KR|Origin Review #27: Origin Expansion Kit for Tahron

Yes, after one year of waiting and sheer anticipation since my review of the epic Tahron playset/game, the prototype of the very first expansion kit for that grand theatre of war has finally arrived to my home!

Description

The KR|Origin Expansion Kit features:

• 24 booster tokens for the game
• Two additional sections and several accessories for Theriom City Tower

• A bag with 75 translucent red chips that are shaped like Antikythron crystals

I'm going to describe these components separately.

Booster Tokens
The primary tokens comprise the basic complement of pieces that can be used to play the game; this may be expanded with booster tokens from expansion kits, which contain 24 pieces of varying qualities. One of these tokens is usually a rare piece that is much harder to obtain than the remaining pieces.

Similarly to the primary tokens, each booster token is composed of a hollow cylindrical sandy taupe base and a double mini staction figure - the latter can be reversed and half-inserted into the former, in order to show, in accordance with the progress of the game, either a generic warrior piece (face down token) or a specific one (face up token), which can represent either a completely new character or a new version of a primary piece. The cylindrical base bears a pointer, which is used to indicate the player who owns the piece.

Besides the usual properties, i.e., class, faction, strength, agility, and in some cases a special ability or limitation, each expansion piece is also characterised by a particular era (in this case Origin) and a number of accumulable credits. In limited cases (i.e., primary era variants), expansion pieces present no credit, but are characterised by additional strength values and/or different agility patterns compared to their primary counterparts.

List of Origin expansion pieces and their properties.

List of possible primary pieces variants in the Origin Expansion Kit (only one piece is included in the kit).

Theriom City Tower additional sections

Like with the original tower, the red&gold frontages of these two sections are loosely modelled after Beijing's Forbidden City. These two parts attach to the two sides of Theriom City Tower via sturdy hinges, which allow you to open up the fully assembled playset and display it with the three sections side by side, or to fold it up with each additional section positioned at a 90 degree angle to the original tower.

Section 1 (placed to the left of Theriom Tower) - exterior: the lower level features a Colosseum-like façade with a semi-decagonal plan, flanked externally by a short bridge carrying a path across a river (yes, there's even a small sculpted piece of river), which connects an arch-shaped secondary gateway (ornamented with a large gilded Theriom emblem and holding an elaborate bronze symbolic cistern that contains a massive egg-shaped opalescent blue-white gemstone) to an elevator shaft. The upper level is characterised by the presence of a couple of small translucent blue windows (one of which can be opened) and a ledge holding a white marble sundial. The elevator shaft (ending with futuristic slender spires, and enclosing a moving chair driven by a string and held by a hook) leads to a rooftop featuring a slot for a flight stand (on which an Aviotak can perch, but I wish this space were used for the Gyrocarrier's domed heliport with elevated runway!) and a small watchtower equipped with a parapet and a rigid Theriom flag (whose pole looks like a sort of antenna).

Section 1 - interior: the inner side of the semi-decagonal wall presents a training facility, with sculpted weapons and combat-related equipment. Next to it (behind the elevator shaft), there is a bricky prison cell with a translucent blue opening door. The upper level features a room that acts both as a library and a gallery, containing shelves with collections of books and an array of paintings (mostly portraits of members of the Amhalgaard family). This chamber is modelled after the Amber Room and is furnished with a cloth-covered chair (equipped with two golden clips and a pillow) and a book stand; it is worth noting that due to the low ceiling, this level cannot accommodate for a standing figure. The rooftop presents several parapets and a space for parking more Aviotak aircrafts (which don't actually fit). There are also two slots for attaching an optional carrying handle - more on this later.

Section 2 (placed to the right of Theriom Tower) - exterior: the front wall of the lower level has an opening overhead door, which is (hardly) large enough to accommodate a vehicle like CoBoN. The upper level has a ledge served by stairways from both the lower level and the rooftop, and features small parapets at different levels. The top is characterised by a pyramidal roof, and a large watchtower equipped with a parapet and a rigid Theriom flag (whose pole, also in this case, looks like a sort of antenna). All the parapet pieces included in this playset are removable and can be re-positioned in different spots.

