SDE Von Drakk and The Nyan

What a horrible night for a curse.

 

Hey everyone (who is still reading this) I am back and boy am I excited. So many games and things have happened recently! I even got an anonymous benefactor (even if the benefit is small). Anyway today’s installment is brought to you by the ever present Super Dungeon Explore!, specifically the Von Drakk expansion. 

“Well that’s not new.” You say? Well also up on the docket is the new Nyan Nyan hero fresh from the shipping box it came from!

“Well what about The Caverns Of Roxxor expansion?” you ask. Well, as much as I loved that expansion (Link, Mario and Peach? Yes please!) I felt that it was more of the same – although the fire beetle was a game change (seriously though, that guy is a huge jerk).

 That is clearly the legendary hero with the Minish Cap.

What Von Drakk brings to the table is more viable options for the Consul and the Heroes. If I had to pick only one expansion currently available I would choose Von Drakk. And here is why:

Werewolves and Vampires

He ate team Edward... and that other team.

I mean yes please. Here we have two more shape changing pieces. Before we had only Angry bear, now we have a couple more – including one for the consul’s use. I find these figures to be the more challenging to play. People automatically want to wolf out or go all angry bear on someone, but it is not always the best option. Pieces like Van Wildeing and Deep Root druid give players a lot of viable options (for more on viable options read some of David Sirlin’s Blog) making the game more interesting.

More Viable Options for the consul

Apparently YOLO doesn't apply to these guys.

So, before I get into a couple choice pieces I need to direct you to the dungeon effect of Von Drakk. When a hero destroys a spawn point you rotate the tile. Wow. It may not seem like much but let me remind you that when you are the heroes in SDE, you are working against the clock. A good placement by the Consul player is going to seriously slow down those heroes, possibly allowing the boss to spawn while spawn points are still in play.

Well rounded and devastating denizens

Frodo didn't survive his trip to Crystalia...

These guys are sick! They really force the heroes to play smart while allowing a shrewd Consul player an opportunity to totally wreck a party. The witches can use potions to turn you into a frog? OMFG. Let me repeat that. A denizen gets an offensive potion that can cripple a hero.

            The spider is no slouch either. Being able to spray slow against a heroic party can be awful. I have been on the receiving end of this and it is not pretty. It’s all about that clock thing again. Any wounds this guy does are just bonuses. The spider’s large base and slow spray attack is almost guaranteed to lock down those heroes.

            The skull bats aren’t too bad either if you use them properly. Making a hero vulnerable to a magic attack can be the extra little boost the consul needs!

Themed Hero play 

Remember, never trust anything that cute. The one on the right
will strait up wolf out on you.

No more random parties, now you can play legitimately themed parties of heroes. You can even give them a respectable back story. Now this isn’t a mechanical thing, but any one who knows me or reads this blog knows I love the ambiance of a game more than the actual game play ( unless your rules system happens to be anime tactics'…).

           

And finally the sculpts

 We want you! We want you! We want you as a new recruit!

 

Wow. Best sculpts yet. These things are fantastic. It might just be a personal thing but I think these are the best sculpts yet from the SDE line at Soda Pop Miniatures. I have really enjoyed painted them (though I still have a few left). I could recommend this expansion simply for the sculpts. Sure they are just skeletons for the most part, but they are seriously the best skeletons ever.

That's what I am going to look like when the new

Zelda game comes out in November.

When you get this set out of the box and add it to your game you are going to be wowed. I certainly was. Not going to lie, Roxxor was a disappointment, to the point where I almost didn’t pick this one up. Boy am I glad I did. If you’re a fan of the SDE I really recommend this set. Now if we can just get some cool new tiles! Hear that Soda Pop? I am inundated with models to paint (Serenity crew from Seditions Wars, Bushido Stuff, the SDE Stuff I haven’t finished, ect.), I need more boards to wander aimlessly through. Please give us some more boards, maybe a castle theme and a wooded theme?

B B B B BONUS CONTENT! SOLO ROUND!

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na, Nyan Nyan. Nyan Nyan. Nyan Nyan!

Recently at Gen Con this little gem was released to the general populous (you can still pick it up at cool mini or not and at Soda Pop. Don't know how much longer though). I personally love it. I mean who ever heard of an anime themed anything without an obligatory cat girl (It’s a cat girl! Throw stuff at it!). Not only is it a fantastic sculpt but the rules are sick. She is going to be a nice replacement for your Riftling Rouge. Pounce and 9 lives are things that will just make the consul cry. 

Just in case you haven't seen the Original.

Thankfully, despite the awesome power contained within the Von Drakk Expansion and the Nyan Nyan, the original set and Roxxor expansion are still viable options for any player. Keeping previous sets viable is something that many games fail to do well (I’m looking at  you Wizkids!). I am thankful that this is the case with SDE. Otherwise, I couldn’t play with all my well painted toys. I look forward to seeing the what the next expansion holds (though it looks like it holds Plants, Centaurs and Killer bunnies). 

What does the future hold?

The future holds, I hope, at least three more reviews: Krosmaster Arena (OMG I cant. Stop. Playing.), Bushido, and Arena Rex. However, Come January I will be taking a hiatus from this blog because I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL! I shall be a master of SCIENCE! 

I also know how magnets work.

The bad news is 9 classes of hard science a semester, so no time to write for you. Though, given my track record of updating this blog, you may not even notice…

Finally some eye candy. I have been busy despite not updating so check it out!

This blog just got 20% cooler. 

I can die happy now that I have my very own Rabbite.

Yup that's a Tengu! N-N-N-NINJA!

And finally, it's hammer time.

 Until next time all you readers out there in internet land, keep slinging those paints and exploring new games! Antizombie signing off!

Next time: