Re: The Book of J. Jonah Jameson (Design Phase)
C3G INITIAL PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM
NAME OF THE TEST UNIT J. Jonah Jameson
- 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 (I was going to raise concerns about Smear Campaign shutting off Telepaths, but I handwaved it as psychological damage disrupting their concentration.)
- 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 too 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
- 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
NOTE: I skipped Heavy Hitter and Squad tests based on the premise that he'll pretty much never see combat and his powers only apply in team games.
Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? YES!
- What should be the unit's point value? 60-70 POINTS
- Give a brief overview. Taking away Luke's ability to take an extra turn with Spidey definitely slowed down the game - giving Nick more turns, letting more Agents run amuck, definitely turning things in Agents' favor. Might deserve a point boost.
Map: Mountain Spring
Units: J. Jonah Jameson, Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, SHIELD Agents x2 (590 Points) vs. Luke Cage, Jewel, Spider-Man: Peter Parker (590 Points)
Spoiler Alert!
SHIELD Strike Team wins; 1 Wound on Dum Dum Dugan, 5 Agents remaining, J. Jonah Jameson unharmed, Nick Fury destroyed, 4 Rounds.
ROUND 1: Spider-Man is a Menace! Nick and three Agents are the Drop Team. Dugan and the Agents move in against the opposing three. The Agents hit Luke and Jewel for one wound each.
ROUND 2: Nick drops, with the Agents setting up a good killbox on Luke. They realize Jewel would be an easier target without Impenetrable Skin, but can't put a wound on. Spidey swings up to Nick, engaging him and two Agents. Dugan shoots him, he swings away; he puts a wound on Luke and the Killbox puts three wounds on Jewel. She and Luke run in to put a wound on Nick and kill an Agent, but Jewel dies next turn.
ROUND 3: Luke goes down after doing nothing to Nick. Spidey pulls Nick over and puts three wounds on him. Nick flees as the Agents follow and try to take him out.
ROUND 4: Spidey finishes off Nick Fury. Unfortunately, he's caught in a Killbox next and takes FOUR wounds. He puts a wound on Dugan, but Dugan engages and kills him next turn.
Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? YES!
- What should be the unit's point value? 50-60 POINTS
- Give a brief overview. A lot worse this time around. Keeping Sue back in many situations would have been a godsend, but with the Warriors Three, they were unable to outpace She-Hulk enough to take advantage of it. It was a pretty poor matchup on a pretty poor map for the Three, so that takes a lot of the blame.
Map: Mountain Spring
Units: J. Jonah Jameson, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg (980 Points) vs. Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, She-Hulk (985 Points)
Spoiler Alert!
Fantastic Four win; 2 Wounds on Mister Fantastic, 1 Wound on She-Hulk, 3 Wounds on Human Torch, Invisible Woman unharmed, 5 Rounds.
ROUND 1: The Invisible Woman is a Menace! The teams move out, but Sue stays in the start zone. She-Hulk leaps after Jonah, but Volstagg engages her and Reed fails his roll when trying to take an extra turn. He engages Hogun. The Warriors attack, but neither can nail a roll.
ROUND 2: The Warriors win initiative, but only put one wound on Shulkie. She leaps across the battlefield, but can't hurt Jonah. Fandral engages She-Hulk, but can't stop her from taking out JJJ next turn. Both teams try to get an advantage, but neither can manage it.
ROUND 3: Johnny flies in and puts two wounds on Hogun with a Flame On - then another three with his normal attack! The Warriors try to recoup, but can't; Hogun is killed, and he, of course, had the third Order Marker, so Volstagg takes another four wounds.
ROUND 4: Volstagg moves first, putting two wounds on Reed despite his hunger and Sue's shields. Fandral is able to put two wounds on Shulkie, but Volstagg is pounded on, using up all of his food but doing nothing otherwise and still taking wounds.
ROUND 5: She-Hulk kills Fandral, Flame On kills Volstagg.
Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? YES!
- What should be the unit's point value? 60-70 POINTS
- Give a brief overview. Jameson and the Civilians and their pressure were able to kill Scarecrow completely and deal two wounds to Rhino, leaving The Hood and Trapster (and what was left of the Rhino) to Marvel. They're not a really formidable force on their own still, but with a good Champion they can really put some pressure on the opposition.
Map: Mountain Spring
Units: J. Jonah Jameson, Civilians x3, Captain Marvel, Billy Batson (615 Points) vs. The Hood, Rhino, Scarecrow, Trapster (615 Points)
Spoiler Alert!
Citizen's Revolt wins; 5 Wounds on Captain Marvel, 2 Civilians remaining, J. Jonah Jameson unharmed, 9 Rounds.
ROUND 1: The Rhino is a Menace! The two sides converge, with Billy engaging the Rhino (but not wounding him).
ROUND 2: The Rhino attacks Billy, dealing three wounds - but bringing forth CAPTAIN MARVEL! Shazam deals a wound to the Rhino. A Civilian engages the Rhino, but can't deal a wound. Scarecrow throws Fear Gas, kills a Civ. Marvel disengages Rhino, engages The Hood, and puts three wounds on him. He can't hit Marvel, but Marvel puts another wound on him.
