[davidlhsl]

I finished playing a set of battles to test C3G's Swamp Lab map. The battles were so much fun, I thought I'd post the report here as well.

Swamp Lab

Map locations
Lab = structure
Roof Knob = 2-hex piece on top of lab’s roof
Pier (left/right) = the 2-road area with the battlements attached
Sandbar (left/right/front) = raised sand hexes

Battle 1
Team A: M.O.D.O.K., Loki (780)
Team B: Chronos, Kang x 2, Beast (785)
Battlements are Destructible Objects
Results: Chronos (0 wounds, on his card due to Time Bandit), Beast (3 wounds/2 left), Kang (0 wounds)

Spoiler Alert!

Round 1
Chronos flies to right-most road space.

Loki moves forward.

Beast moves ahead.

MODOK moves to left-most road.

Kang (red) moves to right Sandbar and is next to Chronos.

MODOK moves to Front Sandbar.

Round 2
Beast heads towards unrevealed glyphs in the back. He’s at the Right Sandbar near the ladder.

Loki reaches the Left Pier, then Teleports at the Right Sandbar engaged with Kang (Red) and Chronos.

Kang (Red) stays engaged with Loki, moves a space, drops the TempDisp Glyph behind, moves back to the Glyph to activate TempDisp, and places Loki on the middle water space. Kang fires at Loki with height. Loki blocks 4 skulls with 6 perfect shields! (Wow!)

MODOK moves on the Front Sandbar to range 6 from Kang (Red) and fires on him, but the attack is blocked.

Kang (Blue) moves ahead.

Loki moves forward to engage Kang (Red) and attacks, dealing 3 wounds (1 left) and 1 knockback. Battlement prevents knockback, so Kang survives, and so does battlement.

Round 3
Chronos flies to the Right Pier, then back to engage Loki, dropping a TempDisp glyph on the Right Pier. Chronos attacks Loki, dealing 3 wounds (perfect 3 skulls vs whiffed defense). Loki fails God of Evil, so takes the 3 wounds (4 left). Chronos leaves the board with Time Bandit.

Loki strikes Kang (Red), and 1 puny skull still strikes down Kang’s (Red) whiffed defense! Loki Teleports to the top of the Right Pier.

Kang (Blue, though that’s now obvious as he’s the last Kang) moves to the Right Sandbar towards Beast, dropping his TempDisp glyph next to him. Kang fires at Loki, dealing 2 wounds (2 left). Kang Time Warps to the TempDisp glyph on the far right of the Right Sandbar and takes another turn. He takes down Loki with 4 skulls vs whiffed defense! Kang Time Warps on the Right Pier and fires at MODOK. Attack whiffs. Kang leaves the remaining TempDisp glyph on the map for Chronos.

MODOK reveals an order marker, so Chronos uses Time Bandit to appear on the Right Sandbar.

MODOK flies to the top of the Right Sandbar next to Kang and activates his Designed Only for Kissing. That’s right: This MODOK is going to plant some kissy-face! Chronos (3 left) and Beast (4 left) take a wound apiece.

Kang strikes MODOK, dealing 1 wound (5 left).

Loki loses turn.

Kang strikes MODOK again, but MODOK uses his Forcefield X.

Round 4
MODOK disengages from Kang, taking no damage, and engages Chronos to attack. Chronos takes 2 wounds (1 left), and MODOK takes a turn with Chronos! Chronos flies to the Right Pier to attack Kang, and the attack is blocked.

Beast moves to the right of the Right Sandbar and strikes MODOK, but whiffs.

MODOK uses Designed for Kissing on Chronos, but Chronos doesn’t like that kissy-face (the roll was a 6!).

Chronos flies next to MODOK, leaving a TempDisp on the Right Pier. MODOK uses his Forcefield X to cancel the 3 perfect skulls. Chronos uses Time Bandit to return to his card, fully healing his 3 wounds!

MODOK strikes at Beast, but Beast blocks.

Kang steps off the Right Pier, drops a TempDisp Glyph, and returns to the Pier to fire on MODOK to no effect. Kang Time Warps to the Glyph he dropped, climbs back to the Pier, and fires on MODOK. MODOK takes a wound (4 left). Kang saves the other TempDisp Glyph on the Pier for Chronos.

