The Book of Kang (II)
 

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Character Bio - Kang is a time-traveling conqueror from the 30th Century who claims to be a descendant of the original Nathaniel Richards, the father of Mister Fantastic and a fellow time-traveler himself. Having already conquered the galaxy in several other eras, Kang has set his sights on Earth in the 21st Century, a target that continues to vex him. Thus far, Earth's superheroes have prevented him from expanding his empire into the present day. But Kang has come closer to his goal of world domination than perhaps any of his villainous peers; he led the first-ever successful military conquest of the Earth, laying waste to Washington D.C. in the process. Had he not been betrayed to the Avengers by his own son, Kang might never have been dethroned.

Kang's frequent abuses of the timestream have resulted in a host of different versions of Nathaniel Richards that exist in various alternate timelines and potential futures. The heroes of the 21st Century have to contend with not only the genuine Kang, but also Iron Lad, Rama-Tut, Immortus, and an overwhelming number of divergent Kangs. Though the many forms of Nathaniel Richards are typically at odds with each other, alliances are sometimes struck between them.
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-Rulings and Clarifications-

• Q: Can a figure placed on Kang's card with Timestream Reinforcements that is still on his card use a special power? For example, Doctor Fate's Helm of Nabu doesn't have any kind of clear sight or line of sight restriction, so would that be usable while Doctor Fate is on Kang's card?
• A: Unless otherwise stated, a figure cannot use a special power while that figure is out of play. So Doctor Fate couldn't use Helm of Nabu while he's on Kang's card.
  
• Q: What happens to the figures placed on this card if Kang is destroyed?
• A: When Kang is destroyed, any unplaced Reinforcements are not necessarily out of the game and they are not destroyed. They are just extremely difficult to get back. If there was a figure that could bring itself into the game, or some type of summoning power on another card that might be able to bring a Reinforcement onto the battlefield, they may still be able to enter the game. Keep in mind that the content of the previous question still applies even if Kang is destroyed; Order Markers may still be placed on the cards of unplaced Reinforcements, and special powers on those cards can still be used.

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Incoming Synergy:

• As a Human, Kang has these Human Synergies.
• As a Conqueror, Kang has these Conqueror Synergies.

Outgoing Synergy:

• Other Nathaniel Richards figures without the One True Kang special power may be drafted into the same army as Kang, due to Kang's One True Kang special power. Current Nathaniel Richards.
• Any Unique Heroes except for Unique Heroes that start the game off the battlefield may be chosen for Kang's Timestream Reinforcements special power. Current Figures that Start the Game Off the Battlefield. Chosen figures gain these Off-the-Battlefield Synergies.

Immunities, Benefits, and Weaknesses:

• As a Human, Kang interacts differently with these special powers.
• As a flying figure, Kang interacts differently with these special powers.
• As a figure with the Super Strength special power, Kang interacts differently with these special powers.

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-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

• Timestream Reinforcements is Kang's most powerful ability. It allows Kang to easily mobilize his army, dropping units into danger without ever putting an OM on them. He pairs well with lockdown units like Blob and Spider-Girl, or anyone else who thrives on being in the middle of things. Cheap, high-attack figures can also be useful for Kang to have in his pockets.
• The higher your army's point limit is, the more creative you can get with your Kang-centric builds. Just be mindful that Kang is a bottleneck in your army. If the opponent has a good counter-unit to Kang, it is possible for him to go down before he's placed all of his Reinforcements on the board. Kang needs to watch out for auto-wounders, units that can deny him the clear sight he needs to place figures, and units that can negate him. Any of those can spell disaster for him if you don't handle them carefully.

-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

• Initial playtest: TrollBrute
• Second playtest: Arkham
• Third playtest: Gutudak
• Fourth playtest (second version of Timestream Reinforcements): Arkham
• Fifth playtest: Ronin
• Sixth playtest (third version of Timestream Reinforcements): Arkham
• Seventh playtest: TrollBrute
• Eighth playtest: fret_gurglo
• Ninth playtest: Ronin
• Playtest Summary
• Art: Comic, Figure, Background
• Art by japes
• Comic Art by John Romita, Jr., Klaus Janson, Dean White
• Kang the Conqueror created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee

Re: The Book of Kang (II) - Breathing Period
 

NAME = KANG
SECRET IDENTITY = NATHANIEL RICHARDS

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CONQUEROR
PERSONALITY = DRAMATIC

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 4
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 6

POINTS = 400

TIMESTREAM REINFORCEMENTS
At the start of the game, you may choose any other Unique Heroes you control that would begin the game on the battlefield and instead place them on this card. After revealing an Order Marker on this card and taking a turn with Kang, if Kang did not attack this turn, you may remove one of the chosen figures from this card and place it on any unoccupied space within 2 clear sight spaces of Kang. Take an immediate turn with that figure, during which it cannot move, and you may not take any additional turns with other figures you control.

