The Book of Clayface (Basil Karlo)

[IAmBatman]

Originally Posted by Good Pig

Awesome design.

A discussion point related to it, I thought we'd reserved 8 life for gods? I like it on his card because it fits well with the design, but I would like to keep other designs open to having 8+ life as well without people screaming "theme fail!".

One word. Catwoman.

[Good Pig]

For whatever reason I always forget about Catwoman's Life 9. Good call.

[IAmBatman]

Thanks. I'm here all week.

[SirGalahad]

Except that Catwoman was a fairly obvious cheesy play on a cat's 9 lives. With her poor defense if she misses her stray, her 9 lives don't last that long.

With his defense of 5, he's going to last a lot longer.

Also, should a pile of clay be moving as fast as our ninja?

[A3n]

Originally Posted by SirGalahad

Also, should a pile of clay be moving as fast as our ninja?

Crap I missed that. Why a move of 6 bats?

[Griffin]

When Clayface morphs into just living clay, he can move really fast - maybe a bit faster than Batman, but definitely on par.

[IAmBatman]

Originally Posted by Griffin

When Clayface morphs into just living clay, he can move really fast - maybe a bit faster than Batman, but definitely on par.

What he said. He can basically turn himself into a spout of clay and jump from space to space Slinky style.
In other news, here's a mini pic that maybe we can use (from Skeeter - thanks, Skeeter!):

[IAmBatman]

More mini pics!

[IAmBatman]

Breathing period up, SP updated, initial playtest started, and about to send out to the ERB!

[IAmBatman]

C3G INITIAL PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT (CLAYFACE)

- 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

- 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 to 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 though Getting Into Character wasn’t something I used much with my aggressive playstyle.

- STRATEGY TEST/ Consider whether or not the design offers any real strategy or interesting tactics to the overall game.
PASS

Heavy Hitter or Mid-Level Hero Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 250-260
- Give a brief overview. After the Batman tests, I dropped his life to 7. Life 8 is just too much when he’s Engulfing enemy figures. I’m not sure Clayface will come in as strong in army tests, due to the ability of figures to free Engulfed allies. I’m really digging him at 240, so if he feels too strong in army tests, I’ll drop his life to 6.

Spoiler Alert!

TEST 1
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Batman (200)
Batman rolled terribly for all dice here. In one-on-ones, there’s no one to help counter Engulf, and it’s very brutal, unless you can stay non-adjacent to Clayface, which Batman cannot.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with full life wins Turn 1 Round 2.

TEST 2
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Batman (200)
Batman hit Evasive Strike 4 of 6 times and it really gave him the chance to compete with Clayface. However, I don’t expect Batman to get that lucky that often, so I’m going to lower Clayface’s life to 7 to decrease his staying power a tad.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with 1 life left wins Turn 2 Round 3.

TEST 3
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Aquaman (230)
Aquaman was able to park on water for a ranged attack of 8, which didn’t produce any wounds, but did lure Clayface in to Engulf him there. The Power of the Deep bonus was huge in helping to offset the Engulf penalties and gave Aquaman a fighting chance here. That along with healing 3 wounds while on water. On a map with no water, Clayface definitely would have won this, but why would you have Aquaman on such a map anyhow?
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Aquaman with 1 life wins Turn 3 Round 2.

TEST 4
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Aquaman (230)
An initiative switch from Clayface robbed Aquaman of a chance to heal and the height disadvantage Aquaman had to take to get his water bonuses finally took its toll.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with 3 lives wins Turn 1 Round 2.

TEST 5
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Swamp Thing (235)
Engulf stacks with Cut Down to Size in a very bad way for Swamp Thing and Engulf also hurts Swamp Thing’s ability to fully take advantage of The Green. It’s one thing to sacrifice an attack when you can teleport far away. It’s another thing to do it when you have to stay engaged with the foe. Swamp Thing did heal one wound here.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with 3 life wins Turn 1 Round 3.

TEST 6
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Swamp Thing (235)
Clayface won a key initiative for Round 3 and finished the deal. Swamp Thing really needed to pile the wounds on Clayface before taking any himself, but Clayface got in the first strike here and put Swamp Thing behind the eight ball from then on.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with 1 life wins Turn 1 Round 3.

TEST 7
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Superboy (240)
This is not a good match up for Superboy. With no special defensive powers or other ways to wound anyone or any Titans to protect, Superboy was really out of his depth here.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with 4 lives wins Turn 3 Round 2.

TEST 8
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Superboy (240)
Same story, different match.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with 4 lives wins Turn 2 Round 2.

