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Reincarnating Ariel - 8th Edition

Posted: 16 Apr 2016, 20:23
by LadyLoec
Hi all,

I have a hankering to field Orion and Ariel in a double date fight night against my hubbys vampires (I think they can take Mr and Mrs Von Carstein :evil: ).

Problem 1: No Ariel model (I picked up an Ariel model sans wings on eBay years ago for tuppence, thinking one day I would find some wings for her. Boy, was I wrong).
Solution 1: Have just bought this :D

Problem 2: No Ariel rules
Solution 2: Have scoured the internet, and all fan-updated rulesets for her seem to be overpowered to hell. I've come up with the below, taking cues from her old rules, items in rulebooks past and present, the model and Orion (as I think she should be almost a direct counterpoint to her consort).

I think the below is strong, but not overdone (e.g. a fireball and she's toast), but wanted to get an external opinion before fielding her. Initially I thought ethereal might raise a few grumbles, but she only has a 6++, and you can get an ethereal Slann, so I figured there's precedent. Also this picture from the 8th ed rulebook seems to make an ethereal Ariel plausible.

Ariel - Avatar of Isha
400pts

M5, WS4, BS4, S4, T4, W4, I9, A3, Ld10

Special rules

Always Strikes First, Fly, Fear, Blessings of the Ancients, Forest Spirit, Ethereal, Loremaster (Life)

One with the Forest
Should Ariel be threatened, the forest itself is roused to wrath in her defence.
Any unit declaring a charge on Ariel counts as charging through dangerous terrain. In addition, Ariel may move between forests as per the rules for the Moonstone of the Hidden Ways

Aura of Rebirth
The air around Ariel shimmers with healing magic, mending broken branches and coaxing flowers into bloom.
All units within 6" of Ariel have the Regeneration (6+) special rule.

Magic Items

The Spear of Dawn
This unearthly spear seems to burgeon with cleansing light, and is anathema to foes tainted by chaos and dark magic
Attacks with this spear confer the Killing Blow special rule against Undead and Daemons of Chaos

Lyre of the Glade Architect
The melody from this lyre forges bonds between Athel Loren and distant forests, rousing the woodland to motion and awakening forgotten seeds from slumber.
This harp grants Ariel the Tree Singing spell. In addition, if there are less than 3 forests on the battlefield before deployment, Ariel may place an additional forest, following the rules for Ambush from the Worldroots.

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What are yours thoughts?

Re: Reincarnating Ariel - 8th Edition

Posted: 17 Apr 2016, 12:15
by Gwill_of_the_Woods
I think you have done well. All of the rules and stats seem well justified.
I don't think ethereal would be too over powered. There's no armour and quite a difficult save, plus if I remember rightly (been playing AoS loads), there is a lot of stuff with magic attacks so it's not as if she'd be impossible to kill.

You've got her as a Loremaster of Life, which seems appropriate. Is she a level 4?

Personally I love that Syl-Iriah model. I love to see a pic of the Royal Couple. I'm such an Orion fan boy. Haha!

Let us know how the battle goes. :)

Re: Reincarnating Ariel - 8th Edition

Posted: 17 Apr 2016, 13:18
by LadyLoec
Gwill_of_the_Woods wrote:You've got her as a Loremaster of Life, which seems appropriate. Is she a level 4?
Yes sorry, missed that off!
Gwill_of_the_Woods wrote:Personally I love that Syl-Iriah model. I love to see a pic of the Royal Couple. I'm such an Orion fan boy. Haha!

Let us know how the battle goes. :)

Tis a beautiful model - I'm no expert painter, but will give her my best shot. I've had Orion painted up for a couple of years and have yet to field him, so looking forward to the two of them taking to the battlefield. Just got to wait for the model to arrive now!!

Re: Reincarnating Ariel - 8th Edition

Posted: 17 Apr 2016, 22:14
by Mollesvinet
What unit type would she be?

Fluff wise this is really good.

If playing to win I would have second thoughts about putting 400pts into a model whos only real defense is ethereal. Although with life magic she can heal herself and with teleport she can hide from some things. It seems like a 50/50 thing, either the enemy has no answer to her and she is great or otherwise they have an answer and she is easy points.

Best of luck with the game though, having the royal couple kick ass will be awesome!

Re: Reincarnating Ariel - 8th Edition

Posted: 17 Apr 2016, 22:34
by LadyLoec
Mollesvinet wrote:What unit type would she be?
I was thinking of having her as MI on a 40x40 base - will wait and see when the model arrives I think.
Mollesvinet wrote:If playing to win I would have second thoughts about putting 400pts into a model whos only real defense is ethereal. Although with life magic she can heal herself and with teleport she can hide from some things. It seems like a 50/50 thing, either the enemy has no answer to her and she is great or otherwise they have an answer and she is easy points.
I think I will just have to be very careful with her - keep her out of LoS of casters, and near forests for an escape route if she gets into a jam. She's definitely not something I would normally take, but then again, nor is Orion. Will see how things go - model should be here in time for a game next weekend!