davidlhsl's Battles

[davidlhsl]

Welcome!

Hello, everybody. Thanks for checking out my battle stories thread. It began innocently enough as a simple battle report between two different sets of customs, and has expanded from there. These stories are based on actual battles that I play (so far, all solitaire except one), but it's really designed to celebrate the hard work produced by the Superhero customs community.

Sadly, I frequently make many mistakes during gameplay. I've noted these in the reports/stories themselves where known. Nevertheless, I hope you will find these as entertaining as I have found in playing. I strive, as best as I possibly can, to explain the way the various designs work in the battle reports. Even if you're not familiar with a particular custom, I hope you will still be able to follow the action.

Story/Battle Index

Helmiverse vs C3G smackdown (Matt Helm/C3G)
Balantai Battlescape report: Capt. America vs Joker (Balantai)
Joker's Battle Story (Balantai, then mixed)
Battle of the Sexes (Sherman Davies)
HelmAverse Cup Tournament (Matt Helm/Sherman Davies)
>>> Round 2 / Round 3 / Semi-Finals / Finals
>>> Anti-Monitor interrupts the tournament (C3G)
Sketch of an idea that I abandoned
Times Square Christmas Battle (C3G) / Mike shows up late
Burt's Beer Snowball Fight 2011 (mostly Helms/Davies, but mixed) / Semi-Finals / Final Round
C3G HYDRA Base Battle (C3G)
Afternoon Delight - A HelmAVerse Battle Story (Matt Helm)
A Fantastic Celebration (C3G)
>>> Prologue / Battle 1 / Battle 2 / Battle 3 / Battle 4 / Battle 5
>>> Intermission 1 / Intermission 2 / Intermission 3 / Intermission 4 / Final Battle
S.H.I.E.L.D. vs Hydra (hi1)
Stunt Double Battle (Balantai)
Swamp Lab Battles (C3G)
Kingpin! (C3G) / Anti-Monitor Encore Battle
Burt's Beer Hi1 Tournament (hi1)
>>> Exhibition A (C3G) / Exhibition B (Matt Helm) / Exhibition C (Sherman Davies)
>>> Qualifying Round / Quarter Finals / Semi-Finals / Final Battle
Mountain Pass: A Map I tossed together on my break from battling
Burt's Beer Mini-Tourney (C3G)
One Year Celebration!
Bed, Bath, and Beyonder (C3G) (includes a bonus interview)
Shazam! (Matt Helm)
Battle at Hol Hall (C3G) / Beyonder Encore
Ham and Eggs (hi1)
A Very Mutant Christmas (C3G)
A Winter Murderland (C3G)
Battlelore Heroscape (Matt Helm)
How much do I love C3G? (C3G - duh!)
Time/Space Rift Battle (Sherman Davies)
Operation: Play the Unplayed (C3G)
>>> Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3 / Game 4
C3G Wave 9 - Live Opponent! (C3G)
Burt's Beer Battle Bites (C3G)
>>> Round 1: Bad Guys / Good Guys
>>> Intermission: Helmicarrier (Matt Helm/C3V)
>>> Round 2: Bad Guys / Good Guys
>>> Intermission: Mountain Spring (C3V/Matt Helm)
>>> Round 3: Two Year Celebration
>>> Round 4/5: Semi-Finals / Final
Parking Lot Battle (C3G)
Slums of Rio Scenario Playtest (C3G)
Fwooooosh!!! (mixed)


Sock Puppet has stats, thanks to All Your Pie!

Customs index

C3G Project / C3G Promotions Department
HelmAVerse Superheroes / HelmAVerse - Other / Cardboard Proxy Cutouts
Sherman Davies DC - Marvel
Balantai Battlescape
NM24 Halls of Justice
Garada's customs
Grey Owl's Comics Customs
A3n's customs
tcglkn's customs
Hi1's customs

Heroes of Star Wars Scape Project / Battle Tests
GreyOwl's Star Wars Customs

Grishnak's GCT - Interactive Terrain
How to play Heroscape Online

My guide to Superhero Customs

[Balantai]

Awesome battle report. This is quite rep worthy.

