Toy prototype details
Name: MohrdaxTM
Subtitle: choleric monk
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: action figure - Nº 5 in the line.
Character details
Name: Mohrdax
Classification: archosauromorph reptile
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph (formerly belonging to the Reptonoid faction)
Rank: priestmonk (formerly abbot of the Drojyo'BhakmaTM Monastery near the UcamurTM region).
Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #1 - The Destructomorph legacy
Brief bio: formerly a member of the baleful Reptonoid army, Mohrdax was a powerful and bad-tempered wizard, who betrayed his fellow reptilian warriors when, using the combined magic of the energy stone and the orb of omens, he attempted to steal Bi-Harr's mental powers for himself. While his plan failed, some of the magic of the two artefacts was infused into the twin swords that he used for his fightback before being banished to a remote location near the Ucamur region. During his exile, Mohrdax became the chief of an abbey of monks, into the shelter of which social outcasts from various parts of Tahron were welcomed. Eventually, he formed an alliance with the Dark Legion led by the evil grand marshal Wordron, who, in an effort to consolidate power for his revenge against the Therioms, aimed at using his technical knowledge to transform the monastery's cloisterers into an army of cold-blooded fighters. By using the magic of his twin swords, Mohrdax discovered a method of slowing down his heart rate to as low as being barely perceivable, and the two villains used this stratagem to trick Masq-Lor, a wonder teenage member of the Forseha tribe, into believing he killed an innocent man. Their wicked schemes were at last undone after the young tribesman, although still believing his own guilt, had confronted the ancient demon that possessed Wordron in single combat. Years later, the mysterious priestmonk Mohrdax, at that point spoken of only in legends and myth, was tasked to secretly raise the daughter of Deptilion and Demo-Rha, Nemhetra, in order to make her into the unrivalled enemy of the Therioms. Upon meeting an adult Masq-Lor, he blackmailed him into becoming his secret accomplice, to outsmart Nemhetra and seize control of the Destructomorph militia. Ultimately, while Masq-Lor became aware of his innocence, Nemhetra discovered Mohrdax’s plot and the priestmonk was slain by the very halberd that he yearned to hold as a symbol of his leadership.
Articulation
Standard down to the waist; due to his robe piece, there is no leg articulation.
Description
Head: he wears a metallic purple barbute characterised by a Y-shaped opening for the eyes and mouth, and two toothy forward extensions of the cheek pieces towards the mid-line, forming as a result a divided mouth guard. The edge of the Y-shaped opening is reinforced by a riveted-on silver rim extending to the lower edge of the helmet, and incorporates a distinct, seemingly hinged projection to guard the nose. The skull of the helmet has a tall mitre-like shape, tapering to a point at front and back with a cleft between, and features an additional arch-shaped, black-rimmed opening (which allows us to see an apparently empty space in the inside) flanked by spiked silver rivets on the front as well as a cool little Reptonoid emblem (i.e., a reptile red eye) on the forehead; additionally, the cleft is surmounted by a sharp, concave black&silver side-to-side crest, whose pointy ends project downwards. Finally, he wears a tattered purple scarf (with the long ends tied together and tossed over his back) to cover up his mouth, while his evil-looking yellow eyes almost appear to be glowing from the deep black of his face through the lower opening. The overall structure of his head gives the impression of it being in an odd position, as if sunken into his shoulders
Body: cloaked from neck to toe with a long torn purple robe. His arms are covered by wide tattered sleeves, while his hands show a sickly clawed, skeletal appearance, purplish skin and sharp black nails
Wearables: the robe does a great job of blending in with the sleeves, which are short enough to expose the forearms wrapped in black bandage straps. A wide black leather belt (which carries various pouches and bags, and even a studded sheath for a curved tantō) is used to fit the garment around the waist and to separate the uwagi-like jacket above from the hakama-like skirt below, allowing for the waist swivel. Over his robe, he wears a separate lamellar black cuirass, which consists of many overlapping leather plates laced together and sports two dual-layered shoulder pads (the lower layers are made of silver chain mail, while the upper layers are made of black leather lames) as well as an elaborate emblem that acts as a double sword chest scabbard; this symbol is a fully sculpted representation of a metallic purple dragon entwining two crossed silver sheaths. The removable cuirass piece also includes a stole consisting of a Y-shaped band of purple cloth with black ornamental trim, whose ends slightly broaden out. The center of the stole is seemingly worn around the back of the neck and the three fringed ends (which are decorated with silver shuriken designs) hang down loose - two parallel to each other in front and one behind.
