Welcome to another Special Power Spotlight.
Today the spotlight focuses on another minion/leader pair: the Hammer of Thor Fire Demons & Surtur. Additionally, the article will examine the viability of Ragnarok Surtur, as well as the Son of Surtur LE.
An army is only as good as its troops, so let’s take a look at how the Fire Demons rate:
ha015 R Fire Demon
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0 :bolt:
Points: 33
Keywords: Asgardian, Monster
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(Damage) Minion: March to Ragnarok!: When a friendly character named Surtur is within 8 squares, Fire Demon can use Charge and modifies its attack value by +1
Fire Demons are not incredibly effective.
<img src="http://www.hcrealms.com/units/ha015.jpg" class="imageleft" style="width:200px;" /> A 6 speed value is slow enough that Surtur will enter the fight long before his Minions, especially if they need to carry anyone. They have Willpower, so at least they can move twice in a row without pushing, but then what? Get shot by the enemy? Without some serious mobility enhancement (TK, Kinetic Accelerator) they won’t be making any attacks until at least turn 4 (move, move, clear, & hope the enemy is within charge range) which leaves them sitting demon-ducks.
One thing that makes Fire Demons better, the Son of Surtur LE.
ha104 U Son of Surtur
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 6 :bolt:
Points: 68
Keywords: Asgardian, Monster
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(Damage) Fan the Flames: At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6 for each opposing character adjacent to one or more friendly characters named Fire Demon. On a result of 5 or 6, deal 1 damage to that opposing character.
Don’t confuse Fan the Flames with the Monster Society of Evil ATA. The two have a similar effect but MSoE is different in that it can be activated at the end of a turn. Fan the Flames works like Poison, in that it deals 1 damage at the beginning of a turn (so don’t forget it!). It is damage dealt and subject to reduction, so those Asgardian Warriors and Valkyries won’t bat at eye at those flames.
The biggest drawback to Fan the Flames is the placement of the power on Son of Surtur’s dial- just getting to it means the little hellspawn has pushed through half its dial – at which point Surt-ling will be a prime target for the opposition to take out.
The fire demons work with Surtur & as of recent rules updates (http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4454836&postcount=9) Ragnarok Surtur.
What I'm not sure of - where/how official rulings are going to be posted/collected.
What I am sure of - errata to Fire Demon as of now. He really says "When a friendly character named Surtur or Ragnarok Surtur is within 8 squares, Fire Demon can use Charge and modifies its attack value by +1."
It’s good to know both figures can activate the Fire Demon’s minion trait. But which to use?
ha056 U Surtur
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0 :bolt:
Points: 153
Keywords: Asgardian, Monster, Ruler
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(Damage) Expendable Resources: At the beginning of your turn, you may KO any number of friendly characters that have both the Asgardian and Monster keywords. For each character KO'd this way, Surtur can use Exploit Weakness and modifies his damage value by +1 until end of turn.
<img src="http://www.hcrealms.com/units/ha056.jpg" class="imageright" style="width:100px;" />For around 150 points the 11 click deep SR Surtur’s not bad. Shape Change can go a long way in protecting him (especially with Camouflage), but he suffers from Giant (Ultimates) Hulk syndrome – he’s a Giant frontloaded with Toughness.
Being a giant means he’s likely to get shot, and one good hit takes him past those gravy “4 damage/Impervious” clicks leaving him in middlesville. His defense never recovers after that, and while he’s able to dish out damage, it may not be enough to rely on for a win.
A power like Expendable Resources would only help if it worked a little more like the Suicide Squad TA, healing him or if it bumped his AV up as well. As it stands, automatically KO’ng a figure for a +1 damage bump and a use of Exploit Weakness is a gamble. A player who is automatically KO’ng their own figures, better hope that follow up attack hits. Hard.
Now compare SR Surtur to Ragnarok Surtur:
ha201 V Ragnarok Surtur
Team: Power Cosmic
Range: 4 :bolt:
Points: 233
Keywords: Asgardian, Deity, Monster, Warrior
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(Attack) Inferno: Ragnarok Surtur can use Poison. Damage dealt this way is penetrating damage
(Damage) Eternal Flame: Give Ragnarok Surtur a power action when he occupies an opponent's starting area. Any other character Ragnarok Surtur can draw a line of fire to is dealt 1 unavoidable damage. If this places a second action token on Ragnarok Surtur, deal him 1 unavoidable damage.
Ragnarok Surtur doesn't need feats to be effective.
<img src="http://www.hcrealms.com/units/ha201.jpg" class="imageleft" style="width:100px;" />With the SR players may want to equip Fortitude to keep his damage reducers safe, among a number of other feats. The brick figure's Power Cosmic TA goes a long way in making this a five star figure. Thanks to Inferno players don’t need Armor Piercing to the end dial make Poison stick. The opening damage value of 5, with Super Strength means he'll hit hard, compared to the risk of a poor B/C/F with the SR.
Eternal Flame seems like a great power, though it’s only for 3 clicks starting at the middle of his dial, and he’ll need to cross the field AND be in an opponents start zone for it to be use in a two player game. Eternal Flame could be a lot of fun, and easier to use in multi-player events.
Battlefield Tactics:
When maximizing the efficiency of a Demon swarm, crimping the opposing range is critical to success. Shut down ranged combat teams with Battlefield Conditions like Darkness, Deep Shadows and Shrunk to help buy the demons a few rounds to get into combat. Just be sure to note Shrunk will remove Surtur’s giant status, not an altogether bad thing as he can now be carried into battle and will be harder to target with ranged attacks.
Map choice can make a huge difference as well, with blocking terrain providing some cover as the Demon horde advances. The Sinister Prison, Secret Invasion Savage Land and Arkham Asylum maps provide plenty of cover.
Other maps to consider include the Supernova Space Map (which reduces ranged attacks), the Mutations and Monsters NYC map (for a doomsday feel) and the Anti-Monitor's Fortress. Avoid the Mutations and Monsters Arena map, the Galactus Rooftop and the BPRD Frog Temple, all of which are shooting galleries.
Once they’re in hand to hand, the Demons are quite fierce with the minion power in play. Strong attack values, decent damage (supplemented later by B/C/F) and the ability to attack twice in a row without pushing make them a threat only a fool would ignore.
When the fight begins, surround Surtur with the Minions. As a giant, Surtur will be able to attack over the troops while they tie up the opposition, and prevent opposing forces from making ranged attacks.
Non-accurate Theme Options
<img src="http://www.hcrealms.com/units/aa009.jpg" class="imageright" style="width:100px;" /> Purists may have a conniption with this idea, but because Surtur and Fire Demons possess the Monster keyword they have some non-universe specific help that remains in theme. The common Kid Devil from Arkham Asylum works well as a grounded "Fire Demon" and gives a Surtur centric team a little more punch without losing the keyword bonus. A few versions of Hellboy have the Monster keyword as well.
Build Options:
66 Fire Demon x2
153 HA056 Surtur
8 SIF005 Camouflage
8 MUF102 Protected
165 Kid Devil x3
400
233 Ragnarok Surtur
68 Son of Surtur
33 Fire Demon
33 Fire Demon
33 Fire Demon
400
As always, thanks for reading. Feel free to share your sample builds and Surtur stories (be they victory or defeat!) below!