroyed, Le-Orex down to his last wound and 4 of 9 PK’s destroyed.

ROUND 7:
Valkrill: OM X – Le-Orex OM 1,2,3 - PKs
Ullar: OM 1, 2 - Warriors OM X - Druids OM3 – Sylvarris

Valkrill bounces back with another 20 on initiative, and the PK’s strike again.  Kyntela goes down to a 3/4 attack and then the last Druid falls (which is bad since she was adding defense to 3 different Warriors).  The third attack also results in a Warrior destruction.  The remaining 3 Ashrans respond but only net one kill.  PK’s return the favor with a Warrior rolling 4 skulls on defense.  The remaining 2 Warriors get 2 kills, and only 2 PK’s remain.  One close at hand and the other back in the start zone (oooops).  Sylvarris moves up, going hand-to-hand with the closest PK:  and rolls 2 skulls then 3 shields.  Luckily the first attack takes out the Knight.  

ROUND 8:
Valkrill: OM 1 – Le-Orex OM2, X – PK OM3 - Isamu
Ullar: OM 1 - Emirroon OM 2 3 - Sylvarris OMX- Warriors

Taking the momentum, Ullar wins initiative (18 to 12).  Emirroon runs up to Le-Orex and summons a Warrior and Sylvarris to his side.  The Elf Wizard then rolls 3/3 on the attack to finish off the Gnoll commander.  This drops OM1 for Valkrill so the Elves go again.  Sylvarris breaks off for high ground and the second arrow shot on the PK is 3 skulls against only 1 shield.  Valkrill loses OM2.  Sylvarris advances again but 3 skulls do not kill the last Gnoll Raider.  Isamu takes the road and cover behind a tree.

ROUND 9:
Valkrill: OM 1, 2, X – Isamu OM3 - Marcu
Ullar: OM 1, 3 - Sylvarris OM 2 - Warriors OMX- Emirroon

Team Elf wins initiative (7 to 3) and Sylvarris retreats towards his comrades.  The first arrows flies toward Isamu who backs up and bumps into the remaining Gnoll and rolls a 4 to Vanish.  Oops.  Thunk!  The Red Ninja is dead.  The Gnoll follows him to the grave with the 2nd volley from the Elf Archer.  After skipping some OM’s – Sylvarris takes 2 shots at Marcu from height rolling No skulls.  Marcu’s turn.  And a 20 for a full Betrayl is the way Valkrill ends the game.  Ouch.

ULLAR Wins:
Sylvarris - full life
Theracus - full life
Emirroon - 1 wound
Warriors - 2 of the 9 remaining
= 237 of 500 points remaining

The Gnolls were fun ... the risk/reward of Feral Pack is just as I expected. The Gnolls stats might be a little too strong for 60-points. Maybe a drop to 4/3 or 3/4. Le-Orex should just have Counter-Strike .. it is much more powerful but simplier.

The Druids were a little too awesome for 110 points. Their defensive boost was big for the Warriors of Ashra but they were powerful then Sylvarris when they could get in two attacks of 5 (or 6 from height) with a full Ullar Unique army. Maybe they should be 1 attack/3 defense, this way they come up to 4 attack at range 5 but they can boost each other with Oakenshield so they can be 4/4 with the right army build.

Pretty fun game though. The mad rush of the Gnolls was fun.

Rematch with minor changes. Dropped the Druids to a 1/4 attack/defense .. so that they ended up as 4/4. Dropped the Gnoll Raiders to 3/4 instead of 4/4. Swapped out the Phantom Knights for M43 + Kira for more ranged units to help against Warriors of Ashra.

ARMY # - Ullar's Elves
Wardens of the Wood
Kyntela
Theracus
Sylvarris
Emirroon
Warrios of Ashra x3
= 500 points

versus

Gnoll Raiders x3
Le-Orex (Gnoll Hero)
M43-Resistance Fighters x3
Isamu
Kira Jax
= 495 points

This game was a blow-out early on. Theracus flew Sylvarris out to height and on OM2 the Supreme Elven Archer started rolling 3/4 and 4/4 skulls turn after turn. And he held up against the just 2 attack dice from M43's. By the end of Round 2, only one M43 was left standing and the Gnolls were pinned by Theracus' big butt : )

Then it became Gnolls Gnolls Gnolls for OM's. I had one roll of 19 for moving 6 Raiders and then a roll of 3 so only 1 Raider but two were already engaged so it wasn't bad. I'll have to clarify the way Feral Pack is worded because it sort of played like Horde Movement - except that it was variable. I guess that is okay.

The Druids did well .. providing some ranged attacks of 4 and a slight defensive boost. The Warriors were staying back as Sylvarris and the Druids were doing most of the work. Then on one turn, the Gnolls rolled their 19 and all surged forward. That allowed 3 Gnoll Raiders to engage each of the Druids and after 2 OM's they took down all of the Druids (3 attack against 4 defense).

