Acamas : The Cyclops [HEP]

Just about the only real cyclops looking figure in the game. Would have liked to see one more real cyclops looking one.
How he can sneak with just one eye is beyond me

"The one-eyed is king"

The first thing I wonder about when reading Acamas' dashboard is: does his Molten Metal ability also affect friendly units? And himself? This would contradict with his talents: Sneak Attack and Close Protection give bonusses for friendly units in your area. Or is this intended as the penalty for his powerful Cuirass skill?

As he has 9 vitality and can not suffer more than 2 damage per attack, he needs to be attacked at least 5 times to kill him. Quite the tough monster!!
His damage output isn't anything to be ashamed of either. With at least 1 friendly unit nearby he is a 9/9 unit. And brings an AoW card, quite rare for a monster. Not bad at all for 4RP!!

Anyway he has a range of 1 - so as long as he keeps a distance of 1 to his target he's good to go.
- Getting "up close and personal". He doesn't have the Mobility talent so he can't hit and run. He doesn't have Block so he can't get away if your units has Block. Big as he is he doesn't have Mighty Throw to create any distance between him and his target either.
In the same area he basically has the choice to use his area attack and also wound a friendly unit - or not benefit from the close protection/sneak attack.
- Also a thing to keep in mind that weaker or stronger units will inflict the same amount of damage to Acamas; as long as they do at least 2 damage, they will inflict max. 2 wounds. Attack him with more units, as the limit is per attack, not per turn. Quantity, not quality is the other key here.

Funny how Acamas is a unit full of contradiction. If you are up close and Acamas attacks you, he will hurt himself when using his Molten Metal ability. This will also happen if you attack Acamas and he retaliates. And probably the friendly units in his area will get wounds as well, as he gets +1 /+1 from their presence.

Paired with Medea, he can receive at most 1 wound per attack (at least as far as I can tell from the wording of her Heal power). That makes him just about unkillable unless your opponent really focuses on him. This guy is a great target for Eurysteus' Labour power, with or without Medea's Heal.

MaxC wrote:Paired with Medea, he can receive at most 1 wound per attack (at least as far as I can tell from the wording of her Heal power). That makes him just about unkillable unless your opponent really focuses on him. This guy is a great target for Eurysteus' Labour power, with or without Medea's Heal.

It wouyld depend which power gets applied first, I suspect it will be Medea that reduces the damage and then he can't take more than 2 wounds. Rather than, he can't take more than 2 wounds so the damage is reduced to 2, and then Medea reduces it to 1.

Considering the name of each power, I would say that the cuirass apply first and heal after

I find that the mini has some good and weak points. I like the body and the pose. The pot of molten metal will require some skills to render it but it could look great.
I am not convinced by the face: the forehead looks very strange with all these recesses of flesh and the monkey teeth are not to my test. I prefer the artwork without this beast look.

About the stats:
4 RPs, 8/8, 4 AC, 9 vit, move 2: very comparable with other 4RPs big monsters. However no block and no mighty throw.
Acamas instead have 2 less common talents. +1 attack and +1 defense whenever there is another friendly unit around. So this is a team player!
I believe molten metal power is dangerous for both Acamas and its allies (it would make sense) so it is better to use it when attacking at range 1. I believe here lies the inherent weakness of this unit: without (un) block, Acamas cannot reposition itself to attack at range 1.
The Cuirass power is certainly a good way to enhance this unit resiliency. Too bad he can't use it to guard his God.
Bringing an AoW card is another incentive to pick this unit.
However I am not convinced and I am more interested in a bunch of other 4 RPs units.

It's already confirmed that area attacks don't damage the unit that is attacking unless specifically stated.

We definitely need the rules to define how area attacks work!

Actually I just had to read the rulebook:
"Area Attacks hit all units located in the targeted area (both friendly and enemy Units) except the Attacker."