Play a KO match on a map that collapses by a one-square diameter ring at the end of every round. A map that starts 26 X 26 squares should shrink to 4 X 4 in 24 turns. Once the map reaches 4 X 4 squares, the shrinking stops, and the game continues to KO. All antimatter squares block line of sight. As soon as a figure enters an antimatter square, they must stop moving. Ending a turn in the anti-matter wall, or being knocked-back into it, results in a figure taking one penetrating and 2 normal damage.
We debated quite a bit about these rules... the original scenario was developed by me before the new set was released, with all of its strategic-repositioning special powers. All of a sudden Darkseid, Wonder Girl, and Supernova could one-hit, one-kill! We took down the damage so that the wall would be survivable (but still kill quickly) and sped up the wall so that it advanced at the end of the 2nd player turn. There were a lot of variables that needed playtesting, but I think we hit on just the right combination, and came out of this with a night of really good games. So thanks to all the Clix Mafioso for their input.
I fielded a team flawed in concept, but still effective due to its simplicity. I wanted to get Darkseid out and start Omega-effecting figures out of the universe. Of course, once I was at the shop, I realized that Darkseid couldn't draw line of sight to an anti-matter square, and that wasn't going to work. But you play with what you bring. I finished out the team with a custom Cosmic Justice Despero I made, mostly because the Avengers Abomination sculpt was so good it needed a good dial to go on. I also gave Darkseid Fortitude and Trick Shot (more on that later).
Jeff realized that knockback would be a killer in this game, and designed a team immune to it. All giants and double-basers: Atom Smasher, Plastic Man, Chronos, Vigilante, and Flash. This team had to get stuck in more than was good for them, but Plastic Man turned out to be a really good piece.
Ferru fielded a Titans team with a ton of pieces: Nightwing, Tempest, Wonder Girl (lil' Donna), Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy. With six figures he had everyone out-actioned. Plus Kid Flash had his ForceBlast power, turned from annoying to lethal by the scenario. Oh, and Nightwing was impossible to hit, but everyone knows that already.
Bill built a Justice League of America team, with Green Arrow, Black Canary, Green Lantern, and Batman. This team could be devastating, and had a lot of stealth, but more than anyone else seemed to get caught in the antimatter walls. Bill also fielded a Chals pog and a Shield Disruptor, which made up for his lack of armor.
In the first game, I played Bill while Jeff played Ferru. Bill advanced cautiously, forgetting that Green Lantern could carry his whole team. I charged into the center of the map to hide behind an object, not realizing that this was a shield disruptor. Then Bill came at me and missed three times, while I responded and Omega-moved Green Arrow instead of doing four damage to him. Oh, and also, Bill pointed out that Trick Shot, my 20-point expenditure that was going to let Darkseid blast the hiding Batmans of the world, was an illegal feat, as he had neither of the prerequisites. So we ended the first two turns cursing ourselves for all the bush-league crap we were displaying. The game continued with GA being hit by the advancing wall twice, Green Lantern and Batman pummeling Despero, and Black Canary taking a pity Omega Beam after basing Darkseid. At the end of the game, Batman and Darkseid were the sole survivors. Bats ran in to the safe 4x4 square and based Darkseid on the edge of the oncoming wall. I had a choice between dealing three damage to Batman or taking it from the antimatter, and I chose a failed break-away roll... turns out Batman was three clicks away from dying! So that was game in Bill's favor... valuable lesson learned, know your dials (and read your feats).
Jeff and Ferru had a lot of pieces to move around, and their game went slower. Flash and Kid Flash seemed to be running around, but the water gave Flash more trouble than his sidekick. Ferru came out on top, but it seemed close. Guys, please fill in the details if you can!
In game two, I played Jeff with Ferru battling Bill. I think we were all going into this second match wiser about the mechanics... I also switched out my illegal feat for another Fortitude on Despero. I once again took center stage while Jeff's army slowly advanced... they were all impossible to knock back, but also couldn't be transported. After transport, Despero knocked Atom Smasher down by 4 clicks, and suddenly Jeff's force had only one figure that could damage: Plastic Man. Still the game went on, since Plas's powers made him hard to stamp out. Despero was easily based, but I took it slow so Darkseid could keep his Phase/Teleport and get to the center safety zone no matter what. I won the game once I finally took out Flash.
Bill and Ferru went at each other, with Ferru using Tempest, Aqualad, and Nightwing as an impenetrable shield against all of Bill's shots. Again, I'm spotty on the details, but the game came down to Nightwing and Batman in the 4x4 square trading blows, each finding it impossible to hit the other. Bill came out on top.
In the final game, I played Ferru while Jeff played Bill. By now we had our armies down to a science: I took the center of the board, ignoring cover for end-game safety. I faced a perfect formation, four Titans behind the unhittable Nightwing/Aqualad combo. I tried to Omega-effect through the stealth but kept rolling 2s, 3s, and 4s (I had a lot of critical misses for the night!). Eventually I was able to take out Wondergirl, the team heavy hitter, and only Tempest's Perplex could make a hit stick. Ferru pulled out a great late-game move when Kid Flash force-blasted Darkseid into the antimatter wall, and I thought it was over. But Darkseid was heavily armored and just took one click, coming out and finishing the twerp. I think Tempest was the last to go... my team had triumphed on more armor than strategy.
Bill took advantage of all his stealth against Jeff... Jeff needed Chronos's Probability Control to protect himself from the Leaguers, and he could never draw line of fire to do so. Green Lantern did the heavy lifting to finish off the double-base team.
With three wins, Bill won for the night. He's really cleaning up in these Crisis games! So that's our open challenge: take Bill down a peg.
Again, I think we did the rules right, although this scenario would play differently on different maps. The map shrunk to just 16 squares of water, and this really affected the end games... figures had to run from the antimatter walls and got stuck in the river. Next week we let WizKids come up with our crazy scenario, and play with the full Crisis map sections, but no other mods to the game as written. 400 points, 50% floor, see you there!
1 comment:
Yeah, I kind of got lucky. As I mentioned - the drunker Bill gets, the better Bill gets. I'm like a Hulk clix with alcohol instead of damage - and like a clix, if I take too much I get KO'ed.
After game 1 - at some point in game 2, vs. Ferru, I realized that if i threw Bats into the middle on the object, he'd dominate as everyone had to run there anyhow. I learned a lot about the pieces through just "wait, I can do that" moments. Case in point was in Jeff's game I did a move of 0 with Green Lantern, ending in a running shot. It was useful to rearrange pieces that had moved already - that I wasn't going to push with - to block off the PC that Chronos would have had on GL if/when he attacked.
The shield disruptor, which I just kind of threw in cause i had it, also worked out in spades since my team had toughness and other defense abilities. It was crucial vs. Atom Smasher. I realized that it's kind of a must have / stand by if you field a team with super-senses, ESD, CR or anything other than the heavy hitters impervious, invulnerability, or toughness.
So yeah, bring it on - I'm switching to liquor this week.
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