KR|Horizon Review #12: Elykta (Horizon Edition)

Toy prototype details

Name: Elykta^TM (Horizon Edition)

Subtitle: magic arbiter

Line: KR|Horizon

Item type: action figure - Nº 11 in the line.

Character details

Name: Elykta, aka The Deity

Classification: archosauromorph reptile

Sex: female

Home: Tahron

Era: 15 years after Foundation

Affiliation: neutral (formerly belonging to the Theriom faction)

Rank: divinity.

Background

First appearance: KR|Horizon #1 - The Destructomorph legacy

Brief bio: a reptilian sorceress once affiliated with the Reptonoids, Elykta learnt to master many forms of witchcraft, including dark magic and clairvoyance, from the black-hearted wizard Sphenorat^TM. Becoming gradually disgusted by Bi-Harr's cruel methods of conquest, she eventually betrayed her evil faction and set out to join the Therioms. After acquiring additional mystic secrets and relics, including the stone of deterrence from Ki-Shudan^TM, Elykta spent decades learning to control her new magical abilities. Recognised for her courage and wisdom, she was chosen by Kai-Xi to become the latest guardian of the three prodigious helmets forged by Galamars^TM, for the future generations. After a five-century wait for worthy heirs to be found, Elykta finally encountered Tir-Hing's three missing children, who became the new protectors of the Key. Following her heroic death to save her fellows' lives, she raised to a powerful divine form and chose to be tasked with maintaining neutrality throughout Tahron, replacing the Deity who preceded her. Although she could no longer take part to any conflicts, the revived struggle over supremacy called her to preserve the balance between good and evil forces, and her guidance allowed the three brave siblings to harness even more power against their enemy. After the Therioms had ultimately subdued Nemhetra and banished the Destructomorphs, Elykta preserved her ageless spirit inside Theriom City, where she continued to advise and watch over her former companions.

Articulation

Standard, excluding hinged abdomen.

Description

Head: Elykta's head is cast in a translucent greenish plastic and her face slightly resembles the visage of Dale Russel's Dinosauroid, even though she looks fairly more pleasant. Her head sculpt is quite similar to the Origin and Enmity versions, displaying a bald look, two very subtle cranial crests, a dark-greenish wash above her solid pink glowing eyes and two curved linear dark marks below. Additionally, she wears a tiara-like golden-yellow headpiece with a blueish glowing gemstone in the centre, from which four draping golden chains elegantly fall to cover the cheeks and connect to the earphone-shaped sides of the diadem (which in turn hold two copper dangle "earrings")

Body: the exposed portions of her scaly body (parts of the arms, of the legs and of the lower torso) are also cast in a translucent greenish plastic and include 3-claw hands and feet; like her Origin counterpart, this edition of Elykta is barefoot and has large sickle-shaped claws on the second toes

Wearables: an orange feathery crop top with golden-yellow arabesque patterns and jagged cap sleeves, two coiled snake-shaped orange copper bracelets (each ornamented with yellow sapphire gemstones and a loop for the middle finger), two studded orange copper armbands around the upper arms (the right one is connected to the bracelet via a loose fitting yellow silk sleeve) and two orange leather-and-rope calf protectors (each ornamented with a coiled snake-shaped orange copper shin/knee guard and a loop for the middle toe). The centre of the crop top's U-neck is connected to a copper choker by a reptile eye-shaped purple jewel, while its bottom hem is shaped like the three-spiked motif of Elykta's previous versions' armours. Additionally, she wears a sari, i.e., a very long strip of "dyed cloth", which is draped in the Nivi style: one end (yellow coloured) is wrapped around the waist (forming a knee-length, diagonal-cut skirt) and gathered into pleats just below the abdomen, while the other end (orange coloured) is draped diagonally across the right hip, in front of the torso (partly baring the midriff) and over the left shoulder. The lower part of the sari is decorated with copper spangles and is secured around the waist by a belt made of several orange copper discs laced together (the central one of which is a large buckle ornamented with a star-shaped yellow sapphire), while the long end hanging from the back of the shoulder is intricately decorated with golden-yellow arabesque patterns.

