GameBear's Customs

[GameBear]

A second custom! I know there is another forum for superheroes, but I am not going to produce nearly enough customs to justify a separate thread.

Thing


Unukk

[GameBear]

Card Info

Spoiler Alert!

Mini: Tanarukk - DDM Giants of Legend #59 (common)

Name: Unukk
Tanarukk is a type of Orc. Since it is not Grut I decided to deviate from the classic Heroscape naming convention. I took the 'ukk' suffix (similar to 'ak') from Tanarukk and eventually settled on this name.

General: Utgar
Species: Orc
Category: Unique Hero

Class: Savage
Personality: Menacing
I wanted an existing class that would not benefit from bonding. Savage seemed like a good fit (apart from sounding like a personality). Menacing also seemed appropriate, both for the sculpt and the abilities.

Size/Height: Medium 4

Stats: 4/5/1/2/3
These low stats are in line both with those of the existing Grut Orcs, and with those of the Tanarukk. I meant to pair the powers with a stronger character, but could not justify raising the stats for this figure.

Power 1: Aggression
I like the implications of this power. Contrary to most other offensive figures, Unukk does not want all the order markers, and would prefer to lose initiative. This power (combined with Savage Frenzy) is designed to intimidate swarm armies that pile all the order markers onto one card.

Power 2: Savage Frenzy
I wanted to call this power Bloody Frenzy, but that name was taken.

Cost: 50 points
Compare to Brave Arrow, who has mostly matching stats. Brave Arrow has much better survivability, and benefits from bonding; Unukk has more offensive potential.

Discussion

Spoiler Alert!

Theme
Unukk grows increasingly agitated watching opposing figures move around the battlefield. When sufficiently riled, Unukk attacks, intent on eliminating the perceived threat.

Strategy
Unukk is a niche unit. Unukk is best used as a menacer, drawing attention away from more important units and intimidating the opponent into spreading out order markers.

Complement: Brunak
Brunak can carry Unukk into the battle, shielding the smaller figure from attacks along the way. Place the 1 and 2 on Brunak. Place the 3 on one and the X on the other to keep the opponent guessing.

Sample Army 1 (500 points)
---
Unukk
Brunak
Zetacron
Phantom Knights x4
---
Lead with Phantom Knights against range; lead with Brunak/Unukk against melee. Zetacron assists against heroes, and provides some ability to dictate terms of engagement.

[Darkmage7a]

This little guy is a well thought out piece of strategic machinery. He is particularly good at picking on swarms of commons in small clusters. In the right situation on a good day of rolling he could be very devastating. The nice part about him is that it is not immediately noticeable as a threat because of the low stats on the card. He's really more of a potential threat that offsets your opponents strategy. Another nice little play advantage of this fellow is that if he ever dies early you should never loose more than 1-2 order markers from his demise. He doesn't need all three markers to run we'll. However, like you said he is a menacer, which makes him a great place to leave the X marker. Nice work Game Bear.

[rednax]

Very professional Gamebear.

Nice card, too.

Weird. I seldom visit this forum, but somehow the name Gamebear just intrigued me enough.

[rym]

Originally Posted by rednax

Very professional Gamebear.

Nice card, too.

Weird. I seldom visit this forum, but somehow the name Gamebear just intrigued me enough.

Agreed. This is probably the first time I've been in this thread in 6 months or more.

GameBear, I really like what you did with Unukk. He seems very well thought out and I would love to see a 'real' HS unit like this pop up in future waves of Scape-ity goodness.

Kudos on a job really, really well done.

[Frylock]

^ Agreed. Not too powerful, but still lots of fun to play.

[dok]

I didn't vote for this guy in the customs contest, but that was mainly because I didn't like the sculpt. The mechanics are really well-done.

My instinct is that this guy is essentially anti-common squad filler, and you shouldn't really build an army around him. He's really too frail to plan around. This isn't a bad thing - he's only 50 points, and if you kicked up his life of defense he'd be overpowered.

