The Book of Steel

[A3n]

Yea

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by Griffin

I propose we move to playtesting.

Thanks.

[SirGalahad]

yea

[Spidey'tilIDie]

Yea.

[Good Pig]

This passes!

[Griffin]

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Scapemage

Fun fun!

[IAmBatman]

OK, I was thinking 280 was still a possibility before those tests, but I wouldn't put him over 270 now (or under 260). That was a really nice army he helped take out in game 1, though, so I don't think 270 is off the table yet.

[Griffin]

I think 270-280 is doable and very likely to happen.

[IAmBatman]

There'd have to be two pretty impressive showings in the next one for me to be sold on 280. Especially with you coming in at 260.

[Griffin]

I actually meant 260-270. Sorry - fat typing.

[IAmBatman]

Gotcha. That makes more sense to me.

[Griffin]

Thanks.

Originally Posted by johnny139

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Steel

- THEME TEST/ Check to see if there are any powers or stats on the test unit card that does not accurately reflect the theme or likeness of what the character would and could do. Also consider destructible objects, and whether or not this characters powers should affect them.
PASS (Point-wise, he feels a bit puny to me - I'd expect a guy who took over for Superman to be closer to the high 300s. But as I thought about it, it doesn't really bother me much, and in the grand scheme of things really should be more in line with Iron Man.

Also, he seems more of an Inventor than an Engineer, but I won't split hairs.)

- MIRROR TEST/ Check to see if the unit were played against itself, if there would be any loops that would upset the balance of the Game.
PASS

- BONDING TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing Bonding abilities to make sure there are no continual Bonding possibilities that do not stop appropriately or do not stop at all. This is to prevent loops in Bonding.
PASS

- SYNERGIES TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing synergies to make sure there are no factors that could break the game by making any unit to powerful or too weak.
PASS

- POWER CHECK/ Consider the test unit and all existing units and all glyphs to compare to and check for any powers that could be over amplified and break the game. Each power must define when it takes place, who or what it affects, and What are the stipulations on the power if there are any.
PASS

- FUN TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play.
PASS

- FUN COMPETITIVE TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play against.
PASS

- DRAFTING TEST/ Consider whether or not this design is worth drafting.
PASS (He's not a headliner, but he makes for a fantastic heavy hitter to slip into an army.)

- USAGE TEST/ Consider whether or not all of the powers on this card were used or at least usable.
PASS

- STRATEGY TEST/ Consider whether or not the design offers any real strategy or interesting tactics to the overall game.
PASS (Smart Hammer? Brilliant. Great way to take down tricky targets like Invisible Woman, nice placement strategies [how do I get the most out of the extra space dice but stay on the high ground?], so on, so forth.)

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? YES!
- What should be the unit's point value? 260 POINTS
- Give a brief summary. Pretty much a perfect match. He made a great anti-swarm unit, and even with some awesome luck on Lex's side, the iron men were able to clean up with easy. Definitely feels good at 260.
Map: Swamp Lab
Units: Steel, Iron Man: Marvel (500 Points) vs. Lex Luthor: Business Suit, Hired Guns, Street Thugs x3, Bodyguards x4 (495 Points)

Spoiler Alert!

Iron Man and Steel win; 3 Wounds on Iron Man, Steel destroyed, 6 Rounds.

ROUND 1: Steel moves forward a bit. The Hired Guns do the same. Iron Man flies in. The Guns move in and blast Steel and Iron Man, dealing one wound to Steel. Steel zooms in and fires off his Bolt Gauntlets, killing one Gun. The Thugs advance, but do no damage to Steel.

ROUND 2: The Guns move on Steel again, dealing another wound. Steel then backs up and smashes two of the Guns with his Smart Hammer. The remaining Gun retreats, but Iron Man zooms over and finishes him off. Lex Luthor sends over some Bodyguards. Steel darts down and finishes off two Street Thugs with his Bolts.

ROUND 3: The Thugs continue to grapple with Steel, running up and trying to pierce his armor, but nothing comes of it. Iron Man and Steel together, using their multi-attacks, are able to kill five Thugs and a Bodyguard. Lex sends his Bodyguards to engage Steel.

ROUND 4: A Bodyguard is able to pierce Steel's defense, but Iron Man takes a turn to blow two Bodyguards away. Lex Luthor moves over and fires at Steel - finishing him off with a lucky shot. Thugs swarm Iron Man and deal one wound.

ROUND 5: Iron Man moves first, killing the last Bodyguard and a Thug. He flies in and kills two more Thugs, but Lex sneaks up and hits him for another wound. Iron Man kills the last two Thugs.