[Sherman Davies]

Yeah, I thought so too.

[davidlhsl]

Spoiler Alert!

For those of you coming over from the regular Heroscape community who would like to follow the action, here are some links where you can download the stats for the units involved:

C3G Units Figures needed: Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, Iceman

Matt Helm's Reinforcement Packs Figures needed: Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing

Since this is likely of more interest to the SuperScape community, I decided to post this report here instead of the regular battle report forum. Admins should feel free to move this if it would be better posted there.


I thought it would be fun to have a Helmiverse vs C3G smackdown, so I drafted Matt’s Fantastic Four (1000 points) for one player, and the X-Men (Angel + Jean Grey + Cyclops + Beast + Iceman + Professor X = 1000 points) for the other. The setting: Platforms 5 & 6. I played three practice games to get the hang of the units, and set the fourth run as the smackdown that I would post. And I just remembered something: I forgot to use the knock-back rules! Grrr…

It begins with laughing, crying, consulting the internet, eating too many Bugles, and overall mirth and merriment. This, I think, explains why I play most of my Heroscape games solo. A-hem, anyhoo – Things begin slowly by getting units into position. After a bit, the setting looks like this:

Spoiler Alert!

It would take a while to get Thing to the top, so he stays low.

Spoiler Alert!

After a while, things get pretty crowded. Jean Grey was able to use her Telekinesis to get Beast to the top. Beast’s Negotiation is a huge threat.

Spoiler Alert!

Cyclops (taken out earlier) and Human Torch get taken down pretty easily. As feared, Beast took out one of Mr. Fantastic’s order markers (#3). Mr. Fantastic takes advantage of Turn #2 to get out of Dodge and face Professor X.

Spoiler Alert!

Mr. Fantastic knocked out Professor X’s “X” order marker with Entangle, giving Thing a clear shot. Get him, Thing!

Spoiler Alert!

You have GOT to be kidding me! Well, Professor X needs some help, so Jean Grey was able to successfully use Telekinesis to get into position to help. She tried to toss Mr. Fantastic, but no go. She was able to work around to get adjacent to Professor X. Professor X was able to successfully stall with his Psychic Defense. Mr. Fantastic also couldn’t Entangle, buying some more time..

Spoiler Alert!

Where is Invisible Woman? Uh, oh. Beast ties her up (I should’ve placed an “X” order marker on her to give her a chance to squeeze out of Negotiation. She doesn’t last long.

Spoiler Alert!

This is how things stand so far. Jean Grey (off camera) doesn’t have any wounds.

Spoiler Alert!

Professor X summons Angel into range to help pull him out of danger. This happened just in the nick of time when a 1-point wound from Mr. Fantastic saved the Professor for another attack from Thing.

Spoiler Alert!

Mr. Fantastic gets taken out by Iceman. I haven’t mentioned Iceman yet, but his Deep Freeze Special Attack only went into play twice during the game. Only Thing is left, and Thing can’t get to the top without climbing. If Thing simply waited under the platform, Professor X would simply snipe with Telepathic Blast. So, up the platform he goes.

Spoiler Alert!

However, Jean Grey went into d20 lock-and-load mode. She continued knocking Thing down, leaving her and Iceman to pummel him from above. Thing made no less than five attempts up the ladder before finally getting wiped out. The final tally:

Spoiler Alert!

This match-up was so much fun. The Fantastic Four requires a ton of finesse, and the X-Men are simply brutal with Professor X’s long range Mutant Mind link. This might’ve been a different game if Thing didn’t whiff that vital role. I am definitely going for a rematch!

When Matt Helm finished reading Reed Richards’ battle report, he laughed so hard that he couldn’t drink his coffee without spitting it out. The Fantastic Four members had been sitting at the table silently, embarrassed they hadn’t done any better.

Thing took it particularly hard. “I couldn’t even hit a guy in a friggin’ wheelchair,” he muttered.

“Wow, he's taking this better than I thought,” Johnny smiled, referring to Mr. Helm's laughter.

