1. M.A.R.S. vs Phantom Knights and Zelrig

Note: This playtest was done with an earlier version of M.A.R.S. at 4 attack instead of 2.

Shattered Plains by Dignan
475 Points
Army 1: Zelrig, Phantom Knights x3, Concan the Kyrie Warrior
Army 2: M.A.R.S., Mohican River Tribe x3, Brave Arrow, Venoc Vipers x2, Isamu

Which units survived?
Zelrig (4 wounds), Concan (4 wounds), 2 Phantom Knights
~125 Points

Game Summary:
Zelrig flew out and blew up a squad of vipers and a Mohican. M.A.R.S. marched up and climbed partially up a ladder, gaining height on him to deal a couple of wounds. Unabated, Zelrig blew up a couple more things (dealing 1 wound to M.A.R.S. and killing an adjacent Mohican) before the SoulBorg’s next attack from height highly encouraged him to back off.

With the Mohicans somewhat crippled, the PKs moved in, using Concan as a relay to gain extra defense the turn before they could reach the other side of the field. M.A.R.S. marched forward and used Missile Barrage once, killing 2 PKs and dealing 1 wound to Concan (a total of 2 PKs were targeted thanks to his double-targeting system, with two of those being boosted by Concan to 3 defense, one of which survived). Having overextended, he was promptly surrounded by PKs and didn’t see another turn.

After he inevitably fell, the PKs continued slaying Mohicans before they could get the War Cry bonus. The Vipers rushed out to try and kill Concan to stop the relay system, but failed spectacularly. Soon, Brave Arrow was all that was left. He went on an incredible streak, managing to kill 5 PKs before finally collapsing from the burden of carrying his team.

Usefulness of Powers
M.A.R.S. added a great fear factor to the army. The PKs mostly avoided grouping together because of his SA, but the high normal attack at 8 range managed to keep Zelrig at bay and end his reign of terror early. Unfortunately, the Mohicans suffered some bad dice rolls and poor synergy with the Venocs without the Warlord, in addition to not being played to their full potential.

M.A.R.S.’ 5 defense was also a good benefit here. He managed to tank about 4 hits from PKs before one managed to wound him (granted, that hit dealt two wounds to kill him), albeit he took one wound from a measly 3 attack earlier on thanks to Zelrig. Thanks to his variable defense, he might end up lasting longer than expected… But it’s risky to rely on that, because any attack could be the lucky one that breaks through his defenses and melts his 3 life.

Missile Barrage was powerful the turn it was used. Both PKs targeted were on separate sides of MARS, letting him have a huge threat range (and ignore the Insubstantial 3 that made them so tough to kill) and even get around a pillar to wound Concan. He rolled two skulls that time, roughly a normal roll.

Additional Comments
M.A.R.S. performed better than average in this game, dealing 2 wounds to Zelrig, 1 to Concan, and killing two PKs (roughly 125 points worth of damage). Now that his normal attack has been halved, however, he cannot be counted on to break through tougher defenses like Zelrig's and likely would not have dealt as much damage.

The other major play that he pulled off (other than grabbing height by climbing a tower) used his Special Attack, so it is unaffected by recent changes. He was only able to pull it off once before getting completely swarmed, though, and the Mohicans would've suffered casualties if he had tried using it later.