Class: Aggressor
Survivability: Med (relying on distance and high agility)
Damage Output: Med. Her damage is low for an aggressor but by attacking from range she is more likely to be able to make all three attacks. She does up to 15 damage or 18 at level 3 and ignores 1 RES.
Threat Range: High. She can make all three attacks on models within 8 and 2 attacks on models within 13". She is able to place herself within 5" too which ignores terrain and intervening models.
Profile: Her boxes are low and she has no RES but her AGI is high and her MAG is high. She is MOV 5 in addition to having a 5" place which makes her very mobile when she needs to be.
What does she do?: Istariel wants to hit an opposing model with 3 flame blasts and possibly use her fate ability to do 3 more damage. She doesn't like to move if she can avoid it and she doesn't like to get forwards and she doesn't really have any other abilities other than making magic attacks.
Fate Appetite: Low. She does 3 damage with a fate if she sets you on fire and that's it. It's very useful for finishing off models but she generally allows you to save fate for other models.
Level Appetite: Med. Going up a level prevents her fire from expiring naturally which is really useful given her fate ability and her level 3 ability where she is able to increase damage on models on fire. However she still does good ranged damage without going up levels.
Magic Items: Ring of Power (High). If Istariel has a weakness it's that she requires two symbols and damage to set you on fire. This is mitigated somewhat by the fact that she often gets three hits on you but she can't charge and engaged models become really hard to hit. Also the fact that her damage per attack is low takes into account that you are often going to be making 3 attacks with her without having to survive a turn on the front line. The Boots of Agility are also nice for her taking her up to AGI 6 and the Armour Shredder can be a big help against low AGI defenders.
Combinations: Istariel likes to stay away from the fight so having defenders in front of her is important, the knock down defenders (Marcus, Thrommel and Skoll) can help to mitigate the DEF bonus from front line models being engaged as well as prevent aggressors from getting to her. Skye with his ability to teleport to her when she is attacked is also useful.
Ban Targets: Saiyin. She's annoying for a low level Istariel but when Istariel gets to level 3 Saiyin is effectively able to reduce her damage against a single target by 6 by making it immune to fire. Istariel struggles against the elves in general due to their high AGI but really enjoys going up against the Minotaurs where her fire ability can turn off regeneration. That said you also want to avoid heroes that can pull her up to the front line and knock her down like Thorgar or do a lot of damage ignoring AGI like Styx.
Judy's Judgement:
I'd rate her "I've never played her since her MAG was nerfed to 7" out of 10.
ReplyDeleteLOL what an Elmin.
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