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Brighthammer Avenger
Valor
Reviewed August 25, 2006
Constructed: 3.8
Sealed: 2.3
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ... average.
5 is the highest rating
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That Guy That
Plays DreamBlade |
BRIGHTHAMMER AVENGER
Ok, so two Madness pieces have been reviewed, so
lets get into the second piece of our next
aspect, Valor. Valor, as many players
experienced with the game know, is a very strong
aspect. It trades off strength for mobility in
the dreamscape. Some of its exclusive abilities,
such as Advance, Skirmish, Reinforce, and
Bodyguard can allow Valor minis to hold their
ground while moving about to contest scoring
cells. Many of the Valor pieces combo with these
effects. Our piece for today is one of the
better ones. Off the back, the Avenger is a 8V -
0 - 8/10. Looking at this you might think, ok
seems decent , until you see the 0 power. Then
you may be like OMGWTF?!?!, why is this guy a
rare??. Thats where the fine print aka his
effect seems like his last source of redemption.
Behold Charge, an effect exclusive to Mr.
Brighthammer that activates whenever he moves
into a cell with enemies in it. It chooses a
target and makes an attack against it. In this
case, a 6 power one, which can be pretty good,
as the average damage out of a 6 power roll will
be 6. 6 damage in this game can disrupt most 4-7
drop characters in this game, which is very
useful for making room to win scoring cells.
How can this piece be utilized? As I mentioned
before, Valor effects can sometimes combo with
Brighthammer Avenger. In this case, Advance and
Skirmish can make this guy lethal. If you start
your game by recruiting pieces with Advance, you
will be able to set up so by the time you
recruit Brighthammer in the early-mid game, the
Advances will get him towards your other guys
and help out to kill your opponent's stronger
pieces. Of course, this is very roll dependent.
His effect also works during shift phases, which
makes him even more powerful as it allows you to
essentially strike and shift at the same time.
Is he a good inclusion. Is it more useful than
the other 8 drop, Whirlwind Dervish? Depends on
the warband. Its only been 1 set and less than a
month into the game, so with no tourneys
occuring, its hard to see what effective off
paper and text.
Sealed - 3.5/5 , powerful, but only effective if
utilized by blade effects, which are roll
dependant.
Limited - 1.5/5, it is highly dependent on the
Valor pieces you get, and since only 4 pieces in
the set have Advance (one being the rare
Warcharm), it'd be better to choose another high
cost character.
Artwork - 2.5/5 , the goofy winged ears balance
off the sweet beast warrior stance.
Another thing to consider is its lineage with
Bloodcut, grouping Passion and Valor pieces.
Unfortunately, I don't feel this is a strong
option as it focuses more on doing alot of
damage, especially with the Crit blade ability,
than controlling the board. Then again, I could
easily get a loss handed to me by a good
Bloodcut warband
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King
Sephiroth |
"Brighthammer
Avenger"
This piece (along with "Fleshless Reaper") can
be used in some of the most
complex combo's that this game has to offer. In
any warband, when you
carefully plan out what your actions will be
with this guy, it's often very
hard to stop him since he'll always be on the
move.
8V isn't much for an 8|10 beater....but normally
for the sake of balance, he
has to have a low attack right? Try 0....but
wait! What's his effect you
ask? Well let's just say that it basically makes
his power 6 instead of 0.
With the various movement abilities that Valor
can use to its advantage,
getting this guys effect off is normally a
cinch, and normally happens
numerous times in one turn before your opponent
even knows what happened. If
your opponent ever gets this guy with say....2
"Knight of Tomorrow"'s and a
Warcharm all together, it's pretty much game
over. He can simply move all of
his pieces into every occupied cell that you
currently own, and smash your
face in with the Avenger's wonderful Charge 6
ability.
And if Valor didn't already have enough combo
support. =\
Overall Constructed: 4/5
Overall Sealed: 3/5
Artwork: 3/5
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Charninja |
Brighthammer
Avenger
Hooah! I like this dude. He is the exact
opposite of Fear's Fleshless Reaper, and in my
honest oppinion, is a bit better. Reaper can
only be defensive, while Avenger is all offense.
Technically, he has 0 power. Usually, I don't
like that on ANY costed creature, but that is
because Brighthammer isn't so much a warrior as
he is a wrecking ball. Get him moving, and he
will, quite simply plow over lesser creatures
with a 6 power special attack every time he
moves into their cell.
That may not kill too many big creatures, but
Cannibal Pariah and Spellbound Scissors, and a
couple other figs will definitely be flattened,
or at least hurtled to the far corners of the
dreamscape. And to top it off, he is Bloodcut,
which is not a bad lineage at all. Tlamixec
Battlord actually gives him 1 power :P And of
course, Twilight Scout will push him pretty
well.
Truth be told, this guy is ONLY good in Valor
though, because that is the only band that (so
far) can taxi (to borrow a heroclix term). One
or two of these guys, Twighlight Scout, Scarab
Warcharm, Knight of Tomorrow, Pearlthorn Castle,
Lunar Handmaiden, Hawk-Eyed Instigator, and
Knight of Strife and Joy could, with a bit of
planning and luck, literally get this guy to hit
every key cell, and maybe a few TWICE. Combos do
not get much better than that.
To top it off, his defense and his life are not
too shabby. Only problem I really have with him
is his sculpt: Sure, he's big and obviously
powerful, but I can't help but kinda yawn at
him. That might just be me though
To Recap:
+Excellant combos with Advance and Skirmish, and
whatever other support
movement abilities might come around or gain
prominence
+Quite acceptable Defense and Life
+Plays quite well with other Bloodcut figures
-Useless in a strike phase, even with Battlelord
giving him a WHOPPING 1 power -Sculpt is a bit
uninspired
Constructed: 4/5 Expect to see him in
chessmaster builds and Valor bands for a while
yet.
Sealed: 3/5 Still good, but the lack of
guaranteeable movement shifting does make things
a bit problematic.
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