Section 2 - interior: the lower level features a garage/workshop for housing and repairing a vehicle, which is equipped with sculpted tools (such as a meter of some sort and a welding gun), machinery and glass containers for chemicals. Next to it, there is a small garden with sculpted shrubs and flowers, which is seemingly an outdoor space separated from the garage by a wall and an upright pillar (the latter being an obvious reference to a gazebo that is missing in this playset). The upper level is dominated by a dining room (sometimes used as a music room) with large mirror stickers, which is modelled after the Hall of Mirrors. It contains a table with sculpted cutlery, bowls of food, fruit baskets and two separate goblets of wine (these cups are chromed with gold, have a nice design patterned around the outside, and hold a dark-purple “liquid”), an elaborate chandelier hanging from a caisson ceiling, and a fireplace with a flame-like lenticular sticker and a removable grate; four chairs are also included, but they can't really fit in the room when the table is present.

Additionally, the set comes with a throne that has a permanently attached red fur rug, which is meant to replace the conference table in the council room of Theriom City Tower, in order to match the Origin (and also the Enmity) series' throne hall look.

There is also a set of optional swivelling latches and a carrying handle, which allow you to safely lock the opening sides of the assembled playset and to carry this by the handle.

Game rules with expansion pieces

Setup
The setup of a game with booster tokens is identical to the one of the original game, with the only difference that each player may have an optional side-set of up to 15 booster tokens of his choice (but he may not have more than two primary era variant pieces). Each player must present his side-set of face down booster tokens to the rival before a battle, and allow the rival to count and record the number of pieces upon request. The booster tokens of each side-set are put aside (where the opponent cannot see them) and turned up before the primary tokens are shuffled, and those pieces are considered being temporarily outside the game.

Declaration
The declaration process may be influenced by knowledge of the identity of the booster tokens in each player’s own side-set.

Game play
A player may exchange any number of pieces between the side-set and the playing set during each battle, but the number of pieces in the side-set after the exchange must be the same as the number of pieces before the exchange. The exchange enables a player to modify the playing pieces in order to gain new abilities and suit a game strategy against the opponent.

Exchange is only allowed:
• Between two pieces that have both identical faction colour (for example yellow, red or brown) and identical ID letter (X, A, B, C, …, K)
• By a player who has just played a primary piece
• Immediately after that primary piece has been played.

For example, if a player moves the piece Masq-Lor from his Frontline to his Battlefield on the gameboard, the same player will be allowed in that moment to exchange that piece with a piece belonging to a yellow faction and with ID letter “D” from his side-set, if any is available. Moving exposed Second Line tokens one leap straight and turning them up are not considered actions that allow players to exchange pieces. After an exchange, the game continues with the original rules.

Use of credits and end of battle
Credits in the form of coloured chips may only be collected if the exchanged piece eventually conquers one of the two walls. Other abilities provided by variants, such as increased strength and/or different agility, may be used at the most convenient moment during a single fight.

Immediately after a fight and before the start of the following one, a player who has accumulated enough credits may decide to make use of them. Only one player may use his credits after each fight; if both players decide to use their credits after the same fight, the player who has the highest total number of credits will have the priority, but will not be allowed to spend more credits at the end of the next fight (he will be allowed to spend more credits at the end of the fight after next).

Depending on the colour of the accumulated credits, these may be spent to gain certain abilities with pre-defined costs.

The chips included in the Origin expansion kit are translucent red, and spending 10 of them allows a player to decide which player leads on the next fight and whether the play continues with the lead from the trench or the frontline, avoiding a roll of the die.

After each battle, each player must recollect any booster tokens he used from his side-set. The side-set can be modified before the next battle, and any accumulated credits can be kept for use during the following battles.

Overall, this set is fantastic, and really channels the sense of wonder and greatness of last year's Tahron playset/board game prototype. I'm going to abstain from making any claims about the game play enhancements, because I just haven't spent enough time playing with it. The additional playset sections are quite well designed though, with only a few questionable decisions (the many horizontal surfaces that are way too narrow, and the too low ceiling in the library/gallery room), and come with lots of nice, fun accessories.