ROUND 3: Cap finishes the Hood. Scarecrow hits a Civ and immobilizes Captain Marvel, but Rhino can't charge in and finish him.
ROUND 4: Scarecrow puts the Fear into Captain Marvel again, but he breaks free and moves down to hit Rhino, putting on one wound. Rhino disengages and charges, hitting Cap for three and forcing a switch. Lighting deals a wound to him. The Civilians move in, but Rhino decides to leave Billy be and go tear through them. Cap loses an Order Marker.
ROUND 5: The Civs start to move in, but can't do any damage. They put one wound on Scarecrow, and continue their slow march forward.
ROUND 6: Things get tight - Civilians start throwing three or four dice at the Rhino. They put a wound on Rhino, and another on Scarecrow, though only five (and Billy) are left.
ROUND 7: Scarecrow says screw it - he hits Billy, kills him, brings out Marvel. Shazam finishes off Rhino, Scarecrow, and a Civilian, however. They all move toward Paste Pot Pete.
ROUND 8: Trapster gets Marvel into the muck. He gets another turn, putting two wounds on Marvel! Unfortunately, the Civilians swarm him, putting two wounds on. He fights back, taking out two, but can't get to Marvel again before the round ends.
ROUND 9: Unfortunately, despite winning initiative, Pete can't glue down Marvel. He's down before long.
Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? NO!
- What should be the unit's point value? 60-70 POINTS
- Give a brief overview. The Mutants were pretty dominant to begin with - Jean in particular - but Jonah really shifted focus. Batgirl decided to go after him instead of Cyclops. She couldn't kill him, so Batman went in without Robin and died before he could have done much damage. If he'd lived to face the Civilians, the game could have turned around easily.
Map: Mountain Spring
Units: J. Jonah Jameson, Civilians x3, Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, Angel (1195 Points) vs. Batman: Bruce Wayne I, Huntress, Black Canary, Green Arrow: Connor Hawke, Robin: Dick Grayson, Robin: Tim Drake, Batgirl: Cassandra Cain, Commissioner Gordon, 5th Precinct Beat Cops x1 (1195 Points)
Spoiler Alert!
Too Human wins; 4 wounds on Beast, 2 Wounds on J. Jonah Jameson, Angel unharmed, 12 Civilians remaining, all others destroyed, 14 Rounds.
ROUND 1: Batman is a Menace! Black Canary takes up the Bat Signal in his stead. Huntress and BC move in, but the Mutants are quick. Jean is able to kill Huntress before the round is over.
ROUND 2: Green Arrow moves in, shooting an arrow from afar and dealing two wounds to Professor X! While Cyclops and Jean assault the Sidekicks to no avail, the Viglantes move into action and pound on Jean, dealing one wound overall. The Mutants are able to strike back at last, hurling Black Canary away and dealing a wound, then putting two wounds on Dick Grayson.
ROUND 3: Iceman tries to put Batgirl in Deep Freeze, but takes a wound instead. Robin is killed, unfortunately. Black Canary moves in deeper, taking a wound from leaving an engagement with Cyclops, but lets out a Canary Cry and kills Professor X! Angel swoops Iceman out of harm's way, however.
ROUND 4: Black Canary is killed by Cyclops, and Jean puts some damage onto Batgirl, but she swoops over and hits Cyclops for one. Iceman can't do anything to Green Arrow.
ROUND 5: Batgirl swings over to Jameson, trying to take him out, but he's left with a single Life. The Mutants swarm her, and take her out before she can do any more damage. Green Arrow can't hit Iceman, but Iceman puts a wound on him.
ROUND 6: The Mutants continue their assault, almost killing Green Arrow, but Gordon brings up some cops to cover him. Batman finally makes his move, but does no damage.
ROUND 7: Cyclops lets loose with an Optic Blast, killing Green Arrow, but Batman's Evasive Strike turns it around and puts a wound on Cyclops. Gordon moves a Cop in and takes his shot, killing Cyke! Batman throws some Rangs, but Angel is there to protect Iceman. Batman takes a hit from Iceman... three wounds. Ouch.
ROUND 8: Batman Strikes Jean, then swings up to kill her. However, Iceman blasts him - killing him. Gordon can't fight back.
ROUND 9: Gordon advances on Iceman, but is killed shortly after. It's all up to Robin now.
ROUND 10: He and Iceman tussle, Iceman taking a wound but Robin never taking one.
ROUND 11: Robin takes out Iceman on the first move, but Beast moves in quickly and puts a wound on him.
ROUND 12: Robin puts a wound on Beast, then another two, then another one! Beast puts two on Robin in retaliation.
ROUND 13: Beast wins initiative and takes out Robin. But one Beat Cop remains.
ROUND 14: Beast takes out the Beat.
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FINAL THOUGHTS: This is a tough one. I never once put an Order Marker on Jameson other than the X. He can shift the focus of the battle with ease, though, and it can be super frustrating to have him in the opposite start zone with no way to take him out. But if you DO take him out, he's wasted points, and he's only really destructive against super-synergy heavy armies... but a well-made army will have an answer for him or a workaround. He makes you play smarter, not necessarily worse. I think putting him at 65 - making him tougher to splash into any old army, and putting him + 3 Civilians at an even 200 - would be a good place to send him to testing.
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