BOX 1: Defenders of Aymhelin

DEEPWOOD ARCHER
Infantry, Archer, Ranged
Movement: 2
Combat Value: 2 (range 1-4)
Health: 3
Crack Shot: If this unit did not move during your Move Step, it may commit results to deal damage. [i'm not sure whether this should be if you did NOT move or if you DID move. But I think the latter is too powerful.] [Heroic] Ignore all other dice rolled during this combat and deal 1 damage to the target unit.
Mobility 1 : If this unit was ordered, it may move up to 1 hex after your Attack step.

AYMHELIN SCOUT
Infantry, Melee
Movement: 2 3
Combat Value: 3 2
Health: 3
Arboreal Strike: Add 1 die on combat rolls performed by this unit when attacking into and out of forest hexes.
Sure Footing: This unit does not end its movement when entering forest hexes.

DARNATI WARRIOR
Elite, Melee
Movement: 2
Combat Value: 3
Health: 3
Overpower: When attacking an undamaged unit, roll 1 additional die. During your attack step, this unit rolls 1 additional die against undamaged targets.
Parry Deflect: [Heroic] This unit cannot be countered after this attack. During the target's counter attack, this unit suffers half of the damage dealt (rounded down).

PEGASUS RIDER
Cavalry, Melee
Movement: 4 3
Combat Value: 3
Health: 3
Flying: Non-Flying melee units roll 1 fewer die when attacking this unit. This unit ignores combat and movement restrictions of hexes it moves into or occupies.
Rally: [heroic] Remove one condition token from a friendly unit in this unit’s section of the battlefield. If no friendly units have a condition token, draw 1 lore card. Place 1 Inspired token on a friendly unit within 2 hexes of this unit. During combat as the attacker, a unit may discard an Inspired token in its hex to reroll any dice once each.

FOREST GUARDIAN
Legend, Melee
Movement: 1
Combat Value: 4
Health: 5
Camouflage: Once per turn, at the end of a step of a player's main phase, this unit may move into or out of a forest hex. [Note: I may restrict this to “once per turn, on your turn,” but I want to try it this way and see how abusive it is.]
Massive: This unit cannot move into or occupy building hexes.
Forest Defender: You may resolve retreats caused by this unit as though they originated from a forest hex adjacent to the target. If this unit is forced to retreat into an unoccupied forest hex, it is considered supported.

BOX 2: Rout of Hyddenvale

DEEPWOOD ARCHER
Infantry, Archer, Ranged
Movement: 2
Combat Value: 2 (range 1-4)
Health: 3
Crack Shot: If this unit did not move during your Move Step, it may commit results to deal damage. [i'm not sure whether this should be if you did NOT move or if you DID move. But I think the latter is too powerful.] [Heroic] Ignore all other dice rolled during this combat and deal 1 damage to the target unit.
Mobility 1 : If this unit was ordered, it may move up to 1 hex after your Attack step.

STORM SORCERESS
Caster, Infantry, Ranged
Movement: 2
Combat Value: 3 (range 1-3)
Health: 3
Word of Vaal: When this unit causes retreats, you may choose to have enemy units move toward this unit instead of away from it.
Fearful Display: [Lore] Cause 1 retreat.

WOODLAND LONGBOWMAN
Elite, Archer, Ranged
Movement: 2
Combat Value: 3 (range 1-5 2-5)
Health: 3
Eagle-Eye: Forest hexes do not obstruct this unit’s attacks. Forest hexes do not reduce the number of dice this unit rolls during combat.
Legend Hunter: This unit gets +1 die when attacking a Legend unit.

LEONX PATROL
Cavalry, Melee
Movement: 3
Combat Value: 3
Health: 3
Corner: If the target unit cannot retreat and is not supported, roll one additional attack die.
Pursue 1: Instead of using Advance, this unit may move up to 1 hex and perform 1 additional attack.

VINE WEAVER
Legend, Melee
Movement: 3
Combat Value: 2
Health: 6
Ensnaring Web: [Heroic] Ensnare the target unit. Ensnared units cannot move or resolve retreat effects. When a player orders an ensnared unit, he may spend 2 lore to remove the ensnare token from that unit’s hex.
Aerial Predator: Flying unit cannot fly through this unit’s hex. This unit does not reduce the number of dice rolled when attacking flying units.
Hunting Instinct: This unit rolls one extra die for each damage the target has suffered.


