KR Review #82: Exabeast (NYTF 2020 Exclusive)

There are quite a few characters that did not make it to figure form during the various issues of the Key Raiders: Foundation comic book series.

One of the most fascinating characters is for sure the so-called Exabeast^TM, the giant creature formed by Denortos and his five fellows during the epic final battle of the Cereutian menace story (specifically, issue #9 - "The Cereutian menace: Part II – Salvation").

Now, I am really happy to finally review this large scale figure, officially the fifth in the KR|Foundation series. This is a 30-cm tall (around 12'') promotional figure that will be released at this year's New York Toy Fair (Saturday, Feb 22 – Tuesday, Feb 25, 2020).

I must say, the folks at PoliganToys did a wonderful job of creating a design that maximises play-factor while remaining true to the aesthetic of the Key Raiders line as a whole.

Details
Name: unknown (commonly referred to as "The Exabeast" or, alternatively, "The HexaBeast")

Subtitle: alien monstrosity

Classification: uncertain

Sex: male

Home: Cereutis

Affiliation: independent

Rank: mercenary.

Articulation

For a bulky, beautiful behemoth of a figure, the articulation on this brute is terrific. He features a ball hinged head with a great range of motion (he has a fairly long, thick neck that pushes his head up and out from the body), upper torso ab crunch, double-ball hinged shoulders and hips, swivel biceps and thighs, ball hinged elbows, wrists, knees and ankles (with ankle rockers). Finally, he has a swivel-rocker waist joint that works very well, allowing him to tilt and turn with a pretty wide range of movement. The predominant ball hinge joint allows the joints to turn 360 degrees, as well as move forward and backward on the disc.

Could PoliganToys have implemented slightly more articulation, such as double-jointed elbows and knees? Yes, but to what end? For the size and bulk of this beast, the flexibility here works remarkably, and I don’t honestly believe that adding more points of articulation would have added much to the figure at all.

Description

PoliganToys has gone with a truly monstrous, savage head sculpt for this figure. The "bat wing"-shaped ears, solid yellow eyes and mismatched piranha-like whitish teeth on this figure make for a fantastically fun–but gross-looking–monster.

I like the body work, with plenty of detailing in the veins, tendons and wrinkles. The muscle definition seems appropriate, as do the body proportions such as the size of the hands and feet to the rest of the figure, and the scale to CoBoN's robot mode. The hands have been given interesting sculpts that can work in a variety of gestures, or can hold the included accessory.

The figure is cast in the appropriate colour (since he's predominately dark-blue/almost black, that's not too much of an issue, except for the slightly glossy look of the plastic) and the paint apps for the highlights and lowlights are stellar, no complaints at all. The detail work is great too, with not just the nasal skull cap (derived from Denortos' robotic arm) and body striations painted in shiny and dull silver respectively, but also the yellowish fingernails, toenails, external spine and spurs on the back of the arms and legs, along with some effective highlighting on the ridges of his exposed skeletal structure.

Quality-control on this figure is outstanding, with the Exabeast feeling nice and heavy despite being rotocast, and standing up stably on its own in various poses (even when holding up another figure!) with no problem whatsoever.

Weapons and accessories

The figure comes with one accessory. It's a hunk of metal girder with a couple of pipes attached, bent in the middle by his ferocious right hand. To be honest, I don't remember where this comes from, I need to re-read the comic book. The item breaks in half, but the pegs are a little too short and a little too soft. So, rather than popping apart when it strikes CoBoN, it's probably going to simply fall apart on the slightest touch, making it more frustrating than fun.

If you're attending NYTF 2020, then you might want to give the Exabeast a thorough look. He has a couple of minor issues, the biggest being the piece of metal falling apart (if you get a little too frustrated with it, you can always glue it), but this is actually a pretty solid toy. The bestial head is aesthetically compelling, and the great articulation and well built execution make this figure a lot of fun. Also, he can definitely fill in as another reasonably interesting villain in the KR world. In short, I like it.

KR|Horizon Review #3: Sei-Lha (Horizon Edition)

Toy prototype details

Name: Sei-Lha^TM (Horizon Edition)

Subtitle: brave spellcaster

Line: KR|Horizon

Item type: action figure - Nº 3 in the line.

Character details

Name: Sei-Lha

Classification: human

Sex: female

Relationships: daughter of Xonedar and Demo-Rha, wife of Desion (Masq-Lor), sister-in-law of Herrion and Rhadiel (Fai-Rha), half-sister of Nemhetra

Home: Tahron

Era: 15 years after Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: enchantress.

Background

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

Brief bio: after learning of her mother’s identity as Demo-Rha and discovering to possess paranormal abilities unbeknown to her until then, Sei-Lha initially resisted her supernatural endowments and wished instead to carry on with her military career. Eventually, embracing her superhuman potential rather than rejecting it, she decided to exploit her newfound capabilities at last. Sei-Lha was taught to channel her unfledged powers through a magical staff by Elykta, who had transcended to a higher state of being for maintaining the balance between good and evil, and when she learnt how to control those faculties fully she was proposed to become the new enchantress at the service of the Therioms. After marrying Desion, in order not to harm her husband and their unborn son she took action with her father’s help by fashioning a special outfit that could contain her magic and protect herself as well as her loved ones. Now playing a vital role in the fight against the Destructomorphs, Sei-Lha helped guard the prodigious helmets from Nemhetra, who sought to use them for restoring her evil parents' threat after their defeat by the combined force of Masq-Lor and the Therioms.

Articulation

Standard, excluding hinged abdomen.

Description

Head: brown skin, blue eyes with smokey makeup; she wears a complex headgear composed of a nemes-like headcloth and a double crown. The striped light-blue cloth (whose individual strips are alternatively glossy and matt) covers the nape of the neck, extending a little way down the back, and has two large flaps hanging down behind the ears (which hold two elegant amber dangle earrings) and in front of both shoulders; an additional small V-shaped flap (similar to a widow’s peak) adorned with a purplish glowing gemstone hangs down on the centre of the forehead. The lower part of the double crown is silver and slightly resembles the "duck-billed" hadrosaurid's face (with two light-blue glowing gemstones representing the eyes) seen on Foundation Elykta's helmet, while the upper part is metallic light-blue and recalls the crest of the same helmet. Additionally, the lower part of the double crown extends down the back forming an interlaced silver structure ornamented with light-blue glowing gemstones, in which her long brown hair (emerging from under the headcloth and ending in a ponytail) is "caged"

Body: the exposed parts of her body (i.e., arms and part of the legs) show brown skin

Wearables: a sleeveless light-blue dress, a wide silver choker, two silver armbands (a wide one on the left arm and a narrow one on the right arm), two silver bracelets, two purple leather sandal-boots with silver trimming and oval silver knee guards, and a wide silver belt with a square light-blue gemstone buckle that holds a short strip of sheer purple fabric, two purplish gemstones that hold two small silver tassets and several amber gemstones that hold an equal number of orange tassels. The belt separates the fitted bandage bodice (which has criss-cross straps and whose individual strips of light-blue cloth are alternatively glossy and matt) above the waist from the ankle-length, diagonal-cut flouncy skirt below, allowing for the waist swivel. The bodice is equipped with a piece of silver armour consisting of a chest plate and a pair of shoulder pads, and displaying a complex ironwork-like spiral-line&leaf design. Like the belt, also the armour, the bracelets and the knee pads are adorned with various light-blue, amber and purplish glowing gemstones.