“Johnny, not now,” Susan chided.

“Well, Mr. Helm. Do you have any ideas as to why they ambushed us this way?” Reed asked.

“Yes, it was an ambush alright,” Matt finally said. “I should have known it by the way they asked me to send you guys to Platforms 5 & 6. That’s their map, after all. But I don’t know why they put up the phony story about there being a dirty bomb arriving on the train. Why not just challenge us openly?”

“Perhaps,” Susan reasoned, “they’re trying to get us out of the way. After all, you do know that they are preparing to release us as C3G figures. I even hear that they are releasing it as another Master Set.”

“I think they want to just show that they are better than us,” Johnny seethed.

“I don’t think David played us to our full potential,” Thing snapped.

“Don’t put it all on David,” Matt said. “He didn’t have anything to do with those dice going down the dice tower. Besides, he’s just getting back into Heroscape after a long dry spell. All of our special abilities can be difficult to juggle at times.. As for the C3G team and why they set us up like that, I don’t know. But I do know this: we need to challenge them again. This time, we will call the time and place.”

Matt rolled out a map on the table, and the Fantastic Four studied it.

“Flash Fire. That’s one of the Battlefields of Valhalla, isn’t it?” Reed asked.

“Exactly,” Matt answered. “The roads will give Thing more mobility, we’ll be able to manage height better, and the tighter quarters will keep us together better.”

“What about these glyphs? With my movement, I can snag those babies up!” Johnny suggested.

“Not so fast,” Matt advised. “These are C3G glyphs. Two of them, Kryptonite and Reinforcements, have been removed from the pool because they aren’t applicable to our battle. Only three can be put on the map, which David did randomly. Two of the six glyphs in the pool are deadly. They both may be on the map, or not. But it’s still a 1 in 3 chance of hurting us, and we can’t afford that. Let them take the risk.”

“What about the Glyph of Loot? The card says the scenario will define its use.” Susan asked.

“Hey, this is our scenario, right? Let’s say that if anyone lands on the glyph, the Fantastic Four automatically win!” Johnny joked.

Matt laughed. “That’s actually pretty good; but if we won that way, we’d be the laughing stock of the entire customs community. I have a better idea: The Glyph of Loot is an Equipment Glyph, and follows the Equipment Glyph rules outlined in the C3G World’s Finest Rulebook. The Loot is a copy of the Kama Sutra. Any figure equipped with the Glyph of Loot can go screw themselves.”

For the first time that evening, they all laughed.

To be continued….

[davidlhsl]

“You should’ve seen the look on Thing’s face when he whiffed that roll!” Cyclops laughed.

“Yeah, we took them down, but good! You don’t know who you’re messing with when you take on the X-Men!” Iceman crowed.

“Let’s not get cocky, people,” Professor X chided. “I think David struggled a bit with his strategy.”

“I think David is a tactical genius,” Iceman laughed. “He’s a regular Sun Tzu!”

“Ok, I think Professor X is right,” IamBatman laughed as he put down the report. Griffin picked it up and thumbed through it a second time. “We had a great victory, but let’s not be sore winners about this. I still don’t know why Mr. Helm asked us to send you guys to Platforms 5 & 6. He mentioned something about a dirty bomb arriving on a train, and he felt our units would do a better job. Any ideas, Griff?”

“That’s been bugging me. I think it might’ve been a training exercise or something.” Griff offered.

“No,” Jean replied. “They were coming after us pretty hard. They just had bad luck.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. Face it: we rock!” Iceman smiled. However, he wiped his smile off his face when the stern glares from the others let him know they didn’t appreciate it. “Um, I’m sorry. Jean’s right, though. They did mean business. But why would they ambush us like that? And why did they pick our turf?”

“Well, I’m not sure. Since we’re working on a C3G release of their figures, they may be trying to knock us out of the way. But I just got another email from Matt. We’re being challenged again.” Griffin said.

“Again? After the beating they took?” Angel asked incredulously. “What does the email say?”