Happy holidays!!!

KR|Horizon Review #27: Kentadon

Toy prototype details
Name: Kentadon^TM
Subtitle: bionic insectoid warrior
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: action figure - Nº 22 in the line.

Character details
Name: Kentadon (sometimes alternatively spelt Kentadron^TM)
Classification: bio-robotic hybrid
Sex: undefined
Home: Tahron
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: commandant of the Destructomorph Goblins.

Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #2 - In the eye of the storm
Brief bio: originally an archetype of the Destructomorph Goblins created during Nemhetra's diabolical evolutionary experiments, the bio-robotic insectoid Kentadon was eventually abandoned in a dumping site, because driven by an ungovernable truculent instinct. It was salvaged by Muvaran, who by Mohrdax's command infused the creature with part of his magical powers, to exploit it as a ruthless hunter of prey when set loose upon Tahron. Later, Psadimyr augmented Kentadon with bionic parts using his own evil combination of science and sorcery, in order to boost its abilities even further and transform it into the ultimate war machine. Its vicious and malevolent enhanced nature attracted the attention of Nemhetra, who quickly recruited it to serve as an enforcer in her ranks and help her defeat the Therioms. Rising as the leader of Nemhetra's military defences, the vile Kentadon was tremendously fierce and surprisingly brainy in battle, making the heroic Therioms extremely cautious while confronting it.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

Head: characterised by a scaly glossy black hood that surrounds and merges with an android-like silvery face; it displays a pair of short thin biramous black antennae pointing backward, a pair of fairly large red glowing compound eyes, three smaller light-green glowing eye spots on the forehead and a wide (stretching almost as wide as his eyes) human-looking mouth bearing two vampire-like, finely serrated black fangs, as well as two heavily toothed ivory-coloured spikes protruding from the chin and flanked by a pair of short black segmented appendages (or palps)

Body: his four main limbs (mostly reused from the Destructomorph Goblins) are characterised by a slender, segmented black chitinous appearance (bearing numerous details along their length, such as cracks, bumps and reddish-brown stripes) and is protected by a number of silver metallic plates, which show some spikes and machinery/circuitry patterns, and act as shoulder guards, rerebraces and thigh guards. The arms feature two giant silver robotic pairs of shears, which have a lot of sculpted tech-mech metallic purple details, such as wires and gears, and are articulated with a hinge joint on each partially toothed blade, so they can open and close. Each of his four-digit feet bears three massive claw-like black toes in front and one in back. It is worth noting that under the removable armour, the torso is the same tech-mech piece used for the Goblins, with identical dials, sliders, buttons, knobs and rectangular lenticular sticker at the centre of the chest (which gives an illusion of coursing sound waves)

Wearables: a metallic purple armour with light-green details, two metallic purple bracers, two blocky metallic purple boots (each with a triangular light-green ornament on the shaft and with the dark claws protruding outward), a grooved metallic purple belt with a buckle that looks like the Destructomorph symbol (i.e., a square-shaped spider whose back slightly resembles a demoniac face), and a laminar light-green crotch piece that is split in the middle. The rear surfaces of the armour and of the crotch piece feature seven sockets in total, while the chest armour carries two pairs of light-green robotic appendages similar to small arthropod-like arms, which extend from the sides of the abdomen and terminate in single tiny silver claws.

Kentadon's stylised armour.

Action feature

As a precursory Destructomorph Goblin, Kentadon hatched from the egg-like corpse of a poligavoid^TM with an insect-derived bionic armour, prehensile mouthparts, 26 limbs, and a pair of large chopping hands. In the comics, Kentadon eventually enters into a pupa-like stage and emerges from his bio-metallic cocoon as a flying creature, with an overall smaller body mass, fully formed antennae, eyes and wings, and glands used to secrete a poisonous substance that can be injected into an opponent's body by firing sting-projectiles.