Action feature

In the comics, Sei-Lha is shown to possess a number of paranormal faculties, which she successfully converted into scientifically controlled magical powers that are similar to (and actually stronger than) those of Demo-Rha and Elykta. In particular, she can absorb and use powerful abilities of others and, in case, transfer them to her allies. To emulate the energy she gives off while absorbing or projecting powers, the figure comes with three translucent magic blast effects that can be attached to her left spell-casting hand: one flat and orange with individual blasts originating from the fingers, one globular/swirly and light-blue, and one jet-shaped and purple.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from her energy blast effects, Sei-Lha comes with a nice set of accessories. First up is her T-shaped silver staff with a light-blue gemstone at the junction between the vertical pole and the horizontal bar. The staff also works as a perch on which Lirek^TM, her loyal condor, can alight with its wings wide spread and transform into a translucent light-blue crystal form. You can make the staff into either its plain or bird-weaponized version by way of two swappable top pieces. Lirek is not included, but there's a brand new metallic light-blue collar (incorporating a long steel crest with a light-blue gemstone embedded in each side) for the old figure, which, by the way, can actually perch on the plain staff.

Additionally, the figure comes with a hooded, short-haired alternate head and a cloak, which will both appear in the third comic issue of the KR|Horizon series. The hood and the cape have the same strips of alternatively glossy and matt light-blue cloth seen on the standard headcloth and dress, but are moulded from a slightly see-through plastic - it still looks the same fabric, but the little bit of light that can shine through makes it look immaterial, like it's fading in or out from another reality. The matt portions are painted, as is the nice silver clasp that holds the cape closed a bit off-centre. The hood is permanently attached to the head, and it's large enough that it bunches up where it meets the shoulders, while the cape, complete with subtle angles and flowing ribbons, gives the illusion of hanging loosely in a graceful manner. A very nice look! While the non-articulated cape limits the movement of the body underneath, PoliganToys rigged these accessories up in a way that the head and standing cape can work separated from the body, with the former resting on top of the latter. That’s a neat trick to create an empty-like body appearance and to have another figure stepping out of that void, simulating Sei-Lha's teleportation powers.

Finally, I do really appreciate the inclusion of a baridronic bomb (we'll also see this in issue no. 3 of the comic book series) as an accessory here. It’s an expertly-sculpted unique mould, and has more paint deco on it than one might expect. Moreover, holding it in her open spell-casting hand proves to be one of Sei-Lha’s coolest poses.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ OK, she's got a different job in this series - not a soldier anymore, but an enchantress. However, Sei-Lha is still a strong, capable warrior and one of the toughest Therioms. This figure does a great job of balancing that status with an awesome look

Articulation: ♥♥♥ Like you’d expect, Sei-Lha doesn’t have a ton of useful movement with the cape on. You can manoeuvre the right hand to peek through, but she won’t be able to raise the left arm out to absorb the bad guys' powers

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ Her regular head sculpt is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful female faces ever seen in this line. The paintjob is solid for the most part, especially the chest armour, where the silver paint app helps bring out the intricate line work

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ The attachable blasts help create her magic powers and fit just fine, but I think they are a bit big and cumbersome, especially for a female figure. I don’t know what other options would have been available to achieve the effect, but maybe making them a bit smaller would have worked better

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ It’s definitely figures as enjoyable as this one that keep my interest in the line healthy

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ This new version of Sei-Lha has a great sculpt with great accessories. I could lament the slight loss of articulation due to the huge hair and the long skirt, but I’m okay with it. There are figures that are good enough and there are ones where I want to turn to PoliganToys and say: “more like this, please”. Sei-Lha is one of those figures.

KR|Horizon Review #2: Nemhetra

Toy prototype details

Name: Nemhetra^TM

Subtitle: captivating leader

Line: KR|Horizon

Item type: action figure (dual figure) - Nº 2 in the line.

Character details

Name: Nemhetra, aka Iron-Face

Family name: Amhalgaard^TM

Classification: uncertain, seemingly human

Sex: female

Relationships: daughter of Demo-Rha and Ir-Ash, cousin of Desion (Masq-Lor), Herrion, Rhadiel (Fai-Rha) and Mor-Rak, half-sister of Sei-Lha

Home: Tahron

Era: 15 years after Foundation

Affiliation: Destructomorph

Rank: chief marshal.

Background

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

Brief bio: when Ir-Ash was magically mutated into Deptilion, the dark power of the spell affected the child that Demo-Rha was obliviously carrying, suspending the gestation in a timeless status. Years later, following Deptilion's demise after his final battle with Masq-Lor, the charm ended and Demo-Rha soon gave birth to a girl, whom she named Nemhetra and transported to safety to her sister Modi-Rha shortly before dying. With the help of his embittered son, Modi-Rha instructed a triad of dark sorcerers to secretly raise the infant, in order to make her into the enemy of the Therioms, who had exiled them a few decades earlier. For years, Nemhetra grew up under the sorcerers' tutelage in the shadow of a monastery near the Ucamur^TM region, and, despite her young age, she became a highly trained combatant. A creature of great intelligence, she was indoctrinated with tales of her parents and the power they had represented, making her develop, besides a coldblooded ambition and extreme cruelty, the desire to continue their legacy one day. After a supernatural process of transformation to an adult form, Nemhetra plotted, together with her spiritual advisers, to re-establish the Destructomorph army, defeat the Therioms and unlock the multiversal walls' portals. During a mission into the depths of Dekropolis, her parents' former stronghold, she learnt of the existence of the prodigious helmet that had been disassembled by her cousin Barkos, and succeeded in retrieving it. Owing to her complex biological and mystical heritage, Nemhetra could immediately control the full might of the helmet, which made her gain the moniker "Iron-Face" and act as a major adversary for anyone who would challenge her. Among the Therioms, only the three siblings' robatars could match her in a fight and, after their final battle, she was definitively defeated. Impressed by her determination and considering their blood relationship, Masq-Lor earned Nemhetra's trust by showing forgiveness and decided to enlist her in the Theriom army. She was quickly chosen as the fourth protector of the Key and was tasked with wielding her father's halberd. This arrangement at first resulted in a clash within the Therioms, but eventually, despite the wickedness her guardians had fed to Nemhetra, everyone came to recognise a good heart in her. By siding with the Therioms, she could finally make amends for her evil.

Articulation

Both figures have the standard articulation, excluding hinged abdomen.

In the comics, Nemhetra wears a magic helmet that in certain situations gives her incredible abilities and changes her look. Despite the two figures represent the same character, they render the two alternative forms and appear very different. Although it's not clear whether these figures will be released individually or in a 2-pack, I'm going to describe them separately.