ROUND 6: Iron Man flies up onto the ladder and blasts Lex, doing two damage. Lex runs to the Time Bomb and flicks it on, then fires on Iron Man, dealing ANOTHER good hit. Iron Man darts down and finishes Lex off.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? YES!
- What should be the unit's point value? 270-280 POINTS
- Give a brief summary. Well well well! Steel really had a great showing; did major damage to Fatality, killed Loki just about on his own... a really super versatile unit. He could use a point boost - his team dominated, even against an army specifically designed to counter it!
Map: Swamp Lab
Units: Steel, Superman, Green Lantern: Hal Jordan (1010 Points) vs. Lex Luthor: Battle Suit, Loki, Fatality (1000 Points)

Spoiler Alert!

Heroes win; 4 Wounds on Superman, 1 Wound on Steel, Green Lantern destroyed, 7 Rounds.

ROUND 1: Loki moves first, and warps onto the space adjacent to the Super Speed glyph. Hal zooms in and lands on the Glyph, then attacks Loki, dealing three wounds. Fatality comes in to help, but does no damage. Steel zooms in and bashes Fatality with his Smart Hammer, dealing two wounds. Fatality again tries to hit Hal, with no luck. Superman flies in and hits Fatality for one.

ROUND 2: Lex flies in and attacks Steel, triggering Superman's Heroic Duty - he takes a wound from disengagement, and another from the attack itself. Steel responds with his Smart Hammer, but does no damage to Luthor. Fatality engages Hal and attacks, but does no damage. Superman attacks Fatality, but does no damage. Fatality smashes Hal, dealing two wounds from her attack and a third from knockback being blocked. Superman attacks Fatality again, but does no damage.

ROUND 3: Superman smashes Fatality, but again just can't get the damage done. Lex flies in and attempts to trigger Heroic Duty by attacking Hal, but Hal puts up his shield. Hal attacks Fatality, knocking her back but doing no damage. Fatality moves in to hit him again, causing Hal to put up his shield again, but he defends against the next attack. Steel fires his Smart Hammer at Lex, dealing two wounds. Loki attacks Hal, causing another marker burn, then teleports away into an engagement with Steel.

ROUND 4: Supes takes another swing at Fatality, but does nothing. Fatality attacks Hal, who takes the bullet and goes down. Steel attacks Loki, dealing one wound. Lex moves into an engagement with Superman and fires off a Kryptonite Blast, but does no damage to anyone. Superman finishes off Fatality with one massive hit. Loki attacks Steel, but does no damage, simply knocking him back a space. He then teleports away, next to Lex.

ROUND 5: Steel strikes first, flying in and attacking Lex. He does no damage. Lex attacks Superman and Steel with his Kryptonite Blast, but does nothing. Superman misses his swing at Lex. Loki attacks Superman, but does nothing, then teleports away. Steel disengages, taking a wound, and Smart Hammers Loki, dealing one wound. Loki warps in and attacks Steel, does nothing, then warps away again.

ROUND 6: Lex tries to kill Superman and fails. Superman misses his attack on Lex. Loki teleports onto height. Superman, miraculously, finishes Lex off! Steel then flies toward Loki.

ROUND 7: Steel moves in on Loki and attacks with his normal attack. Loki whiffs, and God of Evil fails, killing him with one mighty swing!

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? YES!
- What should be the unit's point value? 270 POINTS
- Give a brief summary. Wow, that was terrible! The Four absolutely steamrolled - but, all things considered, it was surprisingly close. Thing was the biggest threat, throwing out two allskulls rolls; if it weren't for that phenomenal luck, it easily could have gone the other way, or been closer at least. My belief he's underpriced stands.
Map: Swamp Lab
Units: Steel, Superman, Wonder Man (1010 Points) vs. Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, The Thing (1000 Points)

Spoiler Alert!

The Fantastic Four win; 4 Wounds on Mister Fantastic, 3 Wounds on Human Torch, Invisible Woman destroyed, The Thing unharmed, 2 Rounds.

ROUND 1: Superman starts off, flying toward the center of the battlefield. The Four mobilize. Superman engages Sue and smashes her for four. The Four respond in kind - Reed engages him, while Johnny burns him with Flame On (taking a disengagement wound) and Thing moves up. Wonder Man advances slightly. The Four all get a turn; Thing kills Superman with one nine-skull hit, while Johnny and Reed turn toward Wonder Man. Flame On deals two (and Johnny takes another one), but Reed's attack triggers Ionic Imabalance and gives him a wound instead.

ROUND 2: Steel flies over and uses his Smart Hammer to take down Sue with ease. The Four are not amused. Thing runs over and kills Steel, thanks to one solid eight-skull roll. Johnny burns Wonder Man for two, taking another wound in the process. Reed nearly kills Steel, but his Ionic Imbalance leaves him with just one life. Wonder Man smashes Reed, dealing three wounds and knocking him back two spaces. But Johnny moves next turn, killing Wonder Man with a solid Flame On.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall? He's fantastic. Strong melee, strong special, solid defense, nice crowd control. Worth every penny... but a bit too cheap. I could easily see his price going up as high as 280 or 290, pending other tests, but 270-ish feels right to me.