Howdy, guys! This is your ol’ buddy, Matt Helm! Your guys dance divinely, I’ll grant you that. What do you say we kiss and make up, huh? We’ll meet here at the location I’ve provided, and we can have ourselves a pic-a-nic hootenanny! Don’t disappoint me. You do know how much I hate being stood up.

“And you thing I’m being cocky,” Iceman muttered.

“Well, if it’s a showdown he wants, we’ll give it to him. Just in case this isn’t an ambush, take along this bottle of Champaign. It will show him there’s no hard feelings on this end.” IamBatman announced.

“And what if it is an ambush?” Griffin asked.

“Then we’ll smash it over their heads.”



The stage is set, the battlelines are drawn, and I am in command. To be continued…

[Balantai]

I can't wait to read the battle report.

[davidlhsl]

I have enough time during lunch break to knock out a disclaimer and guilty confession: I grew up more with Mad Magazine and Star Wars than I did with comic books. I did borrow some Fantastic Four comics from a friend, but I’m completely unfamiliar with the X-Men. In drafting the C3G team, I didn’t even know the “good guys” from the “bad guys.” So you’ll probably notice, if you haven’t already, that the characters I describe might not fit their actual personalities that are familiar to you.

You may also notice during the report that I may misinterpret a special ability or two (or seventeen). For example, I just noticed that the Invisible Woman doesn’t have any hit zones and that her Team Force Field only applies to normal attacks. That didn’t affect results of the preceding battle, as she was knocked out in melee combat. If you do notice something that I’m playing incorrectly, please point out these mistakes. If a newcomer reads the report, he or she may use it as an example for how to play the game. I used to play Avalon Hill wargames all the time in my twenties, so it’s humbling to struggle sometimes with the interpretation of some of these units (not just SuperHeroscape, but the entire series) now that I’m in my mid-40s.

I do have an overall narrative that I want to pursue with these reports, but I’ve planned the narrative in such a way that it isn’t dependent on the outcome of any of these battles. If I modify or change the results of the battles, then this wouldn’t be a true battle report. So I will play both sides to the best of their, and my, abilities; and I will strive to be fair to both sides during the battle. I have a method of making random decisions, such as which order markers to remove and which glyphs to place.

I’m looking forward to bringing you the report; which will likely span several days due to my desire for a fuller, and hopefully more entertaining, narrative. But before we begin, the Fantastic Four are on the way to the Flash Fire battlefield. That is where we will pick up when we continue…

[Balantai]

Here's a quick reference for their personalities.

Cyclops: Natual leader. Calm when things are going according to plan, but has a short temper when things do not. Doesn't like when people question his judgement. In love with Jean Grey.

Jean Grey: Quiet. Calm. In love with Cyclops.

Beast: Scientist. Everything he does is very calculated. Would rather talk his way out of a situation than fight.

Iceman: Cocky. Arrogant. Lady's man.

Angel: Billionaire. Loyal. Friendly. Helpful.

Prof X: Very calm and collected. Soft-spoken. Teacher.

[Lord Pyre]

Originally Posted by Balantai

Iceman: Cocky. Arrogant. Lady's man.

Really? I always thought he was kind of timid. I know he's one of the most powerful mutants out there, but I thought I read the reason he's not always considered superpowerful was because he was too down on himself to realize his full potential, or something like that.

[Balantai]

I always interpreted Iceman's joking nature as him being a bit arrogant. He's usually the comic relief. Perhaps he's not really arrogant, but he seems to at least pretend he is at times.

[Lord Pyre]

Originally Posted by Balantai

I always interpreted Iceman's joking nature as him being a bit arrogant. He's usually the comic relief. Perhaps he's not really arrogant, but he seems to at least pretend he is at times.

Well, I don't read comics (Except a few of the Ultimates, but those aren't even the "actual" characters), so I know the character from Wikipedia, the movies, cartoons, video games, etc...
Especially in the movies he was a pretty laid back guy, unsure of himself.

So don't mind me if I say something that doesn't make sense!

[Balantai]

There are so many interpretations of these characters, it's almost impossible to say that someone is wrong.