Normal form: Chief Marshal Nemhetra

Description

Head: fair light-grey skin, long, thick red hair (with two loosely plaited locks worn at the back), green eyes. Her face is quite heavily coated with cosmetics (i.e., eye shadow and dark-red lipstick) and she wears a pair of yellowish teeth as earrings

Body: fair light-grey skin, long fingernails painted with red varnish. She wears several pieces of jewellery such as a Destructomorph emblem (i.e., a square-shaped blueish spider whose back slightly resembles a demoniac face) hanging from a black string worn round her neck, a snake-shaped silver armband adorned with a small skull on her left arm and a ring set with a greenish gemstone on her right hand

Wearables: a short sleeveless fit and flare dress, two silver chain mail fingerless gauntlets (which only have a loop for the middle finger), two silver boots with open diamond cuts on the shafts and vamps (revealing a pair of silver chain mail socks underneath), a belt made of several shiny silver discs laced together (with three small ornamented silver tassets attached) and a jagged, bat-shaped shawl/cape fastened to her arm bracers (which fortunately can be un-pegged). The belt separates the fitted silver chain mail bodice (whose armholes, two vertical "ribs" and lace-up U-neckline are trimmed with whitish bony ornaments) above the waist from the knee-length flouncy jagged off-white skirt (with a double slit) below, allowing for the waist swivel. The cloth cape is a thing of beauty, with its black and silver deco and camo design looking really great, and is wired to easily create a flowing effect.

Action feature

Although the normal form of Nemhetra doesn't have any action feature, we still get a removable piece of armour designed to protect her right shoulder and to enhance her outfit. This consists of a single mean-looking large dome-shaped pauldron that covers the shoulder and includes additional multiple plates and lames riveted to it, to defend the upper arm as well as parts of the back and chest. Its off-white (i.e., a white colour with a grey tinge that resembles tarnished silver) metal parts are engraved with a scale pattern and have shiny silver borders. The chest guard, which is embossed with a Destructomorph symbol, has a long, wide black leather strap that fastens to the back plate and buckles at the left flank.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the additional armour, the figure includes several weapons. First up is a halberd, which is one of the four components of the Key (the one whose sawtooth blade is curved inward) and the same halberd that belongs to Deptilion in the Foundation series, except from being painted with some metallic-blue details here and there rather than plain silver.

The second weapon is a new version of Demo-Rha's sceptre, which is composed of a short whitish bony staff topped with a modified version of the Destructomorph symbol, i.e., a square-shaped black spider, whose back resembles a human skull with two silver shiny nuggets embedded in the eye sockets.

The third and final weapon is a clip-on metal sheath with a stiletto, which snaps on to either boot and is identical to the dagger accessory that came with Foundation Demo-Rha.

Furthermore, there is an additional hair piece wearing a four-horned whitish bony tiara, which is only shown briefly in the comics and is very reminiscent of her mother's headgear in the Foundation series, although the two outer projections are more similar to sorts of bat-shaped ears rather than horns. To display Nemhetra with this alternative hairstyle, it's necessary to remove the double-plaited-lock back piece of the hair that’s plugged in, add the ring-shaped extra bit, which gives the hair a little more height and includes the bony tiara, and replug the back piece.

Enhanced form: Iron-Face

Description

Head: similarly to other characters in the KR universe, Nemhetra wears one of the silver magic helmets, which in certain circumstances produces a silvery mask and gives her incredible physical and mental powers, changing her appearance significantly. The figure comes with an helmeted head, characterised by the metal mask activated and a pair of red glowing eyes. The mask is fictionally formed of two smooth halves that slide horizontally and then "deflate", to create devilish facial features, which are similar to those of her mother Demo-Rha. The helmet allows for her long unbound hair to come through the back and, in addition to the standard side crests, has a slit-like opening on the top that allows a badass red mohawk to come through

Body: fair light-grey skin, exposed abdomen, right upper arm and part of the thighs. Her hands are equipped with silver fingernail guards

Wearables: a sports bra-like silver armour with off-white tarnished details (including a pair of bra cups adorned with a cracked design), a silver rerebrace on the left arm, two fingerless gauntlets (ornamented with snake motifs on the sleeves and with spiked wrist guards), two thigh-high lobster claw-shaped boots (embellished with snake motifs on the shafts, open diamond cuts on the vamps, spiked calf protectors, toothed toe-caps, skull-shaped knee guards and turndown silver chain mail sock tops), a wide silver belt with a cross-shaped buckle (set with a greenish gemstone) that holds a number of off-white leather lappets, and a pair of white shorts. The armour is equipped with several serrated spikes, a metallic-blue Destructomorph symbol right below the chest, and a shoulder guard composed of two skull-shaped, spiked spaulders and a collar. It doesn't look like the most functional outfit for going to battle, but in the comics it is explained that, during her transformation, Nemhetra grows a kind of metallic underskin.

Nemhetra's stylised helmet with side crests.

Action feature

In the comics, Nemhetra's enhanced form is equipped with Swiss army knife-like bracers, which incorporate liquid metal retractable appendages. These appendages can morph into solid metal bladed weapons or tools, which she can even shoot against her opponents or combine to form more complex weapons. The figure comes with many different silver attachments (including a sword, a spear, an axe, a mace, a lash and a sort of bow and arrow) and the feature is that you can detach the spiked piece on the side of either forearm, attach a weapon and reattach the piece, so it looks like the wrist guard had opened up and the weapon came out.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from her many weapon attachments, the enhanced form of Nemhetra comes with two alternate heads: one displays her normal face and wears the inactive helmet without the visible mohawk, while the other is a mid-transformation head with the face covered by the two sliding halves of the metal mask, which shows no facial feature except for two subtly devilish sculpted eyes and a groove that splits the mask in two down the middle. This heads work as the necessary bridge between the unhelmeted and the helmeted-with-metal-face heads.

Finally, the figure includes a surprising weapon, which is an extended version of the sceptre that comes with the normal form. Here, the sceptre becomes a whip with a length of silver cord fastened to a bronze handle on one end and to a flaming Destructomorph symbol on the other end. I'm not sure about the exact meaning of this weapon (it's probably supposed to be an enhanced version of her wand, which is never shown in the comics), but it's still a welcome addition.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦♦ Nemhetra, the latest ruthless leader of the Destructomorphs, is the new biggest enemy of the Therioms!

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ She has the usual female KR articulation. Her normal form's shawl, while being beautiful and comic book-accurate, is fortunately detachable, otherwise it'd limit her articulation in horrible ways

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ Both figures look great. Her normal form's hair from the front looks pretty good, but from the back it looks impressive, while her enhanced form's face sculpt is absolutely beautiful. The paintjob is remarkable too and I don’t have any issues with my prototypes other than a stray spot of paint or two

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠♠ The many weapons for the enhanced form are easy to swap in and out. Hopefully one day we'll also get her robatar and super-robatar forms. However, if you want to rely on Nemhetra to take her opponents out without those further enhancements, she can have that demonic look...

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ Really, I'm so happy her normal form's outfit is not restricting, she wouldn't just be a lot of fun to play with. In the end, it’s just nice to have a chick on hand to fight the Therioms

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I would say this dual figure is a home run! There is a lot to love about this set - both of Nemhetra's forms are excellent figures with superior detailing and sculpting. Good things are coming from PoliganToys and the KR|Horizon line, and I can’t wait for more figures like these.