TEST 9
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Flash (250)
Engulf is really nasty to Speed Dodge, but one blank is all it takes. Flash’s special attack helps him stay competitive offensively while engulfed.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with 1 life wins Turn 1 Round 3.

TEST 10
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Flash (250)
This time I gave up height to Clayface, but squatted Flash on a shadow tile to give him better chances at defending while Engulfed. The results were about the same, though.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with 1 life wins Turn 2 Round 2.

_____________________________________________________________

Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 180?
- Give a brief overview. Clayface does not match up well on his own against hordes as it cancels out all of his powers, and he has no multiple attacks to rely on.
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. Arkham Inmates x4 (240)

Spoiler Alert!

Clayface couldn’t use either of his special powers here, other than stopping the movement of the first Arkham Inmate to engage him, and attrition caught up with him quickly. The dice might have slightly favored the Inmates here, but 5 defense wasn’t too hard for them to crack, and they eventually even blocked one of Clayface’s attack, giving him an Aggravated Assault wound to end the match.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Arkham Inmates with 3 squads left win Turn 1 Round 3.

_____________________________________________________________

Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 180?
- Give a brief overview. Again, Clayface has no good answer while on his own against squads.
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface vs. SHIELD Agents x2 (220)

Spoiler Alert!

SHIELD Agents didn’t manage to set up a Killbox here, but they didn’t need one.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? SHIELD Agents with 1 squad left win Turn 1 Round 3.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 260?
- Give a brief overview. Clayface played a clean up role here so his Getting Into Character power didn’t come into play, but there wasn’t much of an answer to his Engulf either.
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface (240), Street Thugs x2 (150), Ventriloquist (90), Penguin (120) (600) vs. Batman (200), Robin (120), Alfred (60), Commissioner Gordon (90), Beat Cops x2 (130) (600)

Spoiler Alert!

Clayface managed to play an easy clean up role here, putting 3 wounds on Robin and 2 on Alfred and facing no major competition thanks to the Street Thugs dominating the Beat Cops and the Crime Lords helping take down everyone else. Clayface is certainly still worth more than 240 in a cleanup role, but I’m not sure how he would fare with his team behind instead of ahead.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Clayface with 5 lives wins Turn 1 Round 7.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 240 feels good.
- Give a brief overview. Clayface performed well here, helped by his teammates, but Engulf was easy enough to counter as long as I could keep more than one enemy alive.
Map: Custom
Units: Clayface (240), Hush (220), Lex Luthor (100), Solomon Grundy (290), Ventriloquist (90), Body Guards x4 (60) (1,000) vs. Superman (400), Wonder Woman (300), Batman (200), Robin (100) (1,000)

Spoiler Alert!

This time I targeted Clayface sooner with the big three, which let Getting Into Character come into things. The big three clustered together, with Robin trailing behind, while Hush sent Grundy forward first. Grundy killed Robin on his first attack (whiff by Robin) which could have been a game changer, but the big three held it together and took out Grundy for the first time. Then Wonder Woman led the charge, lassoing Lex and knocking him out with one punch. Batman followed, taking out two of the Body Guards with his Batarangs. Hush, running out of bullets, sent up Clayface, who managed to dance in and out of engagements, swipes failing to hit, and engulf Wonder Woman just enough to put all 6 wounds on her. Then he got into character, keeping Wonder Woman on his card to stay safe while a resurrected Grundy went after Superman for 3 wounds. Superman had enough of this song and dance, though, and he went after the source of the problems, Hush. Ventriloquist tried his special attack on Superman, but couldn’t pierce Superman’s hide, and ended up killing his own Body Guard in frustration. Batman, meanwhile, took out the last Body Guard and while Grundy took a wound from Evasive Strike, Superman put four wounds on Hush. In the next round, Clayface got the order markers again and started attacking Batman, giving Bats one wound, but taking a couple from Evasive Strike himself while Superman finished off Hush and Ventriloquist.
This left a 2 life Batman and a 4 life Superman in end game versus a one life Grundy and Clayface with 5 or so life. Superman engaged Clayface to stop Engulfing and Grundy and Clayface took turns attacking, but other than Grundy putting a fourth wound on Superman, they couldn’t make a dent, and Superman finished the duo off.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Batman with 2 life and Superman with 3 life win Turn 1 Round 6.

I’d probably go with 250 into playtesting right now, or drop to 6 life and go 240, depending on what you guys think.

[IAmBatman]

Had it all set up and ready to go - finished everything but army test 2! I'll write it up in a while after I do the second army test.

[Hahma]

Cool