Round 5
Beast uses Negotiation to remove the X Order Marker from MODOK.

MODOK strikes at Beast, dealing 1 wound (3 left – Kang didn’t want to cash in his OM2 to stop 2 skulls). That allows MODOK to take a turn with Beast. Beast moves down to the road and attacks Kang. Beast rolls 4 skulls, so Kang decides to use Temporal Defense and reveals his OM2. That allows Chronos to return to the Right Pier.

Kang loses the turn.

MODOK flies to the far right Roof and fires down on Chronos. Chronos takes a wound (3 left), and MODOK takes a turn with Chronos, who fires on Kang. The attack is blocked.

Beast moves to the middle swamp space.

MODOK fires down on Chronos, dealing 1 wound (2 left). Chronos flies down to attack Beast, dealing 1 wound (2 left).

Round 6
Chronos flies to the top of the roof, making sure to drop one of his TempDisp Glyphs. Chronos attacks MODOK, but the attack is blocked. Chronos uses Time Bandit and fully heals.

MODOK flies down and activates the back-right glyph. It’s a Glyph of Mysterious Artifact. Since it’s undefined, it’s considered a dud. MODOK fires on Beast, but the attack is blocked.

Kang moves to the top of the Right Pier to drop a TempDisp Glyph, then flies down to the Right Sandbar to fire on MODOK. MODOK uses his Forcefield X. Kang uses Time Warp to return to the center of the swamp, then flies to the Left Sandbar to fire on MODOK. That delivers 2 wounds (2 left). Kang decides to take a chance and uses Time Warp to replace the final TempDisp. Kang flies down from the Right Pier to the Right Sandbar and fires on MODOK. MODOK takes a wound and is NOT amused.

MODOK tries the other unrevealed glyph, and it’s Kryptonite! Worthless!!! He fires on Beast, who blocks the 3 skulls.

Kang moves one space to drop a TempDisp, and fires on MODOK. The 3 wounds take down MODOK.

Comments: Besides this being an insanely fun first taste of Wave 5, the map was really fun. MODOK did reach one of the few roof spaces outside the Bomb’s blast radius. You’ve done a fantastic job placing height spaces that encourages action around the map. I’m currently thinking the Glyph of Superspeed isn’t as strong an incentive, but that may change with other units (especially squads).

Battle 2
Team A: Swamp Thing, Gorilla Grodd, Wolverine, Kree Scout x 4 (900)
Team B: Killer Croc, Graviton, Red Skull, Shadow Thief (890)
Battlements are Destructible Objects
Results: Wolverine (1 wound/5 left)

Spoiler Alert!

Round 1
Grodd moves to the Left Sandbar. He fails Cognizant Control.

Graviton moves to the Right Sandbar, then uses Reverse Gravity to place Red Skull on the Right Pier. He fails to bring over his other two teammates (!!!).

Kree Scout moves to left swamp water near Forward Sandbar, then fires at Red Skull. Attack blocked. Kree bonds with another Kree Scout, who moves to the Left Sandbar next to the ladder. He fires at Red Skull. Attack blocked.

Graviton holds position and tries to Reverse Gravity his other teammates. He misses both rolls (whose stupid strategy was this… oh, yeah).

Grodd advances towards Red Skull and is now in the middle swamp area.

Graviton tells Shadow Thief and Killer Croc to, and I quote, “#X*@$!!!” That wasn’t nice! He flies to the right ladder rung and fires down on Grodd, hitting for 1 wound (4 left). One other wound was blocked with Grodd’s Psychokinetic Defense.

Round 2
Grodd climbs the ladder on the Right Pier level with Red Skull and strikes, but the attack is blocked. Grodd makes his Cognizant Control 16 roll to control Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing uses The Green to put himself in the swamp water next to the Left Pier.

Red Skull shines his Cosmic Cube and moves the Order Marker 3 to the Kree Scout’s card. Red Skull fires his Dual Lugers Special Attack on Grodd, dealing 0 wounds and 0 wounds (PsyDef saves Grodd again!) respectively, 4 left.