KR|Horizon Review #1: Masq-Lor (Horizon Edition)

Happy 2020!! As usual, we start the new year with a brand new line in the world of Key Raiders!

The upcoming reviews will be about recently developed prototypes that belong to the latest Key Raiders wave. Unlike Origin, Enmity and Dimness, this is a sequel (and not a prequel) series, which will be titled Key Raiders: Horizon (stylised as KR|Horizon) and will concern a universe characterised by a futuristic vibe, recounting events happening 15 years after the adventures of the KR|Foundation series:

à				Timeline (intervals in years)			à
		500		15		5		15
	Origin		Enmity		Dimness		Foundation		Horizon

So, let's start with the first prototype review of this new series!

Toy prototype details

Name: Masq-Lor^TM (Horizon Edition)

Subtitle: powerful ruler

Line: KR|Horizon

Item type: action figure - Nº 1 in the line.

Character details

Name: Masq-Lor

Real name: Desion Amhalgaard^TM

Classification: human-primivod* hybrid (but he looks completely human)

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Era: 15 years after Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: Senior Minister of the Republic of Tahron; commander-in-chief of the Theriom Armed Forces.

*Primivods^TM are fictional anthropomorphic marsupials that can interbreed with some other species of mammals and produce fertile offspring.

Background

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

Brief bio: several years after triumphing over Deptilion and mourning the passing of Tir-Hing, Desion took his rightful place as his father's successor and was elected Senior Minister of the Republic. While ruling over all Tahron with his keen mental discernment and good judgement, he married Sei-Lha and together they trained their son Sajron^TM in the fighting and magical arts, so he could take over the chosen warriors' legacy as a new protector of the Key. But the threat of the Therioms' old enemy, the Destructomorphs, once more called Masq-Lor and his siblings to one final conflict. By wielding their halberds and recovering an ancient power hidden in their prodigious helmets, the three courageous warriors could at last return to their mission in a glorious new form. Through an arduous struggle across Tahron, the Therioms aimed at defeating the evil Nemhetra^TM and her army of dreadful creatures in an epic combat once and for all.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

In the Horizon comics, it is revealed that each prodigious helmet holds a sample of liquid alloy, which was hidden by Galamars after forging the enchanted artefacts. When the liquid metal is combined with a tiny amount of the helmet wearer's blood, a small cyan ball lightning arises and creates a statue (called totem and made of the same material as the helmets and halberds) of an animal, behind which there is a sort of chair. When the helmet wearer introduces their halberd into a slot on the side of the totem, and sits in the chair with their hands and feet positioned on apposite rests, a connector automatically inserts into the helmet's socket, i.e., the hollow left after extracting the liquid alloy vial. The wearer appears to lose consciousness, when in fact their consciousness is relayed into a robotic avatar (called robatar) that forms from the totem moments later. Masq-Lor's totem is a sitting sabre-toothed cat and his robatar, which is the figure included in this pack, can be described as follows:

Head: very similar to the White Ranger's helmet, characterised by a silver outer shell with a pair of cat ears and a sabre-toothed mouth guard, a golden-yellow face shield with tiger-like black stripes, and a glossy black visor surrounded by a cyan glowing edge that is connected to two fierce feline eyes on the forehead

Body: protected by a vac-metal gold cuirass with bronze details, vac-metal gold gauntlets, boots (with knee guards) and belt, and a bronze crotch shell. Besides these basic components, there are various golden-yellow pieces of armour with tiger-like black stripes to protect the rest of the body, such as shoulder guards, rerebraces and thigh guards. There is an impressive amount of intricate decorative features all around the numerous components of this protective covering; I especially like the small Theriom emblems embossed on the wrist and knee guards, and the little gaps here and there that reveal steel tech-mech details beneath the armour.

Both the helmet and the cuirass display a few decorative details that recall Foundation Masq-Lor's outfit, including a vac-metal gold top crest and a Theriom emblem (i.e., a seven-pointed star with the two side points elongated) on the breastplate (see the images below - although they are not related to Masq-Lor's robatar, they still bear many similarities with it).

Action feature

To simulate the retractile laser-like claws seen in the comics, a pair of long cyan glowing blades (kind of reminiscent of ULTRAMAN's specium blades) can snap into each forearm armour. Additionally, two articulated flaps at the back of the armour on the calves can reveal a pair of leg boosters with cyan glowing propulsion effects.

Weapons and accessories

Masq-Lor's robatar comes with a set of accessories that are meant to update Apprentice Minister Masq-Lor for representing an older Desion in the role of Senior Minister. The set includes three heads, a cuirass with an attached cape and two weapons. The first head is characterised by light brown skin, thick black hair and beard with a touch of grey, green eyes and a very visible scar running down the left side of his face (I am sure he probably got it in the final battle with Deptilion); he wears a golden diadem bearing the Theriom emblem and a small, discoloured light-blue gemstone in its centre, which used to belong to his father Tir-Hing. The other two portraits are identical, except that they wear the silver magic helmet, one in its inactive form and one that displays the sabre-toothed visor activated.

The armour is painted in shiny gold with light-blue details (including a small triangular gemstone at the centre of the chest emblem) and incorporates a blue cape whose collar/hood and bottom are lined with white fur that is brownly marked with blotches and stripes.

The weapons include a halberd, which is one of the four components of the Key (the one whose blade has four tips) and the same halberd that belongs to Tir-Hing in the Foundation series, except from being painted with some golden details here and there rather than plain silver. The other weapon is Masq-Lor's signature sword with silver blade and brown wooden hilt, but in a very worn condition, i.e., tarnished, dinged up, chipped and gouged; even part of the hilt seems to have been broken and given a light-blue metallic replacement.

Finally, the figure comes with two further surprising accessories, a cyber-steed and an extra cyber-head that serve as the first instalment of a new Build-a-Figure concept in the KR|Horizon series. Basically, some of the action figures in the line will come with a number of components needed to build an even larger figure, specifically a heroic super-robatar that is shown at the end of the KR|Horizon comic book series. The included creature is a robotic version of Ki-Wun, which in the comics also forms from the totem together with the robatar. This figure features joints all over the place: hinged jaw (revealing a slot inside the mouth, to which an included cyan-coloured energy blast effect can be attached), ball jointed upper neck, hinged lower neck, swivel-hinged shoulders, hips, elbows, paws and tail, hinged knees and hocks, and a final ball jointed abdomen. It is, of course, an all-new sculpt and, I have to say, the guys at PoliganToys have done an exemplary work here. It closely resembles Masq-Lor's original steed and has a detailed gold&bronze body, a single straight horn projecting from its forehead, a translucent red mane and tail tuft, and a pair of shoulder-mounted pivoting cannons with two separate missiles (which can be replaced with two included light-red laser beam effects). The extra head (which is supposed to form from the robatar's body when Masq-Lor's sabre-toothed visor is activated, and to become the head of the super-robatar) looks like a large scale, Voltron-like robot sabrecat head. Once I get all the necessary parts, I'll go into detail about this super-robatar formation.

