Well, well, a few things were expected, others came as great surprises....

A few days ago, I started a thread asking people to vote on what they considered to be the three most useful non-unique, non-titan, non-MDF figures. Many people participated.

I had some trouble finding time to sort through the data, but ErikSalaan, who inspired the survey, presented me with the collected data ready for analysis (thanks, Erik ;) ).

I’ll start listing the results.


36 Crystal Protector
23 Fell Reaper
9 Solavani Channeler
8 Shadow
7 Amotep Gunner
6 Heavy Lancer
6 Light Cavalier
5 Shield Golem
4 Skeleton
4 Troll Artillerist
4 Scorpem Gunner
4 Amazon Mancatcher
4 Throttle Worm
4 Nightstalker
4 Sislith Tracker
3 Nightmare Reaper
3 Ironclad
3 Stalking Skeleton
3 War Hatchetkrugg
2 Standard Bearer
2 Corrupted Priest
2 Imp
2 Solonavi Drone
2 Shaman
- Grave robber
- Horned Hatchetkrugg
- Fodder
- Fanged Gunslinger
- Khamsin Sniper
- Galeshi Dervish
- Centaur Luitenant
- Warrior Sprite
- Forest Nymph
- Elf At Arms
- Dwarven Ram
- Medicine Troll
- Slasher
- Dwarven Pikeman
- Magestone Knight
- Temple bladesmaster
- Werebear
- Infantry Captain
- Tribow
- Goblin Volunteer
- Brass Commander
- Centaur Medic
- Blade Golem
- Fighting Automaton
- Faith Healer

To tell you the truth, I already expected Crystal Protectors and Fell Reapers to be the top two. What surprised me was the fact that they got a BIG lead on the other figures. They were the only ones to get double-digit votes.

Initially, I intended to do an analysis of the top 5 figures, but the places after the second are all messed up, so I’ll do something a little bit different.

First, the winner, Crystal Protectors...

There was a time when one had to face a tough question when building an army: “should I include a healer or not”? This was a VERY common question, specially for 200 points armies. One could build an army made of very strong units and formations or could soften some part of the army to free up the points to a healer.

And that healer usually had one single function: healing (of course). Sometimes, people used Corrupted Priests, which have Defend, or, most commonly, Emerald Glade Mistery, around which more than one archtype has arisen, but usually the healer was jsut that, a healer.

And then came Minions... Enter the Crystal Protectors...

They are cheap (13-17 points) and have adequate Healing ability (7-8 Attack,enough to take care of most damaged figures). That’s not very special. There are other healers with similar characteristics...

Then you add Flight... Hmmm... It’s getting better... Easy Breakaway is very useful for any figure...

And then... Limited Invisibility...

Flight, Healing, Limited Invisiblity. I think few figures pack a sweeter combo.

Healers are usually one of the first things your opponent will target. Usually, you have to keep them protected... CPs can be left in the open, with very little fear of being shot at (Shockwave does appear from time to time). So, they must be dealt with by basing them... Ram is dangerous for them, but not as common after ML has been changed. Fell Reapers can’t do much too, since they must first get into base contact to do something, allowing the CP a chance to escape. Charge is quite dangerous, but your opponent will usually have to traverse your whole area of the board to charge your CP, so it will possibly be a dangerous task for him. So, it’s a cheap and competent healer, one hard to get rid from.

Also, they can block line-of-sight (this should be obvious to anyone, but...). If you move your damaged piece to behind you CP, you can get protection AND be healed at the same time (providing you were careful when positioning the CP’s arc). CP’s LI is not for her protection only, but for any piece that needs cover (again obvious, but mentioned for completeness’ sake).

And to top it off, they can capture... I think most people are now used to the fact that CPs pose a real threat for figures basing them. I’ve seen many players using their damaged Fell Reaper to Shake-Off the CP out of LI, only to find the Reaper (previously damaged out of Battle Fury, of course) captured by the CP.

CPs are so nice and so common that the “tough question” of old, packing or not packing a healer, has turned into the much softer choice: “should I include a dedicated healer or a CP will be enough ?” They certanly changed the way people build their armies.

I’ll analyze Fell Reapers and the others in another thread (probably up next week).

hmmm... kinda strange. the nightstalker had more votes than nightmare reapers, ironclads, Stalking Skeleton, Standard Bearer, Corrupted Priest, and many others. that surprises me. and some things got votes that perhaps shouldnt have, or at least no over other figures. fanged gunslinger, centaur medic, galeshi dervish, graverobber. those were all odd choices. i would have expected rammers to be higher on the list. also, im wondering why only those two figures got double digits. oh well.

indeed, i dont see any vote for the shade either... :p

Im betting that alot of those results have been heavily influenced by the brainwashing effect Borg seems to have on some people here at the realms (especially with his constant praise for *** Fell Reapers). We've all read his posts, and whatever he puts up, people instantly call it the greatest thing ever and then they scramble out to dig through their figures to try and build that.

