Thursday, September 30, 2004

Evaluation of the Chaotic Evil Faction

Greetings to all. This will be the first of my weekly installment of articles for Merric's Information Page and I would like to thank Merric for allowing me to contribute to his excellent site. I hope that my articles prove to be a valuable source of information to help people improve their skills in the D&D Miniatures game be it warband building, or in game strategy.

This weeks topic is the Chaotic Evil faction (referred to as CE from here on out). I will take an in depth look at the figures that have allowed CE to rise above the other factions to become the strongest and most "broken" among them.


The Figures

CE has had a history of units that cost less then they really should. This allows them to fit more power per point then any other faction and has lead to an overwhelming advantage over the other factions.

Ogre Ravager (Dragon Eye)
#56; Rare; CE; 38 pts
Large Giant
LVL 9; SPD 6; AC 17; HP 80
Melee Atk +10/+5 (30)
SA: Aura of Fear 2 (Enemies in squares threatened by this creature gain Morale Save -2); Melee Reach 2; Resist Fire 10; Smite +10 []

The Ogre Ravager is an example of getting more bang for your buck. His medium speed of 6 combined with Melee Reach 2 allow him to get to where he needs to be most of the time. Melee Reach 2 is really nice as you can stop one square away after moving to take a swing at your opponent and they are forced to move and attack you (unless they also have Melee Reach) and give up their multiple attacks if they have them or else face your multiple attacks at reach next initiative.

His high HP guarantees he will be around for a long time to do his job and his low AC may actually be a benefit in this case as it lowers his over all point cost and allows you to stick two of him in a 100 point warband. Clerical Ravaging (a warband created in the Dragoneye Era that consisted of two Ogre Ravagers and one Cleric of Grummsh) was a major force when Dragoneye hit the metagame. Nothing else in the game could rival the twin Ravager's ability to deal a possible 120 damage each initiative. Combine that with the Cleric of Grummsh's commander effect (it grants cleave to all followers) and the Ogre Ravager's innate Melee Reach 2, and you had the potential for a grand total of 180 damage under Ideal circumstances (cleave allows for an extra attack if your last attack reduced a unit to zero HP; this attack is made at the attack bonus of the attack that killed said creature).

No so far many people would think: "Well that certainly is enough power for a 38 point figure". Well WotC R&D didn't think so and gave the Ogre Ravager Resist Fire 10 (granted by Hide of fire resistance on its D&D quickreferance stats), and Aura of Fear 2 (granted by the ravager prestige class) on top of his already overpowering abilities. The only real drawback of the Ogre Ravager is that its attack rolls are very low for the 200 point metagame. But with the prevalence of CE warbands (who historically have very low AC) in most metagames, the Ogre Ravager is a prime canidate to counter the low AC hordes.


Orc Champion (Archfiends)
#55; Rare; CE; 39 points
LVL 7; SPD 9; AC 15; HP 80
Melee Attack: +13/+8 (25 magic)
Humanoid (Orc)
SA: Cleave

Archfiends, the next set released after Dragoneye, features a new weapon in the CE arsenal. The Orc Champion is very similar to the Ogre Ravager but does have its differences, some better, some worse. The Orc Champion has a blazing speed of 9 and gains +3/+3 to his attacks over the Ogre Ravager. It's melee damage is reduced by 5 but it gains the magic descriptor (magic damage bypasses Damage Reduction; DR) It loses the fire resistance, melee reach 2, and aura of fear 2, but gains cleave. If placed with the Eye of Grummsh, the Orc Champion can achieve the 30 damage (magic to boot) that is enjoyed by the Ogre Ravager. All for only one point more then the Ogre Ravager. Honestly, based on the Ogre Ravager's abilities and how they costed it, the Orc Champion should be cheaper according to their point scale. Thank goodness its not.

Did CE really need the Orc Champion? I don't think so. Now CE has 2 figures that are extremely overpowering vs the other factions who still to this day do not have a heavy hitter along these lines (this will change with aberrations as Chaotic Good gets the Frenzied Berserker who has been stated by WotC staff as hitting harder then any other non huge figure in the faction; this places it at a minimum of 30 damage

Orc Warrior (Harbinger)
#75; Common; CE; 3 points
LVL 1; SPD 6; AC 13; HP 5
Melee Attack: +4 (10)
Type: Humanoid (orc)

The Orc warrior isn't much of a figure at 3 points, but look at what it gets for its 3 points. A medium speed of 6 and melee damage of 10. Those two factors alone should bump it up to at least 5 points. No other figure in any other faction gets this for 3 points. Throw in the fact that combined with the 16 point Drow Sergeant, or the Eye of Grummsh in an orc band, and the Orc warrior becomes capable of dealing 15 damage. Also, take into the consideration the Drider Sorcerer. You can move the lowly orc warrior (a piece you don't mind risking) up to threaten one of your opponents troops, then use Baleful Transposition to switch that orc warrior with your heavy hitter (who now doesn't have to move and give up any of its attacks). This leads me to the next figure...

