" Collection 8 marks the elves' turn to get a serious bump in effectiveness and everyone else is really just along for a token ride. "

      Title: Heroscape Collection 8: Defenders of Kinsland by Hasbro / Wizards of the Coast

      Format: Tabletop Strategy Game Expansion

      Reviewing Monkey: Mojo Jojo

      The Hype: The meat of any expansion is the mass of minis it puts in your collection, and series 8 for Heroscape has four standard unit packs crying out for your hard earned bananas. But are they actually useful or only good for padding your ranks? Read on, fellow Monkeys, and find out.

      What This Monkey Thought...

          Defenders of Kinsland, the collective title of the standard figures available in this expansion, includes four separate packs: Heroes of the Molten Sea, Soldiers and Wolves, the Marro Cavalry, and Elves. The five characters from the Molten Sea are a collection of unique heroes from Ullar, Einar, Vydar, and Jandar. The Soldiers and Wolves pack includes, as you might have guessed, a group of soldiers (Red Coats, to be specific) for Einar and a pack of wolves for Utgar. While the Marro Cavalry booster has three skeletal riders astride some cool looking spiny raptors and the Elves pack has four unique magical heroes for Ullar.
           The soldiers, wolves, and cavalry end up being fairly generic grunt troops, with stats and specials that likely won't impact the game in any serious way, and point costs that make them effective for filling out your roster and not much else. The two unique packs are more interesting, with the Elves actually working out exceptionally well if (and only if) you play a predominantly elf army, and the Heroes providing at least one figure you can likely use if you play a "good" army.
          All in all, the figs are useful--though not generally ground breaking. As the expansion's name implies, Collection 8 marks the elves' turn to get a serious bump in effectiveness, and everyone else is really just along for a token ride.
          Focusing on the elves, then, both their booster pack and their champions in the Hero pack are likely things you'll want, though their cost will make you a bit leery about how much you'll actually field. Featuring a number of "buffs" (abilities that enhance other units) and reinforcement specials, the six elves split across the two packs will take a bit more strategy and forethought than other units in the game, but can decidedly effect battles if you're savvy enough to put it all together.

      The Verdict:

Ultimately, unless you play an elf-heavy army, Defenders of Kinsland is more about adding figs to your collection and filling out your ranks than it is about giving you units you need. Of course, if you're really dying for new figures, no matter what army you play you'll find something that you can use.

           What it's Worth: Market, though the series will really only help you if you play elves.