The Book of Deathbird

[Viegon]

Unless anyone has any objections to the current SP, I'm going to start on the Initial soon.

[Viegon]

Alrighty, here's the Initial. Under the new rules it's okay for me to run 6 Hero Tests, 2 Squad Tests, and 3 Army Tests, right? If not I don't mind running more of whatever's needed.

Overall, I'm really happy with how Deathbird works right now. She's thematic, a lot of fun, and adds some interesting strategies for both you and your opponent to think about. The ability to use the "X" in her power is crucial, I don't see her being very useful without it.

Balance-wise she's okay though proving too strong for her cost. She kicked butt in the Hero tests (as expected, she loves that set-up), lost twice but brought it close in the Squad tests, and preformed pretty strongly in the army tests. If left as-is I'd probably start with a cost bump to 240 (she's got a lot of potential and will need to be balanced on the high side).

I did have one problem with her theme though: she just felt way too fragile for her character. I didn't even set her up to go against any of the big guys and she felt like she was falling way too fast. I'd like to see her life and/or defense come up one at least (along with a substantial cost bump, anything that adds to her survivability will make her much stronger).


C3G INITIAL PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Deathbird

- THEME TEST
Pass

- MIRROR TEST
Pass

- BONDING TEST
Pass

- SYNERGIES TEST
Pass

- POWER CHECK
Pass

- FUN TEST
Pass

- FUN COMPETITIVE TEST
Pass

- DRAFTING TEST
Pass

- USAGE TEST
Pass

- STRATEGY TEST
Pass

_____________________________________________________________

Heavy Hitter or Mid-Level Hero Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Pass
- What should be the unit's point value? 220-230
- Give a brief overview. Deathbird did very well here, but one-on-one match-ups like this will be great for her, she should show strong here.

Spoiler Alert!

TEST 1
Map: Moon Base Alpha (with extra shadow tiles)
Units: Deathbird VS. Sandman
Summary: Deathbird got the first strike, and with very hot dice and Berserker Frenzy, she won easily in the first round.

Deathbird wins with 0 wounds.

TEST 2
Map: Moon Base Alpha (with extra shadow tiles)
Units: Deathbird VS. Sandman
Summary: Deathbird failed her first Berserker Frenzy spree, but Sandman only did two wounds that round. Winning initiative allowed Deathbird to frenzy to the win.

Deathbird wins with 2 wounds.

TEST 3
Map: Moon Base Alpha (with extra shadow tiles)
Units: Deathbird VS. Batman (Jean-Paul)
Summary: it took Deathbird two rounds of frenzying to take down Batman, but the key to her victory was Batman losing a turn to System Psychosis while on low ground before they engaged.

Deathbird wins with 2 wounds.

TEST 4
Map: Moon Base Alpha (with extra shadow tiles)
Units: Deathbird VS. Batman (Jean-Paul)
Summary: Jean-Paul got the first attack, and plenty attacks after that, but Deathbird was just rolling insanely on defense. Berserker Frenzy in the second round ended the game.

Deathbird wins with 1 wound.

TEST 5
Map: Moon Base Alpha (with extra shadow tiles)
Units: Deathbird VS. Iron Monger
Summary: Deathbird got one chance with frenzy to take down Iron Monger, but Imposing Presence was too much for her. She went down before the end of the first round.

Iron Monger wins with 0 wounds.

TEST 6
Map: Moon Base Alpha (with extra shadow tiles)
Units: Deathbird VS. Iron Monger
Summary: They clashedd early and Deathbird did no damage. Due to an initiative switch, Iron Monger got three straight attacks, but only did a wound. Deathbird easily took him down in the second round after that.

Deathbird wins with 1 wound.

_____________________________________________________________

Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Pass
- What should be the unit's point value? 220 seems fair.
- Give a brief overview. Both times she brought it close but couldn't quite pull out the win, I'm comfortable with the results so far.

Spoiler Alert!

