Bothar Shadowhorn

One side, Tyrion - there's a new most dangerous dwarf in our collections! A distant cousin of Thord Ironjaw, Bothar Shadowhorn has little in common with his heroic kin. The Shadowhorn Clan, once proudly aligned with the Army of Leodysseus, were long ago swayed by Arethyr's promises of riches and power. Bothar's insatiable thirst for blood is eclipsed only by his hatred of Thord, whose Ironjaw Clan serves as a grim reminder of what his people once were and what they have now become. Hey, this dwarf is evil! It never even crossed my mind, because for as much as all of modern fantasy is just Tolkien fan-fic, all dwarves are Tolkien dwarves. You have to go back to the Brothers Grimm to find any dwarf who isn't stout, beardy, a fan of living in caves, and generally closer to the "good" side of the D&D alignment chart than "evil." So kudos to the Horsemen for breaking the stereotype. The real reason I opted to make this one of my Kickstarter figures was his epic beard. Look at that, it's a thing of beauty! Full and bushy, with a mustache Ron Swanson would approve of and thick twin braids hanging down the sides... it's the most dwarvenest beard to ever dwarv! And it looks absolutely amazing poking out from beneath his blocky Dovahkiin helmet, with its dark little eye slits and two short, curved horns. Great, great work. Love it so much! Other than the head, Bothar uses all the same pieces as Thord - the major parts, of course, but also the style of skirt, the particular gloves and feet, even the small shoulder pads. The armor is a mixture of overlapping plates and chainmail beneath, with inset lines of X's serving as a connecting design feature (not that you can see much of them here, thanks to that beard). The armor is painted a dingy grey, then given black and bronze accents. It's not as flashy as Thord's look nor as "out there" as Jorund Runeshaper's, but it suits the character described on the card - the only villains who have time to make themselves look fancy are Nazis and the so-called "alt-right" (but I repeat myself). If he and the rest of the Shadowhorns are some of "the most savage and brutal warriors that Mythoss has to offer," they wouldn't be sitting around the campfire at night with cans of armor polish, now would they? Mythic Legions figures are built modularly, so they can all swap pieces to customize their appearance. That also means they all have the same articulation: a balljointed head, swivel neck, swivel/hinge shoulders and elbows, swivel forearms, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed torso, swivel/hinge hips, swivel thighs, swivel/hinge knees, and swivel/hinge/swivel ankles. Apparently some people have had issues with broken joints, but we can't report any such problems yet. The figures all draw from the same pool of accessories, so Bothar is armed with a dagger, a strap, a sword that's as tall as he is, and the big axe with the extra blade. Do you ever wonder why dwarves are always armed with axes, anyway? They live under mountains - why would they develop weapons from tools meant to be used on wood? And why, since they dwell in tight tunnels, would they carry a weapon you have to swing wide to make use of? That really takes swords out of play, too. Logically, shouldn't they favor jabbing weapons? Give him a spear or something. Thord Ironjaw was a pretty amazing dwarf figure, but with his darker colors and epic beard, Bothar Shadowhorn might be even better! -- 02/04/17

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