Kree Scout reaches the SuperSpeed Glyph, then passes bonding to his Kree Scout in the start zone. The Kree at the base of the left ladder Tactical Teleports the two Kree in the start zone . One is placed in front of him, while the other is placed on the left ladder rung directly over the Kree’s head. The Kree on the ladder is the Kree taking the bonded turn, and fires on Red Skull. Red Skull whiffs defense, takes 2 wounds (3 left), and the Cosmic Cube flips into the water next to Swamp Thing.

Graviton flies down to the Right Sandbar. He fails to Reverse Gravity Red Skull the first time, but succeeds the second to place Red Skull on the road two spaces to the right of the Cosmic Cube. Graviton Reverse Gravitys Grodd to right swamp water space, but fails to wound him.

Kree Scout on the Left Sandbar moves forward on the Sandbar and fires on Red Skull, hitting 2 wounds (1 left). That Kree Teleports his friends from the ladder/sandbar, and one is placed on the Left Pier to fire on Red Skull. Another perfect 4 skulls takes down Red Skull.

Killer Croc moves onto the Right Sandbar.

Round 3
Grodd tries to move towards Graviton, but he’s locked in Graviton’s Gravitational Grasp. Grodd fails Cognizant Control.

Graviton walks up to the Right Pier. He uses Reverse Gravity to flip Swamp Thing to the Right Sandbar with no damage. He knocks Swamp Thing onto the road and deals a wound (4 left). He fails to flip Swamp Thing a third time.

Kree Scout on the Left Pier fires across on Graviton, but it’s blocked. A Kree Teleports from the Left Sandbar to the Front Sandbar in front of his bud on the SuperSpeed Glyph. That Kree fires on Graviton, and it’s blocked.

Killer Croc moves onto the front of the Right Sandbar to strike Swamp Thing from height, dealing 3 wounds (1 left) and 3 knockback spaces. Swamp Thing slams into Grodd, and Grodd takes knockback damage (3 left).

Grodd is just outside Graviton’s Grasp range, so uses his Super Speed bonus to reach the Right Pier adjacent to Graviton and Croc. Grodd strikes Graviton, hitting 2 wounds (4 left). Grodd misses CogControl (drat!).

Graviton disengages from Grodd, taking a wound (3 left), and flies to pick up the Cosmic Cube. He uses the Cube to remove a wound, put the wound on Swamp Thing to take him out, and takes the wound from the Cube (still 3 left). The Cosmic Cube flies over to the Left Sandbar. Graviton then uses Reverse Gravity on the Kree, knocking two of them into swamp water with no damage.

Round 4
Graviton uses Reverse Gravity on the Kree, but fails all three rolls.

Grodd chuckles and strikes Croc, hitting 3 wounds on a whiffed defense (2 left). Grodd Controls Croc to move into the water next to Graviton and attacks, dealing a fatal 4 wounds on Graviton.

Croc shakes his head, yells wtf, then uses Swamp Creature next to the Kree on the SS Glyph. A normal attack takes out the Kree on the Glyph (3 left).

Kree on Swamp Water next to Left Pier climbs onto road, then fires on Croc, but it’s blocked. He Teleports his unengaged Kree friend. The Kree above Croc fires down on Croc, but that’s blocked.

Graviton loses a turn.

Round 5
Croc climbs onto the Front Sandbar and strikes down a second Kree (2 left).

Kree on road climbs on Front Sandbar to engage and attack Croc. No damage. Other Kree attacks, dealing 1 wound (1 left).

Croc turns another Kree into a pair of alligator shoes (what?), 1 left.

Grodd decides to dispatch Shadow Thief, who is still sitting purty in his start zone. 5 skulls deliver 3 wounds (1 left).

Shadow Thief strikes Grodd with a limp handkerchief to deliver 1 wound, but Grodd whiffs and takes the snot rag in the face (2 left). Bad news is that Shadow Thief can’t disappear with Dimensiometer.