Senior Minister Masq-Lor's stylised helmet with top crest.

Senior Minister Masq-Lor's stylised armour; the oval at the centre of the chest plate represents the Theriom symbol.

Comic

Together with the action figure we get the first comic issue The Destructomorph legacy. Thirty-five years ago, a warlord called Wordron tried to conquer Tahron using King Khon-Uhr's lost helmet as a weapon. He failed and the helmet was eventually split into three parts, which were scattered all across Tahron. Nemhetra, Demo-Rha's and Deptilion's daughter, now tries to assemble it again. She enters Dekropolis, tricks a creature who is guarding it to show her all the secrets and then imprisons him. Using a mystical device, the whole background about the helmet is revealed to her and she carries this information to her spiritual advisers, who each send a soldier to retrieve one part of the helmet. Elykta, the new Deity, alerts Masq-Lor, now Senior Minister of the Republic, to the danger. It turns out Nemhetra's campaign has already begun: several villages, where the helmet parts are enshrined, have been attacked and the Therioms hurry to battle, struggling fiercely with the new enemy. Meanwhile, Masq-Lor, Fai-Rha and Herrion travel to Dekropolis, where a mysterious source of negative energy seems to be located. Nemhetra summons the corpses of creatures brought back to life by her advisers' magic, and creates a new army of Destructomorph Goblins. The heroes are attacked by these monsters and are finally overpowered. Masq-Lor manages to free himself from the creatures' hold, but a group of Goblins eventually capture Fai-Rha and Herrion, and imprison them inside their stronghold. Within the heats of these battles, the evil spiritual advisers all touch their respective parts of the helmet, triggering the spell to combine it again. Using the power of this artifact, Nemhetra can now transform into an enhanced warrior. Masq-Lor returns to Theriom City to consult the Deity. He discovers a new power hidden in his helmet and activates a robot avatar, who, under his mental control, goes back to Dekropolis, allowing his siblings and fellows to break free and fight off the army of Goblins. While the new battle emerges, Masq-Lor's avatar tries to overpower Nemhetra. Everything seems lost for the Destructomorphs when Masq-Lor throws her off the roof of the shipyard's central building, but Nemhetra manages to escape when Dekropolis unexpectedly leaves the ground and becomes airborne. Tahron has been saved for now, but the Therioms must face a new threat.

Overall, this episode has the obvious advantage of being the beginning of an exciting story finale, so a comparison might be unfair. Still, even accounting for the additional thrill, The Destructomorph legacy is a lot better than some of the other comics of the previous series. This epic story is constructed very well, there are lots of well known major characters as well as many imaginative new entries. Definitely a good read!

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ This version of our hero represents a whole new realm of stories and the future of Key Raiders

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ In terms of articulation, Horizon Masq-Lor isn’t anything special for a KR figure, being built on the standard articulated body that we’ve seen over and over in this line. The joints on my prototype are tight, with no floppiness or other quality control issues

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ The sculpt is a real shining point here. The paint detail is also absolutely great, and the intricacies on the head and body make for a very tight figure. The vac-metal gold paint really stands out thanks to the sheen and gloss that are much higher than the other colours used on the figure

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ Believe or not, among all the amazing accessories the battle damaged sword is my favourite. The detail here is just remarkable

Playability: ♪♪♪ My only issue is with the additional armour - the attached cape looks pretty cool, but definitely gets in the way of the recipient figure's poses, and the weight can make it totter a bit on the shelf

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ This first prototype of the Horizon series is solid with nice articulation, fine details, astounding accessories, and great sculpting. Although not my favourite version of Masq-Lor, the figure is really well done and represents the very future of the property.

KR Review #81: Tahron

It seems that the impossible might finally become possible! Wow, is it Christmas? Yes, it is!

When PoliganToys first geared up for Key Raiders, there were two items that I immediately started thinking about: the board game that originally inspired this universe and a playset for the toys. The board game could be relatively easy, but the playset seemed impossible. I was reminded again and again of the obstacles: it would be too complicated, too big, too expensive.

A bit more than four years after writing my first review of a KR figure prototype, both the game and the first playset are finally a reality, at least in prototype form. The process to combine them in a single item and to make it not obnoxiously large was definitely complicated. And if it's ever released, it will be expensive. But, on the whole, it will be worth it.

In a nutshell, the Tahron playset is the largest KR item ever to be produced by PoliganToys and can be used for playing the Key Raiders Game, a two-player strategy game played with staction figures and magnetic bricks on a board fitted with two vertical walls. The game's mechanic involves hand management, grid movement and pattern recognition, and its aim is to open a gateway in the opponent’s multiversal wall. The two players try to reach that goal by defeating each other during several battles and fights, in order to remove as many bricks as possible from each other’s wall.

Details

Name: Tahron

Subtitle: mystical land of magic and science

Classification: area of land

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: shared by Theriom, Destructomorph, Rexodon and Spektrosaur

Rank: theatre of war.

Description

The playset/board game features:

• 45 tokens for the game

• A gameboard/battleground scenery

• Two multiversal walls with 100 magnetic bricks (50 gold and 50 silver)

• Four towers that can be placed at the four corners of the gameboard for being used with the KR action figures

• Four additional ramps and countless accessories for the towers

• Three chips that are shaped and coloured like Antikythron crystals

• A six-sided die.

I'm going to describe all these components separately.

Tokens

Each token is composed of a hollow cylindrical grey-brown 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). The cylindrical base bears a pointer, which is used to indicate the player who owns the piece. The properties of each specific warrior, which are summarised in the table below, are: class (22 Gold pieces, 22 Silver pieces and one Aether piece), a special ability or limitation (only carried by some pieces), faction (11 Theriom pieces, 11 Destructomorph pieces, 11 Rexodon pieces, 11 Spektrosaur pieces and one Neutral piece), agility (a style of moving/capturing similarly to chess pieces – 24 Riders, 12 Leapers and 8 Jumpers) and strength (a numerical value between 1 and 13 or, in one case, equal to 100)

List of game pieces and their properties.

Gameboard

The gameboard/battleground scenery has 100 alternated gold and silver step-stones arranged in a 10-by-10 grid. The 10 rows (or ranks) are denoted with numbers 1 to 10, while the 10 columns (or files) are denoted with letters a to j. The board is divided into two main zones: a Gold Zone and a Silver Zone. In the Gold Zone, rank 1 is called Trench, rank 2 becomes elevated and sustained by a removable Multiversal Wall, rank 3 is called Second Line, rank 4 is called Frontline and rank 5 is called Battlefield; in the Silver Zone, from rank 10 to 6, the nomenclature is identical. The side of the board nearest to file “a” presents a Declaration Area and a Reinforcement Area, while the opposite side presents a Round Area.

Multiversal Walls

Each wall is modelled after the Great Wall of China, and carries a row of 10 alternated gold and silver step-stones on the top as well as 50 removable bricks arranged in a 10-by-5 grid on the front. Each brick bears a symbol related to the KR mythos.

