The Book of Hobgoblin

[johnny139]

Cool - no other thoughts, so I'll formally PROPOSE WE MOVE TO PUBLIC PLAYTESTING!

[Tornado]

Yea

[IAmBatman]

This passes to Playtesting!

[johnny139]

It does?

...so it does! Thanks all, posting now.

[tcglkn]

Totally missed this but would have voted yea.

[johnny139]

In from Arch-vile:

Originally Posted by Arch-vile

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Hobgoblin

Army Test
Map: Swamp Thing
Units: Hobgoblin, Hired Guns, Riddler (535) VS Green Lantern Kyle, Green Constructs: Mech Warrior x1, Shield x3, Decoy x1 (530)

Spoiler Alert!

Hired Guns move out first, as does Kyle. Hired Guns put a wound on Kyle and destroy a GC: Shield, but Kyle takes out two of them. Hobgoblin moves up.

Kyle’s GC Mech Warrior takes out the third Hired Gun, while Hobgoblin takes out the second GC Shield. Rinse and repeat for the last Hired Gun & Shield. Kyle puts 2 wounds on Hobgoblin then Hobgoblin takes out the GC Mech Warrior with a 2-skull attack.

Hobgoblin wins initiative and elects to destroy the last construct (the Decoy) rather than attack Kyle. Hobgoblin blocks Kyle’s attack, then attacks Kyle with his special attack which makes Kyle lose a battery marker. Kyle puts a third wound on Hobgoblin. Hobgoblin rolls a ton of skulls and brings Kyle to 3 wounds and down to 2 battery markers. Kyle puts a 4th wound on Hobgoblin.

Hobgoblin wins initiative which wins him the game. Luck was on Hobgoblin’s side here. He consistently had strong attacks and Pestering Pursuit Special Attack was very useful when combined with Gas Pumpkin.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Hobgoblin with 4 wound and unused Riddler win.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test
Map: Swamp Thing
Units: Hobgoblin, Street Thugs x3 (490) VS Batman 1, Robin (Dick), Robin (Tim), Alfred (480)

Spoiler Alert!

Batman and Tim move out, taking out 2 Street Thugs. The Street Thugs and Hobgoblin fire back, putting 2 wounds on Tim and losing a Street Thug to Evasive Strike. Batman and Robin switch gears to attack Hobgoblin with adjacent attacks, putting 3 wounds on him.

Hobgoblin uses a gas pumpkin on Batman then uses Pestering Pursuit, doing 3 damage while taking 1 from Evasive Strike. A Street Thug gets lucky and kills Tim Drake. Two others roll 2-skull attacks against Batman, but Batman blocks one and Evasive Strikes another (despite Hobgoblin subtracting from his roll).

Alfred Extracts Batman, healing one of his wounds. Alfred then Shotguns a Street Thug, showing exactly how little Bruce’s no-kill rule means to this psychopathic butler. Hobgoblin’s attacks are all blocked by Dick, and the lone Street Thug who can attack chooses to shoot Alfred, taking a wound. Batman (adjacent to Alfred) gets the rest of his wounds healed, then he batarangs a Street Thug. Dick’s attack on Hobgoblin is blocked. Hobgoblin utilizes his gas pumpkin to finish off Dick Grayson. Batman finishes off Hobgoblin and 2 Street Thugs with Batarangs. After that it’s easy pickings for Batman.

Hobgoblin did some major damage this game, and Gas Pumpkin proved instrumental in inflicting some wounds on Batman & the Robins. But Alfred really turned this game around (though Batman never took another wound after healing, so was Alfred really helpful at all?)

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Batman with 0 wounds and Alfred with 2 wounds win.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: Hobgoblin seemed worthwhile in my tests. His 3-attacks special and Gas Pumpkin (and bonding with Street Thugs or pseudo-bonding with Hired Guns) means his offensive output is pretty crazy. However his high cost and those squad’s weakness & reliance on him or other Crime Lords helps balance that.

After my first test I was worried he was too strong because he almost single handedly took out Kyle Rayner and his Green Construct army. However I think I could have played Kyle smarter (keeping the constructs adjacent and using battery markers to protect them). Additionally, the second game was somewhat of a relief, as Hobgoblin was wounded fairly easily and couldn’t do enough damage to win the game (though he got close). I didn't play on a map with concrete/asphalt though, so that probably would have tilted the odds towards the Street Thug/Hobgoblin army.

I could see a 10-20 point increase or keeping him as-is depending on how the other tests go.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: I liked the theme of the design. Pestering Pursuit is clearly designed to use against Spider-Man, which is perfect. It’s also handy against figures like Dick Grayson Robin who can move out of range. He’s fun to play and another good take on a Green Goblin type figure.