Grodd thumps his hairy chest and smacks down Shadow Thief. (Note: Grodd’s failing his attempts to control Wolverine, but I’ll only report when he succeeds.)

Round 6
Grodd moves to the Right Sandbar.

Croc takes down the final Kree.

Wolverine snorts and yells to Grodd, “I’ll control myself, now. Thank you!” Wolverine climbs to the Left Sandbar and takes the Cosmic Cube.

Croc moves towards Grodd, and is on the road.

Wolverine moves onto the road, but Croc is too far away for Cube Love.

Croc moves over the Right Pier down into the swamp water for some Death Roll love on Grodd. Grodd takes a wound, then another! Grodd is now conducting tours at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.

Round 7
Just a near-death Croc and a freshly Cubed Wolverine on the board. Wolverine gets initiative, moves along the road, then uses the Cube to place Croc on the road next to Wolverine. Wolverine takes a wound from the Cube (5 left), and the Cube goes into the swamp water next to both Croc and Wolverine. (Note: I didn’t think the Cube could be used to wound Croc since Wolverine didn’t have a wound to remove. If I’m wrong, Wolverine would win the game here.) Wolverine strikes Croc with his claws, and takes him down.

Comments: With the Kree, the SuperSpeed Glyph did become a great incentive. So that glyph is a huge boon to armies with squads. I don’t think I’d camp a hero on it. Croc got a lot of help from the terrain, and poor Swamp Thing simply doesn’t last too long for me (I was counting too heavily on Grodd to Control him, which was a mistake). The Piers are a nice focal point.

Battle 3
Team A: Red Skull, Baron von Strucker, Madame Hydra, Mandarin, HYDRA Agents x 3 (1090)
Team B: Ultron, Doombots x 4 (1060)
Battlements are Destructible Objects. One of the Heroes is actually quozl (randomly assigned)! Each time a Hero is destroyed, I’ll check to see if it’s quozl. If so, I’ll go into excruciating details on how he died on his own map! On second thought, I’ll just reveal which one is quozl and skip the details. If not destroyed by the end of the game, I’ll reveal which surviving hero is quozl.
Results: Madame Hydra (3 wounds, 1 left) or Ultron (12 wounds, 1 left) if I hadn't made the mistake in not losing Madame Hydra's ring glyph

Spoiler Alert!

Round 1
Ultron (or is it quozl? Stay tuned!) flies to the back of the map on the Right Sandbar.

HYDRA bond with Red Skull, who moves to the leftmost road. HYDRA flank left (towards the left Lab ladder) and two towards the SS Glyph.

Ultron flies to the Right Pier and fires his EncRay at Red Skull, who blocks the attack.

Red Skull uses +3 road movement to reach top of Left Pier. He uses his Cube to place Ultron down into the water. Red Skull fires his normal attack on Ultron with height, hitting with 2 wounds (11 left). That Motivates Mandarin to move to the right road space. Mandarin then uses his Electro-Ring to place himself on the Left Pier next to Red Skull. Then he uses his Energy Ring to deliver 1 wound on Ultron (10 left). Now the HYDRA go. Two reach the Front Sandbar, one moves onto the Left Sandbar, and one reaches the Time Bomb Glyph. He deactivates the Time Bomb! Now three HYDRA fire on Ultron. Only one is able to deal damage for 2 wounds (8 left).

Ultron flies back onto the Right Pier and fires his EncRay at Red Skull. Red Skull whiffs defense and takes 4 wounds (ouch, 1 left!), sending the Cosmic Cube flying to the Right Pier next to Ultron. Don’t worry: I remember that Event Heroes can’t equip glyphs. Despite having +4 for Program Transmission, Ultron fails the roll.

Red Skull wants his “Precious,” so uses +3 road bonus to reach the road space just one short of the Cube. Red Skull fires his normal attack on Ultron, but the bullets bounce off Ultron’s Adamantium. A HYDRA reaches the Superspeed Glyph, giving +2 move to his buds. The HYDRA that diffused the bomb reaches the right Lab ladder, one reaches the left side of the Lab roof, and one reaches the middle of the road. The one on the Lab ladder fires down on the White Doombot, but no blocked. Two fire at Ultron, but fail.