TEST 1
Map: Moon Base Alpha (with extra shadow tiles)
Units: Deathbird VS. Amazon Warriors x2
Summary: Deathbird was able to mow through the Amazon Warriors pretty smoothly, but they were just too much for her. It was over by the end of the second round.

Amazon Warriors win with 2 figures left.

TEST 2
Map: Moon Base Alpha (with extra shadow tiles)
Units: Deathbird VS. Arkham Inmates x4
Summary: Over the three rounds the game lasted, Berserker Frenzy allowed Deathbird to clear through the Inmates at an incredible rate. But the overwhelming number of Inmates won out.

Arkham Inmates win with 2 figures left.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test 1
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Pass
- What should be the unit's point value? I'm definitely leaning towards a bump in cost, 230-250
- Give a brief overview. With Diablo preventing about a turn a round and luck supporting her rolls, Deathbird went, well, berserk. She ended the first round with a double-turn (OM 3 and X) to kill Whirlwind, then started the next round (all 4 OMs) by killing Mystique and putting 3 wounds on Harpoon. However, being such an OM hog as she is, it was a huge blow to her team when she was killed off at the very beginning of the third round, losing them all their OMs. She's got potential, but she's risky.

UNIT SUM-UP
Damage: All 4 wounds to Whirlwind, all 5 wounds to Mystique, 3 wounds to Harpoon.
Power Usage/Effectiveness:
Berserker Frenzy: Activated and gave 4 turns.

Map: Moon Base Alpha (with extra shadow tiles) (no glyphs or special rules)
Units: Deathbird, Doctor Fate, Diablo (650 points) VS Mystique (I), Whirlwind, Harpoon, Armor, Jubilee (645 points)

Spoiler Alert!

QUICK GAME SUMMARY:
Diablo took the initiative and teleported right into the enemy base. Sleep Potion prevented Team Mutant's first turn, which allowed Fate and Deathbird to catch up. Mystique got a chance to do some damage but failed, and their third turn was also blocked by Diablo. Deathbird ended the round in a frenzy, killing Whirlwind on a couple lucky attacks. Winning initiative again, Deathbird went into a full on frenzy, and in four straight turns killed Mystique and put 3 wounds on Harpoon. Through a combination of Sleep Potion and a lost OM on Mystique, Team Mutant barely got to do anything in the second round. Initiative favored the underdog in the third round, which allowed Harpoon and Armor to kill Deathbird who was fully loaded up with OMs. This left Doc Fate and Diablo without any OMs for the entire round, which allowed the mutants to get a couple wounds unto Diablo. Harpoon and Armor finished the job in the fourth round, ending Diablo's life. Doc Fate had recovered at this point though, and quickly dispatched Harpoon and then Jubilee. Armor seemed to pose a solid threat to the mystic, that is, until she whiffed on her first defense roll to die without a fight.

During the First Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Diablo teleports into the enemy base.
ARMY 2: Turn stopped by Diablo.
ARMY 1: Doc Fate teleports out with Deathbird.
ARMY 2: Mystique and Armor fail.
ARMY 1: Deathbird engages and puts 2 wounds on Whirlwind; Berserker Frenzy: Deathbird finishes off Whirlwind.
ARMY 2: Turn stopped by Diablo.

During the Second Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Deathbird dodges a disengagement and Engagement Striek to put 3 wounds on Mystique; Berserker Frenzy with the X: Deathbird moves next to Harpoon while staying engaged to Mystique and kills Mystique; Berserker Frenzy with the 3: Deathbird gets height on Harpoon and puts 2 wounds on him; Berserker Frenzy with the 2: Deathbird puts 1 wound on Harpoon.
ARMY 2: Harpoon and Armor put 1 wound on Deathbird.
ARMY 1: Turn used for Berserker Frenzy.
ARMY 2: Turn stopped by Diablo.
ARMY 1: Turn used for Berserker Frenzy.
ARMY 2: Turn lost on Mystique.

