There were two Masters of the Universe homages in the last All-Stars Wave from Mythic Legions. I looked at Mephitor (Not-Stinkor!) last time, and today I’m having a look at Bryophytus, who is most definitely an overt nod to Mossman, and a new sub-race of Orcs called Lichen Orcs!

If I understand it correctly, Bryophytus’ name is a class of vegetation, but I’m not one of them saladology scientists, so don’t quote me on that. Bryo (No way I’m typing that name every time!) is the protector of his tribe of veggie covered Orcs, that dwell in a secluded area of Mythoss known as The Swale! He has the power to control the plant life around him, making him sound a bit like Mythoss’ answer to Swamp Thing!

And wow! This combination of flocking on the Orc body works amazingly well! Here he is in his most basic form and with the head that I think works best as a Moss Man homage, but I’ll talk more about that in a minute. The Orc body is indeed flocked with a green stubble that feels like a cross between Astroturf and damp packing material. Don’t get me wrong, I think it looks great, even with the joint areas left bare to prevent it from being shaved off by articulating those points. It’s even got some yellowish bits mixed in so that it’s not all uniform green. And what a shade of green it is! Deep, dark, and spinach-y, like Bryo is chock full of vitamins and ruffage! It’s worth noting he does not smell like a pine-scented air freshener for your car. Which I suppose could be a pro or con, depending on your personal taste. And luckily Bryo isn’t wearing a whole lot so he can showcase his flocking. What he does have is a knightly yellow-gold armored belt with deep copper colored hip armor and a shaggy sash to conceal his twig and berries. He has similar copper wrist bracers, and lower leg armor, also taken from the Knight figures, but his feet are left bare to show off more mossy goodness. We’ve seen all these parts before and the combination works quite well.

The head I chose to start with is the less aggressive looking one, at least to me, although he does still looks like a tough customer. His Orc nature comes out in his pointed ears, broad nose, deep set yellow eyes, and jutting teeth that rise up from the corners of his dower mouth. He also sports a glorious moss beard! I think this head really showcases how wonderful the transition from painted plastic to moss works on the figure.

And here’s the second head, along with his shoulder armor attached. The armor pieces match the rest of his armor in both style and color and look damn good. They even serve to conceal the bald parts of the shoulders. The moss coverage on this head isn’t quite as lush as the previous one, but I still think it looks great. Again, the first head feels more inline with his role of noble protector, but the second one is a tempting choice for display. Both are great, and it’s kind of mind-blowing that neither head sculpt was designed with this type of flocking in mind!

Bryo also comes with a decent assortment of accessories, many of which are a little less common… at least among the figures I’ve reviewed thus far. First off, you get his staff with a smooth copper shaft and a gnarled branch cradling a green orb at the top. It’s an excellent accessory for the character, and no doubt used to wield his mystical plant-based powers. If you trespass in The Swale, you’re probably going to get attacked by trees before you even catch a glimpse of Bryo!

Next up is the dagger, which is also a welcome treat, as I haven’t seen it in quite a while. This one was introduced with Advent of Decay, and I think it was used frequently among the Elves and maybe some of the new Vampyrs. The sheath is sculpted with an eye motif and painted gold to match the hilt, with an S-shaped guard, while the blade is short, simple, and curved. I love the fact that they included a sheath with this tiny weapon, and it makes me hope that someday T4H will design sword scabbards and make them retroactively available in multi-packs so I can hand them out to all my figures. The dagger’s sheath has a clip on the back so it can be carried on the standard issue brown belt, but it requires a modicum of care, as I’ve had one of the clips snap off one of my Elf daggers.

And finally, we get a heavy mace, which I believe was originally designed for the Dwarf figures. I only recall seeing this stout smashing weapon a few times so far, making it another welcome addition. It’s certainly not an organic-themed weapon, but I think it works here because it goes well with his armor bits.

As much as I loved Mephitor, I think I’ll give the nod to Bryo as my favorite of this MOTU pair. With the added flocking, Bryo just stands out as one of the more unique figures in this line, and it sure took a lot more effort than a mere repaint. Indeed, the homage is so on point, that if you showed me this figure without the familiar armor bits, and told me it was part of an upcoming line of MOTU figures, I’d be inclined to believe you. What’s more, the flocking seems pretty durable. I have had a few crumbs come off, but I think a lot of those were already loose in the package and waiting to jump ship! Either way, I love this guy! Next week, I’ll shoot for a look at the last figure I picked up in this assortment. And he’s a big boi!