GROVE STALKER [it’s basically a giant lizard I made up. The faction needed something new, similar to the Banshee and Doombringer.]
Legend, Melee
Movement: 3
Combat Value: 3
Health: 4
Forest’s Blessing: This unit regains 1 health if it occupies a forest hex at the start of your turn.
Stunning Blow: [Heroic] Stun the target unit. Stunned units cannot move, attack, counter, or retreat. When a player orders a stunned unit, he may spend 2 lore to remove the stun token from that unit’s hex.
Stomp: If this unit was ordered, it deals 1 damage to an adjacent enemy unit that is weak at the end of your attack step.

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I really wish I had time to play test these. It would be so exciting! These are just first impressions, so they're definitely going to have problems. One thing I'm definitely missing is a new token type. Also, I'm not sure there is synergy here like you see in the Undead boxes. But at least there isn't anti-synergy like we have with the Blood Sister.

Many thanks to Phalgast for beating me to making a Latari faction and spurring me on to finally finish what I began!

EDIT: So for some reason, this is all strikethrough style, but I can't unstrike it. It seems that because I had strikthrough before the merger to the new system, this entire post is now locked into strikethrough. So please don't think that this is obsolete, because it isn't.

Box 1

Archers - Crack Shot: I would think about changing with [lore] since it's OP if you compare it with other archer units. Maybe [retreat] is a better variant.

Pegasus Rider - Movement: I would put their movement down to three since Rally might be pretty strong (in combination with archers getting a [lore] for not moving] this could be more equal powered with Daqan since you have with 4 a strong and fast cav which is troubeling since you get lore cards for free and are able to use your endphase to get two lore which could be really a problem for each army to handle if your lore deck isn't adjusted to this tactic

Forest Guardian - Camouflage: I would change it to - once after an attack and add another battle roll.

Box 2

Woodland Longbowman - Range: 2-5 would be more unterstandable for a 3 dices range attack.

WL - Eagle Eye: that's OP with three dices. I remember this Uthuk mission where archers have 1-5 range and can ignore one blocking terrain. That's always just annoying since it's terrible but with two dices it's ok. But with three dices it would be pretty OP compared with other units. Maybe it should be tried with WL units have no attacking restrictions by woods if they perform a attack from or into a forest.

Great edits!

I see your poinrs about Deepwood Archers. I guess I was thinking of the fact that Daqan Archers get 4 dice if they don't move, essentially. These guys have about 5/9 chance to deal 2 damage as it is. Daqan has about 42% chance to deal at least 2 damage (assuming my math is correct), so I can see how these guys are above the curve. How about:

"[Heroic] Cancel all other dice to deal 1 damage. You may only use this ability once per combat roll." Now their chance to deal 2 damage is lower than the others, but they're as likely to get a single damage in as the Viper Legion. [EDIT: Additionally, if they roll [heroic]-[lore], they now have to choose between taking the lore token or dealing a damage. I think this addresses your issue of generating too much lore in conjunction with the lore card draw of the Pegasus Rider.]

The Woodland Lingbowman is probably the least interesting to me, thematically. And I think all your points about it are good. It's funny because I just played that Uthuk scenario last night after submitting this and was starting to rhink that Eagle Eye ability belonged on a scenario card rather than a unit.

I'm not sure what you mean about the Pegasus Riders having combos with the archers, but hopefully may archer change fixed that concern. I still think the Pegasus Rider shpuld have a movement of 4, because its abilities aren't super powerful, I don't think.

I'm also unclear about the Forest Guardian. Are you suggesting it should have an extra attack instead of movement? This ability is one that I'm really excited about, so I don't want to change it until I understand exactly what's wrong with it. The idea is that it looks like a tree, so you may think it's in one forest hex, but it was actually in another. I'd definitely like to have an in-depth conversation about this ability.

It's nice that everyone's giving their take on Elves Thanks for sharing your ideas, Garrett

I guess I'll put up my own soon.

It's nice that everyone's giving their take on Elves Thanks for sharing your ideas, Garrett

I held off for a long time, fearing that it would encroach too much on FFG's design space if/when they finally made elves. But if the rumors are true that the elf expansions are done, then I feel comfortable sharing custom units. Of course, if those rumors are false ... oops.

It's nice that everyone's giving their take on Elves Thanks for sharing your ideas, Garrett

I held off for a long time, fearing that it would encroach too much on FFG's design space if/when they finally made elves. But if the rumors are true that the elf expansions are done, then I feel comfortable sharing custom units. Of course, if those rumors are false ... oops.

Which rumors now? I lost track at rumor #27.

Just designed a Scenario Card for your army list.

https://tools.fantasyflightgames.com/battlelore/htmlpreview/610/

Think it might be fun to play it. Haven't tried it yet.

