TheHutts wrote:
Commander Sha'kel - a tank with Doctrine of Fear, Embrace of Pain, and Crab Armour, and with the Princess Leia CE (the CE that won GenCon three years in a row).
It's not just Leia's CE. They first get the second half of Mando the Vin's CE (1 ally moves speed), THEN Leia's CE (attack at +4), Then it's the second half of Shimmra's CE (If the attack fails, that character dies and all YV allies gain +1 cumulative.)
It's like 3 CEs in 1.
At the end of this character's turn, 1 Yuuzhan Vong follower without Shamed One within 6 squares may immediately move up to its speed. That follower may make an attack at +4 Attack. If the attack misses, the attacker is defeated and all other Yuuzhan Vong allies get +1 Attack. (This bonus is cumulative.)
So in one way it has an advantage over Leia's CE - the ally gets to move 6 first (in part to make up for the fact that every single figure that can use this CE is currently Melee, and in part just to speed up the Vong), but there is a major risk with a slight silver lining.
it's important to know that with this CE you CAN move a character without attacking, and therefore without risk. Also - you can not move but still use the attack portion. BUT if you attack with this CE, you always risk the second half - miss and you die.
So his main thing is his CE, but you have a conundrum how to use him in the fight. Obviously Doctrine of Fear encourages you to get up in there. That coupled with Embrace of Pain can be quite nasty. Paired with Minos he has Opportunist as well. But if you lose him, you lose a lot.
As last minute additions, we added Disciplined Leader since it would be so easy to counter melee from gaining this with disruptive or even distraction. As well as Firejelly - can't lock this tank out for too long.
He didn't start out with the intention of becoming the shining star of the Vong, but as his design evolved we saw opportunity for something that the Vong really needed. Can't wait to see him in action!
TheHutts wrote:
Zenoc Quah - Shaper with lots of candy - evade, Jedi Hatred, and +4 attack. Going to be the shaper of choice for most Vong squads, right?
Actually I don't think so. I had a large hand in designing this guy, but I think he won't become super popular due to his major downside. He's a stacked figure - Shaper, Evade and +4 attack, with a possible ADDITIONAL damage bonus.
But his downside is MAJOR. Rival [Cannot be in a squad with any non-Yuuzhan Vong characters or characters with Outsider]
Some people have overlooked it completely (I've seen a couple players make squads that have Lobot, or peace brigade, or Viqi).
The big issue is door control. I fear Zenoc squads will spend a large part of the game behind locked doors. The only thing they can use is fire jelly. And if you are trying to get the Specialization bonus (Specialization [Allies gain Jedi Hatred +10. Ignore this ability if any ally counts as having the same name as another ally.]) you can only have a few characters with firejelly (a big reason why we put it on Zenoc and Sha'kel last minute).
Also - Specialization is pretty tricky to get, since now days nearly EVERY OTHER Vong character "Counts as being named Yuuzhan Vong Warrior"
-Note that Minos, YV Warrior has YV Warrior in his name, but he doesn't count as having the same name as anyone else. He IS a YV Warrior, but he is not count as NAMED (only) Yuuzhan Vong Warrior - tricky distinction. So you can use him and another YV Warrior - likely the Quednek.
Going along with the Vong - I think Harrar has been overlooked. He's a pretty sweet package. He's tricky to fit into squads, but he as a lot of fun tricks ("Yun-Harla is said to reserve her most cunning tricks, for those most devoted to her." -- Harrar).
He has the typical Priest's scarification (Wounded Yuuzhan Vong allies within 6 squares get +4 Attack and +10 Damage), but he has ways of both helping his squad get scarred, as well as keeping them alive.
The auto save fail (enemies and allies alike) is an instant way to make sure your YV allies with crab armor take damage if you want to start out scarring them with Momaw or a YV Seer. Beyond that, Yun Harla Devotion makes any Vong within 6 a bodyguard that works 50/50 (against non-adjacent attacks). So you can send a big hit to a scrub, or you can pass that damage being shot at you around to make sure everyone stays alive longer and has the scarification bonus when they get to the fight. Make the sacrifice at the beginning of the round (like the MTB only optional) and all YV on your squad get it. The YV Seer also synergizes even more by making Yun-Harla Devotion an 8 square range.
Continuing of with YV tech - we focused on adding pieces to prevent some of the major near auto-losses Vong had.
The YV Seer helps Vong Spit swarms compete with disruptive.
The Shaper Adept helps them compete with Droids.
The Tso-asu helps them compete with Strafe and Galloping Attack.
Most likely any of these 3 are brought in through Supreme Overlord Quorreal's reinforcements when needed.