Round 2
Red Skull takes back his Cube, and uses it to move the Order Marker 1 from Ultron to the Blue Doombot. Red Skull fires his Dual Lugers, dealing a total of 3 wounds (5 left). The HYDRA on the right LAB ladder fires down on White Doombot, but Doombot blocks with another 4 shields. The HYDRA on the Lab roof moves over to the right of the roof, but is still out of range. Two HYDRA on the Front Sandbar fire at Ultron, but Adamantium holds tough.

The Blue Doombot flies to the Right Sandbar and fires on Red Skull, which is blocked.

Red Skull uses his Cube to move the Order Marker 2 from Ultron to the Red Doombot. Red Skull fires his Dual Lugers at Ultron. One attack is block, and another whiffs. HYDRA on the right Lab ladder fires down on Blue Doombot, dealing 1 wound (1 left). The HYDRA on the roof fires down on Ultron, dealing 1 wound (4 left). The two HYDRA on the Front Sandbar fire on Ultron, but those attacks are blocked.

Red Doombot flies to the front of the Right Sandbar and fires on Red Skull, knocking out Red Skull. The Cube flips back to Team B’s start zone. Was Red Skull quozl? Nope.

Baron uses his +2 Superspeed bonus to reach the road and fire on Ultron. His attack is blocked. Blue Doombot is able to block the HYDRA’s attack from the Lab ladder. The other three HYDRA fail to wound Ultron.

Ultron fires his EncRay at Baron, dealing 1 wound (4 left). Ultron rolls for Program Transmission with +1, and rolls a 20!!! Baron von Splatter turns to goo! Ultron pops up in Baron’s place, and a freshly minted Ultron (replacing the other Ultron) appears in the slime. The poor Baron was not quozl.

Round 3
Mandarin uses his ring to place Ultron into the swamp water below the Left Pier. His attack is blocked, so he uses his other ring to deal 1 wound on Ultron (12 left).

Ultron flies up to the top of the Left Pier, taking no engagement damage. He fires his EncRay on Mandarin, rolling 5 massive skulls. Mandarin whiffs and is knocked out in one deadly blow. Was that quozl? YES! (sniffle) Poor quozl! Rings fly to the right closer to his Doombots.

Madame Hydra gulps and steps to the Left Sandbar next to one of her HYDRA. Her attack on Ultron is blocked. HYDRA on the right Lab ladder steps down to allow his companion on the Lab roof to step onto the ladder for range on one of the Doombots. Doombot blocks the first attack, and the second whiffs. Two other HYDRA fire on Ultron, but they’re having a hard time piercing that Adamantium.

Ultron fires his EncRay at Madame HYDRA, dealing two wounds. Necessary Sacrifices takes down the adjacent HYDRA instead. Hail HYDRA! With only one wound, Ultron decides not to use his Doombots for Program Transmission.

Madame HYDRA decides to use her Superspeed +2 bonus to make a mad dash along the road to snag the Makluan Energy Rings! She fires up at Ultron, but he blocks. She tries to use the Ring on a nearby Doombot, but fails the roll. Fail HYDRA! The HYDRA on the Front Sandbar rush to Madame HYDRA’s aid by moving next to her. The two on the right Lab ladder and Right Sandbar fire at the Doombots. Red Doombot takes a wound (1 left), and the second attack whiffs. The two HYDRA next to Madame fire at the Doombots instead of Ultron. The attacks fail.

Ultron decides he’s not going to be able to hit Madame HYDRA as long as she has HYDRA fodder, so flies to the Front Sandbar to strike down one of her shields (10 remaining).

Round 4
Ultron takes down Madame HYDRA’s other bodyguard (9 left).

Madame HYDRA climbs up the Right Pier to camp on the Electromagnetic Rings and fires across at Ultron. Ultron blocks. She uses her Energy Ring to wipe out both Blue and Red Doombots (2 remaining). That gives her HYDRA buds +1 attack with Lead By Example for the rest of the round. One of the HYDRA rushes next to Madame, the one on the right Lab ladder runs forward and dives into the swamp water to move closer to Madame, and two move from the start zone onto the road and Left Sandbar. The HYDRA next to Madame decides to fire down on Green Doombot and delivers a wound (1 left). The HYDRA in the swamp fails to wound Ultron. The other two also fail to pierce the Adamantium.