Just designed a Scenario Card for your army list.

https://tools.fantasyflightgames.com/battlelore/htmlpreview/610/

Think it might be fun to play it. Haven't tried it yet.

It's interesting. One thing, though, is that if scenario cards allow free movement through forests or attack bonuses for forests, it undermines some of the unit abilities.

Which makes me think that the units themselves maybe shouldn't have abilities tied to forest hexes. See, if you are fielding Latari Elves you'll (almost*) always be using the Latari scenarios. If those scenarios put enough emphasis on forest hexes, you get that nice forest-elf flavor which frees up the abilities to do other things. (*The exception, of course, if using other pre-made scenarios like those in the neutral unit packs.) On the other hand, if those sorts of abilities are on scenario cards, it has the potential to wash out the army because either everybody has the ability or nobody has the ability. For example, the scenario lets all elf units move through forest hexes without stopping which makes the Sure Footing ability pointless.

Now, I said above that one problem with the scenario abilities is that it means either the whole army has that ability or nobody has it, but this isn't technically true. Existing scenarios grant specific bonuses to specific unit types, and the same could certainly be applied here.

Anyway, thanks for the scenario! I'm looking forward to coming up with some of my own, now!

DEEPWOOD ARCHER

Really like the new wording. Seems to be fair enough.

AYMHELIN SCOUT

Arboreal Strike: your re-add the dice that you lose for the forest. So I prefer the wording I made for a similar ability (ignore combat restrictions of forest)

Sure Footing: I don't know, it seems quite weak to me, so did I include it (wooden native = arboreal strike + sure footing)

DARNATI WARRIOR

Overpower: I like it

Parry: Very strong for a 4 attack-unit, may be OP? Should be tested!

PEGASUS RIDER

I really like the fact you included the Pegasi as Cavalry and not as legend! Sure strong, like flying is one of the best abilities, but fair enough I think

Flying: universal strong

Rally: Here i'm not sure about... I don't see the conection between the token remove and the lore-card-draw, for this reason not my favourite of your creations....

FOREST GUARDIAN

May be for my english... I don't really get the Point with it's abilities ;/

8-point-legends have generally 11 points in theyr stats... you only gave them 10. So you might make them even better

BOX 2: Rout of Aymhelin

AYMHELIN SCOUT

see above

STORM SORCERESS

Like it. What's the idea behind Word of Vaal ? I do not really see what's the point/use of this ability... fluff: to bewitch / use: getting a unit in range ?

Fearful Display: strong, may be to strong? Should be tested.

WOODLAND LONGBOWMAN

Like it and the changes you made. But I think a core-range, a elite-range and a caster-range are to much. As now you generally use caster OR archer in a battle... I would replace one of the units

Eagle-Eye: Look at my notice to arboreal strike... you may make one only ability for both units

Legend Hunter: Like it, to be more usefull it might also Count against elite?

LEONX PATROL

Like'em

Corner: Do I understand it right that it's only when the unit is with it's back to a water hex or enemy unit or the end of the battlefield?

Pursue 1: classic, strong but fair

GROVE STALKER [it’s basically a giant lizard I made up. The faction needed something new, similar to the Banshee and Doombringer.]

8-point-legends have generally 11 points in theyr stats... you only gave them 10. So you might make them even better

Forest’s Blessing: idea is nice. don't know if it's to hard (auto-heal without any dice result needed). Ok it's restricted to forest but with a good spot it's heavy stuff.

Stunning Blow: this is the "heroic" ability I imagine? strong but ok

Stomp: Like it and it's something new. Think it's quite strong but should be ok, may be it could be for lore or flag so that it isn't automatic? Thinking about you may also attack another unit having a weak unit adjacent to your unit makes the auto-kill very powerfull without any restrictions...

Generally I note that you know the RuneAge world better than I do. Your units seem to be more fluffy (I don't know the rest of Terrinoth). What I miss a litte bit is interaction in between of the units - but it's no "must" like Uthuk neither has any interactions...

DEEPWOOD ARCHER

Really like the new wording. Seems to be fair enough.

Thanks! It basically increases their chances to deal 1 damage, but does not affect their chance to deal 2 damage.

AYMHELIN SCOUT

Arboreal Strike: your re-add the dice that you lose for the forest. So I prefer the wording I made for a similar ability (ignore combat restrictions of forest)

Sure Footing: I don't know, it seems quite weak to me, so did I include it (wooden native = arboreal strike + sure footing)

I agree that it isn’t super strong, but I also didn’t want it to be super strong. Considering there is a lore card from the Giant expansion that does something similar (in other words, people are willing to pay for this ability), then I think it’s a good one to have here – especially for the foot soldier.