DAMOCLES ORBITAL ASSAULT
Before moving Kang, you may reveal an "X" Order Marker on this card and choose a space within 8 spaces of Kang. Roll the 20-sided die for each figure on or within 1 space of the chosen space, one at a time. If you roll 14 or higher, the figure receives 1 wound.

ONE TRUE KANG
The most wounds Kang can take from any attack is one. Anytime Kang would receive one or more wounds, you may instead destroy another Nathaniel Richards figure you control.

SUPER STRENGTH

FLYING

Re: The Book of Kang (II) - Breathing Period
 

Art Possibilities: Spoilering these because the images are pretty big.


Background Possibilities: I'm thinking something space-y


Mini Possibilities:

Candidate A: $0.49 on Troll & Toad. Cheap, plentiful, and boring.

Candidate B: $5.99 on Troll & Toad. More expensive, rarer, and more dynamic.

I actually already have the more expensive figure. I don't have a decent camera for taking pictures, but I am headed home for the Thanksgiving break in just a couple days, so I may be able to work something out.

Re: The Book of Kang (II) - Breathing Period
 

Cool - been looking forward to this guy. :)

Whichever's chosen, I need Option B. :)

Re: The Book of Kang (II) - Breathing Period
 

A couple notable issues that have been brought up:

• Some people have suggested putting a limit on how many figures can be chosen for Timstream Reinforcements. I'm not sure it's necessary, but I wouldn't be opposed to it.
• I believe that the clause in One True Kang that allows Kang to be co-drafted with other Nathaniel Richards figures would, according to the FAQs in Iron Man Mk V's thread, allow you to draft this Kang with multiples of other Unique Nathaniel Richards figures. That could be avoided by making sure any other future Unique Nathaniel Richards figures have similar language, but I know TB's got an Iron Lad (Nathaniel Richards) in the works, so I wanted to mention it in here.

Re: The Book of Kang (II) - Breathing Period
 

Make sure to post this in all the appropriate places and PM the Heroes. :-)

Re: The Book of Kang (II) - Breathing Period
 

Ah, right you are. I got excited and forgot.

Re: The Book of Kang (II) - Breathing Period
 

I like the leftbox and stats.

I like the general ideas behind the powers. A few of them have some awkward mechanics that I'd like to see smoothed out. More on that in a bit.

For the first bullet, I don't see any need to limit the figures. That said, it's notable that the power currently allows you to lose the game before it even gets started. If you have no figures you control on the battlefield at the start of the game, you'd lose the game before ever flipping an Order Marker.

Based on how the mechanics work, though, I believe the intent is that this Kang cannot be one of the figures placed on his card? If so, that needs to be clarified in the text.

The Orbital Assault Power text feeling the need to call out the Timestream Reinforcements power demonstrates the in-turn order awkwardness at play here. My suggestion would be to change the timing on the Orbital Assault to make it trigger at the end of the round.

One True Kang mentions the drafting stage, which occurs before the start of the game, so One True Kang should be the first power listed on the card.

The "enough wounds to be destroyed" trigger for One True Kang feels really unwieldy to me. I'd rather make it so you can trigger it anything Kang would receive one or more wounds.

Re: The Book of Kang (II) (Design Phase)
 

Fun direction, I like the design. Some thoughts:
1) I agree with Bats that Timestream Reinforcements should specify it can't be used on Kang. I also see no reason to limit the number of heroes you can choose for that power.
2) For Orbital Assault, I'd either move it to triggering "after moving and before attacking", or have it trigger at the end of the round.
3) I also agree with Bats on allowing him to destroy a Nathaniel Richards any time he takes wounds as opposed to only when he would be destroyed.

Re: The Book of Kang (II) - Breathing Period
 

Good catch. I think amending "...any Unique Heroes..." to "..any other Unique Heroes..." should tidy that up. =

I like that change.

I'd be okay with that. Is it the wording or the mechanic that's bugging you? I know there were some pretty involved discussions about how exactly to phrase One True Kang, but it's been too long for me to remember everything that went into it. I think the current wording comes from dok.

Re: The Book of Kang (II) - Breathing Period
 

Both. The wording is a bit awkward and I'm not sure why it's necessary. It seems like this approach makes the power fairly niche and I also don't see why that's thematically appropriate.

Re: The Book of Kang (II) (Design Phase)
 

Sound like some good points.