An article pertaining to what makes the Earth Elemental a piece that should be fielded with a specific purpose:
The Earth Elemental always seems to be the 1 Elemental who gets drafted last in a Kurrok and Elements army, if at all (when he is not drafted, he'll often become a proxy to another element). Even I scarcely employ him. Simply put, it is quite difficult for this guy to do anything of extreme value like the massive damage a Fire can put onto the enemy, or map control like the Air Elementals can do. Even the Water Elementals are good on water-based maps, and even then they have range! Because the Earth Elemental is worth 35 points, I really need to try to derive some way to use him.
It may be about time to try comparing him to each individual elemental. Good luck Rocky!
Fire Elemental (35 points)
I'm going to start with most popular of the Elementals, at least at my games, the uber destructive Fire Elemental. The FE (Fire Elemental) has it's Searing Intensity Power, while the EE (Earth Elemental) has a Special Attack. As all of the FE's will use Searing Intensity, only activated EE's can use a Ground Slam. Both types of figures have to worry about Collateral Damage, but an army consisting of Kurrok and FE's doesn't have much to worry about. What could make the EE a bit better is that you can control the chaos.
Air Elemental (30 points)
There are 2 more Elementals to go, and the next one I'm going to compare the EE to is the Air Elemental. The Wind Vortex Power is cool in that it allows the AE (Air Elemental) to control the board (for the most part). The 2 powers of the EE might account for "board control" but strictly a 2 space smaller radius. Even worse, this only deters enemies, rather than controlling their movements.
Water Elemental (30 points)
The last of the Elementals is up for comparison. As a pile of water, the Water Elemental can quickly traverse over water. The Underground Movement of the EE can somewhat match this, but it is most effective on hilly terrain. What really helps out the WE (Water Elemental) is it's range.
All of these comparisons seem to to show that the EE is like a watered down version of each of the other 3 Elementals.
Now then, there must be some way to find the true power of the Earth Elemental...
The first way to look at this guy, is in a draft scenario. When you see that your going to need something along the lines of a Swiss Army Knife, it may bee a good idea to use the EE instead of, say the AE. Also, in large scale games (think along the lines of 650+ points), the Earth Elemental's Slam may be effective versus sleeping units, while the FE's would just burn the frak out of your own units. Also, the AE probably wouldn't stand up well, as too many Large or Huge figures find there way into these battles.
In team games, the Earth Slam could actually be useful. Why not try 300 points per player, in a 2 vs. 2 setting? Kurrok and 5 EE's while a partner has two teams of Protectors of Ullar and Thorgrim the Viking Champion could be effective because the Slam won't affect the kyrie while still affecting a small horde of enemy squad figures. If your playing against Kyrie, their base attack of 4 should strike through the enemy shields.
Don't forget Castle Siege Scenarios! An EE can move through the walls if it uses Underground movement. And unlike the AE, it can pose a real threat to the castle guard. Get to Slammin'!
In conclusion, the Earth Elemental is not a so-called A+ unit, but he is like everything else. He has shining moments, and it might be because of that, why he is worth just as much as a Fire Elemental. This can lead us to believe that the designers know what they are doing, whether we care to believe it or not.
'Scape On.
Special Thanks to: Chris Butler
The Earth Elemental always seems to be the 1 Elemental who gets drafted last in a Kurrok and Elements army, if at all (when he is not drafted, he'll often become a proxy to another element). Even I scarcely employ him. Simply put, it is quite difficult for this guy to do anything of extreme value like the massive damage a Fire can put onto the enemy, or map control like the Air Elementals can do. Even the Water Elementals are good on water-based maps, and even then they have range! Because the Earth Elemental is worth 35 points, I really need to try to derive some way to use him.
It may be about time to try comparing him to each individual elemental. Good luck Rocky!
Fire Elemental (35 points)
I'm going to start with most popular of the Elementals, at least at my games, the uber destructive Fire Elemental. The FE (Fire Elemental) has it's Searing Intensity Power, while the EE (Earth Elemental) has a Special Attack. As all of the FE's will use Searing Intensity, only activated EE's can use a Ground Slam. Both types of figures have to worry about Collateral Damage, but an army consisting of Kurrok and FE's doesn't have much to worry about. What could make the EE a bit better is that you can control the chaos.
Air Elemental (30 points)
There are 2 more Elementals to go, and the next one I'm going to compare the EE to is the Air Elemental. The Wind Vortex Power is cool in that it allows the AE (Air Elemental) to control the board (for the most part). The 2 powers of the EE might account for "board control" but strictly a 2 space smaller radius. Even worse, this only deters enemies, rather than controlling their movements.
Water Elemental (30 points)
The last of the Elementals is up for comparison. As a pile of water, the Water Elemental can quickly traverse over water. The Underground Movement of the EE can somewhat match this, but it is most effective on hilly terrain. What really helps out the WE (Water Elemental) is it's range.
All of these comparisons seem to to show that the EE is like a watered down version of each of the other 3 Elementals.
Now then, there must be some way to find the true power of the Earth Elemental...
The first way to look at this guy, is in a draft scenario. When you see that your going to need something along the lines of a Swiss Army Knife, it may bee a good idea to use the EE instead of, say the AE. Also, in large scale games (think along the lines of 650+ points), the Earth Elemental's Slam may be effective versus sleeping units, while the FE's would just burn the frak out of your own units. Also, the AE probably wouldn't stand up well, as too many Large or Huge figures find there way into these battles.
In team games, the Earth Slam could actually be useful. Why not try 300 points per player, in a 2 vs. 2 setting? Kurrok and 5 EE's while a partner has two teams of Protectors of Ullar and Thorgrim the Viking Champion could be effective because the Slam won't affect the kyrie while still affecting a small horde of enemy squad figures. If your playing against Kyrie, their base attack of 4 should strike through the enemy shields.
Don't forget Castle Siege Scenarios! An EE can move through the walls if it uses Underground movement. And unlike the AE, it can pose a real threat to the castle guard. Get to Slammin'!
In conclusion, the Earth Elemental is not a so-called A+ unit, but he is like everything else. He has shining moments, and it might be because of that, why he is worth just as much as a Fire Elemental. This can lead us to believe that the designers know what they are doing, whether we care to believe it or not.
'Scape On.
Special Thanks to: Chris Butler
No comments:
Post a Comment