In his pre-metamorphosis form, the figure's lower jaw is equipped with a large extensible bio-robotic organ, which in the comics is termed as a "mask" (as it is normally folded neatly and held before the face and the chest) and can be struck out at great speed to grasp enemies. The tech-mech silver double-hinged (i.e., near the chin and in the middle) piece can extend forward and retract, and terminates in a crushing weapon composed of two claw-like reddish-brown moveable palps with cutting edges and a number of small teeth. This mask fits on the head perfectly and stays put thanks to two small notches on the figure’s TMJs. Also, a silver carapace piece (which is covered in ridges where different metallic surfaces join, and has a sort of spine-like structure topped with a tall collar) is attached to the back armour. Finally, an extra millipede-like abdomen piece is attached to the back of the crotch and is characterised by silver metallic segments that are ring-shaped and joined by seemingly leathery black skin armed with tufts of spiny reddish-brown bristles. The first segment bears an additional pair of fully articulated legs that are identical to the main legs (except for having metallic purple calf protectors -each bearing a double row of spines and a silver spur near the lower end- instead of boots, and completely black feet), while each of the remaining five segments has a pair of ball hinged double-leg parts (each part is composed of two small arthropod-like reddish-brown legs terminating in single black claws). The abdomen piece ends in a long segmented, hooked silver ball jointed telson.

In his post-metamorphosis form, the figure loses the mouth mask, which can be removed by gently pulling its sides, and acquires an elaborate silver helmet with light-green highlights. This separate, removable headdress is characterised by a segmented structure and a pointy, spiky shape that is kinda reminiscent of a Queen Alien's crest embellished with rhinoceros/stag beetle-like protrusions in the middle and at the sides. It also displays a pair of long, thread-like forward-pointing silver antennae with multiple joints, and a pair of large bulbous purple compound eyes (which meet at the top of the helmet), each with a blue glowing horizontal slit plus a beady-eye spot in the centre. Additionally, the figure is deprived of the carapace and of the extra abdomen piece (except for the telson, which plugs into the back of the crotch piece), and obtains six new ball hinged appendages on his back, namely a secondary pair of arms and two pairs of dragonfly-like wings. The additional pair of arthropod-like reddish-brown arms, each terminating in a bulbous silver structure with an arched translucent light-green poisonous detachable sting-missile, project from the back of the shoulders, while the four large transparent (with a purplish tinge) wings are patterned with numerous circuitry-looking veins.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from his pre- (face mask, carapace and millipede abdomen) and post- (helmet, stinger-arms and pairs of wings) metamorphosis pieces, Kentadon does come with a couple of cool accessories: his giant poundin’ war hammer and an alternate head. The battle hammer has a great looking sculpt and lots of good metallic green paint. The large, bulky sledgehammer head has two thick, solid polls with equally spaced grooves that make them similar in appearance to honey dippers, while the long haft has a wicked looking spear-like barbed spike on the opposite end. Kentadon's shear blades are sculpted with holes (one in each hand), to hold the weapon in a variety of one- and two-handed poses - the handle can split into up to three sections, the two furthermost of which can be pushed into such holes, and reassembled afterwards.

Interestingly, Kentadon has a separate portrait depicting his helmet posed in a different way. While the standard head has a removable helmet that enhances his vision, the alternate head has the helmet permanently attached in a raised position, so you can see Kentadon's red eyes underneath.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ I was super-pumped when PoliganToys announced that they would produce a prototype of this character and I couldn't wait any longer for Kentadon to make his debut in toy form in the ranks of my favourite faction, the Destructomorphs

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ All the joints and articulation on my figure are intact and cause no issue

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ I’m really happy with how this figure looks - the bulkier armour gives it the width that makes it more intimidating. The paint is pretty clean and nothing seems to be prone of being rubbed off

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ While a character like this shouldn’t rely on a weapon, I think it’s cool to envision it using that giant hammer to hit his enemies and then go in to slash or poison them when they’re down. Yes, the way it is held looks very impractical, but I'm a fan of this weapon, because it's a unique and well-designed piece; it’s also great to see some extra paint on it to make it pop more
Playability: ♪♪♪♪♪ All the extra pieces just pop off of pegs, fit really well and are easy to swap with no concerns about breakage

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I love this figure - not only does it add an awesome character to my collection, but it is also great looking with a really unique set of display options. This is the final figure prototype of 2020. It is not the final KR item to close the year out, but it's the last character of the KR|Horizon line, definitely the best series in the Key Raiders universe so far!