During the Third Round: Army 2 wins Initiative.
ARMY 2: Harpoon and Armor kill Deathbird.
ARMY 1: Turn lost on Deathbird.
ARMY 2: Harpoon and Armor fail.
ARMY 1: Turn lost on Deathbird.
ARMY 2: Armor puts 2 wounds on Diablo.
ARMY 1: Turn lost on Deathbird.

During the Fourth Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Doc Fate fails.
ARMY 2: Harpoon and Armor kill Diablo.
ARMY 1: Doc Fate kills Harpoon.
ARMY 2: Turn lost on Harpoon.
ARMY 1: Doc Fate puts 3 wounds on Jubilee.
ARMY 2: Armor and Jubilee put 1 wound on Doc Fate.

During the Fifth Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Doc Fate kills Jubilee.
ARMY 2: Armor moves under the overhang.
ARMY 1: Doc Fate kills Armor on a whiffed defense roll.

Doctor Fate with 1 wound.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test 2
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Pass
- What should be the unit's point value? 220, maybe a little higher.
- Give a brief overview. Despite not being able to use the “X” this game, Deathbird preformed well. The extra dice from Avengers Assemble was very useful, and it allowed her to kill a little over her points worth.

UNIT SUM-UP
Damage: All 4 wounds to Dum Dum Dugan, all 4 wounds to Hawkeye.
Power Usage/Effectiveness:
Berserker Frenzy: Activated and gave 3 turns.

Map: Highways and Dieways (no glyphs or special rules)
Units: Deathbird, Captain America (C3G), Baron Helmut Zemo, Bucky, Kid Flash (830 points) VS Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Hawkeye (I), Iron Man (Stealth Suit), Sharon Carter (820 points)

Spoiler Alert!

QUICK GAME SUMMARY:
The Helicarrier dropped it's Agents right off the bat, but spread them out so Deathbird would have a hard time getting to them all. Nick Fury first threw Sharon Carter at Deathbird as a sacrifice, hoping to trigger Dum Dum's Commando Backup ability the next turn. But Deathbird wasn't going to play their game; taking a disengagement wound she went straight for Dum Dum and killed him in a double-turn. Hawkeye got a few chances to take out Deathbird, generally while she was out of OMs, but his dice were pretty cold. After a couple dueling rounds, Deathbird came out on top, but her victory was short lived as Sharon Carter finished her off to avenge her fallen comrades. Cap and Bucky moved out to deal with Sharon, but she was tough, and took Bucky down with her. While Cap tried to move in on Fury, Iron Man zoomed out. After a very, very long game of cat and mouse, Iron Man was able to take out Cap and Zemo. Kid Flash ignored Iron Man and went straight for the head of the snake, and indeed dealt Fury some damage, but with a pair of whiffed defense rolls Fury easily dispatched Kid Flash.

During the First Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: OM revealed on Cap, but Zemo switches the turn to Deathbird: Deathbird flies out with Kid Flash tagging along.
ARMY 2: Nick Fury: Sharon Carter engages Deathbird but fails.
ARMY 1: Deathbird takes a disengagement wound to go after Dum Dum (leaving Kid Flash engaged to Sharon), and with a double-turn kills Dum Dum.
ARMY 2: Fury: Hawkeye puts 1 wound on both Cap and Bucky.
ARMY 1: Turn used for Berserker Frenzy.
ARMY 2: Fury: Hawkeye fails on Deathbird.

During the Second Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: OM on Cap, Zemo gives the turn to Deathbird: Deathbird goes berserk on Hawkeye but only does 3 wounds.
ARMY 2: Fury: Hawkeye fails.
ARMY 1: Turn used for Berserker Frenzy.
ARMY 2: Fury: Hawkeye puts 2 wounds on Deathbird.
ARMY 1: Turn used for Berserker Frenzy.
ARMY 2: Fury: Hawkeye fails.

