Taelord the Kyrie Warrior

Valkyrie	Utgar
Taelord the Kyrie Warrior
Homeworld	Valhalla
Species	Kyrie
Type	Unique Hero
Class	Warrior
Personality	Relentless
Size	Medium
Height	5
Set	Malliddon's Prophecy 23/25

When Utgar held a gladiatorial contest to determine who his chief warrior would be, Taelord was the hands-down victor. The battle pitted 83 worthy warriors against each other, and lasted a full two days. In the end, only one warrior was left standing: the mighty Taelord. For his savagery, strength and stamina, Taelord was rewarded with a drink from a Wellspring. On the battlefield, Taelord's natural military superiority extends to all of those who fight nearby.

Stats

• Life: 5
• Move: 5
• Range: 1
• Attack: 3
• Defense: 3
• Point Value: 180 pts

Abilities

• Attack Aura: All figures you control within 4 clear sight spaces of Taelord get +1 to attack. Taelord's Attack Aura does not affect Taelord.
• Flying: When counting spaces for Taelord's movement, ignore elevations. Taelord may fly over water without stopping, pass over figures without becoming engaged, and fly over obstacles such as ruins.
  Updated
  Stealth Flying: When counting spaces for Taelord’s movement, ignore elevations. Taelord may fly over water without stopping, pass over figures without becoming engaged, and fly over obstacles such as ruins. When Taelord starts to fly, if he is engaged he will not take any leaving engagement attacks.

Synergy

• Attack Aura
  All units you control within 4 clear sight spaces may benefit from Taelord the Kyrie Warrior’s Attack Aura.
• Minions of Utgar: Utgar’s Orders
  As a Kyrie warrior that follows Utgar, Taelord may benefit from Minions' Utgar's Orders ability.
• Khosumet the Darklord: Relentless Assault
  Having a relentless personality, Taelord may benefit from Khosumet's Relentless Assault ability.
• Ornak: Red Flag of Fury
  As an Unique Hero that follows Utgar, Taelord may benefit from Ornak’s Red Flag of Fury ability.
• Death Knights of Valkrill: Unholy Bonding
  As a Medium Hero with "Relentless" personality, Taelord the Kyrie Warrior may benefit from the Death Knights of Valkrill's Unholy Bonding ability.

History

Taelord faces off with Shotgun Sullivan.

Taelord was the sole victor of a gladiatorial match that Utgar held to see who his warrior in chief would be, besting 82 other Kyrie over the course of two days. For his victory, Taelord was rewarded with a drink from a Wellspring, which is possibly where his attack-boosting aura comes from. At some point after becoming a high-ranking official of Utgar's army, he was mind-shackled by Kee-Mo-Shi.

Taelord helped to defeat and capture Raelin during a skirmish with Jandar's forces, taking her back to a fortress where she was mind-shackled by Kee-Mo-Shi. He followed Su-Bak-Na's command to defend the fortress from Jandar's forces, and remarked that he was surprised Johnny 'Shotgun' Sullivan was still brave enough to fight without Raelin's protective powers on his side.

Subsequently, he watched along Kee-Mo-Shi as Drake and Shotgun attempted a rescue mission to convince a mind-shackled Raelin to return, and when Kee-Mo-Shi was killed in the outcome, commanded his forces to retreat. Secretly, this was so that he could bring his mind shackle amulet to a Marro Hive in Durgeth, and use it to revive Kee-Mo-Shi once again.

Additional Info

Jerry Hawthorne's custom Taelord, used for early playtesting.

Taelord's flying text omits the phrase "will take leaving engagement attacks when flying". Taelord does in fact have Stealth Flying, and will NOT take leaving engagement attacks when he flies.

Classic Heroscape designer Jerry Hawthorne (for whom Sir Hawthorne is named) posted a picture to Facebook of an early Taelord model he had made when the figure was still in playtesting.

"Packing for moving, I ran across my old playtest version of Taelord from before wave 1 was released. I think I just glued HeroQuest Gargoyle wings on a DND half giant and painted him red." - Jerry Hawthorne

Players may wonder why his point cost is so extravagantly high, at 180 points. This was likely to prevent abuse of his early-game combination with the Omnicron Snipers, which allows them to double their base attack dice.

In the unused first draft of the Heroscape Webisode Script, it is Taelord who murders Raelin's father in front of her when she is a child, leading a pack of Grut Orcs at Utgar's command.

FAQ's

• Stealth Flying
  Why is Taelord’s Flying Special Power missing the last line that all other Flyers have: “When this figure starts to fly, if this figure is engaged, he/she will take any leaving engagement attacks”?
  We removed the last line of his flying ability to reflect that Taelord has Disengage when flying. (Hasbro FAQ)

Resources

For further resources and strategy tips, check out the Book of Taelord at Heroscapers.com.