If Orrin—usually the first option presented to you if you choose a Castle faction starting point—doesn't appeal to you, Valeska is the next one offered as you scroll through other starting heroes. Like Orrin, Valeska has a great yet simple design; one that is pretty iconic without being too out there. I doubt she's anyone's favorite; her specialty of Archers and Marskmen is pretty modest compared to some of the sexier troops in the Castle line-up, although honestly, I think all ranged troops have a higher value than their co-ranking colleagues. The AI clearly thinks so too, since it makes a point of attacking them first. But in spite of not being anyone's favorite, she's a classic, and her design is pretty good.
For the most part, the Pack's collection is just cropped scans of D&D and other fantasy cover art. I'm almost done going through all of the files, and honestly, I've only found one or two in the entirety of both collections that I would even consider, and none that I would use. After this post, I doubt I'll mention them again.
dtnmang and Vallex, as normal, do a good job of capturing the design intent of the original, but done in a very different art style. I've selected a few of both going forward, but not that many. Not because they're not high quality, but mostly because I think they work best as an entire set. And I'm not ready to adopt the entire set, because I still prefer a more classic look. I like the art style of the original game, and with some exceptions of characters who always had a very stupid design concept, I like images that look like improved versions of the original designs.
I've also noticed that StrikerX is pretty hit or miss; he has some good choices, but also some really out there, "what was he thinking?" choices. In this case, this is one of his really good choices; a character that certainly looks like Valeska, while also looking different. Otherwise, the AI generated artwork, even the massaged, edited and heavily curated ensrick collection, all look very similar to the original. I'm not sure that it matters overmuch which I pick among them. As is normally the case, when I'm unsure or indecisive, or simply don't care enough about the difference and ensrick is one of the options, I go with his. I like his consistency, and I admire the work he put into generating these in general.
WINNER: ensrick, again. You'll find going through this exercise that ensrick will pick up a good three fourths of the nominations. Spoiler alert, I guess. I'll blow it up so you can see it better, although of course that will make it appear a bit blurry, since it's a small original image. I didn't do that with Orrin, so I'll go edit his post and add it.
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