KR|Horizon Review #26: Tarmann

Toy prototype details
Name: Tarmann^TM
Subtitle: kicking officer
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: action figure - Nº 21 in the line.

Character details
Name: Tarmann
Classification: monotreme mammal
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Theriom
Rank: officer cadet (he is eventually promoted to second lieutenant for replacing Alyptro).

Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #3 - The last horizon
Brief bio: a member of a legendary group of duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed humanoids inhabiting small streams and rivers in the eastern wetlands, during his childhood Tarmann was saved from the attack of a horde of insectoid invaders by a young Mor-Rak while on a hiking trip with his father Gax-Uhr^TM. Although none of such elusive creatures had ever passed through Theriom City's gates before, Gax-Uhr recognised the bond between his son and the orphaned child, and welcomed Tarmann within the walls of their residence for being adopted by the Amhalgaard^TM family. From then on, he became Mor-Rak's closest companion and despite his natural timorous disposition, he could be brave whenever his friend fell into danger. Growing up, along with the courage gradually came the talent for combat and the two friends discovered that their bond gave them an almost supernatural awareness of each other's thoughts, aiding them in training and granting Tarmann a tremendous cunning in contrast to his innate clumsiness. Years later, when Mor-Rak learnt to master the power of the Antikythron^TM, Tarmann, resenting his lack of bravery when he was young, in turn became a mighty soldier, proving that even a fearful child can still flourish into a courageous warrior.

Articulation
Standard, excluding hinged abdomen (the figure has a hinged flap instead), and with the addition of a ball hinged tail.

Description
Head: covered with a dense reddish-brown furry hood that surrounds a fairly elongated snout; the latter is covered in grey skin, forming a pliable bill shaped like that of a duck. The nostrils are located on the dorsal surface of the snout, while a pair of small dark eyes is located in a mask-like area (similar to that of a raccoon) covered with short greyish hair and set just between the furry forehead and the snout; a pair of slightly rounded ears are also bordered by greyish fur
Body: covered with a dense fur (reddish-brown on the upper parts of the torso and of the limbs, and greyish on the lower parts), webbed grey-skinned hands and feet (the latter are much larger than the former) with sharp black claws; furthermore, each forearm/calf is equipped with a cream-coloured, horny venomous spur. He also has a broad, beaver-like flat tail covered with alternating wide reddish-brown and narrow greyish bands of fur on the dorsal surface, and grey scales on the underside

Wearables: a dark-blue partially removable armour with metallic light-green details, two studded dark-blue wrist guards, two dark-blue shin guards, a double belt (i.e., a smooth matte dark-blue band with a lozenge-shaped buckle, above a studded metallic dark-blue piece with short tassets) and a ridged metallic light-green groin protector. His back is covered with cream-coloured horny spines, but it's unclear whether these are attached to the armour or to his body; the second hypothesis is more likely, since the armour looks to be only comprised of a front portion (covering the chest and abdomen) attached to a collar and to a pair of armholes. The overall theme of the armour seems to be "faces": the breastplate is sculpted like a kind of robotic beast face, with a very angular, stern expression highlighted by two small light-green teeth pointing up toward two menacing light-green eyes on his chest. Even his greaves appear to have distinct eyes and a nose above a tiny pair of fangs. The bracers on his forearms don't have any sort of faces, but the overall effect is "get near me and I'll tear you to pieces".

Tarmann's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics, Tarmann's most distinctive feature is perhaps his broad, flat tail, which has multiple functions: it acts as a prop when he balances on it to powerfully kick his opponents with his large feet, and sometimes it is also used as a striking weapon for attack. The figure's tail can move up and down as well as rotate on a ball-hinge at its base.
He also has a spur on each limb, which fictionally delivers a non-lethal venom with the ability of causing an opponent to become partly or wholly incapable of movement for a limited period of time.

