Player's Handbook Heroes, Series 1: Preview 2

With the timeline available to us, this first set was designed a bit differently than most—the timeline was compressed dramatically (from a typical 3-4 months to mere weeks), and several stages of the process are ongoing and overlapping.

So, while I promised final cards for a few figures today, unfortunately, I don't have them. I do have cards in the near-final stage of production, with most of the comments from development integrated.

Don't be surprised if specific details (damage, defenses, wording, etc.) alter slightly from the form you see here before their final release, first in spreadsheet form one week prior to the release of the figures, and then in PDF form for printing the Friday before their release (giving everyone time to print them for any tournaments taking place on release day).

Enough excuses. Let's look at some figures. This week, we have two Arcane figures, one from each Arcane Heroes box that represent different looks at the Warlock.

First up is the Male Half-Elf Fighter/Warlock. Given the 4e rules for multi-classing, you can imagine that he might have began life as something else entirely. Something perhaps a bit like this:

While mid-level for a D&D Miniatures figure, the Warlock Knight has a bit better staying power than you might expect, with decent defenses and HP. As a cross between artillery and soldier, he also has decent melee and ranged options, but isn't really spectacular at either—and to top that all off, he's got a distinctly skirmisher power in his Sneak Attack 10.

Dark One's Own Luck is a pretty direct translation of the Level 6 Warlock Utility Spell from the RPG, tipping the figure's hand at its star pact flavoring (something also hinted at in its dash of radiant damage).

Next up is the Tiefling Surestrike, for use with Arcane Heroes 1's Male Tiefling Warlock. At 58 points, this fey pact warlock is a significant investment for your warband—and at just 5 points shy of the Tomebound Arcanist, he has a lot to live up to.

Unlike the Tomebound, the Surestrike doesn't want to just leap out and use its big area attack right away, instead saving it for the right moment. Also unlike the Arcanist, his defenses are all frighteningly low for a figure of his cost; he's sure to want to bring along a friend or two to shift behind via Pactblade.