Action feature
Mohrdax comes with a key piece that simulates the ability for his neck to quickly extend and his head to spring out at the enemy when he becomes angered. This alternative top piece is identical to the standard head, except that it carries an elongated neck emerging from the arch-shaped upper opening of the helmet (it is also visible through the Y-shaped lower opening) and reveals his reptilian screaming face. Both his long, rubbery (but not very bendy) neck and ball jointed head are characterised by wrinkled purplish skin with greenish stripes; while the former sports two parallel rows of tall bony neural spines, several orange gular folds and a number of blueish-grey torcs down its length, the latter resembles a sauropod head and shows a pair of evil solid yellow eyes as well as visible cavities in the inner teeth.
Weapons and accessories
Apart from the alternate head with extended neck, Mohrdax comes with lots of awesome extra pieces. First up are the twin sai-like swords (each with its own metallic purple hilt, handle wrapped with black cord, and silver off-centre blade) that are magically linked to him and as such, only he can use them. One hilt is a horned reptile eye design and the other is a winged reptile skull motif, with both featuring a gemstone, light-blue and yellow respectively, embedded in the centre. The two sharp, prong-shaped metal blades are designed to fit in the two chest scabbards, with the handles pointing downwards. Since in the comics these swords can be combined into one broader sword with the two silver blades placed side by side, their toy counterparts are devised to attach and lock together nice and tight. Also in the comics, it is shown that a powered-up mode can be accessed, wherein both gemstones become ruby-red, the prong-like side guards of the hilt rotate downwards, and the two blades split in the middle and open to reveal another dagger blade-like glowing beam of energy inside. This beam of energy is subsequently ignited, projecting a full-sized sword blade of fire that can deflect other energy attacks, cut through nearly anything, and disrupt magical spells. So, the package includes a non-separable activated sword (with a central glow-in-the-dark beam of energy) and a flame attachment (a translucent yellow and orange piece of plastic that fits between the two silver blades and over the central beam), which, together with the two above-mentioned swords, are meant to depict the multiple forms of the same weapon: from its dormant state to awakened to full powered state.
Additionally, the figure comes with a clear stand that plugs securely into his base via a swivel joint, and holds him up well enough to mimic his floating poses during combat. However, this is probably my biggest disappointment with Mohrdax, since a ball jointed stand would definitely have given him a greater range and expression. It should also have had a wider base, because it can be a little unstable when you load him up with his extended neck and flaming sword. Still, it’s OK for what it needs to be.
Finally, the package includes a set of accessories to recreate Mohrdax's appearance as shown in the comics of the KR|Dimness series. The set is composed of a hooded head, a cloak and a sort of muff. The extra portrait has a much simpler look compared to the two Horizon heads, with a tattered purple cowl that covers most of his head and tapers to a point on the back. His indistinct, shadowy face is completely black, but those evil yellow eyes still glare out. The cowl also has an additional piece in the front, as there is a laminar, studded silver brow guard covering his forehead. The ripped black cloak is meant to replace the cuirass and incorporates a torn black stole (with purple ornamental trim) worn around the neck, with two ends of equal length hanging down in front and with the two adjacent sides roughly sewn together using purple stitches up the centre. The muff-like thingy is actually a black-trimmed extension for the sleeves, to recreate the iconic pose with his hands folded.
Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦ One of the major players in Masq-Lor's struggle for inner peace is revealed to be a reptilian wizard. In a way, his existence diminishes the role of many other bad guys in the KR continuity (and I don’t love that), but I can’t really blame this figure for that, since the idea has probably been around for long
Articulation: ♥♥ It’s about what I would expect for this kind of skirted character. The only thing I feel like it’s missing is the ball-jointed connector to the flight stand, which would have made him a bit more stable
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ I really do love the character design here. Paint is also pretty nice on this figure, with some washes for the metallic sections and mostly sharp detail lines with little slop
Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ With the neck extended or a standard look, Mohrdax looks menacing and absolutely fantastic with his swords in-hand. I cannot imagine that these could have been done any better, and they will surely be loved by most KR collectors. I love them
Playability: ♪♪♪ Excluding the limited personality of the poses we can get with the figure on the stand, I think Mohrdax is a great toy, and I’m glad to add him to my shelves
Overall: ☺☺☺ I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. I’m judging this figure mostly based on the sculpt, and I actually like this sculpt quite a lot. I also like to see new characters and designs, so even a new take on the reptilian villain concept is cool in my book, and the execution here is very nice.
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