But you’re right about Arboreal Strike. It does seem redundant with the Elite Archer. However, there could be a scenario that allows elvish units to ignore the combat reduction of forest hexes. In that case, keeping Arboreal Strike as it is will be quite useful.

Regarding Sure Footing, it also means that this unit will never take damage from retreating into a forest hex, so there is that.

DARNATI WARRIOR

Overpower: I like it

Parry: Very strong for a 4 attack-unit, may be OP? Should be tested!

I agree, it definitely needs a playtest. This unit won’t always have 4 attack, though, so I think Parry will be okay, but I’ll find out when I test it later this week (hopefuly!).

PEGASUS RIDER

I really like the fact you included the Pegasi as Cavalry and not as legend! Sure strong, like flying is one of the best abilities, but fair enough I think

Flying: universal strong

Rally: Here i'm not sure about... I don't see the conection between the token remove and the lore-card-draw, for this reason not my favourite of your creations....

I’ve been thinking about Rally all morning after reading your post. I, too, feel it is a strange ability. Not only does the lore-card-draw not tie in with the token removal, but the lore-card-draw doesn’t fit thematically with this unit. I’ve decided to change the ability. I wanted some kind of inspiring ability. Just imagine being in the thick of battle when these majestic, heavenly steeds descend from the clouds to your aid. I wanted an ability that would inspire like that, but couldn’t think of anything except token removal. But now I think I’ve got something good.

Rally: [Heroic] Place 1 Inspired token on a friendly unit in this unit’s section of the battlefield. During combat as the attacker, a unit may discard an Inspired token in its hex to reroll any dice once each.

FOREST GUARDIAN

May be for my english... I don't really get the Point with it's abilities ;/

8-point-legends have generally 11 points in theyr stats... you only gave them 10. So you might make them even better

I don’t blame you for not understanding this unit. It’s tricky and I’m very excited for it. This unit’s abilities are very much inspired by the Ents from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (especially the movie). The idea is that there is this huge creature that blends in perfectly with the forest, so you really don’t know where it is. Is that the Forest Guardian, or is that just another forest hex? To simulate this, the unit has a range of movement previously unseen in BattleLore. Once per turn (both your turn and your opponent’s!), this unit may move into or out of a forest hex. This makes the unit unpredictable. Your opponent may move to surround the Forest Guardian, but if there is an adjacent Forest hex or if the Forest Guardian is on a Forest hex, it can move into or out of one of those hexes after your opponent’s move step but before their combat step! I think I’ll change the wording, though to restrict the timing a bit. Also, this additional movement I think justifies the limited stats.

Camouflage: Once per main phase, at the end of a step (command, order, move, attack), this unit may move into or out of a forest hex.

The third ability, Forest Defender, was created to simulate that when the Forest Guardians are around, the forest comes alive. You can imagine this would be scary for the defender, so you can resolve retreats as though they came from forest hexes. It’s very neat and plays into this theme of “masters of retreat” that I had going for the elves in early design. However, I worry that it is too weak and too situational. The truth is that the Stomp ability on the Grove Stalker was developed for the Forest Guardian, but I had too many abilities already. I could see myself dropping Forest Defender and adding Stomp, then creating a whole new legend unit.

BOX 2: Rout of Aymhelin

AYMHELIN SCOUT

see above

STORM SORCERESS

Like it. What's the idea behind Word of Vaal ? I do not really see what's the point/use of this ability... fluff: to bewitch / use: getting a unit in range ?

Fearful Display: strong, may be to strong? Should be tested.

Again, I was playing with retreats here. I am thinking of bewitching/controlling an enemy unit. I don’t know what the Word of Vaal is, but I’m using it here to be that fantasy thing where everything has true names and if you control the name you control the thing. So the Word of Vaal illuminates those names, allowing the sorceress to influence the enemy. Why do I like it? It’s different. It’s one of those abilities where I haven’t thought through all of the scenarios of how it could be used, but I think it allows players to be creative. Some things it can do:

-If you put the Sorceress on a hill with a friendly unit between her and the target, she can shoot over the friendly unit, bring the target closer, and then attack with the friendly unit. If she’s really lucky, she could get enough retreats to deal damage.

-She can get close to enemies and cause extra damage by having them retreat toward her. Since they are now in a different space than the space they started in, they can’t counter, even though they are adjacent to her.