So, I'd basically start with an army that doesn't like dealing with commons - particularly melee commons - and toss this guy in. My first thought is that he plays well with the Phantom Knights and Krav, and possibly Dragons/Majors, too.

Another route to go with this guy is what Gamebear suggested - carry him in and make him a bomb. I'd probably rather do this with Theracus than Brunak, though. In this context, he becomes less of a melee squad counter and more of a ranged squad counter. Park the Unukk/Theracus combo behind a LoS blocker within 9 hexes of the opposing range, put 2 on Theracus and 3 on Unukk, and hope you lose initiative.

[GameBear]

Card Info

Spoiler Alert!

Mini: The Thing - Heroclix Fantastic Forces #76-78
Two other minis deserve mention - the unreleased Marvel Wave 1 mini, and Griffin's Handful of Heroes repaint. Both of them look fantastic.

Name: Thing
General: n/a
Species: Human
Category: Unique Hero

Class: Adventurer
Personality: Loyal
Adventurer is the most popular class, and allows for future Fantastic Four synergies. Valiant is the personality most often used, but there are more than enough Valiant units already. I like the C3G choice of Gruff, but not enough to use it instead of an existing personality.

Size/Height: Medium 5

Stats: 6/5/1/7/3
My version is weaker than all the others that have been posted, but is still plenty powerful. A base attack of 7 is the highest of any existing Marvel unit (matching Abomination), and the boosted defense is equivalent to a base defense between 6 and 7 (trailing only Silver Surfer and Thanos). With 6 life, Thing should be sufficiently hard to destroy.

Power 1: Clobberin' Time
A power with this name seems to be required. Almost every other version involves boosting Thing's normal attack, but I do not see a compelling reason to follow suit. My version has Thing spurred to action when a teammate falls. The power is relatively simple, but has some strategic impact, as Thing can protect against lost turns.

Power 2: Enhanced Tough
I went with a generic name for this power. As mentioned, including this power is slightly stronger than just adding 3 to the base defense.

Cost: 220 points
By holding Thing's stats and abilities in line with the official Marvel Figures, I was able to keep the cost down (other customs range from 285 to 330). This allows Thing to fit more easily into an army with other figures (e.g. Fantastic Four, or classic heroes in smaller armies).
---
Some matchups (Thing's expected win rates):
Charos (210): 69.0%
Tor-Kul-Na (220): 52.8%
Captain America (220): 69.6%
Jotun (225): 35.3%
Abomination (320): 33.1%
---
Thing fares reasonably well in these simple matchups. However, Thing's mobility is a major weakness. He is a slow (move 5) grounded melee unit, and so is unable to attack a figure on the Marvel Warehouse (no official Marvel figure has this limitation).

Discussion

Spoiler Alert!

I do not own the mini, so I had to rely on an internet image to create the card. This custom was motivated by discussion in the Marvelous Customs thread. The C3G version of Thing provides a great blueprint: two powers, consisting of "Clobberin' Time" and a defensive power. The C3G powers are each just a bit too complex (for my tastes), and "Clobberin' Time" pushes up Thing's cost with its potential for two attacks of 10.

I see my version complementing leaders that want all the order markers, such as Red Skull (or Mister Fantastic?), or low life figures like the Deathwalkers. Thing might also work well with an assortment of heroes, protecting order markers as each hero's life dwindles. Army composition is important, though - Thing will struggle as a cleanup figure if he has to deal with range, and will have trouble tracking down more mobile figures.

[quozl]

I really like your Clobberin' Time power!

[Darkmage7a]

Excellent new mechanic Gamebear! I helps teh other heroes be a bit bolder knowing the Thing can pick up where they left off.

[GameBear]

Originally Posted by quozl

I really like your Clobberin' Time power!

Originally Posted by Darkmage7a

Excellent new mechanic Gamebear!

Thanks! I like it, too (obviously). It would also be interesting on a cheaper unit (maybe in the 100 point range) - I think it would play differently on a (weaker) fast unit than on a slow bruiser like Thing.

[Elginb]

Clobberin' Time is an awesome idea!