Surprisingly Sylvarris was still alive (lasting most of the game with 2 wounds) and he picked off some more Gnolls. Kira Jax helped to take out Warriors - both from Range and also negating their Agility once they closed to melee. But one attack in response to 3 activation wasn't good for Valkrill Resistance team.

Le-Orex didn't do much of anything. One Warrior of Ashra pinned him in, and despite a few 5 skull attack rolls, he couldn't get passed her fast footwork. The Claw Shield was rolled 3 times but I didn't get the Shield ... definitely changing him to Counter-Strike : )

Isamu caused some trouble for a few turns - even taking out Sylvarris but then Emirroon (with 4 wounds) took him out right after summoning more Warriors to try and surround the Red Ninja.

I was really surprised how well Sylvarris rocked it. If I would have had Stingers instead of M43 - that extra attack die probably would have helped to take him down sooner.

After a couple of playtests, I think this is the next version of Druids to test out.  Gaining the +3 attack on Range is probably too powerful so adjusting them to only have that in melee.

v. 3

WARDENS OF THE WOOD

General:   ULLAR
Species: Elves
Type: Unique Squad (3 figures)
Class: Druid
Personality: Devout
Size: MEDIUM 4

Points: 110

Stats
Life: 1
Move: 5
Range: 5
Attack: 2
Defense: 4

RITUAL OF OAKENSHIELD
All friendly figures that follow Ullar that are adjacent at least one Warden of the Wood add 1 die to their defense.  Ritual of the Oakenshield does not affect a Warden of the Wood.

STRENGTH OF ULLAR
When attacking an adjacent figure, each Warden of the Wood receives 1 additional attack die for every other unique or uncommon Army Card you control that follows Ullar (to a maximum of +3 dice).

--

The Druids can still end up being 5 attack but only in melee.  That makes them comparable to the Kozuki (Blue) Samurai.  With their defensive bonus, they might be closer to 120 points - so some play-testing will be needed. They could certainly stay behind a screen of Warriors of Ashra or Eilan Sidhe to provide better defense - while dropping in a few ranged spell attacks.

Wild Shape you would save them towards the end of the game or not lead out so they'd be tougher, Strength of Ullar send them out more quickly, plus the extra defense for Ullar is cool, most Elves need it.

I've been searching for the 3rd figure of the squad . . . to no avail.

What about a repaint of Ana Karithon? We can do her up in greens and earthen tones . . . perfect in my opinion. My brushes are getting brittle . . .

What say you all? Should I give it a try?

Yeah, we'll have to find a third figure for the squad. Sharwin Wildborn makes a nice proxy for Druid # 3.

I think this squad was coming along nicely in development & playtests. Might need another whirl before final editing.

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT: Wardens of the Wood

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. I played with Ana as the 3rd figure in the squad. She fits the part except she doesn’t have the pointed ears of an elf. Perhaps doing a repaint of Sharwin Wildborn is a better idea. We will need to do a repaint, which will be fun to do.

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

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. All powers were used and are usable.

STRATEGY TEST: Does the unit offer any real strategy or interesting tactics to the overall game? PASS. They certainly benefit other Ullar figures with the bump to their defense. Deciding when to attack with them with their bonus dice or keeping them safe to provide defense is very strategic in order marker placement and movement.

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 give an extra defense die when adjacent to all friendly Ullar figures. Does Charos, Greenscales, Kyrllin, snakes, Zogross and Guardians of Davion really need a bonus? As Devout, they get some synergy with Count Raymond, Bishop Thaddeus, and Baron Sebastian. See my comments in the final thoughts section.

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. As I played them I thought they had just about the right power.

DRAFTING TEST: Is this unit worth drafting? PASS. Awesome design and complement to Ullar.

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 (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.
VS

Army 2: Gaurdians of Davion, Michael Davion, Alyssa Davion = 500 points



Battle #1: Wardens provided an extra defensive die to my elves often and made some nice attacks of 5 or 6 dice with the Strength of Ullar power. The Guardians are definitely worth the points and very strategic.

Battle #2: I used one to provide defensive coverage for Elves and Kyrllin, while two of them went on the offense, doing a great job of taking out Guardians in Kai’s start zone and placing some wounds on Michael.

Final thoughts: I think they are almost ready after only a couple of playtests. A perfect complement to Ullar low defense figures. I really like both powers and their stats seem perfect. Even though they are devout, I don't see the synergies with Baron, Bishop, and the Count being any issues. There is little chance this squad would be played with anything other than Ullar. My only suggestion:

RITUAL OF OAKENSHIELD
All friendly Elves and Eladrin that are adjacent at least one Warden of the Wood add 1 die to their defense. Ritual of the Oakenshield does not affect a Warden of the Wood.