Fearful Display is probably too strong when combined with her ability. Maybe it should activate on [pierce] results. This way she has just as many options for triggering retreats, but she has to sacrifice damage to do it. If I make this change, I’ll probably make Word of Vaal optional, so she can push enemies or pull them.

WOODLAND LONGBOWMAN

Like it and the changes you made. But I think a core-range, a elite-range and a caster-range are to much. As now you generally use caster OR archer in a battle... I would replace one of the units

Eagle-Eye: Look at my notice to arboreal strike... you may make one only ability for both units

Legend Hunter: Like it, to be more usefull it might also Count against elite?

As I’ve said before, this is my least favorite unit. I do think that in most fantasy worlds, elves usually have more ranged units than other factions. In Runewars, for example, each race has a basic foot soldier with a triangular base. These foot soldiers can be recruited in greater numbers than any other unit type. For the other three races, they are melee units, but for the Latari, the archer is their primary unit. While Daqan and Waiqar also have archers, they cannot be recruited as easily as the Latari archers can. That’s why I went ahead and did the longbowman. Also, the Daqan have an archer, caster, and legend unit that are all ranged, so it’s not unprecedented.

I think Legend Hunter needs to only affect legends. Affecting Elite units makes it too powerful, in my opinion.

You’re right about Eagle-Eye and Arboreal Strike being similar enough that I could consolidate them, but 1) I don’t know what I could call it that would match the theme of both units, and 2) as I mentioned above, I like that the Scout combo with scenario/lore cards that will allow units to ignore combat reductions from forest hexes.

LEONX PATROL

Like'em

Corner: Do I understand it right that it's only when the unit is with it's back to a water hex or enemy unit or the end of the battlefield?

Pursue 1: classic, strong but fair

Yep, you understand Corner correctly. If testing reveals that it is too situational, I’ll just bump Pursue 1 up to Pursue 2. Also a stunned unit, which combos well with the Grove Stalker.

GROVE STALKER [it’s basically a giant lizard I made up. The faction needed something new, similar to the Banshee and Doombringer.]

8-point-legends have generally 11 points in theyr stats... you only gave them 10. So you might make them even better

Forest’s Blessing: idea is nice. don't know if it's to hard (auto-heal without any dice result needed). Ok it's restricted to forest but with a good spot it's heavy stuff.

Stunning Blow: this is the "heroic" ability I imagine? strong but ok

Stomp: Like it and it's something new. Think it's quite strong but should be ok, may be it could be for lore or flag so that it isn't automatic? Thinking about you may also attack another unit having a weak unit adjacent to your unit makes the auto-kill very powerfull without any restrictions...

I think Forest’s Blessing is too powerful. Especially considering that if it parks itself in a forest hex, it is only taking 2 dice from enemy attacks, so this ability has to be changed.

For Stomp, I think making it a flag result isn’t a bad idea. So if you roll 2 melee damage results and a flag, you can finish off the unit instead of having it retreat. Alternatively, if you end up next to 2 units and one is weak, you can attack the non-weak one and use a flag result to finish off the one you don’t attack. By making it a flag, though, it makes the ability pointless if the target unit can’t retreat, because that flag would deal a damage anyway. But using lore seems weird to me because lore results are usually somewhat magical.

All things considered, the only thing I’m sure I want to keep on this unit is Stunning Blow so that it combos with retreat effects. For stats, I’d probably just bump the health to 5.

Generally I note that you know the RuneAge world better than I do. Your units seem to be more fluffy (I don't know the rest of Terrinoth). What I miss a litte bit is interaction in between of the units - but it's no "must" like Uthuk neither has any interactions...

I’m glad you noticed the fluffiness. I was definitely starting with a character and developing abilities from there, rather than picking a mechanic first and building a faction from it.

I think you’re spot on about the interactions. The second box has more interaction than the first. Between Stun, Corner, and Word of Vaal, there are some great ways to get some extra damage. The first box is more about mobility with Mobility 1 on the Scouts, Camouflage on the Forest Guardian, and the Pegasus Rider who originally had a speed of 4 (though that has been reduced to 3 for now).

I think the Uthuk had some missed combos with the Blood Field hex. On the one hand, it really helps out Berserkers, but I would have liked to see it heal OR remove status conditions. This would let you bleed a unit on a Blood Field with your Blood Sister, then heal that unit at the start of the next turn. I need to look through these units some more and see if I can get some synergy like that.

