[Lazy Orang]

- Theme Test - Pass, he feels like the character to me, at least the version from Spider-Man the Animated Series (not so much the one from the Doctor Strange film, but the Spider-Man version seems more comic accurate anyway).
- Mirror Test - Pass
- Bonding Test - Pass - Pretty much just Wong, not that amazing (though having Wong next to you can make those already terrifying OM1 DAE attacks even more insane).
- Synergies Test - Pass - Other than Wong and a nice light touch with Hell Lords, it’s just Human synergy, really - he can get healed by Alfred, Cloned by Arnim Zola or Jackal and... what’s this?... he can bolster a Civilian’s resolve! Back to the drawing board, that combo’s clearly broken!
- Power Check - Pass - Dark Arts Empowerment is pretty damn scary, but all those games were pretty close.
- Fun Test - Pass - Dark Arts Empowerment is really, really fun to use - think Stinger Drain on steroids, only simultaneously more reliable and riskier.
- Fun Competitive Test - Pass - No issues - he's pretty scary, but not frustrating.
- Drafting Test - Pass - I'd definitely draft him, though it could be hard to build armies around him sometimes.
- Usage Test - Tentative Pass - Hypnosis got only light use in the first two tests, and none in the last one. Now, it's not useless, but it's not the core of the design as I originally planned. Now, I think I'm okay with this, as his spells will make it much more useful, but in his base design, it's honestly a bit disappointing. DAE kind of makes up for it though.
- Strategy Test - Pass - DAE is a very strategic power - you can unleash really impressive attack power with him using it, but a wound on him is painful. Add to that the fact that to use it to full effect you need to pile OMs on him or a Hell Lord and it weakens as the round goes on, and it becomes even more so. Most of the time, it’s worth using on OM1, probably not worth the risk on OM3, and on OM2... probably worth it? Really borderline there. You really have to think when using it.


Name Of The Playtest Unit: Baron Mordo

Army Test 1
Map: Conflict Chernobyl (no glyphs)
Armies:
Baron Mordo (265), Wong, Venom (C3G) (585 points)
vs.
Iron Man (MkV), Iron Man (Hasbro), Iron Man (MkI) (590 points)

Spoiler Alert!

Overview of Baron Mordo’s performance:
Damage inflicted through normal attacks: 2 wounds on Hasbro Iron Man, 1 wound on Iron Man (MkV).
Figures Hypnotised: Hasbro Iron Man, twice
Turns taken with Hypnotised figures: One with Hasbro Iron Man.
Damage inflicted by Hypnotised figures: 2 wounds on Iron Man (MkI) by Hasbro Iron Man
Dark Arts Empowerment used: Once for three extra dice, once for two extra dice
Extra damage inflicted due to Dark Arts Empowerment: 2 wounds on Hasbro Iron Man
Wounds received through Dark Arts Empowerment: One
Wounds blocked through Magical Defence: 2

Baron Mordo is Wong’s Master

Round One

The Servants of Dormammu claim the initiative and Venom Tendril Swings forwards.
Stark flies forwards and fires a Pulse Bolt at Venom, who swings out of the way and into engagement with Stark. His Hasbro branded suit flies into melee with Venom, and shoots the symbiote twice - he avoids the first shot thanks to his Symbiotic Senses, and takes two wounds from the second shot.
Eddie Brock slashes at Stark with Slashing Tendrils, inflicting a wound.
Stark punches Brock, but is blocked. His robot suit shoots Venom twice, inflicting two wounds.
Venom strikes Stark for two wounds.
Stark punches Venom, knocking him out. The robot suit flies forwards and shoots Mordo twice - the first time shot results in the suit being hypnotised (not sure how a lifeless robot suit can be hypnotised, but... run with it, it’s not the first time they’re affected by mental things they shouldn’t be), while Wong jumps in front of the second shot, receiving a wound.