Theriom City Tower (Theriom)

Exterior: this red&gold tower is modelled after Beijing's Forbidden City. There are two gargoyle-like stone statues standing in front of a majestic opening wooden gate ornamented with the Theriom symbol (i.e., a seven-pointed golden star with the two side points elongated); each statue resembles a sitting minotaur/centaur creature with bat wings and a lion head on the back and chest of its humanoid upper body, and has moving head, arms and tail

Interior: a metal sculpture of a chimeric creature (similar to those outside) on a stone pedestal can be positioned on the lower, bricky level and can split open to showcase the three enchanted helmets (which came with Foundation Elykta and are not included with this set). An oval holographic conference table (which features a map of Tahron, is supported by an eccentric stand and is accompanied by three chairs) can be placed in the council room on the upper level, where scenes related to Tahron mythology/history have been frescoed on the wall and ceiling; the wall also has a holder to store the four halberds in a criss-crossed way, and an escape door that leads to an outside balcony. A Combat Training Robot action figure is also included and can be connected to a swivelling charging unit in the lower level. For those who might have forgotten, at the beginning of the sixth comic issue of the Foundation series, Tir-Hing is shown to struggle with defeating a Combat Training unit and has to be saved by his Troopers. This robot is normally in an R2D2-like diminutive droid form, which is the 5-inch tall version coming with this set. Coloured metallic light-blue, gold and silver, it rolls on two legs and features a two-side body with alternate appearances, so the figure can be turned to be displayed to one's liking. The pivoting domed head (which is ball jointed and interchangeable with other figures) utilises a pair of photo-receptors (a single black camera lens on one side and a more complex bronze telephoto lens on the other side); the bin-shaped torso bears a sort of conical drill bit at the bottom and two symbols on the front (a gold Theriom emblem on one side and a light-blue glowing disc on the other side); the swivelling shoulder articulation joints at the top of the legs hold four fully articulated mechanical arms (two with claws that grasp an axe and a shield on one side, and two with rotating mace and blade attachments on the other side); finally the feet have pairs of motorised all-terrain wheels on one side and small rocket boosters on the other side. Hopefully, one day we'll also get the much cooler expanded form.

Dekropolis Tower (Destructomorph)

Exterior: this metallic light-blue&pearlescent white tower represents the central building of the five-tower decommissioned shipyard seen in the comics. The base features a flooded detention basin, while the front of the building has an opening overhead gate (which, when closed, resembles a broad ladder staircase ascending to the upper level) and two swinging walls that reveal retractable pivoting laser cannons with seats and flip-up canopies (these are removable and can be used as one-man aerial assault vehicles). The upper level shows an open structure reminiscent of a launch bay (which can optionally be blocked with an included hinged double-leaf door), flanked by two sculpted doors and surmounted by an elliptical observation window. The window has been modified by Deptilion by adding some railings, which make it appear almost like an insect eye from a distance. A removable turret on top of the domed roof can work as an escape pod that seats one figure in a lying position

Interior: the lower level is used as a prison and has two giant chains, which are made of plastic and are connected to a flat disk attached to the ground (almost any figure can be cuffed to these shackles). The floor with the attached chains can be lifted to reveal a magma chamber inhabited by a horrifying worm-like, star-nosed creature with a number of fleshy, beady-eyed radiating tentacles around its monstrous snout (the monster emerging from the red hot magma is a separate piece and has a ball jointed head). The upper level looks like a technological laboratory and shows, alongside a Destructomorph emblem (i.e., a square-shaped blueish spider whose back slightly resembles a demoniac face, partly chiselled on a shield above the observation window and partly wrapped around its frame), many sculpted details such as pivoting control panels, pipes and cables, while a secret compartment made to slide horizontally in and out of the ceiling/floor between the lower and upper levels allows for hiding Deptilion's halberd.

Rokang Tar Tower (Rexodon)

Exterior: this dark-bronze&steel building, which is modelled after the ogival, redented towers of Angkor Wat, is the tallest of the four towers and the one that has most features. However, apart from a curved stairway that leads to a sort of rose window displaying the Rexodon symbol (i.e., a red reptile skull), there's not much going on outside

Interior: there are four floors - the base (or foundation), two mid-levels and a top level. The base has a dungeon with a sculpted spiked floor grate (for invaders to fall on) as well as a three-section angular metal cage with an opening door and bars ending in spear tips, to hold one prisoner; the back wall features two sculpted, non-functional doors, evoking the underground chambers where the Rexodons store powerful relics. The lower mid-level has a futuristic-looking metal throne, which fits Bi-Harr's figure and is suspended from the ceiling, and a round vault-like entrance door hinged on the wall. The throne is adorned with intricate fluorescent patterns as well as sculpted saurian designs on the headrest and armrests, while a sinister, large reptile eye is carved into the surface of the door, which is the inner side of the rose window (this has a bird-like gargoyle perched atop the inner frame and is flanked by two dinosaur-skull fountains, reminiscent of Bi-Harr's heads, spewing out a blood-like crimson liquid). The upper mid-level is a control centre with a computer console (with images on the screen that can change by turning a dial) mounted on the wall as well as a slot through which the top of the throne fits; a circular piece of plastic locks the throne in place and can be concealed by a chair that allows a figure (for example Loghar) to sit at the computer. The throne can be rotated by turning the circular piece around, allowing a trap door (which appears like a low-rise stairway leading up to the throne, flanked in the comics by humanoid, headless marble statues) on the lower mid-level to open and a figure to drop in the dungeon. The front of the bud-shaped top level of the tower (which features some great detail work - with some difficulties, you can make out a reptile skull in its pattern) can swing open, revealing a base for attaching a swivelling/hinged cannon with seat, dual handgrips, HUD face shield and spring-loaded firing mechanism for two missiles; the cannon base shows some nice tech-mech details such as circuitry and gears, and can also serve as a perch for a Pterajet. Each level of the tower can be reached by a working elevator, which can be manually raised and lowered by means of a Rexodon emblem-shaped hand crank (not sure this will be included in the final product) at the base of the elevator shaft; the shaft has a ball jointed ceratopsian skull ornament on top, which can also be used as a head for any figures.

Artelon Tower (Spektrosaur)

Exterior: this grey&ochre tower is modelled after Petra's Al-Khazneh. The central feature of this building is the giant cobra head-shaped facade with eyes and fangs that glow in the dark. The base features a moat as well as a lockable two-segment drawbridge (which folds in the shape of the number 1, where the main portion is emblazoned with a metal Spektrosaur emblem that has a GITD flame, while the "serif" at the top includes the fangs) as the cobra's gaping mouth; by pushing a stone-button in the adjacent wall, the chained, toothed drawbridge drops down and extends across the moat to two ground-fixed torches, thereby letting a figure enter the tower. A number of weapons are sculpted into the bottom of the moat, alongside various bones, a series of footprints, and a crocodile with a hinged upper jaw right under the drawbridge. There is also a separate turtle figure that can be placed in the moat. The moat is fed by a greenish waterfall off the side wall of the building, cascading from a snake-head rock formation with a chipped fang; the falls, which look like venom pouring from the serpent's mouth, are also visible from the inside and are slightly translucent, so if you have a light source behind it, they look like they're glowing... that's pretty menacing! Additionally, rubber pieces resembling trickles and drips of the greenish fluid adorn the top of the tower and the floors inside the building, respectively. A pair of viper-shaped statues, emerging from skull-like wall ornaments to the left and right of the cobra façade, have scaly upper bodies in defensive posture that can fictionally animate to lunge and bite at any interloping warriors (in the toy, they can pivot, bend forward and open their jaws using two handles on the inside of the tower); there are four metal chains that run from the cobra's hood to two metal "collars" around the vipers' bodies