I played my first game with these units tonight. It was ... interesting. I don't have any scenarios made (I should have used the one above) and I don't have any lore cards, so I improvised. I shuffled all my scenario cards together and drew two to form the board. I got Korrina's Tears and The Veil of Secrets. I let the elves use Veil of Secrets against the Daqan Lords on their own scenario. Korrina's Tears is the scenario where the Daqan Lords have to keep enemy units beyond 2 hexes of their 2 buildings. Veil of Secrets is the Uthuk Y'llan scenario where there is a building surrounded by hills and the Uthuk get 2 lore at the end of each turn if a unit is in the building. They can also spend 2 lore when an enemy unit is defeated in order to gain 1 VP. This worked out nicely because it gave the Elves something to spend their lore on, even though they have no lore deck.

The final score was 19-16 in favor of the Daqan Lords. These were the armies:

DAQAN

3x Riverwatch Riders

2x Rune Golems

1x Roc Warrior

3x Citadel Guards

LATARI

2x Storm Sorceresses

2x Pegasus Riders

2x Darnati Warriors

2x Leonx Patrols

1x Aymhelin Scouts

Here is how each unit performed in this match.

Storm Sorceresses

Their job was just to hold the building and get lore. One of them tried to get units off of the building hexes with the VP banners, but it didn't work. With all the hills in this scenario and the fact that there were so many buildings, these units just weren't too useful. They never got to force a unit to retreat, even once. It was a bummer. As such, I can't comment on the Lore ability to cause an extra retreat. I still think it's probably too strong, but it didn't come up in this game.

Pegasus Riders

Rally never triggered, which was a real bummer. Having Flying was very good for their longevity. It was annoying that they could only move 3 hexes when I really wanted them moving 4, but I think it was okay. If I knocked their attack down to 2 and increased their movement to 4, I think it'd just be an inferior Riverwatch Rider, so I think I'll keep it at 3-3-3 for now.

Darnati Warriors

They got to use their Overpower ability twice and their Parry ability once. Overpower seems very strong -- and it is -- but tactically, it's just a nice boost to offense. It's relatively rare that you'll destroy an entire unit with a single 4-dice attack, so usually the best tactic is to keep attacking that injured unit until it is defeated. That means these guys get the extra die on the first attack, but they sacrifice it on the next attack in order to make the more tactically sound play. You could just have these guys going around smashing things with 4 dice and never bothering to finish them off, but that's quite a sacrifice to make in positioning just for 1 extra die. So I think Overpower is a good ability. Parry, though ... As the Latari player, it is really nice when you roll that [Heroic] symbol. However, it's less powerful than Stunning Blow. All things considered, I think these guys are fairly matched with the Rune Golems. Compared to Ironbound, I think the Darnati Warriors are a little better. Perhaps one way to tone them down would be to put a restriction on Overpower so that it only works on your turn -- it doesn't get the bonus die on counters. I don't know if that's a little too complex, though.

Leonx Patrols

LOVE this unit! I think these will be the bread-and-butter of Latari armies, similar to Flesh Ripper Brutes for the Uthuk Y'llan. It's not too hard to trigger their Corner ability. I could imagine someone saying they're too powerful. I don't quite feel that way yet, but if I did, I might consider making them a 2-4-3 unit like the Riverwatch Riders. The extra movement would make it even easier to trigger Corner, but then they're only throwing 3 dice instead of 4.

Aymhelin Scouts

This unit didn't come into combat until the end of the game, but luckily enough, it got to battle over a forest hex. There were only two forest hexes on the whole map, and one was in a section of the battlefield that was empty of units almost the entire game. This ability played out just as I expected. He got to make one attack against a unit in the forest, defeat it with 3 dice, and advance onto that forest VP hex. Then the Roc Warrior came along and attacked, but didn't defeat the Scouts or cause them to retreat, meaning they got to counter with 2 dice. These guys seem a bit under-the-curve as far as infantry go, but I think that's okay because I believe their archers are going to end up sitting above the Viper Legion and Skeleton Archers.

I noticed that several abilities are based on forest hexes. So maybe one can postulate that, analogously to what other armies can do with their crystal spires or blood fields, Elves can deploy at most two forest hexes at the cost of 2 Muster Point each. And maybe these can be "magical forest" providing some extra power...

I noticed that several abilities are based on forest hexes. So maybe one can postulate that, analogously to what other armies can do with their crystal spires or blood fields, Elves can deploy at most two forest hexes at the cost of 2 Muster Point each. And maybe these can be "magical forest" providing some extra power...