Round Two

Baron Mordo claims the initiative. Wong runs forwards and Mordo flies next to him, before channeling his Dark Arts and attacking the Hasbro suit with an attack of 8, inflicting two wounds he would not have inflicted were it not for the Dark Arts, before paying for channeling dark forces beyond his control.
Stark advances and fires a Pulse Bolt at Wong, inflicting a wound. The Hasbro suit flies to height, shoots Wong down and then shoots Mordo for a wound.
Mordo flies up, channels Dark Energies and strikes Tony Stark, killing him and getting away with channeling these forces.
The Hasbro suit strikes Mordo twice, once resulting in him being blocked and the second resulting in a wound.
Mordo strikes the suit without channeling any Dark Energy, qand fails to inflict a wound.
The suit shoots Mordo twice, being blocked once but not Hypnotised and inflicting a wound.

Round Three

Stark’s suits claim the initiative. The Hasbro suit shoots Mordo twice - the first shot results in his Hypnotism, while the second is blocked.
Mordo does not call in the dark arts and strikes the suit normally, but still rolls all skulls and inflicts a wound. Following this, he snaps his fingers and commands the hypnotised suit to fly away and fire two shots from height at the Mark I armour, inflicting two wounds.
Hasbro Iron Man flies back up to Mordo and shoots him dead.

Stark Industries victorious - Hasbro Suit 3 wounds, MkI Suit 2 wounds.

Overview: That was a fairly close battle, and he felt about right at 265 in this game, to me, so that’s what I’ll continue with. Hypnotic Arts really isn't too reliable with 5 defence considering the attacks supers throw around (he was being hits with attacks of 4 or 5 and it only triggered twice, once when he couldn't make use of it, though that was probably due to some fairly poor luck and Hypnosis will become more reliable once he's got Mesmerise and Hypnotise available. Even when he can't hasn't got anyone Hypnotised under his control, Dark Arts Empowerment is pretty damn fun to use - it allows for some big, showy attacks, but a 50/50 chance of a wound on a decently high priced magic user makes it a real double edged sword to use - especially when he's low on health. He could even kill himself using it, and it's far from impossible that this guy could kill the last enemy figure while channeling Dark Arts before expiring from doing so, thus ending the game in a draw, which could be fun.

Army Test 2
Map: Invasion (No Glyphs)
Armies;
Baron Mordo (265), Star Lord, Super-Skrull (Kl’rt), Zombie (975 points)
vs.
Captain America (C3G), Bucky, Ms. Marvel, Invincible (980 points)

Spoiler Alert!

Overview of Baron Mordo’s performance:
Damage inflicted through normal attacks: 5 wounds on Ms. Marvel.
Figures Hypnotised: Bucky, once
Turns taken with Hypnotised figures: One with Bucky
Damage inflicted by Hypnotised figures: 1 wound on Invincible from Bucky
Dark Arts Empowerment used: Once for three extra dice, once for two extra dice
Extra damage inflicted due to Dark Arts Empowerment: 1 wound on Ms. Marvel
Wounds received through Dark Arts Empowerment: One
Wounds blocked through Magical Defence: Four

Super-Skrull carries the Amulet of Damballah

Round One

The Conquerors of the Universe claim the initiative, and Star-Lord runs forwards.
Zombe shambles. Cap and Bucky run forwards.
Peter Quill runs to height and shoots Bucky for a wound.
Zombie edges forwards. Ms. Marvel flies forwards and fires a shot at Star-Lord, which he luckily dodges.
Mordo flies forwards and fires a normal shot at Carol Danvers, rolling 4 skulls and inflicting a wound.
Zombie shambles forwards. Invincible swoops in with a 9 attack Invincible Punch, striking Star Lord for two wounds and Mordo for one.