Of the top 10 figures on that list, the only ones i see get heavy play are crystal protectors. I kow 1 guy who puts a Channeler in his army, but i never see them outside of that, and between my 2 venues, i play MK with about 25 different people.

definitely an interesting survey, although i think the asnwers were skewed

My opinions:

This list is the most popular, not the most effective. ;)

As I have done the survey, keep in mind that Fells in combination with a Magic Healer is very powerful. I honestly doubt that Borg would suggest something just OK.

As for the Channelers, I end up playing them quite a bit, even over Astrus and Shaman Og. Channelers are basically a Troll Artillerist with Magic Healing and a 180 arc. They can heal, but they can also hit hard and they can't be flanked easily. And everyone at my venue does run them quite a bit. *shrug* Location matters.

Shadows were high on the list (in part) because of the Amazon Draconum and how they both fight her and make an excellent bodyguard for her. (They work better when paired with Magus Anendu, though...)

*** Amotep Gunners are a Troll Artillerist with built in anti-swarm for 24 points. (Troll Artillerists run 29-34 points.)

The KI Mounted units are popular right now because the Tank runs them, and unlike Centuars, they can always easy break. The * Light Cav is only 28 points for a 7" charge and WM. The *** Heavy Lancer is tough as nails and 4 damage.

Obviously, the Shield Golem is beefy. If you were to run this survey after Worlds, I'd bet he wouldn't show up nearly as high.

"What are the 3 most useful non-unique figures for you?"

This is the original survey question. Because of its wording, it is open to a variety of interpretations.

"Useful" in what format? 200 points? 300 points? in Conquest?

Are we talking "useful" in casual/fun games or "useful" in serious competitive tournament play?

Another point is whether the question means the most "useful" non from all MK figures ever produced or the most "useful" nons from among those that the person actually has in their collection.

I'm not going to suggest that this is the question you should have asked (or that it is perfectly worded), but if you had asked something like, "If you were going to play in a 200 point standard Rebellion competitive tournament with the intention of trying to win, and had access to any non ever produced, what three nons would you most likely include in your army(ies)?", my guess is that the survey answers would be somewhat different.

Useful is useful. I didn't see any truly #### figures that got nominated more than once. The goal is to see what people play the most, and apparently, they only play Fells and CPs... ;)

If that was the goal it should have been worded differnetly.it was the most useful not what figures are played the mose.

Something happened with the total. I know that at least 2 people voted for Shades (and I was one of them). Better double check...

I have to agree with DrewBooge. "Useful" does not necessarily equal "what people play the most." Also, what figures people play the most also depends on the format, whether the game is fun or competitive, and whether or not they have the figures.

lol!!!thats funny and shows all the glory of realmers

EazySCT has once again proved that he is a force for good in the universe--a veritable cosmic crusader and exuder of benevolence.
Eazy is correct in that ErikSalaan and luke_poa and anyone else that helped in the survey deserve a thank you for their work. My apologies for overlooking this rather obvious fact.

Erik ?

As to the questions on the frasing, I believe that 'most useful' is different than 'most used'.

For example, I included Heavy Lancers *** in my vote. I think they are great. Do they appear in most of my armies? No, usually I have to put the points elsewhere, but I certainly would include them if I could. I usually try hard do work around some point totals to add one, but sometimes I can't.

Also, my intent with the survey was to try to catch a glimpse of the collective thoughts of people on the usability of figures.

For example, the results lead me to believe that dual-purpose figures are considered more useful than single-purpose one. A Shadow is dual-purpose, but a Heavy Lancer isn't. The same applies to CPs, Chanellers...

And the Fell Reaper does not surprise me the least. Take a look at the survey I did on non-unique mounted units (http://www.mkrealms.com/forum/showth...threadid=71667 ). It was considered MUCH superior to other figures (and keep in mind the survey took place before the ML rules changes; Fell Reapers would now certainly inherit many votes given to WHK at the time).

Anyway, if you liked this survey and think something good can come from it, keep checking our comments and results.

And thanks, Eazy.

Great survey! Basically reinforced my own thoughts on good 'usable' figures for armies/collecting.
Thanks for taking the time to run the survey!