Good question. My current thinking is that their scenarios will all have a fair number of forest hexes. For the elvish analogy to the crystal spires and blood fields, I was thinking of some sort of magic pool of water, but I haven't thought about mechanics yet. But an enchanted forest sounds like a good idea and is definitely worth considering.

I noticed that several abilities are based on forest hexes. So maybe one can postulate that, analogously to what other armies can do with their crystal spires or blood fields, Elves can deploy at most two forest hexes at the cost of 2 Muster Point each. And maybe these can be "magical forest" providing some extra power...

Good question. My current thinking is that their scenarios will all have a fair number of forest hexes. For the elvish analogy to the crystal spires and blood fields, I was thinking of some sort of magic pool of water, but I haven't thought about mechanics yet. But an enchanted forest sounds like a good idea and is definitely worth considering.

What about a magic ruin which gives you the option to roll three dices for lore and just works if a unit is activated and has neither moved or attacked. It's some kind of gambling but maybe it's better than giving them 1/2 lore for free.

I noticed that several abilities are based on forest hexes. So maybe one can postulate that, analogously to what other armies can do with their crystal spires or blood fields, Elves can deploy at most two forest hexes at the cost of 2 Muster Point each. And maybe these can be "magical forest" providing some extra power...

Good question. My current thinking is that their scenarios will all have a fair number of forest hexes. For the elvish analogy to the crystal spires and blood fields, I was thinking of some sort of magic pool of water, but I haven't thought about mechanics yet. But an enchanted forest sounds like a good idea and is definitely worth considering.

What about a magic ruin which gives you the option to roll three dices for lore and just works if a unit is activated and has neither moved or attacked. It's some kind of gambling but maybe it's better than giving them 1/2 lore for free.

I like the ruins idea. Maybe Ruin of Runes or Rune Ruins? Gaining lore is good. I think that could definitely work. I think, though, I'd want some other effect that is less powerful, but guaranteed in addition to rolling for lore. Maybe drawing a lore card and then discarding a lore card?

Here's another idea: "As long as a friendly unit occupies a Rune Ruins hex, you may play an additional lore card each turn." This ability emphasizes their magical origins. It has the potential to be very powerful, but first, you have to have 2 good lore cards, and second, you have to have enough lore to use both of them. The variance in power here is probably too big. It could be worthless or it could be explosive.

I noticed that several abilities are based on forest hexes. So maybe one can postulate that, analogously to what other armies can do with their crystal spires or blood fields, Elves can deploy at most two forest hexes at the cost of 2 Muster Point each. And maybe these can be "magical forest" providing some extra power...

Good question. My current thinking is that their scenarios will all have a fair number of forest hexes. For the elvish analogy to the crystal spires and blood fields, I was thinking of some sort of magic pool of water, but I haven't thought about mechanics yet. But an enchanted forest sounds like a good idea and is definitely worth considering.

What about a magic ruin which gives you the option to roll three dices for lore and just works if a unit is activated and has neither moved or attacked. It's some kind of gambling but maybe it's better than giving them 1/2 lore for free.

I like the ruins idea. Maybe Ruin of Runes or Rune Ruins? Gaining lore is good. I think that could definitely work. I think, though, I'd want some other effect that is less powerful, but guaranteed in addition to rolling for lore. Maybe drawing a lore card and then discarding a lore card?

Here's another idea: "As long as a friendly unit occupies a Rune Ruins hex, you may play an additional lore card each turn." This ability emphasizes their magical origins. It has the potential to be very powerful, but first, you have to have 2 good lore cards, and second, you have to have enough lore to use both of them. The variance in power here is probably too big. It could be worthless or it could be explosive.

I would restrict in both cases to an activated unit otherwise it's just op.

I noticed that several abilities are based on forest hexes. So maybe one can postulate that, analogously to what other armies can do with their crystal spires or blood fields, Elves can deploy at most two forest hexes at the cost of 2 Muster Point each. And maybe these can be "magical forest" providing some extra power...

Good question. My current thinking is that their scenarios will all have a fair number of forest hexes. For the elvish analogy to the crystal spires and blood fields, I was thinking of some sort of magic pool of water, but I haven't thought about mechanics yet. But an enchanted forest sounds like a good idea and is definitely worth considering.

What about a magic ruin which gives you the option to roll three dices for lore and just works if a unit is activated and has neither moved or attacked. It's some kind of gambling but maybe it's better than giving them 1/2 lore for free.

I like the ruins idea. Maybe Ruin of Runes or Rune Ruins? Gaining lore is good. I think that could definitely work. I think, though, I'd want some other effect that is less powerful, but guaranteed in addition to rolling for lore. Maybe drawing a lore card and then discarding a lore card?