Round Two

The Avengers claim the initiative. Zombie shambles forwards. Bucky fires his Machine Gun at Star-Lord to no effect, and Cap runs up and throws his shield at Star-Lord, Mordo and Zombie, inflicting two wounds on Zombie.
Mordo flies to height and channels the Dark Arts to fire a mystic blast at Ms. Marvel, making an attack of 9 thanks to DAE, Ragtag Tactics and height. She receives three wounds from the blast, and he gets away with channeling the Dark Arts.
Zombie shambles into melee with Invincible, and bites him for a wound. Invincible punches Star-Lord for a wound. Ms. Marvel shoots him for two.
Mordo musters the Dark Arts again, shooting Ms. Marvel for a wound he’d never have inflicted without them, leaving her reeling and near death, but pays for playing with fire.
Invincible knocks Star-Lord out. Ms. Marvel rolls an all skull attack on Mordo.... thank the Dread Dormammu for Magical Defence, eh...?
Mordo shoots Ms. Marvel, not bothering with Dark Arts Empowerment and failing to achieve anything.

Round Three

The Avengers claim the initiative. Bucky charges into melee with Mordo, but is Hypnotised. Steve also charges Mordo, punching him for a wound.
Mordo strikes Cap normally, not feeling he can risk channeling the Dark Arts, and achieves nothing. He snaps his fingers and activates Bucky, who runs to height and punches Invincible with an all-skull attack, inflicting a wound - honestly, Barnes is probably used to this kind of crap by now...
Barnes snaps out of it, but finds himself in engagement with Zombie, who he punches for a wound. Cap punches Mordo, knocking him out and eliminating the enemy’s next turn.
Bucky punches Zombie again, but is blocked. Cap charges Zombie, taking him out.
Super-Skrull flies forwards and strikes Cap from range for a wound.

Round Four

The Avengers claim the initiative. Bucky and Steve charge the Skrull - neither hurt him, but the Skrull turns his hide to stone to parry Steve’s strike, causing him to break his hand, receiving a wound, and get knocked back to low ground.
The Skrull flies to Ms. Marvel and murders her, eliminating the Avengers’ next turn.
Kl’rt flies up to Steve and strikes him from height for a wound.
Invincible flies in and punches Kl’rt for two wounds.
The Skrull strikes Cap for a wound.

Round Five

The Avengers claim the initiative (because of course they do...). Bucky opens fire with his Machine Gun to no effect. Cap strikes the Skrull to no effect.
Kl’rt strangles Cap, killing him.
Invincible strikes the Skrull, only to hurt himself on a rock wall and get bounced back to low ground.
Super-Skrull flies in to strike Invincible from height, inflicting a wound.
Invincible finally knocks the alien out.

Avengers Victorious, Invincible 4 wounds, Bucky 1 wound.

Overview: Another close loss. Mordo racked up quite a bit of damage this time, but most of that time he was being boosted by Star-Lord, who was also drawing the enemy’s fire, plus he got some good luck on those attacks on Ms. Marvel. Again, not making too much massive use of Hypnotism, but it is a nice bonus when it comes up - I’m thinking he’ll probably need those spells on hand to make it a that useful on a reliable basis, which is fine, you’ll be able to basically draft those spells with him to scale his power-level, which is cool. Hovering around 260 is still looking about right to me.

Army Test 3
Map: Draugur (No Glyphs, normal snow, normal ice)
Armies;
Baron Mordo (260), Mephisto, Batroc the Leaper (1,190 points)
vs.
Martian Manhunter (vII), Quasar, Phobos, Echo (1,190 points)

Spoiler Alert!

Overview of Baron Mordo’s performance:
Damage inflicted through normal attacks: 5 wounds on Quasar, 2 wounds on Phobos, 2 wounds on J’onn J’onzz.
Figures Hypnotised: None
Turns taken with Hypnotised figures: None
Damage inflicted by Hypnotised figures: None
Dark Arts Empowerment used: Thrice for three extra dice, once for one extra die
Extra damage inflicted due to Dark Arts Empowerment: 5 wounds on Quasar, 2 wounds on J’onn J’onzz.
Wounds received through Dark Arts Empowerment: Two
Wounds blocked through Magical Defence: 2

Round One

The Forces of Hell claim the initiative and Batroc runs forwards.
Echo runs forwards.
Batroc continues to advance.
Quasar flies up and shoots Batroc from height, but he leaps out of the way.
Batroc makes a Leaping Kick at Martian Manhunter to no effect.
J’onn burns a marker to take command, flies to height and shoots Batroc, who blocks. Phobos charges Batroc, fails to scare him and strikes him for two wounds with Godkiller.
Havok absorbs more Cosmic Energy at the end of the round.