Ultron takes down Madame’s HYDRA shield (8 remaining) with his EncRay.

Madame fires across at Ultron to no effect. She uses her Energy Ring to deal 2 wounds to Ultron (10 left). HYDRA in the swamp reaches the Right Pier, while two others take position on the Left Pier. One reaches the Front Sandbar and engages Ultron. Fire at will! Ultron takes a wound (9 left).

Ultron slaps down the HYDRA next to him (7 left) and fails Program Transmission with his Doombot. He’ll keep trying this, but I’ll only report when he succeeds.

Madame HYDRA fires on Ultron, but no good. Her ring also fails her. HYDRA position themselves, with the one on the Left Pier moving across to engage Ultron on the Front Sandbar. Fire away! No dice. Well, yes, there was dice, but… oh, never mind!

Round 5
Ultron smacks down the adjacent HYDRA (6 remaining).

Madame fails both her attack and her ring. HYDRA manage to deliver 1 wound (8 left) on Ultron.

Ultron takes down another HYDRA (5 remaining).

Madame fails her regular attack, but her ring deals 1 wound to Ultron (7 left). HYDRA deal a wound to Ultron (6 left).

Ultron whacks another HYDRA (4 left).

Madame decides to try to give her companions a Lead by Example bonus by stepping down to the Right Sandbar. She fires across at Ultron, but the attack is blocked. Her ring takes down the Green Doombot (1 remaining), giving her team the bonus. The HYDRA on the glyph climbs up to engage Ultron, another engages him as well, and the one on the Right Pier moves next to Madame. Fire! No good.

Ultron takes down another HYDRA (3 remaining).

Round 6
Madame fires at Ultron, but no good. Her Energy Ring takes down the final Doombot, giving her HYDRA the Lead boost. Ultron blocks attacks from the HYDRA.

Ultron takes down another HYDRA (yawn, 2 left).

Madame returns to the Right Pier and fires on Ultron, striking 2 wounds (4 left). Her Energy Ring deals another wound (3 left). Both HYDRA attacks whiff.

Ultron flies to the Left Pier to take down another HYDRA (only 1 left).

Madame fires at Ultron to no effect, but her ring deals a wound (2 left). The HYDRA is ineffective.

Ultron takes down the final HYDRA with his EncRay.

Round 7
It’s now down to Madame Hydra and Ultron! Madame fires with no effect, and her Ring whiffs. Ultron decides he wants height and flies to the Lab roof! Madame decides to move to the Right Sandbar and fires up at Ultron to deliver 1 wound (1 left!!!) Ultron takes the Roof Knob and fires his EncRay on Madame. That hits for 2 wounds (2 left, and she was supposed to lose the ring glyph - oops!). Program Transmission fails! Madame climbs the right ladder, and Ultron is within Ring Range!!! Her normal attack is blocked, and the ring whiffs!!!! Ultron fires his EncRay for 1 wound (1 left). I think Ultron should’ve moved over and used his normal attack. Oh well. What would’ve happened in Ultron moved forward to use his normal attack? The attack would’ve been blocked.

Round 8
They are both down to their last life! Madame wins initiative! It’s 3 skulls, but Ultron rolls 2 shields plus his Adamantium shield to block! Now for the ring… the roll is an 18, and Ultron goes down! Since Madame wasn't supposed to have the rings, I continued from this point to see what would've happened. Ultron moves next to Madame and takes her down with his normal attack.


Comments:
I decided to chance the Time Bomb glyph this time. The roll actually isn’t that severe, but bad luck could cost you the game. So that glyph is a dominant factor on this map. Sorry you got killed as Mandarin, but take comfort in the sheer awesomeness of this map.

Now, in the words of Han Solo (paraphrasing), “Great map, Kid! Now let’s pass this thing and go home!”

Oh, and this battle was EPIC!!!