Here's another idea: "As long as a friendly unit occupies a Rune Ruins hex, you may play an additional lore card each turn." This ability emphasizes their magical origins. It has the potential to be very powerful, but first, you have to have 2 good lore cards, and second, you have to have enough lore to use both of them. The variance in power here is probably too big. It could be worthless or it could be explosive.

I would restrict in both cases to an activated unit otherwise it's just op.

Good point. Crystal Spire hexes require that, so I see no problem if this one does, too. But thinking of Crystal Spire hexes, I think your idea of rolling 3 dice and generating lore is fine, even without the lore card. The Crystal Spire hex only gives you 1 extra die on attack, and that has a chance of missing, so it's okay if chance is involved here.

I've been thinking more about the Runic Ruins and I like the fluff a lot. We could say they are ancient remains of other Elvish tribes/clans that still held secrets from Emperyan, the Elves' first home. By occupying the ruins, a unit gains insight into forgotten magic.

Last thought: should it be blocking terrain, or just rubble? I think maybe just rubble so it doesn't block shots. I think blocking terrain is more interesting, but maybe too powerful as a choke point for some scenarios.

I wouldn't have it block. Plus elves like range, why add another obstacle?

I've started working on some lore cards and I hope to have them finished in the next few weeks, but I realized that because many lore cards reference units, I need to make sure my units are solid before proceeding any further. With that, I've made some changes.

• Following Toenail's lead, I've decided to put 3 units of Deepwood archers in each box and have 4 units of Aymhelin Scouts in the first box.
• I've increased the movement of Aymhelin Scouts to 3 and reduced their combat value to 2. Because of the lower combat value, the Arborreal Strike ability now has a different effect from the Longbowmen's Eagle-Eye ability.
• Since Parry is the name of an Uthuk lore card, I've changed the Darnati Warrior's heroic ability to "Deflect: This unit suffers half of the damage dealt by the target's counter attack (rounded up)." This means he is pretty much taking 1-2 damage, but never more than that. At least, I can't think of any attacks that deal 6 damage. This ability can only be activated once per attack (it doesn't stack) so any extra [heroic] results are misses. I've also decided to make this a purely offensive unit, so Overpower only works during your attack step -- it doesn't get the bonus die on counters.
• I'm reducing the Pegasus Rider's Rally ability to affect friendly units within 2 hexes instead of the whole section (credit to Toenail for this idea). I'm thinking there will be a lore card that can give more rally tokens to a wider area.
• I've added a line to the Forest Guardian's Forest Defender ability: When this unit is forced to retreat into an unoccupied forest hex, it is considered supported. I'm keeping the stat sum to 10 because I think it already has some potent abilities, though I consider this more of a technical piece. I think once people start playing with this piece, they'll see how powerful the movement ability is.
• The Storm Sorceresses' Word of Vaal ability is now optional. Enemy units can retreat either toward or away from her.

The final change is that I'm getting rid of the Grove Stalker lizard. I felt like I had too many units tied to forest hexes. And the more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea of reusing stun for the elves, but, I really wanted a token that stop retreats because that combos with the Storm Sorceress and Leonx Patrol. As I thought more and more about inhibiting movement, the more I liked Phalgast's idea of using spiders. So I created a plant-spider hybrid called ...

VINE WEAVER

Movement: 3

Combat Value: 2

Health: 6

Ensnaring Web: [Heroic] Ensnare the target unit. Ensnared units cannot move or resolve retreat effects. When a player orders an ensnared unit, he may spend 2 lore to remove the ensnare token from that unit’s hex.

Before you get too far into lore cards, do you think it would be a good idea to combine the best of everyone's elves into one semi-official Elf squad? So like your Deepwood Archer (very neato ability), my Storm Sorceress (oh yeeuh), Phalgast's Rangers (love that design), etc.

That's a great idea. But I think I'll go ahead and start exploring lore cards while we come to a consensus on units. Some of these cards won't be affected by units, after all.

Has anyone else other than us three done elves yet?

I did a search on BGG and didn't see any custom elf units.

By the way, I'm only 4 cards away from finishing the lore cards for my army packs. We can tweak them to better fit the combined army packs when we get there. I was amazed at how difficult it was to find new design space for lore cards. Many of the thematic things I wanted the elves to be able to do were already covered by other factions. And since there's no precedent for cross-faction cards, I'm forced myself to come up with new ones. Some of them are quite obviously rip-offs of existing cards, which makes me sad, but overall, I really like the direction these decks are taking.