Round Two

The Forces of Hell claim the initiative and Batroc makes a Leaping Kick at J’onn, inflicting two wounds on the Martian.
Phobos charges Batroc, making him terrified and decapitating him with Grasscutter.
Mordo flies forwards into the shadow.
Echo runs north and mimics the Martian’s offensive skills.
Mephisto runs forwards. He shoots Echo, but is blocked.
Martian Manhunter burns a marker and takes command. Echo runs forward, charging Mephisto and striking him for three wounds. Quasar flies to height next to Mordo, and strikes him for what would be two wounds.
Mephisto burns Echo for two wounds.
Mordo musters the dark arts, striking Quasar, roling 3 skulls and inflicting a wound on her before getting off scott free.

Round Three

The Justice League claim the initiative. Quasar blasts Mordo for a wound.
Mordo musters the Dark Arts and kills Quasar before taking a wound. She firmly rejects any Deal with the Devil
Phobos runs forward.
Mordo blasts Phobos normally for a wound.
J’onn burns a marker, runs forwards and strikes Mordo, but is blocked. Phobos runs up and strikes Mordo with Grasscutter, but is blocked.
Mordo strikes Phobos normally for a wound.

Round Four

Hell claims the initiative. Mordo musters all his Dark power and strikes J’onn for two wounds, but it burns him out and he expires.
J’onn burns his last Marker. Phobos strikes Mephisto with Grasscutter to no effect. J’onn claims height and shoots him for two wounds. Mephisto strikes Phobos for a wound.
Phobos strikes Mephisto for a wound.
Mephisto kills Phobos before offering him a deal, which he accepts.
J’onn strikes the devil for a wound.
Mephisto moves into the shadow and strikes J’onn to no effect.

Round Five

Mephisto decides to call in his deal with Phobos
Mephisto claims the initiative. Phobos terrifies J’onn before striking him for two wounds. Mephisto strikes J’onn but is blocked.
The Martian punches the devil in the face, and would kill him, but Mephisto instead kills Phobos to stay alive.
Mephisto strikes J’onn but is blocked.
J’onn strikes the Devil for a wound.
Mephisto kills J’onn.

Hell Victorious, Mephisto 8 wounds.

Overview: He inflicted a lot of damage here, but I feel that was due to Quasar being a surprisingly soft target for her power level, working with Mephisto, surprisingly getting 3 chances to make OM1 Dark Arts attacks, luck, etc. - he still feels good at 260 to me, and the one time he got a win it was still really close, so I’d say he was about right. Not getting a single Hypnotism, though... not sure how I feel about that. His Dark Arts Empowerment synergy with Mephisto wasn't too impressive... until the very end, when he was about to die and I was able to put OM1 on him for a sacrificial, full power shot before switching to using Mephisto.

Thoughts On The Tested Unit's Cost, Balance, & Draftibility:

I like him at 260 - he’s fun to play, really scary but doesn’t hold up that long (most of the time) for a magical figure. The lack of use for Hypnotism is a little disappointing, but I’m sure those spells will make it much more useful, so I think I’m cool with it. Basically, if you take him on his own, you’re taking him for Dark Arts Empowerment, and that’s his thing, with Hypnotism being a occasional bonus - but if you want to make good use of Hypnotism, you can take his spells and make it more of a thing for him. Oh, and by the way, @Ronin , thank you for pushing for Dark Arts Empowerment - for a power that I originally included as a concession, I bloody love it!

So, in short... I Propose Moving Baron Mordo to Public Playtesting.


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