Interior: the lower level simply features the entrance hall, marked by four stone pillars: two imposing ones, along with some stickers adorning the space atop them, flank the gateway from the front, while two slender ones, encircled by snake-like sculptures, support the upper level. The stickers are quite interesting - they resemble bookcases with mystical items such as an animal statue, a crystal ball, a skull, a small metallic treasure chest, a flask containing a fluid, a genie-like oil lamp, and a key, as well as some maps and other fun knick-knacks. The upper level showcases a lizardy theropod skeleton (with ball jointed head) set on a stepped stone base, which works as a bone-throne for Lor-Drek, its seat covered with fulvous fur marked with brown blotches and stripes (a closer look reveals that the throne vaguely resembles a monstrous skull, with the various parts of the skeleton forming its distinctive facial features and open maw). Two Spektrosaur standards (each made of cloth and displaying a greenish flame) as well as two wooden torches on the wall (which work as handles for moving the viper statues) flank the throne behind, while two floor flames illuminate its front; additionally, two slots at the rear accommodate Lor-Drek's halberd and wooden staff, completing its authoritarian aura. Two wooden grappling ladders that can hang anywhere (there are some slots and notches here and there, to help them be more stable), and four horned skull-shaped bony grappling hooks, which can be used by the Spektrosaur Troopers to swing along the front section chains, are also included.

Ramps

Each tower has a matching ramp that can lead to the gameboard, when it is used as a battleground scenery, or can potentially work to connect the towers to future building extensions.

Game rules

The rules of the game are almost identical to a similar game named WallBreach^TM.

Setup

The board is placed with a gold step-stone at the right-hand end of the rank nearest to each player. The player nearest to the Gold Zone is referred to as the Gold Player and the opposing player is the Silver Player.

At the beginning of the game, gold and silver bricks are separately shuffled face down by each player. Each group of bricks is arranged face down in a 10-by-5 grid and then attached to one of the two Multiversal Walls. The two players exchange their walls and these are placed on ranks 2 (Gold Wall) and 9 (Silver Wall); the step-stones on the top of each wall must match the step-stones on the board. Each player rolls the die; the higher roll determines the dealer for the first battle. The tokens are shuffled face down and dealt randomly to each of the two players.

Each player receives a total of 20 tokens, which are placed on the board as follows:

• 10 tokens are positioned on the Trench (rank 1 or 10) and then instantly turned up and revealed

• 5 tokens are positioned on the Second Line (rank 3 or 8), on the step-stones of the same class (gold or silver) as the corresponding zone

• 5 tokens are positioned on the Frontline (rank 4 or 7), on the step-stones of the opposite class as the corresponding zone, and then instantly turned up and revealed.

Additionally, the remaining 5 tokens are dealt on the five step-stones of the Reinforcement Area.

Declaration

After the deal, players call in turn, starting from the dealer’s rival, electing either to declare or to pass.

A declaration for the current battle is represented by a double roll of the die, which determines:

1. The target number of wins (1 → 6 wins, 2 → 7 wins, 3 → 8 wins, 4 → 9 wins, 5 → 10 wins, 6 → a re-roll must be made by the the same player)

2. The faction that will be ruling (1 → Spektrosaur, 2 → Rexodon, 3 → Destructomorph, 4 → Theriom, 5 → Neutral, 6 → a re-roll must be made by the the same player).

For example, a declaration of 7|Destructomorph indicates that the player intends to win at least seven fights with Destructomorph being the ruling faction. A player who declares 7|Destructomorph may be outdone by his rival on 7|Theriom or 7|Neutral, but not 7|Spektrosaur or 7|Rexodon. Other options are to declare 8 or more of any faction, or pass.

Eventually, one of the two players passes or loses and the declaration is decided. The declaration result and winner must be indicated on the apposite areas on the board using the chips. The numbers enclosed between square brackets in the Declaration Area are used for calculating the score at the end of each battle.

If nobody makes a declaration, the battle is declared dead and a re-shuffle and re-deal is made.

It is important to note that:
• The Deity behaves in all respects as a member of the ruling faction; it is the only ruling piece when the ruling faction is Neutral; it is the highest piece and always wins over every other piece
• The strength of a D-piece depends on the declaration: 8 for D-pieces of non-ruling factions, 13 for the D-piece of the ruling faction and 12 for the auxiliary D-piece (i.e., the D-piece of the same class as the ruling faction)
• The auxiliary D-piece behaves in all respects as a member of the ruling faction and not of its original faction.

Game play

Each battle focuses on 10 fights and ends with a total of 10 step-stones conquered on the two Multiversal Walls. The declaration winner throws the die and, in accordance with the result, checks the corresponding space in the Round Area. Along with the instructions indicated, the players alternately move four pieces (one at a time) on the board.

For example, if the value of the die is 3:

• The Gold Player moves one piece from rank 1 to rank 5

• The Silver Player moves one piece from rank 10 to rank 6

• The Gold Player moves another piece from rank 4 to rank 5

• Finally, the Silver Player moves another piece from rank 7 to rank 6.

Each piece may be moved on either the same file or an adjacent one. Players must follow the lead faction, if they can. When the first piece belongs to the ruling faction (including the Deity and the auxiliary D-piece), this must be followed by any other piece that is considered a ruler (again, including the Deity and the auxiliary D-piece), if possible. If a player no longer has any pieces of the faction that is led, he may play any piece in his side.

After all four pieces have been played, the strongest ruling faction piece or, if no ruling faction piece is played, the strongest piece of the lead faction is named the Raider. The player who owns the Raider is designated the Attacker and moves the Raider to any unoccupied step-stone on the opponent’s Multiversal Wall. The opposing player is the Defender and may start a combat which involves the three pieces on the Battlefield ranks and the Raider on the wall. All the other pieces are not involved in the combat and do not obstruct the combating pieces, which may move in accordance with their agility.

At this point, four cases may occur:

• The Defender cannot engage in any combat, since neither piece in his possession can capture any Attacker’s pieces. The Attacker wins, the fight is over and the Defender’s wall is conquered by the Raider, which is now named the Conqueror

• At least one Defender’s piece can capture an Attacker’s piece. The combat continues with the players alternately moving and capturing one piece at a time, until the player to move has no further legal moves or gets his C-piece captured. This player loses and the fight is over. The combat winning piece is named the Conqueror and is moved to any unoccupied step-stone on the wall of the losing player

• The Defender cannot engage in any combat, since neither piece in his possession can capture any Attacker’s pieces. However, at least one Defender’s piece is a B-, D- or H-piece with a special ability: it can invade the Attacker’s Frontline according to its agility, and collect one token in the Reinforcement Area. The Defender checks the identity of the collected token behind his own wall, sorts through his pieces in the Trench, discards the least-useful one (possibly including the piece picked up from the Reinforcement Area) and places it face down aside. The Attacker wins, the fight is over and the Defender’s wall is conquered by the Raider, which is now named the Conqueror

• The Raider is the Deity. The Attacker wins, the fight is over and the Defender’s wall is conquered by the Raider, which is now named the Conqueror.