During the Third Round: Army 2 wins Initiative.
ARMY 2: Fury: Hawkeye fails.
ARMY 1: OM on Cap, Zemo gives the turn to Deathbird: Deathbird finishes off Hawkeye with one attack.
ARMY 2: Fury: Sharon kills Deathbird.
ARMY 1: Turn lost on Deathbird.
ARMY 2: Fury: Sharon puts 1 wound on Bucky.
ARMY 1: Cap and Bucky fail.

During the Fourth Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Cap and Bucky put 3 wounds on Sharon.
ARMY 2: Fury: Sharon kills Bucky.
ARMY 1: Cap kills Sharon.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man puts 1 wound on Cap.
ARMY 1: OM revealed on Cap, Zemo gives the turn to Kid Flash: Kid Flash charges Iron Man and deals him a wound.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man puts 1 wound on Cap.

During the Fifth Round: Army 2 wins Initiative.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man fails.
ARMY 1: Cap fails.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man fails.
ARMY 1: OM on Zemo, turn passed to Cap: Cap fails.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man fails.
ARMY 1: Zemo moves up.

During the Sixth Round: Army 2 wins Initiative.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man fails.
ARMY 1: OM on Cap, turn passed to Kid Flash: Kid Flash fails.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man fails.
ARMY 1: Zemo charges.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man kills Cap.
ARMY 1: Zemo fails.

During the Seventh Round: Army 2 wins Initiative.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man puts 3 wounds on Zemo.
ARMY 1: Zemo fails.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man kills Zemo.
ARMY 1: Turn lost on Zemo.
ARMY 2: Fury: Iron Man puts 2 wounds on Kid Flash.
ARMY 1: Kid Flash fails.

During the Eighth Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Kid Flash puts 2 wounds on Fury.
ARMY 2: Fury kills Kid Flash.

Nick Fury with 3 life left and Iron Man (Stealth Suit) with 3 life left.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test 3
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Pass
- What should be the unit's point value? Hard to tell, the 220 range seems fine.
- Give a brief overview. Deathbird got a chance to go berserk in the first round, but bad dice messed her up. And if it's one thing you don't want to do, it's wound some Titans but not finish them off; Starfire was easily able to kill Deathbird in a single turn after that.

UNIT SUM-UP
Damage: 3 wounds to Starfire.
Power Usage/Effectiveness:
Berserker Frenzy: Activated and gave 2 turns.

Map: Highways and Dieways (no glyphs or special rules)
Units: Deathbird, Loki, Sage (830 points) VS Nightwing, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy (Cheetah) (820 points)

Spoiler Alert!

QUICK GAME SUMMARY:
Deathbird moved up carefully in the first round, wanting to hit Starfire with her full force. After some maneuvering, she was able to pull it off, getting three straight turns against Starfire (OM 3, X, and X); she did a couple wounds but wasn't able to finish the job. Nightwing activated Titans Go! right after that, which allowed Raven to take all the wounds off of Starfire and put them on herself so that Starfire could go berserk and kill Deathbird. Using Deceptive Teleportation, Loki landed himself right in the enemy midst early in the second round. He quickly put down Starfire but was accumulating too many wounds himself. And then the third round came around, and Loki's 20-sided die heated up. Thanks to God of Evil, Loki stayed at about half-life while Titans were falling left and right. By the middle of the fifth round, only Raven remained... but she wasn't done yet. With Soul Self she finally took down the trickster god. This left Raven, at half life, to take down Sage. The battle between them was fierce and lasted a couple rounds; Sage got Raven down to 1 life left multiple times, but Soul Self was too much for her to handle over multiple rounds. By round eight, Raven stood victorious.

During the First Round: Army 1 wins Initiative (additional “X” placed, no OM removed).
ARMY 1: Deathbird flies out.
ARMY 2: Beast Boy zooms out.
ARMY 1: Deathbird advances.
ARMY 2: Cyborg advances.
ARMY 1: Deathbird, with a triple-turn, puts 3 wounds on Starfire.
ARMY 2: Nightwing: Raven takes all 3 wounds off Starfire then Soul Selfs one of them unto Deathbird; Starfire, with Protective Fury, obliterates Deathbird; Nightwing moves up.