Small games, and while he did pretty crazy in that first game, I do think that it was a rough matchup for the GL army - lots of attacks means lots of opportunities to whiff against rolls you could have stopped.

He might warrant a point bump, if that keeps up. I don't think it's necessary, but I'm also keeping an "add a d20 roll to the Gas Pumpkin" in my back pocket. It'd be pretty low (like 5+), but enough to make him less reliable.

[Yodaking]

I kind of like that d20 idea to not make the -1 defense a for sure thing. That would be significant since the -1 defense occurs for 7 or 8 attacks.

[IAmBatman]

Good analysis there. I'd say he's within 10 points thus far. Urban terrain or not is a big power swing for the Street Thugs so not surprised to see it effectively swinging the results here.

[Scapemage]

I am also impressed with how well the armies performed in those games, and would not mind a little point bump to be safe. Defense reduction is always dangerous ground to tread on but I don't know that a roll needs to happen moreso than maybe a limit to the amount of times it can occur back to back.

[japes]

On wow...I love this. Really evolved from what was discussed so many years ago. Really excited about this one.

[johnny139]

@Scapemage - if he's feeling oppressive after your first game, feel free to implement the following for Gas Pumpkin:

GAS PUMPKIN 5
After moving and before attacking, you may choose a figure Hobgoblin passed over this turn and roll the 20-sided die. If you roll 5 or higher, for the rest of this player turn, that figure subtracts 1 from its Defense number and, when it uses a special power and the 20-sided die is rolled, you may subtract 2 from whatever is rolled. Figures that are not affected by Gas Glyphs are not affected by this special power.

[Scapemage]

C3G INITIAL PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Hobgoblin


Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
Map: Mole Hills.
Units: Hobgoblin (265), Killer Penguins, Street Thugs x2, and Hush (700) vs. Invisible Woman, Iceman, Mister Freeze, and Plastic Man (700).

Spoiler Alert!

Normal Attack Damage:
None.

Pestering Pursuit Special Attack Damage:
1 wound(s) on Invisible Woman in R2T1
1 wound(s) on Invisible Woman in R2T1
2 wound(s) on Invisible Woman in R2T2
2 wound(s) on Invisible Woman (kill, 1 excess) in R2T2

Invisible Woman is Hush’s Vendetta. Plastic Man was the frontrunner for the Adventurers and Scientists, acting as a good zone for the approaching squaddies and Hobgoblin. Hobgoblin was able to easily catch Invisible Woman, taking her down with a few good special attacks. Mister Freeze has a bone to pick with him though, and pummels him after getting an ice markers onto his card. Hush runs into trouble against Plastic Man and it’s mostly squaddies against the incoming heroes. Plastic Man falls and Iceman slips away barely, leaving Freeze in the back.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Iceman w/ 3 wounds, and Mister Freeze unharmed.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
Map: Mole Hills.
Units: Hobgoblin (265), Killer Penguins, Street Thugs x2, and Hush (700) vs. Invisible Woman, Iceman, Mister Freeze, and Plastic Man (700).

Spoiler Alert!

Normal Attack Damage:
1 wound(s) on Invisible Woman in R1T3
2 wound(s) on Invisible Woman in R2T1
4 wound(s) on Iceman (kill) in R2T3

Pestering Pursuit Special Attack Damage:
2 wound(s) on Invisible Woman (kill) in R2T2
2 wound(s) on Plastic Man in R3T1

Invisible Woman is Hush’s Vendetta. Invisible Woman and Mister Freeze take up posts early, but Hobgoblin flies in with an advancing Hush to engage. Invisible Woman is make quick work of, and then Iceman falls to Hobgoblin after the Street Thugs come forth to challenge Plastic Man and Mister Freeze. Freeze beings eliminating Thugs fast, and Hobgoblin falls after a few attacks to a reflection from Plastic Man. After softening Freeze with the Thugs, Hush comes in himself to finish off the game by taking out Freeze and Plastic Man in close combat.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Hush w/ 3 wounds, 3/8 Street Thugs, and 3/3 Killer Penguins.

_____________________________________________________________


THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: Hobgoblin went 1-1 here in these games. He is very effective at kiting and also getting in multiple attacks on a weak target, but he didn’t feel oppressive at all. He has a lot of bonding options between Hush, Street Thugs, and Killer Penguins, not even mentioning Hired Guns and more. His high cost is justified by the strength and versatility of the faction, but 265 seemed fine. 275 would even be good.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: He feels very similar to Green Goblin, as he should! He’s got a lot of mobility and it nice to have a really active member of the Crime Lord echelon.

Here you are. I ran the same armies twice to get a good feel and it ended up being a 1-1.