Drider Sorcerer (Giants of Legend)
#44; Rare; CE; 30 points
LVL 6; SPD 6; AC 17; HP 45
Melee Attack: +6 (5+poison)
Ranged Attack: +5 (5)
Type: Large Abberation
Special Abbilities: Conceal 6; Poison; Spell Resistance
Spells: Sorcerer Spells 2nd- [][][] Baleful Transposition (range 6; any two creatures switch position; DC 14), blur (touch; target creatures gains Conceal 6), 3rd-[][][] Lighting Bolt (line; 20 electricity; DC 15)

This isn't a piece meant for melee, its a piece meant for utility. You have the choice of placing conceal 6 (a very potent ability; every time your opponent lands an attack on a figure with conceal 6, they must roll their die and get 6 or higher. If not the attack is a miss) on your units, or using the aforementioned Baleful Transposition to move your units around to your advantage. You can even move your opponents pieces around if you want to risk them passing DC 14. Add in ok AC/HP, conceal 6, spell resistance, and a medium speed of 6, this unit can cause serious damage through its support capabilities.


Tiefling Captain (Harbinger)
#76; Uncommon; Cmdr 4; CE; 21 points
LVL 3; SPD 6; AC 16; HP 30
Melee Attack: +6 (10)
Type: Outsider
Commander Effect: Score critical hits with melee attacks on a roll of 19 or 20.
Special Abilities: Blind-Fight; Conceal 6; Resist 5 cold, electricity, fire.

This looks like a pretty balance figure until you consider the Commander Rating, and commander effect. A commander rating of 4 on a 21 point unit in a chaotic faction is very powerful. Chaotic Good comes close to this with the weaker Cleric of Corellon Larethian at 25 points. The Tiefling's commander effect adds a devastating twist to an already overwhelming figure like the Ogre Ravager or Orc Champion, doubling their chance to score a critical hit

All of the above mentioned figures showed up in droves at gencon and were in all but one band in the top 8 (in various configurations) and were ALL in the band that took 1st.

Red Samurai (Dragoneye)
#58; Uncommon: CE; 40 points
Humanoid (Human)
LVL 9; SPD 8; AC 14; HP 75
Melee Attack: +14/+9 (15 magic + 5 fire)
SA: Breath Weapon [] (Replaces attacks: cone; 20 fire damage, DC 14); Resist Fire 5.

The Red Samurai was released in the same set as the Ogre Ravager and followed the same mold. Low AC, High HP, and High damage output. While in some ways weaker then the Ogre ravagers, it is also stronger in other areas. It has lower AC/HP but gains speed, attack bonus, and a cone attack. It also has the draw back of having its damage output partially resisted by units prepared for fire. The Red Samurai has made more of an impact in 100 point games then in 200, primarily due to its lower ac/hp/damage and higher cost when compared to the Orc Champion and Ogre Ravager.


Large Red Dragon (Dragoneye)
#55; Rare; CE; 83 points
Large Dragon
LVL 13; SPD F8; AC 21; HP 125
Melee Attack: +14/+9/+9 (20/10/10)
SA: Breath Weapon [] (Replaces attacks: cone; 30 fire damage; DC 19); Flight; Immune Fire; Vulnerable Cold

The Large Red Dragon is a formidable foe. I wouldn't call this unit broken (though powerful), but it may be undercosted by a few points as apparently its vulnerability to cold counts for a lot when considering its point cost. The major factor when considering the LRD is that two of them can fit into a 200 point warband and still leave room for a variety of commanders. Two LRDs are hard to overcome with their flying 8 speed, high (for CE) ac, Tremendous HP, DC 19 30 damage fire cone, and good melee damage output.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Chaotic Evil faction has been given some tremendously powerful pieces when compared to the other factions. The power of this faction will most likely ebb as WotC tries to correct their mistakes by giving more power to the other factions. Indeed, Abberations looks as if it will give much needed support to Chaotic Good bands. Thank you all for reading. Feedback is most welcome

Next weeks topic: A Look at the Future of Chaotic Good.

Until Next time, This is Jason Phillips aka Shadow_Fox signing off.