During the Second Round: Army 1 wins Initiative (additional “X” not used).
ARMY 1: Loki teleports into the enemy's midst.
ARMY 2: Raven transfers a wound from herself to Loki.
ARMY 1: Loki puts 3 wounds on Starfire.
ARMY 2: Starfire puts 1 wound on Loki.
ARMY 1: Loki kills Starfire.
ARMY 2: Nightwing, Cyborg, and Raven put 3 wounds on Loki.

During the Third Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Loki fails.
ARMY 2: Nightwing, Cyborg, and Raven put 1 wound on Loki but God of Evil deflects it to Nightwing.
ARMY 1: Loki fails.
ARMY 2: Cyborg puts 2 wounds on Loki but God of Evil deflects them to Nightwing.
ARMY 1: Loki fails.
ARMY 2: Raven moves next to Nightwing and Soul Selfs a wound unto Loki.

During the Fourth Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Loki kills Nightwing.
ARMY 2: Turn lost on Nightwing.
ARMY 1: Loki puts 2 wounds on Cyborg.
ARMY 2: Cyborg puts 2 wounds on Loki but God of Evil puts them on Cyborg.
ARMY 1: Loki kills Cyborg.
ARMY 2: Turn lost on Cyborg.

During the Fifth Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Loki puts 1 wound on Raven.
ARMY 2: Beast Boy puts 2 wounds on Loki but God of Evil puts them on Raven.
ARMY 1: Loki kills Beast Boy.
ARMY 2: Raven Soul Selfs Loki to death (Raven's OM 3 is lost).
ARMY 1: Sage moves up.
ARMY 2: Turn lost to Soul Self.

During the Sixth Round: Army 2 wins Initiative.
ARMY 2: Raven advances.
ARMY 1: Sage puts 1 wound on Raven.
ARMY 2: Raven fails.
ARMY 1: Sage fails.
ARMY 2: Raven Soul Selfs a wound over to Sage.
ARMY 1: Sage puts 1 wound on Raven.

During the Seventh Round: Army 2 wins Initiative.
ARMY 2: Raven fails.
ARMY 1: Sage puts 1 wound on Raven.
ARMY 2: Raven puts 1 wound on Sage.
ARMY 1: Sage fails.
ARMY 2: Raven Soul Selfs a wound to Sage.
ARMY 1: Sage fails.

During the Eighth Round: Army 1 wins Initiative.
ARMY 1: Sage puts 1 wound on Raven.
ARMY 2: Raven Soul Selfs Sage to death.

Raven with 2 life left.

[johnny139]

I like the idea of bumping her Defense up to 6 (since she's nothing if not agile!) - that would bring her up to ~250, I imagine, which seems like a pretty good place for her.

[IAmBatman]

Defense boost and 250 to playtesting sounds fine by me. Might go up from there, but it sounds like that's OK.

[TrollBrute]

Works for me.

[Viegon]

Originally Posted by johnny139

I like the idea of bumping her Defense up to 6 (since she's nothing if not agile!) - that would bring her up to ~250, I imagine, which seems like a pretty good place for her.

Agreed, 6 Defense at 250 is my preference mechanically and fits her well thematically (though I'd be fine if her cost crept even higher, just as long as it stays below 300).

[Viegon]

Alright, SP updated to 6 defense and 250 points. Anything else or are we ready to send Deathbird out to playtesting?

[Lord Pyre]

Pre-yea

[johnny139]

Pre-Yea!

[TrollBrute]

Pre-Yea

[Viegon]

Guess that answers my question.

I propose we move Deathbird to the Playtesting Phase.

VOTES
A3n - Yea
IAmBatman - Yea
johnny139 - Yea
Lord Pyre - Yea
quozl - Yea
SirGalahad - Yea
TrollBrute - Yea

[IAmBatman]

Yea!