After each fight, the Conqueror returns face down and plays no further part in the battle, although it is not removed from its position (its step-stone on the wall remains occupied). Any other pieces that played part in the fight and are still present on the board are removed from play. Any exposed Second Line tokens advance one leap straight and are turned up. The winner of the fight throws the die to determine which player leads on the next fight.

Once all 10 fights have been played, the battle is concluded and the score is calculated. The player opposite to the previous dealer deals for the next battle.

Score calculation and end of game

During a battle the goal is for each player to accomplish at least the declared number of wins.

For example, if the final declaration is 8|Theriom:

• A player wins the battle winning at least eight fights and is awarded the removal of a number of brick-pairs from his rival’s Multiversal Wall equal to the sum of the values between square brackets on the Declaration Area, in this case 8 [11] + Theriom [4] = 15. There is no extra score for any additional fights the player may win in excess of the declaration

• If none of the two players wins eight fights or more, half the number of brick-pairs is removed from the wall of the player who won the fewest fights or, if the battle is a 5-5 draw, from the wall of each player. In this case, the total number of brick-pairs is odd, then it is rounded down to the nearest even number, which is 14 (seven brick-pairs are removed).

The rules of the brick-pairs removal are inspired by Shisen-Sho, a Japanese tile-based game, and can be summarised as follows:

• Only two matching bricks can be removed at a time

• Two bricks can only be removed if they can be connected with a maximum of three horizontal and/or vertical lines, starting and ending at the centre of the bricks

• Lines may only pass through removed bricks.

A player wins the game by removing all the 50 bricks from the rival’s wall or when future moves are not possible, even if bricks are left on the wall.

Overall, the first KR playset and the KR game are here! I had a blast reviewing Tahron. Yes, it’s big, but I’m so glad I got it. PoliganToys did a great job with this thing... it just wouldn't be a toy line until it got a playset and a related game. It also makes me wonder if they could do it again. Is there really a chance this giant could sit at the centre of my floor with expansion parts around it? Well, even if I don’t get other playset pieces, this one is what I needed. It should be the triumphant culmination of the line. And I think it is that.

Happy holidays!!!

KR|Dimness Review #25: Qermetas

Toy prototype details

Name: Qermetas^TM

Subtitle: violent minion

Line: KR|Dimness

Item type: action figure - Nº 21 in the line.

Character details

Name: Qermetas

Classification: mutant human

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Era: 5 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Dark Legion

Rank: first lieutenant.

Background

First appearance: KR|Dimness #3 - Into dimness: Part II – Escape

Brief bio: during the Reptonoid domination of O-Kin^TM, the kingdom's population suffered the mutating effects of the chemical weapons deployed by Bi-Harr for psychological manipulation. A small percentage of the inhabitants who emerged were born with defects, and while some were fitted with electromechanical prostheses, some others were ostracised and banished from O-Kin. Those outcasts were eventually welcomed by the mysterious chief monk Mohrdax^TM into the shelter of his monastery near the Ucamur^TM region. When Wordron befriended Mohrdax, many cloisterers, including a one-armed and disfigured man named Qermetas, sided with the Dark Legion in their conflict with the Forseha tribe. Desiring to become a menacing warrior, Qermetas stole small amounts of stone and steel from the monastery's storage of construction materials and allowed the evil grand marshal to create a new armoured helmet and a reinforced prosthetic arm for him. As deadly as he was monstrous, Qermetas used his powerful punches and headbutts to get his wicked way. After Wordron's demise, he took over the former Dark Legion fortress in Ucamur, ruling it with a stone-metal fist.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

Head: reddish sunburnt skin, solid blue glowing eyes with a prominent brow ridge and two evident under eye bags, a scar on the right cheek, two large sharp teeth protruding upwards from the lower jaw, and a prominent chin. He wears a metallic purple helmet with dark-blue details (including two large screws in the back to keep it firmly in place), whose edges seem to merge with his flesh in a sort of Frankenstein's monster fashion, and whose top bears a large, thick flat piece of grey stone reinforced with blueish-grey steel plates

Body: reddish sunburnt skin, spiky elbows, several scars. He has an oversized Hellboy-like right forearm and open hand made of grey stone reinforced with blueish-grey steel plates

Wearables: a thigh-length dark-blue garment with lune-shaped purple decorative patterns, two metallic dark-blue bracelets (the one on the right wrist is just a narrow band) and two metallic dark-blue boots with partially open shafts. The garment is a tubular cloth open on the left side of the body and gathered around the waist with a spiked metallic dark-blue belt; the top edge is fastened over the left shoulder by a blueish-grey steel fibula that kinda looks like a strange lock, while the right shoulder is left uncovered.

Action feature
In the comics, Qermetas has a powerful stone-metal fist that projects to a moderate extent for a super punching action, which he uses to hit his enemies and knock them out. This telescoping feature works by popping the forearm off just below the elbow and attaching an extended version of it with a harsh clench of the fist. That’s wonderful!

Additionally, the original concept of this character also featured an extending stone neck, which would allow his head to strike out and forcefully thrust with the heavy top of his helmet into his foes. I'm glad that this detail was removed from the comics and replaced with simple headbutts (yes, suspension of disbelief has its limits), but I'm also happy that a long, curved neck extension was included in the package. Besides its awesome stone design, I like the fact that it still works with the ball joint on the neck.

Weapons and accessories

In addition to the arm and neck extensions, Qermetas includes a club-like weapon consisting of a spiked ball mounted on a shaft. The long, two-handed wooden shaft is reinforced with four metallic purple langets, while the attached wooden head (which is seemingly slipped over the top of the shaft and reinforced at the base with a metallic purple band) is adorned with metallic purple spikes nailed to the outside (a longer spike extending straight from the top and many smaller spikes around the particle of the head).

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦ He's not the most interesting character or figure in this line, but he's really well done

Articulation: ♥♥♥ This figure is sturdy and well articulated, and all of his joints are nice and tight

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ The sculpt is a mixture of new and reused parts, but everything goes well together. The limbs are covered with interesting marks and blemishes that show Qermetas' troubled history. The head sculpt is excellent and the torso overlay is very well executed too

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ I love his crazy mace weapon, it's massive and absolutely awesome. And that extended fist, oh boy! - not only it looks good, but it also really adds some character to the figure. He looks terrific with it, although due to the size it makes him a little likely to topple

Playability: ♪♪♪ He has all of the poseability and playability one could want. He is going to appeal to every potential KR collector

Overall: ☺☺☺ I think Qermetas is a pretty great figure. I'm honestly quite satisfied with this guy and find that I like him much more than I thought I would. He's very well sculpted, and his stone-metal forearm is not as ridiculously oversized as the comic book version, but large enough to be notable and... just bizarre.