Or just Elves. Kai, can you put V3 in the OP as the current status of their stats/powers? This way I don’t have to scroll through the pages to find the current stats. Also, can you rename the thread title to include the unit name: Wardens of the Wood?

What about this guy (although he is a bit spendy at $9 at M.M.)



PHB Heroes 2 #17 Male Human Druid from D&D.

Since these are Elven Druids . . . does the suggested mini have pointed ears? I couldn't tell from the pic. If not, I'd still lean toward a repaint of Sharwin.

Also,

Damon wrote:My only suggestion:

RITUAL OF OAKENSHIELD
All friendly Elves and Eladrin that are adjacent at least one Warden of the Wood add 1 die to their defense. Ritual of the Oakenshield does not affect a Warden of the Wood.

Or just Elves. Kai, can you put V3 in the OP as the current status of their stats/powers? This way I don’t have to scroll through the pages to find the current stats. Also, can you rename the thread title to include the unit name: Wardens of the Wood?

Updated OP.

I would like to keep their defense boost to all Ullar figures (not just Elves). It makes them more flexible for army choices.

Thanks for updating the OP.

All Ullar? OK. I guess in all of the other figures I noted in the play test report, adding the Wardens to their army would mean they would be losing out on other squads/figures that might benefit them more. Having Charos, do I run with a squad of Wardens or do I get me some more Greenscales? And the snakes could use any kind of defensive bonus they can get. I would run with another squad of Davions in that army build. I guess Kyrllin makes me the most nervous - but he is 140 points already. Choices to be made.

Can we change the thread title to Wardens of the Wood?

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT: Wardens of the Wood

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? PASS.

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. They certainly benefit other Ullar figures with the bump to their defense. Deciding when to attack with them with their bonus dice or keeping them safe to provide defense is very strategic in order marker placement and movement.

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.

DRAFTING TEST: Is this unit worth drafting? PASS. Excellent design and complement to Ullar.

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] PASS. Current stats and points seem perfect.

Map: Derek’s custom map of BftU and TTx2.

Battles 1 and 2:
Army 1 (Derek): Aristeos, Wardens of the Wood, Arkmer, Morsbane, Kwyntela, Haduc = 490 points.
VS
Army 2 (Damon): Skahen, Krav Maga, Vindicators of Vydar, Microcorp Agents x2, Otonashi = 490 points.

Battle 3
Army 1 (Derek): Aristeos, Wardens of the Wood, Haduc Aubrien Archers x3 = 510 points.
VS
Army 2 (Damon): Skahen, Krav Maga, Vindicators of Vydar, Microcorp Agents x2, Otonashi, Jean de Ascalon = 510 points.


Battle #1: Damon rolled really well, Derek did not. Battle over the Attack +1 glyph. Morsbane negated the Vindicators early on. The Wardens fell quickly. Aristeos did nothing. Krav Maga were incredibly awesome. Damon won with 470 points left with only one dead Vindicator.

Battle #2: Much closer battle in this one, but multiple attack won out. Skahen was negated early by Morsbane. The Wardens faired better in providing defense and attacking when necessary. Damon won with 217 points left, mostly Microcorp.

Battle #3: The Wardens provided much needed defense for the Archers, but they still didn’t have much luck rolling. The Wardens killed about 90 points worth of figures and saved a fair amount of points. This was a very close and exciting match-up, but Damon’s forces came out on top with 1 Microcorp and Jean remaining for a total of 53 points.

Final thoughts: We think the Wardens are good to go for final editing. You can play them a number of different ways and they add the right stuff to Ullar. Great design. We also think a repaint of Sharwin is the way to go. I will get started on that soon and post pics for you all to see the results.

I did another exhaustive search for the third Warden of the Wood today - I'm still thinking that a repaint of Sharwin is our best option.

I'm ready to a repaint of Sharwin if we all concur on this.

Kai, can you change the title of this thread to "W3 Wardens of the Wood - final editing" if we all think they are good to go? Thanks.

Here is my go at suggestions for final editing:

WARDENS OF THE WOOD

General: Ullar
Planet: Feylund

Species: Elf
Unique Squad
Class: Druid
Personality: Devout
Medium 4

Life: 1
Move: 5
Range: 5
Attack: 2
Defense: 4
110 Points

RITUAL OF OAKENSHIELD
All friendly figures that follow Ullar that are adjacent to at least one Warden of the Wood roll an additional defense die. Ritual of the Oakenshield does not affect a Warden of the Wood.

STRENGTH OF ULLAR
When attacking an adjacent figure, each Warden of the Wood receives 1 additional attack die for every other Unique or Uncommon Army Card you control that follows Ullar up to a maximum of +3 dice.

I've got Sharwin set aside for a repaint. Looking forward to seeing this great design finalized.