Action feature

Like with the many versions of The Deity, Elykta doesn't have any particular action features, apart from the fact that she comes with a display stand. This 2-piece clear plastic stand rests under Elykta's crotch, to give her the illusion of hovering. It's not the best design for a stand, but it works quite well for a figure like this

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the figure stand, Elykta comes with a 2-pronged golden-yellow wand, which is topped with the stone of deterrence. Although the wand's sculpt is kinda reminiscent of the staves that were included with her previous editions, the stick is shorter and seemingly made of metal, while the stone is cast in a frosty, semi-translucent yellow plastic.

Furthermore, the figure includes a brand new version of Elykta's signature dinosaur helmet, which is removable and is shaped like a complete head of Parasaurolophus (or a similar "duck-billed" hadrosaurid). Like with its previous versions, it's difficult to figure out whether this head is real or artificial, since some details, such as the eyes and part of the muzzle (including the fangs) and of the crest, seem to be made of copper, while other details, especially the nape/cheek protector, look like made of real yellowish scaly skin. However, there are also some major differences. First of all, the nape guard extends down the back of the figure and expands into a slightly domed, horny shell. While the rim of the shell is embellished with bulb-like copper ornaments on the sides, its bottom tapers to a longish, slim tail that ends in a sort of rattle. Additionally, two large flaps extend from the cheek guards, hang down in front of both shoulders, entwine along the chest and continue to the abdomen with a wavy shape, ending in a single forward-facing, mouth-gaping snake head. The colour of this helmet/armour gradually fades from yellowish at the top to somewhat black at the bottom - the transition areas are marked with black spots and dashes over a yellow background on the shell's underside, with yellow lines radiating from the centre of each dark horny plate on the shell's upper surface, and with lozenge-shaped yellow markings on the snake-like front portion.
Additionally, a helmetless, episode-specific head/portrait for her Foundation edition is included, which is pretty awesome in its own right - in The Cereutian menace comic books, Denortos turns Elykta to a stony substance, so she looks immobile and hard solid. However, PoliganToys frustratingly neglected to add a pair of alternate hands to complete that look. Also included is the very KR|Enmity comic book-accurate edition of Zor-Kan - not only it sports a different colour scheme (with dark-red, blue tipped wings and a green ruff), but, for the first time ever, we get a version of Elykta's faithful bird of prey that is a solid piece of plastic in a perched position. There is even a golden-yellow perch, but you have to be a bit careful plugging the talons into the pegs... there seem to be potential of causing damage to the legs.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦♦ The first female figure in the Key Raiders line I've ever reviewed was Elykta. I published her review on September 15th of 2015 and she has been the only female character for one month, until she was joined by Demo-Rha. She's a strong character that holds her own and she's involved in some story lines that deal with heavy issues such as guilt, defection and redemption. As the KR|Horizon line progresses, it's obvious that we needed an Elykta to complete the core characters

Articulation: ♥♥♥ The figure has most of the articulation that we’re used to with KR figures. The joints aren’t as tight as I’d like in some places, but it's not too bad. Of course, with the helmet/armour on, the head barely has any movement

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ The outfit is a really good departure from the previous figures' style. The crop top on the chest, the sari, and the copper and golden paint applications on the details show that a lot of care went into the design of Elykta’s updated look. The paint pops and I love the translucent green plastic her body is moulded in, which gives the figure an ethereal, mystical look. It’s a nice touch

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ Elykta comes loaded with accessories and, despite we’ve seen them all before in some form, I'm glad they are all newly tooled pieces. Although I like the new wand, I might display her with the staff that came with her Foundation edition. It just fits better for my tastes... I think

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ Despite her complex outfit, this figure is uninhibited when it comes to joint mobility, allowing her to be placed in some great dynamic poses. I really had a ton of fun posing her, especially with all of her accessories

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ This edition of Elykta stands out from her previous versions, while still fitting in with the integrity of the KR line. Her pile of accessories is a huge plus for this prototype as well as her paintjob and overall look. I think the Horizon line has set the bar very high, but considering Elykta was the pioneer of the she-figures, she had also set a very high standard for the rest of the female lineup. I'm glad these two benchmarks fitted together in this figure.