Additionally, his beast-themed chest plate (from the "brow" to the "upper jaw") can rise and shrink to become a curved face guard on top of his armour, which is designed to conceal his head, giving him some realistic facial protection during combat, and to enhance his ability to sense his opponents through electrolocation. This is achieved thanks to two swappable breastplates, one normal and one with the raised faceplate, which swap fine and clip securely onto the collar and armholes sculpted on his torso piece. Based on his description in the comics, Tarmann has a distinctive quacky voice, which becomes deep and authoritative when the faceplate that protects his head is lifted - this might be due to what looks like a speaker box or mouth grill below the plate's sculpted upper lip. Other details that distinguish the extended armour piece from the standard one are the two glowing green eyes on the faceplate and a Theriom emblem (i.e., a seven-pointed golden star with the two side points elongated) on the underlying breastplate.

Finally, we’ve got an opening abdominal receptacle, in which Tarmann carries the ammunition for his crossbow-like weapon. The abdomen piece representing the beast face's lower jaw is actually a hinged flap that swivels open, allowing us to plug an included curved metallic light-green magazine (seemingly containing a fan-shaped reservoir of blueish-grey titanium bolts) in a vertical position into a revealed slot. The panel opens smoothly and snaps shut pretty tightly, fitting seamlessly when closed.

Tarmann's stylised armour with raised faceplate; the circle at the centre of the underlying chest plate represents the Theriom symbol.

Weapons and accessories
Apart from the alternative breastplate and bolt magazine piece, Tarmann comes with his signature repeating multi-shot dart launcher that can clip onto his wrist. The weapon consists of two bow-like blueish-grey stacked assemblies (a single-bolt one on top of a dual-bolt one, with their limbs slightly resembling the two pairs of wings of a dragonfly) mounted horizontally on a metallic light-green main frame with three blueish-grey darts sculpted on it, a side slot for attaching the above-mentioned bolt magazine in a horizontal position, a metallic light-green top-mounted binocular sight, and a blueish-grey dagger-bayonet fixed to the front of the main frame for close-quarters combat.

Additionally, before being finally redesigned for this non-technological warrior styling, Tarmann was originally conceived as a cyborg-like soldier (as his empty abdominal cavity may suggest) built by Mor-Rak. So, as a nod to this early robotic concept, the figure includes two pairs of blueish-grey clip-on biceps and thigh pads that show raised plating with sculpted electronic circuitry and what appear to be various rivets holding such armoured plates together.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦ I believe Tarmann has the potential to be a very polarizing character. I love almost all the characters in the KR|Horizon line, but this one does grate on my nerves a bit and gives me some Jar Jar Binks-y feelings. I think the end of the comic book in which he appears really salvages him as a character though 

Articulation: ♥♥♥ As has been the case with most KR prototypes for quite a few years now, the articulation is awesome for the main part. It's durable, plentiful and tight. While he lacks the hinged abdomen that most other male figures have, it's not a huge loss considering he has the belly flap for the bolt magazine to "hide" in

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ Say what you want, but Tarmann is not a bad looking character, I think. While there might not be much potential love for this kind of slaptsticky character, he still has a very nice looking design. And what does he reuse? His furry biceps and thighs are standard, that’s it. Everything else is brand new! Does this clash with the normal KR style? Maybe, but so do a lot of other characters. His paint job is more complex than you’d think. The one aspect to his paint that really threw me at first was the bright green on his armour and groin - it clashes with the blue, but in a good way that makes the figure stand out

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ His armour pieces (including the breastplates and the four tech-looking pads) fit on Tarmann's body pretty well, while his weapon looks great with its weathered paint job and removable magazine
Playability: ♪♪♪ Although the tail joint allows for a few poses, I think having more articulation would have been nice. I also wish the hands were set up a bit better to hold the dart launcher more properly, but that's not a deal breaker for me

Overall: ☺☺☺ While I can't imagine a ton of KR fans will be desperate to run out and grab a Tarmann figure, there is an odd charm to this toy and one might want to consider adding it to their collection at some point. He's colourful and well sculpted, and I really like that he comes with a badass armour and weapon. This guy is a good entry in the line.